Chapter Twenty-Five

�You gonna stick by me?�

�Maybe��

**

After Letty�s birthday, I thought my life was perfect. I had the job at Leon�s garage, racing, I was in love with a girl who loved cars almost as much as she loved me� What more could I possibly want? Everything came crashing down soon enough, though.

One Friday towards the middle of March, there was a big race planned out in the desert. Five cars, each with a buy-in of five grand, winner take all. Should�ve been a big payday for me, but it turned out to be one of the worst days of my life.

The race was originally set for Saturday, but a few days before, one of the guys planning it called me up and told me they�d had to change it to Friday. He said the cops had found out about the race and were going to set up a sting operation, or something like that.

I felt nothing but good about this race. I was sure I�d be coming home about twenty-five thousand dollars richer. Hell, I�d practically spent the money already, thinking about what needed replacing on my car and on Letty�s.

But, from the minute I pulled up to the meeting place, something felt wrong. There weren�t enough people there, for such a big race. And it was too quiet� Things were just off.

I wasn�t really worried, but I remember being glad that Letty wasn�t with me. Leon and Amber had gone down to San Diego for the weekend, to have yet another �serious discussion� about their relationship, and I didn�t really know any of the guys who were supposed to be at the race, so I hadn�t wanted to bring the girls along. I didn�t like leaving them alone while I raced. It wasn�t really a big deal for Mia. Going to the races was always just something to do, for her. But Letty�d been furious when I said she couldn�t go with me, refused to talk to me nearly all week. I give into her on so many things, but I wouldn�t budge at all on this. I hadn�t even told her about the day of the race being changed, just that I had some business I needed to take care of that night and I�d meet up with her at the garage when I got finished. Looking back on it all, I think I should�ve just brought Letty along. I should�ve realized that bad things always happen whenever she�s not at the races with me.