"Leticia, let's go! Everyone else is already on their way to the desert."
"Keep your panties on, Dominic! I had to grab a few extra things," she returned, shuffling out of the house with a small tote.
"What else could you possibly need that's not packed into the airbus?"
"If I'm gonna be in the desert for three days, stuck with three pregnant women while you and the boys jizz yourself over the cars, I'm bringing plenty entertainment."
"Fair enough," he smirked and slid in his Charger.
While on the road, Dom watched as she kicked off her flops and tossed her feet up on the dash. As he oogled over her toned legs, a sense of déjà vu rushed over him. Just six months ago it was Billie, his friend-turned-traitor, who rode shotgun with him with her legs in full view, only he'd wished it was Letty.
And now it was. She was here in the flesh, staring back at him with intrigue.
"What's on your mind, Papa?"
He smiled, "Still feels surreal that you're here, and we're heading back to RaceWars. Never thought this day would come."
"I guess dreams do come true," she smiled and leaned in to kiss him, "Now, please show me what weeks of racing rehab has taught you."
Dom grinned and turned back to the red light, grabbing the gear-shift in anticipation. When the light turned green, he shifted and punched the gas, propelling the monstrous car down the road. He cut a hard left and took the car off-road, kicking up dust clouds as they headed into the desert for the event.
"Shut up Brian! I know what I'm doing!
"You shut up, Rome! You don't know shit! Even in video games you fight like shit."
"Both of you shut up!" Brooke said to the adult men who had been shouting back and forth for over an hour about a video game. "Mia, how do you deal with these two?"
"I don't," she smirked as she watched Kelly emerge from her bunk on the bus.
She didn't speak, only went to the television and flicked it off. She grabbed both Brian and Rome by the ears amidst their protests.
"You two brats kept me up all night with this damn PS-box crap-"
"It's an XBOX, Mom," Brian corrected, receiving a smack.
"I don't care. Go outside and play with other adults!" she pushed them toward the door, leaving Mia and Brooke laughing hysterically. "It's not funny, Mia. It's your fault for buying that ridiculous thing. It's like raising teenagers all over again."
"Oh come on, Mom. The guys needed a way to contain that energy since they don't race. I'd rather listen to some bickering than go pick up either from a precinct."
"Jack acts more mature than those two. Speaking of Jack, where is my grandson?"
"Oz took the kids to look at the cars, thankfully. He's been a little devil the past few weeks," Mia said, "I don't think he's as excited about his new sibling as Jessie is about hers."
Kelly plopped down next to Mia, "He'll adjust. Maybe if you didn't work so much..."
"We already talked about this, Kelly. I'm only in my first trimester - I have plenty of time before I take my medical leave."
"I know, but you really should be resting more. All that work and little sleep isn't just affecting you, y'know."
"I'm fine. Besides, you only did this once. This is my second time around, and this one isn't nearly as tough. Not yet anyway."
"You're having a girl - give it time," Kara said. "I thought I dodged a bullet when the doc said it was a boy, only to find out it's two heathens in there."
"Don't say that. Our little Delilah is gonna be an angel," Kelly cooed to Mia's belly bump.
"Kara, have you and Leon settled on names?" Brooke asked.
"Not yet. He wants one named after him, but I thought about letting Jessie name her other brother. Still waiting on her answer."
"That's sweet," Mia said, "You better agree on something quick, though. You don't have much time left," Kelly reminded.
"One trimester left," Kara said gratefully. "Can't wait to one day stand up and be able to see my feet."
"I pray I never have twins," Brooke said, staring at Kara's massive baby bump. "What time do the races start? I don't wanna miss Letty."
"Let's be honest, nothing is starting until Dom steps off that airbus," Mia replied.
"You know I'm first up to race right?" Letty asked in a breathy voice.
"That means they can't start without you," Dom said with a smirk, placing kisses along her collarbone.
"Papa, we didn't come here to stay cooped up in this hot airbus," she said, half-heartedly pushing him away.
"You mean you're not enjoying yourself?" he asked, looking up at her behind hooded eyes as his kisses led him further south. "All you have to say is stop..."
Once his mouth made contact with her skin, all concerns outside of this bedroom went out the window. He kissed and licked away every thought in her mind, and she suddenly couldn't care less about a race. That is, until they heard banging on the side of their trailer.
"Come on you two! We got work to do!"
"Go away!" Letty hollered back, cradling Dom's head in her hands, preventing him from stopping.
"Come out or I'm coming in! I'll have Ozzie rip this door right off the hinges!"
Dom ignored the protests from outside and continued on his mission to bring her over the edge. He yanked her to the edge of the bed and quickly shoved down his pants, positioning himself to enter her. Letty grinned up at him while keeping an eye on the door.
"We don't have much time," she whispered.
"This won't take long," he said with a grin.
Surely enough, roughly three minutes later Dominic was staggering to the door while pulling up his pants. He opened it to find Leon and Oz standing impatiently.
"Clean yourselves up please," Leon said with disgust, "Letty's up in ten and I need you to come out and mingle. Those sponsors want to make sure their investment was worth it."
Letty came to the door a few seconds later, pulling her messy hair back.
"Like damn teenagers," Oz said with a grin.
"Jealous?" Letty teased, leaning on her toes to kiss Dom's cheek before stepping off the bus.
"A little," Oz grinned, following behind her.
"Five minutes Dominic," Leon warned.
After cleaning up, Dom finally made his way off the bus and into the frenzy that was RaceWars. Thanks to Leon and Hector, the event was bigger and better than ever; with double the cars, double the women, and all of his family, more of whom he spotted talking with Brian and Rome.
"Is that who I think it is?" he said. "What hole did you dig these two guys out of?"
"Dominic, you handsome bastard!"Tego Leo said with his thick accent. "Give me some love, papi!"
The two men embraced before he turned his attention to Rico Santos.
"Hola hermano. It's so good to see you!" Rico said with a bright smile.
"Where the hell have you guys been?" Brian asked.
"All over, my man. We've been traveling the globe. We heard y'all would be out here and we had to come see our familia," Tego responded.
A loud alarm rang out over the desert: "A fan favorite from previous events: Letty Ortiz from Team Toretto up next versus Miko Katana from Team Takai. To the line, racers..."
"Wait, Letty? You find your girl?" Rico asked, his eyes wide and excited.
Dom pointed to her Camaro creeping up to the line, "The one and only. See ya around, boys."
Letty's heart raced in her chest as she pulled up to the starting line, but it wasn't from nervousness. She wasn't nervous at all. Riding a high from the intense orgasm she had experienced only minutes ago, the adrenaline starting to course through her only made her more antsy. She was more than ready for her debut.
Dom appeared at her window, "You ready for this?"
"Born ready Papa."
"Have you decided where you want to go for our celebratory vacation?"
"I have a few places in mind."
"Good, 'cause after my race on Sunday, we're on the first flight out."
Dom leaned in for a kiss, and Letty obliged. She could still taste herself on his lips, and wasn't afraid to admit that it turned her on.
"Kick ass, babe."
Letty looked back at her diverse family, all of them watching and cheering her on. To see Mia, Brooke, and Kara, all very pregnant, braving the desert heat to support her made her heart swell. Two and a half years ago, Letty struggled to get off that dark road that Owen took her down, which resulted in her leaving behind a family to find herself. Only now had she realized that they were one in the same. She was this enormous, dysfunctional family, and they were every bit of her. They loved without judgment, and they protected each other fearlessly.
Letty couldn't think of any place where she belonged more. Ring or not, she was a Toretto. They all were. It was more than a name in LA, it was a way of life. The label came with a responsibility of endless love and loyalty that was eagerly reciprocated, and a forever home.
Hector and Leon came to the center of the road, both with mics in hand, "We just want to say thank you to everyone who came out for the weekend to watch some badass racing. We have a lot to cover so let's get to it! Racers be safe! Give it up for them!"
When the crowd erupted into applause and cheer, Letty was focused once again. She glanced over at her competition, a slick-haired Korean in an Audi. Nice car, but she was confident she could win. She never doubted herself before a race, and she wouldn't start now.
Her eyes were glued to the officiator and her fingers clenched tightly around the wheel. The instance his hands dropped Letty was off, sending her Camaro zipping off the line ahead of her opponent.
"Damn it's good to see her out there," Roman said to Tej, "Something about a fine little thing like Letty whipping a powerful yet dangerous ride like that just..."
"Hold that thought," Tej waved over Dom with a grin. "Dom I want you to hear this very interesting story Roman's telling us. Continue Rome."
The others surrounding busted out in laughter, and even Dom was amused at the baffled look on Roman's face.
"I-I was just..." he stuttered.
"Save it, Ro. Watch the race," Dom said and turned back to the race. He watched her fly off the line and down the strip in seconds. She hit all of her shifts with precision and was patient with the NOS like he taught her. The Audi closed in at the finish, but Letty was able to boost her ride over the line first with the help of her NOS, securing the team's first win of the weekend.
The family erupted again in cheers and rushed to the road as the Camaro headed back, but not Dom. He stayed back, watching her with a proud smile. He wanted her to have her moment, but it took a lot for him not to bum-rush her and hoist her into the air.
Letty smiled while embracing her friends, letting out a happy shriek when Hector scooped her up from behind. She gave him a playful smack when her feet were back on the ground, and looker anxiously through the crowd for her man. She spotted him sitting near their buses, chatting up Oz. He put his hand up to excuse himself and caught Letty with eased as she leaped into his arms.
"Did I kick ass or what?"
"Didn't doubt you for a second," he murmured into her ear while lowering her down. "How ya feeling?"
Needless to say she was pumped up and eager to line up again, "Tell me I get another race this weekend?"
"We gotta make sure these other knuckleheads get a shot, but I'm pretty good friends with the host, so I might be able to swing that."
Letty looked over at the Challenger parked near Brian's GTR, "Against you?"
"Only if you're sure you can slay that Goliath this time. I'm not gonna keep taking it easy on you," he grinned, nodding over to his car. After using it to beat her in London, he's since made a few provisions to it and decided that her California debut could only come on the biggest stage of them all - RaceWars. He only needed a worthy opponent, and he could always count on Letty to be that.
"I've slayed Goliath many times already," Letty replied, a sultry smirk on her face.
Dom caught the double-entendre, "Then it should be a piece of cake. We could always go back in the trailer and I can give you some tips?"
"Ew. whatever I just walked up on, cut it out," Brooke said, "Dom, I need a favor."
"Oh boy," he muttered, taking his seat again next to Oz and pulling Letty down with him, "What is it?"
"I want you to teach me to race. I'd ask Letty, but we tried that and she's a terrible instructor," she said. "You know, after I pop this kid out, of course."
Dom and Letty shared smiles, while Oz cleared his throat, "You think that's a good idea?"
"Why not? Look at all these women out here, kicking most of these guys' asses, might I add. It looks fun," she pouted.
"I think you and your old man need to discuss that on your own time," Dom said.
"Last I checked, you guys blew up the only father I had, so no, I don't think we do. C'mon Dominic, you taught Letty."
"I didn't teach her anything she didn't already know. She was a natural. You, on the other hand, are not."
Brooke crossed her arms and glared at him, "What does that mean?"
"It means you're a shitty driver, and you know it's true," Letty said, "When you learn the basics like how to parallel park or use your blinkers, then we'll talk."
"You got the speeding part down, though," Dom added to the ribbing.
"Hey now," Oz finally stood up, wrapping his arms around her protruding belly. "Leave my girl alone. She gets around just fine. And I'll teach you to race. Can't be that hard."
"On second thought, maybe I better teach you. Oz tried driving Neil's Honda once..." was all Dom said before Oz flipped him the finger. "When the kid pops out, find me. We'll put your ass out there and make some money off you."
"I've heard that line before," Brian approached with a Corona in hand, "Don't do it, Brooke. You'll be stuck with these assholes forever."
"And where else would you be? Fighting crime in the name of justice?" Letty joked, "Please. You love your life of mischief with us."
"Can't say it hasn't had it's perks. Sonny's lining up next."
"Alright," Dom stood, "Gotta go pep-talk to the kid."
"Great, you can come wait at the burrito truck with me," Brooke said to Letty, dragging her off before she could protest.
That left Brian and Oz retreating back to the chairs located beneath the tent. The desert was scorching, but that didn't stop the action, luckily for those who hadn't disappeared into the air-conditioned buses.
"You ever been to one of these before?" Oz asked Brian.
"Yeah, my first and last time. The night all that shit went down."
"Was it like this?"
Brian took in the hundreds of people that were shuffling around the racing grounds, "Not nearly as big, and not as many people. Leon and Hector did a hell of a job bringing it back."
"Yeah, it's crazier than I imagined. I'm fighting off clingers left and right," he grinned a bright smile.
"Uh oh," Brian laughed, "Don't do it, bro. Nothing but trouble and mayhem walking around in those short skirts. Not worth what you got."
"Oh, I know that. Girls like that don't really do it for me. I watch the way they bounce from racer to racer, hoping for one to bite. The same way these idiots are putting up all their money, trying to show off for them."
"You're not really into this scene, huh?"
He shook his head, "Nah. I'm more of a low-key kinda guy. I'd rather be on a farm staring at nothing but grass than to be in this."
Brian wasn't totally surprised, "Then why are you? Why Cali?"
Oz shrugged, "While I did my first bid in Georgia, my celly all the time talked about coming out here and starting a business. Going legit. Some bullshit about a construction job his brother had lined up for him, and he could get me on. I got out a few weeks later, took the last cash I had and got a one-way ticket out here, only to find out there was no construction job. Hell, I'm not even sure there was really a brother."
"Shit man," Brian said.
"The guy he took his gun charge for had a few small jobs for him, with decent payouts. I was already here with no money, no where to live, and no family. So, like an idiot, I took the job playing the muscle. Got hemmed up and decided I didn't want a third charge on my record, so I looked for other work. Dominic was the only person to even give a shit about helping me. He understood what it was like to be a felon trying to get people to believe in you. Let me sleep on the pullout at the house for weeks until I saved enough to get my apartment."
"So why not leave?"
"Why would I? This family is the closest thing I had to a home since I was a kid. I couldn't ditch him after what he did. And at the time, it really seemed like he needed company, even if he wouldn't say it. Then Brooke showed up. Gave me another reason to want to stay."
"You know, that farm wouldn't be a bad idea now that you got your own little family on the way."
"I don't know if Brooke would leave this place. She's so attached to Letty, and the city really. And honestly, I don't care where we live. Trying to focus more on not fucking this whole thing up. The idea of this kid scares the shit out of me."
"All that 'happy daddy' stuff was for show?"
"No, that was for Brooke. She's scared shitless, so I'm trying to keep it together for her. I mean, I'm thrilled to be having my own little snot running around, but the thought of turning into anything like my father makes my skin crawl."
"I had those same worries, man. Wondering if the thought of this little person depending on me, and my wife depending on me, would make me tuck my tail and run like he did. Mia was my rock during that time, when it should've been the other way around. She was all the time reassuring me that it would be fine. And I wasn't convinced, until I held my boy for the first time. The way his little hand gripped my finger so tight. How could any man walk away from that? You might not get it now, but when you hold your child for the first time, the choice to stay will be made for you."
Oz nodded and took Brian's words into consideration.
"And you got a good one with Brooke. She's tough, and fearless. I mean, Carter Verone was her fucking father. Lean on her, but support her too. You'll be alright."
"What's up with you man?" Tej asked to Roman as they strolled the race grounds that night, bouncing from different food stands and trucks.
"What?"
"You walking around with that thing, acting like a complete mope, ignoring all this potential out here."
Rome looked down at the customized cane at his side. The accessory was his for the foreseeable future while he continued to deal with the aftermath of his encounter with Carter Verone, so he accepted it the only way Roman Pearce could: by decking it out with diamonds and gold.
"The girl's ain't exactly flocking over, are they?"
"Because you walkin' around like someone kicked your dog. Brian thinks your depressed."
"Y'all pillow talk about me?" Rome scowled, "I'm good, bruh. I'm just focused on making sure we get this garage up and running, and I keep going to my therapy."
"Okay, but this isn't work. The next few days are about fine ass women, bad ass cars, and these bomb ass chicken sliders," he said, taking a huge bite of mini-sandwich.
Tej rolled his eyes at Roman as they stopped near a crowd of women dancing provocatively. The women waved them over, but Roman ignored their invitation and kept moving.
"See, that's what I'm talking about. The old Roman would've jumped all over that."
"I'm not the old Roman, Tej," he barked at him. "What part of that ain't you getting, bruh?"
"Well, when you're done feeling sorry for yourself, come find me."
Rome watched as Tej headed back to buses, where his girlfriend Rosa greeted him.
"Not a very supportive friend," said a soft-spoken voice from behind him. He barely heard the woman's voice over the loud rap music. He turned to see a brown-skinned woman clutching her handbag and a colorful drink. She had a mesmerizing smile.
"You eavesdropping on me?"
"Maybe," she handed over a black wallet, "I've been behind you since your stop at the burger truck. You left it sitting there."
"Thanks a lot," he took his wallet back.
"So, are you depressed, Roman?" she asked, walking alongside him.
"Do I seem depressed?"
"No, but you don't seem happy, either. You have a lot of negative energy coming off your shoulders. Does it have to do with your cane?"
"Well I've had a rough couple months. What, are you a psychic or something?"
"No," she laughed, "I'm a journalist. Here to cover the weekend festivities. But on my downtime, I enjoy yoga and meditation. I can usually tell a lot about a person depending on the energy they give off. And you seem like your confidence is shaken."
"A bit. Lost my father a few months ago, and my girlfriend, partly my fault."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my mother earlier this year. I don't think I'll ever get over that pain. You're grieving, so it explains your disposition. How do you deal with your grief?"
"Work and more work. Keeping my mind off of it helps. You?"
"Same, though I'm not sure work is enough for me anymore."
"Like no matter how many hours you put in, it doesn't fill that void. No matter how many hours I spend under a hood, I still go home at night and think about them."
"It's gonna take time. Distractions help."
Roman finally broke a smile and reached out his hand, "I'm Roman Pearce."
"Elise Gordon," she replied, shaking his hand.