Be All, End All

Now what?

Darynn sat still, listening. The noise from outside the trailer was continuous, a low rumble of many voices punctuated by distinct yells here and there, music, engines. Inside was only the sound of their calming breathing. That was until Brian started to snore.

She rolled her eyes at the unmistakable sound. Fucking men! What? Was she just to sit here naked and let the fluids dry? And then what? They’d all snuggle together for a nice nap, and tomorrow get up and go to work again?

That had her frowning. There was no way that life as she knew it would stay the same after tonight’s events. How was she to just continue to work for Dom? Would he even allow it? Ignoring the issue of Brian for the moment, she had no idea what Dom would want now. Was she to be the girlfriend? Move into the Toretto house to be the Toretto whore?

And then there was Brian. The simple gesture of handing his friend the keys to his car had derailed both of their lives. But what had been his other option? To watch Dom go to prison? It would have destroyed both of them, she was sure. But now she had to look at the sacrifice that Brian had made for Dom, and so did Dom. Would he turn the other man away for her? Would she be able to live knowing that she’d literally taken Dom from Brian? It would surely destroy their lifelong friendship.

Or were they to live all together as a big happy family, sharing lives and beds? Hell, throw in the rest of the team. She wouldn’t deny that she found each of them attractive. She and Brian could be the pivots to a five-guy orgy. After all, they had enough holes between them to keep everyone satisfied.

The wonder of having Dom settle his head on her was fast turning to panic. She was literally pinned by the source of the angst in her life. When he regained consciousness he would make a decision, purposely or not, that had the ability to destroy hearts and lives. She closed her eyes, hating that she might be the victor, causing Brian to lose this man that he’d cared enough about to give up his freedom for. Brian deserved Dom. His sacrifice should have earned him the right to have it decided one way or the other without her presence weighing on the outcome.

Dammit! She should’ve just left when she’d learned Dom’s name. Why hadn’t she just walked away?

Looking down at Dom’s head in her lap made her smile at the obvious reason. She hadn’t been able to. He was a rock, and a beautiful one at that. Anyone, strong or not, was drawn to stand beside him, if not for the protection, then to just be a part of it, to be in his shadow.

And right now the rock was passed out on her! Carefully she moved her legs one at a time, easing Dom’s head to the pillow beneath.

She was panting when she got loose. Probably from the fear of being caught, but still it caused an exhilaration that had her clenching her teeth and feeling skittish. She had no idea what she was doing, but it didn’t stop her from gathering clothes together and moving silently from the room.

She cleaned up in the kitchen, washing off dried lube and other juices. Then she dressed.

What was she doing? This was her trailer! If she was running this was very poorly planned. Like, it would have been better to get the two men she was running from out of the house first!

She couldn’t see that far into the future though. Right now she just wanted away. Her truck was enough of a haven for now. As long as she wasn’t here when they woke up.

Keys, wallet, cell phone, jacket. The desert could get cool at night. She moved to the door and looked back into the trailer trying to think if she was forgetting something vital. Yeah, like all the beer in the fridge! The stupor of alcohol sounded blissful right now.

“Darynn?”

Her eyes nearly bugged from her head at the slurred word. The bedroom door was still closed, but she could definitely hear someone moving in there. As quietly as she could she stepped outside. Her truck was at the end of the row of trailers. She moved quickly, head down, ignoring everyone she passed.

She tried not to panic, nor question why it was so important to get away. Her truck would alert the whole damn crowd anyway. Diesels were not subtle. Whoever had woken before she left would hear and know instantly. But she’d have the head start.

She was nearly to her truck, only two trailers between her and it, when her cell phone rang. Frowning, she dug it out. The caller was unknown, so she lifted it to her ear. “Yeah?”

A deep whisper. “Where are you going?”

Darynn nearly choked on her own saliva. It was Dom, and his voice was something out of a horror movie. By the sound of it he was outside, within the noisy crowd.

“Nowhere,” she lied. She stopped short when she rounded the last corner. Low stood below the driver’s door of her truck, arms crossed, looking directly at her. “What?” she whispered in denial.

“Find my present?” Dom asked, having heard her whispered word.

She frowned in confusion. He’d known. He’d known, and was trying to stop her.

“What are you doing?” she asked him, feeling panic bubble that she wasn’t going to be able to get away. He had to be right behind her!

Moving past her truck, she headed for her car, just a few spaces down. She’d only made it a dozen yards or so when taillights flashed brightly making her squint. She stopped again as she watched Vince step out of his car, now parked in front of hers, effectively blocking it in.

Silence from the phone, only the echoing sounds of the crowd.

“You can’t keep me from leaving,” she whispered into the phone, not understanding the sudden conspiracy to keep her there. Her heart was thumping like she was in some cheesy horror flick.

“I’m not. I’m just slowing you down.” His tone was reasonable almost teasing, calming her impractical fears.

She smiled. Fucker. Yeah, just long enough for him to get there and then she wouldn’t be able to leave anyway. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. She turned back to see if there was any hope of getting in her truck from the other side and saw that it wouldn’t be a possibility.

Low had come around her truck and now he spoke with Dom for a moment, their heads together, then Dom came toward her. Shirtless and barefoot, it was obvious he’d left in a hurry. He raised his hand in a gesture to Vince who immediately got back in his car. Darynn watched the car pull away, then turned back to Dom. They were alone, sort of. There were less people between the parked cars, but enough to witness anything.

Darynn bit her lip, watching him cross to her. He was fucking gorgeous. She had to remind herself of her reasons for wanting to leave. He might look edible, but he was the root of all evil!

He stopped a couple feet short, and she couldn’t think of one thing to say. He looked at her like he was deciding something, then he stepped back and to the side. “Go for a drive with me.” It was a command, but he made it sound like an invitation.

“Excuse me?” Hadn’t he just been trying to keep her out of her vehicles?

“You sober enough to drive for me?”

She wasn’t sure if she was aggravated by his placating tone or by the question. Either way, she nodded, and it seemed to settle the issue. He moved toward her truck, checking to make sure she followed. She did, slowly. It bothered her that she didn’t know what he was planning to do. But then had she ever known what Dom was going to do?

When her truck roared to life and the lights atop lit the area around them they saw Low step forward from the people moving back. He stopped when he saw Dom was in the truck, and then she pulled out, feeling disconnected to the situation.

The dark quiet intimate interior of the cab added to the strangeness. They’d closed themselves into a private world that was theirs alone, and the vibrating electricity between them was a palpable thing.

Neither spoke as she maneuvered the truck toward the gate, dodging cars and people that would be no obstacle at all to the large tires. Then onto the highway, and the silence seemed to grow until she was nearly huffing in anticipation of something.

“So where were you going to go?” he asked softly.

“Nowhere,” she repeated.

“So let’s go together. Tell me when we get there.” His tone was teasing. He didn’t believe her.

She sighed, “I really wasn’t going anywhere. Just away.”

“A late night drive.”

She snorted, “Something like that.”

They lapsed back into silence and Darynn rolled her eyes. Good thing they’d gotten all that important stuff worked out.

Minutes and highway passed. Suddenly Dom pointed, “Turn.”

Darynn stepped on the brake, “What?”

“There. Turn there.”

She shrugged. He was pointing at nothing more than a wheel track. It didn’t look like a road at all, not even one out of common use. And there was nothing before them as she turned, just desert and dark.

The truck took the rough terrain easily, though she had to slow down to do it. She drove on, steering around or over anything that got in the way. At a mile or so she stopped, after all, she couldn’t just drive on forever. The lights going out with the motor closed them in an even more intimate space. The absence of the rumble of the engine made their very breaths sound loud in the hushed silence.

“What are we doing?” she whispered, wishing to get whatever was going to happen over with.

“I don’t know.”

They sat silently again, each tiny sound seeming amplified. The shift of a leg, cloth rubbing cloth, the truck ticking softly as it cooled. They were each apparently lost in thoughts that they needed to share but couldn’t.

Finally Darynn sighed. They were getting nowhere at supersonic speed.

Dom turned to watch her as she moved. Between the front seats into the back. She pulled forward one of the back seats to reveal her stash. A thin double-size air mattress still in its box. She shoved it through the back window into the bed of the truck. A blanket followed it, and then more carefully the emergency stash of vodka.

“What are you doing?” he asked when she pulled out the air pump and leaned over to the front console to plug it in.

She was mere inches from him. She faced him for a few seconds, feeling the tremor of excitement at being this close to him. “If I’m going to fall asleep from sheer boredom I figured I might as well be comfortable.”

She pulled back and opened the back driver’s side door. A bit of a monkey act, but then she was in the bed of the truck. The mattress just fit when she spread it out, as she’d planned. The only light was the star filled sky so she went mostly by feel as she found the hole for the air and hooked up the pump.

Noisy little fucker, it sounded like a rocket engine in the still night.

The inside light came on. She didn’t look, seeing the light on the mattress only. It went off when the door closed. A few seconds later Dom hefted himself up using the back tire and sat on the side of the truck, feet on the wheel well.

It only took a couple minutes for the little mattress to fill. She plugged the air hole and set the pump back inside. Boots off, she crawled onto the mattress with the vodka. The contoured pillow was towards the tailgate so she laid that way. The blanket was light but thick, and she spread it over her legs before taking a shot straight from the bottle.

“Comfy?”

She smiled, enjoying the bolstering warmth of the vodka burning its way down to her stomach. “Yeah. Last time I was in this bed it was kinda rough so I went and got this for the next time.” She raised her eyes to meet his, still smiling. The darkness made his eyes look black, but she could feel the intensity of his stare.

“Is this next time?”

“Guess so.” She took another shot from the bottle.

He reached to his back pocket and held something out to her. She grinned as she took it. “Very nice. Thank you.” The slim credit card sized remote was to the XM radio in her truck. Within a few seconds she had heavy metal playing quietly through the window.

Another shot from the bottle and then she offered it to him. “Drink with me?”