The days passed quickly and Brian's wounds healed slowly. Mia had had a friend come over on the first day that was a doctor and owed her a favour. He looked at Brian's arm and prescribed another ointment to treat it with and thus keep the cut from scarring too badly. He was wise enough not to ask any questions as to why they hadn't taken Brian to the hospital.

It turned out that Dom, upon meeting his boss when searching for Brian, had already told him that Brian would take the whole next week off. Unsurprisingly, the man had not dared to contradict Dom.

The next Saturday, Dom drove Brian to his flat to pack up his stuff and move in at the Toretto's. The whole crew lived in the house, although Vince still had an apartment somewhere else (not that he spent that much time there).

Brian felt overjoyed as he dropped his bags on the bed of the last unoccupied bedroom. He knew it would be difficult to keep his nocturnal trips to other people's garages a secret, but right now he couldn't care less.

Another week passed without any incidents. Most of his bruises had healed, only a slight yellow discoloration remained yet in some places. He could use his arm again, though he couldn't lift anything heavy with it. However, that didn't keep him from working at Dom's garage with the others. Even though the crew lay low at the moment in terms of street-racing, they still worked on cars. And Brian could tell it wouldn't be long before they were back on the streets. He could see their eyes gleaming when they worked.

Another week passed and the next Friday found Brian tinkering with an engine at the garage. The others were there, too, much like they had been the day Vince had brought him in. This time, there wasn't any tension in the air, though. They were talking and laughing like Brian had never even been gone.

Vince made a joke that Brian, completely immersed in his work, subconsciously noticed to have something to do with himself being bent over the open hood of the car at an awkward angle and that caught Brian's attention enough for him to leave his concentrated state and straighten up. Just as he was about to return the favour, he heard his phone go off.

His heart sank even before he took it out and looked at the display. Since all the guys were here, there was only one person who would contact him. He opened the text he'd received with a small sigh.

Meet me at the usual place in half an hour.

Brian frowned. Why would Chestner think it necessary to arrange for another meeting? Not that Brian had a choice. He'd show up, no matter what.

The only problem was that he didn't really have an excuse for leaving. Although the family knew that he had a few contacts in L.A., none of these usually asked him to meet. The most reasonable thing to do was probably to tell Dom that it had something to do with his "problem" he was still keeping from them. But Dom slowly seemed to have accepted that Brian wouldn't tell him what it was about. He wasn't asking questions anymore and Brian would've liked to keep it that way. Besides, he'd never been the reasonable type.

"Hey, have you lost your voice, pretty boy?"

Vince's teasing got Brian out of his musing and he gave a teasing answer, once again wearing his usual careless smile. Then he cleaned his hands on a rag and picked up his jacket.

He was trying to play it cool as he walked towards the door and called over his shoulder, "I got somewhere to be, I'll meet you guys later at the house for dinner."

It didn't work out as well as he'd hoped, though. While the others seemed surprised but simply shrugged and continued whatever they were up to, Dom appeared out of nowhere and blocked his path. He had that knowing look on his face and crossed his arms.

"You didn't mention you had plans this afternoon."

Brian rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't have to report everything to you, right?"

Dom simply ignored the sarcasm in Brian's voice and continued in a calm voice, "Right, you don't. But the last time you left, you weren't planning on coming back. Besides, I know you've still got something going on and it's connected to the beating you took, so I'm actually worried what you'll look like when you come back this time. If you come back."

Brian took in a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly, before looking at Dom again. He decided to stick as close to the truth as he could. "It's good to know you care that much about my safety, Dom. But I promise I'm just meeting someone. And all he wants to do is talk, he won't do anything to me." Hopefully.

Dom considered that for a second then he stepped aside with a brief nod. "I could go with you, if you want," he offered.

Brian shook his head, smiling. "Nah, thanks, I'm fine. See you later."

"Whenever he says he's fine, he usually isn't," Dom muttered under his breath when his friend was out of earshot.

Right on time, Brian halted his car behind Chestner's and walked up to him. He could see the guy's gaze wandering over the tinge of yellow on his cheek, the last remnant of a bruise, and his bandaged forearm, which was clearly visible, since Brian was wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

"That happen at Gibbs'?" Chestner asked, jerking his chin in the direction of Brian's arm.

"Why do you care?" Brian retorted dryly.

"Just wondering. Shortly after the race two weeks ago, Gibbs boasted about having kicked the ass of some burglar or so he and his friends found at his garage. I figured he probably meant you. Turns out he wasn't exaggerating."

Brian decided to cut straight to the point. "Yeah, whatever. Why did you wanna meet?"

"I've heard you've moved in at Toretto's?"

That comment caught Brian completely off guard. How the hell did that dumbass get to know that? He didn't let his concern show, though, and even managed to keep his voice in check when he replied, "Yeah, why are you asking?"

Chestner seemed disappointed by the other's calm response. He crossed his arms and leaned with his back against his car. "Because I told you not to tell anyone about our arrangement."

"They don't know anything about it, so no need for you to worry," Brian answered curtly.

"That's good to know. Still, I can't help wondering how long you will manage to keep your…trips at night a secret, if you're living in a house with a bunch of people who could notice." Chestner paused at that, but Brian didn't deem it necessary to answer. He tried to keep his calm, deliberately taking deep breaths. Chestner leaned forward coming closer to him, a threatening edge to his tone. "Well, I guess that's not my problem. But let me get one thing straight: if Toretto or any of the others get involved, I'll find out. I've got some contacts and if I hear anything from them, Toretto's in for it. Understood?"

At that, Brian lost it. He grabbed the collar of Chestner's jacket and shoved him forcefully into the car, stepping closer. "Now, you listen very closely, Chestner. I'm risking one hell of a lot working for you and I don't like it. But I'll do the job as long as the file stays away from anyone's desk. But if you turn the crew in and just one summons is issued on any of them, I swear I'll talk. I was a cop once, don't think I don't have any contacts of my own. I'll make sure they go after you for the shit you're pulling. So you better think twice before you try to threaten me again."

With that, Brian let the other man go, got into his car and slammed the door shut in anger. He sped off, cursing that goddamn son of a bitch that was screwing his life.