Special thanks to my amazing reviewers: Gingermegs (hope your staff behaves better today!), Sassy Ava, xxxlil-miss-mercer-xxx, sweetist of sin, and lover of many things804! Your reviews make my day! :D

Let me know what you think of this chapter... :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Mickey and Alex

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 6: Dark Clouds

By: LoveInk

Dom stalked through the garage toward Jesse's office. He didn't bother knocking, just walked right in. He did own the garage, after all.

"Dom!" Jesse exclaimed his blue eyes both shocked and excited; it was rare the boss came into his office. "What's up, man?"

"I need you to run a few background checks," he said handing him a Post-it. "If we're going to be doing these heists, we gotta make sure everyone's clean."

Jesse nodded in understanding as he read the first one. "You want me to run Michaela's name?"

"It's just a precaution," Dom said with a shrug as he sat down on the chair next to Jesse. He watched, completely entranced as Jesse's fingers glided over the keyboard. "You're crazy, kid."

The blonde boy chuckled before pointing to the computer screen. "Mickey's got a parking ticket," he answered. "Aaand that's about it. She doesn't even have any speeding tickets."

Dom scoffed. "That's because she sucks at racing," he muttered.

Jesse chuckled. "Next."

"Harry."

He clicked around and typed a little more. "Clean enough. Stolen parts, speeding tickets, nothing we don't already know. Next."

"Hec."

Jesse rolled his eyes, but did it anyway. "He's fine. Next."

Dom cleared his throat, rubbing a hand over his bald head. "Alex."

The blonde kid's eyes left the screen and glanced at Dom, shocked. "Vince specifically said not to."

"I don't give a shit what he said," Dom replied, shaking his head. "I don't know her and I don't trust her."

Jesse stretched his fingers over the keys, reluctant to type in her name. "C'mon Dom…Vince doesn't ask for much."

"Would you just do it already?" Dom urged.

With a sigh, he finally typed in her name. "She's clean, squeaky clean. Probably because her brother-in-law is an FBI agent."

Dom's eyebrows skyrocket up his forehead. "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"No," Jesse said shaking his head. "He lives in Vegas. I bet he helped out when the girls got in the accident."

"Yeah," he said on a nod. "She close with him?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "The hell if I know. She's got a tight knit family, though, so probably."

Dom ran a hand over his face as he stood. "Tell Vince I want to see him in my office."

Jesse watched him leave with a curious look on his face. Why didn't he just ask Vince himself? He was right outside. Shrugging, he got up from his chair and headed to the car Vince was working on. "Hey V," he greeted, leaning over the engine to see what he was working on.

"What's up, kid?" he replied, looking up from the engine with a smile on his face. He'd had an amazing morning with Alex and to put icing on the cake, it was likely he'd get off of work early since the car he was working on was an easy fix.

"Dom wants to see you."

Vince shrugged a shoulder. "What's he want?"

"I don't know. He came into my office, we talked, and then he told me to go get you."

Vince looked confused. "Why didn't he come here himself?"

"Dunno."

"All right, thanks kid," he said, patting Jesse on the shoulder.

He rolled his eyes, wondering what would make Dom send Jesse over instead of coming over himself. After closing the hood of the car he was working on, he grabbed a rag to wipe his hands and headed over to the office. Leaning against the doorjamb, he cleared his throat to catch Dom's attention. The bald man looked up at him and gestured him in. "Shut the door. I don't want Mia hearing."

Vince nodded, shut the door, and sat down on the arm of the couch in the office. "What's up Dominic?"

"How much do you know about Alex's family?" Dom asked folding his hands on the desk and trying his best to look menacing.

Vince fought the urge to roll his eyes. It had been years since Dom scared him. "Enough. Why?"

"Do you know what her brother-in-law does?"

"One's some director while the other works for the government."

Dominic smirked. "Do you know what branch of the government her brother works for?"

Vince shook his head despite the fact that he knew exactly which branch of the government Rube worked for. It was a secret he'd been trying to keep from Dom as long as possible because he knew what that information could potentially lead to. "Not a clue," he replied easily. "Why?"

"Well, I did a background check on her-"

"You what?" Vince roared, standing up angrily and stalking over to the desk. "Are you fucking kidding me, Dominic? I told you it wasn't necessary!"

Dominic shrugged a shoulder, he wasn't afraid of Vince either. He knew that they were evenly matched in a fight. "Vince, we are hijacking semis. I'm running background checks on everyone. Your sister included. I'm not going back to jail because someone couldn't keep their mouth shut to their FBI brother-in-law. Yeah, that's right, Ruben Miralles, married to Isabelle Salvatore, sister to Alexandra Salvatore works for the FBI. She's a threat, Vince."

Vince snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're being ridiculous."

"Am I? Doesn't she talk to her sister every day? You don't think she talks to her about you?" Dom threw the questions at him rapid fire, not waiting for Vince to answer. "And what if the FBI gets interested in us? You don't think her brother would ask her for information?"

"He might, but I don't think she would give it," Vince defended angrily. "She's not that type of person!"

Dom wasn't convinced. "You don't think she would but you don't know that for a fact. Blood is thicker than water, V, and I'm not taking any chances on a girl I hardly know."

"So what do you want me to do? Lie to her?"

He shook his head again, his face grim. "She's too smart for that."

"I'm not going to leave her," Vince stated sternly. "Not for this shit."

Minutes before calling Vince in, Dom had gone over every possibility in his head before he'd come up with the same conclusion as Vince just did. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't hate Alex. Sure, he didn't like her, but if she didn't have this stupid government connection, he wouldn't have minded her sticking around. But that wasn't the case. She did have connections with a very big law enforcement agency and he wasn't taking any chances. There was no way he was going to go back to jail because some girl couldn't keep quiet.

"We're your family, Vince, and we need your help. Are you really going to pick a girl over us?" Dom asked. "How long have we been by your side? Me, Mia, Letty, Mickey, all of us. We'd do it for you."

Vince knew what Dom said was true. Dom would do anything for his family which is why they were getting involved in the heists in the first place. The shop was running out of money fast and without the money from the heists, Dom would have to sell his family's businesses. "Yeah," he answered, sitting down heavily in his chair. He ran a hand over his hair. "There's no other option?" he questioned, reluctant to accept that the only way to be safe was to leave Alex.

"She's just a girl, Vince. There's plenty more of them out there who can give you what you need," Dom said with a shrug. "You'll find someone again. It's not like you love her or anything."

Vince wasn't so sure about the last part. He wasn't willing to admit it openly to Dom, but he'd grown pretty attached to Alex. "Can I wait a few more days?"

"The first heist is tomorrow night, V. You should probably do it before then," Dom answered before going back to whatever he was doing before Vince walked in. "You can have the rest of the day off."

"Thanks," he muttered before heading out the door.

He took out his cell phone and dialed Alex's number. She answered on the first ring. "Hey, big guy. What's up?" she questioned cheerily.

"Dom gave me the rest of the day off. You free?"

"Yep!" she chirped. "Just finished my classes for the day. I'm on my way to the beach. Care to join me?"

"I'll meet you there."

They spent the day on the boardwalk having a good time while riding the rides, and shopping. He loved the way her eyes lit up when she got into the roller coaster seat, the way she laughed at herself whenever she'd trip, and the way she swung their hands back in forth as they walked. He would smile along with her; all the while the prospect of what he had to do the next day loomed over him like a dark cloud. He thought briefly about disobeying Dom, but reconsidered it. Dom was his best friend; he wouldn't make him do this unless it was absolutely necessary.

The sun was just starting to set when Vince plopped himself down in the sand, pulling Alex with him. Laughing, she fell clumsily onto the sand between his legs. He wrapped an arm around her torso and pulled her close against him before burying his face into her neck. She laughed again as his rough beard tickled her. "You smell like sunscreen," he mumbled into the skin there.

"Weird. I don't think I put any on today," she mused.

She could feel him smile against her neck before he set his chin on her shoulder. "Tiny, you always smell like sunscreen and coconut stuff. You smell like…summer."

"Is that your favorite season?" she questioned curiously.

He nodded. "It's my favorite smell too." He loved the smell of her. It was something he'd become familiar with, something that had infiltrated everything he owned. He could smell it on his old sweatshirts that she loved wearing, on his pillows, and even in his car. It was a strangely comforting scent, one he would miss when she was gone. Sighing, he remembered exactly what loomed ahead of him. "Hey Tiny, are you close with your brother-in-laws?"

Alex wrinkled her brows in confusion. "Sure, I guess. I've known them practically my whole life."

"Have you helped either of them with a job before?"

Alex turned her head to look back at him, a questioning look on her face. "I've helped Remy choreograph some dances for music videos. Rube deals mostly with illegal things. I'm not much help to him there. I think he realized that after he questioned me about the whole Vegas thing."

Vince chuckled as he remembered the "big black monster car", her description of the Hummer that had run them off a road. "I never did make you those flashcards," he mused with a chuckle.

"It's not like I'd be able to read your handwriting anyways," she teased him. He tickled her sides, smiling as she wriggled against him, her laughs and screams filling the air with joy. Once he stopped she took a few deep breaths to calm down, letting her fingers graze absentmindedly over his jean clad leg. "Where are all these questions coming from, boo? Do you want a job with the FBI or something?"

He laughed at that. Work for the FBI? Him? Not in a million years. He'd rather be homeless than work for any type of law enforcement. "No," he answered quickly. "I was just curious."

"Rube and Izzy are moving to LA soon. He just got offered a higher paying position here. It'll be nice to have them around," she commented with a smile.

With those words, Vince knew Dom had been right. He had to let her go to protect the team, to protect his family. "Yeah," he replied, hugging her closer to his chest. He placed a kiss on her soft shoulder before placing his chin on top of it. The idea that this was the last time he'd ever get to hold her crossed his mind and he pulled her in even closer.

Alex leaned her head back on his shoulder to get a good look at his face. His blue eyes were watching the sunset while his fingers drew lazy shapes on her stomach. He was deep in thought, so she took a moment to really study him. He really was handsome, in a rugged way. She loved that he didn't bother with his hair, that it didn't take him five hours to get ready like it did Eddie. She loved the gentle way in which he touched her and the way he nuzzled his face into her soft skin, leaving behind red beard burn. She'd never admit it, but she loved those marks. She thought of it as his way of saying "this girl is mine. I pick her to be with me." She still couldn't believe that out of all the girls that threw themselves at him, he picked her.

He raised an eyebrow when he finally caught her staring. "What?"

I love you, her brain replied, but she just smiled in response. "Nothing."

"Uh-huh," he said doubtfully. He pecked her temple lovingly. "I'd love to know what goes on in that head of yours, woman."

"I'm sure you would."

So? Did you like it? Let me know in a review! :)

~Love Ink