Chapter 2
“Dom? Hector’s been calling since 6:30 man. He’s got some kinda bug up his ass.” Vince called from under the hood of a Civic.
“Yeah?” Dom could have cared less.
He lumbered up to his best friend since the 3rd grade. He saw the look on Vin’s face and knew he looked terrible. He hadn’t slept for shit the night before. He’d gotten home at 11 pm and gone straight to Letti’s house where he was ignored. Being a naturally persistent man he’d banged on the door for a while, growing more agitated by the second. The trip from agitated to angry was short and he began yelling up at her window, but she didn’t come down. Instead her mother did, asking him to shut up and leave. He’d shuffled across the street with his tail between his legs, the sight of her adding yet another sin to his mounting pile of misdeeds.
Mia had been waiting for him when he got home. One look at her told him he wouldn’t be escaping to the sanctuary of his room before she took a parting shot or two of her own. With a resigned sigh he’d perched on the arm of the couch and looked for something to occupy himself with while she ranted, pacing back and forth in front of him loudly repeating a speech he’d memorized long ago. He focused his attention on the frayed hem of his shirt pulling free each individual thread until the monotony of Mia’s voice subsided. Mumbling the expected platitudes he’d stood, hugged her tightly and planted a kiss on the top of her head before retreating upstairs to his bed where he tossed and turned, his mind racing at speeds his cars could only dream of. It was different this time, he’d realized. Letti wasn’t going to forgive him so easily.
Shaking his head, he forced thoughts of Letti from his mind and asked, “The Jag here yet?”
“You see a Jag anywhere?” Leon snapped.
“Hey,” Dom pointed a finger in Leon’s face. “I don’t need your shit this morning. Tell me when it gets here,” he ordered, irritated with himself for being so irritable. Without another word he turned and stormed to his office slamming the door closed behind him.
It didn’t block out the conversation of his team. The office was a sound booth and every corner of the garage could be heard from inside its walls. He didn’t like what he heard.
Through the blinds, he saw Jesse rummaging through a toolbox and heard him whisper to Vince, “I guess she didn’t take him back then, huh?”
“What was your first clue Sherlock? Only time he’s ever in this bad a mood is when they’re fighting. Think it would be smart to stay outta his way ‘til they patch things up,” Vince warned.
It was good advise and Dom hoped they all took it but it pissed him off anyway. Deciding to get to work and put an end to their behind the back and below the belt conversation he shouted, “Jesse!”
“Oh shit,” Jesse mumbled before he abandoned his search and shambled to the office looking like a man walking the last mile to the gas chamber. “Yeah?”
“I want you to research something for me. The Jag that’s coming in today is a C-type replica. The front end’s trash. Overnight shipping if we have to. Start running some numbers for me figuring we are replacing the entire front end from the tires up.”
“A kit car? But I thought…”
“Get to work Jes. We don’t have a lotta time.” Can’t do this with you man. Don’t start whining, I got no patience right now. Do what you’re fucking told, but even as he thought it Jesse crossed to the computer outside his office.
~~~~~
Claudia sat at the kitchen counter staring into the granite surface as if it could tell her the secrets of the universe. Her coffee was cold and her cereal soggy. She took a bite.
“Yuck,” she muttered as she spit out the soggy corn flakes. Not really hungry anyway, she thought. She was tired. Very, very tired. After Dominic, the way too sexy for his own good mechanic, had left the house, she had been so wired that she never did fall asleep. It wasn’t really sexual thoughts about him that kept her up, although there were a few. Instead it was the occasional raised eyebrow, the slight scowl, the subtle little smiles in response to what she said that kept her up all night.
What did he hear in her words that made him react like that? She felt like a book written in a language he could read but she could not.
The phone rang but Claudia ignored it.
Margie walked into the kitchen. The woman had been her father’s personal assistant for years. She was like a wife but without any of the perks. Claudia felt sorry for her and knew the feeling was mutual. Her dad was not the easiest man to live with.
At the moment the woman was all business. “Ms. O’Riley, the truck is here,” Claudia followed Margie’s gaze out the window, watching the truck pull up the drive. Margie continued, “I do wish you would reconsider. Mr. Scott is by far and away the most qualified to do the repairs.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” She fought off the grin that threatened to spread across her face. Scott was the one that sold the ‘classic’ Jag to her dad. “Anyway, Mr. Scott would tell my dad. You promised you’d keep this to yourself Margie,” she reminded the older woman for the hundredth time. Noting her continued displeasure Claudia continued, “Dom…I mean Mr. Toretto is a good mechanic, you’ll see. The Jag will be fine.”
“I’m not worried about the car,” Margie grumbled as she went out to greet the truck she’d hired to transport the Jaguar to Long Beach.
~~~~~~
“Man, I didn’t hire her, she just showed up and told me she’s working here now. And she is man. She’s elbows deep in an Integra right now. I don’t know why she’s here but I thought I better tell you. Call me at the garage when you get this. Later.” Hector’s voice. All three messages on the machine were from him.
“Damn it,” Dom muttered under his breath. Letti had made threats before but never made good on them. That and he’d never thought Hector would hire her. Sounded like he didn’t but Dom knew it didn’t matter. Letti always got her way in the end. It wasn’t Hector’s fault. She’d done the same thing to him several years back. He owed the guy a phone call to let him know he wasn’t mad but that he would be if anything happened to her while she was there.
He was reaching for the phone when he heard the sound of a truck pulling up heralding the arrival of the Jag replica. He left his office to watch it be unloaded and to see the reactions of his team when they saw it.
Vince was the first to protest. “You think we can fix that in three weeks? Shit, brother. Ain’t no miracle workers here, man.”
“You got three weeks.” His words were quiet allowing body language to drive home the notion that further protest would not be tolerated. They all knew that what he promised he always delivered. If they had to work mountains of overtime to do it they would.
Nodding in response, Jesse started spouting stats. “Okay. Definitely fake. This looks like a 1951 Jaguar XKC 029 chasse. Engine is a…ah…recent Jaguar V6. Probably designed for the XJR. It has a supercharger and probably puts out something like 300-350 horses. Big engine in a small car. Fiberglass makes this thing very light. Some of this might be salvageable Dom, but it would be faster to just start over. Whatcha think?”
“I think you should do whatever will guarantee me a completion in three weeks.”
Dom turned around to see Claudia standing in the sunshine. Hints of copper and gold glinted in her hair which was once again pulled tightly back from her face. Another full body cover up too he noted with less disappointment than he expected. It was a welcome distraction trying to make out the shape of her legs through the copious fabric of her drawstring pants. A lightweight long sleeve shirt covered her torso. No makeup, dark sunglasses hiding her eyes. She was smiling and he decided that though she didn’t want to be, she was kind of pretty.
The anger that was plaguing him momentarily caged by his libido he gave her a sleepy eyed smile he’d been told countless times was quite sexy and purred, “Hey Claudia. Didn’t figure you’d come in.”
Her smile faded a little bit and she looked uncomfortable as she answered, “I thought you said there would be a lot of ordering to do. Cash upfront for the parts, isn’t that what we agreed? You need me for that do you not?”
Was it his imagination or did the smile have no effect at all? Did she miss the vibe? Apparently so. It was better that way anyway he reminded himself feeling the anger rattling the bars again. Letti was his girl; he needed to focus on Letti. Letti. Letti. Letti. He couldn’t let this new girl distract him from getting back his girl. He needed to pass Claudia off on someone.
He looked around first at Vince. The lascivious look in his eyes as they moved over her body about as transparent as a piece of glass. Leon wore a similar lustful grin. ‘X’ them both out of the picture. Jesse was focused on the car. Perfect. Let Jesse baby-sit her. He’d never have the guts to make a move. Turning away from all of them and fumbling for his cell phone he replied, “Yeah. Jesse? Take Claudia and get started, huh?”
“You got it, Dom,” Jesse sounded less than happy but he did as he was told.
“She’s a sweet lil’ piece a ass,” Vince whispered to Leon once Jesse and Claudia were out of earshot.
Dom heard him though and in a flash of possessiveness found himself inches from Vince’s face punctuating each snarled word with a callused finger to the chest. “You stay away from her.”
~~~~~
“Hello?” Letti pushed sweat dampened hair out of her eyes as she answered her cell phone. She regretted not checking the caller ID before she did so.
Dom’s voice, soft and low, “Can we talk?”
“No. I got nothing to say to you.” She started to hang up but for some reason hesitated, hoping he would try to stop her. He did.
“That’s okay, Letti. I’ll talk, you listen.” He paused for a minute and she heard a door close and the sound of a bus in the background. He’d gone outside so no one would hear him. “Look, I don’t know what you thought you saw...”
“What I thought I saw? I know I saw a girl’s car in your fucking driveway. You gonna tell me I didn’t?” Letti pressed, aware of the defensive strategy he was going to employ. They’d been through this before. She usually let him get away with it. It was easier to believe the lies than face the truth.
“C’mon Letti I…”
“Don’t start, Dom. No wait. Do start. Start explaining. Why don’t you tell me why the fuck you do this to me.” She half wanted him to lie and tell her it was all in her head like he always did. But the other half, the half that was tired of playing games, had to hear him say it. “You owe me at least that much.”
He paused and then said softly, “I don’t want to hurt you, Letti. I really don’t.”
Her minds eye pictured him leaning against the rusted hulk of a Pontiac Firebird that was out behind his garage and had been since they were children. It was where he went to think.
“That’s hard to believe. You do it so much.” She felt tears welling up in her eyes and fought them. She was not going to cry. Tough girls never cried. Tears started down her cheeks anyway and she scrambled out of Hector’s garage seeking a quiet place to be alone. At a minimum, tough girls never let anyone see them cry.
He didn’t respond right away and she imagined she could hear the wheels turning in his head. He was still avoiding the issue. Hiding behind platitudes. Anger surfaced through her tears and she wiped them away. He owed her the truth and she was going to collect it. “What was her name, Dom?”
The silence that followed her question was so long she thought maybe the call had been dropped. She was about to check when she heard him sigh, “I don’t know.”
Her mind was screaming. She’d expected an indignant denial, a blow up that would turn the tables. Nothing had prepared her for an admission. Without really meaning to she asked, “You fucked her and you can’t even remember her name?”
“I…” He began, his tone defensive but the word dragged out into silence. When he spoke again his voice had softened, been colored by defeat, “No. I can’t.”
In lucid moments when she was almost able to face the brutal fact that the man she loved was unfaithful she’d debated whether it would be worse if it was someone he cared about or someone he didn’t. Until now, she’d been certain that it would be worse if it was someone he had feelings for. But not now. Now the knowledge that he’d destroyed their relationship for someone who meant less than nothing to him tore at her heart.
“That is so low, Dom. So low. At least you could have the decency to remember the names of the scanks you fuck. I suppose you were too fucking drunk, right? Interesting that you always get drunk enough to forget their names but not so drunk you can’t get it up. How do you manage that?”
More silence broken by a low mumble, “Just talented I guess.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. He sighed again, “Honestly, Letti, I don’t know.”
“Maybe you need to figure that out.” Now the sobs followed the tears. They wracked through her with frightening force, nearly knocking her off her feet. Gone were the whispers of suspicion. She couldn’t hide behind the shield of his lies anymore. This one admission confirmed them all. Their names paraded through her mind, taunting her from their perches high atop stiletto heals. Oh God, it’s over, it’s really over. Choking, she whispered, “I gotta go.”
~~~~~
Jesse looked truly sorry. “All told you’re looking at about 10 grand just for parts. Could be more if you figure in shipping. Wish I had better news for you.”
“Fine. The money doesn’t matter. That’s why God made platinum credit cards paid by trust funds. How do we do this?” She noted the sharp turn of his head at her bitter words. Her joke sounded far more harsh and spoiled than she’d meant it to.
Jesse was dirt poor and what money he did have went into the Jetta he’d told her about. Dirty old tee shirt and jeans, cheap jewelry, black painted fingernails. He’d never even finished high school for heaven’s sake. What were you thinking saying something like that to someone like this? Attempting to make amends she offered, “Seriously, Jesse. You’re the expert. I put my faith and my bankbook in your hands.”
“Faith I can be trusted with. But you better keep your credit cards to yourself if you don’t wanna pay for an phantom fleet of race cars,” Jesse joked, once again at ease. “We can do this. Guess we better start with the folks in England. Why don’t I write down the specs and you call in the orders? That way you can pay for them without any weird questions.”
Claudia shot him a winning smile and clapped the skinny kid on the shoulder, “Sounds like a plan to me. Thanks for your help Jesse, you have no idea how grateful I am.”
Glowing from her praise he smiled back and said, “This’ll take a little while to research now that I know what I’m working with. I got most of it already but…give me an hour?”
“You got it.”
~~~~~
“Hey big guy. Why so glum?” Claudia was in a fabulous mood. She climbed onto the hood of the old Firebird and stared back into the garage where Vince and Leon were diligently dismantling her father’s car.
Dom was silent for a long moment staring at the cell phone dwarfed in his hands before he folded it closed and slid it into the pocket of his overalls. “Just thinking.”
“From the look of you, maybe you should stop. You might hurt yourself,” she teased, hoping for a laugh. She didn’t get one.
“Why? Big, dumb jocks never pump any mental iron?” He pushed off the car and scowled down at her.
“Nooo,” she said realizing her mistake and noticing for the first time exactly how big and intimidating he was. Posture spoke eloquently of anger but his dark brown eyes were liquid with hurt. Something had upset him deeply and her joke certainly hadn’t helped. She hopped off the hood and looked up at him explaining, “I meant that you already look miserable and thinking about it sometimes makes it worse. Some things take time, not effort. Thinking too hard only makes it hurt more.”
His expression didn’t change but his posture relaxed a little. “If you say so.”
Acting on impulse she offered, “Hey, Jesse said he needs an hour before we can get started. You want to grab lunch? We can bring something back for the guys?” What are you doing? Strictly business, Claudia, this has to remain strictly business.
His brow wrinkled and his eyes glazed for a second but he said, “Sure.”
“So what’s good around here?” Claudia asked as they made their way back into the garage. Somewhere fast, big guy. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.
“There’s a burger joint down the street. It’s fast,” Leon offered. He’d been eavesdropping and the look on his face wasn’t terribly kind.
Ignoring the look she glanced up at Dom to gauge his reaction and waited.
“Nah.” He shook his head. “You like Cuban?”
“Sure,” Claudia answered wondering at the discomfort that descended among the group as all eyes pinioned on Dom. He ignored them and the tension in the air grew. Confused at the negativity that swirled around her and hoping to escape it she asked, “Can we bring anything back for you guys?”
The offer hung in the air for a long moment and she thought they would refuse but Vince broke the silence and told her what he wanted. The other two followed suit. Jesse offered her a weak, apologetic smile as he turned to join the others at the car. She’d done something to offend them. But what?
“We ready?” she asked, giving up trying to figure out what had made everyone so angry all of a sudden. She slipped her little notepad into her backpack. Lets get this over with.
“Yeah. I drive.” With that Dominic strode to the passenger side of a red sports car and opened the door.
Sliding in to the leather seat she looked at the console in awe. What in the world happened here? Buttons she’d never seen before on any car bore the label NOS. What was that? The stereo system was obviously designed to cause premature deafness and there was a…laptop fixed into the dash? The outside was gaudy as hell and the inside was confusing as hell. Much like its owner she concluded.
“What’s N-O-S?” she asked as he climbed in beside her.
“NOS. Nitrous oxide systems.”
Laughing gas isn’t it? What’s that have to do with cars? She racked her brain for a second and came up empty, “Okay… and you need that because…”
“You want the whole story or just the Cliff notes?” He smiled at her, a big wolfish grin, the first she’d ever seen on his face.
“Cliff notes please.” She returned his smile.
“It’s automotive adrenaline. Adds instant horse power at the touch of a button.”
Oh, well that makes perfect sense. Boys and their toys. Returning his smile she laughed, “I see.”
His smile turned thoughtful as he turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. “I doubt it. But maybe I could show you sometime.”
~~~~~
“Hey, Sarah. How’s life treating you?” Mia acknowledged her friend and employee as she walked into the little store her brother owned and she operated.
Putting her purse behind the counter and straightening her blonde hair Sarah mumbled, “Not bad I guess.”
“Uh huh.” Mia could feel the story coming on. What had boyfriend done now?
“Me and Cory had another fight last night. Same old shit too. I have come to the conclusion that all men are dogs.” Sarah flicked her eyes at Mia and amended, “Well, maybe not your brother. But all the rest of ‘em are.”
If you only knew, Mia thought. Dom’s not just the king of the racers. He is alpha dog in the cheating pack of mutts too. It was tempting to vent her frustrations about him to Sarah, but before she could start a flash of red and the roar of a familiar engine screamed through her senses. Dom’s RX-7 raced around the corner and over the hill toward their house. He was not alone and the person with him was female and not Letti.
Bedding another bimbo, bro? But the RX-7 sped past the house. Where’s he going?
“So how is your brother anyway?”
“Huh?” Mia was slow respond, distracted by what she had seen. “Oh, he’s fine. You know, same old same old. Cars, cars and more cars.”
Sarah shifted her weight several times and fire burned on her cheeks. “Oh. Cause I heard Letti dumped him. After being together for so long I figured he’d be pretty upset.”
A nervous ball formed in the pit of Mia’s stomach and she struggled to strip the shocked look from her face. Trying to sound nonchalant and failing Mia asked, “You did? Where’d you hear that?”
Sarah’s discomfort grew and her weight shifting was so rapid it was beginning to look like a potty dance. “My brother works for Hector. Letti told him.”
Oh my God. Letti told him? Mia collected her homework and packed it into her bag. “I gotta go.”
~~~~~
“So…what is this?” Claudia poked a fork at the fish on her plate. Dom had ordered for both of them refusing to tell her what she was getting.
“It’s pescados asado a la parilla.”
“That was tremendously helpful. Thank you,” Claudia deadpanned thinking, do I look like I speak Spanish?
“Other wise known as grilled marinated swordfish,” he continued with a smirk before taking a big bite of his own meal.
Claudia looked into the huge bowl in front of him filled with a variety of meats and seafood over rice. She looked at her own plate then back at his again. “Okay. I like swordfish. What’s that?”
“Paella valenciana. It’s what I always get here.” He shoveled another spoonful into his mouth.
Claudia took a ginger bite of her fish and decided she liked it.
The meal went fast then, not more than five sentences interrupting their eating. Dom finished first. He sat back in his chair hands clasped over his stomach, a content look on his face. “So what’d yah think? Like Cuban food?”
Chewing as fast as possible while trying not to look like that was what she was doing Claudia raised a hand to her lips and swallowed hard. “Quite good. I’ve never had anything Cuban before. My dad likes the cigars. Loves them really. He has them flown in every so often.” You are rambling. Shut up. “I think they smell terrible but what do I know?”
He had that strange unreadable look on his face again. The one that made her think he could see through her. But all he said was, “The best cigars in the world come from Cuba.”
“So I’ve been told. Always have to have the best you know. Nothing else will do for Rodger F. Hastings.” She sounded bitter even in her own ears. She could feel the contraction of the resentful furrows that were going to take up permanent residence on her forehead if she wasn’t careful.
Dom leaned forward, resting his chin on his fists. “Thought your last name was O’Riley.”
“Oh.” That was real bright, you dope. She let her gaze drift around the room for a moment feeling his eyes on her. Harsh words formed in her head. I will not do this with you, Dominic. My life is none of your business. You just fix the damn car. What she said was, “It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“No you don’t. You have three weeks to work a miracle.” She watched him lean back again, his face drifting back into unreadable. She decided she didn’t like that expression at all. She thought for a moment about her tone. He wasn’t her servant. He wasn’t even an employee. She had yet to define his role but until she figured it out she needed to be a little nicer.
“I’m sorry. Perhaps I’ll explain it to you some other time. I’d rather not right now. You understand, don’t you?”
“Whatever.”
You alienated him, happy now? Half of her was. The other half said, “I kept my mother’s name. She died when I was a little girl. This is how I choose to honor her.”
It was obvious from his expression that he knew there was much more to it than that but he didn’t press. He nodded and then changed the subject. “Got a lot of work to do. We need to get back.”
For some reason she couldn’t let it go. As he stood she struggled out of the narrow booth and groped for words, “Dom, I…”
His hand clasped her shoulder and her discomfort fled from his touch. His eyes smiled down on her as he rumbled, “Just let it go, Claudia. It’s okay.”
And somehow, it was.
~~~~~
Mia walked into the garage and looked around. Vince, Leon and Jesse were tearing apart what looked like some kind of classic car. How did that get here?
No sign of her brother. She hadn’t really expected to find him there when his car wasn’t. A black Mercedes was parked out front though. It was almost as out of place as the car the guys were working on. “Seen Dom?”
“Hey, Mia. Yeah, he went to get some grub.” Vince climbed to his feet and cleaned off his hands with a rag. Running a hand through his hair he offered her a hopeful grin.
“Whose Mercedes?”
“Some lil’ rich girl’s. Forgot her name,” Vince answered as he moved closer. “Sweet ride, huh?”
“Yeah.” She had to admit it was a very nice car. But it belonged to a girl, maybe the girl in Dom’s car earlier? Mia pointed to the classic wreck Leon and Jesse were still pulling apart. “Is that hers too?”
“Yup. Both of ‘em are.” Vince was too close. The pungent stench of his sweat wafted to her nostrils nearly making her gag.
“I see,” Mia mumbled as she put a little distance between them. The girl probably saw Dom somewhere, asked around and found a way to get close to him. Mia turned to leave, not willing to wait with Vince all over her the way he was lately. “Tell him I need to talk to him. Tell him it’s important, okay?”
~~~~~
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