Burnout | Fast and Furious | Book 3

[5]

"They say if you want to glimpse the future, just look behind you. I used to think that was bollocks, but now I realize..." The man says aloud as he slowly turns around, "...you can't outrun the past".

Deckard Shaw stands beside his brother Owen's bedside as he is critically injured and in a coma.

"When we were kids, you'd start fights with the toughest bastards in the yard. But I was the one who had to step in and finish them. You'd steal from the corner shop, but it was me who'd brave the old man's belt" The older brother sighs to himself, glancing down at his brother's broken body.

"I'd hoped you'd outgrown it... that playing the gangster had made you harder, smarter, better. But deep down, I guess I always knew you'd end up like this, despite everything I did teach you. Still, you're my flesh and blood, so you remain my cross to bear".

"Rest now, little brother, while I settle your one last score" walking towards the door, he stops by the cowering hospital crew, "You take care of my brother. Anything happens to him, I'll come by looking for you".

He walks back out into the lobby as it stands in the chaos he had created, trying to find his brother. He had been furious to hear that not only was his brother in a bad way, but his girlfriend had run off back to her family.

He knew he should have said something when Rose told him about Owen getting in on something potentially dangerous, but he thought his brother knew what he was doing.

One last mission, he said, then the three of them could retire somewhere, maybe back home. On the run, albeit but at least they would be together.

Now he has to avenge his brother, find his girl and then convince her to go back to him, but he has no problems forcing her to do that if she has already been sucked in by her old life.

He goes down an elevator and hands a soldier an item "Here. Hold this" As he pushes the man over a chair, he hears him call in a panic, "GRENADE!" moments before the explosion comes from the tiny weapon.

Shaw walks out from the hospital, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Putting on his glasses calmly, he enters a Maserati and drives away, getting ready to fight for his family. Both of them.

Frowning, I glanced out of the window in confusion; I didn't much more than a 'get up and dressed' before I was bundled into the front seat of my brother's car. "So why is Letty in her own car again" I question, having no clue where we were going or what we were doing.

All I could see was the Californian desert.

It had been a few days since my meeting. Harry and Dom admitted that he had been sending me to all these different places with the hope that it might bring some of my memories back, it hasn't, but that didn't stop him from trying.

So here we are driving to god knows where.

My brother just smiled, ignoring my question as I grabbed his arm, shaking it a little as I looked out of the rear window at Letty's car. "Come on, Dom. So where are you taking me?".

Dom turned to look at me with his eyes full of unspent wisdom; although I don't remember what he was like before, I'm starting to realize this is just who Dom is.

He may look just like a common thug, but deep down, he was more than that. "They say an open road helps you think about where you've been, where you're going. So you don't remember any of this yet?".

I sighed, sitting back in my chair as I stared at the side of my brother's head as I bit my cheek. "That's not fair. You know I don't. So what is it exactly that you're trying to show me?" I grunted, feeling less excited now, knowing this was just another scheme to get my memory back.

I was starting to think my family only spends time with me know to try and get me to remember everything that I have forgotten.

"That," The older man says, nodding at my window, and I turned to see the desert was filled with racing cars of all different shapes and colors. "Race Wars" I gazed out of the window in awe; my fingers were itching to get down there and start winning some money.

"We used to come here?" I laughed as we drove closer, remembering how Letty and Mia explained that Dom was super protective of me growing up, so I can't imagine him letting me come here with all those racers.

Dom raised his eyebrow at me, looking as calm as ever. "Come here? Letty and I invented it" I blinked slowly, realizing the full extent of Dom's presence in the racing world.

I had asked Letty about what Harry said, but she wasn't very helpful and mostly hissed about race rats being all over my brother. 

"You won your first race here" My eyes widened at his words as I looked back towards the racing cars. "So I thought it would be fitting for you to race here again," I thought about his words before playing with my hands nervously.

"I might never get better," I say quickly as the older man just eyes me silently. "You know that, right? I might be like this forever," I try to explain. "Would you be okay with that?".

Dom grabs my hand in his as he glances between me and driving. "I'll be honest, yes id be upset, but you're my baby girl for life, not just until you forget you are" the smile on my face was blinding, "we'll work through it, okay?".

I nodded happily as Dom sped the car up as we got closer to the place I wanted to be right now; I could almost taste the pink slips "now I understand why Letty's in her own car."

Driving into race wars, I had no idea where to look first; everything was crazy here. Women were dressed in only bikinis, people were doing tricks on bikes, it all seems a little too unreal.

Letting out a laugh, I smiled at my brother when people began noticing us and waving at the car; I could hear a couple of shouts about the 'Toretto's are here.' This is what I had been missing, the racing.

Since coming back to America with Dom, I had stayed away from any street racing; I stuck by myself fixing up a car I may never race. I was just living every day, waiting for the next one to happen.

It was sluggish and dark, but this, being here it was bright and exciting. It felt more like home to me than the place I was living.