Dom's POV
"How long have we been doing this, now all of a sudden out of nowhere, it's too much. C'mon we'll figure it out, we always do."
As I sat there in the silent bedroom, in my head all I could hear was Letty saying those words with utter conviction and her fierce passion. I could hear her undying loyalty and her love for me in those words. I could imagine her face, for those seconds as the words spilled from her lips, for once tender and loving. Her eyes filled with passion. Yet, here I was trying to protect her. I was trying to protect the woman I loved most. Even if the cops caught up to us, her forgiveness would not be in short supply but I'd never forgive myself for letting her get caught. She didn't deserve to live her life behind the bars of a prison cell and I'd do anything to make sure that it didn't happen.
There was only one solution to this and damn did I hate myself for it. I had to leave her. There was no other option for us. I'd pondered over this for the last few hours in the darkness of the bedroom of the house we had rented. In her sleep she lay sprawled across the bed, blissfully unaware of the shitty move I was about to make. She'd never forgive me for the decision I was about to make and I knew I'd crush her.
However, this woman was something more than other women, she was incredibly strong. Even if she moped around her moping wouldn't last. She'd pick herself up, dust herself off and stay to fight another day. That intense fighting spirit was what had drawn me to her in the first place. I saw her fight the day I met her and tonight I had seen her fight before I left her.
With my heart aching I took the money from our last job, carried out that day, and placed it on the table beside the bed along with money from my last few jobs. I stacked it up on the table and placed our necklace on top of it.
In her sleep she twisted and I knelt down on the ground and placed my hand ontop of hers. I kissed her forehead for the last time. Letty looked beautiful in the moonlight, like she always had. In her sleep she looked finally at peace, relaxed. I'd always loved watching Letty sleep, seeing her so calm was an otherwise rare occurrence.
"Perdóname mi hermosa esposa," I murmured. "Te amo."
I rose to my feet once more and quietly made my way to the door.
Looking back at the beach view house I felt hatred burn up inside my stomach. I hated myself for this. I knew when she awoke she'd be angry and confused. She'd likely search for me and then she would see that there was no car in the drive. My woman, she was a fighter though, she'd survive. Knowing her she'd head somewhere familiar whether it be Mexico or back to LA, her home.
I drove in the darkness, hating myself for what I had done to her. Today had shown me that I loved her than I loved myself. Today, she had been gripping onto a ladder on the side of a gas truck on a heist that I'd suggested. She could have fallen off completely, could have died. Letty never mentioned that incident after it occurred, never mentioned that it had scared her. I knew it had scared her, her doe eyes had turned dark as fear dyed them. Only Letty's deep brown eyes gave away her emotions and you had to watch them carefully because she could change the feeling in her eyes with ease. The feeling in her eyes was like a flicker of light, a brief flash and it was gone. The incident of her hanging tightly to the ladder had terrified me. We'd taken the gamble letting me smash into the side of the truck and it had been all to easy for her to fall off. We'd had sticky spots on heists before but never one where I practically saw her clinging for life itself.
Texting Han to pick up my car at the airport to sell, I lifted a wad of cash from my pocket. I needed a plane ticket somewhere Letty wouldn't find me. I needed another place to call home. Maybe if the heat settled I'd beg for her forgiveness and she would join me there. If she didn't forgive me the only person I could blame was myself.
One place caught my eye. Panama, I'd go there. I placed a wad of cash on the counter at the ticket desk and the lady raised an eyebrow and took what she needed.
I boarded the plane and in my head I could hear Letty telling me in her passionate voice. "Ride or die, remember?" That had always been our question. We weren't the type of couple who needed to say I love you, instead we asked each other ride or die? Our phrase was about riding together, no matter what. I'd broken that promise to her. It was a promise to live free together in the life we loved because without the adrenaline filled life we lived we'd be dead inside. It was the one promise we'd always agreed to keep no matter the circumstances. Sometimes it's hard to make a choice but I'd made my choice and as long as I lived I'd never love another woman as much as I loved my wife, Leticia Toretto.
