Chapter 4

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Putting Diablo in the garage at the house with Dom's Charger to keep anybody from stealing it while we were gone, I usually rode with Vince to the garage. Slowly but surely, Reaper was coming together, her damages repaired, and I couldn't wait for the day when I would be able to ride her again. Sure, running with Dom's RX- 7 and Vince's Maxima was fun, but I missed my baby. By day, I would help in the garage with whatever jobs that had to be done or I would help Mia in the other part when customers got too heavy. By night, I would either race or just hang with the guys, playing games or watching movies. It didn't take Dom long to figure out I slept in my truck (the first night actually) and he made me take the spare bedroom. Which was actually quite nice. It's been years since I had slept in a bed. After the first few days, Letty actually became friendly. Her and Mia were becoming like sisters to me. I was beginning to notice I spent more time with Vince than I did with Leon or Jesse and I couldn't figure out why. Sure, he was a good looking guy, and while that muscled arm wrapped around me while all of us watched a movie made me feel safe, I didn't want to become too attached. Sure, I cared for all of them like the family I never really had, but the falling in love kind of attached. I didn't want to break his heart when I ran again. That would be cruel for both of us. I just wasn't going to do it. Leaving them would break my heart anyway when I had to run.

Currently, I was in the garage helping Jesse with a diagnostics test on an old Toyota Corolla when a phone rings. It takes but a minute for me to orient on the phone before Dom is answering it. I return to helping Jesse try to figure out what was wrong with the engine.

"Kira!" Dom calls and I jerk up to look at him.

"Sup."

"Harry just called. The rest of the parts are in for Reaper."

"Finally!" I do a little happy dance, excited. Letty, Leon and Jesse either laugh at me or with me, I wasn't sure which and I didn't really care.

"Vince!" Vince pops out from under a Chevy. "Take Kira to get her truck and help her get the rest of Reaper's parts from Harry's."

"Got it." He nimbly jumps up and wipes his hands on a rag. An arm goes around my waist and the keys to the Maxima pop up into the air in front of me. I deftly snatch them out of the air. "Gonna be a bummer when you can't run the Maxima anymore, huh?" He grinned, knowing how I liked to drive it.

"I miss my baby, but if I ever feel like running the Maxima, all I gotta do it steal your keys." I grin back and race toward his car, the excitement of finally being able to drive Reaper making me happily giddy and extra playful. A laugh and he's chasing after me.

"Once she's repaired, I know a place we can go. You can run against my Maxima to your heart's content without the worry of cops." He told me as we slid into the car.

"Really? Where?"

"You've heard us talking about Race Wars, right?"

"Yeah, it's like this big race event out in the desert that lasts about a day or so. I've been hearing about it for a while. Where is it held?"

"An old government base out in Arizona's desert. It's like a once a year thing, but we can get the area for a day or so outside of that yearly timeframe to help tune our own rides. Once Reaper is completely repaired, I'll talk to Dom about it."

"Sweet." I grinned happily.

"And most likely, Dom will want you to race in Race Wars." He knew that announcement would make me deliriously happy.

I whooped. Race Wars was the place to be for street racers. Like Las Vegas was America's Playground for gamblers, Race Wars was the playground for racers. I had wanted to go forever, but didn't think Reaper could cut it with the rest. After all, I knew there were parts in her engine that were outdated and would need to be replaced. Plus, I just wanted to see if I could get any more power out of her. Sure, she hadn't lost a race yet, but Race Wars was like the Super Bowl. Only the best of the best played there. Pulling the Maxima into the Fort's driveway, I tossed him his keys as we got out. "Come on old Coyote, let's see if those muscles of yours aren't just for show."

"I'll show you old, brat!" He called and was tearing after me. I nimbly hopped the curb only to trip racing up the short grassy hill to get to my truck, sending me to the ground. He stops before me, only slightly out of breath. "Old my ass!" He offered me a hand and pulled me up.

"How old are you Vince?"

"26. I thought you knew." He replied.

"Yeah, you're old." Dropping, I swept his feet out from under him. Before I could scramble up, he was grabbing my ankle and jerking me back down. The way he jerked caused me to slide toward him so he hovered over me.

"No old Coyote would be able to keep up with you when you roughhouse." He smirked down at me. When we had a free day, me, Jesse, Leon and Vince could often be found roughhousing around in the backyard. Mainly laughing, joking and wrestling like idiots. Even Dom would join in from time to time, even though it'd usually mean one of the guys would tag team him with me.

Taking that as a challenge, I use a burst of strength and flip our positions so I'm sitting on top of him. Using his greater strength, I find myself under him completely. He's holding my hands above my head and a knee is resting between my legs. This new position renders me completely unable to fight back. That smirk is even more prominent now as well as the glint of playful amusement in his eyes. There's also something else I couldn't quite identify, something that turned those brown eyes almost black. Those dark eyes wander down my body, pausing on my chest as he watched me breath. They travel back up to my face and they're actually black.

"You know something?" If it's even possible, his usual rough voice is even rougher, sending a shiver through me.

"What?" I ask softly, almost afraid to know.

"You drive me insane." He softly growled and before I can comprehend that statement, I find lips on mine. Coaxing and gentle, yet rough and possessive. My blood turns into electricity, zapping through my veins, making me acutely aware of him as he hovered above me, supporting his weight on an elbow while the other cups my face. I feel his tongue lightly touch my lower lip, asking for entrance, and as much as I want to deny him, I can't, and I'm parting my lips for him to deepen the kiss. Realizing my hands are now free, I place them on his chest, as if to push him away, but I can't seem to do that either. My brain is shutting down and my body is quickly reacting to him. My hands are moving on their own, gliding up his chest to wrap around his neck, allowing my fingers to tangle in his hair. Getting short of breath, he pulls away. Not knowing when it had happened, I open my eyes and stare up at him. The hand that had cupped my cheek, flips so the backs of his fingers are gently caressing the soft skin.

"I don't know what it is about you, but you make me want you like fucking crazy. Since that first day, there hasn't been a minute where you have not been in my thoughts. No matter how hard I try, I can't get you out of my head. It's driving me nuts." His voice is rough, ragged.

I push myself into a sitting position and he sits back, letting me up. "This isn't a good idea Vince. If I wasn't being chased all over the goddamned US, I wouldn't hesitate. Getting friendly with the gang is bad enough, I don't want to break your heart in the process." I tell him softly, my own voice harsh and ragged.

He caresses my cheek. "I'm not going to let you run, Kira. They come after you, we'll stand and fight. I'm not going to let you leave me. You make me feel different than those racer chasers do and I don't know why. Whatever it is, is demands that I don't let you leave us."

I shook my head, eyes tearing up. "I don't want you guys involved with my problems."

He wiped at my tears. "It's already too late for that baby girl. Way too late. The minute Dom brought you into the family, your problems became ours. All of us: me, Dom, Leon, Jesse, Letty, hell, I think even Mia would back you up. All this time you've been running scared and it's time for that to stop. You need to face them and end this once and for all."

I crawled over to sit in his lap. "I'm terrified Vince."

I feel his strong arms wrap around me and felt him kiss my head. "That's what family and friends are for kitten. Give you the courage to face the things that scare the shit out of you."

"I want this to end, but I'm scared."

"I know you are. We may be a small group, but we'll hurt somebody over family. And since that day, you became part of the family." A hand under my chin lifts my head to look up at him. "We'll never, ever, let you down. No matter what happens, we will always have your back."

I rested my head against his shoulder. "I don't want to be scared anymore Vince."

I feel his arms tighten around me. "I'll keep you safe. You know this Coyote will protect his kitten." He murmurs softly. "Now come on. We've got a car to fix."

Reminder of why we were here in the first place washes over me and I jump up, knowing my face is turning red. "What will Dom say though? I know he's protective of me."

"Basically 'Hurt her and I'll hurt you.' because with Mia, it's 'Break her heart, I'll break your neck.'" He smiled back, putting an arm around my shoulders and holding me close to his side. "Come on. I know you've got stuff in the back of the truck, we'll put it in the trailer since it's empty."

It was obvious when the two walked in that something had changed between them in the time they had been gone. Dom smirked and leaned closer to Letty.

"Told you." He murmured in her ear.

Concrete proof came later that evening as they watched a movie. While he was on the couch with Letty curled up between his legs, Kira and Vince were in a similar position on the floor as they shared a bowl of popcorn. He knew Kira was thinking about running when those goons came looking for her, but being anchored to Vince, running was now impossible. He wouldn't let her run. He would make her stand and fight.

Maybe Kira was just what the doctor ordered to get Vince's mind off of Mia, since his little sister wasn't going to return the infatuation he had with her.