Chapter Eight

He was remembering again.

Brian. Leon. Mia. Letty.

Jesse. God, Jesse. Jesse, who was like a little brother to Dom. The same Jesse whom he had held in his arms and watched die.

Vince. Vince, who was Dom's best friend in the entire world. Vince, who had ended up in the hospital because of him.

Sometimes he wanted to shoot himself for all the shit that had torn the original group up. But most of all, he wanted to shoot himself for putting Letty through all the shit he had put her through. She has risked her life for him and what had happened to her. She almost got killed. Damn, life was a bitch.

And then there was Madison. God, she was fine, but he had had his shot and fucked it up. Just like he fucked everything else up. He was the expert at fucking things up. It was like it was his specialty.

However, there was a lot about Madison that reminded him of himself. That same fire that was in her eyes whenever she got pissed. That same fire that he knew so well.

He wished that she wasn't so strong willed. There was a lot he could teach her. She had the potential, if she'd just apply herself. She had the level head and self control, she just had to learn to listen. That was another thing. She was stubborn like he was too.

"You okay, man?" Christian's voice broke into his thoughts.

He nodded, but remained silent.

"You thinkin' about Jesse?"

"Yeah," Dom replied.

"It's tough, man. I know. I'm reminded of when I lost Jenna."

Jenna had been Christian's girlfriend. Correction. Jenna had been the love of Christian's life. Just like Letty had been his. Jenna had gotten in Tran's way years ago and had died because of it. Christian had never forgiven Tran for it, nor did Dom think he would.

"Yeah," Dom agreed, halfway hearing the conversation.

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Madison had gone back to the apartment feeling much better. Her mind was more clear and focused on the task at hand, finishing in under ten seconds. She knew she was capable of it, she just had to focus all of her energy into it.

It was now eight o'clock. She figured she should call Marcus again.

She thumbed through the numbers already programmed in the phone until she found his and pressed the "send" button. It rang.

"Yeah," she heard him answer.

"Hey," she said lightly.

"Things better today?"
She smiled.

"Yeah," she laughed.

"Good," it was always great to hear Madison when she was feeling good. He hated hearing her be down.

"Saw Santiago today," she commented.

"Shit. You didn't do anything stupid, did you, Maddie?"

"No, Marcus, I was a good girl," she replied, sarcastically. "I wanted to rip his throat out, though, but I refrained myself."

He couldn't keep from laughing. That was one thing about Madison he loved, her sense of humor.

"Thank you," Marcus said.

"Yeah, no problem. Next time, though, you might not be so lucky. And neither will he. God, the sight of him, Marcus…" her voice trailed off.

He knew what she meant. It wasn't everyday that you had to face the guy that had kidnapped you over some beef he had with your brother.

"Just don't start any shit. Jacob and I are here and you're there. Although I know you can take care of yourself, you're only one person, while Santiago has his whole posse there."

Even though she wanted to ignore him, Madison knew Marcus was right. Starting shit with José would be a stupid move.

"So, how are you and Samantha?"

Samantha and Marcus had been together for about ten months now. Samantha made Marcus happy and that was what mattered to Madison. Marcus was like another brother to her and she only wanted the best for him.

"Good. Have you spoken to Dom again?" Marcus quickly changed the subject. Madison was curious, but would save that conversation for another time. Someone must've walked in the room where Marcus was.

"Naw, haven't run into him again. Probably will tonight, though."

"How come?"

"Races. There's one tonight and I plan on proving myself to this crowd."

Marcus took a deep breath and sighed. He knew it was pointless to argue with Madison, but wished she wouldn't risk her life anyway.

"Just be careful."

Madison smiled always taking control and being the "brotherly" figure when she didn't want to talk to Jacob. Plus, she knew Marcus would let her do more than Jacob anyday.

"I will, I promise. Talk to ya later?" She asked, even though she knew she would.

"Yeah. Thursday."

"I'll be expecting you."

"I'll be expecting good news."

With that, she and Marcus hung up the phone.

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Brian had take another shower before getting in his car and driving to the racing point. He was trying to figure out how to enter the race against Dom without him knowing. He didn't want shit to go down before the race, but knew there was no getting out of the shit that was eventually going to happen after the race.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if Madison was going to show up. He hoped she would. There was a lot of shit between them that needed to be straightened out. Hell, there was a lot of shit in his entire life that he wanted to straighten out. He could only do a few things at once, though, regretfully.

As he pulled up, he saw the cars lined up down the street as far as the eye could see.

He saw Dom standing off to the side with another guy and a chick. She was cute, but she was definitely no Madison.

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She pulled up and was amazed at how many people showed up at these races.

She emerged from the car and saw Dom first. He glanced in her direction and stared.