Chapter One

"Yo." Eric said with a yawn as he answered the ringing phone that had woken him up and he glanced at the clock on his nightstand. It was two in the morning and he put the phone on speaker so he could get dressed.

"We got a race tonight and we're a man short if you're down." The man on the line explained in an excited tone and Eric could hear the engines in the background, "You're trying make a name for yourself and I think this is a good opportunity to start."

"I hate it when you're right." Eric told the man as he grabbed his keys from his the pants he had left on the floor before going to sleep and put the phone to his ear, "Where's it at?"

"The old warehouses near the dock. You've got about twenty minutes so don't be late." The man said as Eric stepped outside and he threw the phone onto the passenger seat of his dark blue Shelby when he heard the click of the man hanging up. He climbed inside of the Mustang before turning the ignition and he took a moment to listen to the engine as it roared to life. Eric heard his tires squeal as he slammed on the gas and sped down the quiet street of his neighborhood. It didn't take him long to reach the race location and everyone looked up as he pulled into one of the empty spots between some of the cars.

"That's a gt500 right?" A girl asked as Eric climbed out of his car and he gave her a nod while examining the brightly colored Toyota Supra she was leaning against, "Mind if I check it out?"

"Go ahead." He said as he opened the hood and he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride as a group of racers came to look as well before he saw the man who had called him walk over, "What do I get when I win Max?"

"Winner gets three grand and I paid your half already." Max explained with a big smile and Eric sighed knowing he was going to want it back, "It starts in five."

"So you're the one racing me?" The girl asked as she looked up from the engine and Eli smirked as he closed the hood. They both got into the cars before lining up in front of a girl holding up two flags and Eric immediately noticed the quad drones hovering above her.

"Guess we're being watched." Eric told himself as heard the Toyota's engine be revved and the moment the girl lowered the flags their tires squealed as they both slammed on the gas pedals. Eric smiled as he quickly passed her until he saw the cones that had been set up ahead of them and he immediately fell behind as the lighter vehicle passed him while they drifted around the sharp turns. He figured the race was going to be a sprint but cursed Max for not telling him more about it and the moment they hit a straight away he took a gamble he prayed wouldn't get him killed. The girl couldn't believe what she was seeing when he drifted around a curve going well over a hundred and twenty miles an hour before she saw the finish line come into view. Her eyes widened when Eric spun around and sped back towards her until she saw blue lights begin to flash behind him. She didn't see Eric's car when she spun around as well and the sudden loss in speed allowed the cops to box her in.

"Dammit!" She yelled as the cop in front of her slammed on his brakes and making her to slow down before the cruiser to her left crashed into the one into the one ahead of her. She realized that Eric had hit its tail to provide her an opening and she followed behind him as the chaos he caused forced the remaining cruisers to stop to prevent from crashing as well. They pulled into a multi floor parking lot and raced to the top floor before stopping in a dark section. Eric rolled his passenger side window and motioned for her to quickly get in.

"They know what your car looks like and I highly doubt they had a chance to register mine." Eric explained as she opened the door and once she was in he casually drove out of the parking lot.

"Thanks." She said as he turned onto one of the main roads and he gave her a nod as they watched police cruisers fly past them as if they weren't there, "I didn't introduce myself earlier but my name's Anna."

"Eric. Where do you want to go?" Eric asked with a sigh of relief and she gave him the directions to her place, "What a coincidence. That's actually pretty close to where the house I just moved into is."

"We have a celebration there on the nights I race if you want to come because I normally win. It's the least I can do for saving my skin tonight." Anna told him as she leaned back into the seat and he considered his options before agreeing. The rest of the trip was quiet as he made sure they weren't being followed by any cops and after a short while her house came into view. He wasn't surprised to see the sports cars parked on the street and pulled into a spot he could easily get out of just incase something happened.

"You must be pretty popular among the racers huh?" Eric asked as they walked up the steps to her front door and she got a small smile while opening the door. The five people that were inside turned to look at them when they stepped inside and Eric could feel their eyes peering through him.

"Looks like the new guy put up a good fight after all." One of the men said as Eric shut the door and he figured that they were expecting him to lose since they were her friends but he was still irritated by the remark, "Don't take it too hard Newbie. There's not a lot of people who can beat Anna."

"He would have won if the cops didn't show up." Anna told them as she handed Eric a beer from the fridge and all of them were clearly surprised to hear that, "They had me boxed in until Eric took two of them out and we had to ditch my car to get away."