Akira's POV
I picked up my phone from the table and flopped down next to Brian. "You're still not sleeping?" Roman asked as he strolled onto the boat, looking half-asleep already.
"Hahaha... I'll call my friend and then sleep," I replied, waving him off.
"I wonder who this new friend is," he muttered, all snarky, before shoving me closer to Brian. "Move. I need space to sleep." Then he plopped down on my other side like he owned the place.
"Oh my God! Are you two trying to squish me?" I huffed, realizing I was now sandwiched between them. Sharing a bed with these two clowns was not on my bingo card for the night.
I kept myself entertained by playing games on my phone, waiting for Roman to fall asleep. No way was I risking one of his snarky comments while calling my new "friend."
Finally, I dialed Letty, lying on my stomach as the line rang. A couple of rings later, she picked up. "Hey, Loca! What's up?" she greeted energetically.
I giggled. "Hehehe, I'm good. Just chilling."
"Here, Dom wants to talk to you!" Letty said suddenly, and I bolted upright. "Wha—no, no, no! I don't wanna talk to him!" I protested, but it was too late. She passed the phone over.
"Hey, Akira!" Dom's unmistakable voice came through the speaker.
"Fuck you!" I snapped without hesitation.
Roman groaned in his sleep, "Hngh... shut up..." he mumbled, making me panic for a second. I glanced at Brian, who was dead in sleep.
"It's almost two years, and the first thing you say to me is 'fuck you'?" Dom asked, clearly amused.
"Yes! Now give Letty her phone back. You're already ruining my vibe!" I snapped. "Listen to me—" Dom started, but I cut him off. "No, you listen to me!"
"And here I was thinking you'd grown up after the brawl in L.A. But nope! Now you're out hijacking fuel tankers in the Dominican Republic? Ha! Classic Dom," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"Ha ha, you found out?" Dom chuckled nervously.
"Of course, I did!" I said, crossing my arms even though he couldn't see me. The line fell silent, and I started fuming internally.
Say something, this is getting awkward!
"So... how's Mia? And the others?" I finally asked, breaking the awkward pause.
"Mia's good. Same old stuff. Jessie went back to his dad, Leon opened a garage in California, and... I don't know about Vince," Dom admitted, his tone shifting.
"Well, maybe if you'd been more careful, it wouldn't have come to this," I jabbed, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.
"Akira, shut up. You're annoying," Brian grumbled, half-awake and I ruffled his blonde hair just to mess with him.
"Yeah... I'm sorry. It's all my fault," Dom said softly, sounding genuinely regretful and I sighed softly saying. "He's in Rio,"
"How do you—?" Dom started, surprised, but I cut him off again. "I just know, okay? Don't ask."
"Thank you," Dom said after a beat.
"Don't thank me. Vince is my friend too," I mumbled, my tone softening for once. He let out a chuckle.
"So, how are you?" he asked, shifting the conversation.
"I'm happy," I said, letting myself smile.
"What's got you so happy?" he asked, and I went on to explain how Roman and Brian had somehow managed to get together.
"Lucky you," Dom teased. "Alright, I'll give the phone back to your girlfriend now." I could hear the grin in his voice and rolled my eyes.
After wrapping up with Dom, I chatted with Letty for a bit longer before finally calling it a night.
By the time I crawled under the covers, the day's chaos was catching up to me, and I drifted off to sleep almost instantly.
Normal POV
It was just past 9 AM, and Roman had already dipped from the bed. Meanwhile, Brian was still knocked out, limbs all tangled up with Akira, who was out cold beside him.
Cozy chaos, really.
The peace didn't last, though, because Monica barged in like a tornado, snapping Brian awake. "What are you doing here?" Brian asked, his voice groggy but instantly on edge.
Monica sat down on the bed, drenched and gasping for air like she had just swum across the Atlantic to get there.
"Brian, they're going to kill you," she blurted out frantically. "I heard it from Enrique and Roberto." Brian froze. Monica wasn't one to joke about this kind of thing.
She went on, "Once you finish the run, they're planning to take Akira away and put a bullet in your head."
"You're sure you heard them right?" Brian asked, trying to steady himself.
"I'm sure. I'm sure," Monica insisted, nodding like her life depended on it. Even the chaos around him couldn't pull Akira from her coma-like slumber.
Before Brian could process, Roman waltzed back in, clearly not vibing with the energy in the room.
"Oh, I see what this is about... your little girlfriend here," Roman scoffed. "Verone's men are here."
"They don't know I'm here. I snuck out," Monica said defensively. "Then why are they outside?" Roman hissed, quietly.
"I don't know. Maybe they're just guessing," Monica replied with a shrug, clearly frustrated.
"Hey, go stall them. Stall them for a minute or two," Brian said, his mind racing as he tried to figure out their next move.
"Check her, man. Just check her," Roman muttered before heading out to deal with Verone's goons circling their floating hideout like vultures.
The tension in the room cranked up a notch as Monica turned back to Brian, her eyes pleading. Akira still lay sprawled out, dead to the world and oblivious to everything.
"This isn't about being a good cop or doing your job. They're gonna kill you. You gotta pull out. Don't make that run, Brian," she begged, her voice cracking.
Brian didn't reply immediately, but instead of talking, he pulled her in for a kiss—intense, desperate, like it might be their last.
Then Monica was gone, slipping out as quietly as she had come, leaving Brian to deal with the mess.
Brian check Akira who was as still as a statue, her sleep bordering on comatose. He dressed quickly and stepped outside, ready to face the chaos head-on.
It didn't take long for things to heat up. Verone's henchmen were waiting for him. Enrique made a move toward the boathouse, but Brian blocked his way like a wall.
Roberto wasn't about to play nice, though, and within seconds, he had a gun pressed to Brian's head.
"Don't you dare touch the girl!" Brian snapped.
Enrique, frustrated when his search of the boathouse turned up nothing, stormed back out, his anger fueling the fire.
And just like that, fists started flying. The tension between the two groups exploded into an all-out brawl, with punches, kicks, and chaos reigning supreme.
