The horror crept in like a shadow, and Luke couldn't do a damn thing to stop it because there was no stopping what came next. All he could do was hug her, hold her, until Sam exhausted herself from crying and screaming, and reassure her that it wouldn't ever happen again. Little things set her off, made his daughter fall to pieces each and every time, and he couldn't fucking stop it.

But at least he was there, protecting her. Keeping Sam safe, because in the moments between the tears, she was happy.

Free.

Laughing as he got half stuck in the door of the chicken coop Elena kept out back with hens pecking at his shoes or perching on him. Giggling when Luke narrowly avoided hitting himself in the head with a cupboard door. Smiling the second he brought out lunch, a picnic rug, and told Sam they were going for a walk.

Just the two of them.

By the end of the day, Sam was too exhausted to cry anymore. The second her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light. No complaints, no resistance, which left him with four hours to fill until Luke forced himself to crawl into bed and sleep.

He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat himself next to Elena, stretching his legs out and relaxing on the porch. Marcus was asleep, the house was silent, and he had his partner by his side. Life was back to normal, or as normal as it could be right now.

Tomorrow, he'd ring his brothers, organize a car, and the two of them could meet Mateo and Jonah somewhere safe.

Two.

But there was three-

Luke lurched to his feet, almost throwing himself through the door as he walked inside. He hadn't given her a thought all day, hadn't checked on her or seen her for that matter. A lump lodged in his throat as his heart rate spiked; tension flooded Luke's body the second he shoved the door open and stepped inside. His gaze landed on the bed, then bounced off it, as if his brain didn't want to process what he was seeing.

Bloody sheets, bloody skin, torn and bloody clothes. Elizabeth sprawled on the bed, her throat and stomach-

"Dad?"

Sam.

Fuck. It was just a dream. A horrible, no good, messing with his head kind of dream. Luke's heart still raced in his chest as he blinked, finding himself face to face with his daughter. Apparently with a plate stacked with pancakes in her hands, a smile on her face, and what looked like an extra large glass secured in her lap. An extra large milkshake if the floating scoop of ice cream was any indication.

"Hey," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Baby, what time is it?"

"Eight thirty."

Oh. Good. Luke groaned, pushing himself up and tugging off his shirt. He was going to have to wash it later and start figuring some things out, like more clothes, firearms, and a car. They couldn't continue to stay here and put Elena or Marcus in danger. He'd been right about that much, dream or otherwise. The three of them needed to connect with his brothers, get out of town and disappear.

Get under the radar, get underground,beforeCipher came looking for payback.

"You going to eat all that?"

"Yes," Sam said, grinning and holding her plate away from him. "Yours is in the oven."

That figured. No doubt Elena had cooked up a batch, knowing he'd wake up hungry. Shit, he always woke up hungry. "Alright. You enjoy your breakfast," said Luke, leaning over and kissing Sam on the top of her head. "Dad needs a shower. I'll see you later."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, baby."

Luke walked out and left his daughter to eat, stretching the kinks from his back as he went. Seated in the living room were Elena and Marcus while the door to the other bedroom was closed. Either Elizabeth was still asleep then or she'd closed it behind her. Whichever the answer was, he'd soon find out.

He stepped inside the bathroom, shut the door, and dropped his pants. The shower wasn't running, the bathtub was empty, and he couldn't see any sign of dumped clothes. That was good. It meant Shaw...

...was standing in front of the sink, towel hanging off her already dressed lower body. Tense and staring at him like a deer caught in headlights, Elizabeth tried to make her mouth work but nothing came out. Her fists clenched, then those lips pressed together and Shaw relaxed. She leaned her hip against the counter, angling herself toward him. "Enjoying the view?"

Luke let his gaze drop, taking in every inch of her upper body. She had no obvious definition from cutting, no excess muscle for the sake of it-just a honed figure built for one thing: survival. Maybe a month ago, he might have kept his eyes at a respectable angle and height. Now, Luke was pretty sure they were well past the point of giving a damn about inappropriate workplace behavior.

"Is that a trick question?"

She scoffed and turned her back to him. "Get your ass over here."

"You want a hand?"

"Please."

Four steps and he was behind her, all but breathing down her neck. Luke treated and dressed her shoulder, ensuring the gauze was in place before Beth slipped her bra on. He wrangled her shirt next, sliding it down until the hem reached past her hips. "Anything else?"

Elizabeth packed the med kit away, grasping the counter to keep herself upright. It would be so easy to run, to go back to her room and lock herself away. Then she could delude herself into thinking she could run the clock backwards and return to normality. Get rid of the craving—the itch she couldn't scratch—that stirred every time she looked at the asshole behind her.

Every time he made her laugh or smile; every time Hobbs found some excuse to touch her that left her aching. Like the other day when they'd been laying there in her bed, with his hand on her body, and Elizabeth felt the closest she'd come to safe in a very long time. But it wasn't Hobbs she wanted, was it?

He was just a proxy, which meant any man—even Jakob—could replace him, and it wouldn't make the slightest difference because the truth was she was chasing a feeling. Yearning for something Beth hadn't found in a long time, and in all likelihood would never find again. What that something was, she just couldn't remember. She knew the distant memory of it, the way it made her heart flutter and the world stand still, but Elizabeth couldn't put a name to it.

Not anymore.

"Beth?"

She kept her gaze focused on the counter as Luke's fingers molded to the curve of her waist. His grip was strong, hands firm, yet in just two seconds that would change. The moment the wordnoleft her mouth, he'd walk away and leave her standing there like a fool who wished the world would change but refused to so much as look for a shooting star.

"I—"

"Hobbs!"

Elena.

He let go in an instant and ran, leaving his pants on the floor, but thankfully still wearing his boxer briefs. Elizabeth walked out after him, heart rate spiking when she heard the familiar sound of tires squealing. What the hell was going on? Had Jakob led Cipher to their door? Or were they about to find themselves face to face with someone else altogether?

What kind of nightmare was she about to walk in...

"You want to put some pants on, mate?"

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks and stood at the end of the hallway that led to the lounge room. Somewhere outside was Deckard, and God only knew who else. People she didn't want to see any time soon, if ever again.

"How about you start with what the hell you're doing here?" asked Hobbs.

"Getting you four to safety. Grab Sam, your pants, and let's go."

"We're not going anywhere until you talk, Shaw."

"Cipher. Mercenaries. Coming here. Very bad. That enough for you?"

"Yeah."

If Deckard was telling the truth, they were so far up shit creek without a paddle that it wasn't funny. Jesus, had Jakob said something? It seemed unlikely but...maybe not. Threatening Elena would get him Dom, and that was the end goal for all of them, wasn't it? Really, who among them didn't want to kill Toretto?

"Kid?" Elizabeth knocked twice on Hobbs' bedroom door before pushing it open. Sam was still eating her pancakes, alternating between chewing and crying. There was a growing pile of used tissues in a wastebasket, and tear streaks marred her brown cheeks. "Hey, you okay? I know Elena's cooking is amazing but..."

"Yeah." Sam sniffed and blew her nose, wiping her face after. A pang of something radiated in Elizabeth's chest, making her stand a little straighter and a little more ready. She had her back to the door jamb, allowing her to see "Do you know where my dad is?"

"He's outside. Deckard Shaw is here too. Seems you guys are going somewhere safer."

"Is Hattie with him?"

"Maybe. I don't know." She hadn't exactly been out there, nor did Elizabeth have any real interest in stepping foot outside the house to check. "Why don't you go find your dad and I'll get his big boy pants?"

"Dad's pants?" The kid snorted, only to start giggling. "He's running around in his underwear?"

"Uh-huh. "

Giggles turned to laughter. Sam grinned, body shaking as she put her fork down and wheezed, only to point and start giggling yet again as—in Elizabeth's peripheral vision—Luke approached the doorway. She stepped aside, letting him walk in only for Sam to burst into tears as he scooped her up off the bed and held her.

"Come on, baby," Luke murmured, hugging her tight. "It's time to go."

Elizabeth fetched Hobbs' pants from the bathroom, not allowing herself a single glance at whoever and whatever awaited them outside. The last thing she wanted was to see Owen's face, or Deckard's. If she did, there was every chance Elizabeth would be the one to fall apart next, but crying would be the least of the things she did.

"Here." She held up Luke's pants, letting him take them. Two sheets of plastic wrap later, Sam's pancakes were ready to be eaten in the car, along with the plate of maple syrup-coated bacon and pancakes that'd been sitting in the slowly cooling oven ready for Hobbs. "Breakfast too."

"Thanks." He let Sam down before getting dressed and taking the two plates from Elizabeth. "Here, baby. Take these, go sit in the car and finish yours. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay."

The moment Sam was outside, Hobbs immediately shifted his attention. Elizabeth could feel his eyes practically boring holes into her head, but she didn't look up or meet his gaze. It'd be too awkward now, because this was it, wasn't it? The end of their partnership. The death of it before it had even truly began. With Deckard and the others here, there was certainly no need for it to continue.

"...You want to tell me what that was about?"

"What?"

"I could hear Sam laughing. What was so funny?"

"Oh. I—" Elizabeth leaned against the wall and gestured vaguely. "I said I'd grab your pants. She asked if you were in your underwear. I told her yes." She shrugged, still not quite looking at him. It'd be easier to walk away if the look in his eyes didn't get burned into her brain. That happy, dumb, slightly wrinkled, lit up from the inside look Hobbs got whenever he talked about his daughter. "I guess she has a sense of humor."

"Yeah, she does. So you ready?"

"What?"

"Grab your shoes and let's go. Come on."

God, he wasn't going to make this easy, was he? Not that there was any real easy way to say she planned on walking away at the first opportunity.Thisopportunity. Partner or not, Elizabeth had done her job, hadn't she? She'd kept up her end of the bargain. Sam was safe. Now it was time for her to disappear. "Hobbs, I—"

"You want to leave, don't you?

No. Maybe. Yes...Yes, she wanted to leave, because what was the point in staying? "Deckard's here. You, Elena, and your kids are safe. It's time for me to go."

"But Cipher isn't dead, and you said last night you wouldn't be going anywhere until she was. So what's changed?"

"...You know what's changed."

"No, I don't, and I ain't interested in standing around playing guessing games with you so spit it out or forever hold your peace."

She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Deckard was here, and they were here too, whoevertheywere. It had to be more than just him on his own, or Deckard wouldn't be moving all four of them at once. "Getting in that car means going to wherever Owen is. It means someone's dying today, and that someone will probably be me."

"Beth."

Something in Hobbs' voice made her gut twist into knots. Shit. "...He's outside, isn't he?"

"Everyone is." Death by firing squad it was then. Elizabeth could try to avoid them all she wanted, but there was no way to walk out that door and not find herself face to face with eleven assholes who had no reason to think she was anything other than the enemy. "But for whatever reason, my partner's still in here, which means we can't leave yet."

"Luke."

"I'm not spending the day debating you so which is it? Are you someone who keeps her word or just a two-faced bitch waiting to put a knife in my back? Because either you're my partner or you aren't, and you've got about five seconds to—"

"Your partner," she said, "not theirs." Elizabeth pushed off the wall and walked toward the other side of the room, shoving her hands in her pockets. Hobbs knew exactly what to say to get under her skin, didn't he? All but dragging her by the leash she'd handed him, poking her and putting pressure on whatever remained of her sense of honor until she did exactly what he wanted. "I'm not on their team, I am not their friend, and I didn't make a deal with them either. If you try to play me, I walk. Leave me alone in a room with Toretto and I'll bury him before Jakob gets a chance."

"I'm still waiting to hear an answer, Elizabeth."

Oh, of course, how remiss of her. She pivoted on her feet, turning to face Luke before marching straight toward him. Elizabeth planted her hands on his chest, shoving Hobbs back into the door jamb. He grunted on impact, all while she got as close to being in his face as she could get. "Fuck you. That's my answer."

"A 'yes' would suffice."

"I like mine better." Shaw glanced down for two seconds before a smug, arrogant smirk formed on her face. Her fingers trailed down to his waist, left hand coming to rest just above the hem of his pants. "Apparently so do you."

God, he hated that smirk, and the wicked look in her eyes that accompanied it. The glint that said Elizabeth had played this game so many times she could seduce him in her sleep if she wanted to...and that she knew Luke wouldn't stop her if she tried.

"If you're done," Luke said, "Sam's—"

A single creak from the porch and he was shoving her out the door, getting his game face on as Luke walked. His partner, not theirs. A partner they didn't need to know about or all he'd hear for the next week was Deckard chewing him out. Yet the more he considered it, the more Luke couldn't find it in himself to give a fuck what any of them thought about the situation.

It wasn't Deckard's daughter who'd been kidnapped. It wasn't Toretto who'd been on that plane, his back up against the motherfucking wall, desperate for an ally who could help keep his head above water. Someone who'd stop Luke from giving in to the absolute worst side of himself. Elizabeth hadn't exactly done the job well, but now he had Sam in his arms and that was all that mattered.

"Come here." Luke hooked the back of Elizabeth's pants with his fingers and pulled her toward him, catching her before she could fall. He put his right arm around Shaw's waist, securing her body to his, then kept on walking. "I'm not interested in middle school antics where we pretend this isn't happening."

"And I'm not your girlfriend so at least try to avoid giving anyone the wrong impression."

"How about you just let me worry about that?" He moved his hand to her lower back and let it rest there. "I'm still holding your leash, remember?"

"How could I forget?" There was something in her voice that made Luke look down. Her facial features were schooled to an approximation of neutral, and the empty look in her eyes told him Elizabeth had switched into survival mode. All things considered, she might as well have been walking out to face the firing squad. "I'm your bitch, aren't I?"

Yeah, she was.

His.

Not Cipher's, Jakob's, or Owen's.

Time and time again since the start of all this, she'd chosen Luke, and Elizabeth was still standing here now, wasn't she? Every time the question of her loyalty was brought up, the answer was the same. Every time push came to shove, Elizabeth decided to stay and fight with him instead of running away, no matter how much pain she was in.

"Beth."

"What?"

"Thank you."

"...We made a deal, Fed," Elizabeth said, glancing up at him. "I'm just holding up my end of it."

Was that really how she saw it? Or was that just how Shaw framed it in her head so she wouldn't have to acknowledge that maybe she was wrong? That despite what everyone said, despite whatshesaid, Beth wasn't nearly as monstrous as she made herself out to be? "I think you've done more than that."

"Cipher isn't bankrupt or dead. I haven't done a damn thing."

Every word was a brick, meant to rebuild the wall that divided them. Luke could see it in the way she straightened herself out and squared up her shoulders for a fight. Elizabeth smoothed out her shirt too, taking a breath before she walked out ahead of him. He caught up to her in three steps, keeping Elizabeth well within arm's reach so if anything went wrong, he could grab that proverbial leash.

"...Hobbs, you want to tell me what the fuck she's doing here?" Deckard was the first to react, and certainly not the last. Letty, leaning up against one of the four sedans parked outside Elena's house, visibly balked. Owen and Hattie stared like they were seconds from flattening their own sister. "She's working with—"

"Me," Luke said, shooting Deckard a look that said there wouldn't be any further discussion after this. Like he'd told Elizabeth, he wasn't going to stand there and indulge the kind of bullshit Luke knew would inevitably be thrown their way. "The day you three landed, I gave Elizabeth a job. She's been doing it."

"A job."

He nodded and kept walking toward the car Sam was sitting in, gesturing for Elizabeth to walk around the other side. She did, and sat herself beside his daughter. "There's no use having an inside woman if everyone knows about her."