THE ROAD IS LONG
Next chapter. It's a helluva lot longer than 25 (thank god!) but I'm still unsure about what to do with the Tran's. I guess I'll see how it goes until I get up to needing to put their next chapter in. This one is just a bit of fun…and more Dom/Letty. Gee, d'ya think I'm obsessed? It's a month or so down the line from chap 24 so Mia is by now 3months up the duff. Okay, Happy Reading! Gem xxx Chapter 26: Busted. The bar was stifling hot. It was unbearable to say the least and so Letty had, taking Donni's example, given up her leather pants and miniskirts in favour of a more comfortable and cooling pair of loose fitting linen shorts and a cropped vest top. Sure, it left little to the imagination and had earned her more propositions and lewd remarks than a hooker would have gotten on Hollywood Boulevard. But there was no possible way, no physical way at all that she could have coped with working in such climates in her usual attire. Besides she knew that the comments were all made in good fun, not one was serious and she laughed along with the regulars, shooting back sharp comments of her own. Dom, for one, had not been amused but she'd worn less out in public before, back in L.A. Though admittedly no one had dared to even breath in her direction as Dom's reputation for letting his fists do the talking, preceded him. Down in San Felipe, however, most of the men gracing the bar were tourists from the many far corners of the globe, though there were a few regulars, and Dom's sterling rep wasn't world wide…yet. It was plausible that after a few more bawdy comments and offers and he would most likely be off on a wild and blind killing spree that would ensure that every single man alive would know his name. Letty shook her head, smirking to herself as she worked. It had taken a while, damn it had taken her a good four weeks, but eventually Letty had eased herself into the life of working the bar at Donni's. Vince was enjoying himself more than he had in years and she quite frequently found herself thinking that perhaps their 'Ol' Coyote' had found his true calling in the bar and the bar's owner. Sure, Dom, Tino and Leon were all still oblivious to the little relationship that had sprung up between the two but they were men and blind to most things unless they were to do with cars, women, food, alcohol or came up and bit them on the ass. It was likely that if Dom found out about Donni and Vince he'd take it upon himself to give V the "Break her heart, break your neck" speech that was seriously becoming old very fast. He'd already given that one to Jesse about Frankie after seeing their friendship growing at an alarming rate. A long time ago he'd given that warning to Brian but he'd never had the chance to follow through with that threat since the man was long since gone, hightailing it from L.A faster than they had. And Brian had broken Mia's heart…so badly that she had not seemed like her usual self in months. Perhaps that had something to do with the baby that was growing larger within her by the day. The child that was never likely to know his or her father, not if Dom had anything to do with it anyway. Plus, if Dom ever did find out, Tino, who was currently oblivious to his sister's latest choice of man, would not be left in the dark for very long. The pair were like long lost brothers, closer than cousins. Tino was the older brother that Dom had always been for Mia, but had never had for himself. It did him good to have someone to look up to for a change instead of everyone looking to him. Tino would no doubt blow a head gasket when he found out, so the quieter it was kept the better for them all really, considering the fight that he and Vince had participated in upon their first meeting and that had been tame! Letty had known about Donni and Vince almost immediately. She'd always know things like that. Been able to read people well. Mia had told her hundreds of time that she could have made one hell of a psychologist but Letty didn't have the time nor the patience for school and college. She'd left that up to Mia and now they were leaving it up to Frankie who wanted to go to university to study English literature and art. They had talked about Mia returning to school after the baby came but the fierce Italian young woman had shook her head, arguing that just because she'd messed up her own life didn't give her the right to mess up her child's by pissing off to college to better herself. She was a strong believer in the notion that a mother should be there for her child until they were ready to spread their wings and fly the nest and perhaps that had come from her mother's death at such an early age. Mia had been the matriarch in the Toretto household from the tender age of eight and so it was only understandable that she would want something more for her child. Letty wasn't wholeheartedly in accordance with her upon that subject though. She couldn't imagine putting her entire life on hold just for a baby, but she did admire Mia's commitment, her staunchness, holding true to her beliefs when faced with Dom and his "my way, no highway option" attitude. The soon-to-be-mother had won in the end when Letty had entered the fracas, too sick of hearing them yelling at each other, as they had taken to doing quite frequently over the past month, about the pro's and con's of Mia finishing her education. "Dom!" Letty had roared, silencing him instantly from where she stood before the mirror, fixing her hair hastily for work that evening. She had glared at him through that mirror, only needing to give him that one single glance that said 'Give it a rest or you'll regret it later!' and he'd relinquished his argument and stormed away to sulk, not even gracing them with his presence to see Letty, Vince and Donni off to work. He was such a baby at times and Letty smiled as she worked, collecting bottles and used pint glasses from the tables, returning them to the bar top eliciting a series of musical clinks as she disentangled her fingers from around their necks. Donni met her with a grin and tossed her a wink. "Thanks, Kiddo." the older woman sighed, the bar quiet for the first time that night, clasping them in her hands and moving them through to the back room where Vince was complaining about landing washing up duty for the forth time that week. Letty leaned onto the counter for a moment, taking a respite for the first time all evening, watching through the doorway as Donni tossed the used bottles into the bin and settled the next lot of glasses down for Vince to clean and he grumbled at her under his breath, earning him a firm slap on the ass. Letty snorted and shook her head. Yes, the pair had been inseparable ever since that first night that they had ventured down to 'Donni's' to learn the ropes. Something had gone on that night while they had stood huddled together over the counter, talking conspiratorially. A few days later and it had been obvious to her what exactly had gone on. It was good for them, she had decided finally, unsure in the beginning whether she was happy with the little development. Vince was a named and unashamed lady's man, making his way through more women in a week than 'Soft Joe' and all they needed was for him to pull one of his usual stunts while he was with Donni, checking out other chicks, sleeping around and they'd all be out on their ears, no doubt. But Donni seemed to be keeping Coyote in check. Oh, sure the older woman had admitted herself that she'd had her fun in the past and Letty wasn't debating the fact the Donni probably had as much of a reputation as Vince did, but they seemed to counter out each other's more outrageous tendencies. It seemed that they were having too much fun together to even consider anyone else in that equation. Letty chuckled to herself, candidly watching their antics within what they thought was the safety of the bar kitchen. Splashing water at each other like a pair of naughty children, they were completely oblivious to the fact that anyone else was within a thousand mile radius of them at that moment. That had been how it was with her and Dom at the very beginning of their relationship, although admittedly they had been kids, barely sixteen and twenty just turned, not twenty four and twenty seven like Donni and V. She smirked again, taking a bottle of beer from behind the bar and popping the cap, enjoying the taste as the malty liquid slithered down her parched throat. That was the one thing that she enjoyed the most about working the bar at 'Donni's', she had the choice of several top label beers rather than being forced to consume only Dom's favourite of a Corona. Actually, when Letty thought about it, she preferred drinking an ice cold Heineken to anything else. "Can I get a beer too, huh, Miss?" a voice asked from behind her, a hot breath on her neck, causing fear and shock to jolt like electricity through her entire body. "Jesus Christ!" she gasped turning to face him, a hand pressed firmly to her heart attempting to still it's panicked beating. "You scared the snot outta me, man!" He chuckled at her reaction, laying his security guard's jacket down onto the bar top beside her. "Sorry. Can I get that beer? Rough night, y'know." Letty narrowed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest and giving a slightly mischievous smile as he plopped himself onto a barstool wearily, still glancing at her. "I'm afraid we're closing in about…" she twisted her wrist to glance languidly at the watch that she had sniped from Leon when he had been couch-ridden with his injuries. "Three minutes and twenty three seconds." her smile quirked to one side as he rubbed a hand over his dirty, shaven head, hair growth from the day and night giving it a faint shadow. It was their game. While they didn't fool around like a couple of teenagers as Vince and Donni did, they had their amusing little role-plays. It was always the same. He'd come in to the bar from working the night shift as a security guard for the building site that Tino worked on, and they would pretend like he was a customer, that she'd never seen him before in her life. It was stupid, but it reminded her of how they had been before the shit had gone down. Dom's eyes were tired from a night of work, as were her own, but they sparked back to life when she grinned and followed through with their little ritual. "That means you're still open then, doesn't it?" he countered quickly. Letty laughed, winding her arms about his neck and planting a kiss upon the crown of his head, unable to keep the charade up for any longer that night. Sometimes the game lasted until Dom got his drink. Other times it last all the way home…and other times it lasted all night. It all depended upon their moods and tonight, Letty just wanted to be with him. "You want a Corona, I take it?" she queried, pulling herself up to sit on the bar and leaning over to grab a bottle for him. Dom only flashed her a grin, downing the drink handed to him in seconds, his throat moving and constricting as he swallowed each time. It was empty before Letty could blink and he placed it down onto the bar with a crack, turning to wrap his arms about Letty's waist and bury his face into her stomach. "Rough night, baby?" she queried, leaning her weight back onto one hand while the other smoothed over Dom's scalp in a comforting caress. "You have no idea." he mumbled, his voice muffled as he pressed his face fully into her stomach, the sound reverberating through the bare skin of her belly. "Some cock little shits thought it'd be fun to try and brick all of the new windows that have just been fitted in the show-houses. When I stopped 'em the little fuckers tried to stone me!" Letty sighed trying her hardest to conceal her concern for him, that would only lead to another argument between them about how she hated that he was a night security guard and all alone on the building site until his relief came and swapped shifts at 4:00am. She curled her arm, clasping his head, cradling it to her more tightly, attempting to sooth away his worries and stress. "You know what I feel about you working the night shift." she replied finally and firmly and Dom snorted into her midriff before placing a kiss there and pulling away to glance up at her. "We need the money." he stated, toying with the hem on the leg of her soft, linen shorts. "Besides, it's the same way I feel about you working the night shift in this damn bar." he retorted, suddenly self-righteous and Letty rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Hey!" Donni growled from the doorway to the backrooms and the kitchen, fists planted firmly upon her hips with an angry expression on her face. "That's my 'damn bar' you're badmouthing, Bucko!" she snarled fiercely. "You may have sprouted over the years but that doesn't mean that I can't still kick your ass like I did when we were kids!" Letty laughed out loud, letting her head fall back against her shoulders as the proud, triumphant woman returned through the doorway, leaving Dom scowling in her wake. "She really used to beat you up?" she asked incredulously and attempting to stifle her laughter, though not very successfully. Dom turned his glower onto her briefly before sniffing indignantly. "Every God damned summer when me and Tino wouldn't include her in our games." "You mean bastards!" Letty snorted with a wide, amused grin. Donni's laughter at Letty's comment floated out into the bar and coaxed a tired smile from Dom. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up Donnatella!" he roared back and she swore at him, harshly, in Italian, only serving to make his smile wider and more triumphant. "She's so easy to wind up." "I can hear you, y'know." she snapped, popping her head around the doorframe and frowning. After a pause she tossed her dish-towel back into the kitchen and considered her younger cousin and his girl simply sitting combined in an exhausted embrace. "You two wanna head off back to the house?" she asked and Letty turned to glimpse her over her shoulder. "You sure, chica? I know I should be helping' you out cleanin' up and shit, but I'm just so dog-tired tonight." Donni waved her concern away with a flick of her hand. "Nah, I don't mind. Vince and I can finish up a few things here. Ain't much to do really." she smiled in reply, leaning against the doorframe. "Go on." she continued watching the guilt induced hesitance flit across the younger girl's features. "Tonight we were shit busy, but you more so. You know the customers like you best, Kiddo." a sly light filtered into her amber gaze. "They like the way you shake your ass when you're collecting the glasses." "Who like's Letty's ass?" Dom demanded with a furious growl, his head shooting bolt upright like a periscope. "Who you been shakin' your ass for?" his fingers grasped tightly, possessively at her hips and Letty huffed, gritting her teeth together in frustration. "Relax, Dom. It was dancing. You know, moving a little in time to the music while I worked." his face retained it's enraged glare and Letty smirked, running her hands over his stubbly head again. "C'mon, Dom. Shit! I only shake my ass for you, baby." she winked at him suggestively and slowly his face regained some semblance of peace. "Yeah." he responded with a deep growl, sliding her forwards on the bar so that he could return his face to her torso, entwining his arms firmly about her waist. "Lets keep it that way." "Go on, you two." Donni interrupted causing them to realise that she was still standing there. "Take a load off…before you made me chuck up my dinner!" The younger girl's smile was an appreciative, tired one of relief. She slipped from the bar and onto Dom's lap with a thud and an "ooff" of pain from Dom. "Thanks Donni. I owe you one girl." she sighed wearily as Dom stood and tried to peel her off him and set her onto her own two feet. Finally, unsuccessful in his attempts to remove the 'Letty-Limpet' from his body, he hefted her up a little higher, making it easier for him to carry her. She secured her legs about his waist pleased that she had gotten her own way, resting her chin on his shoulder as he moved towards the bar's exit. "See you back home, Donni. Make sure Vince looks after you." Dom called back over his shoulder and Letty snorted, her grin turning devilish as Dom twisted his back to Donni so that Letty was face-to-face with her. "Yeah, Don. Make sure V looks after you real well." she teased with a cheeky insinuation and Donni felt the cold of dread seep down over her as if someone had just doused her with ice water. Letty knew. Letty knew and was grinning smugly about it as if she had known from the very beginning. As if she had suspected it all along and had known before either Donni or Vince had known themselves. "See you later, Donni-girl. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Letty sing-songed with a wink as the door swung closed, blocking the horrified face of Donni from view. -00000- What d'you reckon? Still needing to know what to do bout the Tran's. Next chapter is likely to be Mia and the rest of the team. Or maybe a Frankie/ Jesse chapter…I've kinda been neglecting the kiddies. Please review!
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