Even though it's completed, Need for Speed Most Wanted is STILL getting reviews and favs! I love you guys!
For those of you who are wondering...yes, I am working on a sequel for Need For Speed Most Wanted. It's slow, but I am working on it. Keep your fingers crossed that I can actually finished one of the versions I have.
As for this one... 11 Reviews, 32 Followers, 23 Favorites, and 3,058 Views.
EmeraldDagger - As for Kira getting a replacement for Diablo...you'll just have to see.
Princess Fairy Yuugi - Even though I like Vince, I like Johnny too. With me, if I give attention to one fav, I got to give attention to the other as well.
Chapter 8
Days fade into weeks and the goons had quickly left mere days after Dom and the crew had left town with my truck and Reaper in her trailer. I began to notice something was changing between Johnny and me. Ever since that one kiss on the beach that night, it had been changing. I was just now realizing what it was.
I was falling in love with Johnny Tran.
I didn't know if it was good or bad, but I knew one coyote in particular wouldn't be too pleased. I had avoided one problem only to find myself in another one.
I swear life hates me. Can't I just get one break? One itty-bitty break. Is that too much to ask for?
I was sitting on the rail of the back porch once again when light footsteps warned me of someone's approach.
"Something's bothering you, little sister, what is it?" Johnny's sister Michelle. She was the only one who called me that.
"I'm confused Michelle. I avoid one problem only to find myself in another." I told her.
"Tell me what's the matter." She prompted gently, leaning on the rail beside me.
"Since that time Johnny kissed me on the beach that night, something has been changing between us and I'm just now realizing what it is." She waited for me to continue. "I'm falling in love with Johnny and I don't know what to do about it."
It's silent for a few minutes. "You know, my brother's happier because of you." She commented. I look at her. "And you're not the only one fighting the attraction problem. He is too. He doesn't want to get seriously involved with you since you're involved with one of Dom's boys and he believes that makes you off limits. First of all, how does each one make you feel?"
I thought about that. Even though both made me feel safe and protected, it seemed more pronounced with Johnny. Both were good kissers, but there was something more with Johnny. Where Vince's kisses where rough and scratched, Johnny's were gentle, as if he was afraid to hurt me. "But Vince was my first." I pointed out.
"And because of that, you feel some semblance of loyalty." She remarked and I nodded. "Not to get personal, but how was it? Did he hurt you at all?" I went to open my mouth when she stopped me. "Being your first time, I know it hurt a little. But besides that."
I traced the grain of the wood in the rail with a finger. "He was a little rough but it was mainly my fault." I explained to her the events of that night. "I don't know what made me give the little tease show." I look over at her. "He did try to be gentle though."
"Did he get rough to the point it hurt? Not a good hurt, but a painful hurt."
"A little." I admitted. "For some time after that, he was a little worried that he had hurt me. I kept having to reassure him he hadn't."
"Have you been with him since?"
I nodded, playing with a lock of hair. "Once. He wasn't as rough as the first time, but he was still rough. I think he gets so caught up in the moment, he sort of loses control."
"And you haven't been with another guy to really know if it's what you like." She mused then looked at me. "Why not give Johnny a try? I know he's a gentle lover." I gave her a look and she smiled. "You forget, little sister, I have ears. His room is near mine."
"Why are you playing matchmaker Michelle?"
"I just want to see my brother happy. Our mother died a few years ago and being the oldest, he was closest to her. And because of that loss, he hasn't been the same. Sometimes, I worry about him. I'd feel better knowing he was happy. Being with you makes him happy."
"How does being with me make him happy?"
"He has told me that even though you are an adrenaline junkie with a passion for racing cars and a tendency to act childish, it's a combination he likes. You know when it's time for business and time for fun. He enjoys seeing you and Lance just messing around in the backyard. The time he spends with you, whether a walk along the beach, or just a cruise, he enjoys it. It doesn't matter if you talk the whole time or not, just being near you makes him happy. And I've seen it for myself when he's watching you play with Sarah. Seeing you happy makes him happy." She places a hand on my shoulder. "I'm not trying to push you into a relationship with him. I want you to make that choice only if you want to. Just don't push him away, give him a chance. I have a feeling that you pushing him away will only hurt the both of you in the end and I don't want either of you hurt." She left me with my thoughts then.
Days later, I woke to someone gently shaking me awake.
"Johnny? What's the matter?" I blinked sleepily up at Johnny. After considering Michelle's advice, I had talked it over with Johnny and he had made love to me, being far more gentler, as well as considerate, than Vince. I had gotten to sleep only hours ago, contently wrapped in his arms.
"We've got a problem, kitten, a big problem." He replied softly.
I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. "Can't it wait until the morning? You wore me out."
A soft chuckle that spoke of male pride, and I felt a kiss placed to my temple before I heard his voice in my ear. "They bombed Reaper."
That woke me up.
I jerked upright, completely mindless that the sheet wasn't covering my bare chest and the scars I was no longer self-conscious about. Johnny had made me completely forget about them. But that still didn't mean I was willing to show them to the world. "What?"
"Just got off the phone with Dom. They figured out they had been a decoy and took out both truck and trailer, with Reaper still inside, in retaliation. They're on their way back now, dead set on killing you, and he wants me to get you out of town."
Even though I was upset about losing Reaper, my beloved Eclipse, fury overrode it. I wasn't just upset, I was pissed. "First Diablo, now Reaper." I mused, my voice shaking. I felt something break inside me.
He rose and began to dress. "Come on kitten, get dressed so we can get out of here."
I shook my head but rose and dressed, a completely different idea in mind. Normally, I would be right on Johnny's heels as we ran to keep me safe, but with fury flooding my veins, I was no longer afraid. It was past time I stood and fought back. It needed to end. "I'm not running Johnny. Not anymore."
"They'll kill you!" He kept his voice low, to avoid being heard by Michelle in the next room.
I shook my head again. "I've got to end this. They took both rides from me. It's got to stop."
He strode across the room and grasped my biceps. He wasn't trying to hurt me, just trying to get his point across. "I'm not going to lose you!"
I smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. "You won't lose me. I'm going to do what I do best." I softly kissed his lips. "Race him for my freedom."
"You haven't got a car babe." He pointed out.
"I've got the cash to build one." I replied, already thinking of the best make and model to race with. Something fast, but something also agile since he was going to play dirty to either win, or kill me.
"What if you lose?" He seemed doubtful.
"I lose, and I'll do the run my brother botched. Either way, I'll get my freedom." I told him.
"What if he decides to kill you?" He asked softly, releasing my arms and lifting a hand to caress my cheek.
I shook my head. I hadn't thought that far. "I don't know. Just hope to hell he's open to negotiation."
He wrapped me in his arms and I buried my face in his bare chest, inhaling his scent. "I don't want to lose you." He said softly, kissing my head.
"I've been running long enough, Johnny, it's got to stop. I'll never be truly free if I'm looking over my shoulder every five minutes. I want to live without fear." I looked up at him, putting a hand to his cheek. "If I want to be free of him, I've got to stand and fight for it. It's past time I did so." I shook my head. "You've got friends and family here, Johnny, I'm not going to take them from you by running with you. Dom and the gang are as much family as you guys are. I'm going to fight to keep this family."
He looked down at me for a minute before he nodded, onyx eyes hardening with determination. "You want to fight? We'll fight. I'll help you any way I can."
"Just stand by my side and once we start this, do not let me back down."
He smiled down at me before placing a kiss to my lips. "You got it. What are you going to do about a car? Unless you're going to use the Honda. You still own the pink slip for it."
I shook my head. "I'm going to build one from scratch. Something fast and agile since I am dead positive he will attempt to cheat and I'm going to have to be agile to outmaneuver him when he tries anything."
"We can look online for imports." He suggested and I shook my head.
"Unless we can get them shipped overnight, it's no good. Imports are expensive as hell and they take weeks to ship. Then there's customs to go through and if it's over the legal limits, it's gonna get modified, which is something I don't want."
He laughed softly. "Looks like you already forgot who I am, kitten. I must have done my job a little too well if you forgot something like that." I shoved him away and went to sit on the bed. Still chuckling, he sat beside me. "We can get any import you want overnight as well as bypass customs. It'll arrive straight from the factory without being retuned."
"Can you really get it done?"
He nodded, brushing a lock of hair out of my eyes. "A little chat with my father in the morning and it'll be done."
"Do you think your father will mind?"
He smiled. "Not at all. He'll want to replace the ride you lost."
"What about Diablo?"
"Dom's working on that." He replied with a secretive smile. "Why don't you call him and give him the game plan while I get your laptop and we'll go over your choice in ride?" I nodded and reached for his phone while he went to my room and retrieved my laptop, booting it up while I informed Dom of the plan. "You're not upset over losing Reaper." Johnny commented once I had hung up with Dom.
"I am upset. Just pissed off at the same time." I answered as we began looking at various import cars, debating with each other over various makes and models we favored over the others. After an hour in the bedroom, we headed for the kitchen since I was hungry. "My choices are narrowed down to the Toyota Supra and Mazda RX- 7. Both are fast and agile and I like how both of them look."
"Why not use Dom's RX- 7?" He suggested and I shook my head.
"I want something to replace Reaper." I told him, dipping into my bowl of ice cream before turning the spoon upside down and putting it in my mouth.
"Don't worry about replacing your car." He replied. "Concentrate on beating the other guy. We'll work on Reaper's replacement afterwards." I got the feeling he was keeping a secret from me and there was no way I would get it out of him.
Some time later, Lance found us where we still sat at the kitchen bar putting the stats of my two choices through the digital tune-up program I had constructed. Using a digital copy, we could literally build any car we wished, inside and out. From performance parts to body kits to custom paint to decals. The choices were limited only to what was on the market at present. It helped save on cash if we could see how it would look before we started the work. Jesse had the original program, I had just copied it to my laptop and modified it. Once I had re-tuned the program, I had overwritten Jesse's, with his permission, of course. Dom had been thrilled with it and Jesse had been impressed.
"What are you two doing up?" Lance asked, curious, going to the fridge and fixing himself something to drink.
"Reaper went up in smoke a few hours ago." Johnny told him and explained.
"First one, now the other." Lance winced. "You don't seem all that worried about them coming back here pissed off all to hell."
"That's because I've decided it's high time I put an end to it." I replied, ice cream spoon still in my mouth even though the ice cream was already gone. "Bombing Reaper upset me, yes, but it also pissed me off."
"And how are you going to do that?"
I grin. "Do what I do best of course. Race him for my freedom."
"And if you lose?"
"Do the run my brother botched." I answered. "Either way, I earn my freedom."
"Plan on using the Honda?"
I shook my head. "Nah, we're going to get an import and build it from the ground up." I pointed to the screen with my spoon before putting it back in my mouth. "That's what this is."
Lance looked over my shoulder at the digital Supra I was building. "And what are you doing?"
"Since I'm stuck between a Toyota Supra and a Mazda RX- 7, I'm putting them both through my digital car builder program. Here, without the need for wasting cash, I can build a car as if we actually had it in the shop, body kit to performance parts. If it's on the market, it's accessible to the program. Even if a new item hits the market, I rigged the program to adjust for the new part so it's constantly updating." I explained. "It was originally Jesse's program, but I copied it to my laptop and then modified it before overwriting his. What we're doing here is fully modifying both cars and which one is better in performance, we'll pick up as well as get the parts used in the digital copy."
"In other words, it's a blueprint for a car." Lance summed up my explanation.
"Exactly." I nodded. "If I'm right about him playing dirty, I'll need something both quick and agile to be able to outmaneuver him with."
"If it's quick and agile you want, you want the RX- 7." He commented. "The word on the drifting scene in Japan is the RX- 7 is the best for agility and speed. One of the two top drivers owns one. The other has a Nissian 350Z."
Johnny looked up at him. "And how do you know this?"
Lance smirked. "I've got friends out that way." My spoon caught his attention. "What's with the spoon?"
"We were doing this in the bedroom, then I got hungry." I replied, getting rid of the Supra and continuing with the RX- 7 copy. If Lance was right, I wouldn't need the Supra copy.
Quick eyes darted between us and took in our state of dress. Johnny's unbuttoned pants and me in my sleep pants and Johnny's tank top. By the look in his eyes, I knew he was putting two and two together. He groaned. "Damn."
Johnny laughed. "Bet against Michelle again, didn't you?" Lance swore in Chinese, only making Johnny laugh more. "Yeah, you did. You never learn, do you? Never bet against my sister."
I looked between the cousins. "Did I miss something?"
Johnny smiled down at me. "Evidently Lance bet with Michelle on how fast we'd end up in bed together. She must have bet we'd do it after she talked to you and you had time to think. It's obvious Lance thought you'd stay faithful to Vince." He grinned at his cousin. "That was it, wasn't it?" Another swear in Chinese was a positive answer. "Yeah, it was. So how much did you lose this time?"
"Baby-sit Sarah while Michelle has a girl's day with her friends." Lance winced.
"Aw, Sarah's not that bad, Lance." I grin. "You're good with kids. You mess around with me, don't you?" At that Johnny laughs and Lance just gives me a look.
"You know your cousin is well-behaved." Johnny told him.
"Sarah wants to go to a water park." Lance sighed.
Johnny looked at me. "Wanna go?"
I nodded. "Sounds like fun." I grinned at Lance. "We can double date. You and Sarah and me and Johnny."
"You know what's going to be fun about the four of us going?" Lance grinned after a minute of Johnny snickering.
"What?"
"Everybody trying to figure out who she belongs to, me or Johnny." He replied.
"That's true! And with Sarah clinging to all three of us, they won't know what to think!" I erupted into a fit of giggles. "So when is this happening?" I ask once laughter had calmed down.
"Definitely before Sarah starts school." Johnny replied, still grinning at his cousin.
"So sometime this week then." I mused.
Keep the love coming you guys.