Word Count: 1,056/27,373


Chapter 10
The next night, Brian was at the club playing pool. He was stretched across the table, lining up his last shot when he felt Dom come in. He felt the other man's gaze rake over his body, checking him out and he smirked to himself, stretching a little more than absolutely necessary.

After sinking the eight ball, he grabbed his beer and made his way over to the bar, claiming the seat next to Dom and letting his shoulder brush the other man's thigh. He felt the weight of Dom's gaze on the top of his head as he fondled the bottle.

"That's too bad about Dwight," he said, a faint smirk on his face. "Having the Feds raid your house the same night you make the team? So unfortunate."

"You are enjoying this way too much, Arizona," Letty said.

Brian ignored her and he could hear the smirk in Dom's voice when the bigger man replied.

"I wish I could say I was surprised to see you here."

There was a brief silence and Brian looked up at Dom.

"What's to stop someone from telling them you're a cop?" Dom asked, indicating the rest of the room with a tilt of his beer.

Brian shrugged. Nothing, he supposed. Just the hope that Dom didn't actually want to see him dead, despite the history between them. "Probably the same thing that's keeping me from telling them why you're really here," he said. It definitely wasn't. He wasn't telling anyone about Dom because he was in love with the guy. There was no way Dom was holding his silence for the same reason.

Brian wasn't that lucky.

He met and held the other man's gaze for a moment, relaxing slightly when Dom smirked and took a drink of his beer. They exchanged greetings with Campos and the other man led them over to a secluded corner where they could talk. As the walked, he asked Brian about the car and he assured Campos it would be ready for the run.

"I also heard you just got out of County," Campos said as they took their seats.

Brian could hear Dom's scoff but ignored the other man. "Yeah," he said, answering Campos.

"Mm-hmm." Campos got a considering look on his face.

"You know a man named Jim Garcia?" Dom asked.

"Don't answer that. It's Garcia James and he's from LOMPOC, not County," Letty warned.

Brian leaned back in his seat, the picture of relaxation, and shook his head. "Nah. Big place, lots of names, lots of faces."

Dom scoffed again, but covered it up by taking a swig of his beer.

Campos looked over at him. "And you. You're wanted by a lot of people, Homes."

"Yeah, that kind of heat can't be good for business," Brian said with a smirk.

Dom just looked at him and Brian held his breath, trapped by the intensity in that stare. "Yeah, well, that depends on how you look at things. I go down, I do time. I do real time," he said pointedly.

Brian wanted to scoff, but he couldn't think, couldn't even move. He exhaled in relief when Dom switched his gaze to Campos, obviously feeling as though he had made his point. Brian just wasn't sure what that point was.

"I don't know about your other drivers, but when I see flashing lights, I don't stop."

Dom looked back at Brian and they stared at each other for a long moment while Campos looked between them.

"Do you two know each other?" he asked.

Brian glanced at him, but didn't say anything, looking back at Dom instead. Dom held the reins here. He always had. Whatever he wanted to say, Brian would go along with it, even if it meant his death.

Dom stared at him for a moment or two longer before finally answering. "He used to date my sister."

"I see," Campos said with a slight smile. He looked at Brian. "You're a lucky man."

"How's that?" Brian asked, glancing at him again.

"You're still breathing."

Dom grinned and Brian looked away. Campos had no idea how true that was.

"Relax, Bri. You guys are cool."

Brian vaguely heard the toast, but he did notice the despondent look that crossed Dom's face. Yeah, until he finds out about you, he thought, raising his bottle, even though he wasn't entirely sure what the toast was for.

He asked a few questions about Braga, which Campos answered before being called away. He offered them whatever they wanted as he walked away. Once he was gone, Brian looked over at Dom. "Braga's mine," he said. "I'm taking the whole house down."

He heard Dom's sarcastic 'good luck' as he followed Campos and shook his head with a grin. He was still worried about the consequences of working with Dom, but he had to admit, having the other man involved would definitely keep things interesting, which was always a good thing in his book.

He spent the rest of the night, prowling around the club and spying on Campos and a man he thought might be Braga. He had to wait for the two of them to leave the room, but he finally snagged the shot glasses which he would drop off with Sophie in the morning.

During one last sweep of the place, he overheard Dom and Yashar talking in the garage. The first part reaffirmed what Letty had said about Dom's preferences, but the second half, where he answered the question about his taste in women, left Brian feeling like he was trespassing on something sacred.

Letty must have known what he was feeling, because she spoke up as he was making his way back to his car. "That applies as much to you as it does me," she said. "Maybe even more. I'd say I'm more like ninety-five percent devil."

In spite of himself, he felt a small smile cross his face. It was hard to be in a bad mood when Letty was in a good one. There was just something about her personality that was so infectious. "More like ninety-nine," he threw back.

"Ninety-six."

"Ninety-eight. And a half."

"Oh, okay. Fine. As long as that half's in there."

He laughed. "Thanks, Tish. I needed that."

"Get some sleep, Buster. It's gonna be a long day."

"Night, Letty."