Chapter 11-Innocence

Stepping inside his home, Dominic armed the security system and followed the voices he heard to the living room. Once there, he was surprised to see Brian and his sister still awake, both staring intensely at the laptop screen in front of them.

Dom looked down at his watch, "It's almost midnight. I thought I told you not to wait up."

"Well I was curious about Leon, and Dom… you need to see this," Brian's voice was nervous and by the way Mia bounced her leg frivolously, Dom knew it was serious. He moved quickly over to them, Elena already forgotten as he tended to his brother-in-law. Dom prayed it had nothing to do with the police being after them, but when he saw the screen, he knew it was worse. "It's Leon."

Dom stared at the mugshot of his old friend and realized he was looking at a Colombian police directory. Dom took in the heavy, dark bags under Leon's eyes and the way his cheeks were sunken in. His emerald eyes were glossy, bloodshot, and red-rimmed and he was covered in even more tattoos, including one across his throat that read 'Outlaw'.

"What does it say?"

"He was arrested for possession of cocaine, fleeing the scene, and resisting arrest about six months ago. He must have a damn good lawyer 'cause all he got was a misdemeanor fine," Brian said, amazed that Leon got a slap on the wrist for such serious charges.

"Dom, he looks so bad," Mia whimpered with a hand over her mouth, her words mimicking his thoughts. "What is Leon doing messing with cocaine? That's serious shit, Dom."

"I know, Mi," he replied, his eyes still fixed on the picture of his friend. Dom felt waves of guilt wash over him. He felt partially responsible for the way Leon was living now. Maybe if he had fought a little harder to keep Leon with the Team, he wouldn't be struggling to keep himself together now and out of trouble.

"We have to find him, Dom. I lost Vince and Letty and Jesse… I can't lose my entire family," Mia cried softly. Brian wrapped his arms around his grieving wife and looked at Dom sadly.

Dom knew he had no choice – he had to find Leon and bring him home. He could even live in Tokyo with Dominic, where Dom could keep a close eye on him.

"I'll start calling around in the morning, see if we can pick up any leads on him. Brian, I'll need you to start calling in some of those favors to your cop buddies, see if anyone has seen him," Brian rolled his eyes at Dom's words, but nodded obediently. "You guys get to bed. I'll see you in the morning," he kissed Mia's forehead and hugged her tightly as she made her way to the spare bedroom.

Brian stopped at the door after watching Elena say goodbye to Mia.

"How'd the date go?" he asked with a smirk.

"Dinner was fine, but I think our little officer has some serious trust issues," Dom tried his best to whisper so Elena wouldn't hear, which was hard with his baritone voice.

"Lucky you," Brian said mockingly. "Night."

Dom sighed deeply before removing his black blazer and tossing it over the recliner. He put on his best brave face and grudgingly made his way to his bedroom.


"Mama… where's Benny?"

Julian's question broke Letty's heart each time he asked, which made four times now. They were at some small diner on the other side of Honduras and Julian didn't understand why his favorite waitress hadn't come to over to greet him yet.

"Baby, we're taking a little trip okay? Benita doesn't work here," she cooed softly, running her hands over his dark locks. His bottom lip quivered as he stood on the booth chair and looked over the restaurant for himself. Letty shot Luke a menacing look.

"I'm gonna rip Leon a new asshole for this," she hissed. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Been living in Colombia for a few years. He's got a crew and a small garage there."

Letty felt her throat clam up and her eyes sting, but she refused to cry. She was hurt that Leon had seemingly moved on and replaced his family with another team. Out of the boys, she and Leon got on the best, she even considered him as a brother at one point. But when she cried and begged Leon not to leave her in the Dominic Republic, to stick it out with her, he had left her.

Just like Dom did.

"Fuck Leon," her voice was so low; she hoped that Luke didn't catch it.

"Hey," he quipped, "He might be an asshole, but he's still my brother. He left the Dominican Republic because he didn't want to get into anymore trouble, Letty. He just wanted things to go back to normal."

Letty narrowed her eyes at him, "What do you know about the DR?"

"Leon and I have always been very close. He let me in. He told me that his team – never mentioned any names, might I add – got into some bad shit and everyone had split, one was even killed-"

"Jesse. He was a freakin' genius," she thought proudly of the youngest member of their crew.

"He stayed with me for a while, then he got a call one day and he was gone the next morning. Said the 'Big Dawg', as he called him, wanted him to join everyone in the Dominican Republic, not to work but to be a family again. To patch things up. Next thing I know, he's showing up at my door six months later, said the team leader was up to his old tricks again and he didn't want any part in another one of his friend's death. And if you know Leon, you know he's too much of a pretty boy to settle for prison," Letty couldn't keep away her smile, knowing all too well how into himself Leon was. "You see, Leon never meant to hurt you. He just wanted his family back … without the extra dangers that came with it."

Letty gave only a curt nod; she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"He misses you, y'know," Luke started again. "He told me, on the phone. He was mess, talking about how he thought you had died. How'd you stay under the radar for so long?"

"That's a story for another day," she said in a tone of finality. She was surprised when Luke reached for her hand over the table, clutching it between his. He fiddled with the silver band that adorned her index finger and looked over her face with sad eyes.

"How are you feeling about the … shootings?"

Letty clammed up at his inquiry. She knew it would come up eventually, she was just hoping she had time to deal with it personally first. "I've never killed anyone in cold blood like that before. Ever. And it's crazy because I didn't think twice about doing it. Does that make me a terrible person?"

"Absolutely not, babe. No one could say they wouldn't have done the same to protect themselves or their child," Luke could see the distress weighing heavily on Letty's conscience as she spoke of the ordeal. It was clear she was still in shock from the killings earlier that day and Luke silently prayed that she would never have to experience that trauma again.

"What's wrong, Mama? Are you sad?" Julian asked while standing on the booth, both of his tiny hands clenching at Letty's cheeks. His face was scrunched into an adorable look of worry and he stared deep into Letty's eyes. It was his special way of getting her to focus entirely on him and it worked every time.

Letty couldn't deny that sweet face anything. Julian was very smart for his age and anytime he spoke with proper English, she couldn't help but sit in a trance and listen to whatever babble he had to talk about.

"No, baby, Mama's okay," she lied, thankful that he was too young to understand that she had. "Just very tired baby."

Luke knew she was telling the truth; she had bags forming under her red-rimmed eyes and she still hadn't regained her usual caramel skin tone. She refused to sleep on the drive, more worried about keeping her eyes out for any other assailants that might've been tailing them. She barely touched the pulled pork sandwich that sat idle on her plate and he would bet every dime he had that she was still nursing a major hangover. He knew after driving for seven consecutive hours that they both needed a couple hours of good rest – neither of them was any good to Julian if they were falling asleep at the wheel.

"Little Man, why don't you finish up your food and we'll find a place to rest for the evening? Maybe we can finally get that Hot Wheels track together and let Mommy sleep?" Luke knew exactly what to say to get the toddler jumping up and down in the booth, a toothy grin on his face. Letty smiled for the first time in hours, just because her son was happy.

She knew Leon finding her wasn't Luke's fault and he didn't deserve the pissy attitude she had given him all day. She practically ignored him the whole drive so far, only speaking to help read the map that was guiding them on the trip.

But watching him now, disguising a spoonful of mashed potatoes as an airplane headed straight for Julian's opened mouth, she was grateful to have a guy like him by her side throughout the ordeal. He was easy to talk to and took good care of Julian, even though he didn't have to.

Letty grinned at how easily distracted Julian was when he rediscovered his favorite toy car on the table – a tiny, red Plymouth Barracuda with black racing stripes down the center. He had been around them his whole life; smashing cars and trucks together in a safe area as Letty worked in any garage that would pay her under the table. She was glad to see he was developing a lust for cars early on. At this rate, she figured, he'd be racing by the time he was sixteen, just like her. A small part of her only wished his father could see just how much Julian was turning into him.

After the toddler gobbled down the rest of his dinner, the three traveled to the nearest hotel to rest for a few hours, which was a palace compared to their last place. Luke paid for and got them checked into a suite equipped with a flat-screen TV, a mini-fridge, two plush sofas, and a large floor-length window that overlooked the city.

"You can take the back room, I'll sleep closer to the door," Luke said as he dropped their bags at the door. Julian immediately ran off to inspect the rest of the suite, while Letty stood at the window, looking out at the bustling nightlife that was Honduras.

Luke strode over to her, standing behind her and taking a peek over her shoulder to check out the view himself.

"It's so beautiful here," her voice was hoarse and shaky as she spoke. Taking in the colorful lights that extended as far as the eye could see and the beautiful ocean that made the perfect backdrop, Luke wholeheartedly agreed. Even with its ruggedness, Honduras was an incredible city to visit and she couldn't deny that she'd miss the laid back atmosphere and generous people.

"How are you holding up?" he asked sincerely, placing his warm hands on her shoulders. Luke could feel her flinch from the contact and rubbed his thumbs in a circular motion that seemed to relax her nerves.

"I'll be better after a hot shower," she finally turned around, running a hand through her messy hair.

Before he could reply, Julian's patter was heard as he trotted back into the living area.

"We play now?" he asked Luke with his best puppy-dog look.

"Yes, you can play now," Letty scooped him up effortlessly, placing a wet kiss on his cheek, "but I don't want you giving me any crap when it's bath time. I know how much boys love to be dirty, but we can't have you running around like a miniature grease monkey."

"I guess that frees up the shower for me," she shrugged and made her way to the bedroom to retrieve fresh undergarments. She swiftly ran to the adjoining bathroom and shut the door, locking it behind her.

Stripping down to her underwear, Letty looked over her body with sadness and disgust. She wasn't the same Letty she used to be. With her skin pale from stress, it was easy to make out the scars that marred her torso and thighs from the crash. She could easily see her ribs poking out and wondered how she had let herself get so bad off. Her cheeks were sunken in and her hair was a greasy, tangled mess.

Look what you let him to do you, Leticia. You were never supposed to let a man make you feel like you couldn't live without him. I raised you to be a confident, strong woman, but that is not the woman I see today. You may have lost the life you had with Dominic Toretto, but you've gained a second chance to do something right. Always remember mija, Dum vita est spes est.

While there is life, there is hope.

Letty could hear her father now, scolding her for going against everything he taught her as a child. She was almost glad he wasn't around to see the torture and agony that his daughter had put herself through over the years, over the one boy he warned her about – Dominic Toretto.

After reprimanding herself a little longer, Letty stepped under the hot stream of water, her muscles flinching from the scorching sensation. Once her body adapted to the heat, Letty curled herself in the corner of the bath and wrapped her arms around her legs, placing her chin on her knees. She finally allowed herself to cry; she cried for her son, who would never have the chance to meet his father, for her brother Leon, who had finally come to her rescue, and for Dom. She then vowed to never let another tear fall from her eyes over her ex-boyfriend again. This wasn't her; she wasn't some sap who sat around wondering why me. If Dominic couldn't ride it out with her when the heat was on, then she surely wasn't about to die for him … again.

Wiping her eyes, Letty stood and scrubbed away the filth from her body. She washed and rinsed her hair then got out, wrapping the large, fluffy hotel-provided towel around her body and snuck into her room to get dressed. Rummaging through her duffle bag, she found a black Metallica shirt that she was sure didn't belong to her and couldn't stop the smile forming on her lips. She remembered finding out that she and Luke shared the same interest in music and realized it must have been his. She put it up to her nose and indulged in the smell of oranges, her senses going wild for his scent. Without another thought, Letty discarded the towel and slipped the tee over her chest, thankful that it was long enough to hide her scars.

Letty finished dressing in over-sized boxers and left her wet hair down to air-dry and made her way out of the room feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. It was almost as if she had washed away all of the negative emotions that plagued her mind, and she somehow felt at peace for the moment. She bounced into the lounge area with a new pep in her step, sitting on the sofa near the boys looking at the track intently.

Luke took in her clothes with a big smile, "Looks good on you."

"Thanks," she tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear shyly.

"Mama, watch!" Julian squealed as he pressed a button that propelled the car forward and around a loop.

"Pretty cool, huh Buddy?" her life seemed to get a little better each time her son smiled. He was so young and innocent with no clue about the cruel people who wanted to harm him in this world, yet he didn't seem to care about anything that didn't include pancakes or Letty and that was fine by her. She only wished he could stay so young and innocent forever.