Owen Shaw paced his office area as he opened his vision up to the city and he found who he was looking for – Brian O' Conner. He was in the passenger seat of a Mazda, slouched and shivering; the man beside him none other than his soul mate, Dominic Toretto. He thought they found each other pretty fast once Brian had joined the Police Academy. He saw that Dom was at a loss except to drive as Brian wasn't going to let himself be touched.
He grinned maniacally and knew that all that had happened was because of him and that Brian wouldn't trust anybody the way he did in past lives, not even Toretto, and that went beautifully with his plan. He decided he would keep feeding into Brian's doubts and keep him under his thumb as much as possible seeing that Dom was back in the picture. He called on his number two man – Patrick Shaw. He looked at his brother and said, "You know what you have to do. Bring me O' Conner, preferably on the alive side of things."
"Where's he at?" Patrick asked looking at Owen.
"They're going back to Toretto's store down in Echo Park. Hurry if you don't want to miss them there." Owen shouted at his brother hoping his eagerness didn't show too much.
"Okay. I got him." Patrick said as he held hands up.
"You better Patrick. He's been slipping through your fingers the past five years." Owen growled at his brother. Patrick took the warning for what it was and left quickly.
Back at the market Dom let Brian go first and Brian eased into the store and everyone stopped to look at him. Dom came in behind him and he stopped short of pulling Brian back against his chest and holding him the way he needed to be held sometimes. He didn't want Brian to freak out as he needed his store to still be standing for business. The first words out of anyone's mouth was Vince's, "You brought him back?"
The incredulity in his tone showed and Dom was in his face in a matter of seconds. "I don't want to hear one more ill word against Brian. He's here to stay if he wants. No one gets a say but him and he knows where I stand."
Letty got between the two and pushed them apart. She glanced at Brian then looked back at Dom. "He's who you dream about isn't it?" She had always wondered who it was that had stood between her and Dom when they'd been together and she had her answer. She didn't know what to think now the ghost was right here standing in front of her.
"Yeah."
Brian moved closer to Dom and he asked quietly, "You've dreamt about me?"
Dom heard the sadness and he turned his full attention to the man he loved and he hated the way Brian practically curled in on himself without being a ball - upon hearing Vince shout and said, "Yeah. It's how I found out you were training to be a cop."
Vince yelled, "He's a pig? That's fantastic. Just what we need around here."
"Keep it down Vince." Letty said. Letty while she wasn't thrilled to have Brian around, she felt bad that Brian was going through a lot of problems that she hoped Dom could fix. She saw earlier before Vince threatened Brian that he seemed easy going and wasn't afraid to show a smile but since Vince almost threw him over the counter, he'd been withdrawn and acting like a kicked puppy.
Dom glared at Vince and turned back to Brian and said, "Ignore Vince. Let me get a change of clothes and we'll go back to Harry's so we can talk some more."
"Sure about that Dom?" Brian asked rocking on the heels of his feet.
"I'm sure. Follow me." He left his protectiveness unsaid but knew Brian would understand. They went to the back office and Dom pulled out a small duffel bag. He noticed Brian's raised eyebrow and he said, "Gotta stay prepared."
"Yeah we do." Brian said. When Dom came within reaching distance Brian reached his hand out and Dom reached for his slowly. When Brian grasped Dom's fingers, sparks flew, and Brian dropped his hand. He shoved his hands back in his pockets and furrowed his brow letting out a groan.
Dom put the shoulder strap over his head and he walked over to Brian and said, "We'll get there Bri. It's only been a few hours."
"It's been too long. Things aren't sitting right and the only right thing going for me I can't touch." Brian said as he looked around the office.
Dom wanted to grab Brian's face in his hands and look him straight in the eyes but instead he settled for a gentle tone and said, "Look at me Bri. What's not sitting right?"
Brian looked at Dom and bit his bottom lip, turning over his thoughts. He said, "Owen Shaw..."
Dom moved away from Brian and punched at the plexiglass. "That bastard is back? He the one that turned you inside out?"
Brian leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. "I tried to fight him Dom. He's too strong now." Brian choked back a sob.
"Is that why your disguising ability is off the charts, so you can try and hide from him?" Dom asked as he thought about his dreams and that until Brian joined the Police Academy, even he couldn't find him.
"Part of it. It's a natural talent but I needed to be better at it." Brian explained.
"No shit. With Owen Shaw after you, you have to be Houdini to even try to disappear off his radar. Is that why you didn't want to go back to the old neighborhood? Owen has our old house." Dom watched Brian pull his knees up to the chest and he buried his face as he cried. Dom hated making Brian feel bad but he needed information and if Brian cried for a few minutes then he'd deal with the aftermath. He got everything he needed from Brian's sobs and said calmer, "Let's go to Harry's and get some rest. We'll need it if Owen's out there."
Brian wiped his face off and said, "Okay." He stood up and Dom handed him a few tissues to clean his face up before they left the office.
Outside on the street Dom said, "I'll follow you to the store."
Brian nodded and went over to his Eclipse and got in after he ran his hand over the hood. To everyone it looked like he was admiring his car but the motion was really him looking for anything he didn't put on the car himself. It saved his life a few times. Dom did similar things to his car before he drove it and he followed behind Brian.
Inside the store the others were still shaken up by Dom's outburst from inside the office and the explanation Dom gave as he left with Brian. They had heard of Owen Shaw but now that they knew that Owen was after Brian and possibly Dom they looked at Dom's protectiveness and possessiveness of Brian in a new light. Mia didn't even know the full story about Brian but she'd sometimes listen to Dom talk in his sleep about their past and how much he missed him. She hoped they knew what they were doing for everyone's sake.
Patrick saw the two men get in their cars and decided to see where they went since Dom wasn't letting Brian out of his sight. Twenty minutes later Brian and Dom parked behind Harry's store and Brian let them in the back way. He locked the door back and showed Dom the small back room where the cot was and Dom sat his bag next to Brian's things. Brian glanced over at Harry's office and saw he was still working. He went over to the window and he tapped the window gently. Harry looked up and he motioned for Brian to open the door.
Brian pushed the door open enough to stick his head through and he said, "Hey Harry. I've brought Dom around. He's staying with me tonight."
Harry grinned and said, "He finally found ya? He's been looking for ya for a long time."
"Yeah he found me." Brian replied uneasily.
"Brian you're safe here. I wouldn't have let you stay if it wasn't."
"How do you know about me?" Brian asked trying to get a read on Harry but only seeing the surface emotions and those were happy.
"Brian relax okay. Only your protectors know about you."
"How many are there and who are they?" Brian asked not liking that he had protectors but relieved that there were hopefully some more good people on the planet.
"Me and a few people in the racing world. I can't give you more than that."
"I will find them Harry." Brian said with determination.
"I know you will." Harry replied as he went back his books. "You and Dom have fun but not too much fun."
"We can't touch Harry. Our magic is still acclimating to the other."
Harry looked back up at Brian and saw the frown. "I'm sorry Brian. Get some rest and things might be better in the morning."
Brian nodded and closed the office door back before he went back into the back room and laid across the cot. Dom closed the door behind Brian and asked, "What's the matter Brian?"
"Harry knows about me as well as a few other racers that are considered my protectors." Brian sighed.
Dom sat next to Brian and said, "That's good. We can use the help."
Brian laid on his back and he said, "I'm not a kid Dom. I can take care of myself."
"I could see that clearly an hour ago." Dom said as he ran his hand next to Brian's hair, not quite touching but offering support of some kind.
Brian glared at Dom and said, "Thanks so much Dominic." He turned on his side facing away from Dom but he didn't try and move Dom at all. He felt Dom put their bags on the floor and pull their shoes off before he laid next to Brian.
"We'll talk in the morning." Dom said as he quietly wished he could have Brian in his arms.
Patrick made his way back to Owen's house and Owen was ready to kill his brother until his brother said, "I followed them back to the Racer's Edge. It's where Brian seems to be staying right now. Does that place ring a bell?"
"Yeah. That's Harry's store." Then Owen grinned and said, "I've already put Toretto on Johnny Tran's trail so maybe Tran can take the two of them out for me."
"Bingo and then you have plausible deniability if the cops come crawling around."
"You do have an intelligent thought on occasion. Now get out of here and keep on eye on Harry's store and follow Toretto and Brian if they seem fit to leave."
"Okay boss." Patrick saluted and left the house again so he could get settled in for the night.
