Ride or Die

~Los Angeles, California, USA~

“Good afternoon Mrs. Morales,” the driver greets me.

I chuckle and shake my head, making a mental note to call Mateo later and tell him thanks for being so inconspicuous.

“Good afternoon sir,” I return as I get into the large SUV.

“Senor Morales gave me the address and told me to get you there and then to be on call, is that correct?” He asks, turning in his seat.

“Si,” I respond, looking out the window as he begins to drive away.

After a long drive, he pulls up to the house that I grew up in and stops the car, “have a safe trip senorita.”

I smile at him and then hop out of the car, dragging my bag with me and pulling my sunglasses down over my face. I can hear the sounds of people in the backyard, so I make my way up the driveway as the car pulls away. When I reach the garage, I toss my bag into it and walk further into the backyard, smiling at the sight in front of me. Mia, Brian, Tego and Rico are sitting around the table eating.

“Hola mi familia,” I greet them, startling them.

When Mia sees me she drops her fork and knocks her chair over as she runs around the table, nearly tackling me as she wraps her arms around me in a tight hug.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispers through my hair.

I chuckle and hug her back just as tightly. When she finally pulls away, her eyes are misty and Brian is approaching us with a smile on his face. Leo and Santos have gotten up as well and are already waiting behind Mia.

“Hola maravilloso,” Tego greets me, smiling and hugging me.

“Hola,” I respond, hugging him back.

Rico simply hugs me, pulling me away from Tego before starting an argument with him that drags them both back to the dinner table. Brian walks over and holds his hand out, “I don’t think we ever got formally introduced,” he starts, smiling, “Brian O’Conner.”

“I know who you are,” I state, grinning and shaking his hand, “I’m Emilia. Emilia Morales.”

“What?!” Mia practically shouts, grabbing my hand away from Brian and staring the set of rings on my finger.

“If you weren’t dead before, you are now,” Brian mumbles, chuckling.

I laugh and pull my phone out, pulling up a picture of Mateo and I at a function for his work. I pass the phone to Mia who’s eyes go extremely wide when she looks it over.

“Teniente Mateo Morales.”

Mia hands the phone back to me and backs up a few steps, Tego and Rico both look up at me with shocked expressions. Brian looks at all of us and then back to Mia, “what is it? What’d she say?” He asks her.

“Teniente, Lieutenant. He’s a cop.”

Brian’s face pales as he looks back at me, “this hits close to home,” he mutters, scratching the back of his neck.

“Yeah I had Mateo do a bit of a background on you Mr. O’Conner. I was a bit surprised seeing you sitting here since I figured you would have been the reason that my brother is back in Lompac.”

Mia and Brian look at each other before looking back at me, and before either can open their mouths to explain, I hold my hand up, “I’m not here to judge. As you so kindly pointed out Mia, I married a cop. Trust me, Vince already ripped into me for that one. What I’d like to know, is how and why Jesse and Letty are dead.”

Mia sighs and gestures to the table, so I nod my head but as soon as I get close enough to smell the food, nausea over takes me and I run to the side of the house, retching into the tall grass. Mia rushes over to me, a bottle of water in her hand as she brushes my hair out of my face.

“What’re you eating?” I ask her, taking the bottle and rinsing my mouth out.

“Chicken, corn, the usual,” she states, looking at me concerned.

I chuckle and nod my head, “that makes sense.”

She looks at me sideways, so I pull my hoodie off, revealing my slightly rounded stomach, much to the loud excitement of her as she pulls me into another hug and puts her hands on my stomach.

“So, now that we all have our secrets aired out, are we going to sit down and start talking?” I ask her, smiling as I make my way to the table, pushing the chicken to the other side and pulling over some of the salad.

“Jesse threw down pinks at race wars against Johnny Tran and took off when he lost. Tran and his cousin killed him in a drive by. Tran’s dead, Brian killed him,” Mia explains, looking down at her food.

“What about Letty?” I ask, pushing around some of my salad.

“Felix killed her, drug runner. That was my fault, and Dominic killed him out in Mexico,” Brian explains, looking up at me.

I nod my head and take a bite of salad, “well, I guess it’s time to go get Dom, right?”

“You’re married to a cop,” Mia reminds me, “and you’re pregnant.”

“No, I thought I was getting fat,” I mutter, rolling my eyes at her and then looking to Brian, “what’s the plan?”

“It doesn’t involve you. But we’re going to send you to Brazil; meet up with Vince and keep you safe.”

“You’re fucking crazy. I’m not going to Brazil and if you’re plan doesn’t involve letting me help, then I’m going back home.”

“And where exactly is home?” Mia asks, sitting back and looking at me.

“Cancun, with Mateo.”

“When do you leave?”

I look up from my salad dish and stand up, “in a few hours. I’m sending Mateo the message now to book the flight.”

“Go to Brazil, please, meet us there, we can keep you safer than he can.”

“And what do I tell my husband Mia?”

“Just don’t go back,” Brian states, looking up from his plate.

“So when the shit gets tough with my sister, is that you’re plan too? Leave her?”

Mia grabs a hold of my arm, but I shake her off, “enough, Mia.”

“This is about Vince isn’t it?”

I clench my jaw as I look at the ground, “he had a ring too. And still made me feel guilty for being married.”

“Then meet us there after Dom has arrived. We won’t stay with Vince, but we’ll need your help.”

“I’ll think about it, but for now I’m going home, to my husband.”

Mia nods her head and backs away from me, “I love you Em.”

“Love you too Mia,” I state, handing her a card with both mine and Mateo’s numbers on it and then turning around and heading to the garage to get my bag, “adios mi amigos!”

Tego and Rico wave their hands at me as I grab my bag and head down the driveway, with my phone in hand I dial the number on the back of the card Mateo had given me before I left and within minutes, the driver in the large SUV is back, a smile on his face.

“Where to Mrs. Morales?”

“Back to the airport,” I mumble, leaning back and closing my eyes.

~Rio De Janeiro, Brazil~

“Mateo, I told you, I’m meeting my sister here, and I will call you when I’m ready for you to come out.”

“Sólo me preocupa que usted ama.” (I just worry about you love.)

“I know, I gotta go.”

I hang up the phone and slide it into my pocket as I look down at the hastily scrawled address I had been given by one of the locals before looking back up to check. With a deep breath I walk up the stairs until I’m finally out of sight of the street, when a group of people start popping up, guns in hand.

“Estoy buscando a Vince. Dile que hay un Toretto aquí para verlo.” (I’m looking for Vince. Tell him that there’s a Toretto here to see him.)

One of the men disappears and reappears a few minutes later with Vince in front of him. He waves his hands at the people, who disappear as quickly as they had appeared. He looks me over, his eyes dropping to my stomach and resting there for a minute before he meets my eyes again, “come on.”
I follow him into a house where a woman and a child are playing together, “hola, senorita,” I greet her.

She nods her head at me, paying more attention to my stomach as Vince gestures to a chair at the table, “water?”

I shake my head, “not thirsty. And this isn’t a social call.”

“It never was with you.”

“And it never will be,” I mutter, putting my elbows on the table and resting my chin in my hands, “Mia told me that they’d be coming here.”

“And she said that you weren’t.”

“Because I’m not here. If she found out, she’d coerce you into keeping me here and that can’t happen. I need to go back to Cancun.”

“What for? You think Mateo can keep you away from the American government? You’re basically living right outside their front door.”

“That’s why I need to go back. Mateo and I have agreed to make a move, finally, to a place that doesn’t extradite.”

“That’s probably the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“I’m surprised you know the definition of smart,” I snap, taking a deep breath and shaking my head before mumbling an apology.

“So what are you doing here?”

“Look, Vince, I need a favor.”

He shakes his head and points to the door, “get out.”

“Vince, come on, you owe me one.”

“I owe you one?” He shouts, turning around and stomping towards me.

I watch as his wife and child leave the room quickly, taking a diaper bag before heading out of the house leaving Vince and I alone. I stand up as well and take a step towards him, “you’re damn right you owe me a favor!”

“For what?”

“For showing up in Cancun and uprooting everything I’ve worked hard for!”

“You needed to know! They need your help Emilia and you need theirs! That’s your family! Jesse and Letty! They were family!”

“You think I don’t know that? You think that didn’t kill me inside? To constantly wonder if it would be different had I just stayed and gone to jail? Maybe they wouldn’t have gone to Race Wars and none of this would have happened!”

“And you think Dom would have just let you sit in jail?”

“Things could have been different Vince, but there’s no use dwelling on the past; I’m learning that now. I just need you to do me one last favor Vince.”

“What do you want?”

“I need you to get me a job, I need some quick money.”

“You’re pregnant, forget it.”

“Vince! This isn’t about you, so don’t worry about my problems. Mateo doesn’t have enough for what we need to do, and I can’t get that kind of money in Mexico unless I want to make problems for him, I need the money Vince!”

He shakes his head and points a finger at me, “you’ve always been reckless Emilia, but this is taking it to a new level. You show up here unannounced and visibly pregnant, asking for a job? You come into my home demanding I do what you tell me to. You’ve lost your mind Emilia, and I won’t have any part of it. I have a family now.”

“And I don’t? Mateo, Isabella, they are my life! I can’t just sit idly by and let them lose me forever.”
“Isabella?”

I nod my head and put my hands over my stomach, “she’s a baby girl. Isabella Maria Toretto Morales.”

Vince chuckles, breaking some of the tension as he walks over and pulls me into a hug, “I’m sorry Em, but I can’t do it,” he whispers, holding me close.

I squirm and pull away from him as much as he’ll allow, looking up at him with watery eyes, I plead with him, “Vince, I need this. One last time, one last job. I’ll disappear forever after this, I promise.”

He looks down at me, which brings our faces close and I can tell that he notices as well. I wet my lips as a nervous habit and watch as his eyes flick down to them before he meets my eyes again and leans forward. I close my eyes as our lips collide and a fire starts to rage inside of me. Everything else disappears, it’s as if the world around us doesn’t exist as his hands land on my hips, pulling me closer to him while I snake my arms around his neck, pulling him down and deepening the kiss. I moan into his mouth as he starts rubbing circles into my hips, opening my mouth to allow him access. After a few minutes, we both pull away, breathing heavy and leaning against each other.

“I’ll get you the job Em, but promise me you won’t go away forever,” he whispers, his lips brushing mine.

“I promise.”

~~~~~

“This is Emilia, she’s your driver.”

“Ela está grávida.” (She’s pregnant.)

“What’d he say?” I ask Vince, looking away from the short man.

“You’re pregnant Em, what do you think he said?” Vince asks me, sighing, “do you speak Portuguese at all?”

I shrug, “I know enough, I guess. Mateo tried to teach me, sometimes I get my Spanish mixed in with it.”

“Eu não sou tão desesperada por um motorist,” (I’m not that desperate for a driver), the man states, looking at me again.

“Desculpem a minha pobre língua, mas eu realmente preciso deste emprego e eu prometo que o meu ... condição ... não afetará minhas habilidades de condução,” I explain to him, stumbling over a few words as I turn back to him. (Excuse my poor language, but I really need this job and I promise that my... condition... won't affect my driving skills.)

He crosses his arms and looks at Vince again, “Ela pode ser confiável?” (Can she be trusted?)

Vince nods his head and looks over at me again, “Eu confio nela com a minha vida.” (I trust her with my life.)

The short man nods his head and looks at me, “you will be decoy.”

I nod my head and look at Vince, smiling as the man leaves the room, presumably to have someone else come in to go over what I need to do, “thank you for this Vince.”

“You be safe Emilia, because if anything happens to that baby of yours, or to you, I’ll never forgive myself.”

I smile and nod my head, leaning up and kissing him quickly on the lips before pulling away. The door opens and a tall, handsome Hispanic man walks through the door, “Emilia, venha comigo. Deixamos agora.” (come with me. We leave now.)

I nod my head and turn around, following the man back through the door he had come in, “I’m Juan, I’ll be riding with you, to ensure your safety.”

“If it’s easier for you, I speak Spanish and really poor Portuguese,” I tell him, smiling at his thick accent.

“Por suerte para ti, hablo español y ingles,” he states, smiling down at me. (Lucky for you, I speak Spanish and English.)

I chuckle and follow him into a large garage with two nondescript black cars, “so I’ll take one, and they’ll be driving the other?”

“Correct. We’ll go after; they’ll expect the first to be a decoy.”

“Alright, I’ll hop in and wait for you,” I tell him, heading to the driver’s side.

I get into the car, checking it out and finding the keys in the ignition. I adjust the seat and mirrors, checking the glove box and finding a handgun. With a chuckle I shut the glove box and lean back in the seat. When the door opens, it startles me, making Juan chuckle.

“Relax mami,” Juan tells me, nudging me.

“Alright we ready to go?” I ask him, taking a deep breath and watching the other car pull out of the garage first.

“Yeah, wait until the doors close, and then start the car, and when the doors open again, it’s your go. We’re taking a right; following them would be too suspicious.”

I nod my head and watch until the garage door finally hits the concrete. I start the car and watch again as this time the door slides up, pressing on the gas I drive out of the garage and turn to the right. Juan points out directions to the safe house for me, but other than that, he doesn’t make conversation and I’m grateful for that as I nervously check my rearview and see the tail that we have.

“Juan, what happens when we get to the safe house?” I ask as he tells me that in just two miles we’d be there.

“I noticed the tail too. Don’t worry mami, I got you.”

I take a deep breath and nod my head, nervously gripping the steering wheel as Juan picks up his phone and starts making a phone call. I try to listen to what he’s saying as I drive down the road, but he’s speaking Portuguese and he’s speaking fast. He motions for me to take the last right, so I do and the safe house comes into sight.

“STOP!” He yells, a fraction of a second too late.

I see the other car as I slam the car into reverse and hit the gas, sending the car backwards. I throw my arm around Juan’s seat and turn my head, watching as the other car backs up and pulls forward, turning their car sideways and blocking the road. Mumbling under my breath I turn around and slam on the brakes, throwing the car into drive before slamming on the gas again.

“Hold on Juan,” I state, putting both hands on the wheel and pushing my foot down further on the gas.

Juan curses and pulls his seatbelt on, something I had forgotten to do earlier and something I damn sure didn’t have time to do now as the car in front of us is pulled across the road as well and coming up fast… Cursing, I realize I can’t make it through the space between the car and the walls of the buildings. The first thought in my head is what would Dom do? I slam on the brakes again as Juan jerks forward, “Emilia!”

“Just give me a second!” I shout, my heart pounding as I put my arm over his seat and turn around again.

Juan closes his eyes and bows his head, his lips moving silently as I pull off in reverse again, taking one glance in front of me to notice that the man had gotten out of his car and was loading his gun. I take a half-a-breath as my head swings back around and I turn the wheel just a fraction. I grit my teeth, preparing for impact as the back of my car slams into the trunk of the other car, sending his car sideways into the wall.

Juan cries out and I feel a certain pain start to radiate in my back and up to my neck but I ignore it as I slam the car into neutral and cut the wheel. When the car swings back into the right direction, I slam it into drive and push on the gas again, speeding away from the two cars and the gun shots that begin to ricochet through the car.

A sharp pain through my abdomen sends my vision swimming as my hand slips and causes the car to jerk. Juan grabs the wheel, “keep your foot on the gas Emilia, we’re almost there.”

I had no idea what he meant by almost there, but I kept my foot down as my head slumped onto his shoulder and my vision started to blur. “Brakes! Hit the brakes!”

In slow motion my foot moves from the gas to the peddle next to it, effectively slowing the car to a jerking stop before my vision goes completely dark and my hearing fails me as I fade into the blackness.