AUTHORS NOTES: Hello readers! I hope you all have been liking everything so far that I've been posting. Now this story is lets say... a lot more violent than my others WARNING: In this chapter there is talk about past child about of all sorts so if this is something you cant handle I'm sorry this story my not be for you. Now I'm not saying the whole story will be like that but it's a heavy part in this story. Also in this chapter there is bad language. Ok hope you enjoy reading!

Chapter#1

They hadn't seen him in months. Not since he had blown his cover and begged Dom not to do the last heist. The rage alone hearing Brain tell them he was a cop sent in to catch them had fueled so much hatred toward the blonde man, it sometimes turned Dom's stomach. They had listened though, they didn't take down that last truck, because Dom couldn't risk his family. Not if the cops were on to them. The team waited days for the police to show up to arrest them and when it didn't come not even four months later only then did the family start to relax. Dom was more then happy to see the stress finally leave his sister. To see Jesse stop jumping every time someone knocked on the door. They didn't understand why they hadn't been booked, and a part of them didn't want to know. It took Harry showing up one day to finally learn what happened, why no one hadn't been sent to prison

"Dom you in?" Harry asked

"He's under the charger" Vince calls out from under a hood of a car. Wrist deep in a busted motor that didn't want to work for shit

"What do you need Harry?" Dom asked.

He had a few miss giving's about the older man. He had known Brian was a cop, had let him into his shop to work and allowed the cop to lie to get into his family. The only thing that saved the man from meeting Dom's fists was the fact he had been blackmailed

"Heard somethings I thought you might want to know" Harry said.

Harry had taken to passing along any and all activity about the cops to Dom now. A way of saying sorry for the shit storm he had got them in

"What's it about this time?" Dom asked, the last bit of news had been worthless

"I told you how Tran hadn't been seen for a while yeah?" Harry said.

Dom rolled his eyes, though the man couldn't see that from where Dom was laid out under his car

"Some shit about the bastard being gone for months now" Dom said

"Yeah turns out he was in prison for the truck jackings" Harry said.

Dom was sliding out from under the car so fast the thing wobbled

"Truck jackings?" Dom said.

The music that had been playing in the shop moments ago cut off at Harry's words. Everyone moves a bit closer towards the older man

"Yep, turns out a bunch of evidence was found at his place. His finger prints and some of his crews in the cars too" Harry said. That wasn't fucking right. Everyone standing in the shop knew that wasn't right. They had those cars hidden, hadn't even thought about whipping down finger prints. They had been to worried about heading to the cars to clean shop. To nervous about the fact that the cops could have been watching them "stolen TV's and all kinds of other shit. Now the truckers weren't talking or pointing fingers at first but suddenly they were all singing when Tran was booked"

"You said he was in prison, meaning he's not anymore?" Vince asked with a growl

"Died two days ago, took a shank to the spine and throat" Harry said. There was no love loss between Dom and Johnny Tran, and to hear the man was dead and they didn't have to deal with his shit anymore was a relief "the truck jacking case is now closed according to the cop who came by my shop the other day"

A collective sigh filled the air. It was finally over, the constant need to look over one's shoulder. The fear of answering a door to see a cop waiting to book them. Dom didn't care how it happened, how evidence was placed and finger prints were found. All he cared about was that now his family was truly safe

"Thanks for the information" Dom said and went to slid back under his car but Harry's foot on his track kept him from moving

"You're not even going to ask how any of that shit happened man?" Harry asked Dom glared

"Why would I?" Dom asked,

He wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Harry sighed but he moved his foot

"Well, I'll be going then. The rest of the shit I heard is probably worthless to your crew anyways" Harry said. Someone shifted on their feet

"There's more?" Jesse asked. Harry shrugged

"It depends really, I know no one cares about the guy I'm about to mention" Harry said

Dom's eyes narrowed at that. He knew exactly who Harry was referring too

"We don't care about no fucking cop" Dom said Harry cut his eyes to Dom

"He ain't no cop anymore. Got fired the day after he blew his cover" Harry said.

Dom leaned back and moved to his place under the car. He didn't give a shit if the kid lost his job. He didn't care if the world pissed on Brian Matthew O'Connor, but the more he told himself that the more he realized it was a fucking lie

"Your point?" Letty asked sounding disgusted "so what if the fucking pig lost his job" Harry sighed

"Lost more then his job Letty" Harry said.

Even against his better judgment Dom was moving out from under the car again. The least he could do was here the man out

"What else?" Dom asked.

Letty looked towards Dom; he knew she never really cared for Brian. Something about his easy-going smile and his closeness to Dom had always pissed her off. Dom was sure there was more to it then that but he never pressed for more information. Letty was fickle about a lot of people

"Don't kid yourself Dom" Harry was saying "the force knew your crew was behind the jackings, but when all evidence was suddenly fingering Tran, they couldn't do shit. Now how do you think all signs suddenly were pointing towards a man you hate?" Dom's eyes narrowed

"Brian" Dom said, Harry nodded

"Brian, don't take a genius to know he planted evidence, moved the cars and most likely paid off the truck drivers" Harry said

"What's your point?" Letty barked out again

"My point is the cops knew that shit too" Harry said glaring at Letty. A few of the crew stiffened at that "no proof of that of course but it didn't stop them from seizing his house, taking his job and his car. Look a friend of mine saw Brian not that long ago, said the kid was looking rough, now if you don't care that's fine but I thought you should know"

Dom didn't know what to do in this situation. In all cases Brian Earl Spilner had been a lie, they didn't really know the blonde at all. But just because they didn't know the real him didn't mean they couldn't care about him in some way. Dom told Harry bye before he was once again sliding under his car. He was at a loss, the information, any of it wasn't something he had been expecting. The case had been closed, Brian had framed Tran for their bad judgments and in the end the only one who lost anything had been the blonde. With a sigh Dom climbed out from under his car and stood. With the knowledge he was just given he couldn't focus on working on the thing. Slowly looking around the room he took in his family. Jesse was still frozen in place even ten minutes after Harry had left. Letty unsurprising was back to working on a customer's car like the conversation hadn't just happened. Leon was making a poor attempt to work and Mia who had been doing homework on the couch in the corner of the shop, was staring off into space. The most shocking thing was Vince, the man was standing in front of the unfinished Supra frowning at the thing like it would tell him something important. Brian and Vince had thrown punches more then they actually talked, but to see the worry on his face was like a kick to the gut. It would seem some part of his best friend had actually cared for the cop. Even when the two had been wailing on one another

"Should we check on him?" Vince asked

Vince's question made Dom tense. He hadn't expected it, hadn't even thought Vince of all people would care what was happening to Brian. It was just as shocking as the worried frown on his face

"You can't be serious?!" Letty barks out

She tosses the wrench in her hand into the toolbox by her work station. Mia finally losses the dazed look in her eyes at the loud sound of metal meeting metal with too much force

"You know I don't say shit I don't mean Letty" Vince barks back

"He was a lying fucking pig! You even accused him of being one, and now because he lost his fucking job you want to act like you give a shit?" Letty said.

Vince shrugged, his face a mask of (I don't give a fuck what you think)

"He gave up a lot for us Letty, it's not like he would even have to see us if we did check in on him" Vince said.

Dom suddenly understood what Vince meant. They could check on Brian without the man being the wiser. It wouldn't be too difficult; Harry probably knew where he was and if he didn't, they would just have to find out for themselves

"Who gives a fuck. Kids probably lived a pampered fucking life his entire existent, now he can have a taste of the real world" Letty said.

Mia was glaring at Letty's back at this point, and Jesse quiet, shy Jesse who didn't start trouble or pull to much attention to himself suddenly looked murderous

"That's bullshit!" Jesse spats angrily.

Letty's head whips impossibly fast towards the youngest. Dom is looking on shocked at the heat behind the kid's voice

"Excuse me?" Letty said.

Leon shifts closer towards Jesse at the sound of anger in Letty's voice. The most shocking thing? Jesse doesn't back down, a kid who use to jump at raised voices was now looking Letty dead in the eye and he wasn't even tense

"I'm positive Brain hasn't had an easy life" Jesse said, Letty huffs at that "don't do that!" Jesse shouts "don't take what I fucking say and act like it's meaningless. Have any of you seen Brian shirtless?"

Dom thought back to all the hot days they had spent together in the shop. The heat this place built up had all the men and Letty walking around shirtless or in Letty's case in a short tank top. Dom remembers one day commenting on the fact it was over one hundred and twenty in the shop and Brian had his shirt on. He remembers the sweat that had soaked through the dark material. How flushed Brian's cheeks had been. How the sweat had weighted down his blonde curls, but he never removed his shirt

"So what?" Letty growls out

"I've seen Brian shirtless" Jesse said. Jesse's once shouting voice was suddenly quite "I came into the garage on night to get something, Brian had been working on the Supra and he wasn't wearing his shirt. I didn't think anything of it at first, it was hot but he had headphones in and didn't hear me so when I got close, I saw them"

"What did you see?" Mia asked, voice soft and soothing a tone she took on when Jesse was feeling stressed

"Scars, dozens upon dozens of scars. On his back and his chest, like someone had beat him over and over again with a whip or a belt" Jesse said.

Jesse's hand falls to his own back then. The kid didn't have many scars four at the most, but the ones he did carry were large enough and had been deep enough everyone who saw them knew he had been abused. Letty had actually fallen silent at that, but she still didn't look like she wanted anyone to care or worry about Brain

"There's lots of ways to get scars Jesse" Letty said folding her arms across her chest

"Not those and not that many" Jesse said, he suddenly looks at Dom "could you check on him? I know everyone is mad at him, but I like Brain. He listened to me and actually understood the shit coming out of my mouth" Jesse looked guilty then "I'm not even mad at him Dom. We were breaking the law; it was his job to take us in and he didn't do that"

Dom sighed, that was the only thing that ever really threw him about Brain. The man had been a cop, a cop sent in to find the people behind the truck jackings and take them in. Instead, the kid had chased Dom down after race wars and blew his cover. Dom had said some nasty shit to the guy, had called him every name he could possibly think of. It hadn't slowed Brian down any. He had fought and begged them not to pull the heist, had warned them about the truckers arming themselves. Mia had slapped him and even went so far to spit in his face. Brian took it all, like he expected it. Like he had only been waiting for them to attack him. Dom didn't understand why?

"Let his family take care of his ass" Letty growls out before she turns back towards her car.

Jesse stomps off in a huff and slams the office door behind him. Dom did the only thing he could do then, he moved back towards his car and got to work. Trying not to dwell on the fact that Brian had scars, or how he had given up so much for the team. He told himself Brain Matthew O'Connor was a liar who betrayed him and his trust

(Time Skip/Page Brake)*

A week after Harry showed up no one had mentioned Brian again, but the tension was high. Jesse was snappish with everyone, Letty most of all. Vince was glaring more then normal; Leon was his same quite self but Dom had caught him frowning towards the Supra a few times. Mia often got a sad look in her eyes, something Dom could only call regret. The family had been sitting down for dinner one night when Jesse slammed a stack of papers on the table. The first words that popped out in big black bold letters was the name Brian Matthew O'Connor.

"I now know plenty about Brian" Jesse said pointing towards the papers. The file was so thick Dom knew it took the kid days to dig all that up "eight-year-old Brain Matthew O'Connor calls the police about his mom not waking up. When police arrive, they find Mrs. Brenda O'Connor in the bathtub dead from an overdose. Needle still in her arm" Dom glowered at the thought of a young Brian finding his mother dead, even worse was the way behind it "the only thing I could find on his dad Bradly O'Connor was he died four years before his wife from alcohol poisoning. After his mom dies Brian is shipped off to several foster homes. From the shit I dug up he was never in a home for more then a month at a time until he was eleven. He was placed in the care of Michel Sanders and his wife Tara Sanders" Jesse stops for a moment and glances away as if trying to collect himself "they had him for two years, when social services did their check-ins, everything seemed fine. Then Brian got a new case worker who apparently took their job seriously because on the first visit they noticed, how they wrote it, Brian coward and flinched from touch"

"No" Mia whispers sadly

"According to the report I read the visits became more regular, but one day the social worker did a surprise visit, they walked in on both Michel and Tara Sanders beating Brian with belts till he was bloody" Jesse said. Vince gives a snarl; one Dom was all to aware he was doing himself "once they were arrested and Brian's injuries were taken care of, they questioned Brian" Jesse's voice hitched and he gagged making Letty jerk back and Leon lean forward worriedly

"Jess?" Dom asked trying to catch the kids' attention

"They were selling him to the highest paying customer Dom" Jesse whispers "they had been doing it for years with the kids they fostered and no one was the wiser, but Brian was the only one to talk. They would sell him to people who wanted to use him" Dom raised his hand to get Jesse to stop talking. This was too much to take in, not just the fact Brian had been abused, but to learn he was also sold off from person to person like some fucking toy? How the hell did that kid go through life with such a huge smile on his face after living through something like that? "he was reported missing after that, he took off from the hospital when no one was looking" Jesse took a deep breath to calm himself as he wiped away some of his tears that had gathered in his eyes "he didn't show up again in any system, I looked through until he was sixteen and was taken to jail for boosting and selling stolen cars. He was their till he was eighteen and entered the police academy after and we know what happened from there" Jesse sighs before glancing towards Letty who for once looked as worried as everyone was feeling "to your statement about letting his family take care of him, Brian doesn't have one" the kids green eyes look towards Dom "so please could someone check on him? He lost everything he worked for, for us. The least we can do is check in on him"

(Time Skip/Page Brake)*

It was one month after Jesse laid Brian's life out for everyone to see before anyone could find Brian. The only reason they had even found him was because of Hector, the man had wondered up one night after a race looking raddled and worried. And that shook Dom a bit, normally Hector was all smiles, especially on nights he made money on the races

"Yo Dom!" Hector yelled out as the crew were headed back towards their cars. Vince was the first one to pause at the mans shout with a raised brow

"What's up man?" Dom asked addressing the guy

"Snowman ran with your crew for a while yeah?" Hector asked as he reaches the bunch.

As far as anyone was aware Brian had only been Brian a racer that was running with Dom's family for a time before he vanished. Dom had wanted it to stay that way too, they didn't need anyone to know they had let a cop into the folds of the racing scene

"Yeah" Dom said suddenly nervous, they had been looking for Brian everywhere with no luck. Dom had been thinking the man left town before they could check on him

"Man, look one of my cousin's saw your boy a week ago" Hector said.

Jesse visibly brightened at this; the kid had been a wreck the longer it took to find Brian

"Where was he?" Jesse asked

He was shifting from foot to foot like an excited puppy, but Hector gave the kid a sad frown which made the Jesse freeze up. Leon moves towards Jesse and places a calming hand on his shoulder

"That's just it, you know the slums, right?" Hector asked, Dom nodes slowly. Everyone knew about the slums, fuck not even the police liked to travel to that part of town it was such a shit hole. The crime rate there was so high it was avoided like the plague "see my boy had to go through that part of town the other night and as he was waiting for a light to change, he saw Brian" Hector pulls out his phone, scrolls through a few pictures before handing the thing over to Dom. The bigger man only just keeps the gasp from leaving his lips. Brian looked like hell, to pale, to skinny, dark circles under his eyes that Dom could make out from the distance the photo was taken. The guy wasn't walking with the same proud straight back he once did. His head wasn't held high, and that trade mark Hollywood smile was gone "now we don't make it a thing to stalk someone yeah? But my boy called me up because hell Snowman was a cool guy. So, we find him again the next night and follow him around a bit, man Dom the kids living in some whore house. The places looks like it should be condemned its so nasty" Dom slides to another picture of Brian entering some ran down apartment, and like Hector said the place looked like it need to be knocked down and burned. The people alone standing out in front of the building look like the type to stab your ass as you walked by for shits and giggles. Dom hands the phone back to Hector after memorizing the number on Brian's apartment "I don't know the story about why the guy hasn't been around but I heard you have been asking around for him"

"He got into some trouble is all" Dom said not going to elaborate

In all sense Brian had gotten into some trouble. Trouble he could have avoided by turning them in, but he hadn't. He also hadn't shown back up either, because Dom had ordered him to stay away. Had threatened his life if he ever saw his face around his parts again. Brian's blue eyes had clouded with Dom's words but he had nodded all the same and with a mask of blankness on his face and had walked away. Just to turn around the next day to have his whole world turned upside down

"Well I hope that helps man, because shit. I've known some people who had walked into that part of town, and not come back out unless it was in a body bag" Hector said

"W-What?" Jesse asked voice breathless "what do you mean? What does he mean Dom?"

Dom ruffles the kid's hair to calm him just as Leon squeezes his shoulder to do the same

"It's fine Jess" Dom said soothingly "we'll go check on Brian, okay?"

Jesus, Dom suddenly wished the kid had left town. At least he wouldn't had ended up there

"You'll bring him home you mean" Jess said "you'll bring him home because he's our family Dom, we don't turn our backs on family" family.

A word Dom had always lived by. You look after your family; you keep them close and you help them when help is needed. A few months back Dom hadn't thought Brian deserved that title. He had been a lying pig where Dom was concerned. Brian Earl Spilner had been a lie, but Brian Matthew O'Connor had given up more then anyone in this family ever had to, to protect the ones they loved. And now that Dom had all the dirty facts, he knew. He just fucking knew Brian loved them; he had done everything in his power to protect them. And Dom turned his back on him, hadn't heard him out after he outed himself as a cop. He only took the information that was good to him and his family and kicked Brian to the curve

"Look we followed him a round off and on, but like clock work Brian returns home around 4am. It was a long couple of nights we spent trying to figure out what was going on. Most night when he comes home, he's beat to hell. Blood and God, knows what else on him and I'm going to say the blood is his most of the time cause the other night he stumbled into his place holding a rag to his neck. Thing was stained red man" Hector said.

Mia's eyes are impossibly round at Hector's words. Those dark orbs were shifting around the group almost helplessly. Dom knew Mia felt guilty for slapping Brian, even spitting on him. They had a long talk about it one night when he found his sister alone in the living room looking at the group picture, they had all took together. It wasn't only because she had attacked him, Mia had been upset the man had never moved towards any of her advances. Which she had finally came forward and told Dom about. Which meant the 'hurt my sister and I'll break your neck' talk he had given Brian had been pointless. Mia had wanted him as an out, but Brian hadn't wanted her. They still had been close friends though and Dom knew it had hurt his sister to find out Brian Earl Spilner had been a lie

"Is he getting jumped?" Letty asked.

Dom can't really place her tone of voice but it had lost the sting of hate from months back when they had learned of his childhood. Dom assumed she too felt guilty, but more for her idea of Brian then anything she had done

"Nah, at first I thought that was the case, so I had another cousin follow him one night" Hector started. Dom rolled his eyes at this, because Hector had a lot of cousins "he's fucking fighting man, straight up getting the shit kicked out of him most nights. My boy thought it was because he needed to let off some steam, kinda like the races, but nope he's doing that shit so he can get paid a little cash and not get booted out of his place"

"What the fuck?" Vince said absolutely shocked

"Look all I'm saying is, kid looks fucking dead on his feet. He was a bit on the skinny side when he was here but now? Kid probably weights a buck ten at most. I would have pulled him out of that place myself but we're not that close, I didn't think he would have reacted well to that" Hector said.

Jesse is practically apart of Leon he's leaning back against the guy so heavily now

"I weigh one hundred and thirty pounds, are you saying he weighs less then that?" Jesse asked wide eyes full of worry.

Dom's eyes scans Jesse's small frame. Jesse was only two inches shorter than Brian and they had been close in size when Brian had been around. The guy only had maybe twenty pounds on Jesse and to even imagine Brian weighting less then one thirty was nauseating

"Look it's not like I physically weighed the guy but he's smaller than you man by a lot" Hector said

"Shit" Jesse said closing his eyes as some built up tears falling down his cheeks "can someone please go get Brian now?"