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

Chapter 36

Hobbs would never admit it aloud for as long as he lived, but she was right...

He didn't have the luxury of engaging in sanctimonious bullshit anymore.

It was a truth he'd accepted the night they blew up the warehouse, yet it hadn't sunk in until her words from pizza night came back to haunt him.

You're in Oz, Dorothy. Adapt or lose your kid.

When phrased like that, it became all too simple. As much as the law was part of him, it would have to be thrown out the window if he was going to have any hope of rescuing Sam—the beautiful girl whose photo he stared at on his phone.

Luke had taken it yesterday when his daughter gave him her best smile. It wasn't nearly as bright and joyful as usual, but considering the circumstances, he couldn't blame her. No, the fault for that would be laid at Cipher's feet where it belonged, and Jakob's, if he ever found out that asshole had been involved.

He stood, pushing his chair back as the coffee machine beeped. It was a little after four o'clock in the morning and he needed all the caffeine he could get to keep him awake for the next several hours. Anything to give him the strength to deal with the pain in his ass who would soon come stumbling into the galley, looking like she'd just crawled out of her grave.

And right on time, Elizabeth walked in through the front door. Hair messy, tank top caught in her sports bra, shorts thankfully not riding low, and eyes half-closed like she was about to pass out any second.

"There any hot water left?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Thank God." Squeezing past him, Shaw pulled out two ham and cheese croissants from the fridge, took a bite from each, and exited stage left like a squirrel hoarding food. No hello, no good morning, just straight to business. The kind of no b.s attitude he would've appreciated from anyone but her two weeks ago. Now, Luke wasn't sure whether his own inner hypocrite had somehow been tamed or if it was simply the fact they were against the clock that made Elizabeth's lack of courtesy seem a little more appealing than before. "I'll be ready in five."

In reality, five was closer to seven, but Luke wouldn't begrudge someone with two cracked ribs extra time while getting dressed.

He had a cup of tea ready and waiting by the time she finished in the shower, much to her surprise. Suspicion was visible on her face, and skepticism joined it when she looked at him as if trying to decide whether or not he'd poisoned her rooibos.

"Just drink your tea, woman," Luke said, finishing his coffee. "I ain't in the mood to explain the concept of time management."

"If this is related to what I said last—"

"It's not." But one day they were going to talk about just what she'd said to him, and the way she'd said it. The matter of fact tone, the look in her eyes before she straddled him. The pushing him around and shoving him up against the wall like he didn't have several inches and almost one hundred pounds on her. "And I'm not...interested."

"Believe me, Hobbs, if I actually wanted to sleep with you, I wouldn't approach you like that."

Part of him wanted to ask exactly how she would approach him. Call it curiosity or stupidity but his interest was piqued. The rest knew better. Some cans of worms were too dangerous to be opened. As long as Elizabeth kept her hands to herself and didn't start trying to provoke him, Luke would turn that blind eye again like he'd agreed to.

"Okay. Let's get to work."

The first two hours passed by like they had yesterday and the day before. Her stance was improving little by little. The tremors that affected Elizabeth's hands were a less noticable, although as soon as her finger touched the trigger guard, it all fell apart.