Warning: a little bit more strong language than usual. ;)

Thank you thank you thank you to: Violet201, xxxlil-miss-mercerxxx, Sassy Ava, and sweetist of sin. You guys rock my socks! ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Mickey and Alex

Diamond in the Rough

Chapter 16: Saved By the Punk

By: LoveInk

Vince almost dropped the flashlight he was holding when he saw her face. A bruise was slowly darkening on her face and her hand was tinted red with dried blood. "Alex?" he said, trying to keep the worry and anger out of his voice. He didn't want to clue Dom in on their relationship. Putting the flashlight down, he took a slow step towards her. "What are you doing here?"

Relief washed over her. She was so thankful it was him and not some other gang ready to threaten her. The urge to run to him was strong, but she held back. He'd explained the reason why Dom and the rest of his family should be kept in the dark about their relationship, and she wasn't about to blow it. "I was at my uncle's place," she replied swiping at her face with her fingers. It came away bright red once again and she cringed before continuing, "They came in with their guns and took us here." She knew better than to ask what he was doing there.

Dominic stepped out of the shadows then, his dark eyes narrowing as they focused on her briefly before turning on Ted. "What are you getting them Ted?"

"That's none of your business, Toretto," Ted shot back.

"You want a ride home or not? I don't mind just leaving you two here," Dom stated, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. He smirked, his dark eyes landing on Alex. "I'm sure the Trans would love to come back and find you here. I bet they'd exchange a ride for a ride. Johnny seemed interested. You want to ride him, Alex?"

Vince glared at Dom as anger bubbled through his veins. He knew what his friend was implying and he didn't like it. Alex watched his fists clench and her eyes widened. A fight between Dominic and Vince would not turn out well. Besides, she wanted to get out of the Tran's garage before they came back. Clearing her throat, she caught his attention briefly and shook her head imperceptibly. "Fuck you, Dominic," she said, trying to make her voice sound tough like Letty's sounded when she said stuff like that. It wasn't the classiest response, but she was too tired to be polite. If it had been anyone else, she would've slapped them, but Dom scared her; she wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't hit her back. "We don't need your help. C'mon Ted, let's go."

She turned to leave but Ted's voice stopped her. "You know, I don't think they'd be too upset. In fact, I'm sure they'd be real interested to know that Mr. Dominic Toretto, "King of the Streets" was sneaking around in their garage with his two goons."

"You sayin' you're going to nark on me, Ted?" Dominic asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ted nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying, Toretto."

"Huh," Dom said, nodding his head. He nodded towards Alex. "What about you? You going to nark, little one?"

"I don't even know what that is," she said on a sigh. She turned on her heel and made her way to the door. She was sick of the stupid manly displays of power-from her Uncle threatening to "nark" to Dominic flexing his muscles every chance he got- they were just dumb.

She walked out of the garage, trying to ignore the sound of Ted and Dom yelling at each other. Vince was after her in a matter of seconds. He grabbed her arm gently, turning her to face him. "What are you doing, Tiny?" he asked.

"I would rather walk home than watch those two assholes have a dick measuring contest," she answered, sending a glare at the garage. She heard a third voice join the other two and rolled her eyes.

He chuckled, gently pushing a stray hair behind her ear. "Are you all right?" he asked, his thumb ghosting over the now scabbed cut on her cheek. He wasn't angry at her, he couldn't be. It wasn't her fault that the Trans came in unannounced."What did he do to you, Tiny?"

She nodded before letting out a long breath and wrapping her arms around his torso. "Hit me with his gun," she answered, leaning her forehead into his strong chest. "It was scary," she mumbled into his mesh tank.

When he realized she was shaking, he held her tighter. "Hey, you're okay now," he assured her. Dipping his head, he pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm here. No one is going to touch you."

Brian walked outside to find Vince with his arms enveloping the strange girl. He watched them for awhile, trying to work out their relationship. He knew they weren't siblings; he'd already met Michaela. Perhaps they were friends. When Vince leant down to press a quick kiss to her lips, Brian realized just how wrong he was. He wondered if Dom was aware of this relationship. He sure as hell didn't treat the girl as if she was important, but she was so clearly important to Vince. Why had Dom treated her so badly then? If they were best friends, wouldn't Dom treat her a little better? Something was off. He had to find out who this girl was and figure out what kind of history created the tension between her and Toretto. So far, all he had was her first name and that she had a fondness for scruffy men.

He heard Dom and Ted approaching, still bitching at each other and cleared his throat to alert the couple of his presence. They pulled away from each other just as Dom and Ted rounded the corner. Though Vince gave him a murderous glare in response, the brunette gave him a thankful smile he hadn't been expecting from someone so close to Vince. Again, he wondered what Dom's problem with the girl was. She seemed innocent enough.

"Let's go," Dom growled, making his way over to the Jetta.

Alex didn't know who the blonde man was, but she was thankful for his interruption. If it wasn't for him, Dom would've caught them red-handed and they would have been screwed. She followed Dom and Ted toward the white Jetta. "Allie?" Jesse questioned, his tone curious as he studied her face. "Isn't the restaurant closed?"

Her eyes fell on the younger boy in the driver's seat and she nodded. "It's a shame too. I was craving Chinese," she said airily earning herself a light laugh from both Jesse and the blonde stranger. Vince was too angry at Ted and Dom to laugh.

"Get in the car," Dom growled at her, slamming his door shut after he got.

"Yes sir," Alex muttered before stepping around to the back seat. The three other guys were crammed into it. The blonde guy in the middle because Vince didn't want to be anywhere near Ted. She looked at them skeptically, unsure of where to sit.

"C'mon, Tiny," Vince said, grabbing her wrist and gently pulling her sideways onto his lap. He slipped one arm around her waist and draped the other over her legs. She snuggled her face into his neck, inhaling the comforting scent of sweat mixed with soap.

Vince's arms tightened around her when they pulled up in front of Ted's house first. He couldn't believe it! The place was completely out of the way and it would've been much easier to drop Brian off first, but it was clear Dominic wanted to get rid of Alex as quickly as possible and that pissed him off. How could he let Brian in so easily and yet push Alex as far away as possible? It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

Alex got out of the car slowly, squeezing Vince's hand as he did so. She nodded to Ted who mumbled a quick goodbye to Dominic before jogging into the house leaving Alex outside. Vince caught her glance briefly and she mouthed the word, "stay." If he went along with her, they'd blow their cover out of the water. He didn't look happy about it, but he nodded anyway.

She approached the driver's side to say a quick goodbye to Jesse. The kid gave her a worried look. On the way over, Dom had given him a short summary of what happened, and he was a little concerned about the darkening bruise on the side of her cheek. "Put some ice on that, Allie," Jesse suggested as he got out of the driver's seat to give her a hug.

"I will. Thanks," Alex said, hugging him tightly. When she pulled away she ran a shaky hand through her hair, smiling at him. "Don't tell Lee, okay? He overreacts."

Jesse nodded as he got back into the car. "See ya around, Als." He waited for her to get into the Jeep and start it up before he pulled out of the drive.

They dropped Brian off at his truck before heading back to the fort. As soon as Jesse parked, Vince was out of the car and in Dom's face. "Where do you get off talking to people like that?" Vince growled.

"What the hell are you talking about, Vince?"

"Callin' her a nark? Saying Tran would like to ride her? What the fuck was that?" he shouted in response. "She didn't do anything to you!"

"Who gives a shit, V? You're not a little bit suspicious about why she was there?" Dom shot back at him. "She's involved with the fucking Trans now? I know a cop when I see one!"

Vince shook his head at him. "You're a fuckin' idiot."

"I'm an idiot?" Dom repeated sarcastically. "You're a moron for trusting her! Look how fast she got in with the Trans, V!"

"You don't know what you're talking about. Ted is her Uncle."

Dominic rolled his eyes. He was sick of hearing Vince defend her. "Bull shit. I'm sure now that she can't get in with us, she'll move right on to Tran. She's just another girl, Vince! Suck it up and forget about her!"

Without another word, Vince launched his fist into Dom's face before heading toward his car.

heh. Dom's an ass. I swear I really do love him though! I may have gone a little over the top but I think Dom would be stressed to the max with all the heists and stuff and sometimes people under stress just snap...Anyway...what do you think? Let me know in a review. :)

~Love Ink