A/N: Another update already for you guys. Enjoy and the song for this chapter is "Like A Stone" by Audioslave.
"You copin' alright, boy? Don't need no help?"
Leon looked out of the corner of his eye, smoothing his hand over the front fender of one his latest projects. He blinked sleepily but didn't stop what he was doing.
"Yeah, I'm good. Why?"
Marcus sat down at the bench across from him and quietly watched Leon work, not answering his question. "You seem a lot happier lately. Got anything to do with the arrival of your niece? She doin' alright?"
Leon's distracted smile answered his question right away. "She's perfect. Letty still wont let me have one though."
"I know how you feel. I was the same when my brother had his first." he chuckled, kicking his feet up, "How old is she now?"
He smiled proudly. "Going on three months."
There was a companionable silence between the two for a while. Marcus cleared his throat.
"Where'd you learn to paint like that?" The big man asked, watching him.
Leon shrugged. "Always seemed natural I guess. Wouldn't have picked up a brush if I'd have stayed in Miami though."
Interest lit up Marcus' eyes. "You lived in Miami?"
Nodding, "Sure did. Moved there when I was about five when the olds got divorced, moved away from there when I was seventeen." He told his boss, inwardly wondering what brought on the sudden interest. Leon gave a mental shrug. I've got nothing to hide. He honestly didn't mind talking to Marcus.
"What made you start? Paintin' that is."
"Moved in with V and decided the place needed some colour. Vince reluctantly let me experiment in the basement. It was a start." He rolled his shoulders, stiff from leaning over for so long. "It was through Vince that I got into cars. His friend owned a shop, needed an on site painter.. the rest is history."
Marcus nodded slowly, rubbing his finger across a small smudge of red paint on the bench, smearing it around in circles. "DT right?"
Leon nodded, tidying his work space. "Yeah, that's right."
"That job is the only reason I hired you, you know." He chuckled at Leon's look of indignation. "Now don't get me wrong.. I was impressed by you anyway, but a friend of mine has a son who's big into racing. Mentioned your name and the kid went nuts. He didn't stop raving for a good few hours about you."
Leon laughed slightly, turning to sit down. "I should thank the guy one day then."
Marcus picked up a sheet of gold leaf vinyl that had been sitting on the bench, turning it over in his hands. "Listen, son," he waited until Leon looked at him before he went on, "I don't know what's goin' on with you and your family lately, but if y'all need anything you now you can count on us right?"
If his boss hadn't have sounded so damn serious, Leon would have laughed. Instead, he slowly cocked his head to the side and his eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
Marcus sighed, his big boots thudding heavily onto the floor. "There's been some people askin' round about you guys." He wisely ignored the sudden darkening of the young man's features. "Now I don't know what's goin on, nor is it any of my business, but I've advised everyone I know to keep their mouths shut until I talked to you about it."
Leon could feel the lump starting to form in his throat, dread swelling in his gut. "Who's been askin?" He wiped his hands on a rag, scratching at some flecks of paint to avoid looking at his boss.
"Man named Dominic. Says he's a friend of yours."
Leon started to laugh, almost hysterically. "Friend? That man is an asshole. We used to be friends. Used to be." He quieted. ".. He's also Letty's ex."
Marcus sighed, running a hand over tired features. "Is he trouble? Is he someone I'll have to escort off my premises with my foot if he shows up and causes shit?"
"Call the cops," Leon spat, "That'll scare the fucker away. He's the one that left Vince in the hospital alone. If Dom had've stuck around for him Vince wouldn't be the way he is."
After meeting Vince the first time, Marcus had quietly pulled Leon aside and queried him on the scruffy man. He could tell just from the timid way he stood behind Leon that the bigger man was traumatised by something at some stage and judging by his shifting from foot to foot, he wasn't used to being the dependant one. He had caught him a few times eyeing the bikes that day, a look of sad longing on his face when he thought nobody was looking… But Marcus saw. It was his job to see all in his shop. Right away he had known it had something to do with his right arm, strapped and encased in that heavy duty brace. Since then Vince had come out of his shell a little more, now able to joke around with him, but he was still a bit wary of the other guys.
"How was he before hand? More like you?"
Leon actually choked on his laughter. "God, no! Try picturing him a little more uh.. Surly."
Marcus half smiled, sceptical. "Vince? Surly?"
"Hell yes. Mean as all hell too.. Nasty temper. He'd sooner smack you in the mouth with a lead pipe than talk civilly to you."
"What changed?" Marcus watched him start applying a coat of clear over a fender he'd painted the day before.
Leon shrugged. "He got hurt," he barely glanced up, "Almost died a couple of times.. He's kinda skittish around people now." He handed Marcus a paintbrush that had rolled onto the floor, not waiting for him to even move before going back to his work. His tone clearly stated that he was done talking.
Getting up, Marcus looked over his shoulder as he washed the fine brush. "Well whatever happens.. I meant what I said. If this Dominic fella starts givin you trouble, you let me know."
"That's not going to happen."
Marcus frowned at Leon's dark tone. "How can you be sure?"
Leon grated his teeth and slammed his palm against the bench. "Because I don't plan on letting the son of a bitch find out where we are!" He shouted, glaring at the big Texan man in front of him. There was a moment of silence.
"I'll do my best to keep your position here quiet, Le."
Leon blinked at him, almost trembling with anger. "… Thankyou." He ground out softly. "Is that all you wanted?"
Marcus nodded, just a slight tip of the head. "I'll leave you to it." He turned on his heel and walked away from the usually easy going young man he'd come to admire. If the thought of this Dominic guy pushed Leon to the point of shouting at him, a man almost twice his size, he wasn't sure he wanted this guy to find him. Lord knows what could happen.
Leon flicked through the design sheets he'd found on his work bench after returning from lunch, his brow furrowed. "Marie!" he called ahead of him, not looking up from the papers as he walked into the office. "Where did these come from?"
The blonde secretary snatched the papers off him, flipping through them. "Wow! These are great! You do such brilliant work, Leon." She gushed. Leon stared blankly at her. He had no idea why Marcus insisted on hiring eye candy who didn't know what the fuck they were doing.
"If I did them, would I have asked where they came from you vapid moron? Where did they come from?" He snapped, ill tempered. His head was pounding from eye strain, his hands were hurting and he had gotten an hours sleep the night before. Now with the added knowledge of one Dominic Toretto looking for them his mood had soured even more. He just wasn't in the mood for her shit.
The curvy blonde pouted, no doubt trying to figure out whether he had insulted her or not. "But- I thought they were yours.."
He rolled his eyes and tensed, resisting the urge to scream. "Oh for fucks sake.. No. They are not mine. Where did they come from and why were they on my bench?" he asked slowly so she wouldn't miss anything.
She blinked at him. "Uh.." She looked around, "You're sure they're not yours? You didn't just forget you did them?"
Leon stared at her wide eyed, then silently plucked the papers from her grasp and turned and left the office, shaking his head. "Stupid bitch.." he muttered under his breath, walking back through the shop. "Fuck it," he said, throwing them down on the desk by the back door, "I'm not touching them until I know where they came from."
He dropped a wrench on top of them so they wouldn't blow away and went back to work.
Letty pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, holding her hair out of her face and tucked her keys into the pocket of her jeans. The heavy door slid shut behind her and a bottle blonde sat at the desk in front of her. Letty barely refrained from reaching out and punching her in the face when she gave her the once over and went back to filing her nails.
"Don't you have a job to be doing?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow. The blonde stopped and looked up at her, then, threw down her nail file and plastered a fake smile on her face.
"How may I help you?"
Letty shot her a smile back, twice as fake. "I'm looking for Leon Orello. He works here."
Instantly the blonde stood and walked around the desk, jabbing her finger into Letty's chest. "Now you listen here you whore, stay away from my man!"
"Your man?" Letty swatted her hand away, "Is it nice in that little fucked up world of yours? Leon's my boyfriend! And get the fuck outta my face you skank!"
The tall blonde smiled smugly. "That aint what he was saying last night."
Letty started to laugh. "Last night?"
The girl nodded, her expression on of smug victory. "That's right." She folded her arms across her chest, "Last night."
"Was this before or after I spent the better half of the night with my legs wrapped around that waist of his riding him like a cowboy?" Letty asked crudely, quirking a brow.
Laughter erupted from the doorway and both women turned. There was Marcus standing just outside the door, leaning against the wall for support as he shook with mirth.
"That just paints the perfect picture, Let." He remarked through his laughter. Letty grinned and waved.
"Hi, Marcus! How's the wife?"
The big man stood a little straighter, eyes sparkling at the mention of his wife. "She's wonderful, thanks. Gone to visit the kids in Texas."
"Aww," Letty smirked. "All alone, huh?"
Marcus nodded grimly. "'Fraid so, little darlin." He clapped his hands together. "You here for the boy?"
"Yeah, lunch hour." She replied, ignoring the indignant exclamations coming from the blonde about being ignored. "He in?"
"In his little booth." He frowned. "He's been outta sorts all damn day. Near took the head off one of the guys earlier. Everyone's keepin clear of 'im."
Letty's face twisted in confusion. "Can I go see him?"
Marcus stepped aside from the doorway and made a sweeping motion with his arm. "By all means! Maybe seein' your pretty face'll cheer 'im up."
Letty started toward the door, then paused. "Marcus, could you turn around for a minute?" At his confused look, "Please?"
He slowly turned away and Letty grinned, turning back to the blonde.
"What's your name?"
The blonde huffed, "Marie."
"Marie?" Letty strode forward and swung out, her fist catching Marie across the cheekbone and sending her crashing into the filing cabinet. "Stay the fuck away from my man, Marie." She snarled down at the blonde on the floor cradling her face. As she walked by Marcus she could make out his faint snickers and shot him a mock dark look. "You too, big boy."
He gave her a one fingered salute then disappeared into the office, closing the door behind him.
Letty waved to some of the guys as she worked her way back toward Leon's designated workshop. They had sectioned it off to help with his concentration before they had known he could work through anything. She tapped on the door and let herself in, seeing him hunched over the bench.
"Fuck off." He snapped, not even looking up.
Letty shook her head. "What crawled up your ass today?"
He jerked upright, spinning to look at her. "Jesus, Let!" He put down the fine paint brush in his hand and wiped his hands on his thighs. "Why didn't you say it was you?" He pressed a kiss over her brow and hugged her.
"What – and miss out on being told to fuck off so politely?"
He flushed, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry bout that. It's been a shit of a day so far."
Her face softened and she pushed him back onto the stool he'd been sitting on. "What's the matter, baby?" she stepped between his spread legs, "Tired?"
He gave her a dry smile. "Just a little bit. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"
Letty shook her head, eyes wide and innocent. He barely even smiled, only snuggled against her, pulling her closer.
His breath was hot against her neck. "Don't leave me, Let."
Not knowing what to do, she merely pulled him closer. "What's gotten into you?" Her lips grazed his cheek as she spoke and he pulled her even closer again.
His hands pushed their way up and under the back of her shirt, fingers splaying across her skin, tracing over a dark patch on the front of her hip left by his mouth the night earlier.
"Nothin." He murmured against her neck. "Nothin, Let. Just feeling a little insecure is all."
She rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I'm not leaving you, Le. I've been with you for a year, why would I leave you now?" she pulled back and took his face in her hands. "You are the best thing that's happened to me in a long, long time, Leon. I'm not letting you go for anyone or anything."
Green eyes sparkled up at her sadly. "I can't lie to you." He said quietly, his fingers readjusting their grip on her hips.
"Lie to me?"
He nodded. "Dom's looking for us."