Chapter 6

The next morning Jesse and I were throwing a football back and forth in the front yard waiting for Tran to show up.

"You sure he'll show up?" Jesse asked, throwing the ball. I had to run a little to catch it.

"Positive. Getting back the Honda without having to run me for it is just too good to pass up." I reply, throwing it back with my good arm. Since my left arm was the one that had been dislocated and I was right handed, I could still throw a ball. A few more passes until we heard engines. A look up the street revealed Tran and his usual entourage. And right behind them was that same damn Suburban. I swore. "Sumbitch." I looked around, thinking fast. "Remember what I told you about a dark blue Suburban?" I asked softly.

"That it behind Tran?"

"Yup. Here's what we're gonna do. I'm going to jump into the Jetta only to come out the other side, you get in and hightail it for the garage. Head straight there as quick as you can."

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna hitch a ride with Johnny while you act as a decoy. If they chase you to the garage, Dom and the rest can chase them off and I'll have Johnny drop me off within the hour."

"What if they don't follow all the way?"

"We'll deal with it. Hopefully, they'll take the bait and chase after you the entire way where Dom and the rest and take care of them. Once you reach the garage, I should be there within the hour, sort of give them enough time to get away from the garage and look elsewhere for me." I waited until Johnny and his group had pulled into the driveway across the street. "Now!" We both ran to the Jetta. Jerking open the passenger door, I dove across the seats and rolled out of the driver door as Jesse was opening it. I scrambled out of sight, flattening myself against the house, as Jesse slipped behind the wheel and peeled out, the Suburban hot on his heels. Once I was sure they were out of sight, I ran across the street.

"What was that?" Johnny asked, curious.

"Drug boss's goons. They shot out Diablo's rear tire a month ago, dislocating my shoulder, and t-boned Reaper at my last stop. I just had Jesse run as a decoy, running straight to the garage where Dom and the rest will take care of them." I explain, heading to the back of the trailer and unlocking it before throwing open the doors. The Honda is sitting pretty, as she always is, gleaming from the coat of wax I had applied a few days ago.

"They always drive a Suburban?" Lance asked and I nodded as Johnny checked out his ride.

"Once I see that van, I hightail it out of wherever I am and run to a new location." I reply, digging the keys to the Honda out of my jacket and tossing them at Johnny. "Check her engine if you want. I keep her tuned and ready."

"How long have you been running?" Johnny asked, slipping behind the wheel and firing up the engine, listening to her purr.

"Few years, I'd guess." I answer, catching the keys as Johnny throws them back. "Well?" I ask, looking over at him.

He nods in approval. "You've taken good care of it."

"I care for her like she was my own ride. What about my offer?"

"I'll agree on one condition." I cock an eyebrow at him in curiosity. I hadn't expected him to negotiate. "I will allow you to race with her as long as I get part of the winnings."

"It is your ride after all." I nod. "I run the Honda, I run for you. Sounds fair enough." The chorus to Drowning Pool's 37 Stitches rings out and I know it's my phone. Having a bad feeling it was Jess, I answer it. "Yeah?"

"Didn't take them long to figure out you weren't with me. They're heading back your way now. Get out of there Kira." Jesse warned, sounding upset and worried.

"I got you little brother. You just get your butt to the garage and let Dom know. These bikes can outmaneuver what they got." I told him and hung up. "We got trouble. They figured out I wasn't with Jess and now they're coming back."

I could tell Johnny was thinking fast. "Your bike here?"

"Across the street with Dom's Charger in the garage." I could feel the adrenaline surge through my veins, mixing with the fear that was already there, hyping me up even more.

"Get it and keep right behind me." Johnny ordered as him and Lance ran back toward their own rides. I raced across the street and retrieved Diablo. Thankfully her tire had been replaced a few days ago. I was slamming the garage door shut when we heard the engine. They were back. Just as I crank up Diablo and move out into the street, a shot rings out. I feel pain in my upper arm and know I've been shot. A second shot rings out and I hear the pinging of metal off of metal, figuring they had hit the muffler. Johnny and the rest are around me and I hear the ones behind me returning fire.

"Kira! Get off the bike!" Johnny calls above the sound of the engines and gunfire.

"Why?" He points and I looked down. They hadn't hit the muffler like I had thought, but the gas tank. She was leaking gas. "Shit." I look back to see one of the goons aiming at the trail. Just as I hear the shot, I jump over to Johnny's bike. I hear a fire erupt and knew my bike was a goner. Sure enough, I feel the eruption as the flame hits the gas tank. My heart jerks in pain and I feel hot tears slide down my face. Diablo had been as precious to me as Reaper was. She had helped me escape more times than I could count in the few years I had had her. I clutch at his waist as I cry out my pain. I cry long and hard, mourning my beloved bike. When I have no tears to shed, I calm down enough to notice we're nowhere near the garage. "Johnny, where are we?" I ask over his shoulder and I notice the others aren't with us.

"I'm taking you to my place."

"Why?"

"You got shot, remember?"

Now I felt the pain in my arm. Oh. The adrenaline and fear running through my body had kept the pain at bay. Now it was coming back with a vengeance and it hurt like hell. And to top it off, it was my bad arm! "Just didn't pay attention to it." I admit.

I feel soft laughter. "I'm taking you to my place to take care of, as I know taking you to a hospital would only attract questions, as well as the cops, which would only lead to more trouble for you, which I know you don't want. And it'll let you collect yourself a bit before I take you to Toretto's garage. I know losing your bike hit you hard." He replied. "As for Lance and the rest, they're acting as a distraction. A bunch of bikes can keep them occupied better than your friend's Jetta can." By his teasing tone, I could tell he was trying to cheer me up a bit.

"Will your father mind you bringing a lady friend into the house?" I asked, curious.

"He actually knows about you since I lost the Honda. And he actually teased me for a bit about how I had lost my car to a girl. He wants to meet the one who managed to beat me. I also took the liberty of informing him of your situation since it just may happen that you might need a place to run to besides Toretto's place."

"Are you sure about telling him?"

"Pays to be prepared Kira." He replied. "Lance and I discussed it at length last night and we both agree: we'll give you all the help you can stand, even opening our place to you if you ever need it." He looked at me over his shoulder. "They know you're staying with Toretto's crew. It might be a good idea if you hid out with us for a few days, try to shake them from your tail. I'll leave that decision up to you though."

"What about hiding my truck?"

"We've got places where we can hide them from view. If you seem to disappear for a few days, they might think you actually left town and will follow suit. Since you'll still be here, they'll be chasing their tails. By the time they figure out you're still here, we should have figured out a way to get them off your back permanently."

"It's an idea, but I'd have to talk it over with Dom first, see what he thinks about it." I told him as he directed the bike up a driveway. The house wasn't actually in Beverly Hills, but it seemed close it was so nice looking. My jaw drops. "You guys actually live here?"

Soft laughter at my expression. "It isn't exactly 90210, but it works for us. Come on, let's get that arm taken care of and we can go meet with Toretto."

As soon as we rolled up in front of the garage, Dom emerged with the rest behind him. All of them looked worried.

"You alright Jess?" I ask and he nods.

"You just had us worried." He replies. Needing a hug, I go over to Vince and fall against him, nuzzling his shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked softly, seeming a little reluctant to wrap dirty arms around me but does it anyway.

"Lost Diablo." I sniff and listened as Johnny explained what had happened.

"Damn baby girl. I know you loved that bike." Vince murmurs in my hair.

"Since they saw her leave your place, they know where she lives. And since they had no qualms about blowing up her bike, they might even go so far as to target the house." Johnny commented softly. "To give us time to breath and come up with a plan to get them off her back permanently, I had an idea, but she wanted to run it by you first."

I look over at Dom, turning in Vince's arms. "The Tran's have opened their house to me. If it looks like I've disappeared, they might just leave."

Dom looked over at Johnny. "You are actually willing to hide her for a few days?"

Johnny nodded. "For as long as needed, she can hide with us."

Vince started to protest, obviously not liking this idea one bit, and I turned in his arms. "Coyote." He stops and looks down at me. "You want to protect me, right?"

"You know I do. I just don't like this decision."

"I'm not leaving town, Vince, I'm just going into hiding for a few days. Make them think I've left. The time they spend in chasing their tails will give us enough time to figure out how to get them off my back permanently. You know I want to stop running and I'm not. Making it look like I've left town will give us some time to breath and prepare. Between our crew and Johnny's, we should be able to come up with something."

"What about your truck and Reaper?" Leon asked.

"We can hide them as well."

"Actually," We look over at Dom and he looked up at me after a minute from where he had his head down thinking. "Would you mind if we took your truck out of town and traded it for another, or even repainted it? They know you have a red Silverado, they won't expect you to trade or repaint it, just to run like you've been doing."

"If it'll help, go for it." I reply. "Just make sure it's as good at the Silverado."

Dom grinned. "Like we'd do that to you. What are you going to do about racing?"

I look over at Johnny. "I'll run the Honda and hide Reaper. I don't think they know I have the Honda since I've kept her in the trailer except for the odd time or two I did take her out for a cruise."

Dom nodded. "Since they're off our backs for the moment, we'll switch out the Honda for Reaper, as we'll have to take the trailer with us for it to be believable. As for coming back into town, I've got a friend who'll take the trailer. If we only change the paint, we'll fix it up the truck a bit so it looks different body-wise."

"If you have to, go so far as it trade the trailer since they know what it looks like." I told him.

Dom looked up at Johnny. "You sure you and your cousin can keep her safe?"

"We did decently enough this morning." He replied miffed.

Dom looks around at the rest of the crew. "What do the rest of you say about this?"

"If it'll work, I say go for it." Leon replied.

"We just can't keep chasing them
off every time, Dom, you know that." Letty told him.

"If her staying with Tran and his crew will buy us enough time to find a way to get them to leave her alone permanently, I'm for it." Jesse replied. We all look at Vince, knowing he wouldn't like me being gone for so long. The only one he's looking at is me and I can see the hesitation and struggle in his eyes as he fights with himself.

"Coyote?" I ask softly. By the soft tone of my voice, he knows I mainly wanted his approval about the plan

Finally, he sighs and looks over at Dom. "As much as I don't like it, this may be the only chance we've got." He fixed a glare on Johnny. "Anything happens to her, I'm coming after you."

"Johnny and Lance managed to get them off my back once already, Vince." I pointed out.

"Even though we've had our problems in the past, I trust you to take care of her, Johnny." Dom told him.

"Between me and Lance, she'll be fine." Johnny assured him.

After giving Dom the keys to Reaper and the truck, and after promising Vince I'd call him every evening to let him know how I was, Johnny took me home to pack some clothes for my stay. I would put them in the Honda since I was bringing it with me. Two bags of clothes, my laptop, and my guitar went into the backseat. Before I slipped into the driver's seat, I look to where the smoldering wreckage of Diablo had been. The spot had been cleaned up, but I would know exactly where she had been for as long as I lived. I walk to the spot and kneel down, touching my lips and then placing my fingers to the pavement.

"Farewell girl. I loved you as much as I did Reaper. I don't think I'll ever be able to find a bike worthy enough to be called your successor." Letting a few tears drop, I head back to the Honda.

"You really liked that bike, didn't you?" He asks softly and I nod, slipping behind the wheel and cranking it up.

"Let's go before I end up crying my heart out again." I followed him though town. Finally deciding to tell him about Diablo, I tap the horn at him. He looks back at me and I crook a finger at him out the window. He pulls back until he's riding beside me. "I found the bike a few years ago, and liking the idea of a second set of wheels, I got it. It was worn down and in need of some serious work, but bit-by-bit, I worked on her, upgrading every part and fine-tuning her engine. She's helped me escape from so many tight spots, I can't even remember the exact count. Just like Reaper, time and time again, Diablo has proven her worth."

"Diablo and Reaper, where did those names come from?"

I shrug. "Reaper, because of the way she dominates her competition. She's never lost a race yet. Diablo, no idea. The name just came to me out of the blue one day when I had finished her."

"Does your truck have a name too?" He seemed amused.

I shook my head with a smile. "No, but she's been with me as long as Reaper has. I picked up truck and trailer not long after I had gotten Diablo, to carry both around with."

"How's the ride?"

"B-E-A- utiful." I grin back.

"Like it that much, huh?" He laughed.

"I can't deny she's a beautiful piece of work and she runs great. One can easily see how much care you put into building this ride."

"There's a couple hundred grand just under the hood alone." He smiled, evidently liked the praise about his ride.

"I can tell." I replied, revving the engine a little. "Listen to her growl!" I sighed. "Music to my ears."

"You've got an engine for a brain." He commented.

"And Nitrous Oxide in my blood." I grin happily.

"You really are a race junkie, aren't you?" He asks after a minute.

"I'm an adrenaline junkie and street racing is my thrill." I answer.

"An adrenaline junkie, huh? Keeping you entertained is going to be fun." He mused with a grin.