Underground

Ch 2

"Bre... do you even know how to get home from here?" His deep voice doubts me.

I stop walking and turn to face him, "I really don't need a babysitter.." I roll my eyes, and blurt out "..but no I don't know how, Ace does, I was kind of depending on him but.." I stop, feeling no need to continue that sentence that should have stayed in my mind.

His expression is unreadable and it's very frustrating. He raises and eyebrow, "My car is parked next to Ace's"

I turn to look at my brothers little bright blue Honda, my eyes wander to the machine resting next to it,

"You drive a '70 Dodge Charger R/T?" Its a stunning car. If Dom wasn't already attractive, he became almost irresistible. Thoughts flash in my mind, pictures of him racing and being in control of that beauty.

He snaps me our of my thoughts, "Wow. Beauty and brains, no wonder Ace has kept you hidden."

I chuckle and look down, his voice deep but calm, "It's unlocked, you can sit in it while I finish up one thing, then I'll take you home?"

I look up into his eyes, "Okay" I show a small smile. He turns, and hold out his arm, silently insisting I walk to his car now. I oblige, walking right pass him. As I make my way to his car I can feel his eyes burning into my body.

I climb into the passenger side of his matte black car and his smell engulfs me. It's musky, a good musk though. There's a hint of mint and engine grease. It much warmer and I can feel myself relax as I sit back into his leather seat. 

Sitting here, in his car, I have a perfect view of my surroundings. I glance around but I can't keep my eyes off him.

I watch as he walks over to a group of men, ranging in age but I assume for the most part they are younger than Dom, all their attention turns to him, they remind me of puppies. I giggle to myself at the ridiculous thought. 

I continue to watch as one of the men hand Dom a roll of cash. My imagination runs wild, I hope it's not drugs but who am I kidding we live in the slums of LA and knowing this crowd, I don't judge. Dom's expression is still blank as he shakes their hands and turns to walks over to his car, I can't read him and it pisses me off. He almost looks mad. 

He climbs in the car, his deep voice fills the space, "Are you cold?"

"No." My voice is tiny. But it was true, sitting in here, out of the brisk wind, I warmed up completely.

He ignites his engine and the deep roar sounds perfectly tuned. I know a lot about cars, I grew up in my dads shop with Ace, my father taught us both everything there is to know about the different types of car engines. American muscle cars are my favorite, to work on, and ride in. 

So when I hear the clean rumbles from Dom's car I don't notice my wide smile.

He pushes the gas and we begin to pull through the crowd, "You have a beautiful smile." His voice emits again.

"I can't help but smile your engine sounds beautiful"

He lets out a small chuckle, "I've herd my engine be described as a lot of things, but never has anyone said it sounded 'beautiful,'" he chuckles some more.

I swat his arm, "are you making fun of me?"

"Never, " his voice naturally deep, "but what makes it beautiful, Bre?"

I think for a second, "Well the V8 sounds smooth but still crisp. The roar is loud but muffled just the right amount. It's sharp and honestly tuned to perfection."

His eyes glued to the road, "When you put it like that, it does sound beautiful." He smiles.

After a short silence "How do you know so much about cars?"

The rest of the ride is full of me explaining to him my fathers store and garage, how me and Ace ran around his shop our entire childhood, but by the time we were 6 we could do an oil change without help, and by the time we were 15 we both could disassemble and reassemble an entire car engine.

Our conversation was light and I felt more relaxed. I was beginning to feel like he was an old friend not a new stranger.

When we pulled up to the house I noticed something was wrong. As his headlights swept across my front porch, I saw the glass window on the front door was busted, and the door was hanging open and rocking back and forth in the wind.

"Dom, I think there's someone in my house.." I said, and felt the air escape my lungs.

I'm sure he noticed my concern, "Okay, calm down, " he grabbed my hand and held it tight, "Do you have any idea who it could be?"

I shook my head no.

"I'm going to go look, you stay here." He said sternly, and reached beneath my seat. I watched him pull out a gun, he checked the chamber "Call the police" he instructed and in seconds he was out of the car.

I pulled out my phone and dialed 911 as it rang I watched him enter the house, slowly and quietly.

"Hello, sheriffs department, is this an emergency?"