Thanks to those who reviewed. You guys are my inspiration to keep going.

--Kita--

Chapter 16-Real Family

Diana's POV

"Let's begin shall we." was all Dominic said when we entered the house. He did not sound happy.

Me and Sasha took a seat on the couch. The room was definitely cluttered. Dom was sitting in a recliner near the door; Jesse, Vince, and Leon were sitting on the long couch; Letty was on Dom's lap; Mia, Sasha, and I were on the short couch; and Brian was standing on the wall near the kitchen.

"Okay before we go any further, ladies, that's Brian Earl Spil--O'Conner." Dominic corrected himself.

"O'Conner, that's Sasha and Diana." He introduced us. Brian nodded at us. He didn't look happy, but then again, neither did any of men in the house.

"So I'm feeling some tension in the room." Sasha said at the wrong time. Dominic just frowned at her.

"Well I guess we better get started then huh?" He bellowed at her. "About three years ago, the team and I, excluding Brian and Mia, got in with some bad people. They made a deal with us that if we'd hi-jack semi-trucks full of stolen property, we'd get half of what the truck was worth. We needed money to pay the mortage on the house, the garage, and the store. So we did the jobs, and got the money. Sooner or later the FBI started to catch on. That's where Brian comes in." Dominic started.

"He was a fucking cop!" Vince growled from his seat.

"V, shut up. But yeah, Brian was a cop. He was sent undercover to get in good with us and take us down. In the middle of the last heist, everything went wrong. Somehow Vince ended up stuck on the truck. Brian got him off. After the heist, I sent Letty and Leon to Baja. Until things cooled down. Well the people we made the deal with decided to pay us a little visit at home. They shot and almost killed Jesse." Dom continued. He went on to tell us about how he wrecked his dad's Charger and how in the end, Brian let him go and cleared their records. He went back and explained everything with him going to Lompoc for two years and he explain the whole Johnny Tran situation. It seemed like this talk went on forever.

These people have been throught a lot. Especially Jesse. Poor guy. He was a sweetheart and he didn't deserve anything that's happened to him. No matter what kind of bad things he's done in the past. The team has cleaned up their act. They looked and acted like a real family now. They were a real family.

Looking at these people, I could tell what each brought to the family. Dominic was their rock. He held them together through everything. He'd crush anything in the path of his family's happiness; Letty was the protector. She made sure everyone was okay and noone was in trouble or hurt. Even if she didn't act like it, she cared about everyone here; Vince was the territorial one. If anyone tried to tear his family apart, he'd tear them apart. He kept away the trouble when he saw it coming. He didn't want anyone near who was negative; Mia was the mother. She fed them, doctored them when they were ill, consoled anytime they were in need. And she kept Dom out of trouble as much as could; Jesse was the baby. Even though he did have ADD, he was the mad scientist. He was intelligent and go do anything with a car; and finally Leon. He was the comic relief. He put everyone in a better mood when they weren't happy.

After the discussion, there was still tension in the room. But this time, it felt like it was directed towards us.

"Look guys, we know that you told us things that you didn't want to, but you had no choice. We know how that is. But don't worry, your secrets are safe with us." I assured them. I could tell some weight was lifted from them. They seemed to lighten up a little.

"Good. Glad you made that clear." Dominic responded, smiling widely. "Now Vince, is it safe for you to go get us some beers in the kitchen without killing Brian in the process?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Whatever. You girls drinking?" Vince asked us.

"Yeah." We said in unison. Vince continued to the kitchen, only barely brushing Brian on the way.

"Buster." I heard him whisper. Brian rolled his eyes.

"So Dominic, I've been meaning to ask you. Why'd exactly do you want us on your team? I mean, why did you pick us?" Sasha asked, out of the blue.

"Well to tell you the truth, I know your dad. He used to work in my garage, but he transfered to The Racer's edge for awhile. I'm Harry's best customer. He told me about you and he told me you loved cars. I told him we need a little extra help around the garage and the store. He told me you are always with Diana so I couldn't take one and not the other." He said smiling. "So I want you to work at the garage, and Di can help out at the garage. Or whatever you girls want to do." He continued.

"Wow. I wonder why Marcus never mentioned knowing you." I replied, confused.

"I don't know either." Dominic agreed.

We sat in individual conversation until Dom got a phone call.

XXX

"Yo?" Dom answered the phone.

"We got a race Dominic, you down?" the other person said.

"Always. Be there later." Dom said before hanging up. "Look's like something down tonight. You girls coming?" he asked us.

"Yeah definitely." I replied for us both.

"Good. You can ride with whoever and leave your car here. There's a party after every race, too." He informed us.

"Well Sash, I'm go hope and get a shower and change. You have your things here don't you?" I asked her, standing by the door, keys in hand.

"Yeah I'm good." She responded.

"Be back here ten minutes before 11." Dominic replied. He and Letty walked upstairs for the time being and gave each other "massages", as they called it.

XXX

Sasha's POV

"So Vinnie, how'd you know the buster was a cop?" I asked Vince.

I liked Vince. Not in a boyfiend type way. But in that big brother kinda way. He acted like an older brother. He gave off that vibe like "Don't mess with my women, and I won't mess you up." I loved it.

"Like I told you before, quit calling me Vinnie. And it was obvious. He fought like a cop, he walked like a cop, he talked like a cop. And he just happened to pop up when we started doing the heist. It was too fishy." He replied, sipping his Corona.

"Yeah I kinda see what you mean." I said, staring down O'Conner.

I didn't like him too much. He just stood out too much around here.

"And when you quit calling me Sashie, I'll quit calling you Vinnie." I replied. We'd already given each other nicknames.

Vince was definitely my second favorite of the house. Letty was my favorite. She had that ballsy, kickass attitude. And she hated pretty much everything that moved. Kinda like me.

"Can you guys quit talking about me? I can hear you, you know." Brian replied, taking his eyes off the TV screen where Leon and Jesse were playing the video game.

"Whatever buster. I'm going upstairs to get ready." I spat at Brian.

When I got in my room, I glanced at the clock. 8:13 p.m. I have awhile. But if I want some extra time to hang around and get to know everyone more, I better hurry.

I finished showering about 9:30. I walked over to my duffel bags and grabbed underwear out. I slipped on a black beater over my black lace bra. I grabbed my smallest pair of boxers and slipped them on over my thong. Boxers made me feel more comfortable. I lotioned my body up and sprayed on my 'Love Spell' perfume. I absolutely loved the way that smelt. I grabbed a pair of capri khaki pants and a red tee that read 'I'm a Latina'. I mean as if it wasn't already obvious. I left my hair down and I put on my red and black LA cap on backwards. I slipped on my red and black Air Force Ones and took one last look in the mirror.