So I watched FF7 and besides crying at the very end, I also managed to get another slew of ideas for the story so this might be longer than planned. Hope y'all don't mind if it is :)

Chapter Quote:

  "No matter where you are. Whether its a quarter mile away or half way across the world. You'll always be family."
~Dom Toretto, Fast 7
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Chapter 16

Ember

The next morning, I woke up to find my family in the kitchen. The only person missing from the group was Jace, prompting me to ask where he was.

"He's outside," Dom said.

"What's he doing out there?" I inquired, grabbing some water from the fridge.

"He woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Won't say what's up," Brandon informed. Worried about the wellbeing of my friend, I made my way out to the veranda to join him.

"You okay? The others tell me you've been out here a while," I said softly.

Jace looked up at me. "Hey. Yeah, I'm fine. Just have a lot on my mind at the moment."

"Anything I can do to help?" I took a seat next to him on the couch, staring at him intently because it was obvious to me that whatever was on his mind was severely bothering him.

"No... do you know when we get to go back to LA?"

"If you want to go back, you're free to go. You don't have to stay here if you don't want to," I said, quietly dreading what his response was going to be. I didn't want him to leave. Not only did I enjoy having his company, but I worried about his safety because maybe Jace didn't realize how much I cared for him, but Lynch did. If Jace left and Lynch caught him, he could use my friend as leverage against me because god knows I'd do anything for my family.

"No, it's not that I don't want to. I don't want to leave you or Brandon or your family, but there's just some... there's some things going on back home that I just... I'm worried that if I don't go now, I might never get another chance to."

"There's always a second chance," I said.

"Not when someone's dying..."

I was shocked into silence. I tried to fathom who it was that could possibly affect Jace like this, but the only names coming to mind were Sam, Steve, and Bucky. When I inquired if it was those two, he said no, leaving me stumped.

"Is it family?" I finally questioned, going out on a limb.

Jace was silent for a few moment before answering, as if he was choosing his words carefully. "I just received a text from my mom last night. We haven't spoken in... oh, four or five years."

"What did the text say?"

"That she's in the hospital. Apparently she's been there for a while... all those years of drinking and smoking finally caught up to her I guess. She has stage four lung cancer. She told me that for a while, it looked like it was disappearing, that she was going into remission. Now it's coming back, it has spread into her stomach, they think it's in her brain now too, and she doesn't have much longer. She wants to see me before she..."

"Before she passes," I finished. "If you want to go see her, you can go. It's okay."

"But that means leaving you and I don't want to do that. Especially with Lynch after you."

"I'll be fine. I have Brandon, Sam, and Jackson to watch my back."

"I don't want to do this alone though, and if I brought anyone with me it'd be you because you know about it but if you come with me, Lynch could grab you, or worse kill you."

"Hey, we'll find a way. I think Hobbs has been thinking of getting us out of Rio anyway. He doesn't have as much power here as he does in other countries. Let me talk to him, see what we can arrange, okay?" I stood up, kissing him on the head before going back inside to discuss with my family what could be done without alerting them to Jace's predicament. He hadn't told them about his mother for a reason and I wanted to keep it that way.
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Jace

Ember walked off with a spring in her step that told me she was on a mission to get me back to LA to see my mother. After watching her leave, I stared back down at the conversation between the two of us:

From: Mom- Can you call me?

To: Mom- No, I'm busy.

From: Mom- Please, it's important.

To: Mom- Last time you needed me to call you about something being important, you needed money to pay off your debts from blowing your money on alcohol and worse.

From: Mom- This is different. I just want to tell you in person instead of over text.

To: Mom- You'll have to tell me over text. I can't talk right now.

From: Mom- I'm in the hospital. I've had stage 4 lung cancer the past year that's spread to my stomach and possibly my brain and it looks like I won't have much longer. I wanted to see you, or at least talk to you before I pass, to apologize for everything.

To: Mom- I'll see if I can find a way to come. I hope I can.

I didn't want to do this alone. It'd been years since I'd seen my mom and I couldn't help but admit that was some anger towards her for not spending more time with me, for not being a better mother. Of course I'd been treated well and taken care of by Bucky, Sam, and Steve's parents but there was nothing like the love of your own mother.

Figuring I should go back in to help Ember make her case, I stood up to head in, but was almost immediately stopped by Jackson and Brandon.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Brandon warned.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Ember is arguing with the adults and she told us to come out here. I don't know why. She runs the show though."

"You guys get kicked out too?" Sam queried, walking up to us.

"You too?" Brandon raised his eyebrows.

"She wanted a private audience with Hobbs and Dom and that turned into the family so I got kicked out. Any idea what she's discussing with them?"

"Except that is has to do with going back to LA, no, no idea," Sam admitted.

"Why would she want to go back to LA?"

"We have more backing by the people here, but we can't do as many government operations without getting some approval but I know dad will want to stay in a place where we do have the support of the people because the people outnumber Lynch but quite a bit."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Jackson remained silent throughout the whole conversation but one glance towards me told me he knew exactly what Ember was arguing for, or at least for whom she was arguing for.

We waited out on the balcony for about an hour before the door opened, revealing Mia. She looked stressed but that didn't tell me whether or not Ember had won the argument for my cause. But upon entering the main part of our residence, it was obvious Ember's argument had not gone the way she wanted to. Her face was flushed with anger. We made eye contact but she hurriedly looked away as if ashamed. I sat down next to her on the couch, giving her a slight nudge to try and let her know it was okay that it didn't work out the way she wanted to. I didn't blame her. I was grateful she even tried.

"We're moving countries. We're going to have two cargo planes on the runway at Rio that you're going to drive straight onto and then once you're on, the planes will take off for a destination that the pilots only find out about once they're in the air. We're headed to Canada, although we're the only ones that know that. The pilots find out once they get in the air. Is that understood?" Hobbs asked. We all nodded. "Good. We leave in two days. Get your stuff packed and ready."

Ember got up without a word and headed to her room. The adults watched her go, and I could tell they knew she was not happy with what we were doing. Jackson started to get up but I beat him to it and followed her. She was upset because of me. It was only right I try and make her feel better.

I knocked on her door to announce my presence, with an accompanying, "Hey."

"Hey," she replied quietly.

"Thank you for trying," I told her softly.

"I didn't tell them about your mom but I told them you wouldn't even consider going back unless it was something vitally important to you. If you want to go, you know I'd sneak out with you to drive back to LA."

"Ember, that's dangerous for you, you could-"

"I'm so sick of people telling me it's dangerous for me. I know it is. Everything that's happened is my fault and I need to fix it. If they capture me so be it. I can get out of it, I'd find a way. But I want you to see your mother."

"I won't risk your safety to see my mom."

"But she's your mom!" Ember argued.

"One I was never close to! The last time I went to see her because she asked me to, all she wanted from me was money to pay off her debts from blowing her money on alcohol and worse. I didn't give it to her. Despite some of the problems we've had, you've still done more for me in the past five months than my mom has in the past five years. Your safety is my top priority right now."

"I just wanted to do something for you. You've dropped and left everything to help me with the shit that I got us all into."

"You being alive and safe is all you need to continue doing."

"Hey Ember, can I talk to you? It's important," Sam requested.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be back," she stated. Ember followed Sam out of the room. I waited for her to come back, glancing outside her window and letting my thoughts roam. I couldn't help but feel guilty that I wasn't going to see my mother. Ember was right, despite everything, my mother was still my mother. In her dying days, she was thinking about me, which had to count for something. On a whim, I went over to Hobbs and requested an audience with him and Dom.

"What is it boy?" Hobbs queried.

"Look, about Ember, why she was arguing for me to be able to go back to LA-" I began.

"The answer's no," Hobbs stated.

"Sir, please, my mom is dying."

They fell silent, staring at me. It was Dom who spoke first. "I thought you didn't get along with your family?"

"I don't. But she's still my mom, and she's dying, and her thoughts went to me and she texted me asking me to see her before she passes. She has stage four lung cancer. I can go by myself and rendezvous with the rest of you after I see her."

"Ember would go after you if she went with us and found out you were in LA by yourself. No, someone's going with you, and I know who you want it to be."

"She might be more willing to listen to you if you let her have some freedom for a bit."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right, but you two are going to have back up. You take Sam and Brandon. You'll have two days and then you get your asses back on that plane and up to Canada."

"Let us bring Jackson. I know none of you trust him not to turn on you guys but he's been protecting Ember ever since he found out she was a Toretto. He wants her safe from Lynch just as much as we do."

"You trust him?" Dom questioned.

"Believe it or not, I do," I answered firmly.

Dom sighed. "Fine, take him with you."

"Thank you for letting me do this."

"I'll let the others know there's a change in plan. You tell Ember. She'll be most pleased to hear it from you."

"Yes sir," I said, a grateful smile appearing on my face. I tried not to run back to Ember's room but I certainly walked at a faster pace than normal. Ember was back in her room, deep in thought, but in a slightly more cheerful mood. I guess whatever Sam had told her had raised her spirits a little.

"So I have some good news," I announced.

"Yeah?"

"I talked to your uncle and Hobbs, and they're letting me go to LA with you, Jackson, Brandon, and Sam."

"What?! That's great!" Ember exclaimed, placing an arm on my shoulder. "How did you convince them to let us go?"

"I told them the truth about why I wanted to go, and they knew you'd come after me if I went by myself. Sam, Brandon, and Jackson are there to help protect us."

"That's wonderful! Oh I'm so glad you get to see your mom," she said, giving me a hug. "Look, I'll go with you to the hospital if you want for moral support if you need me to."

"I want you there," I declared.

"I hear we're going back to LA?" Jackson asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, Jace needs to do something and I don't want him going alone and Dom and Hobbs don't want the two of us alone, so you, Brandon, and Sam are going," Ember explained.

"Who am I riding with?"

"You can ride with me, Jace, Brandon, or Sam," I said.

"I'll ride with you. You're the one that's least likely to kill me."

"Why would they want to kill you?"

"Brandon doesn't like me because of some things I said, Sam doesn't trust me which is understandable, and Jace here, I just have a feeling he doesn't like me around you."

"I wouldn't kill you. You mean too much to Ember and she would never forgive me," I joked, clapping him on the back. "I'll see you two later. I have a bag to pack."
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Ember

On the day of our departure, we left just before dawn. Jackson sat in the passenger seat beside me. We left our hideout in total secrecy, leaving in groups and taking back roads to the airport to avoid detection by Lynch and company. Hobbs had me and my group set out first. He declared that as long as I and the others got out of Rio, that that was all that mattered. I disagreed with him but arguing did nothing.

The transport plane was sitting on the runway waiting for us when we arrived. The moment all four of our cars pulled into the cargo hold, the back door went up and the plane took off. The flight had a connecting stop in JFK. Although it was a longer flight, we were less likely to be ambushed by Lynch's men in the possibility that he knew what we were doing if we went to JFK instead of Miami. I slept most of the time, only getting up when I had to use the bathroom. Jackson read a book. We stayed silent for a majority of the trip until about thirty minutes before we were about to land.

"Hey Jackson?" I asked.

"Hmm?" he responded immediately.

"How did you get involved with Lynch?"

"I don't really remember. I was young. Why?"

"No reason. Just curious. How long have you wanted out?"

"When I found out that he was killing people to achieve what he wanted. He usually kept me away from that side of the business so I didn't know for most of my life working for him. I always kind of figured he did but thought since I never actually heard anything about it, it must not be happening. I mean I was always just a driver meant to distract the police from what was really going on. Then there was this mission where I was ordered, along with a few others, to find and corner this driver. Lynch joined us. He told this guy he had two options: join us or suffer the consequences. The driver declined. Lynch pulled a gun on him. I thought it was a scare tactic or that if Lynch used it, he would shoot to injure the guy. But when the guy refused three more times, Lynch shot him. He didn't even flinch as the body hit the ground and that's when I knew I wanted out. That was about three years ago. See, Lynch had a list of people he wanted to recruit. A lot of the names I'd heard of through the racing scene, but there was one that was at the very top of the list that I couldn't figure out why it was there. It had a question mark next to it. I asked Lynch about it and he said that person would be the best driver if we could find them. He said that name was the product of two of the greatest street racers in history."

"Who was the name?"

"Take a wild guess."

"Jack?"

"No. This was after he had Jack."

"I don't know."

"You. It was your name."

"Mine?"

"You are the person Lynch has wanted ever since you were born. He wanted you and Jack that day he kidnapped your brother. But you weren't there, so he's been trying to find you on the racing scene ever since because he knew he would never be able to get you in public because you were either always with your family or your friends or in public with people that could be witnesses in your kidnapping."

"And then I let my emotions get in the way of my rationality and get my family involved in this mess. Great..." I groaned.

"Racing is in your blood. You would've ended up racing sooner or later."

"So I've heard. Listen, when this is all over, I've talked to Hobbs about clearing your record if you help testify against Lynch and his men. The fact you're already helping us take them down is helping, and they're definitely going to take into account the fact you've saved my life more than once. They know Jack helped too. His record will be clean too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so when he wants to come see us again, we'll be waiting. Impatiently might I add."

Jackson smiled. "I'll let him know."

A few minutes later the plane landed. Our first stop was the safe house. When we arrived, a woman walked outside. Jackson was confused by her appearance but I smiled, happy to see a friendly face.

"Hi Elena!" I greeted cheerfully.

"Hello Ember," she replied happily, giving me a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"I'll rest much easier when I know you and your family are safe from Lynch. Come inside, all of you." Elena ushered us into the house. "You'll be staying in the basement. There's an escape hatch down there that leads you to the outside right next to some escape cars in case you need them. You each have your own room. The rooms are small but they're your own. Follow me."

The five of us walked downstairs into a small yet still cozy basement. There were five rooms total, which made me wonder how often Elena harbored people who were on the run from wannabe assassins (at least that's what Lynch felt like at the moment).

We all unpacked our things before Jace and I set out for the hospital. He was quiet the entire ride which was understandable. I didn't try and start a conversation with him, knowing he wasn't in the mood to talk.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I noticed that it was jam-packed with people. It set me on edge but I tried not to think about it. When we were halfway across the parking lot, Jace slipped his hand into mine. Initially it took me by surprise but I didn't pull away. If he had taken my hand, it was because he needed some form of comfort. By the expression on his face, it was obvious that not only was he not comfortable being here, but he was also scared. I gave his hand a squeeze to let him know that I was here for him, for better or for worse.

"Hi, I'm here to see Nora Stark. I'm her son," Jace said when he reached the front desk. The nurse, who had apparently been expecting him, gave us her room number. We made our way up to the floor which was fortunately hardly crowded at all. We stopped outside the closed door to his mother's room.

"I'll be right outside if you need me," I promised. With a small yet appreciative smile, Jace kissed me on the head and entered his mother's room.

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Jace

I don't know what I was expecting to see when I entered, I had imagined quite a bit, and my imagination had actually prepared me well for I wasn't as shocked by the sight of all the equipment that my mom was hooked up to. I was, however, shocked by the condition of my mom though. My mom had always been tiny but she looked absolutely emaciated now. Her arms were so thin I swore I could encompass them just between my thumb and index finger.

"Mom?" I whispered. Her closed eyes fluttered open. She struggled to turn her head but nothing stopped the smile that spread on her face at the sight of me.

"I'm so glad you came," she croaked.

I slowly approached her, still taking in her appearance. "Why didn't you tell me sooner about your cancer?"

"Because I didn't think you would care. I haven't been a big part in your life for most of your life. I have no excuse for that. When I found out about my cancer, I hoped that I would be one of the lucky ones who would survive, and that when I was done with it, I'd try and become a part of your life again and make up for all the years I've lost. But when the doctors told me that it had spread, I knew I wasn't going to make it. I spent months trying to get the courage up to ask you to come see me because I knew I had no right to ask of such a thing when I never did anything to deserve it from you, but I thought you had the right to know in case one day you decided to come looking for me. Laying here in this hospital reminded me of all the things I wanted to tell you that I never got to, so I swore to myself that if you did come, I would tell you everything. I realized I didn't want to die without telling you how I felt. So I want to apologize for not being the mother you should've had. I want to tell you that you turned into a wonderful young man and I'm proud to call you my son."

I hung my head, forcing the knot that was forming in my throat. It was nice to hear her apologize, to hear that she realized she hadn't been the best mother, but I wished at that moment that she had realized this before she was on her deathbed. I was almost angry that it took something so incredibly dire for her to admit this to me, but then I felt guilty for even thinking that because she was on her deathbed and I didn't have much longer with her.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"I heard that you're in college now, you're one of the best racers in LA, and that you got a job as a mechanic at the Toretto's place. You look good, sweetie."

"I am good. I've been making straight A's at school, I'm one of the best racers in LA, maybe even the country, and I've made a lot of new friends at Toretto's. They've basically taken me in as one of their own," I replied as I pulled up a chair next to her bed.

"Good. How's Jackie?"

"We broke up a while ago."

"Why?"

"Just didn't work out. We're still friends though."

"Are there any new girls in your life?"

I involuntarily smiled a little. "Yeah, she came here with me. She was the one who helped me get here in the first place. She also convinced me to come."

"I like her already. Where were you that you couldn't call?"

"Rio. I'm helping her and her family out with some things."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"So, what's her name? What's she like?"

"Her name is Ember. She's kind, she's caring, she's strong and confident, she's funny and sassy, she can drive like no other, and she's absolutely beautiful."

"Is she here at the hospital with you?"

"Yeah."

"Can I meet her?" Her request took me by surprise but I conceded. I poked my head out of the door and called for Ember. She came immediately, giving a shy smile to my mom when she entered.

"Hi," Ember greeted.

"It's an honor to meet you Ember. Jace here has been telling me about you."

"Hopefully all good things," she joked lightly.

"All wonderful things. How did you two meet?"

"At the races. I was checking out his car but he thought I was checking out him." Ember gave me a wink.

"The next time you were checking out more than just my car though," I chimed in.

"We also work at the Toretto garage together."

"Are you related to them?"

"I'm Dom's niece."

"I thought you looked familiar. You look so much like your mother yet so much like your father," my mom remarked.

"You knew them?"

"No, no, I just remember their pictures from the television."

"Ah, yes, they were in the news quite a lot when they were younger."

"Thank you, Ember, for taking care of my son," my mom said.

Ember looked rather shocked by the sudden statement but recovered her wits quickly, saying, "You're welcome."

"I'm glad he has you and your family."

"We're lucky to have him," Ember stated, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without him."

Mom started coughing something awful

"Mom, you should get some rest. You're wearing yourself out by talking and you need to save your energy to get better," I told her gently. She held her hand out which I took in mine. It terrified me how fragile her hand felt in mine; I feared if I held on too hard, I'd break it.

Ember started to leave but my mom stopped her, saying, "Any family of Jace's is family of mine. Please stay."

Ember conceded, pulling up a chair to sit next to me. She held onto my other hand which I grasped tightly because I needed to since I couldn't with my mom. I watched as my mom closed her eyes. Her last words to me before she fell asleep were 'I love you.' I made sure she heard it back. Ember rested her head on my shoulder but she stayed awake, waiting until she was sure my mom was asleep before whispering, "Is everything better?"

"Yeah. She apologized for not being there most of my life, that she was proud of me, that she was glad that I was doing well, and that I looked like I was doing good." I sighed. "We should probably get going. Elena will be wondering where we are."

"I'll call her, tell her we won't be back for a while. You spend as long as you want with your mom, okay? I'll be back."

"Thank you," I told her. Ember disappeared for about ten minutes. I heard her quiet voice on the other side of the door but couldn't make out anything being said. When she came back in, she took up her spot in the chair next to me, taking my hand in hers once more. Something my mom said popped into my head at that moment, about how she didn't want to die without telling me how she felt. I started wondering with the way Lynch was after us, if I, or god forbid Ember, might not make it out of this. I wanted to tell her that I was madly in love with her, that I've been madly in love with her for a while, but I never seemed to find the right time, or the right way. I'd almost told her that night Jackson got shot, but he'd called her, interrupting the entire thing. Maybe when we were heading to meet up with the others I could tell her. If not then, I could maybe find a time in Canada, but that would be hard because we were always surrounded by her family and it's not that her family didn't know about my feelings towards her but I also didn't want to be interrupted when I was trying to tell her.

I glanced down at her to find that she'd fallen asleep on my shoulder. Seeing her and my mom both fast asleep made an overwhelming tiredness wash over me. It dawned on me that I'd been up for almost twenty-four hours as I hadn't really slept on the plane. I rested my head on Ember's and closed my eyes.
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When I woke up, it was to Ember shaking me gently. There were a bunch of nurses and doctors in the room surrounding my mom. I was confused for a moment in a sleepy stupor but Ember's voice broke through that.

"Jace, I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I am so, so sorry."

"What's going on?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"Your mom passed away," she informed, her voice cracking. "In her sleep."

I stared at her, letting her words register and sink in. I couldn't quite grasp what she was saying until the nurses covered my mom up with a sheet. I didn't say a word as I got up and walked out of the hospital. Ember followed me to the car where I basically collapsed against the trunk of it.

"Drive," she said, placing the keys in my hand. "Drive wherever you need to. I can either go with you or I can call one of the others to come get me."

I didn't answer her, I just got up to open the passenger side door for her. She got the hint and got in. I got in the driver's side. I pulled out onto the freeway but like Ember said, I just drove. I had no idea where I was headed, I just drove where I felt like I needed to. We drove through the city, we drove through suburbs, and then we somehow ended up in the mountains in what I soon figured out was a national forest. I pulled off a side road just to be somewhere private, to be somewhere quiet. The entire trip Ember hadn't said a word and she didn't say anything now.

"Why couldn't she have apologized earlier?" I blurted out. "Why did she have to be on her death bed to decide to apologize and decide she wanted to be a mother to me again? We could've had more time together if she'd done it earlier. We could've started fixing everything sooner and started having a semi-normal family relationship. I... I'm mad at her but I feel guilty that I'm mad at her dying and waiting so long to tell me this. I feel like a terrible person."

"You're not a terrible person, Jace. You wanted a mother because you never had a true mother figure for most of your life and when your mother finally came around, she didn't have enough time to spend more time with you even though you wanted to spend more time with her."

"I need air." I got out of the car, pacing up and down in front of the car. Ember got out as well, sitting on the hood of the car. I stopped in front of her, trying to form words that could explain what I was feeling but nothing could suffice. Half of me wanted to tell her everything that I was feeling about my mom, the other half wanted to spill everything about my feelings towards her. But it just didn't feel like the right time. I mean my mom had just passed and that should be completely taking over my mind, but she wasn't. I kept going back to what my mom said about worrying she wouldn't have the time to talk to me and to tell me how she felt; it kept leading me to the thought that I should tell Ember how I feel about her because I kept getting this foreboding feeling that I might not get the chance to soon.

"Jace?" Ember asked. She was staring at me with her dazzlingly blue eyes, a mixture of worry and confusion in them.

"I-I don't know what to do," I stammered, taking a step towards her. I hadn't realized how close I'd been to her beforehand but now I was looking down at her, our faces inches apart. "I don't know what to do, Em."

"About what?"

"I should be feeling sad and I do, but something my mom said keeps recurring in my thoughts."

"What's the thought?"

"That she didn't want to die without telling me how she felt."

"And you're feeling the same way? Wait, you're not dying are you?" Ember asked quickly.

"No, not dying. But with Lynch on our tail, I'm not entirely sure I'll make it out alive."

"Who are you thinking of then? In relation to the thought?"

"You."

"Me?" She appeared rather taken aback, not in a bad way, just as if she wasn't expecting it.

"With us in the situation we're in, I have this terrible feeling that I'm not going to see you for a while and I don't know why."

"What is it you want to tell me then?"

My hand went up to cup her face. Ember appeared confused by what I was doing but seemed to know exactly what I wanted to say. I kept trying to get the words out but for some reason, they just wouldn't. Maybe because I knew it was a long shot that she'd say yes if I asked her because Ember had forgiven me for what happened with Jackie, had let me back in and let me become close with her, but that didn't mean she'd be willing to date me.

I slowly leaned in towards her, wanting to give her the option of pulling away, wanting to give her the option of telling me to keep dreaming. But she didn't. In fact, if I wasn't mistaken, she was leaning in towards me as well. Our lips brushed each other before I was suddenly ripped away from her.

"Jace!" Ember exclaimed. I looked up in a daze to find a maliciously familiar face grinning above me. My head snapped over towards Ember to find her struggling against two guys three times her size.

"Let her go!" I demanded, scrambling up only to be kicked viciously in the ribs, making me fall back to the ground.

"You're a hard girl to catch," Lynch's voice said.

"Go to hell," Ember spat.

"Now, let me ask you again, will you join my team?" Lynch asked, standing in front of her so that I couldn't see her.

"I said go to hell," she repeated. Ember's legs suddenly thrashed out in an attempt to kick him but Lynch managed to avoid it.

"Kaiser, show her we mean business," Lynch ordered.

"Don't touch her!" I growled, standing up. He turned towards me.

"Oh we're not. We need her intact to drive for us."

All of a sudden my head exploded with pain as something nailed me hard in the back of it. I went down, barely able to keep consciousness. The only thing crystal clear to me was Ember screaming my name. Pain started flaring up in all different parts of my body- my ribs, my legs, my arms, my chest- but I was so out of it I barely reacted.

"Stop! Please!" Ember begged. "You're going to kill him!"

"If you want Kaiser to stop, then tell me what I want to hear," Lynch told her.

"Ember... don't," I coughed out.

"You let him live, you leave my family alone, and I'll do it," Ember said. "Please, just stop hurting him."

"I want you to say the words I want to hear. Not just 'I'll do it.' That could mean a ton of different things," Lynch remarked.

"I will drive for you if you leave him and my family alone and if you let them live," Ember stated, sounding defeated.

"Boys, take care that he won't follow us, but don't kill him," Lynch said. "As for Ember here, tie her up and put her in the back. I don't trust her not to double-cross us if we let her drive her car."

I struggled to gather my wits about me so I could get up and fight these guys but with one final hit to my head from Kaiser, I blacked out, leaving Ember to the mercy of Lynch.
______________________________________  

I hope the long chapter makes up for the long wait! I just realized I have two Sam's in the story, Jace's friend and Hobb's daughter so in another chapter (because you haven't seen the last of Jace's friends) I'll give one of them a different nickname so it's not as confusing! Reviews would be lovely :)