Letty's POV
Her fists came at me again and I backed away. My eyes were carefully trained on her fierce expression and her rapidly purpling cheek. I stumbled in my heels, damned things. Totally impractical for fighting. My dress had been carefully chosen in case it became necessary to fight. We had hoped it would be a clean, easy quick mission. Yet when were they ever quick missions? The splits in my red dress gave me as much room to move my legs as possible.
I could feel myself becoming cornered. The walls were closing in around me. The space we were fighting in was becoming better lit and the noise of the ongoing party was becoming clearer. The music was practically bouncing off the walls. At that the woman leapt at me. Kara, I think her name was. My body crashed through the golden, flimsy railing which I'd stood at not even twenty minutes before. We toppled wildly and I prayed if this killed me it would be quick and painless.
The air rushed around me as Kara's body weighed down on mines and I plummeted through piano beneath us. My head whacked the heavy wood and I saw black spots mixed with stars. My vision blurred. A rush of air escaped my lungs. Regaining a little of my sight, I kicked the heavy woman to the side to stop myself from being crushed. I gasped for breath and my head spun.
I struggled to put my feet on the floor. My legs had turned to jelly. Before my eyes images flashed. A crazy blur of what could only be described as memories. Words rose to the forefront of my mind. Words gently spoken and softly whispered. Words which had been screamed in the heat of a fight. Words which had been said as passing comments. They all came back to me in a flood.
Dom's voice, gravelly and baritone. "I love you Letty, I will always love you." Then words from even longer ago, "I had a dream the other night, of you and I on a beach in Mexico." His voice crept through my mind as things rushed at me. I was unable to pick a particular moment to focus on but words kept echoing through my mind. "Letty, you look beautiful." Then his voice when he was mad and shouting. "What the fuck did you guys do?"
Mia's voice rushed through my mind. Her sigh. Her laugh. Things I'd forgotten about her. Things I'd thought I'd lost. Her and I stood on the porch of 1327 aged eight talking about her dolls. That was the first time we met. I recalled not being interested in dolls but I wanted to make friends with the girl who's father owned the garage. I relived the sharp impact of the cobra as it smashed through a retainer wall of downtown LA. The jolting feeling, the sharp sting on my collarbone. The involuntary tears as Mia had pulled the splinters out with tweezers.
The image of Jesse smoking flooded to my vision. The image of me batting the cigarette out of his hand was next. The forgotten sound of his lilting laugh was a reality for a single, fleeting, magical second.
"Letty are you okay?" Roman asked as he started pulling me off the piano.
Blankly I nodded. He nudged me towards the side exit. The pair of us fleeing the scene as had been agreed. If things went awry we were to go our separate ways and meet back at Samar's garage. We'd work from there. My dress was torn but I barely registered it as I pulled my inconvenient skirt up out of the way and ran. We raced down the slippery stairs, me almost stumbling on every corner. My head still spinning. I couldn't see straight. I was operating on instinct as I had done for so long it was terrifying. My feet were going to leave me in my silly heels but I was too scared to stop to take them off. I wasn't focused. Roman had his hand in mines pulling me along. He was probably worried. I wasn't the type who let someone pull them along whilst I followed blindly. Roman pulled me towards the open lift and we were on the bottom floor in seconds.
The air grew more humid as we made it outside. There we stopped for a breath. Just in time to see the sports car crash from one building into the next. My heart was practically in my mouth. My husband was in that car. As the word husband rose to the forefront of my mind I felt tears spring to my eyes. Why hadn't he told me we were married? Did he not want me that way anymore? I knew I'd caused enough trouble but damn the boy had left me the night after we got married with nothing but my memories, our necklace and some money on the bedside table. He'd even tossed away his phone.
That was in the past though.
I blessed myself as the car drove straight through the second building into the third. I could only pray they were no longer in the car. If they weren't, they needed to get out now. I couldn't let Dom go now that I'd got my memories back. I couldn't let him go, knowing what I now knew. I couldn't let him go when all I wanted to do was tell him I loved him even though I rarely said it out loud.
My eyes grew wide as I watched the car plummet from the side of the third building and land on the ground where it exploded into flames. Splintering pieces of glass lay everywhere. Even from my distance I somehow knew Dom and Brian were no longer in the super car. I thanked whatever God who blessed common criminals like us for sparing us once more.
"Here Letty, put this on," Roman said with an unusual thoughtfulness. He handed me his white suit jacket.
"Thanks man," I replied as I accepted the jacket. My head still spinning too much to hold a conversation.
I shrugged the suit jacket on and secured it around my waist with a torn scrap of my dress. It was the best way to keep it on. It drowned me but I didn't care. Roman rolled up the sleeves with care and smiled gently at me.
"How's your head?" He murmured softly. "That was a nasty fall you had."
"I'm fine. It's spinning though."
He nodded. From behind him I could see Dom approaching. Even after crashing through two building he still looked like he'd just casually strolled out of the party upstairs. His face was every inch composed and his eyes were laughing with slight amusement at his most recent escapade. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Typical Dom. In a way it felt weirdly good to even think of describing his behaviour as typical. It meant I had my memories back. That I had something to hold on to.
Dom strode straight towards me. Roman moved out of the way without having to be asked. Dom was and always would be the true Alpha of our team. The only person who could pull him into line was me. I'd always been Mrs Alpha as Ramsey had so elegantly put it not that long ago.
I felt his hands on my waist before I even saw them move. His lips touched my forehead lightly and I almost sighed with happiness at the sincerity of the gesture. He'd done this after every single heist, after every single fist fight we'd been involved in, after every dangerous moment. This was his ritual to make sure I was alright and so I could make sure he was alright.
He looked into my brown eyes with his own perceptive hazel coloured eyes. I could see myself through his eyes when he looked at me. I could see how he loved me, intensely, passionately. I could see how he admired me for my own strength and resilience. His hand cupped my cheek.
"Let, are you okay?" He murmured so gently I could barely make out the individual words.
"I'm fine Dom. Are you okay?" I asked him. Somehow now was not the right time to tell him I'd remembered everything. It would just screw up the mission.
"I'm fine Let."
Dom pulled me under his arm and we headed towards the heavily reinforced jeep of Tej's. It was probably the most practical thing we'd conceded to drive whilst in Abu Dhabi because at least inside it we were protected from bullets and other shit. Dom helped me into the jeep and helped me strap on my seatbelt.
When we arrived at Samar's garage there was chaos as we watched Ramsey fire up the crazy bit of technology that was the God's eye. I was fascinated by it. If that had been around about eight years ago Dom and I would have been caught for petty theft long before it became proper heisting. The technology was incredible. I watched awestruck as it hacked into every device and marked out a path straight to Deckard.
"Dawn's up in two hours, we're moving out then!" Dom's voice rang full of authority and I knew he wanted us to head to bed. Rest before we kept chasing Deckard.
On his way towards the door he paused beside me. "Get some rest Let, you need it."
I'd been running on little sleep and he knew it. I was beginning to feel the effects of my fall now. My muscles ached and the bottom of my back stung with pain every time I moved. Deep down I knew I could ignore it for a bit if I was needed in the open field but I was exhausted.
"You need the rest too," I replied, letting him see my softer and more vulnerable side.
"I'll get some. Don't worry," he murmured. He squeezed my hand tightly and we headed off in the direction of the hotel to sleep for a couple of hours.
Dom walked me to my room and I headed in and fell straight to my bed.
I woke a couple of hours later after a dreamless sleep and realised dawn was long passed. Then I realised Dom had went after Deckard alone with Brian because he'd deemed the mission too dangerous to carry out with the rest of us.
Idiot. Even with my memory back I still didn't act fast enough to stop him doing stupid shit like that. He had an irritating habit of disappearing and not tell me where he was going. He'd left me in the DR, he'd left me in LA, he'd tried to leave me after Jesse died. He'd tried to leave me out of the heists but I'd wriggled my way in. Sometimes I'd been able to outsmart him but not always.
I was stood in the kitchen, leant against the counter, waiting in the dark for Dom to sneak in late once more after leaving me in the middle of the night again. I heard his Mazda pull up outside the house, a low purr, barely audible only I was listening for it. I knew he'd come in the backdoor because if he opened the front door the jingle of the key might be heard upstairs and someone would be likely to get up out of bed.
As I expected he crept in the backdoor, his boots in hand. He placed his boots on the floor beside the table and his fingers touched the light switch and he clicked it on.
His eyes met mine and he jumped. He was startled by my presence.
"Letty!" He gasped. For the first time in his life he was stuck for words. Indecision flashed across his face as he flicked his eyes towards the door as if weighing up the risks of trying to run out the door.
I raised an eyebrow at his waiting for him to explain. "Want to tell me where you've been going?"
Dom's eyes flashed as he bit his lip. He shifted his weight anxiously. "Letty," he began in his deep drawling voice.
"I'm waiting. I don't want an excuse, I want the truth." My tone implied I was angry. My eyes were narrowed as I waited impatiently on his response. I could only tell this would be good. Hilarious even.
"I've been pulling jobs with Tran," he admitted. He rubbed the back of his neck and I could see the tension leave him. He was telling me the truth at least. However it was a truth I didn't want to hear or be a part of.
I sighed and leant against the counter. "Want to tell me why?" I asked him sharply. My words clipped.
Dom sighed. "Needed the money. Bills need to be paid."
I fought the urge to scream because Mia was sleeping upstairs and the less she knew the better. I brought myself up close to Dom and backed him up into a corner. Even at my tiny height I could make him feel small. He was a foot taller than me but I'd make him feel half his size with my courage, my willingness to speak against him.
"I would just like to point our I paid the bills of 1327, the garage, the shop. Everything. With money I made from the garage and from racing. I never resorted to running with Tran. Other things can be done for money. Needing money is not an excuse for reckless stupidity," I practically hissed at him. "Plus I thought we were ride or due. You don't get to do those things alone."
Dom looked down at me and his eyes softened. "I just wanted to take care of you. Keep you safe from harm because I love you Let. I don't want Mia to know. I didn't want you two to worry anymore because at nineteen you're far too young to have to worry about the bills and everything. Let, I thought I was doing the best thing for us."
His hands came to rest on my waist. His fingers touching at my back. I closed my eyes as his forehead touched mine. His nose touching mine. I thought hard for a long second. I couldn't let him do this alone. I needed to do this with him. I loved him.
"Bring me with you next time," I said softly. A gentle order. Now he knew not to mess with me.
"It's dangerous Let..." He trailed off.
"Don't tell me that shit. If you can do it, I can do it. You're not allowed to do this alone!" I told him firmly.
In reply his lips met mine. There was an intensity behind it, an urgency. I could tell he was grateful I wasn't walking away from him like a wiser woman would do. However I loved him too much to do what any wise woman would do. Instead I was going to stand by my man. We were ride or die after all.
