An Eye For An Eye (Fast & Furious | Hobbs/OFC)

Chapter 6

"Hey, little man, you're up early," Letty said, lifting Marcus from his bed. She'd heard him through the wall, talking to himself and playing with his toy Charger. After half an hour, she figured he wasn't going back to bed anytime soon and left Dom to his dreams. "You wanna get something to eat?"

"Yeah." Marcus yawned and nodded as he was carried downstairs to the kitchen. "Papa?"

Dom had stayed awake till half past two working on his car after Elena texted to say she'd be there by ten. Hobbs was on his way back to Los Angeles, the message said, with company. Who 'company' was, she didn't elaborate on, only that they'd talk when she got to the house. At this point, Letty wasn't sure she even wanted to know the details of Hobbs' trip to Cuba. Cipher, Hobbs, Nobody, and Company: it all added up to one hell of a potential nightmare for their family.

"Papa's sleeping so we gotta be quiet. Let's see, is it Cheerios or Cap'n Crunch today?" Letty said, cradling Marcus against her. It didn't matter that he wasn't her blood, she still loved him nonetheless. The kid hadn't asked to be caught up in all this kidnap and blackmail insanity, nor any kind of custody court drama; and thank God it never came to that. She'd seen it in the papers, all those rich white families who were too stupid and lazy to fight for their relationships, dragging their kids through hell and forcing them to choose who they loved more, only to discover afterwards their kids resented them because of it. She kissed Marcus on the forehead and murmured, "Bet you're glad Papa and your Mamas are smart, huh?"

If Dom had his way, none of them would ever see the inside of a court room again, for any reason. Unless worst came to worst, Hobbs and Nobody were always a phone call away, and the Dominican Republic wasn't far either.

After pouring him a bowl of cereal and sitting him in his highchair, Letty put his favourite morning cartoons on and got herself a bowl too. With what lay ahead of them today, she'd need all her energy just to be able to stand there and listen as Hobbs once again put the weight on their shoulders. Dragging them into his and Nobody's dramas again? No, she was sick of this, sick of all of it. Why couldn't Dom have just called and said no, said he wasn't putting his wife and child in harm's way; told them he wouldn't be risking his life again for someone who claimed to have his best interests at heart yet repeatedly put him on death's doorstep every time Dom helped him without fail.

She sank into the couch and sighed, bowl in one hand and spoon in her mouth. Hair unbrushed and day old clothes stained with grease, she glanced at Marcus and smiled to herself. The days when he wasn't here, everything was quiet and peaceful, they fixed cars and worked in the reopened cafe serving not-so-crappy tuna sandwiches. One day, Dom came home and said the neighbours loved Marcus. He couldn't get to Harry's without someone going ga-ga over the kid and pointing out just how much Marcus looked like his father.

The days when he was physically present in their lives, however, were a mad balancing act between excitement and work.

"Momma."

"Wh—" Letty rolled her eyes at the sight of Marcus with a trail of milk down his top. Luckily neither of them had gotten cleaned up yet. It was easier to hold off on showers and baths till after breakfast, given he was yet to learn how to wield a spoon properly. He'd get the hang of it this year, Elena said, and maybe Dom would learn how to say 'no' to Hobbs too. "We'll deal with that later."

And she did. By the time Dom woke, looking a little worse for wear, Letty had cleaned herself and Marcus up and taken him across the street to Mia and Brian's house. She left a note on the table saying as much, along with a promise that everything would be okay. God help her, Letty would be the one in charge of the team this time, not Dom. He, Elena, and Marcus were the ones in need of protection from Cipher and her ilk.