Sylum Advent 2022: December 2nd

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Title: Shifting Tides – The Waiting Game
Author: Gil Grissom
Pairings: Dom/Brian, other background pairings
Rating: R
Summary: Things are winding up toward the start of Race Wars and the team is in a holding pattern when it comes to Tran and the FBI.

~*~

“Ow! Shit!”

Brian looked up from where he was working to see Dom shaking out his hand. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just pinched my finger. Being a Vampire doesn’t stop that shit from hurting even if we heal quickly.”

“Good to know,” Brian said, filing it away with all the other information he was learning about this whole new world he was thrust into and determined to fully embrace.

He loved the family he was born into and the family that he made in the neighborhood he’d grown up in, but no matter how meticulously they’d put themselves back together over the years, the cracks were always going to be visible. They’d always be a little bit broken, and there would always be gaping holes left behind, where two children destined to never grow old used to be.

But being Dom’s Mate offered Brian a chance to build a new family. He’d never, ever leave the one he had behind; he loved them too much for that. But this gave him a chance to have another part of his family, an additional part where looking at them didn’t have that underlying stab of pain every time they were together. Or the guilt, misplaced as it might be.

“How’s it going over there?” Dom asked him as he walked over, still examining his finger.

“Good. All done, actually,” he said, motioning to the part of the engine he’d been working on.

“Then we’ll be able to get it put into the car tomorrow. The equipment Suki ordered for the painting came in, and the paint room at the garage is now up to her exacting specifications under pain of Vince’s death.”

Brian snorted. “I think he likes being threatened with death by women much smaller than he is. Why else would he pick a fight with women who could wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat? I think he needs a qualified therapist to sit down with him and assess whether or not this weird kink of his is detrimental to his physical and mental health.”

Brian grinned when Dom burst out laughing. “It’ll be good to get this done.”

“It’s been a hell of a lot of work, but we should be able to get most of the assembly done tomorrow if we all work on it, finish it up the next day and get it painted.” Dom pointed at him. “Go ahead and get cleaned up. Han’s taking you out for some more driving pointers, while I do the cleanup here. I’ll also start sorting everything so we can get to work as soon as we’re up.”

Heading over to the sink to wash away the grease so he didn’t track it into the house, Brian glanced over at Dom. “Can I ask a question?”

“You can ask me anything you want.”

Brian motioned around them, rolling his eyes at himself when he splashed water as he did so. He ignored Dom’s smirk and said, “Putting together cars isn’t cheap. How do you guys afford all this? I know you race sometimes, but I also know you spend a lot of time away from the Los Angeles area, and I know that store and your garage aren’t making that kind of money. I’m not accusing you of anything shady, but I am curious.”

“Investments, actually, and I have more than a few businesses of my own. There’s a kid…” Dom snorted. “I say kid because he was seventeen when he was Turned, but he’s actually older than I am and yet he looks like a twink. He’s the scientist for Sanctuary Clan, down in Brazil.

“There are very few people on this planet that you’ll find who are smarter or even on his level. Funny thing is you’ll find a lot of them in the Clans, and most of them shouldn’t exist anymore. But he’s insanely smart and very good at playing the stock market. He’s also a good bet when it comes to any business he creates. If he likes you, he will go to and over the wall for anything you need.”

“And if he doesn’t like you?”

“He’ll watch you drown.” Dom laughed a little. “Or he might half-assed throw you a life preserver after watching you flounder for a good long while. I’m not always sure about his sanity. I mean, he’s very attached to Riddick, and he’s attached himself to quite a few people in Border, which is another check in the not-quite-sane box. But sane, insane, or somewhere in between, he’s one of those people who, if they grow attached, you’ve got a friend for life unless you cross them.”

“Sounds like a good guy who just doesn’t take any shit from people,” Brian said. “So he helped you with investments.”

“Me and several others in the Clan. We’ve also invested in his businesses and his non-profits. Lucas is the one who has been working with Nathan Bridger to figure out what’s going on, and he’s been upping the security for Han’s family’s business. Which he’s doing for Han, because he’d let Han’s idiot cousin crash and burn otherwise.”

“I wouldn’t blame him, honestly,” Brian said with a shrug. “Sounds like the guy was the worst choice to run the family business.”

“I wouldn’t have either. Anyway, between what Lucas has helped me out with and just living my life, I’m worth a couple hundred million in liquid assets, and I’ve got more sunk into various things.”

Brian blinked, because he hadn’t realized just how much Dom was worth, especially since his home and businesses that were noted in his files were rather modest and didn’t earn a great deal. Then he frowned and tilted his head. “How old are you, anyway? I know you’ve been around a while, but I don’t think you’ve told me that yet.”

Dom snorted. “No, I doubt you would have forgotten. I was born in 1892 and was Turned by Josiah Scurlock, our Clan Leader, in 1925.”

Brian cleared his throat as he let that sink in. Then he quirked a brow at Dom. “So, if I was into that kind of thing—which I’m not—that would make you my what…sugar great-granddaddy?” He started laughing when Dom just glared at him, though he was clearly horrified at the thought.

Dom pointed to the house. “Go and hang out with Han, you crazy person. You’re going to fit right into this Clan, I swear to God.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “And don’t ever call me that again. That is not my kink either.”

Brian continued laughing as he headed toward the door. “I want to hear your story when I get back later!”

~*~

Dom rolled his eyes when Han and Brian walked in and then grinned when they caught sight of him. “Shut up.”

Daniel looked up from the book he was reading. “I miss something?”

“Always,” Dom said as he stood up and stretched. “How’d it go?”

“Good,” Han said. “We’ve smoothed out the rough edges he had, so now it’s really all down to getting the experience in handling the cars properly that he needs. If we take him out daily and run him through what it’s like for Race Wars, then he shouldn’t have any problems.”

Dom nodded. “A few of us will go out so he can race against us, get a feel for driving with multiple cars.” He looked at Brian. “Once the Supra is done, you can get a feel for her and how she handles.”

“Sounds good to me,” Brian said around a yawn and headed upstairs.

Dom followed, flipping Han off when he laughed at him again, and found Brian in his room, getting ready for bed. “Tired?”

“Exhausted, but it’s more physical in the body rather than actually needing to sleep. I just wanted to make sure I was changed because I might not have the energy later.”

Dom dropped down on the bed and wasn’t surprised when Brian climbed on and half-draped himself over Dom. “Yes?” he asked, amused as Brian stared at him expectedly.

“Tell me about yourself. We haven’t actually talked much about your actual growing up and the life you’ve led. Been kinda too busy for that kind of thing, and I’m curious.”

“My parents were named Robert and Julia. They weren’t ever technically married, because… well, back then, interracial marriage was illegal. My mother was Mexican, but they classified her as white back then because of the historical Spanish heritage of the Mexican people.”

“Ignoring the reality of the whole thing?”

“Yeah, they didn’t want to hear about the indigenous people or slaves that contributed to many Mexican’s gene pools, and my mom was fairly light-complected. Didn’t stop them from treating her like shit or being racist assholes, not to mention the fact that she was a woman on top of it that brought its own problems, but it was enough to fuck over her rights in whole other ways and to claim her as one of their own in the statistics.”

“People suck.”

“Yeah, a lot of them do,” Dom agreed. “Dad couldn’t pass as white, even though his own complexion was fairly light. So they couldn’t get married. By the time they overthrew the anti-miscegenation laws, they were both gone.

“Didn’t stop them from loving each other or building a family. They were just circumspect about it, and honestly, the neighborhood they lived in… This one, in fact, though it’s changed a lot since then, protected them well. Mom even took Dad’s last name. Back then, it was far easier to fake shit and there were no computer systems or any real checks that would genuinely catch things. Most people honestly did not care around here as long as it didn’t hurt their own livelihoods.”

“Makes sense,” Brian murmured. “Was it tough growing up?”

“Wasn’t always the most pleasant, and we didn’t have a lot of money, but we made the best of what we had and what was available. Dad made sure Mia and I got the best education we could, and that we were happy and well-cared for. Any complaints I could have had about my childhood could be laid at the foot of the government and the racism and sexism at the time. But it was what it was.

“I started working as soon as I could, first after school and then full-time once I was finished. College wasn’t in our futures at the time, which is why I’m happy that Mia is taking advantage of her opportunities now, because we didn’t really have them then.”

“Yeah, I can understand that, which is why we definitely need to keep Vince out of the way. I’d hate for her to have to go to prison for killing him.”

Dom laughed. “He’s learning, but it’s a slow process.”

Brian hummed and shifted. “So, when did you get Turned? What happened?”

“Prohibition. It was the catalyst, anyway. I was doing runs back and forth from Mexico, and in 1925, I caught one of the strains of flu and fell ill when I was in Mexico. Josiah and Jose were some of my contacts down there, and I was with them when I got really sick. Back then there wasn’t a lot that could be done other than to wait it out, and I had a horrific reaction. Not sure which strain it was, but I was going to die. Josiah didn’t let me, and gave me the chance to return home to my family. I took it, and I returned to Mia. My parents were both gone by then, taken by the flu as well.

“After Tran turned Mia, though we didn’t know it was him at the time, we all went down to Mexico so I could get her settled in with the Clan for protection, and I went back to LA. I ended up buying this property and opening a couple of businesses with the money I earned after Prohibition ended, and then eventually the Lues came into my life.”

Brian shifted again and rested his chin on Dom’s chest, looking at him. “So the car story?”

‘Totally true but tweaked to account for the time period. It was one of the earliest models of car that came out. Not very fast though it seemed like it was at the time, more of a novelty, and my dad’s friend stole it for the joyride aspect of it, ditched it before getting caught.”

Brian laughed at that. “Sounds like a fun time.”

“We enjoyed it for what it was,” Dom agreed. He reached up and ran his fingers through Brian’s hair. “You should try to get some sleep. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

Brian hummed and shifted around, and soon enough with Dom stroking his hair, he fell asleep. He was clearly more tired than he’d realized. And once he was asleep, Dom was essentially trapped, but he honestly didn’t care. He was just content to hold Brian for as long as Brian wanted.

~*~

A few days later and the car was completely finished, but for the paint job. But it was finally in Suki’s capable hands, and they were in somewhat of a holding pattern.

Another truck had gone through, prompting Brian to wonder just how much merchandise had actually been stolen from the Lues. They’d let the truck go, which had the FBI and Tran completely confused, no doubt, but they were sticking to the plan to only go after one during Race Wars, which was only a week away at this point.

Brian jumped a little when he felt a poke in his side. He turned to find Han staring at him. “What?”

“You look like you’re having deep thoughts. What’s up?”

“I was wondering just how much merch he’d stolen from your family, and whether or not he might have stolen from others. He’s been hauling a lot through.”

Han shrugged. “I genuinely have no idea. I know that Bridger and Lucas were going to look into that as well, and see if Alma and Faith can’t scare the truth of just how much he fucked up out of Dal and just how long this has been going on. I get the feeling it’s been for far longer than he wants to admit, and he probably would have continued to cover it up if my other cousin hadn’t stumbled upon it when he’d unexpectedly showed up to deal with the books.

“But it’s a distinct possibility that it’s not only us who have had things stolen. Who knows how long Tran’s been hoarding what he and his people have stolen before deciding to move it into the US? It may have just been bad luck for him that we discovered what was going on at the same time he decided to unload it.”

“When do you think we’ll hear from those working their angles down in Mexico?”

“Hopefully sooner rather than later. I think Dom was going to call in the morning if he doesn’t hear anything today.”

Brian nodded and then slumped down and rested his head against Han’s shoulder. “What’s the Clan home like down there?”

“It’s outside Salina Cruz, the whole complex sitting on a hilly area that was flattened out for that purpose. There’s the large main house and then a whole slew of smaller houses that spread out behind it. Off to one side are the barns, corrals, and pastures for the animals, and back further and spreading out to the left are the fields. Beyond that is the landing strip for the Clan’s plane.

“There’s a stairway that leads from the main house, from the deck attached to the kitchen and living room side of the house, that goes down to the beach. The beach is beautiful and private, and spreads out for miles in either direction due to the Clan purchasing a great deal of land back in the late 1910s and early 1920s.

“The main house is only two stories but it sprawls, and a good portion of the Council lives in it. The rest live in the various two-story homes on the property. Under the main house is a complex of rooms for the Council’s use…for the Clan really. Mostly meeting rooms and laboratories. The infirmary is down there as well. It’s honestly very peaceful there, and we’re far enough away from the town that when it’s dark, you can pretty much see everything in the night sky.”

“Sounds beautiful. Can’t wait to see it.”

“I think you’ll like it. Plus, there’s a lot to do in the town, Clan-wise. We’re all very involved with Salina Cruz and do everything we can to protect it and keep it a good place to live. A number of Clan members have businesses there, or they work for the police or the hospital. Our Chosen often celebrate on our property and hold their parties there, so there are frequently dances and weddings and stuff. It’s honestly a lot of fun.”

“For the record, I don’t dance. I don’t even know if I can, since I just…never learned,” Brian told him. “Was never really a priority for me growing up, and by the time I was in high school I was super busy trying to keep my grades up for college and work part-time so I could help pay for it.”

Han laughed. “Say just that down there with a whole crowd around, and you’ll not only get cooed all over for your good sense and ambition as a teen, but it’ll be like chumming the water for a bunch of sharks. You’ll not want for someone to teach you everything you need to know.”

Shaking his head, Brian jumped a little when his phone went off in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see the number that McDonald called him from. He stood up and went into the dining room, more so someone else didn’t make noise for McDonald to hear. “This is Brian.”

“Hey, Brian. It’s Lindsey. I’ve got some 4-1-1 and we need to talk somewhere safe.”

Brian had expected this, so he rattled off the address of the beach house.

“Who owns this?”

“Friends of mine. It’s on the up and up, I promise. You can ask Nathan Collins if you want a second opinion. Hell, bring him if you want and he’s off. I trust him with my life, which is honestly more than I can say about some of the people I’ve been working with.”

“Alright. I’ll meet you there at six tonight. I’ve gotta go in for a court hearing in about an hour.”

“I’ll be there. Stay safe.”

Brian hung up and walked back into the living room, where Dom had joined Han and the two were looking over some kind of paperwork. Han looked both furious and gutted, and Dom didn’t look all that much better. “That was Lindsey McDonald. He has some information and is going to meet me at the beach house at six tonight.”

“I just got off the phone with Bridger and…” Dom snorted. “Alma and Faith brought Montoya with them and Dal sang like a fucking canary. That asshole has actually been working with Tran to steal from the family for nearly two years. For fucking money for himself.”

“He’s run the business into the ground completely, even worse than we ever suspected,” Han said as he continued to look over the paperwork. “He’s not only been fixing the books so they didn’t look like there was a problem, he’s evaded taxes and he’s put the company into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, if not into the millions. They’re still looking.”

Han looked up at him. “And you’re right that this isn’t the only business Tran is stealing from, but this is the only one that is actually actively involved with what’s going on. The others are just outright thefts, and not on this level at any one warehouse. It’s happening in the US, Mexico, and Japan. Bridger’s already sent the info they have for Japan over to Shogun for them to do their own investigations.”

Brian dropped down next to Dom. “Well, shit. I think we’re going to have to read McDonald into everything and let him get the full scope of what’s going on. If it’s this involved, he could end up in a lot of danger if someone figures out he’s looking deeply.”

Dom hummed and nodded. “Yeah, he will, because about eighty percent of those in the FBI involved in this operation are part of the whole racket, including dear Agent Bilkins. They seem to be in it mostly for the money, and Bridger’s going to contact Booth about this shit, let him get a head start in figuring out if the FBI has any more dirty agents other than this group. As far as Bridger and Lucas can tell, it’s about the money for the FBI agents. This isn’t the first time, apparently, these agents have swept Tran’s shenanigans under the rug.”

Brian frowned. “If Tran’s been doing this for two years, I doubt he’s just been sitting on the merchandise that whole time. And no one knew. Why did he all of the sudden make it obvious that he’s the culprit behind everything? Even if Dal was caught, there would have been no proof other than he was a thief and an embezzling asshole. Sure, he could have blamed it on Tran, but would he have if you didn’t already know who was behind it?”

“Probably not,” Han admitted, “but we already knew so he had no reason to deny who he was working with. Especially when faced with two of the most fierce women I’ve ever met and a Hunter who tends to be a loose cannon on alternate Tuesdays.”

“So we read him in,” Brian said. “Can you make sure they send all the relevant paperwork and have copies for McDonald? It’s going to be a long ass night, and he’s going to be bombed with a whole lot of shit at once.”

Dom pressed a kiss to his temple. “Yeah, I’ll take care of it. You can look over all this with Han while I do that.” He leaned over and kissed Han’s temple as well. “You remain calm. We’ll figure shit out.”

“Yeah, I hope so, because the rest of the family shouldn’t have to be buried under this bullshit amount of debt.” Han huffed. “Where is that asshole anyway?”

“Dal is being escorted back to the Clan home, where he will be put in a cell that is currently being built in the basement. It’s apparently a safety measure for him, because a couple of your family members have found out with all the sniffing around and they are out for blood. Lucas is going to look into where exactly your dickbag cousin has been stashing his ill-gotten gains.”

“He has that shit coming,” Han muttered as Dom walked out.

Brian scooted over so they could look at just what kind of clusterfuck his family was in.

~*~

Brian huffed when the time rolled around to six and he saw McDonald’s car driving up, followed by Nathan’s. “Okay, everybody who isn’t me, get out of sight and be quiet until I tell you that you can come in.” He rolled his eyes when Daniel was dragging his feet a little. “That especially means you, dumbass. The last thing we need is for him to have a heart attack or something. Who knows how he’s going to react to any of this. I don’t really know him that well.”

Dom laughed and threw Daniel over his shoulder, shooing a laughing David down the hallway. Han shook his head and closed the doors behind him.

They’d left most of the group back at Dom’s house, but Dom, Han, Daniel, and David had come along to help with giving McDonald the information. Well, Dom and Han had. Daniel wanted to be there because clearly, this was a distant relative of some kind, though he wasn’t exactly sure where McDonald fell in the family line.

He’d had a lot of kids, and that led to a lot of descendants.

“Avon calling,” Adam called out in a chipper tone as he walked in.

“We don’t want any,” Brian called back dryly.

Adam reached over and ruffled his hair and then pinched his cheek. “Who’s a cute little LAPD officer?”

Brian stared at McDonald, who was grinning. “This is why I don’t carry my gun when I know he’s going to be around.”

McDonald laughed. “Sounds about right.” He sat down. “We’ve got some major problems and… Honestly, I’m at a loss as to how this happened.”

“I also have some things to share, Mr. McDonald, so why don’t you tell me what you know, and I can probably shed some light on it. It’s honestly way more complicated than even you probably think.”

“Please, call me Lindsey,” Lindsey said, giving him a look, because it hadn’t been the first time he’d asked Brian to do so. Brian had had a tendency to not, both out of respect and because he knew that he was at odds with what the ADA had been trying to accomplish without knowing the whole story.

“Lindsey, then. What have you got?”

“Honestly? If we’re talking about gathering information legally, not a whole hell of a lot. These people are very good at covering their tracks, especially since not everyone or everything is done electronically. Many are still very old-school. Still, I have managed to get a few things through legal means that made me pause.

“But it’s the information a couple of hackers I know managed to find for me through not-so-legal means that really nailed home that this is a bogus operation.”

Lindsey passed over a thick pile of folders and Brian opened the first one to find Bilkins’ smug face staring back at him. “Agent Bilkins has a second phone line and he’s been in frequent contact with a number that can’t be traced directly to Tran, but can be to a known associate of his. Odds are Tran had this person obtain the phone for him but didn’t realize that he’d purchased it under his own name or that it could be traced that way.

“They also found that Bilkins has transferred about three hundred thousand dollars that seemingly came out of nowhere to an offshore account. There are several other FBI agents and analysts that they’ve found have sudden payouts who are working directly for Bilkins, though not for those kinds of numbers. All of them were tasked with gathering information on Dominic Toretto and his associates for this current op. I’m not sure why they chose Dominic Toretto or how he managed to get on his radar.”

Brian nodded. “That’s where my information comes in, because I know some of the answers for the blanks you have. It’s…going to seem rather far-fetched and incredible. Believe me, I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything even after knowing for weeks now, but I’m not yanking your chain, and these two bozos can back me up on it.”

“We can,” Nathan agreed. “I’ve known Dominic Toretto for a while now, and Adam’s known him for a lot longer than I have. He’s a good man. An asshole sometimes because that’s just his nature, but a good man.”

“So, how did he get involved in all of this?” Lindsey asked.

“Johnny Tran and Dom have been at odds with one another for a very, very long time. Since the early 1920s, in fact. They’re both Vampires,” Brian said, ripping off the band-aid.

“That…actually makes a lot more sense,” Lindsey said, not seeming surprised in the least.

Brian blinked. “Uh, you believe me? Just like that?” he asked incredulously. Then he turned to Adam, who was the oldest in the room. “Does that happen often?”

“Not usually, no. Unless they already were Chosen and just didn’t know it.” Adam looked at Lindsey like he was a new science experiment and Lindsey clearly shifted restlessly under the scrutiny.

Brian, amused at hell by the whole thing, shook his head. “How do you even know?”

“I don’t know a lot, and I don’t know what this chosen thing you’re talking about is, but this is LA and I’ve lived here my whole life and have seen some things. I’ve met a couple of them over the years, learned enough to know that while they can be dangerous, they don’t often mean harm and that they prefer to remain hidden from the general populace.” Lindsey shrugged. “They gave me a few pointers on how to deal but otherwise just said the easiest thing is to pretend that I don’t know what’s going on even if I figure it out.”

“Well, the most difficult hurdle really wasn’t a hurdle at all, was it?” Nathan said, looking at Brian and laughing.

Which was probably fair, because Brian knew he looked like an indignant kitten right now, as his mother would say. He sighed heavily. “Johnny Tran is a Rogue Vampire who has strong ties with the Yakuza, and he and Dom are pretty bitter enemies. Near as I can tell it started with Prohibition and really amped up when Dom suspected him of Turning his sister, Mia, into a Vampire without her consent.

“Johnny’s been working with Han’s cousin, Dal, to basically embezzle money and steal goods from the Lues’ business, and he’s stolen from other people’s businesses outright. I have all the not-so-legally obtained information about all that, including that this whole thing branches off into Mexico and Japan. Border Clan is taking care of the Mexico shit, they’ve flung the Japanese issues over to Shogun, and I have no idea what the fuck we’re going to do about these assholes in the US.”

“I only understood some of that,” Lindsey said, raising an eyebrow at him, but appearing amused by his state.

Brian blew a raspberry. “Dom! Han! Get your asses out here and explain it to him. This is your rodeo!” Brian gave Nathan a look when he started laughing. “I need a drink. Probably three.”

Brian slid between Dom and Han as they came through the doorway, and he pushed Daniel back toward the kitchen. “Explain Daniel too!” he yelled out. “You, in the kitchen.”

“You are not the boss of me,” Daniel said loftily. Then his expression turned flirtatious. “Unless you want to be the boss of me.”

Brian snorted. “I think Dom would pout for a decade if you got all up on this before he did,” he said, motioning to himself. He took the beer David offered. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. And hey, at least you didn’t have to spend an hour convincing this guy that we exist and then another two talking him off the proverbial ledge. So…it seems like a win all around for you.”

“Yeah. I am glad about that. I just…want all of this done. Vampire. Human. I just don’t get people. Why go through all this trouble just to be an asshole? Why risk your life, your freedom, for this shit? For some money?”

“People are complicated, greedy, selfish,” Daniel said, motioning for him to sit down before massaging his shoulders. “There are many who are all the good things you expect them to be, but most are a mixture of good and not-so-good qualities. Some are more of the latter than the former, and vice versa. You’ve just been exposed to some real asshole behavior.

“For people like Tran and this Bilkins guy, they do the things they do for selfish reasons and don’t really care about the people they’re hurting or the damage they’re causing, so long as they all get their own needs met. Why do they go about the way they do? No one really knows but them, and it probably will never make sense to anyone but them. Meaning Tran, mostly, because people like Bilkins and these other agents and whoever is working with them, like Dal, only see a meal ticket. A means of doing a cash grab without having to earn it.”

“Well, I don’t like this ride and I want to get off.” He smiled a little and drank his beer when Daniel and David both laughed.

The three of them fell into silence, and Brian noticed that David occasionally tilted his head, a sign that he was listening to whatever was being said. He envied that ability a little, to be honest, but he knew that it was something he’d get when he was Turned.

He knew he wanted to be. He liked these people and the family they’d made, and he liked what he’d heard about the rest of the Clan. He didn’t exactly regret taking this undercover op, because he knew that if he hadn’t he might not have ever met Dom, or it might have happened far later and who knew where he’d have been in his life at that time.

But honestly, he could have done without the drama that having the FBI involved in all of this—in the way of them being dirty and shady as fuck—brought into his life. He’d have been happier if it had only been Tran pulling on the Clan’s pigtails like a dumbass.

Daniel patted Brian on the shoulders after a while had passed. “Dom’s calling us forth.”

Brian got up and followed the back into the living room area, laughing when David said, “You bellowed?” as he entered.

“Holy shit!” Lindsey said, staring at Daniel. “I know you said we looked a lot alike but…”

David looked between the two. “It’s like looking at a younger, much twinkier version of my Mate.”

Brian laughed when Dom palmed his face and Lindsey blushed and stuttered at the same time. “Welcome to the madhouse, Lindsey.”

Lindsey really didn’t have to say anything. His glare said it all.

~*~

“So, how did it go? Did you blow his mind? Did he threaten to have you committed?” Belle asked as they walked in.

Dom snorted. “Nope. Turns out he already knew we existed, though he didn’t know all that much about us. We exchanged information and I put him in touch with Lucas and Bridger so that they could help him find a legal path to getting the information he needs, and Booth is on it as well.”

“Yeah, and he took to talking to that goofball as well,” Han said, pointing at Daniel, who flipped him off. “After all this shit is done, they’re going to get together and figure out which branch of the family tree Lindsey fell off of.”

“I’m just glad he dealt with everything well,” Brian said. “I’m going upstairs. I’m exhausted. See you all in the morning.”

Dom watched his Mate go upstairs while everyone called out their goodnights to him. Then he looked at the rest. “Anything we need to talk about?”

“I’ll be finishing up the paint job on his car tomorrow,” Suki told him. “It’ll be ready for him to take out the day after.”

“Thanks. Anything else?” he asked. When no one had anything, he nodded. “Okay, I’m heading up as well. Remember there are humans in the house and they need sleep. I know what you guys sound like when you get into any kind of gaming competition.”

Han snorted. “I’ll make sure they don’t get too loud.”

“You say that like you’re not one of the loudest,” James retorted.

Dom laughed a little when Han pounced on James and bit him, but he left the others to deal with it. First, he went into the kitchen to grab a couple of bottles of water and then headed upstairs. He walked into the bedroom and smiled when he found Brian in bed already, clearly not wearing much of anything, if anything at all.

“Well, don’t you look like a twelve-course meal,” Dom said after he closed the door. “Definitely not what I expected to see when I came up here.”

“Thought maybe we could fool around a bit. Getting tired of just my hand.”

“I’ll give you whatever you want,” Dom murmured as he pulled his shirt over his head and then sat down to take off his shoes and socks. “Not even going to try to do this standing up.”

Brian laughed. “No, I wouldn’t recommend it. It’d just end in embarrassment and tears.”

“Definitely tears because you’d be laughing so hard,” Dom said, grinning when Brian laughed harder. Once he had those off, he stood back up and unfastened his pants, pushing everything down at once and stepping out of them. He kicked them to the side as Brian looked him over and wet his lips.

Brian pulled the sheet off his lower body and allowed Dom to look at him fully naked for the first time. “Why don’t you come over here and we can get to know each other a little better?”

Dom smirked and crawled up the foot of the bed, and Brian spread his legs wider so Dom could kneel between them. Dom slid his hands up Brian’s thighs and rested them on his hips. His thumbs ran back and forth over the soft skin.

“Like what you see?” Brian asked while Dom drank him in.

“Very much so,” Dom said. He slid up further and pressed a kiss to Brian’s lips before mouthing his way down his jaw. “I wanna suck you off,” he said before sucking a small bruise at the base of Brian’s neck.

Brian moaned softly. “Like I’m gonna say no to that.”

Not needing any further invitation, since he well knew Brian would tell him if he didn’t like or want something, Dom kissed his way down Brian’s body. He didn’t linger on Brian’s nipples because he knew that they weren’t particularly sensitive, unlike his own, and instead focused his attention on leaving a small chain of marks along Brian’s lower abdomen, which was surprisingly sensitive and had worked him up when they’d been at the beach house previously.

“Stop teasing,” Brian said as he ran a hand over the top of Dom’s head.

“You like it when I tease.” But Dom moved lower, ignoring Brian’s cock and laughing a little at the indignant huff he received in response before nipping and sucking along Brian’s inner thighs.

Something Brian clearly enjoyed from the gasps and moans coming from him. “Please, Dom,” Brian begged over and over again.

Dom took pity, licking a stripe up the back of Brian’s cock and taking him into his mouth, sucking gently on the head a few times before taking his cock all the way down his throat. He quickly grabbed onto Brian’s hips and held him down when he practically levitated off the bed and worked Brian’s cock over until his Mate was a writhing mess beneath him, half-babbling and half-moaning, hands trying to find something to hold on to, to ground him.

When he knew Brian was close, Dom slid his thumb behind Brian’s balls and pressed against his perineum, and a gentle massage was all it took before Brian came with a long moan. Dom only pulled off when Brian started to soften and tugged on him.

Brian slid his hands up Dom’s arms and then wrapped his legs around Dom’s waist. “Slick yourself up and rut against me. However you want. Come on me.”

“Yeah.” Dom reached for the lube as he kissed Brian again. Then he moved from between Brian’s legs and slicked up his own cock. “Turn over.”

Brian grinned and flipped onto his stomach, grabbing a pillow and wrapping his arms around it, moving without protest when Dom moved him around. Dom slid his slick cock between Brian’s ass cheeks and moved slowly, until he found a good rhythm and increased his speed, chasing his own orgasm.

He came all over Brian with a shudder and dropped down on him, careful not to give him too much weight, while his body came down from his orgasm.

“You got me all messy,” Brian murmured sleepily. “Need a shower. Gonna need to change the sheets too.”

“In a minute,” Dom said, nuzzling the back of Brian’s neck.

Brian hummed and there was silence for several minutes before he spoke up again. “Don’t wanna wake up glued to the bed, dude.”

“Bitch, bitch, bitch,” Dom muttered, but he slid off and pulled Brian from the bed, manhandling him into the bathroom while Brian laughed.

~*~

“She really is beautiful,” Brian said to Suki as he looked over his Supra after giving the front windshield a final wipe-down.

And she was. She was finally done and she was gorgeous. Instead of the flashy orange design that they’d originally considered, they’d gone with a metallic blue with silver angel wings on either side. Simplistic in artistry compared to some of the other stuff he’d seen in Suki’s design book, but absolutely gorgeous all the same.

“I’m glad you like her,” Suki said. “Just try not to wreck her on the first day.” She grinned when Brian stuck his tongue out at her. “When are they taking you out in this one?”

“Dom wants to go for a joyride here in a couple of hours. Wants me to get a feel for how she drives before I try anything crazy in her.” He laughed a little. “Which fair, because I think I scared about fifty years off his life when I picked him and Han up after that one race that the cops pretended to raid.”

Suki snorted. “Virtually immortal and tough to kill, and yet, so delicate at times.”

Brian laughed outright at that. “You know, I’m not sold on the sanity of any of that group. It’s not even the Vampires only. I’m pretty sure Vince has got a death wish and lives on the edge, man. He walks a fine line, and I’m pretty sure one day we’re all going to wake up to find a catapult in the backyard and find him tied up and ready to be launched into the stratosphere.”

“He does like to poke the Vampire contingency, doesn’t he?” Suki asked.

“Yes. I don’t know why they indulge him. It’s just going to get him maimed for life if he keeps bothering Mia.” Brian shook his head. “It’s not even just her. I’m pretty sure Jason is about ready to shove him into a box and mail him to Mexico.”

“Clearly he’s a masochist.”

“Yeah.” Brian dropped down on the couch next to Suki, so they could stare at the car while they waited for the others to come down. “How are things going with you and Belle?”

“Good. Just getting to know one another mostly. She’s a little hung up on my age and worried about me not having a lot of life experience or some bullshit. I’ve had plenty of experiences in my life already, to be honest, and I know my own mind. I’ve known my own mind since I was three days old, according to my parents.”

Brian snorted. “Yeah, I get that. Sometimes Dom looks at me like he’s wondering how I got here. I know he’s kind of hung up on the fact that I did this whole undercover thing at my age, but I knew what I was getting into. I didn’t have a terrible home life, but it also wasn’t all sunshine and roses, and Rome and I got a lot more reality thrown in our faces growing up than some kids do.

“I knew what I was doing when I decided on this route. Granted, I didn’t know I needed to take frickin’ Vampires, corrupt federal agents, and a century-long grudge into account when I did so, but I’d like you to show me a single undercover cop who would have.”

Suki laughed. “Yeah, that one’s a little far-fetched, I have to admit. It honestly never would have crossed my mind. Vampires were just a horror movie villain, sometimes sexy, sometimes not, depending on which movie or show it was. I didn’t expect it to be real… Or that I’d find my future with one.”

“How’s that gonna work? I know you have a whole life and stuff over in Florida,” Brian said.

“Tej is already working on getting my own cars ready to ship here to LA. After this is over, Belle is coming with me so I can finish up the jobs I’ve already agreed to, and I need to get everything packed up. I’m going to keep the house there for a vacation spot, since it was where I grew up and I really like the house. It’ll give the Clan another place to go if they want to get away from the crazy.”

“Sounds like a great plan.” Brian ran his fingers through his hair. “I, at least, don’t have a lot to worry about. I live in a duplex that I rent. Got a good price on it since it’s owned by a family friend, and it came furnished, so I really only have my own car and my personal belongings to move out once this is all said and done.”

“You’re not going to continue with the whole cop thing?”

Brian shook his head. “I’m kind of disillusioned with the whole thing, you know? The sheer corruption of the Feds, the lack of independent research and thought. Tanner might not be part of the corruption, but his response to everything has been so damn apathetic. Plus, once the shit hits the fan, I don’t know that I’d trust people to have my back. Rome and I learned not to trust easily early on. Honestly, I’m surprised at how easily I trusted in Dom, even before verifying what was going on.”

Suki nodded. “I totally get it.” She shook her head. “You know we’re totally fucked, right?”

“In every sense of the word,” Brian said, grinning when she laughed. “Wouldn’t change anything though.”

“Neither would I.”

~*~

Brian sighed happily as he and Dom drove along the California coastline, wind in his hair and his new car practically purring beneath them. He knew that he would probably have a fight on his hands to keep the car, since he knew the Feds would probably want to confiscate it due to buying the initial junk piece, but Dom had assured him that once everything was out, he’d fight them on it since he’d put thousands of his own legitimately made money into the damn thing, so if they wanted it, they’d have to pay him every single cent for it, plus all the manual labor that every single one of them put into it, charged by the hour.

What was hilarious was that Dom and Han had actually logged every single minute everyone worked so he had accurate numbers on it.

“She really does ride like a dream,” Dom said, breaking the content silence after a while.

“Yeah, definitely. I can’t wait to really open her up, give her room to maneuver,” Brian said.

“You hungry? I know a really good seafood place up here in a few miles,” Dom said as they came to a stop at a red light.

“Yeah, I definitely could eat,” Brian said as a car pulled up next to him. It was a Ferrari. “That’s a beautiful car.”

“Flashy, definitely. Cop magnet.” Dom smirked at him when Brian threw him a flat glare.

“Wonder what that one retails for,” he said idly, not really caring since Dom was right, and a car like that would catch a cop’s attention faster than anything. Couldn’t get away with shit in a car like that one.

“Costs more than a guy like you could afford,” the guy in the Ferrari said, and revved his engine. “Ferrari,” he added, like Brian was too dumb to know what he was looking at.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Dom muttered under his breath. “Smoke his ass.”

Brian grinned and waited for the light to turn green. He smirked at the guy just before the light changed and they both gunned it. Brian expertly weaved his way in and out of the light traffic, leaving the asshole in the dust in record time. He also, much to his amusement, seemed to be scaring a few more years off Dom’s immortal life, if the way he was holding onto the ‘oh shit’ handle and staring out at the world with wide-eyed panic was any indication.

“You okay?” he asked, not bothering to hide his amusement as he slowed down.

“I’m fine. And you’re a little crazy,” Dom said. “After the next light, the restaurant will be on our left about mid-block.”

“I am no more insane than the rest of you. You’re just not used to this kind of behavior coming from a human Mate, would be my guess.” He glanced over at Dom, seeing him making a face, and figured he’d hit it right on the money. “I am a lot tougher than I look, you know. I’ve managed to live for a whole twenty-six years without you being around to mother-hen me to death.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dom said, reaching over and resting his hand on Brian’s thigh and squeezing lightly. Then he laughed when the Ferrari breezed by as Brian flicked his turn signal and got into the lane to turn into the restaurant. “Someone’s a sore loser.”

“He’s just an asshole. Probably one of those guys who’s never heard the word ‘no’ in his whole life and lived off the satisfaction of getting trophies for participating rather than working for and winning anything on his own merit.”

Dom snorted. “That I would totally believe. Guys like that piss me off.”

As soon as they parked and got out, Dom led the way into the restaurant. It was off-hours for any kind of meal rush, so they were seated within a few minutes.

“What do you usually get here?” Brian asked as he looked over the menu. They’d been seated outside, so they had a nice ocean view, and there wasn’t anyone seated nearby.

“All of it’s really good, but I love their coconut shrimp, and the fish ‘n’ chips are really good too. Probably the biggest seller and for good reason. For drinks, I’d definitely go with the cherry limeade. Han would drink those all the damn time if it wouldn’t send him bouncing off the walls.”

Brian nodded. “Sounds good.” When the server came back, he ordered both, along with mozzarella sticks and jalapeno poppers for appetizers, and a cherry limeade. Dom seemed amused but ordered the same.

“You and Suki have fun bonding this morning?” Dom asked him once they got their limeades and their appetizers.

“Yeah, she’s a lot of fun. She was telling me about some of the people she knows in Florida on the racing scene. They have some…pretty colorful characters down that way, apparently.”

“I’m sure they do. It is Florida, after all.”

Brian laughed a little. “Yeah, it is. Anyway, she’s got some pretty cool paint jobs she’s designing for Belle, Daniel, and David. She was showing me her sketchbooks. She’s really talented. I think she’ll have a lot of business once she sets up down there. Jesse said there’s a lot of cars owned by the Clan down in Salina Cruz.”

“Yeah, there are, and some of them are up here and in various places where we have other homes. No one really needs to drive anywhere once they get to a house, because there’s usually at least three cars at each one. But there are quite a few at home. We like to collect them as well as race them. We’ve even got a track there at our home base. Josiah thought we were ridiculous when we told him what we wanted to build, but he indulged us.”

Brian snorted. “Considering how many of you fall into the category of car fans, it’s probably the only thing that saved his sanity.”

“I’d like to refute that but it’s only the truth,” Dom said. “What do you think you want to do after all this current bullshit is over and done with?”

Brian blew out a breath and spoke in a low voice. Even with no one else around close, he didn’t want what he was talking about to carry. “I was talking to Suki about that, and I know I’m done with the whole being a cop thing, especially in the immediate future. There’s too much apathy and mistrust. I don’t think I can trust those I worked with to have my back.”

Brian shrugged. “I mean, I knew pretty much almost immediately after I learned everything that I’d be quitting so I could follow you to Mexico, but right now I’m more inclined to just blow shit up if it was just me involved. Wouldn’t do that to the others who didn’t have anything to do with all this, though.”

“Like Lindsey.”

“Yeah, and even Tanner. I know he doesn’t know what’s going on, but I just can’t get over how…uninterested he is that there might be a problem. It’s like, I told him the things I knew and what my gut was telling me, and it was like he just didn’t care. I get needing evidence to back it up, but he also only had Bilkins’ word that the op was legit and factual, and he just took it as gospel because they’re the FBI.

“I get it. We’re supposed to be able to trust them. But after this…how can I? This isn’t just bad intel. This is corruption. It could have gotten me killed if you weren’t actually a good guy. Tran could have killed me, killed all three of us that night. Bilkins let me walk into this situation blind and placed me in a truly horrific set of circumstances. He doesn’t care if I live through it or not. And that’s galling.”

“It is, and I hate that you were put in the middle of it.”

Brian shrugged. “Yeah. So, I’m done. I’ll never trust any of them again. Trust is hard for me to come by anyway. Besides, like I said, since I’m following you back down to Mexico, it’s not exactly the most ideal job anyway.”

Dom tilted his head and then sat back when the server brought their appetizers. They dug in and ate for a few minutes in silence before Dom finally said, “So you really are going to throw yourself in the deep end with us, aren’t you?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve learned I can trust you guys. Even Vince, the dumbass. Plus, Han’s going to be there, and I’m learning to tolerate you well enough.” Brian laughed and ducked when Dom plucked a pea-sized piece of ice out of his glass and threw it at him. “As to what I’ll do when we get down there…I’ll figure it out eventually. It’s not like I’m going to have a shortage of time once I’m Turned and all.”

Brian tilted his head and peered at him curiously. “Did you really think I wasn’t going to? I’ve been telling you I’d already decided.”

“Yeah, but it’s a huge change in a lot of ways, and I wouldn’t have blamed you if you were having even the mildest of second thoughts. It’s just relieving to hear it, because I’ve grown to tolerate you as well.”

Brian threw back his head and laughed, and Dom smiled at him. He honestly hoped that this whole thing wrapped up sooner rather than later, because he’d really like to get Brian down to Salina Cruz and introduce him to the rest of the Clan.