Author: lord_spyridon
Title: Unforgiving
Status: Complete
Pairing(s): Brian/Mia (UST), Dom/Letty
Additional Categories: Alternate Universe, One-Shot
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Drama,
Season/Episode/Book: Picks up when they are loading Vince into the med-evac.
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Mild Violence
Spoilers: N/A
Summary: Their father had taught them family was important but what happens if blood wasn't enough? As the gusts blew from the rotors, Mia recognized the choices; her only brother who had placed them into this mess or the man she loved, the man who was an undercover officer? When making your choices in life, do not neglect to live your own.
Series/Sequels: Part 1 of the "Code 1" series
Author's Note: I guess one of my constants for this fandom is that Jesse survives. Huh. If everything goes right and the Muses agree, this will be the first part of a series that will be crossover over with the 2003 film "S.W.A.T." As such, in this universe, Chris Sanchez does not exist at all. Also, there will be no action sequences. This story just will deal with aftermath of the assignment and the lead up to the second story. Here's to fingers crossed.

Chapter One: Escape Velocity

Mia looked up to see Leon pull the Honda over to the side of the road, Dom getting out while Leon killed the engine. Dom looked over at them before heading to the back, leaning into the window to quietly talk with Letty who looked to be injured from the way she was slumped against the door. Her brother straightened and began to head over to them. "Watch her!" He called out to Leon.

"Yeah, I got it!" Leon slid around the front of the car, gazing toward them.

Mia turned back to watch as Brian began to undo Vince's belt, removing it without trying to move the injured man even more. He quickly wrapped it around Vince's upper arm and cinching it tight in an effort to stop the bleeding. "Come on, Vince. Hang in there. Come on!" Brian ordered as Vince's head lolled around. Dom fell to his knees, taking in the massive amount of blood covering Vince as well as his heavy breathing. Brian looked up at Dom, his face solemn. "If we don't get him to an ambulance in ten minutes, he's dead."

Dom stared at him, not really comprehending what Brian was telling him. Then he looked down once more at Vince as his friend began to cough. Brian pulled on the belt tighter, grabbing Mia's hand and putting it on the belt. "Hold this. Hold the pressure."

"I got it."

"Hold it just like that. Don't let go. Hold his arm up." Brian ordered Mia as he reached into the left pocket of his jeans to pull out his cell phone.

She noticed Vince was beginning to close his eyes for a longer period of time, his head tilting to the side. "Vince!"

Brian pressed 9 on the keypad, knowing that it connected directly to the LA dispatcher center. The phone was immediately picked up, a male voice sounding through the speakers. Hearing the dispatcher begin the long speech, Brian interrupted him, knowing what he was going to say next would probably get him killed by the man kneeling next to him. "Yeah, yeah, this is Officer Brian O'Conner."

Dom's head came up sharply, his dark eyes boring into Brian's blue ones, his face shifting to incomprehension. It quickly turned into a look of betrayal than pure fury as Dom's hands fisted. Brian stared back unflinchingly even as his heart began to pound, images of what Dom did to Linder drifting before his eyes. "I'm off-duty LAPD. I need a life flight roll out right away. My 20 is, uh, highway 86 mile marker 147."

Brian shifted the cellphone, using his shoulder to keep it at his ear as he looked Vince over begin relying information to the dispatcher. "I got one trauma victim, about 24 years of age, 6 foot, maybe 200 pounds. He's got real deep lacerations to his right arm with arterial bleeding." He was aware of Dom looking at Mia who shook her head.

"And he's got a, uh, uh, shotgun wounds close range to his left leg. Yeah, yeah, he's going into shock!" Brian cursed as the cell phone dropped to the ground. He quickly picked it with his right hand as his left one snaked out to Vince's neck as the latter began to slip into unconsciousness.

"Vince!" Mia began to slap Vince on the face as Dom tried to lift the shirt up from where part of it was tucked into his friend's belt. The damage to Vince's side was severe.

"Shit, shit." Brian felt the pulse under his fingers began to flutter before it ceased along the heavy breathing sounds. Taking the buckle of the belt, Brian placed it at Vince's mouth and nose, hoping to god, the man was breathing. There was no mist formation. "His heart stopped. Mia, I need you to put his head on the ground. Here, take this." Brian handed her the phone as he began to go through the check list for doing CPR, undoing the harness and ripping his shirt open.

"Miss, where is Officer O'Conner?" The dispatcher asked.

"He's starting to get the man ready for CPR." Mia answered, moving to get out of Brian's way.

Brian checked Vince's throat as a precaution, making sure his head was tilted back, opening the airway before he put his mouth over Vince's and gave two breaths. Straightening, Brian quickly placed his right hand right along the center of Vince's breast bone and placed his left hand on top of his right, lacing the fingers together. He aligned his shoulders right above where his hands were, locking his arms in a straight line. Praying to the car gods, Brian pressed down about two inches before letting up, making sure he kept his hands positioned correctly. As he kept time in his head, Brian counted off fifteen compressions before giving Vince another two breathes.

As he did the next cycle, Brian asked Mia where the helicopter was. "The dispatcher says they're about a minute out." Nodding, Brian went back to focusing on Vince. His arms began to burn, his muscles trembling with the repeated cycles. The tension in his arms from controlling the exact movements of his limbs was beginning to take their toll.

All the while, Dom was staring at him with hatred in his eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity, they heard the approach of the helicopter. Dust kicked up, Mia moving to protect Vince from the miniature dust storm. Through it all, Brian kept up the CPR, counting each compression off in his head, even as the EMTs began heading in their direction.

As they dropped to their knees to begin work on Vince, Brian stopped the CPR, letting one of them check Vince over and informed them of Vince's injuries. The EMTs confirmed that Vince's heart had started again but was slow and unsteady. An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth and nose to make sure he was getting the oxygen he needed to prevent brain damage. Within a couple of minutes, they had stemmed the flood of blood even more, placing the injured man on the stretcher they had brought after making sure they could move him. Mia blinked and they were hoisting Vince, making their way to the waiting chopper whose blades were still rotating rapidly, swiping angrily at the air. Over the din, she could hear Brian speaking with them in rushed voices, confirming the name of the hospital they were going to rush him to.

Movement of the air next to her had Mia turning her head to see Dom striding with purpose to the waiting Leon and injured Letty. She continued to look at Dom's retreating back before swinging her head to see Brian hitting the window of the chopper with a bloody hand and turning away to face her. She could see his blue eyes flick toward Dom before focusing solely on her face.

This was the man that her brother, her family had taken in with open arms. When she had first laid eyes on him, something inside of her and had caught notice, her body thrumming when he was near. Ever since she had noticed boys, that had never happened to her and eventually she came that such things were naïve little illusions that were only real in novels. As the weeks crept on by, her interest continued to peak. What type of man would order the same thing, day after day, especially if the taste was subpar? The fight in front of the grocery store seemed to have precipitated Brian's fall into their solar system. Brian had worked himself into their little family and her heart. The night they had first made love something she had cherished. It had felt like she had finally found the man that she was going to spend her life with.

Then his revelation at Race Wars and her dreams had collapsed into ash.

They had allowed him into their lives, sharing information that they would not have shared with strangers. He had listened to it all, waiting for the moment to strike and bring them all in for the heists. He was the cop; the snake that she had feared would surround them all within his coils, tightening until the prey was defenseless. He was the man that she feared would drag Dom away in chains and throw away the key after locking him up in one of the darkest, grimiest cells at Lompoc.

Yet, Brian had blown his cover to save Vince, the man that had pegged him as a cop from the beginning, who had scorned him every second and who had been willing to blow his head off at the earliest chance. Brian had risked his life by jumping on to the moving truck, something that few people, even officers, would attempt to save someone. They would rather watch and wait for something to happen before attempting anything. Vince was now on his way to the hospital in the helicopter that Brian had called in for him.

Mia could hear Dom calling her name, demanding she get to the car. Her head turned back. There he was standing at the passenger side, Leon already in the driver's seat, engine turning over. Dom was pointing at the ground, his voice rising again to get her moving. Treating her like a dog.

He was her older brother, the only family she had left after the death of their father. He had been the one to make sure that she stayed in college, working on her Nursing degree while he was in prison. When she was younger, he was her protector, the one that calmed her fears in the middle of the night. Back then, Dom was the brother who could do no wrong. Then, the accident, the incident with Linder, and the trial following had shattered that belief.

Dom was the one to plan the hijackings, easing the concerns of the other members of their small, tight-knit family. Every time she had asked him to stop, he had done one of three things; dismiss her concerns as if she was a little girl who did not understand the big world, told her that it was not her decision, or said it would be the last one. Now, everything had caught up with them, the cops were no doubt circling like sharks, waiting for the drop of blood that would have them all in a feeding frenzy.

All because Dom had thought himself invincible, untouchable by the cops who wanted to bring him in.

Now Vince was possibly dying on the way to the hospital, Jesse was panicking somewhere in LA county with Tran searching for him, Letty was injured in the back of the remaining Civic, and Dom was now wanted as the primary suspect along with the rest of the crew and Leon had been dragged into all of this.

Mia turned to face Brian. He stood still even as the rotor of the helicopter spun faster, the med-evac lifting into the air, his blue eyes focused intently on her. In the blue depths, she could see the want, the hope that Mia would chose him but the belief that she would choose family first. Brian knew how important family was to all of them.

Not that it meant much to Dom these past few weeks.

In her heart, Mia had a feeling that Dom would leave once he found Jesse, taking the rest of their family with him and leaving her behind to clean up their mess as best as she could. He said it was to protect her, to save her from the life they were living. They seemed to forget that she lived the life as well, going to the races with them. Her own car was supped up with the NOS tanks.

Brian saw her as an equal, smiling when she took the wheel. He was surprised, yes, but he never made it seem that she shouldn't be doing it. Driving was just part of her heritage as much as being an Italian or Puerto Rican was in her blood.

The wind blew at her hair, the gusts also playing with Brian's.

When making your own choices, do not forget to live your own life, her mother had once said.

Could she live with the decisions her brother was making?

And in that moment, she chose.

Mia's dark eyes caught Dom's across the distance, small tears trailing down her cheeks as she took a step back. Even with the expanse of desert between them, Mia saw shock cover his face, quickly followed by betrayal, sadness, anger, and finally the grim look of determination.

Turning around, Mia could hear the Civic grab at the loose dirt before its tires screeched as it caught the pavement. The whole time, her eyes were on Brian who was running toward her. She threw herself into his arms, burying her face into the curve of his neck, body shaking in silent sobs. She knew from this moment on, everything she ever knew was going to change and she didn't know if it was going to be for the better.

"God, I'm sorry for everything." Brian whispered in her ear, the regret choking his voice. He let her cry for a minute before drawing back, his hands going to her face, his thumbs wiping the tears away, his blue eyes grim. "It's not over yet, Mia. We still have to find Jesse before Tran does. Then, we're going to have to deal with LAPD and the FBI."

Mia nodded, allowing Brian to lead her back to the Supra. She opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, staring at her blood covering her hands. She had always thought that it would Dom's blood on her hands from all the stunts he pulled over the past few years. She had never suspected that it would be Vince's, the man that had stood by her along with the others while Dom was in prison. The engine came to life, Brian wiping his hand on his shirt before gripping the shift stick. The orange car swiftly turned around, heading back into the city limits.

"Do you know where Jesse might be? Any friends, family members, and places he tends to visit when stressed?"

Wiping away the remaining tears, Mia shook her head as she looked out at the passing landscape. "No, we're the only family he's got besides his dad." Emptiness had taken up residence in her heart where Dom used to be. "He has nowhere else to go."

Brian's fingers slipped into her hand, Vince's blood congealing on his skin. "It's going to be okay, Mia." He gave a firm squeeze before his hand went back to the gearshift. "Do you know Jesse's plates? I can get him picked up by the PD and place him into protective custody."

"No, Tran would know something was up. You guys would have to impound the car and Tran would find that suspicious, especially after Race Wars."

"Tran might be looking for Jesse to get back at Dom. Everyone knows how Dom is protective of everyone in your family, especially since Jesse is the kid brother. And it would be better if we had him safe somewhere than us burying him six feet under in a pine box." Brian said harshly, hand tightening on the steering wheel. He picked up his cell phone, waiting for Mia.

She knew Brian was right. Tran did not take disrespect well. She had seen that firsthand when Dom had seduced Tran's younger sister. The shit that had followed had not been pretty. She had lost Dom to this mess and Vince may be dying somewhere in the sky above them. She wasn't going to lose another. Mia quickly recited Jesse's license by heart.

Brian dialed a number, impatiently waiting for someone to pick up the phone. "This is O'Conner . . . I need to put an APB out for one Jesse Lindberg . . . Yeah, the whiz kid of Toretto's crew . . . no, not for the heists but rather for protective custody . . . Johnny Tran is looking to kill him . . . . I'll explain later . . . If he kills Jesse, you might have a turf war on your hands . . . . If he's found, you need to leave the car there, unlocked and with the keys under the passenger seat . . . . We'll pick it up since Tran already thinks Toretto was the one to narc him out . . . . Will do." Brian flipped the cell close.

"We'll pick up the car?" Mia asked, turning to face Brian.

"I'll take the Jetta and you'll take the Supra back to the house and wait there. You can't get any more involved in this since the higher ups think you don't know what's going on."

"Tran will think it's weird that you'll give him the Jetta without Dom being there."

"It's not like Dom has the time to hand over the car." Brian could feel the bile rising in his throat. "Why does everything have to be so complicated? It was supposed to be an easy operation."

Before Mia could reply, Brian's phone rang. "O'Conner." Mia turned away still disgusted that Brian wasn't a Spilner but rather an O'Conner. "You found him already? That was fast. Where? Is the car there? Don't ask him about the heists . . . . He doesn't know about me . . . . We'll be there soon." Brian ended the call. "They have Jesse. He seems fine except for the fact that he's panicking."

"Shit." Mia rubbed her temples. "He's going to freak out. He's going to think that they found out about the heists and he might let something slip."

"Tanner won't risk blowing my cover." Seeing the look Mia gave him, Brian continued. "He doesn't know that Dom knows about me now. When I called the med-evac in, it was an unknown victim who was found shot on the side of the highway. It'll take a while before they notice something."

Brian changed gears as he hit Sunset Blvd. "Mia, you have to talk to Jesse before the cops can interrogate him."

"I thought you said that he was in protective custody." Mia accused, turning around in her seat to look at him.

"He is but, Mia, you have to believe me, the FBI and my bosses want Dom bad. I know how they'll work this. Officially, Jesse is in protective custody but that doesn't mean they won't try to get Jesse to talk, to admit he participated in on the heists, to let something slip. Talk to him and tell him that the LAPD doesn't know where his personal Honda is and to not say anything at all." Brian looked at Mia who turned her head away. "You have to tell him that he needs to milk his ADD for all its worth. They might believe that Dom took advantage of Jesse's brilliance and disability but kept him from participating in the heists. Added in that he just lost his car to Tran, they might believe that he doesn't have the skills to help pulls the heists off."

"You mean admit something that's illegal but making it look like that Jesse was being taking advantage of?"

"It's the only way from keeping Jesse from going to jail. If he admits that he participated, he'll be doing some hard time in prison and you know that he won't make it there, not without someone watching over him. If something happens to him inside, you know there's a chance that he'll never get over it."

"He's not weak." Mia argued.

"Tell me that I'm wrong then that Dom is still the same person that he was before he went to prison and all that shit that happened with your dad." Mia went quiet. "Vince can handle himself. I know you want to stop him from going to prison too but sooner or later, they're going to put two and two together and get four."

"What are you saying, Brian?" Mia asked, not liking what she was hearing from him.

Brian sighed, knowing what he was going to stay next was going to set Mia off. "I know how much Vince means to you but we are going to have to play the system. This means that we need to offer Vince up to take the fall-"

"You want to do WHAT? Maybe, Vince was right! You ARE a fucking jerk!"

"Then give me any other plan that will work because right now I have nothing else. We can save Jesse and maybe Leon too. Letty's fingerprints will be all over the Honda but she's probably out of their jurisdiction by now, probably even crossing the border into Baja. Vince can plead guilty without giving the others away. He won't be able to take a plea bargain since I know he won't give up Dom to save his own skin so they won't be as lenient. I can work something out the DA's office." Brian noticed they were nearing Echo Park. "Jesse's car should be around here."

"I can't do that to Vince."

"Mia, if he doesn't play, they'll pin down everything on him and he'll be stuck in there for far longer than Dom ever was." Brian bit his lip, thinking hard. "It all comes down to Vince and what he decides to do."

"Once he finds out about you, Brian, I don't think he's going to want to play your game."

"Maybe not mine." Brian looked at her, his blue gaze intense. "After this, you're going to have to let all that emotion you're bottling up loose and act out the betrayed girlfriend. Vince will follow you since you didn't know about me being undercover."

"What about after everything blows over? Will we be able to stay together?" She hadn't looked past today when she had chosen Brian over her own brother. Mia did not think that the LAPD would allow them to be together since she was the sister of an ex-convict who was a suspect in a major case and Brian was the undercover they had sent in.

"I don't know but I'm willing to try my hardest." Brian replied softly, locking eyes with her. "I'm not going to let this get between us so easily."

Mia nodded before seeing a familiar car parked on the side of the street. "There's Jesse's car." Brian pulled the Supra around and up behind the Jetta. He left the keys in the ignition, Mia getting out the Supra to get into the driver's seat. He opened the door to Jesse's car, looking it over quickly to make sure it hadn't been tampered with while no one was around. He bent over and retrieved the keys from where they had been left under the passenger seat. Once the car was started, Brian waved for Mia to take the lead back to the Fort.

As they drove, the unsettled feeling that had taken up residence in Brian's stomach grew as the distance shortened. Something was going to happen and Brian knew that there was nothing he could do to stop the train from crashing.

Mia pulled the Supra to the curb in front of her house, cutting the engine off. In the rearview mirror, she could see Brian pull up behind her in Jesse's Jetta. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Dom was walking from behind the house, the Mossberg she had gotten two months after her brother's incarceration in his hand.

Opening the driver's side door, she started to yell at him. "Stop it, Dom! It's over!" From behind her, Brian got out of the Jetta.

Dom ignored her, cocking the shotgun ominously as he stared at Brian. "Where the fuck is Jesse, cop?"

"Somewhere he'll be safe from Tran and his goons." Brian's voice was calm, something that no doubt would piss Dom off even more.

"Fucking cop! You took him in so you can charge him for the heists!"

"He didn't bring him for tha-" Mia started to say but she was prevent from saying anymore by Dom who turned on her.

"You have nothing to say that I want to hear." Dom yelled at her, his eyes burning into hers. "You fucking chose him over us, your family. You were taught that family was important and you turned on that for the man that was using you to get to us. He used you and you don't care!"

Mia scoffed even as the jab struck her in her heart, tears coursing down her face. "What do you know, Dom? Like Dad would have been proud of the man you've become? Stealing merchandise and selling it on the streets, pulling in the rest of the family, using their loyalty to blind them into doing your bidding. Do you think that's the man that Dad wanted you to become? Where's everybody now, Dom, huh?" Mia asked quietly, lifting her chin. "Jesse was on Tran's hit list. Vince is injured, possibly dead. Letty's also injured. Leon might be losing the little brother he's protected for how long? And us? We have cops breathing down our backs, all because we trusted you to watch over us. I guess that just shows how much stupid we were since we followed you without questioning your decisions."

Dom's fingers tightened around the shotgun, putting Brian on edge. He walked up to stand next to Mia. "Dom, you know the cops will be chasing you. They want you bad."

"Oh, I'm sure you know all about that, wouldn't you, Spilner?" Dom's eyes flicked from Mia to Brian. "I wonder if you were that good in bed that my sister chose you."

"I can't believe you think of your own sister to say that Dom." Brian snarled, the guilt over the whole situation igniting the anger within him at seeing Dom scorn his flesh and blood. "She's still trying to help you and you throw it back in her face."

Dom scoffed. "Shut the fuck up, cocksucker. You have no say in what I say to her."

Brian lifted his chin, refusing to back down from Dom. "I think I do. I love her."

Dom cracked, his explosive temper getting the best of him. "Don't fucking act like you care shit about her when you're a fucking lying piece of shit!" He roared as he threw himself at Brian who replied in kind, angling himself to duck beneath Dom's flying fists.

They met in mid-air. To Mia, it was obvious that Brian had reigned in his fighting skills when fighting Vince as the officer ducked under Dom's leading punch and drove his own fist into Dom's ribs. He was throwing everything he knew at Dom in order to survive the beating that her brother wanted to give him. Dom grunted as he brought himself up short, intending to grab Brian in a chokehold. Except that Brian had moved out of Dom's reach. Brian weaved in but shifted his weight to his back foot as Dom tried to grab him again. Brian's second punch landed squarely on Dom's jaw, sending him staggering back a few feet. Dom growled, before rushing Brian. A long arm caught Brian around the waist, dragging him to the floor. The next second, 225 pounds of fury-driven muscles were on top of him.

Brian's head rocked back as Dom's fist caught him under the jaw, pain radiating to the back of his skull. The next blow caught Brian on the nose, the cartilage breaking under the force and letting blood flow from the damaged blood vessels. The red liquid smeared all over Brian's face, causing Mia to scream as Linder's face superimposed itself over that of her boyfriend's.

"Dom, stop it! You might kill him! Stop it! Dom! You're going to kill him!"

The third blow was blocked by Brian's bladed hand, the blow glancing off his wrist. Brian wormed his arm around Dom's, preventing the bigger man from using it. Dom shifted his weight to allow him to use the other but before Dom could settle his weight higher on Brian's chest, the officer bucked his hips, throwing Dom off-balance.

The officer twisted onto his left side, arching his back to get more room under the hulk of Dom's body, freeing his right side as Dom righted himself.

Gritting his teeth, Dom wrapped a thick arm around Brian's throat in an attempt to choke him but Brian was able to get an arm into the hold, keeping his airway open. Brian strained to get his feet under him, his face going red with exertion.

"L-listen to your sister, Dom. You don't want to add more shit to your rap sheet." Brian gasped, trying to reason with the furious man.

"I wonder if you told that to Jesse when you him to the police station, pig." Dom spat, bloodied spittle spraying over Brian's face.

Brian got his feet under him but Dom beat him to the punch as the bigger man pulled himself upright, hauling Brian's body with him. The stockier man bodily threw the officer across the front yard. Brian landed into the grass, rolling to his feet but before the men could throw themselves back into their fight, Mia got between them.

"Stop this, Dom, before someone calls the cops!" She yelled, trying to get her older bother to see reason.

Dom pointed a finger at the blonde who was panting heavily, wiping his bloody mouth with the back of his hand. "He's a cop, Mia! He's the COP that was sent to bring me in and you're siding with him."

"And whose fault is that?" Mia cried out in anger, tears welling up in her eyes. "I warned you how many times not to do it. You NEVER listened to me. And look where it's gotten us, Dom. The team trusted you and they followed you blindly into this bullshit."

Pain crossed Dom's face at the accusations Mia was throwing at him. "I can't believe you're saying that to me. I'm your brother!"

"Then act like it!" Mia screamed back. "Ever since Dad died, you've been making all the decisions and they're the wrong ones! You destroyed your life and Linder's six years ago. Then, instead of getting your shit together, you sulk and race. The only thing you're doing is running away from life, Dom. The team may be willing to let you do that shit but I'm sick and tired of it."

"Then I don't know you anymore."

"No, Dom. I grew up. I grew up waiting for you to leave Lompoc and I've been waiting for you to grow up while you raced. During those ten seconds you race, you're free but what about the rest of the time, Dom? What about the other hundred thousand seconds, huh?" Mia scoffed, tears still flowing down her face. "I never realized it until now but you're a coward. That's all you are."

Dom took a step forward, face thunderous. "You're calling me a fucking coward? After all the time I tried to keep our family afloat? Those races were to bring in money for us, to feed everyone." Another step was taken. "You're not my sister and certainly not part of this family. You're nothing but a traitorous bitch!" He roared.

"She's right, Dom." Brian interrupted, forcing Dom's attention back to him. Mia turned around to see Brian standing, arms held loosely by his side, his face dripping with blood. A bruise was already beginning to form around his eye. "It's over, Dom. Mia's right. The police will put the clues together and know that you were the ones hijacking the trucks." The cop said quietly. "It would be too much of a coincidence of finding Vince on the side of the highway with a gunshot in his side, especially considering the harness he was wearing."

As Brian's words rolled over them, Brian and Dom's attention were drawn to the end of the street where two motorcycles were roaring up the street. Brian's heart leapt into his throat as the guns came up. He had been shown how much damage could be wrought by a semiautomatic gun when he was the Academy, knew that the rate of bullets that were released per minute. The muzzles flashed with every single bullet. Brian reached out, his long arms wrapping around Mia and drawing her back behind him as he twisted his body around to protect her.

Mia screamed as Brian dragged her to the ground, fearing for her life and that of her brother and boyfriend. She hit the ground hard, feeling Brian's weight fall on top of her, a grunt of pain sounding right overhead. She could hear the pinging sounds of the bullets as they slammed into the concrete, embedding themselves into the yard, and tearing into the house.