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Fast cars are my only viceMichael BayZThere it was; sitting innocently across the street. The sunlight poured over the curve of its fenders and illuminated its chrome accents. Its shiny, cherry red paint gleamed and shone to the point where it reflected every passing car and person on the skinny street.The metal table felt uncomfortably hot on my elbow as I leaned forward with my chin cupped in my hand to get a better look. The Honda NSX sat waiting across the street. All I had to do was slip to the other side of the street, pretend to look for something in my oversized purse and block the sight of my hand working the door lock with a pick. From there, all I had to do was slip in like I owned it and get it started."Ellie. Ellie! Chica, are you even listening to me?" Immediately my daydream was shattered by my friend Carmen's winy Spanish. I looked away from the car for a split second to see her staring at me waiting for a response.Carmen was a sweet girl, but she drove me crazy. She was one of those loud, blunt people that was impossible to silence. Her presence was usually announced by her many bracelets jangling on her wrists or some wildly ornate earrings with pieces that clinked together when she tossed her curls."What?" I stuttered in recovery. I glanced back across the street to see the town's doctor with his wife returning from Sunday lunch and getting in the car for the trip home. I sighed deeply and Carmen started looking around for whatever had my attention.She raised her hands in question at me with her eyebrows raised and her forehead scrunched. I just shrugged in response. She rolled her eyes and a snatched her drink off the table with her bracelets rattling loud enough for someone at the next table to glare."I was talking about my date with Enrique. Remember? You introduced us?" She saw my eyes follow the Honda as it pulled away from the curve and she huffed in annoyance. "Why can't you be a girl for once?" She said loudly as she chewed on her straw. I felt my face flush bright red in annoyance."I am perfectly fine just the way I am." I replied in an indignant, snippy tone."Whatever, let's just get the check and go."Z"Goodbye, Carmen." I said with a wave and forced smile. "And good riddance." I muttered as she turned to walk back into her grocery store. I sighed and leaned against the brick storefront. I paused with pride swelling in my heart to take in the sight of our garage.It wasn't much, just a hollow brick building on the corner with dirty windows set high on the wall and a few garage doors under the sign proclaiming it as an auto shop. Every one of them was rolled open to allow a breeze to flow through the open space.I could see my black Camaro parked beside Han's Maverick out the back. The floor of the garage was packed with race rats' rides waiting to be tuned. When we handed them back to the owners they would be fast enough to be competitive with the best, if they were raced, but the majority of people who didn't install their own parts just sat on the sidelines. It made me a little sad to see all of our hard work not in action.I decided I had wasted enough time and slowly began meandering across the street. When I got across, I happened to glance up and see a Chevy Opel parked on the side of our building. It was a cute one too, without the out dated looking body style I hated. Without thinking I changed course. I ran my finger down the side of the door on the smooth, shiny paint.Daydreams of stealing it crossed my brain. I was tempted to take it. It was a passing whim that constantly got me in trouble when I was younger. I had obviously inherited my boost father's poor impulse control.When I realized what I was thinking, I jerked my hand off the car like it burned me. I quickly shook my head to get rid of the thoughts and turned back towards the garage. My heels clicked in a hurried rhythm as I briskly walked through the open door. The first thing I saw was a pair of booted feet sticking out from under one of the race rats' cars. I carelessly tossed my purse on a work bench and walked over.I nudged the leg with my foot and Han rolled out. His tan skin was covered in grease from his work. I sat on his firm, toned stomach and his hand moved to caress my thigh."I take it lunch didn't go so well." He teased with a smile when he saw the frown plastered on my face.Han and I left Tokyo together three years ago after our relationship with Kamata imploded. He had some severe injuries from the wreck that was supposed to do him in, but after time and a lot work he was now back to the way he was before. Occasionally he would favor his bad leg, but his limp was pretty much gone.I had been lucky. I had taken my dad's job been running drugs for Kamata after he died. He had been a big shot street racer, boost and drug runner for years before he retired. I had also been flirting with Han enough for us to be considered an item when Kamata caught the mistakes on the books. Since I had been reluctant to take my dad's job driving for him, he immediately assumed that I was either in it to get back at him, or was covering for Han because we were together, he had me beaten. I would have been dead had not decided to let his nephew handle me after he handled Han. I managed to slip away before he got to me.We had been living in a sleepy little Columbian town ever since. We chose to stay out of most of the illegal things we were involved in and stick with the occasional street race. The scene here was decent, but we were good enough to not have much competition. After beating everyone that challenged us, we had a lot of people trying to get the engines we had and business was has been booming ever since."It was fine. She kept asking when we were going to have kids." I rolled my eyes. Han snorted. The only noise in the shop for a minute was the sound of the fan blades cutting the air from the rotating fan placed across the room. "Do you ever regret coming here?" I asked."Make your choices and don't look back, remember?" He answered in typical cryptic fashion."I know, but it's so quiet here. We've laid low for a long time. Do you ever wish you could go back to the way things were in Tokyo?" His forehead scrunched at my random questions."Where did this come from?" He asked. I sighed and put my hand beside his head so I could prop up on my arm and see his expressions better. I was close enough to him now that my overly long hair was almost brushing his shoulder and I could smell his cologne mixed with sweat. I loved that smell."I love this place, it's beautiful, but I just miss-""Being able to just race in the mountains?" Han filled in. His expression was completely unreadable."Did you just finish my sentence?" I asked incredulously."Was I right?" He shot back with a grin."I was actually going to say borrowing a car for the afternoon without someone noticing." Han started laughing when he saw my mischievous expression. The movement in his stomach knocked me a little off balance."You would miss boosting cars." He propped himself up on his elbow."I'm a Gonzalez; it's in my DNA." I quipped"I need a break, too," Han answered honestly."Let's go somewhere; take a job, steal some cars, make some money." I suggested as I gave him a cheeky smirk. Han grinned in response. Han twirled the ends of my hair around his long fingers as he thought it over. I knew he agreed it with me; it was written all over his face."Not a bad idea." He said finally. "We've laid low a long time. Maybe it's time we got back.""Good. You were about to about to be bailing me out of jail for popping cars." I joked. I got off his stomach. Han followed me up and leaned against the door."You have a serious problem, but I guess you get it honestly." He joked as he slung his arm around my shoulders."I have a problem? How about all of your money grubbing?" I jabbed him in the ribs with my finger. He wrapped his other arm around me and pulled me into a suffocating hug. I felt his full lips against my temple and melted into him."I won't let you get hurt again." He promised."Good. Now let's find a job."
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Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprisedDennis WaitleyZ"This is ridiculous. You are a grown ass man; why can't you act like it instead of being such a bitch? God!" I huffed as I tossed the dishrag I was using to dry my hands into the sink. Han rolled his eyes at me from his place by the counter on a bar stool.It was one of those wonderful Mondays; the sun was shining, the gulls were crying, and being around Han was like taking a cheese grater to my forehead. It had been a rough day at the garage and we had been at each others' throats. After we got home, the tension hadn't lessened any and we were still bickering.I leaned against the cabinets for support as I attempted to untangle my shoelaces and get them tied back in a bow. I almost face planted a few times before I finally got both shoes on and tied. I glanced back to see Han sulking and staring off into space."I'm going running," I said tensely. I received a shrug as a response. Grumbling, I turned and stalked out the back door. The second my foot hit the ground from the last step I was off in a run.I sprinted down the long drive and then slowed to a jog for the rest of the trip to the beach. The wind was whipping through my ponytail and bent the leaves of the plants as it pushed the storm towards shore. The black clouds rose ominously over the trees as I got closer to the beach. The sound of the waves attacking the shore could be heard a long way from the beach.I flopped unceremoniously in the sand to get my breath back the second I made it to the beach. I let the wind flow over me as the adrenaline drained from my body. With it went the anger and frustration at Han and this awful Monday at the shop. When I no longer felt like kicking a puppy I dragged myself up.I fished in my pocket for my phone. I pushed the speed dial number and waited for the person to pick up."You got Miles." The smooth voice said on the other end."It's Ellie. You got this week's figures?"Miles was one of my dad's best friends. They worked together for years before they both retired after a job that went bad. He went on to settle in Costa Rica and own a few casinos in different countries. After getting a call from me in Tokyo, he worked to get me away from Kamata and out of Japan. After I settled in Columbia, I offered him the money in one of my dad's old accounts and became joint owner of one of his casinos in Italy."Yeah, right here." There was a pause and it sounded like he was readjusting the phone and flipping through papers. "We've had a lot of business; it was almost six thousand more than last week. I deposited your half in the Stockholm account.""Thanks a lot, Miles." I mentally started to calculate how much I had sitting in Europe. It was a lot."Are you ever gonna tell gangster boy about this?" Miles asked bluntly. I felt my chest twist with guilt. I couldn't be still with the crushing feeling washing over me. I started pacing aimlessly in the sand.He had no idea. I didn't keep a lot of secrets from Han, but for some reason, I couldn't tell him this. I had every intention of doing it when he was actually starting to heal, but I kept putting it off until it was a little too late to tell him without it causing massive problems. After his mistakes in Tokyo came back to bite me, telling him about this just felt like a really bad idea."I might," I answered defensively. I heard Miles snort on the other end."Might? Babe, you've been living with him for what? Three years now?" He patronized. I started to feel really guilty now. "Are you saving that for when you leave him?""No!" I cried. "I'm not leaving him. I'm just keeping that in case I have to run again." I added honestly.I was starting to feel awful about the argument I just had with Han. I couldn't even remember what started it; the best I could come up with was exhaustion, the heat, frayed tempers, and snippy comments. We had days like this sometimes, but we always made up fairly quickly. I couldn't imagine anything bad enough for me to actually consider leaving."Of course you are," Miles stated sarcastically. I sighed deeply."Miles, you have been completely alone for all your forty-two years. Do you really think you're qualified to lecture me on this?" I snapped. He laughed in response."Babe, you got a lot to learn." He replied smugly. I gritted my teeth in annoyance at his dodge to my jab. I gave a frustrated sigh that left him almost cackling because he knew I didn't have a reply."Tell you what, you call me if ever you need me when something bad does happen, and I might try to be nice and pretend this conversation never happened." He added patronizingly. I felt my temper rise hotly."I'm going back to pulling jobs," I said quickly. I heard him exhale quickly through his teeth and knew I struck a nerve. My lips pulled up in a smirk."Why? You have everything you need in Columbia, except a guy that I approve of." He asked. He hated Han for getting me in his mess with Kamata."I'm bored. Why should I settle for a life in a one-stoplight town when I could be beating the best of the best in the big cities? You were in your thirties when you retired. I'm twenty years old; that's way too young to settle down." I explained."God, young and restless; just like all of us once were." He said bitterly."I have the common sense not to do some of the things you did." I shot back."That's not the point, babe," He said in exasperation. "That's life is completely unpredictable. Do you know how many of my best friends wound up in body bags or jail?" I heard the anger rise in his voice."Yeah, I do," I replied. My dad was always getting the news of one of his crewmembers death or arrest. Most of them died or got caught from pulling something insane."Then you know the consequences of doing this." He stressed like it was going to stop me."I've always known, Miles; it's never stopped me or you for that matter," I stated in sarcastically in a way I knew would drive him insane."I'm not arguing this with you right now." He said in the frustrated tone that most parents had towards their kids. He had that a lot towards me.I never expected him to become like a second dad to me because of how easily annoyed and abrasive he was, but when I got out of Japan that was exactly what he did. Because he now saw me as his kid, he was now practically hardwired to hate Han and he made sure I knew it."Okay then," I said with finality. Several bolts of lightning split across the black clouds that had gotten a lot closer while I was bickering with Miles. I felt a little bit of cold fear at seeing the raw power of the electricity and feeling the boom of thunder. I was still a long way from home and the storm was about to break."Was that thunder?" Miles asked on the other end."Yeah, I'm about to get blown away. I'll call you next week." I said hurriedly as I started my jog home."Be careful." He said before hanging up.The plants and trees were bent over double as the wind tore at the green leaves. I quickened my pace as much as possible, but there was no way I was going to make it. The first raindrops started as I turned down our driveway. They started coming hard and fast until my hair was plastered to my scalp and my clothes clung to my body. I started to feel cold to the bone.I could barely see the house until I was right on it. Han stood up from a wicker porch chair to meet me when I started up the steps. He pulled a towel off the table next to him and threw it around my shivering body. I pulled it tighter around me as I tried to stop the chills."I'm sorry," Han muttered almost inaudibly as he pulled me inside. I really started to shiver when I got in the cold house."Me too," I replied softly to his chest as he pulled me into a hug to try to warm me up.I mentally debated if I wanted to tell him about my full bank accounts. After a few minutes, I decided that I'd leave that information for an emergency.ZHan jerked out of a sound sleep beside me at a crack of thunder that rattled the windows and shook the house. I had been awake for half an hour because of the bright white flashes of lightning shining through the glass of the damn French doors to the porch like the freaking sun. Grumblingly, I had cocooned myself up in the comforter against the cold air conditioner that was going full blast because I was too lazy to get up and turn it off.I felt Han shift beside me. His hand reached out along the sheet covering him until he found my pile of the comforter. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it hard enough for it to unwind around me. I whined unhappily at the blast of cold air I got from the blanket being lifted as another flash lit the sky."I was wondering why I was cold," Han said pointedly as he jabbed me in the ribs. I huffed back at him and he responded by pulling me closer. I gladly moved closer to his body heat."How long have you been up?" He asked sleepily. The house creaked loudly as the wind tore at the sides and the rain battered the roof."A little while," I answered shortly."I say we skip work tomorrow or at least go in late. We're caught up on everything and I don't see the storm slacking off too much by then." He suggested."Yeah, I'm not going anywhere if it's like this," I replied.The lightning kept illuminating the room like a spotlight. The noises of the rain and wind would lull me almost to sleep before the light would hit my face and the boom of thunder would rattle the windows. I was finally able to close my eyes and drift off when the sound a phone vibrating on the inside of a drawer dragged me back to consciousness.I groaned sleepily and elbowed Han so he could get it. When he was finally awake enough to realize what the noise was he jerked the drawer open and started fishing for it. He flipped it open right before the last ring.It was really rare that Han got a call that wasn't some sort of crisis situation, but occasionally Twinkie would be calling just to say hi. The latter was a rare occurrence because he got told off every time he did. It was rather funny, actually.I watched as Han sat all the way up and put the phone against his ear. In the dark, I could barely make out his profile as he rested his elbow on his knees. The lightning gave a quick flash and I could make out the smirk on his face."Perfect. We were just looking for a job." I was suddenly wide awake. I pushed myself up on my elbows."Yeah, we." The lightning caught his white teeth as he smiled at me. I felt a smirk work its way on my face."We'll be there Dom.""Yeah, we." The lightning caught his white teeth as he smiled at me. I felt a smirk work its way on my face."We'll be there."
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By the time I dimly floated into consciousness the sun was almost shining. A few wispy gray clouds were still being blown across it, but they were about to be gone for good. I sat up slowly and rubbed my tired eyes. The storm had been terrible and the elements had not made sleeping easy. I looked around and noticed Han was no longer there, but he had turned down the awful air conditioner.Several thoughts swirled around in my brain before I finally remembered last night's phone call. Rio! I felt my lips curl into a smile. I had loved running drugs in Tokyo before I what I was doing hit me. Guilt had swept over me for putting drugs in the hands of extreme addicts like my mom and handing millions over to the Yakuza. I never heard the details of the call, because I stepped out to check the weather report and let Han catch up with his old friend, but it didn't sound like it was going to be a conscious wrenching job like Tokyo was.Well, it would be if stealing another person's money and property bothered you, but that doesn't phase me as long as they could afford it.My bare feet seemed to echo loudly across the cold wood floor as I made my way to the kitchen. Han apparently hadn't been up that long because he sat propped up on the counter with a bowl of fruit in front of him, papaya in his hand, and a faraway look on his face. He still had on worn gray sweat pants and a thin shadow of a mustache, which suggested he hadn't taken the time to shower and shave yet.He muttered a quiet good morning when he saw me walk through the door and started working on his papaya again. I grabbed a mango out of a bowl and bit straight into it. I twitched at the slimy texture but finished it anyway."What do we need to do to be ready to go? We don't have that many valuables at the house, so that's not much of a concern." I broke our silence after washing the fruit juice off my hands. His lips pulled up at the corners in a smirk as he thought of our upcoming trip."We don't have much work left at the garage." He paused for confirmation and I nodded. "We finish that up, and then we make sure everything's good and locked up. I don't think we have to worry about cops, but I don't trust the race rats.""Oh, I don't either." A few of our most annoying competitors' faces flashed through my head. They'd do anything to cripple our business. "Are we taking the Maverick or the Camaro or both?" I decided I'd let Han decide this one. I didn't know if Dom would need the extra muscle my Camaro offered, but I wasn't liking the idea of it taking the long drive."I just finished up with Maverick, so it would be better with the drive; though if we need another car, we both know you'll be happy to acquire one." We shared a laugh and started to get ready.Z"Carmen, I can't leave right now. I gotta get this done." I told the pissed off Columbian woman from my safe spot under Plymouth Barracuda. Turns out we had a lot more work than we thought we did."If you can take time out of your work to disappear into the storage room with your boyfriend, you can go to lunch with me. Right, Han?" She countered quickly. I could feel her triumphant smirk. I was really glad she couldn't see the glowing red color of my face."How about you and Enrique? You can't say shit." I responded bluntly. She started twittering back at me angrily in Spanish. I knew somewhere Han was trying to hide his amusement at her so he didn't get the brunt of her anger while I was safely hiding under the car."Hey, Elle, you wanna install the NOS system on the new Challenger, or you want me to start on it?" Han called from across the garage. I could hear the amusement permeating his voice."I got it if you'll start replacing the cylinders on Chevelle," I called back. Carmen kept up her tirade."What is the big deal with getting all of this done, anyways? You can do this later." She finally spat."We're going on vacation," I answered slowly. I finished what I was doing on the car and let my arm holding the wrench rest against my chest. I wasn't ready to roll out yet."Vacation? You don't do anything here. All you two do is fix cars and screw each other." She responded. I sighed and felt the headache I had from the stuffiness of the garage and heat flare up in my temples."Change of scenery." I rolled out from under the Barracuda and put the wrench back where it belonged. She shook her head at me which sent her curls bouncing."Where exactly are you going, anyway?" She asked. She sounded a little frustrated that her attempts to get me out of the garage didn't work. She was always trying to get me to be more feminine. Half the time I made sure I was twice as grease spattered as usual when she showed up."It's a surprise," Han interjected from behind the hood of the Chevelle."Yeah. I have no idea where we're going." I added. I was grateful Han threw her off track. She was kind of a gossip and that wouldn't be good if the cops showed up."Finally going to propose, Han?" Carmen asked with amusement. He didn't comment and I walked away to start getting the tubes and wires I needed.She collapsed into a chair and watched me start installing the NOS cylinders. She finally got frustrated with the lack of conversation she was getting from both of us and sauntered off across the street with a huffy goodbye."I like her but she just rubs me the wrong way sometimes," I told Han as he helped me finish the NOS system. He just shook his head with a smirk.ZBefore I knew it, I was pulling things out of my closet to put in my old duffel bag. Our bed was covered in random articles of clothing tossed haphazardly from Han's closet. I was trying to keep things in neater stacks, but it still wasn't helping."How long do you think we'll be gone?" I asked. I pulled several pairs of jeans out of my stacks and dropped them on the floor. A few cool and comfortable shirts followed."No idea. It'll take a while to get there, but if we push we can make it in time." He pulled a few button up shirts off their hangers and they joined his growing mess on the bed."Okay," I said quietly. I started looking for a few more shirts and tossed in a sweatshirt, just in case. Han tossed me a few of my skimpier dresses and just shrugged when I shot him a look."If you keep tossing stuff like this my way, how in the world am I gonna fit all your snacks in there?" I teased quietly."Hm, you could skip underwear and pajamas." I turned bright red and hit him with a coat hanger. He started up his deep chuckling."You would!" I laughed. His chuckles only got louder."You sure you want to do this?" Han asked me after we both got quiet. I was already stuffing my selection of clothes into my bag and he had his zipped and waiting by the door."Afraid I can't handle it?' I asked. I attempted to make it a joke but his question hurt a little. What if I really couldn't handle the Torretto crew? It was going to be hard walking in when they had worked together before."No one doubts you can handle it," Han reassured me, "but after everything that happened in Tokyo, aren't you worried about things going wrong again?"I zipped my bag and tossed it over beside Han's. I sat heavily on the bed and sprawled out on my side. What would I do if things went wrong? I had the money in Europe and a place to go, but we didn't know the details of Dom's plan; it could be suicide. I knew one thing; I was not going back to jail. But aside from that, I had no idea what I'd do if one of us got hurt."It's not going to be like Tokyo," I stated finally. "I can handle Law Enforcement." Han crossed the room and flopped down beside me."You're probably right." A comfortable silence filled the room. Han's breathing was so even I briefly thought he fell asleep in a pile of pants and shirts. "We should probably clean and get to bed so we can get started early." He said quietly after a long while.ZRio! After a long trip through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia we were finally here. It was a heck of a lot more crowded here than I expected. Han apparently knew the meeting spot, because he maneuvered through the side streets away from the typical tourist traps with the ease of a local.He took us through streets crowded with houses piled on top of each other teeming with local people calling out to each other in Portuguese with the occasional bit of Spanish. The houses here weren't big or particularly nice, but they were better than some of the ones we had passed on our trip. Han finally pulled into a warehouse type building and killed the engine. I saw another car parked and it looked like we weren't the first of Dom's crew to arrive today.Butterflies erupted in my stomach with a thrill of nervousness that I knew wasn't going to leave like it did at the start line of a race. I shifted slightly in my seat as I started trying to think of what to say. I hated meeting new people. At least in Tokyo, I had Twinkie to talk for me.Han apparently noticed because his large hand slid off the shifter and landed on my knee. He ran his fingers over the dark denim for a second. I glanced at him and he smiled for me."You're going to be fine; you know cars, you can drive, andyou're smart." He told me."I still look fourteen," I muttered back. I didn't get a lot of respect from people when they didn't see me as an adult. I started fidgeting with the cranberry colored collar of my loose button up shirt."You don't act like, so they won't treat you like you're younger." He told me firmly. "Come on."He smirked and opened his door. I forced a smirk on my face and did the same.
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Sometimes the facts in my head get bored and decide to take a walk in my mouth. Frequently this is a bad thing.Scott Westerfeld, So Yesterday, 2004ZWe were the last to arrive. What I had thought was a warehouse, I now saw to be an abandoned factory of some type. Two black guys were arguing with two guys who looked Dominican speaking Spanish in the middle of it. A brunette woman who was tall and skinny like a model was standing beside her bike on the edge of the conflict. They didn't hear us pull in.My heart was pounding in my chest, but after my little moment of weakness in front of Han, I was not letting it show. The closer we got, the harder it pounded. I hated new people, and to make matters worse, these people were part of the legendary Toretto crew. Not only was this a meeting of people who were the best at what we did, but it was also Han's family. For some reason, I always screwed up meeting my boyfriend's family. Of course, they usually involved the words, "I'm sorry I almost got your son arrested.""I thought cockfights were illegal in Brazil." Han quipped dryly to me as he put his large hand on the small of my back. The woman glanced at Han and me and looked like she wanted to say something, but was cut off."I see you've all met." A deep voice rumbled through the garage. Everyone turned to look at the burly, bald man I knew as Dom from Han's description, and the other two beside him that had to be Brian and Mia from what Dom told Han."There he is," Han said when he saw Dom again. The girl walked up to hug Dom with a sexual innuendo that made me almost roll my eyes. I caught it and tried to remind myself that I didn't know their history. Girls that did that still bugged me though.I was still almost shaking, but with Dom's arrival the tension popped like a bubble and I was able to relax a little. A breathed a sigh of relief when everyone started greeting each other as old friends, even those that hadn't met. I was included in the reunion like an old friend. Han didn't get involved with most of the greetings, but I could feel him watching me as I did. I felt this was a test to see if I could hang with the big dogs, and the thought sent my stomach into a flip.Han pulled me closer to Dom as another man introduced the two black men. I tried to file their names and why they were here into the back of my brain, but I wasn't sure how much of that would actually stick."Nice digs," Han said quietly when Brian was through. I couldn't tell if Han was being sarcastic or not. It was probably sarcasm. I loved the place, but Han was not the type to rough it. The first few weeks in Colombia where hell for me. I finally put six rotating fans around the bed and gave him his laptop to play with."Yeah well, the Ritz was sold out." Dom joked back. "I'm guessing you're Eliana." He extended his massive hand for me to shake. "I'm Dom." I couldn't force any words out of my mouth, so I just shook it."So what's this all about, Dom?" Han wasted no time in getting to the point."Yeah, why'd you drag us halfway around the world?" The lighter skinned black guy asked. His name flitted out of my head the second I heard it, but I remembered he was the computer guy."'Cause we got a job," Dom said matter-of-factly. I felt a thrill of excitement pass through my body. I may have hated the Yakuza with every fiber of my being, but I loved some of the work I did.Most of it was just driving through traffic, but occasionally I would have something totally insane and fun. I felt my lips twitch into a smirk at the excitement."I know that look," Han muttered in my ear as Brian started walking over to a table to begin working through the plan."I don't know what you're talking about," I said smoothly. He chuckled lightly as we followed the rest of the group."Alright, so the target's name is Herman Reyes." Brian began. A frown instantly creased my forehead. The name sounded incredibly familiar, but I couldn't remember why. With all the trouble my family stirred up, it might not be a good thing. I missed the rest of what Brian was saying, but the model chic's accent brought me back to attention.Cash houses? Oh, this was my type of thing. I practically started quivering with anticipation at the thought of the heist. Han noticed, and I could feel his dark eyes on me even though he didn't turn away from Brian and Dom."Sounds crazy," the darker black guy cut in. I think his name was Rome. "Takes this to a whole 'nother level. You bring us to a whole 'nother country so we can rob the dude that runs it? I thought this was business, but this sounds personal to me. Is that what this is? I got love for ya'll but personal ain't good business. I can't do this, homie."He started to walk away. Dom followed him with his eyes, and I could practically feel the smirk about to cross his face."What this is is a hundred million dollars." He said a little too loudly."Say what?" Rome's head jerked around. He stumbled over the words hundred million a few times. "See sometimes I be over thinking," He began. The other guy with him started shaking his head as he stuttered out an excuse.Dom continued on like he hadn't been interrupted. "So everything we take we split even.""Ten million apiece? I am down." The tech guy stated emphatically."I'm in." Another one of the boys muttered."You can't hit ten cash houses for the same mark. You just can't." The chick stated."Yeah, as soon as you hit the first he will do anything to protect the others." Han agreed with her.There was a lot of logic in their statements, but being with the Yakuza had taught me how dangerous people reacted to pressure. There was an uncomfortable pause where Dom seemed to be sizing up their statements."That may work to our advantage." Oh my gosh, did that just come out of my mouth? Well, Han's probably embarrassed.Everyone's eyes were on me. The brunette model looked at me like a bug to smush. A smile spread across Dom's face."How exactly?" She asked. Obviously, an argument was already forming in her brain. I felt entirely too exposed, but being with Kamata had taught me how to hide that."What's safer: spreading all of your men out across town in ten different places or one secure location with everything you got on it? With the men spread, there is still a chance that other cash houses will get hit; it's a completely small chance, but it's certainly there. If he puts it in one tightly locked down place, which a guy like him is sure to have, he has the benefit of being able to keep everyone on it and keep a strict eye on it himself. It would take something absolutely insane to pull it off, but it could definitely work.""And what makes you think that he will put it in one place?" The woman asked. I saw a few people glance around."Experience." I unconsciously ran my hand through my bangs that hid my scar from a fight with an Osaka Yakuza. He was trying to take a shipment off our hands and Kamata acted the way I assumed Reyes would. "I'm assuming he knows you know where the cash houses are?" Mia nodded. "Then he knows they aren't safe."A smile spread across Dom's face. "Exactly."ZI tossed my bag on the bed and flopped backward on it with a groan. I was exhausted after meeting everyone and it was already late since everyone wanted to go over the plan and catch up. Han was eyeing our room in our borrowed house with slight disgust. It was about to be getting on my nerves, but after feeling of the mattress, I knew I was going to be whining too."Tired?" Han asked when I didn't move for a few minutes."Yeah," I said slowly. I still didn't know how he felt with me around his family."You did well today." He stated. Sometimes I hated how transparent I was to him."I need to learn to think before I speak," I answered honestly. Han snorted. "What?""That'll last two days at the most, then you'll be back to being a smartass. How did you even keep that up in the Yakuza?""Day three I told him that the route he had me on was nearly suicidal and he slapped me so hard I got knocked off my feet. Didn't speak after that." I said casually. Han started shifting his weight uncomfortably. "Oh, and by the way, Leo and Santos are not brothers and are definitely from the DR," I said to break the tension."What's the difference, they all speak Spanish." He grumbled. I sat up pretending to be offended."They all speak Spanish so they aren't different? Really? You, Chinese people, are so ignorant." I drawled. He pushed my bag onto the floor and leaned over me."Korean." He corrected. He put one hand beside me and lowered his head so our foreheads were almost touching. A smirk spread across my lips."What's the difference?" I said cockily. I leaned up and captured his lips.
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If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.Mario AndrettiZ"You're up early." I lifted my head from where I was staring at the floor at the arrival of Brian and Mia."Hey. I couldn't sleep." I adjusted to sit a little more comfortably on the metal railing around the raised platform in the factory. They both walked up the steps to join me."How long you been out here?" Brian questioned good-naturedly."Just long enough to get comfortable."I had been miserable on the lumpy mattress all night. I was dead to the world for the first part of the night, then tossed and turned until I finally dragged myself up so I wouldn't wake up Han. I was still exhausted from the events of yesterday.My hair was still soaking wet from a shower and hung in a sheet down my back. I had tossed on an old tank top and ripped jeans. I was planning on at least trying to not be sloppy, especially after not being able to keep my trap shut last night, but that kind of went out the window."How long have you known Han?" Mia started asking. She sat down in the chair in front of the computer desk while Brian remained standing beside her."Three years. I met him in Tokyo." I replied."Oh, you were in Tokyo?" Mia answered. I could tell she was trying to figure me out, but I was too tired to really stress about it."Yeah, my family owed some money to Han's business partner's uncle and I wound up driving for him to pay it off. Met him at one of the street races.""What kind of driving were you doing?" Brian asked."Running drugs and money mostly, but occasionally I would boost some cars and every once in a while I'd do some mechanic work for him." I listed. I started shifting on the cold metal pipe rail."For the Yakuza." We turned as Dom walked up the stairs."Yeah." Mia and Brian gave me a little bit of a shocked look."How old were you?" Dom's deep voice rumbled."Sixteen.""Then you should have no problems now." He said with finality. I knew questions about my qualifications would stop now. "Since you're here, you want to give me a hand getting ready?""Yeah, sure." I hopped off the rail with a nod to Brian and Mia and followed Dom over to the corner where the guns for the day were laid out of the table.I hadn't noticed, but standing beside Dom I was only just tall enough for the top of my head to be even with his shoulder. His biceps were literally bigger around than my skull. I wondered how massive the Federal agent was if he actually gave Dom a run for his money."I know we don't really know each other, but I gotta favor to ask." He said quietly. He picked up a gun and began to weigh it in his hand. I ran my hand down another one and glanced back to see if Brian or Mia could hear us."What is it?""I want you to stay close to Mia here and then keep an eye on Reyes." My heart dropped a little. I tried to keep the disappointment off of my face, but Dom saw through me. "Mia's pregnant. I don't want her alone." That made me feel a little bit better."Probably best. Reyes's going to be gunning for you when you show yourselves. He doesn't know me and I'm still labeled as a missing person so not much will come up on the police database about me. Might come in handy later." I said stoically. I was still a little pissed at not getting to play with guns, but I understood where he was coming from as a brother. Mine would do things like this to protect me if they thought I needed it."Missing person?" Dom asked interestedly."Japan wasn't exactly voluntary," I replied with an eye roll."You guys ready for this?" The ever-so-obnoxious Rome swaggered up to the table with a wide smile on his face. Tej followed behind him rolling his eyes at his friend's volume level."Morning," I called pleasantly. Rome walked up beside me and started picking his weapon."You ready for this, baby girl?" He asked me with a slap on the back. Rome and I had gotten along very well at the garage yesterday."She's going to be watching Reyes," Dom said with authority."Watching Reyes?" Han muttered behind me.He and Gisele walked up together. Han came to stand beside me with a bag of chips as Gisele went to lean against a piece of machinery."We want to make sure he gets the message." He said with finality.ZStupid Dom. I'd rather be breaking and enter and doing something entertaining right now. I thought bitterly. I had stayed with Mia until the team scattered to watch the cash houses. I had parked myself on a bench across the street Reyes's office building and had been sitting there for over an hour.I had changed into a nice, pale cream sundress, the necklace Han gave me years ago in Tokyo for my birthday, and wedge heels which made me look like I just went for a stroll to enjoy the sun. I tried to steal Han's aviators to hide my face, but they were entirely too big for my face. I had to take a side trip to find myself a new pair. The whole thing left me in a sour mood.Mia had also been left out of the break-in, but because she had a really good reason to be left out, she wasn't complaining. Dom left her with me in the locked house in the favela. I might have been bored out of my mind, but at least I was with someone else.Han hadn't really cared that I had been shoved out of the break-in, which made me a little mad. I felt like Dom was doing it because he thought I couldn't keep up, but me being here did kind of help us with the next stage of the plan. Most of the team agreed with Dom that it would be a good idea, but I some saw it the way I didn't want them to.After not being able to keep my mouth shut about not agreeing with Gisele, she had been a little cold to me, not that I had been any different. I didn't miss the triumphant look in her eye when Dom made the announcement that I would be tailing Reyes to wherever he was stashing the money. She made me feel insecure, and I that was something I didn't need right now.I was interrupted from my thoughts when I saw an old Jeep pull into the parking lot. It was out of place from all the business people's cars that had been in and out of the parking lot. The man that stepped up was dressed in an old, sweat covered shirt with the sleeves cut out and baggy shorts. When he turned his head I saw the blood still shining on his upper lip. I waited until he made the long walk from the furthest edge of the parking lot to the front of the building before I casually glanced at my watch at stared timing.After a few minutes passed, I pulled out my radio."Doorman walked in about five minutes ago. He should be just getting to Reyes." I said quietly. I let off on the button and waited for my reply."Watch the time. We need to see how quickly he gets his people organized." Brian answered.I stood by the bus stop for not even ten minutes when I got our answer. I saw a few of his big henchmen walking out the front door, before Reyes himself and his main guy followed. His Escalade was pulled around and he got in the back after a quick order to his men who split up."Eight minutes. He's pulling out of the parking lot now." I said."Damn that's fast. Guys, this is crazy." Rome echoed his thoughts from last night."Car just pulled up over here." One of the Dominicans said after a short pause. He was closest to Reyes's office."Follow him best you can," Dom said. I rolled my eyes. I was useless on foot. If I had a car, then-"Don't even think about." Han deadpanned. I groaned and started walking.Z"Are you looking at this? This is a police station!" Rome yelled. We were all standing on the roof of the building across the street."We can't do this." Santos deadpanned."Can't? More like we shouldn't do this." Han put in. I frowned at their words but kept silent. I pulled some crazy things for Kamata without the option of walking away, so I wasn't the one to let things like this distract me. It was a miracle I didn't get caught or die."This doesn't change a thing," Dom replied with finality. "We stick to the plan.""Stick to the plan? This went from Mission Impossible to Mission In-freaking-sanity!" Rome yelled. "I ain't scared, but I'm just letting ya'll know this is crazy!""We got this," Brian said encouragingly.Everyone turned to head back to their cars. There was a heaviness on the group that wasn't there before. This really was insane, but so was the payout. We all knew we'd wind up doing it anyway.The passenger door of Han's Maverick was closest, so he popped it open for me before walking over to his side. I sat heavily on the overly warm leather seat and shut the door behind me as Han got it. He glanced over at me before putting his hand on my knee."Dom liked having someone under the radar to follow Reyes. You might wind up doing that more often." He said slowly."You think he'll look for someone to get the money out?" I asked."I say he sits on it, but it's a possibility.""I think he'll sit on it too."Most of the road back to the favela was spent in silence. It was only occasionally broken by a comment about what was passing out the window. The difficulty of Dom's plan was weighing heavily on both of us. It wasn't impossible, but it was really close.As the thoughts swirled in my head, I glanced over at Han. He had a tiny smirk fixed on his face."What?" I asked softly. His smirk got a little wider and he took a long time to answer."Just thinking about what we're going to do with all that money."
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Nothing weighs on us so heavily as a secret.Jean De La FontaineZ"Okay, so I think that's it." I said as I wiped my hands on a rag resting on the fender of Han's Maverick. I carefully avoided getting anything on my dress, which I still hadn't changed out of."All it needs an oil change, but I'm not doing that in a white dress." I turned to face Han as I finished my assessment."Are sure you didn't forget something. I was sure that you didn't check-" He moved from where he was leaning on Dom's Charger to point to a spot as far away from me as possible as he made up an excuse for me to bend over again in my skirt which was already dangerously short. I raised an eyebrow."Papi, if you want to get a peek you're going to have to find another way to do it." I deadpanned with a smirk.His lips twitched at the nickname I always used when I was being sarcastic.We were using our downtime after sending Rome to the police station with Tej and Brian to check on the Maverick. I had almost been sent with him, but he absolutely refused. I was wondering how that had worked out for him."Yo, Dom. How we gonna get a vault all the way to Rio?" Santos asked from the raised level in the middle factory floor."Yeah, how are we gonna get a vault?" I asked Han flirtatiously as I walked over and put my hands on his chest. He put his hands on my wrists."I have some black market contacts." He said in a matter of fact manner."So do I." I answered in the same tone."So I guess you two will be taking care of it?" Dom's deep voice carried a tone of amusement. I started blushing because I hadn't realized he could hear us goofing off. He had a new spark plug in his hand and was walking to his Charger. He was just close enough to overhear.Han looked back at me and shrugged. "We got it.""How in this world did the two of you wind up with each other?" Leo asked loudly from beside Santos. "No offense." He added with after a slight pause. Han and I shared a glance before we started walking over to join the rest of the group."The circles we ran with overlapped in Tokyo." I answered simply."I thought you were from Columbia." Gisele stated as she looked up from her bike."I'm from Puerto Rico originally, then I moved to the US, then Tokyo, then Columbia," I answered."So you're not Chinese?" Santos asked Han when he heard Tokyo. The shock in his voice was very clear. From Han's expression I guessed they had had that conversation many times before back when they ran together. I almost started laughing. He noticed and sent me a half hearted glare."What circles?" Gisele asked. She only looked at Han now. I felt a chill of jealous roll through me like a shockwave."She worked for my business partner's uncle and so she would go to the races with his crew. I met her through him, and the rest of my crew met her at the races. We just saw a lot of each other after that." Han answered."So you haven't worked with Dom before?" Leo asked."No, I haven't."What is it with these people? I'm not asking for their life story. I glanced at Han who seemed to be thinking the same thing."Will you people stop giving them the third degree? God, you sound like cops in an interrogation room." Mia gave me a comforting smile as she walked in.Her pale face was shining like she had just splashed it with water. Her dark hair was pulled back out of her face in a high ponytail. I thought back to Dom's confession that she was pregnant and wondered if she was having morning sickness. I didn't have time to think about it long before Tej walked in with Brian and Rome bickering behind him."You guys get it?" Leo asked excitedly."Of course we did." Tej replied indignantly. "Ya'll people got no faith.""After your wonderful display of driving, I don't blame 'em." Rome teased."My wonderful display of driving?" Tej's eyebrow shot up as he turned to glare at his friend. " How about your impersonation of an FBI agent?""I would make an amazing agent." He countered. Brian's million-watt smile lit up the garage and Tej rolled his eyes. I felt my lips twitch at the mental image of Rome screwing this up."Who's getting the vault?" Brian asked as he held up a folded piece of paper."I got this." I told Han. He nodded in response. Still laughing at Tej and Rome, Brian passed me the paper with a smile. I slipped out the doors to make a call.ZA chill was brought over the shadows of the favela with the vanishing of the sun. The favela looked eerie at night with the shadows and dark spaces between the oddly stacked houses formed from the light streaming out of random windows.I hurried along the streets as fast as possible; cursing myself every step for leaving my gun in Han's glove box. I could put up a fight, if necessary, but these were not familiar streets, and the extra confidence of a concealed weapon would be nice. A few people shot me curious glances as I passed them, probably wondering why there was an outsider here. I yanked my jacket closer to my body and shoved my hands in the pocket of my jeans.The black mass of the old factory loomed at the end of the road. I had left in the late afternoon and, after many called in favors, managed to get the vault Brian had asked for. I was glad that I had to be on the phone for a while away from the garage where the reception was better, because I got a call from Miles.His abrasive, bitter, smart ass self was still mad at me. It took twenty minutes of him complaining before he would tell me the profit for the week. He continued on with the underhanded jabs he made at me on the beach. I finally decided I was going to tell Han about my business and money stashed back in Europe. I should have told him years ago when I decided to stay after he recovered, but it was a little late for that. After I finally managed to talk Miles into forgiving me, I hung up.By the time I changed out of my dress and was ready to leave for the factory again, I felt drained. Being around this many people I didn't know exhausted me. I really didn't want to go back, but I felt like I had to.When I got close enough, I saw Han and Gisele standing outside. Neither noticed me until I was almost right in front of them. They were both discussing what they were going to do next in the job. Han finally glanced up when he heard my footsteps."There you are. I was about to go make sure you didn't fall asleep." He said as he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into the building. Gisele followed and went back to working on her bike."I'm here." I said slowly."You eaten yet? I was about to go grab something." He asked. I felt my stomach grumble at the thought of food."I'm starving." I complained. He produced a bag of pork rinds out of his jacket pocket. Only a few were left, but I greedily popped them in my mouth. They did nothing to calm the hollow feeling."Did you get it arranged?" Dom asked loudly, right as I was trying to pour the remaining crumbs into my mouth in a very un-lady-like fashion."Yes. Two days." I answered with a mouthful."That give us time to do our thing!" Leo declared to Santos. Santos laughed and started insulting him in Spanish. It led to a loud, annoying exchange."Okay, I'm going to get some food." I finally said after watching the argument for a while. The few crewmembers that looked away from what they were doing pointed me in the direction of some restaurants; except for Rome, who kept asking me to bring him back a long list of things.After breaking away from the group and grabbing my gun, I found myself walking a few streets over to a local restaurant. I hadn't realized Han had followed me out until he reached out to grab my hand. That was a very unusual move for Han, but I didn't complain.We settled in to a small table in the back corner of a restaurant with a seating area the size of our bedroom. The heat from the kitchen invaded the room to the point where I found myself shrugging out of my jacket. I discreetly made sure my gun wasn't showing."The streets bother you?" Han asked with a gesture towards me after the waiter left with our orders. I raised my eyebrows, unaware that he had seen me with the gun."Not really. It's just unfamiliar territory." I answered slowly."You might need that if he ever feels threatened enough to move the money out." Han said quietly. Why I remembered Reyes finally clicked in my head right as the waiter arrived with our food.I decided to bring up Reyes later and immediately started eating like I'd been starving the desert for a year. I glanced up at Han to see him sniffing a piece of grilled chicken on the end of his fork. I couldn't contain the laugh, which earned me a glare from him."You will eat fried squid tentacles with a straight face, but, oh my gosh, a piece of chicken!" I said sarcastically. He held his fork out to me in a 'you first' gesture. I ate it without a second thought. "It's good."He finally started eating.Z"Was Reyes supplying Kamata?" I asked slowly on the walk home. I couldn't see Han's face well in the low light, but I noticed his jaw tense."Kamata was getting shipments from Brazil, so Reyes is the most likely person to go through." He answered after a little hesitation."He was also moving girls, but that was kind of rare." I replied. Han looked at me."Is that why you wanted to be out of the way in Colombia?" He asked. I could feel his eyes boring into the side of my head."Yeah, and I was a little tired of the city, too." I answered."Ready to go back?" He asked. I took a long second to answer."Yeah. Colombia was nice for a long vacation, but I'm ready to be back in a town with more than a hundred people.""It really wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be." He said slowly. I felt my lips pull in a smile."Did you just admit you liked roughing it?" I teased. We passed a window and I could finally see the highly annoyed look on his face."It wasn't that bad once I got a TV and air conditioning." He retorted. I laughed. "Next time, I get to pick where we are going.""You picked Colombia." I reminded."But you picked the town." He shot back. I rolled my eyes."Okay, you pick the general area this time, and I get the town.""Okay, Europe. We figure out a more specific country later."He was silent for a moment. Down the street few children were scolded by their mother as she ushered them in the house. A dog ran down an alley after a rat. I kept sneaking glances at his shadowed face in between watching all of the distractions of the Rio favela, wondering if I should tell him now.Before I came to any decision, the house we were staying was right in front of us and Han was already pulling the key out of his pocket. I walked in to turn a few lights on, but before I had one on, Han had pulled me close to him. As his lips met mine, I knew I missed my chance tonight. It made me feel guilty, but it wasn't the end of the world. I would tell him; eventually.
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7. "We got it! We got it!" Mia yelled triumphantly. The group that had been previously standing around doing nothing all hurried to the computer screen."We're looking at four cameras." Brian told us before most of us got there."God, that is some high end shit. Fiber optics. Hundred and eighty degree field of view. Ten second oscillation." Han listed. I could only partially see around Tej, but I saw a lot of cop cars going by."That is a narrow window, man," Brian said."Can't we just tap in and replace the feed?" Gisele asked."Nah, it's hooked into a digital sync. They'd know we were in the system. Best we can do is peek." Tej replied.A short silence descended over us. I couldn't think of anything else to do. I had never been in a situation where cameras had been an issue before. I had to deal with speed cameras, sure, but those were easy to dodge. I wasn't even sure this was possible."We gonna need some real fast cars to get through this shit." Rome deadpanned."Not just fast. You got a hard right and a hair pin; you need something agile." Han answered."You guys mark up a track. O'Connor, let's go get some cars." Dom commanded with authority."Alright." Brian replied with a smile. He gave Mia a peck on the lips and followed Dom to the Charger."Maybe we should start over there," I pointed to one side of the platform." and curve the course over here." I moved my finger around to the other side. "Put that column where the hairpin is?" I suggested quietly."Yeah. There'd be a camera back against that wall, one close in to the platform, another on the wall over there, and the last just in the middle." Tej calculated."Do we have cameras, or do we need to get them?" I asked Tej."I got them." Mia interjected. "Right here." She pulled a duffel bag out "Knew we were going to need these.""Alright, so we should start here." Han walked to stand to a spot out on the factory floor. "and wind the track-"Z"How was that one?" Brian got out of the horribly colored baby blue Porsche 911 GT3 after yet another trip around the factory. I was having flashbacks of Sean driving around the docks at the Tokyo waterfront watching him."Camera caught you." Han told him. He pulled another pork rind out of the bag in his hand and popped it in his mouth.""What?" Brian yelled incredulously."Yeah well, the camera still caught you." Han deadpanned."I was milking the hell out of that thing, too." Brian said frustratedly as he stomped up the stairs past where I was leaning on the concrete platform."We're going to need a faster car." Dom said from behind me."There isn't another race for days. Plus, it's broad daylight."Brian yelled in frustration from the platform.I turned around to see Dom smirking at me. I felt my lips pull up at the edges."Who's driving me?" I asked.ZThe crowds swirled around me like a tide. I felt like I did back in Tokyo, except it was daylight, and hot outside, and these people were speaking Portuguese. Other than that, it was the same current running through town as people rushed past each other to get where they were going. I didn't realize I missed it until now."This garage?" I pointed out a building down the street to Leo who was lagging behind me at a slow walk. Just like he had been for the long, long walk out of the favela. I really wish we had driven."Yeah. From what we have heard, he doesn't get along with the guy they won the GT3 from. So if he's mad at us, we don't care." He told me."Perfect." I answered perkily. I was in an insufferable good mood. I never understood why I liked stealing cars so much, but I did.The garage reminded me of ours back in Colombia. The garage door in the front was pulled down, even in the heat of the day, and the door beside it was shut. I moved down an alley to the building's side and pulled myself up by the window ledge to look into one of the dirty windows. There weren't any people, but it held a wide variety of cars."See anything?" Leo asked as he walked up to join me. He could see in the window flat-footed. "Looks like it's lunch break.""Yeah. Were we counting on that, or were ya'll going to make me steal that right under their noses?" I asked jokingly as I scanned the cars. I quickly ruled out American muscle, which wouldn't have enough agility, and started focusing on the imports. A Subaru Impreza WRX stuck out to me."Surely you could have handled either." Leo teased."Yep. Let's get the Impreza." I said enthusiastically as I dropped off my toes onto the bottom of my feet."Now how we gonna do this?" Leo asked. I basically ignored him as I moved to the much less crowded street to the back of the building.The garage door was rolled down, and the door beside it was locked with a padlock. The garage door was the type that was raised by chains from the inside. I tried to get my fingers under it, but that failed miserably. I pulled a lock pick out of my back pocket and started working on the padlock. I pulled it off without a problem."Okay, I want the Impressa, unless you see something different." I told Leo."You're the drifter." He replied amiably. His head was swiveling around the cars parked against the walls in the small space. I zeroed in on the silver Impreza. I popped the black hood and to get a good look at the engine."Oh, this is it." I told him as I took in the engine. I glanced in the window to see the keys dangling from the ignition."That's a nice Supra, too." He pointed to a black Toyota Supra I didn't see. I quickly crossed the garage and started looking it over. It also had a great engine, and could handle the turns. The keys were nowhere in sight, so I slipped into the driver's seat, pulled my lock pick back out, and shoved it into the ignition. When I had it where I wanted it, I turned it over like a key. The engine roared to life."Damn, girl. Wasn't expecting that." He said as he looked over my shoulder. I laughed."Okay, keys are in that one, so we are good to go. You want to get the-?" I pointed at the chain to roll up the garage door. There was no way in hell I could reach it without jumping.Leo reached for the chain with a laugh. I pulled it through the gap under the door so he didn't have to raise it all the way, and waited while he pulled the Impreza out and let the door back down. I got out and relocked the padlock behind us. The second we were both back in our cars I hit the accelerator and made a tight turn back onto the street. I watched Leo pull out way behind me in my rearview.Well, at least he drives faster than he walks.Z"Handles great, but I still don't know if we're going to make that ten second window." I said as I stepped out of the Supra."Damn, the girl's fast. I couldn't catch her on the way back." Leo declared loudly. He had pulled up almost a minute after me."There are very few people you can catch." Santos yelled from the platform. That started them off in Spanish again."Why'd you pick the Supra? Thought you'd go straight for American muscle." Rome asked me randomly."Oh, it's Leo's Supra. I picked the Impreza. Mostly because muscle cars don't really have the agility of a Japanese import. These two were the most powerful looking imports." I paused. "What makes you think I'd go for a muscle car?" He was right; that was usually my first choice, but Japanese cars had grown on me."I don't know. You're just always working on that Maverick. Is it yours or Han's?" He replied."It's mine." Han said. "Did you have the keys to these?" Han asked as he looked through the window."We did to that one." I pointed to the Impreza. I saw a smirk forming on Han's lips."Not bad." Brian said as he came with Mia to inspect the engines. With a grin, Dom walked up and ran his hand over the fender of the Impreza."Who's first?"Z"Any better?" I asked Gisele as I flopped on the couch beside her."Yes. You missed camera three, but you had to sacrifice camera four. You're probably a little too aggressive on the turns. Still, a lot better than Santos's last round." She answered quietly. I smirked when Santos turned around and glared. He had been catching a lot of heat after he hit the column.Gisele and I had reached a kind of agreement. We didn't see eye to eye on most things, but the difference of opinion wasn't the end of the world. Managing to get along wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be."We're going to need a faster car." I said as I watched Han run through the course and still get caught. If he couldn't get it, there wasn't much hope for the rest of us. I saw her turn to look at me from the corner of my eye."Where did you find the other two?"ZThe organs in my stomach felt like they were getting rearranged in my stomach as Gisele accelerated down the narrow street. I was actually surprised at the amount of driving skill Gisele possessed. I knew she could ride a bike, but not that she could drive like this.She swung around the curve to the factory without slowing and hurtled through the entrance. She calmly took the first drift by downshifting instead of hand braking, which is harder to do, and accelerated quickly into the second. She pulled through the hairpin smoothly and then finished the last curve with the same smooth, speed before stopping."Might have had that." I commented. We both got out."Camera three still caught you," Han called out from the platform."I'll try again." Gisele slid back into the car while I made my way back to my spot on the couch.I heard someone make a joke about the girls being the only ones capable of pulling this off, but it didn't really sink in. I was too distracted by the way Han was looking at Gisele.
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That girl told me,If I ever do her wrong,I can have all the moneyAll the keys.From that day on, She's through with me.Already Taken, Trey SongzZ"This the piggy bank you ordered?" Santos asked. He rested the crowbar on his shoulder as he leaned against the wooden box surrounding the vault."Where the hell did you guys get one of these?" Rome asked in astonishment."Well, we had a life before we met you.' Han deadpanned.My dad's old crewmember Christiano gave me a small smile. He had been the contact I had that wound up delivering the vault to us. He was the smuggler the team always called on. He was a massive black man who spoke with a soft accent from whatever country he was from. He might have been built like bear, but he was the kindest and most philanthropic of my dad's old crew. I had heard he was now using his smuggling skills to get supplies to an orphanage he had started."Alright. Well, I'll get to work on the electronic tumbler, but we still got another problem: palm scanner. Without Reyes's handprint, Houdini himself couldn't open this bitch.""How you know it's Reyes's handprint?" Leo asked."You got a hundred million dollars in a safe. You gonna use somebody else's?" Tej deadpanned.Santos and Leo started off into another fight. Christiano, who was hanging around in background where everyone had forgotten about him, shot me an amused look. Everyone else was having trouble not laughing."How we supposed to get Reyes's handprint?" Rome cut into the argument."Han, Eliana. You two are up." Dom said with authority."Sure; nothing like the easy stuff." Han said confidently as he started off towards his Maverick. He put his hand on the small of my back when got close to me."Excuse me." Christiano cut in. "I realize that you owe me nothing, but I would like to borrow Eliana for a while.""For bringing us this, we owe you." Dom said gesturing to the vault. "Gisele, do you wanna go?" He asked."Sure. Let's go. I'll drive." She sauntered off towards the car without a backward glance."Be careful." Han whispered as he sized up Christiano."You too." I added. Enough venom sunk into my voice that his head turned towards me. "What?" I added innocently. He shook his head and followed Gisele, but I knew he understood.Z"Okay, you've dragged me all over Rio, bought me lunch, and haven't told me anything I didn't already know. Now skip the awkward small talk you've been giving me, and tell me what you want." I told Christiano forcefully as we walked down a nearly deserted beach only the locals seemed to be on."You Gonzalezes; no subtlety or small talk with you guys, huh?" Christiano laughed lightly."So there is a reason you took me out here." I confirmed."We got a job." He deadpanned."No." I answered immediately, even though it made me sad I wasn't working with my family. "After we pull this, I'll be too hot.""You'll be more behind scenes for this, I believe. Mechanic." He informed me."What is it?" I asked. I drug my toes through the sand as I walked impatiently as I waited for him to answer."I'm not sure. Harper's planning it." He said slowly. "But, before you really say no, we'll be keeping her contained."Harper was one of my favorite crewmembers, but she was also fairly crazy. If she picked a project she wanted to work on, she wouldn't let it go."Is that even possible?" I asked sarcastically."I'm not entirely sure." Christiano said with a laugh."It'd be good to see the family again." I said wistfully. I stopped walking to stare at the water. The beach curved back inward to some rocks and I had walked as far straight as I could without getting my toes in the waves."It would." Christiano replied."What is she doing exactly?" I asked him."The underworld of Moscow is run by a man named Demyan Yakovlev. He's overstepped a few ethical boundaries that just pissed Harper off. She's now hell-bent to get him out of power. He's an absolute car fanatic, so she's going to use that to find a way to bring his ass down." Christiano explained."So it's not what we gain, it's what he loses?" I asked."Essentially. There is a possibility of a payout.""We don't exactly need the money. If he's as bad as you're making him out to be, why don't we just call this a fun, little reunion job and give the money to the people?" I suggested."I think that's the plan." He said. His thick lips pulled back in a wide smile."Tell ya what, I'm going to think about it and I'll get back to you. It's a little too far in the future for me to commit to it right now." I told him."We meet in a week. You finish this job, and then you call me."Z"Hey guys, we have a problem! The whole team just got burned. We're all wanted now." Hopelessness pervaded Mia's voice as she yelled from her laptop. Everyone crowded around. Several mug shots appeared on her screen. I was relieved to see mine was not one of them."Diplomatic Security Service issued the warrant. Guy named L. Hobbs." She continued."Hold on." Brian said. "Dom, is that the guy you saw in the favela?" He asked as Mia pulled up the picture."Yeah." Dom answered."Hobbs is the leader in the elite taskforce for the DSS." Brian informed us."So he's good?" Tej asked. His voice carried the same tone as Mia's."When the FBI wants to find, he's the one they call. He never misses his mark. He's Old Testemant; blood, bullets, weath-of-God. That's his style."And right now, he's hunting us." Mia said what everyone didn't want to believe."Dom, we gotta move up our timeline," Han said.Great, I can actually make it to Moscow. I gotta figure out how to run this by Han. Can't exactly hide this. I thought. I was reluctant to let him work with my family. It wasn't his type of job to begin with, and I really couldn't see him getting along with the rest of my crew."How? This thing's already been difficult without Wyatt Earp on our asses. If anything, we need more room to breathe" Rome stated."Couldn't we throw him off? Give him a distraction to confuse him?" I asked."No. Guy's too bull-headed. From what I've seen of his cases, he doesn't get thrown off by much." Brian answered."We need to get some fresh air." Dom finally said.Z"What took you so long to get back today?" Han asked quietly."I haven't seen Christiano in years; we had a lot of catching up to do. He knows Rio very well, so he took me on a tour while we talked." I told him. I grabbed a clean shirt out of my bag to pull on for the races."You didn't mention him when you told me about your dad's team." Han sounded a little suspicious."Christiano's a smuggler. He only worked with us when we needed him, which wasn't that often. Why are you asking me this?" I turned to face Han who had an unreadable expression on his face."You've just been really quiet since you got back." Han answered.It was true, I had been distracted. I was weighing the pros and cons of the next job. I had also been trying to decide what kept me from outright telling Han I was offered a spot in Moscow or that I had a place set up in Italy. For some reason, it just felt like they were mine, and I didn't want them to become ours, especially now that he was getting on my nerves with the Gisele."If something were bothering you, you would tell me." He stated more than asked."Why wouldn't I?" I asked. Oh God, he knows."I don't know. You just never told me things like Kamata hitting you. I just found out about it years later in a passing comment." Han stated. I thought back to our first night here and tried to remember exactly what I had said about Kamata. All I remembered what that it made Han uncomfortable."You know you hated hearing that." I reminded him."That doesn't mean you shouldn't tell me. It obviously bothers you if you still wake up screaming.""You are the last person I want to talk to about Kamata." I instantly regretted that statement. I saw a flash of anger in Han's eyes. He felt guilty about Kamata taking his anger out at Han on me, and he hated to be reminded."Let's just get to the races." He answered after a glance at his watch so fast he couldn't have actually checked the time.Z"You know we have time to do all of that?" Rome asked me. We had just gotten back from the races, it was the middle of the night, and I was still tuning the Supra Santos wrecked.Han and I were in the middle of a fight. My careless comment had put him in a pissy mood and he had been making sarcastic comments that drove me insane. After getting to the garage, everyone stood around and talked for a minute before dispersing.We went in opposite directions without speaking."Yeah. I just-" I trailed off. It was obvious I was working to relieve some frustration."You should just call it night. You're not going to get this thing fixed anyway." Rome grabbed my sweatshirt sleeve and pulled me away from the car."You're probably right. See you tomorrow." I told him. I waved goodnight at the few remaining people and got varying degrees of response.I wrapped my sweatshirt tighter around me against the night chill. I hadn't realize exactly how tired I was until I was making the trek up a few of the hills. I was a street away from home when movement caught my eye. I paused for a second to let them pass before I realized it was just Gisele walking approaching her house.And then I realized who she was with. Han walked her to her door, and stood talking with her for a minute. I watched him start to turn away, but Gisele said something that made him turn back. In a split second, she had crossed the space between them, and was now flush against him with her lips on his.I was stunned. I felt completely numb and paralyzed. I hoped he would turn away from her, but when she finally let him go and opened her door, all he did was follow her in. I felt an annoying mixture of emotions, before one moved to the forefront of all the others: anger.I jogged back to the house we were staying and slammed the door shut behind me. I swore, paced, and slammed my hand against the door frame, but it did nothing to get rid of the rage I was feeling. I finally flopped on the bed and put my fisted hand against my forehead in helpless defeat.My brain started wandering to all the things I should say to him when he finally got back, to all the things he did wrong, to all the things I did wrong. The whirlwind of emotion was absolutely swallowing me whole. I felt so much anger, hurt, disappointment, and regret-even though it was Han's decision and not my fault.There was nothing I could have done to prevent this, right?I sighed, knowing this thought was a lie. When I left Tokyo with him, I had sort of decided that I would either stay with him until he got better, or stay with him permanently. Unfortunately, I had gone with the latter. Damn boy talked me out of the former.ZFlashbackThe still air was oppressively hot and sticky. I felt a drop sweat run down the back of my neck, even though my hair was pulled up in the back. I pulled at my tank top so it would unstick to me and continued down the narrow tiled hallway. I made it to room 329 and opened it without knocking.I was greeted with the sound of fan blades and the sight of Han lounging on his bed in a thin, sweaty t-shirt and his boxers. His thick black, unkempt hair was now hitting his shoulders. His open laptop was sitting at the foot of the bed playing some action movie. I was going to miss him. I felt the corners of my lips turn up in a sad smile at the sight as Han gave me a look that clearly said he didn't find his current state amusing."Doctor said you were almost walking again." I commented as I shut the door. I tossed Han my large purse which landed beside him. He started smirking when he saw the contents: several bags of chips, a few candy bars, and a bottle of beer. "I could only fit one." I said about the beer. I probably could have fit more, but I didn't want him to mix it with his meds."Liar." He joked. I flopped down on the edge beside him."When you can walk more than a few steps and stand longer, you're going to be released." I told him. He was quiet for a second as the movie's explosions continued in the background."I can't wait to get out of this hell hole." He responded. "Get somewhere with air conditioner." I glanced around at all of his fans with a smile."You want the window open?" I asked. It didn't help much, but at least there was a breeze. Han nodded.I slid off the edge and crossed his small room in three steps. After struggling with rusty latch, I finally managed to get it open.A small breeze floated in off of the ocean and room immediately felt less oppressive with the circulated air."Do you have another clip?" Han pointed at the back of my head."In the purse." I responded as I sat back down. "You need a haircut. Real bad." I told him as he wrestled it back off of his neck."I'll get one when I get out of here." His lips pursed like they did when he was thinking about something. "Speaking of that, what are we going to do when I get out here?" He asked me seriously."That's actually what I wanted to talk about." I murmured. I felt a sick, nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn't know what had kept it away this long. Han adopted a frown that mirrored my own. He pushed himself up off of his pillow by his elbow."You're leaving?" He asked incredulously."I-I'm not going anywhere until you can take care of yourself." I stuttered. "I have the house and a garage set up. It's enough to live comfortably off of. It's your's if you want it.""I wasn't worried about that." Han answered. He sighed when I pressed my lips together and didn't reply."I'll be okay." I said when he was obviously frustrated by my silence."I know." He said quietly as he laid back down.A silence thicker than the humidity settled between us. I had planned on moving on either to Costa Rica to visit Miles like I had planned in Tokyo before Kamata caught me, or to Italy where I had invested my dad's money. I had always thought about moving on when Han could take care of himself, but it was a lot harder than I thought."Why?" He asked."You're not going to want to stay here forever, and honestly, neither am I. But when you move back to the cities and go back to the same lifestyle you had, I don't want to go with you. I just want to find a place, and settle there. Just, lay on the beach, work on cars; not anything else." I said lamely. Han seemed to find this amusing."You really think life's going to go back to that?" Han asked me slowly. The fact that it probably wasn't sunk in when I took a good look at the shape Han was in. "Just stay with me for a while." He continued. I thought about it."If I do stay, I'm not going back to the way we were in Tokyo. I can't do a friends-with-benefits, open relationship anymore." I told him harshly. He chuckled."I'm not going back to being a playboy for a while, if that's what you're worried about." He told me seriously."That may be, but when you do, I will walk away." I told. He glanced at me."Okay, Elle." His hand snaked out to grab my knee. "But I think you're the one girl that will never have to worry about that."ZThere it was: the golden opportunity to walk away and start over, or at the very least come clean about the money. Instead I stuck with the stupid playboy who had I had watched throw out countless flings when something more interesting walked by on six foot long spider legs. Hell, he cheated on couple with me. I was so stupid.I sighed in frustration and sat up. I pushed my face into my hands before scraping my fingers through my hair. I wanted to cry so damn bad, but I wouldn't let myself. The last time I had cried was in the condemned hospital in Tokyo where Han had been taken three years ago.I was not the weak little girl I was in Tokyo. With Han in the hospital, I had to find a house and start a business to support both of us on my own. Sure I had some money to do it, but it was still hard to do when Han was drugged up in a hospital bed and there were times when the money ran very thin.At least this time I don't have to worry about starting over. I thought bitterly.Angry tears threatened to fall as I slid off the bed and pulled out my bag. I opened my drawers to get my things and shoved them unceremoniously in the bottom without bothering to fold them. Waiting for Han to get back be damned; I was getting out of here.I accidentally looked at my self in the mirror when I set my bag on the dresser to zip it. My eyes were about to overflow with tears, my jaw was rigidly set, my face was flushed with anger, and the ruby necklace Han had given me years ago was glimmering at my neck. Without thinking I yanked at the chain trying to find the clasp. I pulled too hard and it came off in my hand. I dropped it like it burned me.I suddenly couldn't take being in the house anymore. I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed for the door. When I got to the door an impulsive feeling hit me and I pulled out my house keys from Colombia and blindly threw them back in the room. With that last insult to Han, I made my way outside.Not having anywhere else to go, I started running through the streets toward a dingy, horrible looking motel I had seen at the edge of the favela. Once I got there, I broke the lock to one of the rooms and threw my bag down. I slammed the door behind me and leaned back gasping against it. I felt like I was falling apart.When I got myself calmed down, I put a towel down on the sheets which looked like they hadn't been washed once since they'd been put on the bed and curled up on it. A lot of thought and emotions swirled in my brain. I really wanted nothing more than to shut them up with tequila like everyone else in my family did when they were upset, but I knew it was better to stay sober.I also knew I had to finish the job. I didn't need the money, and I didn't need to be around Han, but I had agreed to this. It would be cowardly to run now. I just had a few more days, and then I could run. But running never solved anything for me. What I need was a distraction.I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Christiano."Hey. I'll meet you in Moscow." Without waiting for a reply, I hung up.I felt one hot tear slide down my face. I pushed it away and buried my face in my crossed arms. I could have prevented this, but because I didn't, I guess I'd just have to live with the consequence.
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People say you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Truth is, you knew what you had, you just never thought you'd lose it.ZWhen I woke up, I was even more tired than when I went to bed. I had slept longer than I planned, and the sun was streaming through the thin curtains. That only added to the pounding in my head that had developed overnight from exhaustion and anger.I pulled myself up with a groan and tried to rub the sleep from my eyes. I had hoped all of that was just a bad dream, but because I was curled on a towel so the dirty sheets in the tiny, nasty room in greasy hotel of the prostitute and crack dealer frequented variety didn't touch my skin, I was going to say it happened.I risked a scalding hot shower in the mildewed bathroom. After drying off, I planned on taking my time to get back to the factory where Han and Gisele were sure to be. That all changed when I saw a roach bigger than my thumb and got a good look around my new living quarters in the daylight. I was out of there like the place was on fire.I snuck in the door of the factory like nothing was wrong. No one noticed me except for Brian who had taken my place working on the Supra. I exchanged a quiet greeting with him before I grabbed a wrench and silently started tuning the engine while he tried to undo the damage done by the column. I kept sneaking glances up to the platform. Everyone was there aside from Han, who was taking the Impreza around the course."You're here late." Brian finally said to make small talk."Overslept." I answered lamely."Usually you're here first." He comment. I didn't answer. "Han was looking for you.""I don't know why." I answered innocently. Brian seemed to understand that I wanted him to shut up and left me to tune the cars. I shoved my earbuds in my ears and cranked the volume up on my iPod to block everything else out.Just three more days of this, and then I was off.ZI was loosening the suspension on the Porsche like Brian wanted when I noticed a pair of boots standing next to the 370 Z. I quickly turned my head back to what I was doing and pretended I hadn't noticed. Han apparently wasn't falling for it, as the next thing I saw was him kneeling down to talk to me. Before I could register what was happening, he pulled my earbuds out of my ears by the cord and kept pulling until they detached from my ipod."Everyone's gone to lunch." Han said slowly."I'm not hungry." I responded bitterly. I kept working like he wasn't there."Just talk to me. We can work it out." He said soothingly. I felt a flare of blinding rage. Before I knew what had happened, I had dropped the wrench I was using and was out from under the car standing in front of him drawn up to my full height. I could feel the flush spread across my cheeks. Han stepped back to lean on the Z."I don't really see that happening" I said evenly. It took a huge amount of self control to keep from screaming at him."It was just a little spat-" Han said defensively."Did you not notice I packed my shit and left or were you too busy fucking that Israeli -" I called Gisele a word that made Han's jaw drop."Okay, I just think you should calm down and-""Shut the fuck up, you god damned man whore! Slut!" I yelled. "I told your broken ass in that shit hole hospital that when you stepped out, so did I. That apparently isn't enough to stop you from being a slut! Is she the first or has there been a countless string of others like usual?"I took a shaky breath as my heart started hammering so loud I could hear it in my eardrums."Did you not believe me when I said I would leave you, or did you just not care?""And where do you think you're going to go? Go back to Colombia and clean out our account?" He spat."You know, you might suck at hiding your side deals, but I don't"Shock spread out across his face. "I've had a multi-million dollar business set up overseas for years. I don't need a penny from you or anybody else.""You kept this from me?" He yelled. His eyes flashed angrily and he started looking livid."I know how you are with your business partners, Han. I had to have some sort of back up." He flinched like I had slapped him."And like you don't have some way to rake in cash that I don't know about? I know you can't be happy with what we're making in Colombia." He shook his head at me."I didn't have anything like that, I assure you."He stood up straight from his place leaning against the Z and came to stand directly in front of me. I found my eyes burning as they started filling with tears and my throat tightening up. He placed his hands on my shoulders right as the first tears fell."Did you not trust me at all?" He asked slowly. I could tell he was furious, but he was holding it in."I guess not." I answered slowly. "I always wondered if I was just a roommate to you."The anger and my energy started to get sucked out of me, leaving a crushing sadness in their place. I felt a few more tears drip. After letting go of me he sighed and ran and hand through his hair."So what happens now?" He asked in frustration."I go to Moscow and you go back to fucking Gisele and whoever else you have on the side." I answered bitterly. He looked at me in shock and for a split second I thought I saw hurt in his eyes."What?" He asked breathlessly. I heard a noise and turned to see Dom standing off to the side looking like he wished he were anywhere but there."You make your choices and you don't look back." I told him even though more tears were threatening to spill. Spinning on my heel to hide them, I fled.Z"Tequila." I told the bartender.I tapped my fingers restlessly on the counter of the bar as I scanned the crowd of people around me. I was at a beachside bar at one of the resorts, so the people around me were mostly tourist in their bathing suits getting cocktails to drink while they tanned. I felt very out of place in my shorts and tank top, but at the moment, I didn't care.The bartender returned with my shot glass fairly quickly, and for a moment I just started at it. I knew this was the worst way to handle things, but I wasn't in the mood for caring.I didn't want to admit it, but my life had been combined with Han's for such a long time, it was going to be extremely difficult to start over without him. In Tokyo, he had just been a crush, then he moved to friend with benefits. That had all changed when we wound up in Colombia. Without all the physical stuff, he had just become my best friend and after that, we progressed to whatever we were. I was beginning to wonder if he saw our relationship as I did, or if I was just his roommate and business partner. I hadn't realized how much I actually cared until this.I was in love with him; it was the frustrating, and inconvenient truth that I wanted to bury. I should have figured that out sooner, but for some reason it never crossed my mind.I grabbed the shot and downed it, welcoming the burn of alcohol."I had you pegged for a glass of wine kinda girl." Someone joked. I looked over to see Mia sliding onto the stool beside me."Not quite." I muttered without looking at her as I signaled to the bartender for another one. "Dom send you?""Yep." She said shortly."How much did he hear?""All of it.""Wonderful." I said sarcastically. I took my second shot."Ya wanna slow down on those?" She asked. I turned around to see her staring at me with raised eyebrows."That was my second and I'm done." I told her. She didn't reply.We sat there silently for a second watching the waves hit the shore and the people scattered across the beach. I peeked at her out of the corner of my eye and saw her staring wistfully at the small kids playing on the edges of the waves with their dads standing protectively nearby. She bit her lip deep in thought as she watched a couple walk down the sand swinging their small daughter between them."Did you ever want kids with Han?" She said slowly."No." I answered quickly. "I wouldn't know what to do with one, and I can't see Han as a daddy." She didn't reply. "You know Dom told me." I finally said. It felt weird to know someone's secret when they didn't know you knew it."Really?" She asked with a smile. "Well, you were going to find out in a few days anyway.""Yeah, I'm not sure if I should stay." I murmured. Her head snapped around to me."You're family now; even if it didn't work with you and Han." I twitched at the reminder. "Hell, you've pulled your own weight a lot more than some of the boys have." She said to cheer me up when she noticed my slip in composure. It worked a little.We lapsed into a quiet silence. I tilted my head back a little and let the sun warm my face. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves crash at the shore and the sound of people splashing in the water. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the smell of the salt."You seem a lot happier now. Must be the tequila." Mia joked. I let out a humorless laugh. "I love the beach. Always have." I replied. And tequila. I loved that too and my head was starting to spin from the straight alcohol on an empty stomach."Then why are you heading to Moscow?" She asked with a laugh."Why does anyone go to Moscow? Cold weather, vodka, Russian guys with the accent." She threw me a pity laugh for my stupid joke. "I got the same summons the people here got from Dom.""A job?" She asked."Yeah. It seems to be more of a humanitarian effort than anything else, but I'll see when I get there. It's a coming out of retirement job for my dad's team." I answered."Would you have gone if you and Han were still together?" She asked slowly. I looked at my empty shot glass, but I could still see her watching me out of the corner of my eyes."It's my family." That was all the answer I needed to give; I knew she understood."You know when asked you 'what happens now', I think he meant 'how do we fix this'." She threw out to break the silence. I looked at her to see an unreadable expression on her face."I'm not so sure." I replied. Not being able to take it anymore, I looked back at the ocean."You know, you're the first girl anyone's ever seen Han get hung up over. You two just fit together." She gave me a minute to process this information."It only took him a couple of days to find another girl." An exasperated sigh slipped out. "He's always been like that; he stays with one until he finds the next one. After that, the first is history.""I'm so sorry." She reached over wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I signed and let her hold me for a while. "I have to ask you though, why did you stay?" Mia asked, her voice barely above a whisper."When I really started to care about him-and I mean really care, none of that teenage crush crap- he was not a playboy. He had been in a bad car wreck and was stuck in a hospital, completely unable to take care of himself. When I wasn't getting a house and a garage set up, I was sitting with him. I had time to really get to know him, and not just the club owner and ladies' man he was." I paused to take a deep breath. "Water, please." I yelled at the bartender."When he was in Tokyo, he had no relationships. They were just flings. They were very defined as unattached flings. Everyone knew. It didn't feel like cheating, because it technically wasn't. When we got together in Colombia, I made him swear to be monogamous and he agreed. I never saw anything that made me think he was being unfaithful, but now I'm not sure if he was or wasn't.""You obviously love him. Would you ever try fix it?" She asked gently as I sipped my water."Do you really think this will be the last time?" I asked. The bottom half of my vision started to swim as I began tearing up. Mia pressed her lips together. "I'm just tired of coming in second with the people I care about.""So what are you going to do now?" Mia asked after a silence."Well, It's not even two in the afternoon, and I'm drinking tequila and crying at a bar." I paused. "I think I need to go home." Mia laughed." and then I guess I'll go back and face it. It's only for a few days.""Why don't you let me drive you back." Mia suggested. "I'll stay until you clean yourself up and we can go back together." I left some money on the bar and hopped off my stool."Alright, but if something in my hotel room eats you it's not my fault."ZBeing back at the factory wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I worked with Leo and Dom as we tried to do anything possible to get the cars a little faster. Dom had given me a small, barely noticeable shoulder squeeze, and then walked away without commenting.Han had been easy to avoid. He had been behind the wheel of the Impreza almost the whole time. Gisele was another story. The girl had no shame. I had been beside Tej and Rome watching the camera, before she walked in and greeted me just like she did before. I wanted to hit her, but I reminded myself I was not in the barrio anymore and just ignored her.Finally, Han slid to a stop and stepped completely out of the car. His piercing gaze found me off to the side, and I made myself look away. After finding out he still got caught by the camera, he finally looked away and shook his head."Close, but not enough.:""Dom, the window's just too small, man. The only way we're going to be able to do this is if we had invisible cars." He said in frustration."Alright." Dom said after a moment of thought "I know just where to get some."I glanced at Dom out of the corner of my eye in confusion. Dom's expression remained confident and smug, so I amused he had it all figured out and went back to working on the car and blocking everything out."Boys, let's go for a ride." He said. The guys started to glance around at each other in confusion, but prepared to leave anyway."You too." He said to me with a slap on the shoulder.ZFor the first time in life, I would choose to be anywhere else on the planet than stealing cars. Cop cars, at that. It made the thought so much more worrying.Han and I still weren't speaking. It was a lot easier to not speak to him since he had chosen to ride shotgun instead of in the back of the van- next to Gisele who was driving.Butterflies began fluttering in my stomach when I saw the high fence rising up through the windshield down the road. The boys opened the door pulled themselves up on the top of the van without a problem, but being a foot shorter than every one of them, I had difficulty. Brian hauled me all the way up on the truck by my forearm. I gave him a quick smile before focusing on the fence quickly approaching."Don't hurt yourself." Gisele called. I was pretty sure she was talking to me."Yo shorty. You think you can make that jump?" Rome asked with a flash of white teeth in the dark. No."We're about to find out." I said jokingly to cover up my anxiety.I was not in a place to show weakness right now.Before I was ready, the fence was no longer in the in the distance. I knew I wasn't coordinated. Most of the people on top of the van knew I wasn't coordinated from watching me bounce off anything I could find with a corner or slip as I walked up the concrete steps. I felt Rome get a solid grip on the back of my shirt and I felt a lot more comfortable doing this.I wasn't paying attention to who went first; I just jumped when the people in front of me where no longer on top of the van. I sailed across easily, but did not sick the landing. I was grateful for Rome's steadying grip on me and the support he gave me on the jump down.I dropped to a crouching run with the guys the second my feet touched down and Rome let go. I quickly caught up with Dom and Brian across the lot at the new Chargers. I quickly broke into the first and had it started for Dom. I did the same for the rest and crawled over the center console to sit shotgun on the fourth.I made eye contact with Han as reached the third as slid in. A pang went through my chest when he pulled off and Rome got in with me, but I ignored it."Not bad, girl." Rome said loudly with a laugh. I gave him a thin, forced smile. "Now watch this." He said as he slammed his foot down on the gas.We pulled up at the line way right after Han did."Hey Rome, what took you so long? I thought for sure you were going to show up with some chrome spinners or something." Brian joked from the end Charger with a mile wide smile. Rome laughed sarcastically."Real funny." Brian started cracking up at his own joke. Rome shook his head and grabbed the microphone." I was just telling Eliana here that I was about to take all ya'll in the next quarter mile for a hundred thousand dollars." He replied cockily. I felt a smile spread across my face even though Han was staring at us from the next car. This was going to be fun after all."Like your broke ass has got a hundred grand." Brian yelled back still laughing."We pull off this job I will." Rome shot back in the microphone. I felt my smile pull wider. "Next two lights. A hundred thousand.""We don't pull of this job we're probably dead anyway." Han yelled. "Let's make it a million.""Hey, I like that! Million dollar quarter mile." Brian yelled back."You only live once. Let's do it." Rome seconded."What do ya say, Dom?" Brian asked."Are we talking or we racing?" Dom's deep voice rumbled.Excitement coursed through me as I settled back into my seat. Rome took on the most serious expression I had ever seen cross his face. My lips turned up in amusement at the sight. He spared one glance at the other drivers before focusing everything on the road again. He got distracted once more as he looked over the dash before finding the police lights and flipping them on, which made me laugh.A few seconds before the light turned green we were off. The power of the Charger's engine pushed me back against the seat.I started to laugh again when I saw how far ahead we were. That didn't last long though as the others flew past."I wanna get this money. I'm hungry!" Rome yelled out as we drove.Rome swung behind the others, to dodge some parked cars as Brian did the same. The second the road was clear again, we were sort of back to four wide. It was a main drag race between the two in front, with a third guys swerving behind them. I had lost track of who was who when the cars started shuffling. We got right to the end of the lights when the lead car suddenly slid back enough for the second to pass."Was that Brian or Dom?" I asked with a grin. "All I saw was tail lights." I added teasingly. He looked at me and scoffed."That was Brian.""Think he noticed Dom let off on the throttle?" I asked mischievously. Rome just snickered and shook his head."We gonna find out."ZThe disconnection from my current set of problems ended when I stepped out of the car. Han and Rome had a quick, muffled exchange while Dom congratulated Brian. I slipped off to grab some wire cutters to start ripping out the GPS while they talked.I couldn't help but giggle when Brian was left second-guessing himself with a hilarious expression on his face."Did he really let off the throttle?" He asked me in a dazed voice."All I saw was tail lights." I answered to avoid adding to the insults Rome just used. We shared a laugh when Rome flipped me off from the platform before he left me alone to work.ZI woke up on the couch feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I slowly sat up. Something warm felt away from me, and I looked to see I had been wrapped in Han's sweat shirt. It took me forever to notice that Han was leaning on the pipe railing surrounding the platform. His dark eyes were zeroed in on me. The rest of his face remained completely expressionless except for a tenseness in his jaw.I looked around to see no one else. It must have been really early."How long have I been out?" I asked."An hour." He replied."That's another hour the cops had to track us." I muttered as I hauled myself up to finish ripping the GPS out of the last car."Dom did it for you." He said quickly."Oh." There was a lull in the conversation where neither of us could think of something to say."Why Moscow?" He asked after a while."My family asked me to go." I answered slowly."After all this?""I'll be doing behind the scenes grunt work. They won't get caught." Han dropped eye contact and got quiet again. I took this as my queue to go home and take a shower.I made it down the stairs before Han called out to me again."Mia didn't tell me where you where, but she said you weren't safe there. If you want to go home, I can sleep here." He asked slowly.I couldn't believe Han just offered to sleep on the couch of an old car factory to give me the house. He must have cared a whole lot more than I thought."Han, I'm going to be okay." I told him quietly. He nodded."I know."ZThe finality of tomorrow set in as I sat on the fringe of the barbeque listening to Santos and Leo argue of Leo's horrible grilling skills. I wasn't an overdramatic, touchy feely kinda girl, but right now I felt like my heart had been ripped out. Han obviously felt bad too, because he kept sneaking glances at me from his place on the couch with Rome and Tej.Finally he pulled himself up, grabbed two beers and crossed the floor to me. He sat down silently beside me without looking at me. I cracked my beer open and took a swig without a word; there was nothing we could say to each other at this point.After a long moment of watching the rest of the crew interact, Han turned to face me. I felt his eyes bore into the side of my face as he gauged my stony expression."You know I didn't mean for this to happen." He muttered. I closed my eyes and hoped he didn't notice that I rolled them."It was going to happen at some point, Han." He winced."I did care about you, Elle." I didn't reply.The silence became suffocating. Suddenly uncomfortable sitting on my chair, I started shifting my weight restlessly. Han turned to say something to me, but was cut off when my phone started ringing. I stood and quickly yanked it out of the pocket. Harper's name flashed across the screen."Harper?" I asked."Eliana. I need you on the next plane out of Rio." Harper's accent was so choked with tears I could barely understand her."What's going on?" The blood drained from my face. Han knew something was wrong and shifted in his chair to fully face me."He's shot." She slurred off in a scramble of German syllables."They don't think he's going to make it.""Who's shot?" I yelled. My heart started pounding in my ears. "You have to speak English." I felt everyone's attention on me, but I didn't care."Anton." She muttered sadly.Harper was originally from Berlin, but she married an English man when she was really young. It was not a happy marriage, and she left him to join dad's crew. She had been an almost item with Anton for years, but never actually had anything with him."How?" I asked quickly. The need to take control of the situation over rode the hurt I felt at Anton's injury. Harper needed someone to not break down with her right now."He beat one of our mark's guys in a street race and he didn't handle defeat well. Demyan already had his guy painted up as defending himself and they are pressing charges on Anton. When they do, they'll find out about everything else. "I slumped back in my chair. This would get law enforcement's attention on the whole team. Unless we started working on discrediting the guy immediately, we wouldn't be able to ever. If we didn't do it now the guy got away with everything."You should go." I turned to stare at Dom. "Vince can take your spot. Sounds like they need you a hell of a lot more than we do."I nodded."Thank you." I told him. "Harper, I'll be on the next flight. Wait for me." I hung up and dropped my head in my hands. A large, warm hand slid across my shoulder and I glanced over to see Han staring at me. His hand slid off of me when I stood to say my goodbyes."Gonna miss you, baby girl." Rome wrapped me big bear hug."Good luck." Tej said as he shook my hand.Santos and Leo hugged me next, with Mia and Brian following behind. I discreetly told Mia good luck so no one would hear before she announced it. I got quick hug from Dom, who had apparently been told by Mia why I was leaving for Moscow. I gave Gisele a nod and started walking for the exit.Han met me almost there. He pulled me in an awkward, stiff hug. It made me feel even worse to know I wasn't the last woman pressed against him."Be careful." He said. I nodded before pulling away from him, only for him to pull me back by my sleeve. "Maybe we'll see each other again in different circumstances." He said awkwardly."Maybe. I hope not." I replied just as awkwardly. "Goodbye Han. Take care of my Camaro for me."His grip loosened on my sleeve and I walked away.ZThe lights of Rio spun the plane banked around the statue of Jesus that watched over the city. This was very similar to saying goodbye and leaving Tokyo, but this time it felt so different. For the first time in my life, I would be truly alone when I started my life over. The thought scared me.I felt so hollow walking away from Han with nothing but a duffel bag of clothes, but I knew it was for the best. Even if we could work things out, things wouldn't be the same: I was a liar, and he was cheat. That might never change.The city below me disappeared completely as the plane climbed above the clouds.Moscow here I come. I thought bitterly.
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10Dear "Money can't buy happiness",I'd rather cry in a Ferrari. Z"Gabriella, tell Miles I got the papers signed. I can start getting permits Monday." I muttered quickly in botched Italian to Miles's secretary as I scurried down the crowded sidewalk as fast as my heels would let me."I will Miss Delgado." She responded. "Also, you need to be at the stadium by two-thirty if you're going to make the start of the game." She responded in clipped Italian. There was the sound of papers shifting and I knew she was looking at our calendar. I glanced at my watch. There was no way I was going to make kick-off."I'll be there. Bye." I answered quickly as I hung up.For the first time in the six months I had been away from Han, I was happy and didn't feel like I was in freefall. Sure, being with my family again was amazing, but everything was still a little fresh on my mind.The job in Moscow was a great distraction. It was two weeks of stripping every trace of identification off of stolen cars and putting a GPS tracker so deep in the engine blocks that not even the most observant gear head could spot it. The physical labor did wonders for my frustration as it let my mind off duty.Unfortunately, the reason we were moving the job up was still hanging over our heads: Anton. When the Ukrainian wasn't going through a multitude of surgeries to remove the bullet that collapsed his lung, he was being watched by a cop. That meant no contact from any members of our team.That didn't last long. With a number of "questionable" (staged) occurrences that revolved around Demyan and put him on the national radar to the point where they couldn't ignore it anymore, it was only a matter of time before the stolen cars now in his possession were seized by the Russian government. The GPS was eventually found when the cops tore apart the cars. The data on the tracker was like a map to every criminal business he connected with.Once they were distracted, we got Anton out of the hospital and let one of his higher-ups from his KGB days clear his name and classify everything in his file. it effectively got the team off of the cops' radars. The victory was made even sweeter by the fact that Anton was alive to see it and was going to stay that way for a while. He was now mostly healthy and living in Dublin with Harper.While I was glad that they were happy, it took me a while.After leaving Moscow, I went to Italy to run the casino for Miles. About the time I started getting bored running things in Italy, Miles decided he wanted to expand his business to a few other cities. So after a quick name change from Eliana Gonzalez to Eliana Delgado to make sure no one could dig up my past with the Yakuza, my dad's crew, or Dom's, I was turned loose on Europe.Vienna, Prague, Munich, Zurich, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris, Barcelona: they all fell away in my rearview mirror. I still had a long list of places to go, but that all changed when I saw Madrid.One night and the city had me hooked.Before I knew what I was doing, I had an apartment overlooking a fountain in one of the plazas and a garage filled with whatever cars I found that interested me. Porsche, Ferrari, Audi, Corvette: you name it, I had it or at least had thought about it. I was also the proud owner of a large piece of prime real estate in the middle of the city that was about to be remodeled and turned into a nightclub. This was the first time I had made any attempt at setting down roots; and so far, it was going perfectly.It didn't hurt that for once in my life I was actually spending the money I made instead of just saving it. I was beginning to realize exactly how shallow people were. When you showed up in designer clothes and an Ascari KZ1-R, and you were automatically in the top social circle.I was brought out of my thoughts when my phone started ringing again. I growled when I almost tripped crossing the street while I tried to dig my phone out of my oversized purse."Hello," I answered in a strained voice after finally finding the damn thing."Are you at the game yet?" Miles's voice sounded in my ear."Working on it. I have to stop by home first," I muttered as I weaved between people on the sidewalk. I had two blocks until I got to my apartment to change, and then I would be on my way. The day had been beautiful, so for once I had chosen not to drive; a decision I was seriously regretting in my shoes."You're going to be late." He replied blandly. His voice lacked its usual sarcastic edge, so I guess he was playing computer games, tossing a tennis ball at his office door to see how much he could annoy Gabriella, or shopping for a boat on the internet as he had obsessively been doing this past week. Oh, the life of a boss."I'm not going to watch a football game in a skin-tight pencil skirt and five-inch heels." I spat a little too loudly. I attracted a little bit of unwanted attention from the people around me. After a quick glance at me, they all went back to walking except for a three-year-old who quit staring a few seconds later when I made a face at him."Oh, so that's how you got the guy to sign over the deed. Good job." He remarked. I rolled my eyes.I finally made it in my building. I pulled my heels off the second I was out of the street and started running up the stairs."I hate you sometimes," I muttered. "The important thing is, we can start remodeling when I get the permits, which won't take that long.""Good." Still sounded distracted.He didn't reply for a minute. I used that time to get my apartment door open and grab for the jeans and extremely thin sweater I had laid out on my couch for when I came home to change. I told Miles to hold on and changed as fast as humanly possible before running back out the door with my wedge heels in my hand."I'm back," I said breathlessly as I took the stairs two at a time."When are you getting here?' I asked."Huh?" He replied. I jumped the last three steps and pushed my feet in my shoes before opening the door with a lot more strength than necessary."'There is no way I am letting you remodel a club that I am the half owner of without my half of the approval.'" I quoted sarcastically. That got his attention."Damn right, I'm not. I guess Wednesday." He told me cryptically.I shifted my phone to my shoulder and started fishing for my keys. I huffed at his noncommittal-ness."You have to tell me," I growled. I bounced off of someone's arm that I hadn't noticed because I was so busy rushing to the driver's side door of my car. "Sorry" I yelled back to them in Spanish without looking."You'd better be," Miles remarked."Not you. I gotta go or I'm gonna miss the game" I said as I unlocked my door and flung myself in before speeding to the stadium.Z"Okay, so in what universe was that a handball?" My best friend Desi asked when he sat heavily at our table."I know! The ref was obviously blind." I respond as I sipped at the glass of white wine in my hand."You two can't take losing, can you?" Our other friend Tristan chimed in. He chuckled behind his glass of beer."Coming from the guy who hates sports." I shot back."Coming from the girl who should hate sports." He replied."Tristan, don't start that fight. She can probably kick your ass." The fourth of the group, Leonardo, broke in."Yeah, you go back to your skinny little girls with their fake lips and fake hair. We'll keep her." Desi responded. Tristan rolled his eyes which made me laugh.As much of a non-people person I was, I had made friends easily with these three. At first, they had treated me like one of the usual girls they were used to seeing at the clubs, but after watching me yell at a TV during a football game that wasn't going my way, I was immediately one of the boys. Around them, I didn't have to be so well mannered and business-like the way I had to around everyone else I met; I could just be me. I had missed that comfortable friendship."Are we going out tonight or what?" Leonardo finally broke the silence."Ah, I have to go change again if we go clubbing," I muttered. The guys laughed until they realized they would, too since they had on Real Madrid jerseys and shirts."After we eat, let's just go home, change, and then we can meet up again," Desi suggested. "Don't get lazy on me now, guys. I want to have fun tonight!""Fine." Tristan sighed. He looked at me with a small smirk on his face; since he agreed with Leonardo and Desi, I now had to."I'll be there." I caved with a glare at Tristan. If I didn't go, I'd never hear the end of it.ZA bead of sweat trailed down my spine as the people around me seemed to close in as the pounding music got faster. Claustrophobia started to overtake me. I tugged on Lorenzo's sleeve and pointed to the bar, which I would be surprised if he saw in the low light. He figured out where I was going and promised to join me in a minute.After being on the crowded dance floor, the cool air conditioner vent by the bar and the barstool to rest my sore feet were like heaven. I settled down with my back leaning against the bar and a drink in my hand to people watch. I had been doing a lot of that lately, and it had given me several ideas on how to run my new club. Of course, I still had the monumental task of getting Miles to agree to those ideas, but I could work around that.I found Lorenzo in the crowd completely distracted by a blonde and knowing him, he was going to stay that way. Unless he screwed that up, which was hysterical when it happened. He said something to the woman and her smile faltered. The corners of my lips turned up and at the thought that he was about to get slapped."Corona." A person yelled from beside me. My smirk faltered.*Oh my God. I'd know that voice anywhere. Do I look?* I glanced out of the corner of my eye. *Crap. He's watching me. I'm not speaking first.*Han's familiar bore-into-your-soul stare was now completely directed at me. He looked the same as he always did; carelessly styled long hair, clean-cut collared shirt with no undershirt, and khakis.I didn't think he'd seen my little glance out of the corner of my eye, so I kept looking at the people around me.I was still angry at Han. After all these months of not seeing him, just thinking about him pissed me off. It also sent a pang running through my chest. Sometimes I thought the anger was more of a cover for hurt than it was actual anger.The clink of the beer bottle hitting the bar sounded and I let out a sigh of relief; he was leaving. That relief was very short-lived when he slid onto the barstool next to me. I continued to ignore him and sip on my drink, but now the nerves at seeing him again had caused my heart and breathing to pick up to a point where he was sure to notice."A little different than Moscow, huh?" He asked conversationally.His face remained completely emotionless and didn't match his carefree tone."Just a bit," I answered slowly as I turned to meet his gaze head-on. "I didn't expect to see you in Madrid.""I've always wanted to go here." He responded before turning back to people watch.*Of course, you did. That's just my luck.*"Did your teammate live?" Han asked."He's alive and happier now than he's ever been."I went back to watching Lorenzo who was striking out with the blonde. She finally moved to dance in a circle of her friends, leaving him alone. I caught his eye and toasted him with a smirk."Friend of your's?" Han asked in an amused tone when Lorenzo gave me the finger."Yes," I answered without looking away from where Lorenzo disappeared into the crowd.An uncomfortable silence settled between us. The longer Han sat beside me the more annoyed I got at him. I couldn't just turn around and ask him what the hell he wanted without looking more bitter than I was. I also couldn't just walk away without it being completely rude."What was it?" He asked randomly."What was what?" I asked as I finished my drink and set it back on the bar."The multi-million dollar business you came here to run." He clarified. Fury started to bubble in my chest when I turned to look at him. His lips were set in a frown of irritation. Apparently, he blamed me for our breakup as much I did him."It's not here, but it's a casino and a few hotels," I answered. He nodded."That's a little better than my side deal." He commented dryly. I had to force myself not to snap my head around to look at him. I remembered him shaking his head when I mentioned him having a side business and couldn't decide if he had been lying then or if he was talking about Gisele."There you are." I turned to see Gisele walking over to Han in a short dress and very high heels. She slid straight on his lap the second she got there. "Ellie. I thought you were in Moscow.""It was a little cold for me." I deadpanned. Han shifted uncomfortably.I felt the color rise on my face. I was furious. I briefly considered just decking Han, but I knew that wouldn't reflect well on me and the rich businesswoman mask I had been forced to wear. The people around me could never deal with the truth and they'd turn my ass in if they knew everything."I see you've been doing well for yourself. Must have been hard starting over alone." Gisele commented as she slid her had down Han's bicep.I had to take a deep steadying breath.I could do this. This was my city; I was here first. I was not going to let the appearance of some former race rat who clawed and screwed her way to the job of a drug lord's secretary and the lazy, money-grubbing man-whore who was going to be fat in a few years take that away from me.I had gone from the poorest neighborhood in San Juan to the half owner of the most popular hotel and casino in Italy. I was now about to be the person to beat in Madrid if my little project panned out. I had survived more than most people ever would in their life and still wound up at the top; there was no way in hell I was going to let an ex-boyfriend and his fling get the better of me."Miss Delgado." A waitress quietly interrupted my mental pep talk with a drink on her tray. "This is from that man over there." She pointed to Desi sitting on a couch across the room. "He wanted me to tell you congratulations."I smiled back at her and took the drink. Desi winked at me."I'd say it worked out fairly well. Excuse me." I smiled cockily at Gisele and Han. I grabbed my purse and phone and stood up surprisingly gracefully in my heels. Desi rose to meet me in the middle of the room and allowed him to guide me back to one of the couches. I vindictively took note of the shocked look on Han's face."Thank you. You are the best friend a girl could have." I muttered to him as we sat down."A best friend who didn't hear about the closing on the new nightclub. I had to find out because Tristan asked me if you had told me anything." He drew out in mock offense."Sorry. I was distracted by the bad ref." I answered, smiling like I was having the time of my life."Yeah, yeah. Oh, and sorry about the girlfriend. You really should avoid guys like that." He lectured before tossing back a shot. My smile dropped as it felt like I had been stabbed in the chest. He had no idea. "Anyway, I've got a pretty early morning and you probably do too. What do you say we start rounding up the guys?"ZI sighed tiredly when I finally made it up the stairs and into my apartment. My ankles were killing me after a long day of standing. After locking my door behind me, I dragged myself into the kitchen for a late snack.I loved my apartment. It wasn't extravagant enough compared to most people's taste, but that was alright with me. The main room in the place was the living room. It was painted a simple cream with tile fireplace in the center of one wall. It was separated from the kitchen by a bar. The kitchen was done in the same colorful tile as the fireplace.When I finished with my snack, I meandered back through the living room to the French doors to my bedroom. I shoved them open and sighed in happiness when I saw my big, fluffy white comforter spread across my iron frame bed. I jumped on the waiting bed and buried my face in the pillows.My bedroom was the only room that really held a lot of color. It was painted a dark red which contrasted sharply with the cream color of the rest of the apartment when I left the door open. One wall was dominated by another set of French doors that led to a balcony overlooking a beautiful fountain in the plaza below. This place held a simple beauty that a lot of people I knew couldn't appreciate. To me, it was home.I pulled myself out of the comforter long enough to change out of my uncomfortably tight dress and into a nightgown. I burrowed down into the comforter and was almost fast asleep without even turning the light off when my phone rang.Muttering colorful threats for the person if I ever ran into them, I snatched it off of my nightstand.An unfamiliar number hovered above the picture of an envelope saying I had a text message. I stared at it for a minute before opening it.*Los Galayos. Plaza Mayor. 11:30 a.m. tomorrow. I want to see you in person.*I stared at it with wide eyes, suddenly awake. This was a phone I used for business in Madrid. Sure, the boys had my number, but they wouldn't give it out. Especially to someone who spoke English.My curiosity was piqued, but I had a meeting at city hall to get the permits I needed that would take too long for me to make it.*Not possible. Sorry.* I texted back. If they texted back and they didn't have the wrong number, then I might actually be curious enough to see who this was.*Plaza de la Cibeles. The Fountain. 2:00 p.m.?* I stared at the reply as I tried to talk myself out of it.*Please Eliana.* My mouth dropped open. I had to see who this was.I sent a quick reply before laying back with my hands on my face.I was going to wind up getting taken. Again.
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11."I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her. Love is so short, forgetting is so long."Twenty Love Poems and a Song of DespairPablo NerudaZThis was crazy, I was a total idiot, I was probably going to get kidnapped by a serial killer, but I was doing it anyway.There was no way this could end well. A random person gets my number and tells me to meet them someplace, and I agree. I mean, who was going to be waiting? A person telling me I'd won a private island? The more likely option was a guy in a white van with candy.At least I was armed this time.I was never without the gun I had gotten from the Yakuza. After leaving Han and knowing I would have to have the upper hand in a fight with a burglar without his extra muscle, I talked one of the ex-military guys in my dad's crew into teaching me how to shoot. Turns out, I wasn't that bad.The big fountain splashed happily across the street from City Hall where I now stood. This was actually the best possible meeting place and time they could have come up with since the applications for the permits had taken longer than I thought and it was now almost the meeting time and I was already in the plaza. The fountain itself was surrounded by the road, so there was no way to actually be beside it. The most likely option was on the busy, tree-lined sidewalk across the street.I glanced around me nervously. There were a few business people, a French-speaking family armed with cameras, and a guy in a rain jacket and baseball hat reading the paper on a bench. He looked the most likely but had made no move towards me. Across the street it was. That worked out for me anyway; I had parked down that way.I quickened my pace across the stopped traffic until I got to the other side. Pausing for a moment, I glanced around.This was really one of the dumbest things I'd ever done. I was going to get myself kidnapped and stabbed over a bit of curiosity. That didn't change the fact that I really wanted to know.I snorted and started walking towards my car. If someone found me, good for them, but I was not going to wait around. They had gotten in touch with me once, they could do it again. Next time I would be smarter and bring Desi or Lorenzo with me. Both of them were big athletes, so they looked scary enough to back off most people.A peal of thunder sounded as the clouds flickered with lightning. The trees bent over at the force of the wind. I slowed down to look up at the darkening clouds and then quickened my pace so I could make it back without getting wet. The rest of the people on the sidewalk were also hurrying to get out of the rain. I gave up on finding whoever texted me.Apparently, that was a little premature.Out of nowhere, someone passing me wrapped a gentle hand around my wrist. I jumped in shock and tried to pull away. They allowed me to move my hand back, but they still kept the same amount of pressure on their fingers. I turned to see Han. Should have known."Disappointed?" He asked with a forced smirk."Considering the fact I was expecting a guy in a windowless white van?" I shot back. His smirk dropped off."Look, I just wanted to talk. We owe each other that." He murmured."I don't owe you anything." I almost yelled back. I felt my face flushed the way it always did when I was angry. A few passing people turned to stare."You failed to mention the millions you had stashed in Europe. Hell yeah, you owe me an explanation." He retorted."After three years you left for a girl you knew for a week. I don't owe you shit." I spat back."I didn't leave, you did. And believe me, finding out the girl in bed beside me for three and a half years had an exit strategy was a slap in the face." He responded"Oh, so that's what was I was to you. I always wondered!" I sarcastically replied as I yanked my wrist out of his grasp. He sighed angrily and closed his eyes.By now everyone was staring at the pissed off Puerto Rican girl and the irate Korean man. The oncoming fall thunderstorm forgotten, several tourists had stopped to take pictures. I readjusted my blazer, straightened my spine, and tried to regain my composure."Han, it ended, okay? That's it." I said quietly before turning to walk back to my car. I felt myself choking up a little as my white Corvette came into view. I forced every emotion back behind a mask and went on pretending nothing had ever happened."Elle," Han called right as I put my hand on the driver's side door. "Just give me one chance to explain myself.""Why should I?" I shot back."Just let me explain, and then I'll leave you alone."ZShould've told him no. Should've walked faster to my car without hesitating to look around at the crowds. Should've told him I didn't want to see him in a text. This was just not a good day for decision making. There were enough red flags for me to have avoided this. I had never been very good at listening to those red flags.Han was staring at me with his chin resting in his hand as I self consciously chewed on a tapa. I still wasn't sure why I let him get in the car with me, or how I let him talk me into going to lunch, but I was definitely regretting it."What did you want to say?" I finally asked in a business-like tone. He sighed and took a sip of his beer."I fucked up." He deadpanned. I remained quiet. "I didn't mean for things to go the way they did."I had wanted him to tell me he messed up when he talked to me that day on the factory platform. I wanted him to apologize. He didn't do it. He let me walk away without a word.I knew better than to expect Han to follow me out of the factory; it was not his nature. I knew I would not have taken him back if he did. Just the thought that he tried would have made this hurt a little less.Now I was finally getting an apology. Right after I saw him in another country with the girl he chose over me. That really hurt."You've always done that; I knew that when I agreed to stay," I replied with a straight poker face. It hurt to put that on myself, but it was a better reply than screaming at him that it was all his fault like I wanted to. I had already shown too much emotion in the plaza."I didn't want to do it again. We had too much together." He grabbed a tapa off the plate between us so he didn't have to look at me."We really didn't have that much," I said thinking of our little house near the beach."We had a life in Colombia." he paused. "We also had a crew in Tokyo."I glanced away towards the window as I felt my temper flare. The rain was now hitting it hard as the wind blew outside. A few people ran down the street outside with umbrellas or jackets over their head. I entertained myself by watching the cars passing by splash up water. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and turned back to Han."You know I never told Sean," I informed him. "He would not be able to handle knowing you cheated on me." He looked like I had slapped him, which was what I was going for in my moment of vindictive fury.Sean was my older half brother's best friend. He learned every bit he knew about cars from my dad and brother. He was a constant fixture in my house and he eventually became another brother to me. We had a weird little family unit: Brent and I didn't have a mom, and he didn't have a dad. We weren't exactly the Brady Bunch, but it worked. When my brother got deployed, Sean kind of took his place as well as he could since we no longer lived in the same town."I told him," Han replied. My eyebrows raised. "He wasn't happy. What did you tell him, anyway?""That we didn't agree on where to go and what to do after we left Colombia, to the point where we just couldn't take each other anymore. Ironic, huh? Bet he was shocked to figure out we were both in Madrid." I asked sarcastically."I can't believe he fell for that." Han deadpanned."Sean's not the brightest bulb in the box. Besides, sometimes I don't even know how we got along. We are two very different people." I responded. Han took another sip of beer."We aren't that different." He replied."Bad neighborhood. Below poverty line. Single parent-if you could call her that. Sent to Juvie early in life." I listed. "Versus middle-class family, probably well-off. Stable home. Got into crime out of boredom. " I watched a slight look of shock cross Han's face. If I hadn't known him for so long, I probably wouldn't have seen the change. "All of that made a huge difference in how we are now.""And you came up with this?" He trailed off for me to finish."By how you act." I paused. "It certainly wasn't because you told me. In fact, I'm not even sure you told me your real last name.""I did, Miss Delgado." He drew out the syllables of my new last name to be a pain in the ass. "My real last name is Lue. When I get involved in things like with Dom, I go by Seol-Oh.""Oh, you are such a dork," I responded. I let a little laugh slip out. Han's lips turned up at the corners."You're the only one who knows that," Han told me."Yeah, don't tell anybody else." I deadpanned, still laughing."I meant about me being a dork." He shot back."I doubt that, Han."I broke eye contact with him and started glancing around to the other people in the restaurant. There weren't that many people sitting around us to look at, though one man did catch my eye.My lips pulled into a frown as I tried to remember where I'd seen him. He moved a little too far up in his chair and I saw his rain jacket. It was the guy from the plaza. Guess he was in the mood for tapas too."It's not the same," Han said slowly. My head snapped back around to him."What?" I asked. He sighed."It's not the same as it was with you and me." Gisele. He was talking about Gisele."I don't see how there could be anything similar to that relationship." I deadpanned. "I was just convenient."The bitter last line wasn't supposed to come out, but it did.She was the girl with the six-foot-long spider legs that Han had problems resisting, a badass attitude I only had when I was dodging other drivers behind the wheel of a car, and an aggressiveness which I found slutty, but apparently others didn't. I was the just short, bony, awkward little girl who was convenient for Han to stay with.But now I wasn't that girl anymore. The days of wearing no makeup and ratty, grease-stained clothes were gone. Replacing them were high heels, business clothes, and expensive name brands. I didn't leave the house in the mornings without makeup on my face and my hair tamed into soft curls. The change obviously caught Han's attention."It wore off." He said quietly. Don't do it. Don't take the bait."What did?" I asked hesitantly."The sex appeal." He replied."Usually does." I deadpanned. Han sighed at my unwillingness to talk.We sat in a crushing silence while we ate half the plate. I kept remembering the good times and I ended up feeling so hurt I almost teared up. I was ready to pick up my purse and leave when he broke the silence."Don't you want to know what the business on the side I had on the side was?" I felt myself pale slightly as he changed the subject. If it was another girl, then there was no way I could keep up a poker face and not throw my drink on him."Okay," I said slowly for him to continue."I was getting stolen parts and installing them. I wasn't making that much off of them, and I couldn't do it that often or you'd know when you did the books, but it was just a little extra." He said slowly."I was expecting something a little more-lucratively illegal," I commented. To be honest, I was disappointed. "I was a wanted man and, at the moment, I just wanted peace." His lips twitched up in an amused expression. "I hated to bring the cops down on us. Actually, that's what the money was for; a safety net.""That's why I kept the casino," I said before I could stop myself. His expression darkened. "I invested the money from one of my dad's old accounts when I thought we were going our separate ways after you got out of the hospital. I just kept it as a place to go if everything imploded again." I rambled."Why didn't you tell me?" He asked in frustration."Why didn't you tell me?" I shot back. He nodded his head to say I had him. "I wanted to tell you, but I never could force the words out of my mouth. Having everything as ours scared the hell out of me." I said honestly. He gave a humorless laugh."You always were independent.""I've always had to be," I responded. Too much. That was definitely too much."I probably need to go. I have to call my business partner and everything." I stuttered as I pulled enough Euros to cover lunch out of my purse and tossed them on the table. I had to get out of there before I started saying things I regretted. I was feeling way too comfortable with this conversation.Suddenly, I remembered that I drove him here. I looked at him to see if he was going to say anything. Instead, he waved me off."Goodbye, Ellie."ZI watched with amusement as Desi readjusted his tie for the fiftieth time in the short drive. He rubbed two off his fingers above his lip where he previously had the shadow of a mustache that he was always too lazy to shave."Desi." He didn't respond. "Desi," I said louder as I poked him. He gave me a nervous glance. "It's going to be fine.""I know, but this is a risky exhibit. If this doesn't pan out, they could let her go." He said in exasperation.It was a little known fact among non-close friends; Desi Pavia was a mama's boy.Mrs. Silvia Pavia was the curator at one of the city's large museums. She was one of those people that radiated grace and elegance, and she did everything possible to show that on the exhibits she created. Tonight she was showcasing the little-known, out of style pieces from an artist way out of the limelight. If investors hated it, she was out of a job.And for all Desi's tough, pretty boy sports enthusiasts exterior, he was freaking out."She's going to be fine," I said one more time. He snorted and looked out the window of his dad's Rolls Royce.The museum grew closer and closer out the window. From what I could tell, from the outside, it looked like there was a good turnout. Desi had calmed down a little when he saw the number of people there.Before he had time to get any more stressed, the driver was pulling up at the curb. He opened the door for Desi, who slid out and offered me his hand. I took in and together we made our way inside.The inside was filled with expensively dressed people meandering around the paintings with champagne glasses in their hands. Desi had left ever trace of nervousness in the car and was now politely joking with the people around him. I was struggling to remember the names of all of the people I was introduced to."Good evening." Silvia swooped out of nowhere to see us."Hi, mom. How's it going?" Desi asked as he grabbed a champagne glass off of a passing tray for the three of us."Perfect. Some of our big investors are asking about purchasing some of the paintings when they come off exhibit." She smiled beautifully as she accepted the champagne glass. "You look beautiful, by the way, Eliana."I smiled back and thanked her.I was wearing a tight, plain black cocktail dress with a strapless, sweetheart neckline. My hair was swept into a slightly messy side bun with my bangs curled around my face. I had spent forever on my eye makeup and the smoky eye with lots of mascara and eye liner had come out looking perfect. I had finished out my look with a very elaborate diamond choker and chandelier earrings.For once I didn't feel out of place. Tonight, I felt completely beautiful."Oh, there he is." She gestured to a man standing off to one side looking at a painting. "He wanted to talk to me about letting us borrow a piece. Please, enjoy the exhibit." She excused herself and left."See; you were worried about nothing." I jabbed him with a smiled. He rolled his eyes at me."Let's just go look at these paintings so we can go home." He grumbled. I followed him through the exhibit.The more I looked at the art, the more I realized I didn't understand it. Desi kept trying to explain to me the worth of this modern artist versus the worth of that modern artist. I just kept nodding at his explanations and taking sips of champagne."You're not listening to me, are you?" He finally deadpanned as we moved upstairs to a few of the older paintings."I'm trying, but I don't get art," I said in exasperation."Yeah, you do." He shot back. I raised my eyebrows at him."People make art every day in what they do. What you do with a car- fix it to ride smooth, be fast, drift, or drag- that's what an artist is doing with paint. You say what you want with the way your car moves, they say it with what image they want to put down on canvas."My eyebrows furrowed at his deep explanation. He was the only one who seemed to understand my attraction to cars. The other guys were all about sports or their job, but he was one of those people that wanted to know a little bit about everything."Don't look." He murmured as he pretended to look at a rather ambiguous mess of paint thrown on a canvas. "The guy from the bar the other week is staring at you." He paused. "But not as much as his girlfriend is. I love drama.""I think you've got the wrong guy." I took a sip of champagne as I started at the painting with him. "This is not his scene." I felt my heart start pounding. Seeing Han again after our encounter three weeks ago still made me nervous.Desi glanced at me as he tilted his head towards the railing that kept people from falling to the foyer below. Sure enough across the building leaning against the railing on the other side of the open foyer was Han. Standing just a little bit back was a glaring Gisele. Clearly, they were in the middle of a spat, because her eyes were focused on the back of his head while he was staunchly ignoring her. I'd been there a trillion times."How did you remember what he looked like?" I asked as I started walking to the next bit of paintings. I tried to ignore them best I could."How did you know it's not his scene?" He shot back with a raised eyebrow."He was a friend of a friend years ago." Not entirely a lie."Did you have something?" He asked slowly."Once upon a time," I responded."His current girlfriend looks like a jealous bitch." He deadpanned. I laughed so loud people started to stare."Oh, Desi," I said in a voice like I was about to swoon. "You always know just what to say." I joked."I do." He continued in the same tone before he grabbed my hand and held it tightly as he stood in front of me. "Darling, it's a gift." I laughed and smacked his shoulder."That's enough champagne for you." I teased."Me?" A bright smile crossed his face. "Who started it?"We forced ourselves to behave like adults and continued on through the art museum. I had never been inside one before, so he kept trying to all of the art movements and artists to me. I actually listened this time; mostly to take my mind off Han.I couldn't believe he was actually here. He had to have been meeting with someone who had money to start some sort of illegal business. From what I knew about him, that was his usual way of starting over. After what happened when his relationship with his last business partner failed, I was almost glad I was doing this and Gisele was going to have to deal with that."Mr. Pavia." A fat, slightly drunk Spanish man interrupted Desi's lesson on the lives of the painters. He stopped short when he saw me and remembered to introduce himself."Are you enjoying the exhibit, sir?" Desi asked with a polite smile."I am, but I wish I could find your mother in this mess of people. I got a old painting I might like to let her borrow." He slurred."I believe I know where you can find her." He replied without breaking his polite façade. "I'll be right back. You'll be fine on your own?""Yeah. I'll be through there." I pointed to the next room."Okay. Let me just get rid of this guy and I'll meet you." He whispered before pulling the drunk guy off towards the stairs.I watched him go with a smile before wandering into the next room. The paintings it held were of a more impressionist style. I actually liked the look of them and began studying the colors of one that depicted a landscape."Beautiful," Han commented from behind me."It is," I said flatly without looking back. I nonchalantly took a sip of champagne from my refilled glass."I thought you hated art." He deadpanned."Not as much as you do." I returned."I can appreciate beautiful things." He replied. I slowly walked over to the next piece without responding. He followed me over. The other people in the room trickled out into the next exhibit leaving us alone."But that's not why you're here, is it?" I deadpanned. Maybe if I got too personal, he'd leave."No." He paused. "I'm here for something a little more-lucratively illegal." He whispered my own words against my ear and sent a shiver down my spine."Of course you are." I replied sarcastically before I could stop myself."How long until what's legal isn't enough for you?" He asked. I finally turned to face him."What do you mean?" I asked slowly. I met his eyes without flinching."You've always been stealing something or street racing. Sitting in meetings deciding what color to paint the walls, what sinks to use in the bathroom, where to put the bar- that has to be driving you insane." He replied arrogantly as he took a step closer to me.He was right, of course. Some days I just wanted to tell Miles to do it himself, go throw on some comfortable sweat pants and Converse, steal a car, and never come back; but I couldn't let him know that."It's been nice to just sit back and make some money." I stepped closer to show I wasn't backing down."You aren't doing that yet." He responded."I will be in a few months.""And when you're stuck running it day and night?" He asked."When it's stable, I'll be gone to start the next project," I answered honestly.I turned away from him and started walking out of the room. I had to get away from this man. He was driving me crazy with the questions and I felt way too exposed by how well he knew me."Elle." I made the mistake of turning around.He was almost chest to chest with me. I was hit in the face with the smell of his cologne, which I loved. I blinked a few times in surprise before how close we were hit me and I looked away with a blush. That was the only time I allowed myself to crack the cool, in control façade I had put up."Can you at least look at me?" He muttered so quietly I almost couldn't hear him as he tried to pull my chin up with two of his long fingers. I forced myself to raise my eyes and meet his dark ones from under my lashes.For a moment I was thrown back to the storage room in Tokyo. I had been having an emotional come apart over seeing Sean again and Han was sitting beside me trying to cheer me up. It was the first time I ever kissed Han; there was like a magnetic attraction between us when we got so close.Years later and that attraction hadn't dimmed.Our lips met in a quick, experimental kiss, before coming back together for something a little more passionate. My hand not holding the champagne glass somehow wound up pressed against his chest as his hand not on my chin landed on my hip.Finally, what I was doing hit me and I pulled back. His intense, questioning dark eyes roamed over my face before I had to look away. The first thing I saw when I looked through the doorway our empty room was Gisele standing at the other end of the exhibit. Her beautiful features were surprised. The other people meandering around hadn't seemed to notice us or the stunned Israeli."Oh my God. I have to go." I told Han as shock and guilt and humiliation coursed through me. I slipped out of his grip and left the room through the exit away from Gisele, leaving him standing alone.I walked through the crowds and straight to the stairs, where I bumped into Desi."Miss me?" He joked with a crooked smirk."I couldn't help it." I joked back without thinking.My heart was still pounding as it twisted painfully in my chest. I could not let myself do that again. I had been in the same position before; making out with Han while his model fling-of-the-week got pissed off on the sidelines. I knew how much it hurt when it was the other way around.I allowed Desi to lead me around like nothing was wrong. I was like a zombie as I forced all of the emotions I felt at getting that close to Han again surfaced like a whirlwind.After an excruciatingly boring stretch of time spent staring at old paintings and refusing to look anywhere else for fear that I would see Han again, it was time to go home. I took my shoes off the second I was back in the car with Desi beside me.As we drove I kept sneaking glances at Desi.He was gorgeous. He had dark chocolate-colored curls that always fell right on his head, dark, almond-shaped eyes that were always sparkling with laughter, and a crooked, devil-may-care smirk that would drive most girls wild. He was just the right combination of goofy, athletic, serious, and deep. He was a thoughtful, respectful guy; the kind of guy you settled down with.So why was I in love with Han?The question had plagued me since that night in Brazil. Han was definitely attractive; I always loved his high cheek bones, full lips, and his see-to-your-core black eyes. He was the aloof, silent dangerous boy that you knew was going to break your heart in a week; that was made it so much fun to have his attention solely on you.I had to pretend I was yawning to cover a frustrated sigh from Desi.Why do I do this to this to myself? I thought bitterly as I glared out the window.No answer magically appeared on the street. The only thing I could come up with, was I just loved him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Lucratively illegal.The words Han used kept running through my head. I didn't care. Of course, I didn't care. I had something lucrative and legal and I could throw around my money as much as I wanted because it was legal. I didn't have to hide behind anything because it was honestly mine. Sort of.I played with the settings on my camera after the sun came streaming out from behind the clouds. Once I was satisfied, I relined up my shot.I only had money because of an investment with illegal money. Now I was stuck living a lie so no one would know how I got my money or I'd get reported to the cops immediately and when I went down, so did dad's crew. After I had taken my picture, I paused to check it.I hadn't had fun like Rio or Moscow in a long time. I hadn't even been to a street race in months after Paris. Miles got his panties in a bunch over that one; something about trying not to expose us to "unnecessary investigation" or something. They were really, truly retired now and I was too restless to be ready for that.Satisfied with my picture, I put my camera back around my neck and started wandering down the street to the next spot.I had officially become boring; I had picked up photography. Miles was bitching because he couldn't decide what to decorate his newly renovated hotel rooms with. I got so frustrated over it, I bought a nice camera, walked a block away from my apartment, and managed to take a few that he deemed worthy of going on the wall. I was now tasked with getting over a hundred more.I'd be pissed at him if I hadn't enjoyed it. I was walking through the city actually getting a chance to look at it and take it in. It didn't hurt that the weather was beautiful.The one downside was I had plenty of time to think. It always wound back around to Han and street racing, which brought up a lot of guilt and frustration. He had texted me once to meet him to talk, but I refused to respond.There was one other text in my inbox I hadn't opened yet: Roman's. It was a group text with Han. Apparently, we needed to take him to the opening night of a club he had been hearing about, which happened to be mine. Part of me wanted him to just show up and put two and two together.I came to an elaborate historic building and paused to take a few pictures when I felt someone standing behind me. The hair stood up on the back of my neck and I felt a cold tingle down my spine. I shifted my weight over, and I felt them shift with me. My heart hammering in my chest, I started to drop my camera away from my eye to get ready to run."Oh no, don't stop. You're too busy to respond to a text, then you're definitely too busy to stop and speak on the street." A wave of excitement washed over me."Roman!" Turning on my heel, I raised my camera back up to my eye.He was ready for me, posing in his fancy suit. He gave me a few serious faces before he started posing with a huge white smile."Don't stop. I'm the prettiest thing around, girl." He argued when I shoved my camera in my bag and threw my arms around his neck."How are you?" I asked into his warm neck as he wrapped his big arms around my waist."Better than ever." I felt his deep voice rumble in his chest. "Look at you, baby girl." He pulled me back at arm's length so he could actually look at me.I'm surprised he recognized me from behind at all. I had on ripped jeans, tan Manolos, and a white blazer with the sleeves rolled up over a grey top. My hair was in a messy bun that took me an hour to do. I was definitely different.He was different too.He'd always had on jeans, a plaid shirt, or a leather jacket. Now he was polished in a pristine black suit with a big flashy watch. His smile was still the same though: big, warm, and bright."You got any good places to eat in this city?"Z"They're going to be on hotel room walls. He just wanted some architecture pictures." I defended as Rome stole my camera and flipped through it with one hand and shoveled food in his mouth with the other."They're beautiful. You must love it here." He mumbled with a mouthful.I frowned slightly. The truth was I absolutely did, but the club opened tomorrow. We were always expanding and growing the properties that we had. As soon as we were sure the club was going to make it, I was on to something else."Of course, this is the best." He flipped it around so I could see one of him standing on the street corner. It was actually a good one."I'm guessing you want that one printed and framed so you can stare at yourself in all your glory." I intoned sarcastically as I took a sip out of my wine glass. Roman let out a huge laugh."I can't help that I know I'm the best." I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. He kept going on about how he was the king, but I stopped listening.I accidentally locked eyes with Han. He looked at me sheepishly as he made his way around a few tables to our empty chair.'There's our boy." Rome muttered. He stood to give Han a manly hug and he kept rambling on about something, but I just sat there frozen with my smile half off my face.It had only been a few days since the museum party. I'd gone through a full range of emotion after the kiss. I was furious at him for making a move on me, guilty for putting Gisele through that, sad because I still had the feelings to respond to it, empty because I remembered what it felt like to be with somebody and I missed it, and disgusted at myself for feeling that way.I felt an ache in my chest now and the rise of nausea as I watched him take the empty seat by me."Look at this man. I am a model. I need to be posing for Armani or some shit." Rome kept talking as he shoved my camera in Han's face."Armani?" Han barked."At least Louis Vuitton," Roman responded waving a fork in his hand. "I've got that special look. That's why I've got all the ladies.""I think it's actually the dollar bills you're stuffing in their thongs that keeps them there," Han responded.Whatever Rome was going to say died on his tongue as he went from a beaming smile to furrowed brow in indignation in less than a second."Man, fuck you, dude. I am a catch. I can have any girl I want. I wave them over and the panties drop. I'll prove it." He argued before he turned completely to face me. "Ellie, you know about this club opening tomorrow right?"I was still frozen with my face in that terrible half-smiling expression when everyone's attention turned toward me.It took a long ten seconds for me to regain control of my face and school it into an attempt at an innocent smile."I might know a thing or two," I mumbled, still taken off guard."You can do better than that." Rome insisted."I might know the owner." My voice stopped shaking"Why didn't you say so? We can get ourselves in the VIP!" He clapped a hand on Han's shoulder. "Man, all those models--" "I don't know about that one," I replied with a smirk to cut off the talk of models and VIP rooms. That brought back memories. "I mean, what have you done for me lately?"Han snorted as that set Rome off on a tirade about our long-standing friendship of six months and the bonds you form when you steal 100 million dollars."If you have it so good with the honeys, then you shouldn't need me to get you in the VIP section to get to them. You should be able to work your way into that VIP section. You are the fast talker after all.""Are you challenging me?" His voice sounded indignant but his white smile did not hold an ounce of irritation."Yeah. I mean a lot of the people expected to be up there are women: actresses, singers, you name it. If you're that much of a panty-dropper, then you shouldn't have to work that hard to get it.""How do you have the guest list? Are you on it?" He demanded."She owns it," Han interjected. I glared at him a little. I had decided on keeping Rome wound up for a little while. "She's been busy since she left us." "Shouldn't you be working on getting it ready to open?" Rome asked. I shrugged."I think Miles can handle telling people to sweep and wash glassware because that's about all that's left to do," I replied as I tried to grab a bite of our appetizer before Rome demolished every bit of it. Rome slapped his hands on the table and leaned forward."Is that your man?" Taken aback by the question I leaned back in my chair. "How do you feel about that?" He asked Han before I could reply."It's none of his damn business." I snapped without thinking."Especially if was," Han muttered sharply.Trying to figure out if he hit a sore spot, Rome glanced between us. The silence between us was heavy and thick and I felt like I was suffocating."How's Gisele liking Paris?" Rome asked to fill the void after what felt like an hour. My stomach flipped at her name. I felt terribly guilty at the mention of her name, but I also felt the familiar bit of hatred at both her and Han. I suddenly found the saltshaker on the table very interesting. "Has she finished the job for that guy yet?"I whipped my head over to look at Han who was scowling at Rome. Rome cut his eyes over to me and made a face, realizing he shouldn't have said that."Ain't my fault, dude. Ellie was supposed to be involved." He mumbled apologetically, before taking a massive swig of his beer."Oh, Ellie was informed that something was happening." I started sarcastically at Han, who had a face like thunder with his narrowed eyes locked on Rome. He shifted his weight uncomfortably."Why didn't you go for it? A girl like you always needs some adventure." Rome asked."Because it wasn't an offer at the time. Were you just waiting for Gisele to leave to make it?" I grit out furiously.He made a move on me knowing Gisele was leaving so he could play us both. I could feel myself flushing beet red as I got even angrier with him. Neither of us deserved that."No!" He cut me off when I opened my mouth to keep going. "No. I know what you think, but-"His full lips pursed together like he was trying to decide what to say next."Gisele has been planning on Paris for over a month. She just wanted to line up a job while she was here first." Rome was so quiet I wasn't sure the words came from him.I glanced between the two men as I tried to process the information.This motherfucker better not be covering for that whore. I gave Rome a look that said as much he shrugged."Gisele's been staying in my apartment while she lined up a job through some street racers we met in Berlin. They introduced us to a jeweler here who was looking for some help. She's working with a guy in Madrid to steal a shipment diamonds to fence. I was going to help him find some clients and launder the money.""If that's true then you sure as shit messed up asking me to help you." I spat. He shrugged as a lopsided smirk spread across his face."You didn't slap me, so I did something right.""You did nothing right, Han, and you haven't in a long damn time," I replied. His smirk fell to a frown."Have y'all ever thought about getting all your sexual frustration out and just letting that be the end of it? Might resolve a lot of your issues." Rome cut it. "I mean—""Stop talking." Han snapped. "You're not perfect either.""I'm better than you." Venom crept into my voice. I exhaled sharply and briefly fantasized about strangling him."You convinced a properties manager that his wife was leaving him so he would be distracted and you could put your offer in on the club first." He accused. Rome started laughing."You framed some poor Japanese guy for stealing electronics shipments so you could fuck his mistress while he was being interviewed by police.""You used to not put in the parts you were supposed to and then challenge the guy to a street race.""You flirted with a gay guy to get us a free meal once.""Oh, that's hilarious," Rome muttered in the background."I absolutely did not." Han defended. I made a face at him. "We didn't have to pay a cover at the salsa bar after your "accidental" nip slip.""Which was a fucking accident! Unlike you losing my cell phone when what's-his-face was texting me.""What's-his-face worked for a sex trafficker. And even if he didn't, how many times have you run off my girlfriends?""You didn't have girlfriends, Han. That insinuates something besides sex.""I had you." He stubbornly rebutted my statement. "For three years. I messed up once in three years. It was terrible and it was stupid, but I learned my lesson.""Prove it." I snapped."Let me." He ground out.I was seething mad; red-faced, heavy breathing furious kind of mad. He was just as livid with his lips pressed together in a thin line and his jaw set firm from gritting his teeth. Rome was looking like he'd like to be anywhere else."I think I need to go check into my hotel. I mean, I've been flying all day and this jetlag-""You haven't gotten your entrée yet." I spat."Oh. I guess I can stay a little longer." Rome settled back into his seat."What do you want?" I asked without breaking eye contact. "We aren't fleeing to some remote little corner of the world with no one but the two of us. We're back in the real world. We can't survive that.""Why don't you try?" Rome interjected. "You're both single and—""Rome." Han's voice was a low warning."I'm trying to help, man. I just wanted a nice lunch with my two friends and here y'all are—""We argued about getting back into doing jobs and where to go." Han started speaking in Japanese. "She wanted to keep going and traveling and I just wanted to settle down somewhere. We agreed on this job as a compromise, but we aren't together.""Like how did that go? You ended on good terms?" I asked incredulously, also in Japanese. Rome was bitching about the language swap.He nodded. "She and I are okay pulling jobs together, but living together didn't work.""But at the museum--""It's all a little awkward at the moment." "Fuck all y'all and this bullshit Chinese." Rome was getting louder and people were staring."Do you want to finish this later when we can leave his loud ass at home?" I said in English."Now that ain't even fair!""Wednesday. I'll pick you up?" Han suggested in Japanese with a smirk at Roman."Only if I pick the place." I returned with a matching one.Rome snorted like a child."If my food was here, I'd have left y'all's rude asses by now."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Do I wanna know?If this feeling flows both waysSad to see you goWas sorta hoping that you'd stayBaby we both knowThat the nights were mainly made for sayingThings that you can't say tomorrow dayCrawling back to youZThe breeze pushed through the open doors, swirling the curtains and bringing the sharp smell of salt. Occasionally a gull cry would split the silence and my head.I groaned slightly and I felt fingers start tracing a pattern on my lower back and up my spine. I relaxed a little at the soft touches, but it really didn't help the nausea or the headache."Morning, sunshine. You had fun last night." Han's voice was thick with sleep."It was one hell of a birthday," I muttered face-first in my pillow.Except it wasn't.The smell of salt on the breeze and the sunshine, and everything else I was dreaming of screeched to a halt as I woke up completely. I tried to sit up completely, but the hand pushed me back down and the voice protested that I shouldn't move so quickly.I was panicking and it made the nausea worse.The opening night of the club was last night and not my last birthday with Han like I had been remembering. I had vague memories of checking the club before opening, Roman forcing shots into my hand, and of lots of champagne. I had flashes of a heated make-out session down a back hallway, but nothing more.I moved and pain like a hot poker being shoved into my brain traveled from temples down my neck.I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut as tight as possible as a wave of nausea passed through me and eased off a bit. If anything, I was lucky the nausea wasn't worse. The headache, on the other hand, was pretty damn bad."Did we have sex?" I blurted before I cracked my eyes and looked at Han.He was sitting on top of the covers on his side of the bed dressed in a t-shirt and grey sweat pants. He looked like had just woken up with his hair sticking up at all angles, but his side of the bed was completely undisturbed.He stared at me incredulously,"I got you cleaned up and got you in bed as soon as we got home."I chanced sitting up very slowly and glanced around.This was not my apartment. These were not my clothes. There was exposed brick everywhere. The furniture was very modern and the whole room looked very masculine. There was a sleek black desk pushed under a large window that was organized to perfection like Han always kept it. The dresser top had nothing personal on it, only two lamps. His nightstand, on the other hand, had a bowl I knew would be filled with loose change, his watch and wallet, and a small stack of comics and car magazines.The place looked like Han."Come on. You need to eat and drink some water." He slipped off his side of the bed and helped pull me off after him. I had to catch his sweat pants that were in a lot of danger of falling off of my hips. It looked like I was wearing one of his shirts too."Bathroom's through there." He pointed at a closed door. He was gone by the time I could say thank you.I shuffled in and turned on the water to wash my face. I stared at the granite countertops so I wouldn't have to face the mirror. A toothbrush and migraine medicine was very clearly set out for me and my dress was hanging on the back of the door.I felt so ashamed. I had only been that drunk once before and that wasn't at a work event with family and my ex. I knew Han was respectful enough, but I shouldn't have put him in that position, plus I had no idea what all Miles had seen. I knew he left for Dublin early in the night after he was satisfied with the turnout and lack of major disasters, so the answer was probably not much.I threw a couple of pills in my mouth and dared to look in the mirror. My face was pale, and I had some terrible dark circles, but I wasn't as bad as I thought. I had apparently showered because all of my makeup was off and the hairspray was out of my hair.I really couldn't remember anything that happened and I was freaking out. My heart rate was through the roof and my stomach was rolling.I got to the club super early, supervised employees, argued with Miles, went home and got ready, came back, worked with Miles for a little while, popped some champagne, Miles left, I went to sit with Rome, and that was it. I definitely remembered kissing someone somewhere, and then being back with Rome, but I couldn't remember who it was. I was almost positive it was Han, but I didn't want to ask him and be wrong.My freak out was interrupted by a knock at the door.It cracked open slowly after I failed to answer. He peeked around the edge before he let it open completely. There was a water bottle in his hand and he twisted it open before extended it to me. I watched the lean muscles ripple in his tanned arms before I took it from him."Breakfast. You'll feel so much better after you eat."Wordlessly, I followed him through his bedroom and down a hall into the main living area of his apartment. The modern mixed with the old feel of the historic building continued through the space. There were black leather couches on an expensive shag rug on top of wood floors. A massive TV dominated the space over a fireplace. The kitchen had all brand new stainless steel appliances. Large windows all across the walls would have been drowning the rooms in light, but the curtains had been pulled on every single one of them.He had two plates sitting on the kitchen island. We wordlessly sat on the barstools and started eating."What happened last night?" I broke the silence sheepishly.He shrugged nonchalantly."Rome used you to get free bottles of tequila and it hit you all at once. I helped the workers lock up at last call and took you home.""You know what I mean," I mumbled stubbornly as I drank my water to soothe the cotton-mouthed feeling.He sighed heavily and pushed at the edge of his shirtsleeve."It was a mistake and we both know it. You never would have done it sober." My heart dropped as I realized I had been right and it was him. He shook his head at the look on my face. "You're really good at acting mildly tipsy even when you're a lot further gone. I wasn't trying to take advantage of you.""I know you're not." And I did know that, but it didn't do anything to help the embarrassment. My face was flushing and I was finding it very hard to keep forking eggs into my mouth. I let it drop from my hand to the plate and stood to leave."Ellie." He whispered to stop me. I looked up at him as he pursed his lips together like he didn't know what else to say."What am I supposed to do, Han? I can't stay." I felt my heart break.I shouldn't be here. I kept flashing back to when we were in our kitchen eating together after a night out. We could never go back there; that world had been shattered."Do you remember anything you told me last night?" Han asked me. My eyes widened and I shook my head. I fought the bile rising in my throat.He sighed and brushed his big hand over his face. His shoulders tensed in aggravation. Most people would have missed it, but I knew his body language better than anyone else."And what do you want, Han? I was so drunk. I didn't mean to be, but I was. Whatever painful conversation you forced yourself to have, you're going to have to tell me again."His shoulders shrugged and sank back down in a defeated posture. He pushed his face into his hands until he moved them back to smooth his hair."Just fuck already!" Rome's voice floated from the other end of the apartment.We both cut our eyes over to the cracked door across the apartment that was apparently another bedroom. I shook my head as the headache grew with my anger.Han's nostrils flared and I could see him regretting his decision to let Rome come home too."I'm going to go home," I said with finality as I dropped my fork back to my plate. "Yeah. I'm going to do that now."I fled back to his bathroom to escape the awkwardness. I yanked my dress on and found my shoes.As I stepped back into Han's living room. Roman wandered out wearing nothing but gym shorts. He threw a motion in there that flexed his chest and his arms as he swaggered across the floor."Y'all having breakfast without me?" He frowned when he got close enough to smell the food."I'm just leaving," I answered. He glanced at me as he stole my toast."Now, that ain't fair.""Rome," Han warned."Brian was a cop investigating Dom and lying to Mia and they still got back together. You both fucked up. You both fucked up royally. If you still love each other, then get over it." Rome advised as he shoveled what was left of my eggs in his mouth. He reached for my bacon, but I picked up my knife and smacked his hand with it.He looked offended as I snatched it away from him. I ignored him and shoved it in my mouth as I picked up my purse and walked to the door. I felt Han's footsteps follow behind me."At least let me take you to your car." He offered as he followed me down the immaculately clean and polished hallway of his building."Fine." I caved as I jammed the elevator button. I just wanted out of this awkwardness.The spotless gold doors slid open and we both shuffled into the elevator. He pushed the button for me while I focused on staying away from him."This used to be a hotel." Han started conversationally to end the crushing silence. I swallowed thickly."It's beautiful," I answered honestly.The silence was back, and if I wasn't mistaken, it was worse than before. The elevator opened into a gilded lobby with pristine marble floors and elaborate flower arrangements on elegant, antique tables. He led me through it to a side door that led through a courtyard. We cut through it to the street where a charcoal grey Lexus LFA sat.We were across town from my club, so it was not a quick drive. I turned on the radio and then looked out the window for the rest of the way. I was going to find out exactly what happened once I got there and it didn't make me happy.It felt like a year had passed before he pulled up next to my car."I know you're going to pull the tapes." He stated as he turned off his engine."I just want to know," I answered honestly."You told me that you were tired of having to listen to Miles and to work so hard to avoid getting caught. You hate lying about where you went to business school and who your parents were. You don't think any of your friends would still be there if they knew you were on the wanted list so everything you do is fake.""When did I get to be a soul-bearing drunk?" I asked him incredulously. He shrugged before he released his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and grabbed some peanuts out of his glove box."What did I say that made you nervous?""I caught every third word, but I did hear I love you."I felt a sound like a wave in my ears and I found myself nervously laughing. My heart hammered in my chest as I felt my anxiety rise. Panicking; I was panicking. Full-on panic attack with tingling limbs and cold sweat."I was drunk," I said immediately. "It doesn't mean anything when I'm that wasted. I-" I launched into a tirade about how it was the alcohol that kept getting more and more desperate."You asked me what I wanted this morning?" He whispered when I ran out of excuses. I nodded. "I want to try to be together.""I'm a liar and you're a cheat. I'm not any better for you then you are for me. It doesn't matter what feelings are there."I felt like I was going to cry or pass out.Involuntarily I started to sob.Instantly I was wrapped in his arms and pressed into his chest."I'm so hurt." I sobbed into his shirt. His breathing hitched under my cheek.This was the first time I'd cried in front of him since the breakup; the first time I'd been real with my feelings since I moved to Madrid. It felt like my chest was splitting open."I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He murmured into my hair after a solid five minutes of letting me cry. "I got caught up in the memory of what I used to be. I didn't think about what it would do to you."How can we fix this, Han?" I asked bitterly. "We don't have anything without trust."He held me tighter and sighed."It'll be hard, but being with you is worth it."I sat up and he let his arm slide off as I pushed the tears away from my puffy eyes."I don't know that I'll ever be able to let it go," I whispered. His left hand reached out and gripped the steering wheel as he closed his eyes and nodded.I thought about this being our last conversation; about him leaving for somewhere new with Roman after my answer.I thought back to all the years together. I craved having that kind of a life again. Most of them were still bright and untarnished by our indiscretions, but there were a few that brought a bitter taste to my mouth. Could I ever let that feeling go?I opened my mouth to tell him that I couldn't and that this was it, but I couldn't do it.I glanced over at him. He was still gripping the steering wheel, staring straight ahead with his jaw tight, his lips tight, and every muscle in his body tight. I saw the same pain in his face when he lost everything in Tokyo.He was actually sorry; he had regret written all over him and I couldn't see him doing it again. As much as I hated him for, I realized I loved him enough to try."Maybe we could date," I whispered. "If we rush anything, we've killed whatever chance we had."His chest rose and fell in relief. His big, calloused hand slipped over mine and squeezed. I felt myself leaning into his shoulder.I was still terrified of getting hurt, but his body heat was soothing comfort. For the first time in a long time, I felt a huge sense of peace.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Do you know how inconvenient this is?" I took a long sip off the top of my overfilled wine glass."That club's going to end up in FLAMESSSSS." Harper drew out the last word to be a pain in the ass. "But you can come live with me. It's my turn to have custody, anyway."I rolled my eyes."I'm so glad you're taking my stalking so well," I muttered as I played the tape back again.Turns out there was more to see on those cameras. Specifically a man with a neck tattoo that was specific to the Russian mafia that Harper fucked over so hard. A quick scan through Max's computer programs flagged him outside the club when I was coming and going for weeks. I even recognized him from around the city."Are you serious about fixing things with Han?" Harper asked quietly. "It looked pretty damn serious from that footage."My face got hot."I don't know." I sighed deeply. "If we can't build some trust back, I'm going to cut my losses.""If you're looking for some trust-building excises, you can bring him to Dublin."My laptop dinged as a group message came in from Neela and Hanna. I minimized the camera feed to read it.Okay, Skype date rescheduled for tomorrow. Han will be over, but he'll get over it. Girls night comes first. I typed my affirmation and pulled the camera back up.The camera caught a shadow walking away that was built suspiciously like my stalker."Harper, he's back, but he's walking away." I cut off whatever she had been saying.My heart started racing. It should have been from fear, but it was more from adrenaline. I had missed this. It was a sick feeling, to have at this moment but I did."You were supposed to be there tonight," Harper tone was serious and it unnerved me. "If they're going to come from me, then I'm going to make them chase me." I smiled as I replayed the feed of the man staking out my car. "I've outrun the mafia before. His reach isn't as long as he thinks it is."ZI yawned loudly as I slowed to a stop at a red light on the outskirts of town. My overworked brain had calmed the second I started the engine. The nonmajor streets were almost empty this time of night, so I had free reign of them. No thought crossed my mind except for which direction I would go. I hadn't had a night like this in a long time, and I couldn't figure out how I had managed to not come apart at the seams without it.Through my open windows, I began to hear the echo of another engine. My interest piqued, I ignored the green light as the noise got louder and closer. It had to be some sort of supercar or a street racer's car; nothing else could have that powerful growl.I was right; in front of me a charcoal gray Lexus LFAspun onto the street from a side street and accelerated towards me. My heart quickened at the sight of such a beautiful car.With Han sitting in the driver's seat. Perfect.He pulled it into a drift and spun around me a few times before stopping his car nose to nose with mine. The corners of my lips pulled up into a smirk. According to Sean, he had used that move to pick up some girls back in Tokyo. Some things didn't change.Without breaking eye contact, I put it in reverse, and then back in drive to fly past him. A few minutes later, he was driving directly beside me. He would let me take the lead for a brief second and then shoot forward. We kept up this mini drag race as we moved away from the city.There was no way I could beat him; I was in my Corvette tonight, which had the same top speed as his Lexus, without a lot of the horsepower. He would be dead even with me without problem on the straight roads, but I wasn't planning on staying on the straight roads.On the next side street, I drifted into a turn away from Han. I went a block before taking the next turn. Han caught on fast and before I knew it he was back beside me. He was smart enough to hang back a little bit so he could see my surprise turns coming.I finally got him when I slammed on my brakes and turned off in the direction of my garage. I decided I was going to cheat and parked inside the garage with the door down. I couldn't stop laughing when I thought of Han wondering where I'd gone. I laughed even harder when my phone started ringing."Hello," I answered with a grin."You cheated," Han stated in amusement."Possibly," I replied."Does this mean I win?" He asked."I didn't know we were racing," I said. He chuckled."I knew you couldn't resist a challenge," Han told me."I got it from Sean." I joked. "And I wouldn't call that much of a challenge," I added."It was." He replied. There was a moment of silence. "Racing again felt good, didn't it?""Yeah," I answered honestly. It really good to actually be against someone and not just driving fast. Han might never race someone without a point, but I thrived against another opponent."Look, last night wasn't-" He began."It's fine." I cut him off with a frown. We'd discussed it enough and after looking at the cameras we were about to have a whole other discussion."Okay." He said uncertainly. There was an awkward silence."Han?" I asked to see if he was still there."Yeah, Ellie?" He answered."I have to go get a little sleep before tomorrow.""Goodnight, Elle." He said before hanging up. I slammed my head on the steering wheel and sighed. This was not helping me clear my head. The Russians were stressful enough, but trying to work out my feelings for Han was even worse. At least we had put Rome on a plane back whatever casino he had been posted up in and he wasn't there with his running commentary.After sitting like that for a few minutes, I pulled myself out of the car and swapped to my Porsche Carrera GT. It was fast enough to keep me entertained, but it was common and not flashy enough to catch the Russian's attention.I sped out of the garage and back towards home. I really really needed sleep. ZI closed my laptop with a smile. Talking to my friends always made me happy. Hanna had been reassigned to Florida and Neela was mostly still in Japan when she wasn't in school in Australia, so visiting either of them was out of the question. I had to get my fix any way I could."Ready for dinner?" I turned to Han and asked. He was sprawled in my armchair sipping a beer and flipping through my car magazines."We could order in." Han's lip curled suggestively. I snorted."You know the answer to that one." I set my glass down on the table with a sigh. "We do need to talk before we leave though."Han's body language change was almost imperceptible. His fingers stiffened at the corner of his magazine page and lips twitched at the corners. I was reminded of how fragile our relationship was at the moment. I knew this wouldn't scare him off, but I wasn't pleased about telling him."When we pulled the job in Russia, it was more of a con than a heist, even though we did make off with some valuables. The boss was understandably furious. When I looked back through the footage of the other night, there was a man that kept appearing wherever I was. I went back through the footage from weeks before and it was the same."Han released the breath he was holding and his shoulders lost their tension. His full lips curled over his teeth."Has he approached you or just followed?""Followed. They're all checking cameras and everyone but Miles and me appear to be safe. Harper has graciously invited you to vacation in Dublin with her while this goes down."Han's nostrils flared as he snorted. He set his things on the table. He swung his feet off the coffee table and put his elbows on his knees before turning to look at me."You're going to have to handle this, eventually.""But right now, we're going to dinner."I hopped off the couch and made my way to my little kitchen. I dropped my wine glass in the sink and threw the bag of chips we had been munching on into the cabinet. I was blowing out the candles when I heard a noise at the door.Han was standing in the doorway staring. His face was blank, but I knew his mind was working a mile a minute."What?" The corners of his lips twisted.I took a second to stare at him. He knew I was looking and moved his shoulders so the muscles in his chest and arms would flex as he settled to lean against the door frame. He hadn't changed much since Rio: same thick, long hair, same style clothes, same laid back attitude, and same sexy smirk."In theory, if you are being stalked, you should stay here.""Reservations are at nine." I reminded. He shrugged and his smirk got wider. "Listen, I'm hungry. We've had a lot of sex before but we've never eaten at this place and it's supposed to be amazing."He laughed as he reached for my hand dragged me towards the door. Stumbling over my own feet, I tripped into his chest. His arms wrapped around me automatically and I was enveloped by his body heat.My heart fluttered in my chest as he dipped his chin to kiss me on the lips, experimentally at first, and then deeper. I hadn't felt this way in a long time."Food first," I muttered with a nervous giggle as we pulled apart. He wrapped an arm around me as he steered me towards the door.This better work out, because I was falling hard. Again.ZMy laughter at Han's expense rang through the streets. He had just attempted to tell me something in Spanish before giving up and stringing random words together.It was a cop-out. He could understand and speak it fluently, but he liked to pretend he didn't so he could eavesdrop on everything going on around him."You lived in Colombia and Central America for years." I pointed out."I can say what's important." He defended good-naturedly."Hello, goodbye, thank you." I listed before naming off a list of swear words. Those he admitted to knowing."I also know the words to an Enrique Iglesias song." He replied pointedly. I giggled even harder.After we had some heavy conversation about the Russians and what happened to Vince in Rio, we moved on to more light-hearted subjects. Han had even shown me a little bit of his goofy side, which was very rare because he would rather be shot in the face than admit he was anything other than mature, calm, and collected. It felt just like old times."Where's the car?" I asked breathlessly. I had intentionally stayed away from alcohol knowing how flirty I got, but right now I was giggling like a drunk."Down here." He pointed down the next street, which we turned down. A creepy looking man was walking towards us, so Han wrapped his arm around my shoulders.He had been a lot warier too."This was actually fun," I commented."Actually fun?" Han questioned, pretending to be offended."I thought it'd be more awkward," I replied. It probably should have been. I kept forgetting he broke my heart, though occasionally something he would say would bring all of that back up."So, do you want to go back to my place?" He asked."You don't know what slow means." I retorted."I can be good." Now he actually sounded offended.I shook my head at him and was about to reply when I stopped. I saw the same man that had eaten when we did in the restaurant wearing the same jacket as a jogger that passed my garage talking on his phone across the street. I froze.Han followed my gaze and immediately his grip around my shoulders tightened."Miss Delgado." A Russian man approached from in front of me."No English," I muttered in a fake thick accent as I turned towards Han's car. My face was already drained of color. Maybe I should have been more worried about the mafia."I doubt that." He replied as he stepped in front of me. I was scared and this time I couldn't hide it behind a poker face. I felt Han grab my hand and I got a very tight grip on his."We don't want any trouble," Han said slowly.The car was right beside us; we could make it very quickly if this guy would move. There were people sprinkled around the area. There wasn't anyone right beside us, but they were close enough to where it was a horrible idea to make a scene. I didn't want any innocents getting shot."I don't think that will be possible." He pulled out a gun. Every ounce of air left my lungs. "You are free to walk away." He informed Han.There was a tense moment where everything seemed to freeze, but next thing I knew, Han had hit him with the hand not holding me so hard in the face that he was knocked unconscious and the gun slipped out of his grip. He yanked me towards the car and I forced my non-cooperating legs to move after him. A store window shattered as another man started shooting from down the street. The few pedestrians around started screaming and running in a panic.I held Han's hand in a death grip for as long as possible before I had to let go to get into my side of the car. He got it cranked and was quickly flying out onto the street. I heard a bullet find its mark in the carbon fiber body of the car."What do we do?" I asked him in a panic. All of the confidence and fake strength had gone straight out the window."We're going to wherever you have a safe house." He answered sharply."Prague. I didn't think they'd involve you." I answered guiltily. He shot me a look before pulling his lips away from his white teeth. It wasn't exactly a smile, but it looked like he was trying for my sake."Sitting still has never worked for me; I was going to wind up doing this again, anyway." He responded."So you'd rather be getting shot at, than relaxing on vacation?" I remarked dryly. He chuckled."I'm going to stop at my place to pack a bag and change cars. You can't go home, but maybe you can find something else to wear." He replied as he took us to the rich part of town."Should we take the scenic route or stick to cities?" I asked. I was beginning to calm down a little bit. This was just like a routine run back in Japan."Cities. Harder to track." He replied. I nodded. "We can't just hide in the Czech Republic." He said bluntly."We won't. He's made his move to send a warning Miles; he'll start picking off the others soon. They can't stay under the radar forever. The only way we can end this is if we can knock this guy completely out of power and strip him of everything he's got. We tried that with the other guy, and we didn't go big enough. This guy's going to be destroyed." I told him as I pulled out my phone to call Miles and Harper."Perfect," Han replied with a smirk.ZI woke up in a strange room cuddling the corner of the comforter. I tossed it away from me as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. For a minute, I had no idea where I was. I took a good look at myself and realized I was wearing an old gray shirt that used to be Han's and his boxer. I vaguely remembered him forcing me to wake up enough to change into them out of my dress. I glanced around the bedroom of the suite Han had checked us into the night before after traveling half of the night we left Madrid and all of yesterday. I had been completely exhausted after staying awake the whole time to make sure neither of us dozed off at the wheel.I swung my feet to the side of the bed and lowered myself to the cold floor. I slipped out the bedroom door and looked around the suite for any trace of Han. I had almost decided he stepped out for a minute when I finally saw him sprawled across the couch.He was curled up on his side facing me with one hand curled into a fist beside his head and the other under his pillow. He had a blanket thrown across his lower half, covering the worn-out dark gray sweatpants that used to be black that I saw him in last night. The short couch was not big enough for him to completely stretch out on, so his knees were bent uncomfortably. Despite that, his expression was still peaceful with his lips slightly apart and his hair mussed.Han wasn't one to give up any sort of comfort, so seeing him choose to sleep on the uncomfortable couch instead of in a bed in a five-star room because I didn't want to move too fast, meant a lot to me. Maybe he could behave.I crossed the room quietly and sat down lightly on the couch so I wouldn't disturb him too much.I brushed his bangs lightly out of his eyes until he opened them to look at me. It took him a moment to realize who he was looking at, but when he did he started blinking in confusion."Do we need to get going again?" He murmured sleepily."We have time," I replied quietly. "Do you want to get off the couch and go to bed? I can't go back to sleep at all, and I think you'd be more comfortable there." I pointed back towards the room."You're sure?" He asked. He didn't really question the fact that wanted to lay on the couch since I couldn't sleep in bed; I did that all the time when I couldn't sleep so I wouldn't wake him up."Yeah, if you'll take first shift driving," I responded.He nodded before sliding his legs out of the blanket and around me. He paused to rub his eyes."Thanks, Ellie." He muttered as he gave me a kiss on the temple. He pulled himself up and started walking to the room."Thank you, Han," I said so quietly I didn't think he could hear."I'd do it for you." He replied before disappearing on the other side of the door.As I drifted off to sleep after I slipped under his warm blanket and buried my head in his pillow,I felt happier than I had in a long time.
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15I know I could lie, but I won't lie to youWherever I go, you're the ghost in the roomI don't even try looking for something new'Cause wherever I go, I'll be looking for youOne Republic- Wherever I goZ"So much for going slow." Han murmured at me as he looked at me from his pillow."Yeah, that doesn't really work with us." I agreed from beside him.I had gone to wake Han up when my phone alarm went off, and a quick good morning kiss had escalated. Stupid, sexy Han and our inability to stay away from each other.I still thought I was taking him back too easy, but I would deal with that when it came up later."We are going to be so late," I told him. He rolled over to face me."We're not driving speed limit and we don't have far to go." He reminded."Yeah, I guess," I muttered back.I really should have been getting up and getting ready to leave,But I was warm and comfortable in the big bed in a five-star hotel room. This was probably the last bit of comfort I was going to get for at least the next two weeks. I knew for sure the safe house in Moscow looked like an abandoned crack den and the one in Prague was probably just as bad. I glanced over at Han to see if he showed any signs of actually moving to get up, but he was still lying on his side with his fist under his chin and a thoughtful look on his face. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just smirked a little."What?" I asked as I shifted to where I was almost completely on my side to face him.He ran his fingers up my arm to brush my hair back over my shoulder."I love you." He whispered before leaning forward to give me a quick kiss.He wasted no time in rolling over and getting out of bed. He grabbed his sweat pants off the floor before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door with a click behind him.My face was covered in a deep red blush as I stared at the closed door. I was completely stunned.In all of the time we had been together, Han had never said that, and I never expected him to. I knew Han wasn't one to throw words around, so this wasn't just an attempt at getting me back; he really meant it. I knew I'd probably never hear those words again, as it was apparently difficult for Han to say, but I was okay with that because it was just as hard for me to say it to him.I hauled myself out of bed and stole one of Han's shirts to wear over his boxers until I grabbed a few outfits in Prague. I refolded a few of the things I messed up when I pulled them out of the bag and then set the bag on the bed for Han to get when he got out of the shower.Ten more minutes passed before Han finally opened the door to the bathroom wearing his sweatpants and towel drying his hair. I stood up off the bed and tossed my purse in the bathroom before I grabbed Han and pulled him into a kiss."I love you too." I stuttered before I stepped past him and shut the door behind me.Z"You find this really funny, don't you?" I asked Han with a raised eyebrow as he got in the driver's seat of the car.His amused smirk widened enough to show a few his white teeth. I was currently kicked back in the passenger's seat wearing Han's boxers rolled up at the waist until they sort of clung to my hips and one of his shirts tied up in the front with no makeup, my hair naturally wavy, and my huge designer sunglasses on. I could honestly say this was the most dressed-down I'd been in public ever."I am kinda enjoying it." He replied smoothly as he started the car and pulled out onto the busy street."I know you're enjoying it." I snapped sarcastically. I hadn't realized the shirt I grabbed was thin enough to be almost see-through and the boxers were in danger of falling off. "When we get to Prague I really need to go shopping," I commented."What's wrong with wearing that?" He teased."I imagine it would be very hard to work on cars when you can't keep your pants up." I shot back sarcastically. He chuckled"Where is this safe house?" Han asked."I'm not sure," I answered. Han's lips pressed together."How many people are going to be meeting us?" He questioned slowly. He would probably much rather be in a nice hotel, and I couldn't really blame him."Harper, Anton, Miles, Christiano, Marcelino, Cam, and Max. They were the team that took down Demyan Yakovlev." I stumbled over the last name of the Russian guy."Christiano's the smuggler. Harper is the German. Anton was the one that got shot. Max's computers and so is his brother Zack occasionally." He trailed off as he tried to remember everyone else."Zack passed in a car accident, so it's just Max now. Cam is short for Camilo. He's the boxer from Panama. He's a big, thick guy, so you can't really miss him. Marcelino was Venezuelan military. He's really thin and mean-looking, but he's actually pretty okay." I started naming off. Han's eyebrow said he didn't believe me."Miles is your business partner," Han remembered."Yeah, he's not a people person. You will want to avoid him." I told him."I can handle him," Han said confidently as he looked away from the road to glance at me."If you can take on the Yakuza and the Russian mob without an ounce of fear, you probably can," I replied. "But as a heads up, he's the short one with the scruffy goatee that hunches his shoulders like a vulture and snaps at people like a cornered pit bull." Han chuckled at my description and my imitation."I'll keep that in mind." He said with amusement.There was a comfortable silence in the car. Sleepy despite being passed out on the couch for much of the morning, I laid my head against my seat and turned on my side closest to Han as best I could in the tight space. It took pulling my knees up in the seat for me to be comfortable enough to almost drift off.I was almost out when Han's hand slid off the shifter and landed on my knee. It was an innocent gesture that he had done a million times before. It just felt like such a normal thing to do when we were driving together. The normal gesture sent made me think about our lives before Rio when we spent our time together goofing off at the beach or working on cars. I felt a pang in my chest as I remembered how quickly that little fairy tale bubble got popped when we were back in the real world.A frown set in on my face as the muscles in my leg tensed. As many times as I had been in Gisele's place, I really should have been more prepared. I had been the girl Han kept going back to even if he had some supermodel for so long, I guess I just assumed he would stay only with me after I told him that was how I wanted it to be. But even as annoyingly naïve as I was, I should have seen something with Gisele coming.I mean, Gisele was everything he had ever wanted in a girl; she was badass, cunning, and smart, with driving skills that made her competitive with the best of the boys and the beauty and body type that Han was drawn to. She was Han's perfect woman.I couldn't do this again. We weren't going back to our bubble in Colombia; we were going back to a huge city that was filled with women like Han's flings in Tokyo that would constantly have his attention. Han might love me, but he wasn't capable of loving just me, and I loved him, but I refused to be the one that waited at home while he was out in the club with the all of the beautiful women hanging off of him.This time it wasn't going to work; the best thing for both of us would be for him to let me go to Prague by myself and for him to go back to Madrid. It wasn't his crew that caused problems in Moscow, and it wasn't his fight with the new Russian mobster, so there was really no point in him jeopardizing what he had in Madrid. He needed to leave.Suddenly there was no air in my lungs or in the car. I felt like I was trapped in a bubble and I needed to get out. I shoved Han's hand off of my knee and started clawing at the air vent, trying to get it turned on me.A blast of cold air hit me in the face and I was slammed out of my thoughts and back to the present. Han was staring at me with concern and confusion written all over his face and his hand hovering over the temperature control. Despite his focus being on me, he was still passing other cars like they were going in reverse. He smoothly swerved in front of a sedan and pulled off the exit."Are you going to be sick?" He asked. He had confusion written all over his face."I don't know," I answered honestly. He pulled off the side of the road to a service station and parked on the side of the building away from everyone else. The second the car was stopped I had my door open and was out of the enclosed space. The air was slowly re-entering my lungs now that I was actually able to move around. I had never liked feeling trapped."Can you pop the trunk?" I asked breathlessly as I walked to the back of the car. He was halfway out of his side of the car looking at me like I was insane, but at this point, but I didn't care. I was hyperventilating in the middle of a parking lot in his clothes, which were dangerously close to falling off and completely exposing me in the freezing cold; I was sure I looked crazy.He complied and I snatched my dress out of his bag. Without caring who was watching, I pulled his shirt over my head and replaced it with the dress."What the hell are you doing?" He finally asked. I sighed as I slid his boxers off and refolded his clothes before placing them back where they were supposed to be."You shouldn't come with me." I deadpanned. "I'm not far; I can make it to Prague alone. You shou-you should go back to Spain. None of this is going to work" I threw my purse over my shoulder and shut the trunk."What is going on?" He said gently as he cleared the space between us in three steps and put his hands on my shoulders. "This about me meeting your team? You haven't had a panic attack like this since we were in Tokyo.""No. Han-" I paused. "I can't do this." His eyebrows shot up and he started rubbing his hands up and down my biceps. I got stiff. Han felt my discomfort and loosed his grip until he was barely touching me."Neela said you'd do this." He muttered softly. My eyebrows scrunched together. "Look, a lot happened in the last few days and we are both stressed. Let's just take it one day at a time.""Han-" I started to argue."We have a lot to fix; that's going to take a while." He interrupted."Can we fix it?" I murmured back. He sighed."Were you lying this morning?" He asked hesitantly."No," I replied honestly. "Were you?""No." He answered quietly. I started to calm down a little bit. "We need to get moving again."I stared at the car anxiously. I really didn't want to go back in an enclosed space right then. Han watched my expression before following my gaze and sighing."Come on. Something to drink will help you calm down." He wrapped a protective arm around my shoulder, which for once I didn't find comforting."Tequila." I half-joked."Don't think that helps a panic attack." He replied dryly. He drugs me in the store and grabbed two bottles of water for us.I tossed his a few bags of plain chips since the stash in his glove box had been severely depleted. A small smile spread across his face as he caught them effortlessly.A few minutes later, I was settling back into the passenger's seat of Han's car. I no longer felt like I was trapped inside a oxygen-less bubble, but it still wasn't that comfortable. I still had a lot of questions nagging at me."What did you mean by 'Neela said you'd do this?'" I asked to break the silence. I might as well start with an easy one."I was on the phone with Twinkie when she stole it to talk to me for a few minutes." He answered as he pulled back on the main road."And she told you I was going to have a psychotic come apart?" I asked incredulously."She told me to get my shit straight." He deadpanned."Sounds like her," I commented dryly thinking of my friend's bluntness."She said it was going to get worse before it got better; mostly because you could only function with two main emotions and anything outside of that caused you to have a mental break down and run away like a bat out of hell." He continued with a smirk."And what were the two main emotions?" I asked in a sarcastic tone."Happy and angry. Anything else and you shut down." Han replied in an amused tone. I opened my mouth to make a smart-ass comment when I realized she was right. I sighed."I don't deal with feelings," I muttered defensively."I know," Han replied. An uncomfortable silence descended in the car and I start shifting restlessly."Just say it." Han blurted as he turned to look at me."Say what?" I snapped back. I was still having massive second thoughts about dragging Han to Prague with me."That I broke your heart and now you're freaking out about taking me back." I looked at him in shock as he stared at me from across the car."No," I replied instantly. He looked at me with raised eyebrows."Okay, we'll come back to that." He said almost sarcastically. "How did you find out?" He asked slowly. His eyes were glued back to the road and he was shifting uncomfortably like he didn't want to hear it."I was walking home. I saw her kiss you and then you go home with her." I said quietly. My eyes started burning but I ignored them. His lips pressed together and he refused to look at me."Why?" I asked before I could stop myself. I knew the answer, but for some reason, I wanted to hear him say it. He looked like I had just put a knife in his stomach as he chewed on his lip looking for an answer."I'd been who I was in Tokyo for a long time. For a second, I thought I could go back and still keep you." He answered shortly.I started wishing I'd walked away at the gas station and found my own way to Prague.It didn't make it any better that I understood. I was trying to merge who I was in Tokyo, Colombia, and Madrid and Han had thrown a wrench into it. I imagine it was like that for Han when Gisele showed up."Why did you come back? Was it because I was 'moving up in the world'?" I bit back sarcastically."No. I cared about you a lot, but I thought it would go away. When I saw you again, it hadn't." He said quietly. "You're always going to be my ride or die. Everything's going to be compared to you.""Caring about someone doesn't mean things are going to work out," I muttered softly."You are hell-bent on getting rid of me," Han commented in annoyance."What? It didn't work last time." I reminded him. He rolled his eyes."You are so emotionally retarded." He deadpanned."Am not." I shot back. He gave me a look. "And what about you, huh?""I don't literally run away from feeling something." He shot back."I do not," I yelled at him. His eyebrows shot up and he pointed back in the direction we came from. "Oh, just let me out; I'll walk to Prague," I demanded."No. You attract dangerous mobsters; I'm not leaving you alone." He countered as he hit the door lock and gave me a pointed look."Ooh, you locked the door. What's that going to do? I have more common sense than to bail out when you are going 202 miles an hour!" I drawled sarcastically as I leaned over to look at the speedometer.Han started chuckling as he took his hand off the shifter to wrap it around me. He pulled me closer, which forced my head on his shoulder. Annoyed at how the seatbelt pulled at my shoulder and waist, I reached over and unbuckled it. He drove with his knee for a second as he used both hands to haul me into his lap."Never thought I'd miss our car fights." He muttered as he put his left hand back on the wheel."How could you not? They're the best." I muttered sarcastically as I got comfortable.I ducked down so he could see the road over me and laid my head on his opposite shoulder. I used to sit like this sometimes when he had a long trip ahead of us so I could keep him awake, or even sometimes just because I could. I lazily watched the cars we passed fly backward as we moved towards the Czech border."Have you had panic attacks like this lately?" Han broke the silence as I almost drifted off to sleep."Rarely. We started an organization to help victims of human trafficking and it hits very close to home sometimes, though. Kamata was a cruel and evil man who could make my life a living hell, and I was lucky that he would just backhand me when I pissed him off." I took in a shaky breath. "I hate to be trapped somewhere, I hate to feel vulnerable and exposed, and I hate to be afraid of things; bringing it up to you just makes me think about all those things." I paused. "It's a stupid reason to not talk about things," I muttered."Almost the same reason I don't talk about what I was like before Dom." He answered. I hadn't been expecting that one."Yeah, some things are better left forgotten," I replied."They never stay that way, do they?" He asked quietly."No. They always come back up when you least need them." I answered.He was quiet again. This had been an extremely awkward last hour, but at least we had gotten most of that out of the way. It had actually made me relax about taking him back, and I kind of believed what he said this morning even more. That conversation seemed like it happened months ago at this part in the day."We'll have to slow down a little, we don't have much longer after the border." Han finally commented after a long bit of silence as a sign for the Czech Republic flew by."Yay, clothes that fit," I commented dryly. "And a hairbrush," I added as I ran a hand through the tangled mess.Z"I can't believe you are still trying to fix us up." I hissed into my phone as I tried on a few pairs of jeans in a dressing room."So he did get his shit together." She stated smugly. "Why haven't you talked to me about this sooner?" She asked."I might have pissed off the mafia and that's had me preoccupied," I answered lightly knowing she was working on her car and hoping she wouldn't pay attention to the actual words."You what? Sorry, I didn't hear you." So much for that."I pissed off the Russian mafia," I answered reluctantly."From the job? What are you going to do?" She hissed, obviously trying to hide this from Sean."Yeah." I paused as I tried on a too-small sweater and had to yank it back over my head. "A Russian guy pulled a gun on me while I was standing with Han and he got us away from him. My crew's meeting in Prague to decide what to do and Han's coming too.""So he's getting better." She said like she was hoping it was true."Neela, he told me he loved me." I hissed to make sure no one heard as I forced my legs into a pair of jeans."I told him he had to actually verbally try to work it out with you, but I didn't think he'd do that." excitement permeated her voice. "You said it back, right?""Yeah, I did. And I only had a little. Tiny meltdown because of it." I said pointedly."Called it." She muttered smugly. "How'd that end?""Car fights, because, you know, we went on a road trip together. I don't think we've ever gone on one without fighting about something. Then he pulled me in his lap and we just talked for a while." I replied as I gathered up what I had decided on buying."That's sweet." She commented happily. I snorted and rolled my eyes, which made her laugh."Look, he came back to you; you just trust him a little and let him back in." She advised."I'll try. I gotta go." I told her."Okay. Bye." She hung up.I couldn't help but think she was right. I had acted like a lunatic today, and I just needed to relax and give him a chance. If he chose to get me back in the two-seater car with him after I had a psychotic meltdown like that, then I knew he was here to stay.I paid for my clothes and quickly changed into a pair of Vans, dark jeans, and a thin, v-neck burgundy sweater with sleeves that ended just before my elbows and a hood topped with a black jacket. I brushed my hair back out of my face and got it somewhat detangled. I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror and realized I looked like the old me; the jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl that used to race through the streets of Tokyo.I started to realize just how fake the businesswoman persona I forced on myself was.I still had her confidence and her maturity, but I couldn't pretend that I was meant to run a regular, legal business like a normal person. I was a street racer. I was a mechanic. I was a thief. I was about to go kick a mobster's ass.A real smile broke out on my face. I slid my purse over my shoulder and grabbed the new suitcase I had packed my things into and walked out of the bathroom. I found my way out the department store with a little difficulty and saw Han leaning on the hood of the car across the street.His eyes found me as I crossed the road and walked directly to him. Without hesitating, I ran a hand through his hair and pulled him down to meet my lips. I kissed him deeply for a minute before pulling back with a smirk."You have a choice to make, right now. Either way has conditions and consequences." I said smoothly as I looked him dead in the eye."And what choice is that?" He asked with a smirk."You stay with me and go to Moscow to do the job; and, unless we end, I am your only girl. The other choice is you leave and we never see each other again. No middle ground." I told him firmly. He smirked wider and pulled me into another kiss."I'm not going anywhere." He murmured softly. My lips turned up in a smile. "You are so beautiful." He added. I chuckled."Are you sure you can handle this?" I asked cockily as I put my bag in the trunk."I think I got it." He replied smoothly as he slipped into the passenger's side."We'll see," I commented dryly as I got in the driver's side of the car. I slid my hand over Han's on the shifter after he got us on the main street and he intertwined his fingers with mine.For the first time, I felt completely sure this was the right thing. I knew I wasn't going to waver off this decision again, and I knew I didn't have time to; my crew was waiting and so was Moscow.
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All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriendDown to ride 'til the very end, it's me and my boyfriendZThe bright Christmas lights of Madrid reflected on the high windows of Han's apartment. The headlights of late-night commuters made the street look like a ribbon of light down below.I leaned against the cold window slightly as I sipped on my hot chocolate.The Moscow job had ended when Genya Petrov, the ruler of Moscow's underworld, was taken out by the FSB agent we talked into helping us. No more tails, no more random people waving around guns, no more family drama.The job had not been easy; there were several tense moments when I just knew we weren't walking away. We had tracked down a shipping company he owned under a fake name. He was using it to move money, drugs, and everything else imaginable. After finding it and pushing the agent in the direction of stopping him legally with this new information, we raided the place.Unfortunately, his men were waiting for us. We fought back hard and escaped with a few minor injuries. We met at a second safe house that we had kept to make sure the FSB agent wouldn't come snooping around for us; there we split everything.We walked away with a whole lot of money, several stolen cars, and the knowledge that none of the Russian mobsters were going to be dumb enough to mess with us again."Wondered where you went," Han called as he leaned on the door frame of his bedroom.I grinned as I looked him over. He was standing there in his old, favorite pair of sweatpants with his hair sticking up in crazy random directions after his nap. His eyes were drooping almost shut with sleep and he looked almost irritated that he had woken up in bed alone."Look who finally decided to drag himself out of bed." I teased as I took another sip of my hot chocolate. He snorted, clearly unimpressed with my statement."I was also wondering why I didn't have any clean shirts a minute ago." He gestured to the entirely too big rugby jersey that was hanging off of me. I chuckled."You're a big boy; you can work the washer." I teased. He rolled his eyes at me as I giggled at his reaction.He slowly straightened up and crossed the room in lazy steps. He meandered over to the fireplace before reaching down to the dial to turn it on. The gas logs flared up to life with cheerful flames. He leaned back up with a stretch before settling himself down on his sleek black couch and pulling the duffel bag holding the money from the job so he could separate our shares.It got tossed aside after we got back and fell into bed to sleep all day. I slept like a rock and could still be out like a light when my head hit the pillow. Han had taken the last shift of driving and was even more exhausted than I was.I left my spot at the window and settled down on the couch beside Han."Sure you want me to count this?" He asked as unzipped the bag and started dumping bills on the table."I trust you," I answered steadily as I took another sip of my hot chocolate. Han's head snapped around as a smile spread across his face. He started thumbing through the bills, separating my half and his."You remember before we left Tokyo, you made the sarcastic comparison between us and Bonnie and Clyde?" He asked in amusement as he quickly stacked the bills."Yeah. When I said that I never thought I'd be sitting next to you, as you counted stolen money, the day after we drove across Europe in a stolen Ferrari; which we got a hold of after we knocked a Russian mob boss out of power." I continued sarcastically. Han chuckled"I thought my days of doing this were over; after that wreck, I always imagined myself dying as an old man on the Columbian beach." He admitted."I don't think we'll ever have to worry about old age," I replied as traced my finger along a particular nasty bruise on Han's forearm that he had picked up when we met Petrov's guys as we raided the shipping yard."No; you and I have a special talent for pissing off the wrong people." He replied as he slid a few stacks of bills over to the side and started organizing the rest of them."We've got to be careful about that; soon we'll run out of people to piss off," I replied airily. Han stopped working to give me a grin."There's always the Triads." He offered."The Irish." I reminded as I put up two fingers to keep count."Of course the Italians." He teased."Can't forget them." I brought up another finger. "Plus, I'm pretty sure there are lots of cartels out there that need to robbed." I gave up on keeping count."We could also branch out; try robbing a casino." He joked; it was more of a dig at Miles than anything else."If half his money wasn't mine I'd be all for it," I responded as I finished off my hot chocolate and set my mug down on the floor so it'd be out of his way."We need to decide where we go from here." He said after a pause to bring the conversation back to a more serious tone. He pushed the money to the other side there were two separated piles of money. I rested my head on my fist as I stared at the pile in front of me."Where do you want to go?" I asked him without looking away. I felt him shift beside me."I love Madrid." He answered immediately."We're already set up here, and we can be sure that the Russian's won't be back," I added."So that just leaves figuring us out." he continued. I sighed. I really hated conversations like these."I want to know what businesses you have going on the side." I finally responded. I gave up staring at the cash and turned around to completely face him."I've been moving stolen cars, and of course I had a deal to move some diamonds if you're still interested." He explained."Oh, I'm definitely interested." I deadpanned as I raked a hand through my hair."Are you doing anything besides the club and casino?" Han asked."A few restaurants, but that's it. I don't even know where to look for the races." Han scoffed."I'm taking you after I recover from the job." He replied with a yawn."Look at you; twenty-nine years old and acting like an old man." I teased. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I snuggled into his body heat, suddenly sleepy."You didn't have to deal with what I did." He reminded. Miles would not give him a break the entire trip."Sorry, they're insane." I apologized for my family's behavior for probably the tenth time that day."You don't realize it once you're around them for a little while." He dismissed it mildly.I knew he didn't lie to me when he said he would stay; that fact was validated when he didn't go flying out the door the first time he met Miles. I thought I loved him even more for being able to tolerate the insane asylum that I claimed as family."If I tell you about my business, then you can't bottle everything up like you've done before." He said sleepily after a pause."Deal," I answered without hesitation.With that compromise agreed on, he trailed off in silence again and I almost dozed off leaning against him. He finally gave up on staying awake and made me lean up for a second so he could lay down. I grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and snuggled down next to him with my head on his chest.Right now everything was perfect; I was lying beside the man I loved in front of a warm fire and two big piles of money with no lights on except for what was getting in through the window from the Christmas lights and the fire.Everything felt so stable right now; like this moment was perfect and nothing could mess it up. Looking at the money on the table, I knew the life we had stepped into was full of gambles and dangers; either of us could have easily been injured, arrested, or dead. Just because it hadn't happened this time, didn't mean that wasn't in the cards for the future.But for some reason, that unknown thrilled me. I was born to be a thief addicted to the adrenaline rush, and as much as Han denied it sometimes, he was too. I always knew that with Han there, I was ready for whatever the next job could throw at me.