A/N: Shhh...no one tell my sister that I'm updating on her computer!! This is it guys, I'm almost finished with this story. There's like two chapters left after this one. Seriously. I also watched the movie the other day and realized how much I totally screwed up the timeline. T.T Ah well.

I hope you enjoy the chapter at any rate . Please review to tell me what you think. I promise to update again as soon as I can! With my sister away I'm bound to play haha


Tangled In This Web – Chapter 12

When Rikki got back home later that day she still couldn't get over the fact that Brian's superiors had tried to enlist her in helping them. She was a civilian, not a cop. There was no way she was doing any of their dirty work. Let them do their job, she wanted nothing to do with it.

"Brian," Rikki yelled into the apartment, "Get your dumb ass out here now before I have to go searching for it to kick your ass!"

When Rikki got angry she didn't really think things through before she spoke and therefore her sentences rarely made any real sense to someone with sanity.

"What are you yelling about," Brian asked as he came out of the bathroom, his hair still wet from his shower.

Rikki glared at her brother before saying, "You need to tell your little cop friends to back out of my business. Do you know where I was this morning when they called me?" Brian only had time to raise an eyebrow before Rikki continued, "I was at the team's house with the called informing me they knew how 'close' I was with them. You know what else? They want me to give them information about what the team does!"

Once Rikki had finished her rant and Brian was about to respond, there was a knock at the door before it opened and Agent Bilkins along with Sergeant Tanner walked through the door.

"Good, you're both home," Sergeant Tanner said pleasantly as he closed the door behind me.

"Actually, I was just leaving," Rikki replied and moved for the door. Agent Bilkins stopped her before she could take two steps.

"In the same clothes you wore last night," he asked and let go of her arm. "Sit down, kid. We're all gonna talk."

Rikki glared at the man and crossed her arms stubbornly and rather childishly over her chest. "You can talk all you want, that doesn't mean I'm gonna listen."

Brian rolled his eyes at his sister's behavior and dragged her into the living room. "Just amuse them, alright?" he asked of her as they sat on the couch. "You don't have to do anything they tell you. That's my job."

"That's what I told them this morning," Rikki shot back.

"Speaking of this morning, I don't appreciate having the phone hung up in my ear," Bilkins commented as she sat down in one of the chairs.

Rikki leaned back into the couch, "And I don't appreciate assholes like you minding my business."

"It is out business when you start sleeping with one of our suspects."

Brian sat up in surprise, "What?!"

Rikki rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl, Bri, I can take care of myself."

"Do you know how much trouble you could get in," Brian demanded.

"That's exactly why we're here," Bilkins spoke up again, "By refusing to help us you are helping them which makes you punishable by law."

It was a long shot really. She had nothing to do with it. She could be charged with negligence at the most since she knew what was going on but did not report the criminal act to the authorities.

"That's if they're even involved," Rikki shop back, "Which they're not."

"You don't know that," Sergeant Tanner said back diplomatically. "We're not with them 24/7."

"Exactly," Rikki glared back, "What do you think, Bri? Didn't you check out everyone's garage?"

Brian sighed and leaned back into the couch as Agent Bilkins directed his gaze to her brother for a change. "He gave us the go ahead on the wrong guy. That's why we're enlisting you kid."

Rikki rolled her eyes. These guys just didn't get it. No matter what anyone did or said she did nobody's bitch work. She told them so adding a quick, "I asked for Bri's opinion, not yours."

"Well Brian," Sergeant Tanner spoke up, "What do you think, is Toretto involved or not?"

Brian ran a hand through his still wet hair, pushing his bangs off his forehead as he thought. Rikki knew he hoped the team wasn't involved since she was with Mia, but he didn't have enough evidence to say that they weren't.

"Dom doesn't wanna go back to prison," he finally said, "He wouldn't risk doing something like this. Jesse's smart but he was with Rikki last night when they hit," this part was added a little awkwardly on his part. "Dom's good buddy Vince is crazy enough to do it, but like I said he's not smart enough to pull it off. They all seem too controlled to do something like this – like I told you before. We don't have enough evidence to convict."

Bilkins looked back to Rikki as he added, "Or to prove they aren't the dumb punks pulling the job."

Rikki didn't respond to the comment even though her argument was on the tip of her tongue. She was a civilian and therefore didn't work for them. They couldn't force her to do anything.

"Besides," Rikki added as the argument began to die down and she stood up, "Its like Brian said, Jesse was with me all night. I'd know if he left. They couldn't pull the job without him."

She left the room with that last statement. Over their time here, Rikki had become rather attached to Team Toretto. Mia was one of her best girl friends and she had more interest in Jesse than she had ever had with any of the previous boys she had been with. Lean, who acted much like a big brother to Jesse, had come to accept her as a baby sister.

She wasn't about to let anyone tear that make-shift family apart. All they had was one another and they needed each other to survive.

--

Slowly but surely the ten second car that Brian owed Dom was inching closer and closer to completion. Rikki also knew this meant that Race Wars was getting closer as well. That also meant that Brian was receiving more and more pressure from his superiors.

Rikki has also taken to turning her cell phone off when she hung out with Jess or Mia, or if she was ever near the team really. Bilkins had a habit of calling her whenever she was away from Brian. The crazy bastard was going to get them caught if he wasn't careful. Vince was already suspicious of Brian as it was, she didn't want to get on that guy's bad side. Of course, anyone with half a brain thought the same way did on that particular subject.

"Rikki," Jesse greeted her the day Brian had finished working on the car. He gave her a kiss on the lips before pulling her closer to him.

Rikki smiled as she buried her face in Jesse's neck. It was times like these that reminded her how much telling Bilkins to shove off was worth it.

"Hey Babe," he said, Rikki could hear the smile in his voice. "How was your night?"

The previous night Brian had dragged Rikki back to the apartments, claiming that she didn't spend enough time at home. Rikki, who knew the stress was beginning to get to him, allowed her brother to pull her along saying to Jesse that she would see him the next day.

Rikki pulled back from the embrace slightly so that she would be able to look him in the eye as the spoke, "Bri's just a little over worked, ya know? When he's not working for Harry he's putting a lot of hours into that car."

"'That car,'" Jesse responded with a smirk, "Is finished."

Rikki's eyes lit up, "You serious?"

"Would I lie about something like this," he shot back.

Rikki laughed and pulled Jesse close to her once more. "Man, I've got to see this."

"Dom and Bri took it out for a little joy ride," Jesse said back.

Now it was Rikki's turn to smirk. "Where's the rest of the team?"

Jesse shrugged, "Here and there. Mia's getting lunch together for 'em."

Just with everything else in life, it all starts with a kiss. Soft and simple at first, a small taste of what might be to come. All it takes is that small taste to leave you wanting and needing more.

Another kiss, this one a little more demanding this time, with more passion letting the other know how much they need this in order to keep on going.

Jesse directed them over to the small office sometimes used by Mia when forced to do paperwork.

Rikki gave a slight gasp when Jesse moved his attention from her lips to her jaw line and neck. He knew what he was doing, and he was going for the gold.

Rikki shut the door behind her with her foot before moving them over to the desk. Jesse, believing Rikki had tasted enough control for the moment, switched their positions so that Rikki was now pressed between the desk and himself.

"No escape," he said playfully against her neck before his hands moved from her hips to the hem of her shirt and began to help Rikki in the process of undressing.

Rikki and Jesse left the office some time later in time to greet Brian and Dom was they returned. Rikki couldn't hide the blush at her brother's raised eyebrow and Dom's comment of, "Next time keep it in your pants during business hours."

--

Race Wars approached quicker than anyone really expected. A month seemed to fly by when dealing with all of Brian's drama.

"Are you seriously gonna do this, Bri," Rikki asked as they packed up what they would need.

Brian looked at his sister like she had grown three heads, "Race Wars? Hell yea I am."

Rikki shook her head and paused in her packing. "No dipshit, I meant with the team."

Brian sighed and also paused in his packing. "They're right, Rik," he told his sister. "It has to be them."

"I won't believe that," Rikki responded. "You said yourself, Bri…"

"I was lying to myself, Rik," Brian interrupted. "No one else could pull this shit off. Dom said he'd let me in on it once Race Wars was over."

Rikki sighed and closed up her duffle bag after shoving a few more clothes in along with her deodorant and body spray. "Jesse's taking me out in the Jetta," she told her brother. "I'll see ya when you get there."

As Rikki left the apartment Brian thought about what Sergeant Tanner had told him about all kinds of family. He had never seen Rikki take to a bunch of people like she had with Team Toretto. And Mia…

Damn, he had a lot of thinking to do and not a whole hell of a lot of time to do it in.