AN: I've been lazy and I haven't been writing out where the chapter titles and quotes came from. Bad me. Chapter 1 was Nothing Could Come Between Us by Theory of a Deadman. Chapter 2, Drink Me by Anna Nalick, Chapter 3, Scratch by Kendall Payne. Chapter 4, Neopolitan Dreams by Lisa Mitchell. Chapter 5, Pictures of You by The Last Goodnight, Chapter 6 the chapter title is from How to Save a Life by The Fray and the quote is from Somewhere, a Clock is Ticking by Snow Patrol. Chapter 7 is Drowning Man by Greenwheel. Chapter 8 is You Save Me by Kenny Chesney. And finally this chapter, chapter 9, is You Save Me by Jem. Now that everyone has been given credit where it's due, I'm going to take a moment to plug a story. Its Knights on the Blacktop Reengineered by The-Knight2000. It is a rewrite of another story but it's different and better, and I'm not just saying that because I beta it, it has some of my characters, and I'm married to the guy who wrote it! Go read it and leave a review, because it deserves more than it's getting. Housekeeping out of the way, onto the story.

Lose the Road

By – TempestRaces

Chapter 9 – Crazy Thoughts have Quick Wings

"One minute I am fine the next I've lost my mind to a fake fantasy."

"How do you think I can save him? I don't have the money to hire him a great lawyer, I don't know where to find Dominic so I can set the cops onto him in bargain for Vince's freedom. What do you think I'm gonna do? Smuggle him outta his hospital bed and make a run for the border?!"

"Yes! That's exactly what I think you're going to do!" Jesse answered excitedly. "No one knows who you really are. If you disappear, they won't have any idea where to find you."

"Jesse, I have a life! I cannot be like your shifty friends and run to Mexico!"

"I didn't mean Mexico. Take him home with you. Who'd ever think to look for him there?"

"Say I did entertain this crazy idea of yours. Who'd take care of you? How would I move him? He's on ten kinds of drugs! He's all stitches and bandages!"

"I'll take care of myself. My dad gets out of prison in a few weeks anyway. I lost the stupid Jetta trying to win myself a car so when he gets out and takes the Jetta back, I'd have something to go cruising in with him."

"Your father is not exactly responsible care giver material." Tempest gave Jesse a withering look.

"By the time they let me out I won't need much care giving. You have to do this for me."

"Do I?" Tempest asked with a sneer. Oh did she really? She had to take the person who treated her so badly 2 years ago into her home, and not only that, she had to smuggle him across the border into another country illegally, and then harbour a fugitive! Jesse was ordering her into all that on what? A whim? She jumped up and started pacing agitatedly. "You want me to make him a fugitive and then harbour him in my home?! How'm I supposed to explain that one to everyone at home? Explain who he is and where he came from?"

"I dunno!" Jesse roared back. "I don't know," he added more calmly. "But do you really want him to go to prison?"

"No, but I don't think he can run from the law in Canada for the rest of his life either. What if they put some sort of international wanted list out and he's on it? How's he gonna work without some sort of visa he won't be getting as an illegally immigrated fugitive from the law?"

"Like anyone on PEI is going to check his papers or follow America's Most Wanted. Never mind. Let him go to prison. Forget I asked. It was stupid, and too much to ask."

Tempest spun on him. "Too much to fucking ask, he says, in some snot nosed kid tone of voice, like I'm refusing to take in a dog he found last week for awhile until he gets better. Shit, you're asking me to take in a human being, who'll have a most wanted sign on his head, who'll be surly and sick and sore. A human who as much as cheated on me the last time I had anything to do with him. It is a fucking lot to ask."

Jesse sighed. "I know it's a lot to ask. But what else can we do?"

"Um, let fate take its course?" She sat wearily back in her chair. The conversation to hand was swiftly tiring her out as if it had been going on for hours not minutes. "Jesse," she sighed. "If I tell V I'm smuggling him out of the hospital and out of the country at great personal risk to myself if we get caught, what're the odds he's even going to go along with it?"

It was Jesse's turn to sigh. "Not great, I know. But I think you could talk him around to it."

"How would I even get him out of the hospital? It's not like he's up to a nice long walk down 14 flights of stairs and I don't see how I'm meant to just wander down the lift with him."

"We have a week to figure it out."

Vince came to with a groan. He found himself alone in his room and he knew that wasn't right, even though he didn't remember everything from the night before. He checked the clock on his wall and it was 11am. He started polling extremities in the cold light of day. It was worse than he remembered. He was weak as a kitten and could barely move. He certainly wasn't getting out of bed any time soon.

He was pondering where Tempest had gone when a large black man entered his room. The bad suit and confident demeanour marked him a plain clothes detective to Vince even before the shiny brass shield was flashed his way. He'd seen enough cops in his day to mark them easily enough on sight.

So it beings.

He looked at the cop and the cop looked back. An impasse, as neither intended to speak first. The cop gave in first, but did it in such a way it wasn't much of a capitulation. "So, a fine state of affairs you've gotten yourself into son."

Vince shrugged. "Been banged up worse." He didn't intend to give anything away that easily.

The cop smiled knowingly. "Not what I meant. Was more to do with you being left to hold the bag on 4 stints of 10-20 alone, since your friends all skipped town." The cop pulled up a chair without an invite and sat down. His pose was deceptively relaxed, he appeared the epitome of indifference, but both men knew they were playing a game in which there could be only one winner, and strategy was key. Both were simply wondering who would play the other better.

"While I had wondered at the lack of company, I have no idea what you meant by skipped town. What friends?"

"Son, let's not bullshit each other. You know I mean Toretto as well as I do. You don't give up his location, where he's hiding with one Letitia Rodriguez, Leon Strong and Mia Toretto, you're going down for this all alone."

"Going down for what?" Vince envied the cop his relaxed pose. He was sort of stuck for options, flat on his back in a hospital bed.

The cop chuckled, but it wasn't with amusement. "If that's how you want to play this, fine. But remember, I can only recommend the DA cut you a deal if you decide you want to play ball. Tell me where Dominic, Letty and Leon are and not only will I try to get your sentence reduced to 5 years, I'll forget I was going to try to get the sister on something too. The Latina one, she'll survive prison ok. How do you think poor little Mia Toretto will do as some butch lesbian's bitch?"

Much as Vince wanted to put a fist through the large man's face for his words, he couldn't and also, knew he shouldn't let on to being angered. It would just prove the other man was getting to him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well, you have another week or two in this little holiday resort before you're well enough to try and take off, and thus well enough to be transferred to the hospital wing at one of our fabulous state run accommodations. You know, the ones with walls, barbed wire and bars on the windows and doors?"

Vince shrugged. "Still dunno what you're talking about."

"Fair enough," the dark man stood up and adjusted his suit jacket over the bulge of his weapon in its harness. He looked toward the door, where he found Tempest standing just inside the room. Neither had noticed her enter while they were doing their stare the other down posturing. "Though you were the other one's sister?"

"I am. But my brother asked about his friend. I came to get an update. Sorry if I'm interrupting."

"Not at all, I was just leaving. Tell your brother he might want to come say goodbye sometime soon. Before he can only say hello through three inches of plexiglass." He left the room with his final dig, said with a smile that tried not to be joyous and failed Vince's way.

When he was gone, Tempest crossed the room. "He's not kidding you know." She had made up her mind the moment the cop gloated about putting Vince in jail. "Give me your phone."

"I don't have my phone." Vince looked confused.

"Well, they haven't arrested you yet, so they won't have taken your things." Tempest started going through the drawers and closet of the room. "The nurse told me the same thing. She says she can stall them for up to two weeks but that's it. After that it'll be obvious you're well enough to survive the move and they'll arrest you."

"What do you want my phone for?"

"I need to make some calls."

"And you don't have a phone of your own?"

"Not one with Bryce's number on speed dial," she admitted with a triumphant smile as she found where the hospital had stored Vince's personal effects not damaged beyond saving on his admittance.

"What do you want Bryce's number for?" Vince asked with a scowl. "If he comes down here the cops'll start asking him questions."

"So? He's not going to turn you in is he?"

"That's not the point. I don't want them poking around his life. He didn't do anything here."

"No, but I need his help."

"With what?" Vince growled, getting fed up with not getting a straight answer.

"I'm springing you free, before they come get you and take you to jail."

Vince looked up at her incredulously. "How exactly do you plan to do that?"

"Well, I really haven't gotten as far as planning how you're going to get out of the hospital. But once I have you in the truck I'm going to drive back to Canada and you're going to come with me."

Vince stared slack jawed at her for a good few minutes while she scrolled through his phone book. "Come again?" he finally voiced.

"You heard me."

"Not properly, obvious. You think you're going to put yourself in danger of getting sent to prison over me?"

"You wanna do 20 years hard time?" she retorted, one eyebrow cocked in question.

"Want is a strong word, but the alternative to me isn't putting you at risk."

"Guess it's a good thing you're not then. It was Jesse's idea. Let's blame him shall we?" She knew her tone was flippantly sarcastic and she knew it would drive him insane. She found Bryce's number with an 'ah ha' and hit send before she could change her mind.

The phone rang out several times while Vince scowled menacingly at her. She figured it had a lot to do with the fact he knew there was nothing he could do about it. The phone was finally answered, not with any customary greeting but with a growled 'where the fuck you been?'

She was taken aback for a moment, then realized of course he'd have Vince saved in his phone, and the name would appear on the screen. "It's me," she corrected lamely.

"Me who?"

She could hear the suspicion in his voice. "Me I can't say over a cell phone. Can you meet me somewhere? Say the usual dive?" There was a moment's silence, and she knew he was frantically thinking. She could almost sense the moment his mind wandered back far enough.

"Temp—"

"Not on this line," she cut him off. "It's bad B. I need to meet you."

"You mean the usual dive I think you do?"

"Think so. I'll see you there in about half an hour?"

"Yeah, ok. Do I want to know where V is?"

"No, but I'll elaborate face to face."

"Sure thing Doll, see you there."

"Yeah," she answered and hung up, already not thrilled the conversation had gone on so long.

"That's just a pay and go phone you know? It's not traceable as mine."

"It is if they already did something to it while you were out cold to monitor if Dom or Leon called." It was clear from the look on his face Vince hadn't thought of that.

"I don't want you dragging Bryce into this mess."

"Why? I'd say he proved he's been in worse messes already."

"That's different."

"How?" She watched the stubborn look cross Vince's face. She didn't understand why. What had she asked that was so hard to answer? Bryce was hard, and just as violent and dangerous as Vince. Just as able to take care of himself. So what was the big deal about getting him involved? Surely the point of having friends was to call on them when you needed help.

He sighed. "Because it's me, and he'll feel obligated to do things he's not really comfortable doing because it's me."

"Why's that? He's your friend. Friends help each other at times like this."

"He's more than a friend."

She cocked a brow. "Oh?"

Vince tipped his head back into the pillows. "Yeah, he's my brother."

"Ok." This revelation floored Tempest just a little and she sat down. She took a moment to get her head around it. "So why didn't Dominic and the rest know who he was? If he's your brother, didn't he grow up around Dom's as well?"

"No. He's my half brother. Same dads, different moms. Our asshole father had a great time going from my mother to his, beating them both and both of us along the way. He wasn't exactly the type to keep a secret. He didn't care that both of them knew about the other, so Bryce and I always knew about each other. He's been through enough with me already. He doesn't need dragging into this mess."

"Maybe he doesn't need it, but now more than ever I think he'd want to know you're here and what's going to happen." She sat on the edge of the bed and brushed some tousled hair off his forehead, watched how shocked he was at her casual touch cross his face. "I won't pressure him into anything he doesn't want to do V, but he deserves to know you're hurt and what's going to happen. If he wants to help me, he does, if he doesn't, he doesn't."

"I don't want your help in this! You're going to end up giving away your whole cover and you're going to end up in jail yourself."

"I think it'll be ok for now. I need to get going if I'm not going to be late."

Vince gave her a short nod, too confused about everything to fully process it all. If she could save him from prison, he wanted to let her. But if she got caught with him, across international lines, she was going down just as hard. What the fuck had Jesse been thinking?