Burnout | Fast and Furious | Book 3

[18]

I circled my new prize, which Reiko had successfully driven back to the garage. I had a small chuckle at the thought of her driving at a granny pace to make sure nothing happened to it.

Sighing, I take notes on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution that I had won from the cocky douche-bag who was clearly stuck in the early 2000s with his frosted tips.

"APR body kit and rear spoiler; APR Racing carbon-fiber side mirrors," I call out, sensing Han behind me lurking. "Shitty paint job. Needs an engine upgrade... those wheels and tires are horrific..."

"How did he even think he could compare, let alone win?" I scoff, making detailed notes on what needs doing. 'Better engine, maybe red paint? Get twinkles to lift some T1R's'.

Pressing the button on the car lift, I look at Han, who has been oddly quiet this whole time. "What's up?" I ask, walking under the Evo as I take a look at the undercarriage.

"Nothin'," Han shrugs as he sits beside me while I make notes.

"Doesn't seem like nothing," I state, flashing a light under the car and looking at every aspect of it; everything seems in place. Nothing missing, no rust, not even a screw loose. Which means easy work for me.

"You enjoyed it. Hurting that guy..." Han starts with a sigh, but his tone never goes into accusation territory. I glance over at him, noticing the concern in his eyes.

I hang the light up, wiping my hands with a sigh. "I was taught to be one step ahead, not to let my feelings get in front of my survival. Being on top of the 'food chain' does things to you.

Swallowing hard, I tap the tires as I give them a once-over. I knew they could be sold secondhand, so that's the plan. "Sometimes I forget I don't have to be in that fight-or-flight mode anymore."

"Do I enjoy hurting people? No." I admit to him, "Can I control myself completely when situations happen that I hurt people while using skills drilled into me... also no".

"Hurting an innocent person is different than twisting some jerks arm out of his socket when he's coming for me," I express, remembering how he pushed me into Reiko. "I do what I have to do, and sometimes... I slip into the mindset of kill or be killed..."

The garage is quiet for a moment except for tinkering, pen scratching, and our breaths.

"Red or black?" I ask him, not elaborating as I clear my throat. I'm not entirely comfortable with our talk, but it's Han, and I trust him completely and irrevocably.

"Both," Han says immediately without thought as he opens a pack of Hello Panda cookies. "So, do I need to be worried?" he asks, almost with an air of indifference, but I see through him.

"About me or others?" I ask, grabbing socket wench with a scoff when he gives me a look, hearing my defensive tone. "I'm fine, okay? He was just an asshole-sized speed bump."

I know that's not necessarily true, but I'm probably as okay as I will ever be.

Any hope I have of regaining my memories is gone; coming to terms with that and being trained for evil intent is hard enough, but when it was by someone you loved, you just want to give up and move on.

So, living in Japan fixing cars and having Han as my go-to seems like a life I can deal with.

"You know you're not the only one with a shitty past, right?" Han says while under the hood of the Nissan Silvia, "I was making shitty choices before you were probably walking."

I don't look at him, but I do listen. It's not every day that Han opens up about things from his life.

"We were into some shady stuff back then, nothing too big. Stealing, drugs, partying with idiots. Being idiots. We had this dumb urban gangsta mentality..." He says, sounding thoughtful but not nostalgic.

"What happened?" I ask him quietly as I glance over at him, seeing him holding onto the front of the car, looking pensive.

"Some bad shit went down. Someone died... someone didn't, but maybe he should have instead of his eventual outcome. But I believe you make choices, and you don't look back. So that's what I did." He explained to me as he got back to working on the Nissan.

Rolling the wheels to the garage wall. I sigh, scrutinizing him knowing that Han has more demons than people knew, even if he doesn't show it. "So you just moved on? After everything that happened back then?"

Han nods as he glances at me. "I moved around a lot in the US before finally settling in Mexico, where I met Dom, and I guess the rest is history," he says with a smirk as he eats some of his panda cookies.

"The rest is history," I repeat with a sigh as I gaze at the Evo. "Too bad I can't remember most of my history, but I guess this will soon be part of my history as the present turns into the past."

Hearing a snort, I glance at Han, watching me with a raised eyebrow as we work car-by-car. "You turn into a philosopher in the last hour?" he teases me with an easy-going smirk.

"Don't hate me because I'm smart and pensive," I retort, rolling my eyes at him. "I heard chicks dig that... must be sad for you." I feel the panda cookie hit me on the back of the head before I hear his chuckles.

I pick up the socket wrench in one swift movement, lifting it up as if I were going to throw it at him. "No!" Han yells with a laugh, running and dropping his panda cookies all over the floor.