Warning: Mentions of rape. Violence.

Hey guys! I really appreciate all of you guys who have been reviewing my stories! It truly makes my day every time. Thank you!

This story is sadly very fun for me to write. I'm so sorry. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter of the last story, so far, in this series. If you guys would like to see more, just let me know. :)

Enjoy!

"I can walk, ya know." Crutchie said, irritated, from his place on Racetrack's back.

"Sure ya can, kid." Race replied, bouncing the boy on his back up a bit. He smiled as Crutchie let out a startled cry and latched his hands onto the front of his red sweatshirt. Well, it wasn't actually his. Jack had given it to him years ago when Race had been through something traumatic. At the time it had been too big on the thin, pale, short kid. But Jack had said he didn't want it back so Race kept it. Not only did it keep him warm, but it reminded him of Jack, and in turn, made him feel safe.

"It's ok Crutchie." Romeo said from Race's right, away from edge of the street. No one but the oldest of the three realized it. "Underneath all that sarcasm, he cares."

Racetrack scoffed and bumped the twelve year old, knocking him into the bushes just off the sidewalk. The older boy laughed as Romeo ran back at him, Crutchie's crutch in hand as he playfully swung at Race's legs. "Eh don' hurt nobody with that little girl swing." He teased the smaller boy.

"Hey! I swing ten times as hard as you!" Romeo argued, readjusting the bag on his back.

"I don't know Rome," Crutchie sighed. "Race has got a pretty good swing."

"Hey!" The youngest boy put a hand over his heart in mock offense. "You're supposed to be on my side!" Crutchie just shrugged and laughed.

Race laughed in triumph as he rounded the corner, but the laugh was short lived as someone ran into him, bumping Crutchie's bad leg, making the boy hiss as he kept in a cry of pain. Race's protectiveness got the better of him. "Hey! Are ya blind or what?!" He yelled, ignoring Crutchie's sigh that it was ok. But Race didn't care he glared at the guy that had put the boy in pain for even a second.

"Sorry." The man muttered. Race couldn't see his face. He wore a black hoodie that shielded his features from view. But Race caught sight of a silver pinky ring that made him quiver inside. That ring was something he'd seen before. Something from his past and though he knew it was unlikely the same person, the memories resurfaced and he couldn't help but feel a little bit angrier. But despite this, Race didn't say anything else and continued on with his friends, not even noticing a hand slipping in and out of the gimp boy's pocket.

Race smiled again as he came within view of Jacobi's. He caught sight of some of the boys inside already and nodded to Romeo when he looked over and saw the kid asking for his approval to run towards them with only his big brown eyes.

Crutchie smiled when he saw Jack open the front door of the diner. The seventeen year old lifted Romeo up off his feet and waved at both him and Race.

"Don't tell Jack my legs been botherin' me." Crutchie whispered into Race's ear. The older of the two sighed and looked down at the ground for a moment.

"So ya finally admit it?" Race asked with a sad smirk on his face as he continued to walk to the door that Jack had left open for them. He knew that Crutchie was having a bad day. Every time he'd try to move it, he'd hiss or groan in pain. So he refused to let Crutchie limp to Jacobi's.

Crutchie sighed. "Just don't tell Jack." He asked, resting his chin on his friend's shoulder.

Before Race could answer, they were making their way inside. The blond Italian saw Romeo sitting with their friends at one of the largest booths in the corner. He looked around and saw some of the others at surrounding tables and finally his eyes landed on Jack who was currently with a customer that Race didn't know.

The gambler carefully set Crutchie down at the booth, next to JoJo and made his way over to Jack. The older boy was smiling and charming the guests of that table as they tried to decide what to eat. Once Race made his way over to Jack, the older boy put his hand up, a signal for him to hold on. So Race stood patiently while the couple ordered and then followed Jack back to the counter.

"What's up, Racer?" Jack asked in a hurry, making his way around into the kitchen and dropping off the order before grabbing another tray and walking back out into the busy restaurant. Race followed him as if this was an everyday occurrence. He dodged customers and trays and just started talking.

"I had ta carry Crutchie here today." Race explained, looking over at the boy who was looking down at the table, sadly, knowing that Race had ignored his one request. But the gambler knew that he was doing the right thing.

Jack shot his friend a concerned look. "Is he ok?" He asked, setting down a plate in front of a man reading a newspaper. Then he moved back to the kitchen and started to wipe down the counters.

"He's been whimperin' and groanin' all day. I think it's the damn weather. The cold's probably makin' it hurt." Race sighed.

Jack nodded and glanced over at his little brother at the table. He smiled, sadly, as they made eye contact and Crutchie smiled back, but his natural carefree grin was no where to be seen. "Poor kid." Jack sighed. Then he spun around and grabbed the coffee that had just finished brewing. "Look, I'm sorry ta do this to ya, Race." Jack told his second in command as they once again made their way around the diner. "But Jacobi's got me closin' tonight. Do ya mind takin' the kid home for me?" Race nodded. But before he could answer, they'd made it to a regular customer.

"Hello Miss Julie." Jack greeted, smiling as the woman did. "How's the church?" He asked.

"Wonderful Jack, thank you for asking." She responded and then smiled at the other boy. "And how are we doing today, Racetrack?"

"We're doing fine, thank you Miss Julie." Race responded, happily and then the two were once again back at the counter and Jack finally just leaned towards the boy over the counter as the blond sat down on a stool.

"I don't mind, Jack." Race said. "And I was meanin' ta ask ya if I could stay again tonight." He asked, and Jack smiled, so he continued. "Medda is still outta town with her... 'friend'." Race used air quotes, remembering exactly how his guardian had put it. "And I'm havin' trouble sleepin' in that huge house by myself." He explained.

Jack laughed. Medda was definitely something else. "Of course you can stay, kid." Jack assured, placing a hand on the kid's shoulder. "You know your always welcome there. Even Medda said you could stay there whenever ya want." He smiled.

"Thanks Jackie." And then Jack's five second break was over and he was back to working. He brought the boys some water and whatever he could afford to get them to eat.

Katherine came by for a while, on Jack break. All the boys had teased them as Jack held her in his arms and kissed her and they had their ten minutes of romance before Jack was back on the clock. Then she sat with the boys for a while, bought them some food to share before she left.

After that they stayed there for hours, playing games and joking around with each other. But eventually all of the boys started to go home. After a while, all that was left were Race, Crutchie and Romeo. The youngest of the three was basically passed out against his older brother.

Jack walked past them to see Romeo trying, in vain, to keep his eyes open and to see Crutchie sipping at a water while Race messed with his always present cigar. He chuckled and looked over at the time. "It's almost ten. Diners almost closed, you guys should be getting home." He commented.

Race sighed and shoved his cigar back into his pocket. "Alright. Let's get a move on." He forced Romeo up into a sitting position and slid out of the booth. He moved over to Crutchie and grabbed the metal crutch that lay on the ground, only a split second before the fourteen year old. Crutchie stuck his tongue out at him but Race just laughed and kneeled down. "Cmon kid. Ya need some sleep." And Crutchie reluctantly got on his back.

Jack laughed as Romeo just sat for a moment, trying to wake himself up. So he walked over and helped the boy out of the booth, gently pushing him towards Race. "I gotta clean up a bit, but I'll catch up with you guys in a minute." He promised.

Race nodded. "See ya then, Jack." He smiled before leaving the diner, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Of course he ignored it. Cause what could ever go wrong in New York City in the middle of the night anyways.

"Your foster folks don't care if you're out this late, Rome?" Crutchie asked from Race's back. The little boy shook his head.

"Normally they's too busy ta even notice." Romeo explained. Race was grateful that those people never laid a hand on his brother. Sure, they may forget about him from time to time, but they'd never hurt him. And he was happy for that.

Race ruffled the boy's hair and smirked. "Well I don't know about them, but I'd sure as hell notice if ya wasn't there." He assured. Smiling as the boy scoffed and shook his head.

That's how it should be all the time. Brothers. Together. Laughing and having a good time. But then Race turned the corner. And all of that was put in jeopardy.

"Hello boys." An evil man smirked, adjusting his suit as if he was important. Around him stood about six men. They wore uniforms and badges and their belts were loaded with weapons and handcuffs. They were guards. Familiar guards.

Race froze in his tracks. His eyes widened and he instinctively took a step back. He prepped himself to run but the voice stopped him again. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Racetrack." Race tried to not let his fear get the better of him, but he found himself unable to move.

"Romeo," The boy whispered, harshly, refusing to give up and let them all be taken. "Run."

The little boy hesitated for only a moment, giving Race the most heartbreaking, terrified look he'd ever seen, before he sprinted in the direction of Jacobi's. One of the guards made a move to go after him but the boss put his hand up. "Let the boy go. He's of no use to us." And Race got a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Then the man nodded to the two remaining kids. "This will just be easier if you don't put up a fight."

Crutchie wasn't expecting for someone from behind to grab him off of Race's back with so much force. He grunted as he was thrown to the ground, holding his leg in distress. Then he looked up to see the same man wrap his arm around Race's waist and press his other hand over the boy's mouth and nose, a rag making it hard for the kid to breathe held there firmly.

"Race!" Crutchie cried out and Race heard him, but he felt distant as he breathed in whatever foul smelling substance was on the rag the man had pressed over his face. He struggled but his arms were pinned at his sides and he felt himself beginning to become weak. His legs gave out from underneath him and the man let him fall to the ground. The last thing Race saw was a silver pinky ring before his world went black.

Alright, please be sure to check out my other fics! I just updated two of them; Still Callin' You Baby, and Working With What We Got. Please make sure to go read and review those ones!

I'm always in the mood for requests or suggestions for stories! They always make my day! I write them and then I make them into something maybe no one expected so if you've got a scene in your head that you want someone else to write for you (been there, trust me) just tell me what it is in the reviews and your wish is my command, the only rules of this genie are: no main character OC's. I'll write OCs occasionally as villains but I'm not huge on writing love interests that weren't there previously if that makes sense.

As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change and what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya babes!