We made our way into my bedroom. Letty dropped her towel on the floor as she started to put on one of my old undershirts. I just sat on the bed, watching her change. She looked so sexy in my clothes. There was something about a girl wearing your clothes. Not that I didn't love the short skirts and see-through tops. But, this was a different kind of sexy.

"Enjoying the show?" she asked after noticing that my eyes hadn't left her body.

I just smiled. I had enjoyed Letty and whatever show she put on since the day I met her. This was no different. I enjoyed every aspect of her.

"You could add a little dance to that sexy strip tease," I joked.

She scoffed, "dream on."

I was still sitting on the edge of the bed as Letty made her way over to me. She approached me and just stood there, looking into my eyes. I could look at her all day and all night. She was hypnotizing. My favorite drug. Addicting.

She slowly lifted her legs around me until she was straddling me. She lifted her body up on her knees and looked down at me. Our lips met, soft at first, but growing rapidly in fervency.

"Can I come in," Mia said knocking, and opening the door at the same time.

"No," I said aloud as I noticed Letty standing up off of me. I don't know if I was asking Letty not to get off me, or Mia not to come in. I guess the response worked either way.

"Oh, God," Mia said, covering her eyes, but not bothering to leave the room.

"Nice timing," I commented to Mia sarcastically.

"Jesus, are you two rabbits or something? I mean can you never take a break?" Mia asked.

"Is there something I can do for you, Mia? Or did you just come in here to cock block me?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Ugh, so many images I do not want in my head right now," she stated. "Sorry to…interrupt. But, I just wanted to thank you Dom. I know that today wasn't especially easy for you. And you did it for me. I appreciate it. I had a lot of fun. It was nice having all my favorite men under one roof, and no one trying to kill anyone."

"I know what it meant to you. You're welcome. I'd do pretty much anything for you, Mi. But you can't make me promise not to break his neck if he hurts you," I told her.

She rolled her eyes at me. She must not have realized how serious I was by that statement. I would gladly destroy any man that every brought pain to her. She'd experienced enough pain for a lifetime.

"Whatever. Goodnight guys," she said, and turned to leave.

"Night, girl," Letty commented, walking over to the dresser. She grabbed her brush and started to brush through her long locks. I tried not to get swept away in her again, though it was a difficult struggle.

I stood up and grabbed a clean pair of shorts from my drawer. I pulled off the towel, and tossed it to the other side of the room. I pulled on the shorts. I was truly exhausted at this point.

"You still never learned how to pick up a damn thing, did you?" Letty asked, gathering my towel up off the floor.

"Don't need to long as there's women around," I joked with her. She slapped me hard on the ass as she walked by. If she thought that served as punishment for me, I could make chauvinistic jokes all day long.

She left the room, I assumed to put the towels up. While she was gone I walked over to the bed. I pulled back the comforter and climbed in, moving far to the other side so she would have plenty of room. For her size, Letty sure knew how to hog a bed. I figured I might as well give her a head start.

When she came back in the room, she flipped off the lights. The room was instantly filled with darkness, with the exception of several rays of streetlight that seeped in through the break in the curtains. It was enough to show her outline as she edged towards the bed. The mattress barely shifted as she moved in.

I pulled her close to me and wrapped both my arms around her. I kissed her shoulder delicately. She smelled like, well, my Letty. It wasn't a scent I could describe. A mixture of all things wonderful.

I heard her let out a long sigh. "Are you alright?" I asked, making sure she was comfortable.

"Mm," she responded. "Just hold me."

"I'll never let you go," I told her, pulling her even closer.

"You keep me safe."

"That's all I ever wanna do," I told her.

"Promise you won't ever hurt me," she said. I could feel the hesitation in her voice.

"I promise," I assured her. I felt her relax, and her breathing even out. It didn't take long before it was clear she was asleep. Listening to the sounds of her breathing as a sweet lullaby, I felt myself drift off to sleep.

I walked around. It was like everything around me was black. I had tunnel vision. I knew where I was. I knew I was at Mitch's garage. But I couldn't see anything except him. Kenny Linder. The man who took my father from me. My heart was beating so loudly I could actually hear it thumping through my chest. My blood ran hot and my fists clinched tight. My jaw tightened as I gritted my teeth. The fact that he was here, living, walking around, smiling, the way my father never would be able to again. He just stood there, as if he were not a killer. As if he hadn't destroyed my world in an instant. A selfish instant.

I could tell I walked by a shelf because it knocked my shoulder. I reached onto the shelf. I don't know what I grabbed. Something. It was metal; I could feel the coolness in my palm. I had to confront him. I had no idea what I was going to do. But he needed to feel as bad as I did.

I walked up to him from behind. He didn't even notice me. I lifted my arm. I just kept lifting my arm, over and over. I felt liquid. I heard shattering. The people screaming, yelling in the background were just a blurry haze of white noise. Over and over again I lifted up my arm, only to notice it drop again. I had no strength left in my arm. That was when I realized. I realized I was completely covered in something wet. What was all over me? It was red. Was I bleeding? No. I wasn't bleeding. I looked around me. All I saw was a puddle of blood. And the man that used to resemble Kenny Linder. He looked different. His face morphed into a distorted image of a person. This almost zombie like figure lay still. I stood up, stunned, and looked around. There was nothing, no shop, no people. I looked back down at Linder. His arms lifted up and in robot-like motions he reached for me. Blood was dripping off every crevice of his body. He was reaching for me. I didn't know what his touch would mean. He got closer, and closer….

"Huh," I gasped loudly, sitting up in my bed. I was completely out of breath. My body was covered in sweat. It was a dream, just a dream. Well, just a nightmare. I had dreamed this same dream countless times. It was hard to distinguish which parts of it were true and which parts were my imagination.

I looked around the room. It was morning. That was apparent by the amount of light that filled the room. Letty was not in the bed. I was glad she had not experienced me in my nightmare. I didn't want anyone to see me like that. I sat up, catching my breath and trying to calm down.

I wiped my eyes, and rubbed one hand over my head. Holy shit, I thought the dreams would end now that I was back home. I guess prison does nothing to settle a man's guilt.

"Yo, Dom, move it or lose it, brother," Leon yelled from the hallway.

Fuck. Getting up and going to work was a routine that I was going to have to get used to again. I stood up off the bed, grabbed a pair of shorts and a clean shirt before headed to the shower. I needed to wash the dream off of me. I wanted to leave all past memories behind.

The water felt almost refreshing, but it was hard to shake the feeling that spawned from the dream. It created a cloud over me, bringing back those feelings of shame, remorse, and anger. I got out and dried off, dressing quickly because I could smell breakfast downstairs.

When I made it into the kitchen, it was just Mia and Leon. Leon was messing with some electronic equipment on the table. I kissed Mia on the cheek while stealing a piece of bacon from the plate.

"Hey, hold on a sec and I'll just make you a plate," she said, slapping my hand away.

"Where is everybody?" I asked, ignoring her reprimand and grabbing another piece. She just shot me an annoyed look.

"They went ahead to the garage. Figured you needed to get some sleep," Leon said, distracted.

"What is that?" I asked, questioning the contraption he had on the table.

"Right now, something broke. But it's gonna be a police scanner," he told me.

"Hm," I commented, taking the plate that Mia handed me.

"You know, for the races. That way we can stay a step ahead and not get trapped in by the po-po," he elaborated.

"Awesome," I told him. Leon and Jesse certainly added a much needed level of technological intelligence to the team that was extremely useful.

I shoveled down the food. I had not realized quite how hungry I was. I had missed Mia's cooking. I think she just had a natural talent for cooking, much like our mother. I gathered up my stuff, putting my dishes in the sink.
"Thanks, Mi. I'm heading to the garage," I told the room, not looking at anyone in particular.

"Have fun. I'm at the store today," she told me. "Can you take my car in? I really need my oil changed?" She tossed me her keys and I caught them in the air. "And I want all my windows intact when I get it back."

I just scoffed and smiled. I loved Mia, and her complete inability, or unwillingness, to do any car maintenance, even on her own car. I guess as long as she lived with a bunch of gear heads she could get away with it.

"I'll be there in a bit. I just gotta get this right here and…." he said, not finishing his thought but focusing on the task in his hands.

I didn't respond, just walked out and over to Mia's car. I hadn't driven her car since I went into Lompoc. It was just the same as I remembered, maybe a little more power. I knew she would never allow too many modifications to her car because she was afraid of being pulled over and getting a ticket. But it got me there quick enough.

I pulled up. It looked different than it had the other day. Different, but also the same as it always looked. I walked inside and smelled the amazing smell of oil, rubber, and sweat. It was home. I smiled at the equipment, really taking it all in. The other night I had been so distracted by my emotions that I hadn't been able to fully appreciate being one with the garage again. Some of the equipment had been upgraded, some looked more worn, but all and all it was my little heaven on earth.

I made my way over to the work orders. We had a several, but nothing extremely pressing. Most were waiting on parts that were on order from Racer's Edge. Some were due to come in today. I wondered if Harry would be the one to deliver them, or if he'd have one of his pack mules do it. Harry usually hired pretty good people. I looked out to the front of the garage. I noticed a light blue Toyota. But that wasn't what caught my attention. There was a guy leaning next to it, talking to Letty. My Letty. And not just talking to her, making her laugh. I wasn't close enough to hear what they had to say. But her body language suggested that she was really comfortable around him. She didn't have her usually crossed-arm stance and death-eating glare.

"Who the fuck is that talkin' to Letty?" I asked, walking over to Vince.

"Um," he looked over. "Dayton, Dublin, Dallas, Denver…something, it's the same as a city. Starts with a D, I think. I don't really know."

Oh wow, that was not actually helpful information at all, not even a little bit. But I was surprised Vince could name so many cities that start with the letter D.

"He's been here before. Getting his car worked on and shit," Vince continued.

"And shit?" I repeated. What other shit besides getting his car repaired and upgraded would he want with Letty?

"Nah, I mean, just getting low scale mods. Nothin' big. I think he knows Let from school or something," Vince said, as if it was no big deal.

"Hm," was my only response. From school. I didn't like how comfortable they seemed. I sat down the work orders and started, slowly, making my way over to them.

"Whatchu gonna do?" Vince asked me, causing me to stop.

"Guess he's a customer. I'm gonna go figure out what he needs," I informed Vince. He just shook his head and went back to his work.

I would have to keep a close eye on this guy. I had a weird feeling that there was more going on besides just tune-ups and oil changes.

TBC

AJ