LETTY ORTIZ WAS CONFUSED. For the first time in four years, her mind had allowed her some kind of glimpse of her life from before the accident.

Surprisingly, it wasn't prompted by her run-in with Dominic Toretto, who seemed to know exactly who she was. No, it was prompted by 'Quinn', the mysterious woman who showed up to the base the night before.

Shortly after the two women had 'met', Letty saw a memory flash briefly through her mind. From what she could make out, they were on a boat of some kind. The sea was a beautiful, bright blue, so it must have been somewhere tropical.

She could hear the waves lapping around her, along with a melodic laugh from beside her. The only other thing she could see was a flash of brown hair, billowing gently in the breeze. Then nothing.

The memory lasted only a few seconds every time it made an appearance, which made her want to break something. Letty just wanted to know who she was.

The woman was broken out of her spiral by the familiar presence of the very person causing her so much trouble.

Natalie Shaw's face was, once again, void of any real emotion, allowing her to uphold the illusion that there was nothing wrong. She was perfectly put together - like pieces of an intricate jigsaw. Her moves were perfectly executed, as if she had carefully calculated and planned each step.

Not a single perfectly-curled hair was out of place; there wasn't a single crease in any of her clothes.

But being a jigsaw also meant that she could fall apart at any moment. One wrong move, and the entire thing could shatter.

As Natalie walked towards the tech area, where all of the plans were laid out, she caught Owen's eye, who was leaning on one of the tables, working on a computer.

All it took was that one look for him to realise that his sister-in-law was ready to brutally murder him ten times over. He visibly gulped, knowing that Natalie was imagining all of the ways she would guarantee him a slow, painful death.

The woman smirked as she saw the fear flicker in his eyes, before moving her sights to the various papers laid out on the central table. She began flicking through various files, trying to absorb as much of the contents as possible, because they consisted of what the crew was going to do next.

The Ortiz woman stole a look at Natalie, who stood next to her; she had the same dark brown curls from the fragment of the memory. Letty may have been crazy to think that she was the one from the boat, but the instinctual comfort and sense of deja vu that overwhelmed her whenever the woman was around said otherwise.

Before she could truly think it through, Letty turned to face Natalie.

"Can I ask you something, Quinn?" Letty asked, and when the woman nodded and waited for the impending question, the Ortiz girl expanded on her original question, "In private?"

The woman stilled midway through turning a page, not expecting Letty to talk to her, let alone ask to speak just between the two of them.

Too caught off guard to respond verbally, Natalie gave a single nod and followed Letty into a separate part of the warehouse.

The pair stopped next to Letty's car, which was a 1971 Jensen Interceptor. Natalie lips tugged into a small and barely noticeable smile at the sight of it.

She always did have a thing for American Muscle, the woman thought.

"Did I know you?" Letty asked suddenly, "Before the crash and the whole 'amnesia' thing?"

Natalie tensed, which the woman in front of her picked up on. She wanted to answer the question carefully, knowing that if she pressured Letty into trying to remember their past, it might just drive her away, but her heart twisted at the idea of not seizing every opportunity to become as close as they once were.

"Yes, we knew each other. Why'd you ask?" Natalie feared that she had made the wrong choice - that Letty wasn't ready to know.

It was Letty's turn to pause. She realised that this whole confrontation was based off of a hunch and a feeling, which might sound crazy to anyone else.

"I just- uh, think I saw you in a memory." Letty readjusted her stance - a nervous habit that she had - before trying to explain, "It looked like we were on some kind of boat. Uhm, the sea was, like, this gorgeous, clear blue, and I'm pretty sure you were laughing next to me."

The waves lapped against the edge of the small rental boat, rocking it slightly from side to side. Wind ran through the tendrils of Natalie's hair, blowing it into Letty's face, causing the two to laugh.

The girls sat shoulder-to-shoulder as they admired the distant shoreline, which was littered with colourful buildings and long stretches of fine sand. Tourists and locals alike were walking along the beach, but looked like mere ants to the women out on the ocean.

Greece was a gorgeous place, with clear blue skies and even clearer waters, which sparkled as the sun's rays danced down from above. Neither of the two could get enough of the sight, which is why they spoke quietly with their eyes still glued to their surroundings.

Their peace was disrupted when the breeze picked up again, causing the girls' hair to fly in eachother's faces.

Letty managed to get her hair under control first, and cackled when she saw Natalie's hair completely covering her face, along with the woman's fierce efforts to push it away.

The woman's laughter only intensified when her best friend began cursing at her hair - no matter what Natalie did, her hair just would not stop clinging to her face.

Eventually, the Shaw accepted defeat, and began laughing with Letty, who was still gasping for breath from how much she was howling with laughter.

"We were in Greece." Natalie spoke softly, having just re-lived one of her most treasured memories with her best friend, "You wanted to see how the island looked from the ocean, so we boated out there together."

A nostalgic smile tugged at her lips as she spoke, "We were laughing because the wind had picked up and blew our hair into our faces-"

"You couldn't get yours under control." Letty remembered without even realising, too consumed with nostalgia, "I found it hilarious."

The woman spoke in a small voice, almost afraid that she had misremembered the only memory that she had regained.

Natalie couldn't believe that her best friend might be coming back to her already. The woman's bottom lip quivered slightly, before she covered her mouth with her hand.

It took everything in her to not start sobbing there and then. Natalie took a moment to breathe, before nervously asking, "Can I hug you?"

Despite Natalie being a complete stranger, other than the obvious connection, Letty felt the overwhelming urge to say yes. So she did.

The Shaw woman wasted no time in wrapping her arms around the shoulders of the woman in front of her. Letty's arms instinctually went around Natalie's waist, as her head rested on her shoulder.

The Shaw woman had dreamed of this for years - the possibility of holding her best friend in her arms again, and being able to just speak to her just one more time.

Over the last four years, Letty had never felt more at ease than she did in Natalie's arms. It was inexplicable; the feeling of warmth and comfort consumed her like fire consumes oxygen.

The missing piece of Natalie Shaw's heart had returned, and so had one of the many of Letty Ortiz's.

SHORTLY AFTER THE TWO women had talked, they were called out to take care of some members of Dominic Toretto's crew. Jah and Ivory, two of Owen's goons, joined them.

The Jeep that the four were piled into screeched to a stop outside of a warehouse-like structure. Natalie and Letty climbed from the back passenger seats, slamming their car doors shut behind them.

The Shaw woman took a moment to examine her surroundings in order to see exactly where her targets were. Two women were in the glass office with Owen's informant, and two men were watching the area closely from a higher vantage point.

Before Natalie could formulate a plan to cleanly and quickly take all four members of her brother's crew out, Jah and Ivory revealed assault rifles, which were previously concealed by their jackets, and began to open fire upon the office.

Letty looked momentarily startled by the bullets, but quickly recomposed herself and kept her stare on the now-destroyed office.

Both of the men accompanying them powered through the magazines of their guns, continuing to rain bullets down onto their targets.

One of the women working with Toretto managed to escape the office; she lent on a cement pillar just in front of her and drew her pistol from her holster.

The woman, Riley, didn't hesitate to take shots at both Natalie and Letty. The Shaw's mind was in overdrive, instantly grabbing her best friend and taking cover behind a mechanic's cart.

Both women retrieved their weapons from their waistbands, but only Letty peeked over the top of the cart and returned fire.

Natalie took a moment to count how many bullets Riley was firing at them, and as soon as she knew that she had emptied the clip, the mercenary stood up and fired.

Both bullets that she fired hit their mark - one pierced the flesh of Riley's upper arm, and the other grazed her outer thigh. Unfortunately, the now-injured woman was well hidden behind the pillar, leaving Natalie no choice but to advance from her cover and stalk closer.

"Stay behind me." Natalie ordered Letty, her tone leaving no room for disagreement - she wouldn't let anything happen to her. The Ortiz woman simply nodded before following after the mercenary.

The click of Natalie's footsteps were concealed by Jah and Ivory's continued assault on the office, which allowed the two women to position themselves behind a corner without alerting Riley.

As soon as they had a clear shot, both Natalie and Letty rapidly began firing bullets. Despite their best efforts, none seemed to succeed at taking out their enemy.

By that point, all three women were out of bullets, which forced Natalie to usher Letty towards a tunnel that was just to their left. She didn't know where it would lead them, but just being ahead would give them the upper hand.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she sprinted, following the sharp turns of the dark and disgusting passage. Natalie's shins burned because of her heeled boots, but there was no time to slow down - pounding footfalls echoed behind her, meaning that someone was definitely after them.

Letty panted from ahead of her, adrenaline racing through their bodies as they reached a gate that was illuminated by light from the London Underground.

The Ortiz woman ripped the gate open and both women ran through, taking a right. Riley chased after them, just seconds behind, despite the injuries Natalie had inflicted.

The crowds of people made it impossible for Natalie and Letty to keep their advantage, and it allowed their opponent to tackle them both to the ground.

Natalie groaned as her head slammed against the cold tile, which had somehow managed to cut her forehead. The blood ran down the side of her face, stopping at the top of her cheekbone.

The woman's head spun for just a few moments, leaving her unable to move as Riley and Letty regained their footing.

Harsh blows were exchanged between the two whilst Natalie managed to pull herself to her feet. Riley slammed Letty into the wall repeatedly, and was about to deliver the final blow when Natalie shoved her away.

It only made her stumble back, but that was all that Natalie needed. The Shaw woman roundhouse-kicked her opponent right in the face, before striking a kick to Riley's chest. The member of her brother's team shrieked as she tumbled down the stairs that were just behind her.

Natalie didn't waste a second in helping her best friend from her slumped position on the floor by slinging one of Letty's arms over her shoulders and bringing the woman onto her feet.

Letty couldn't help but sigh in relief as she relished in the comfort of Natalie's hold. Her head pounded as she thought of how she couldn't be more thankful that 'Quinn' was her best friend, and that she was as skilled at combat as she was.

Natalie wished that she could have shielded Letty more from the vicious blows of their opponent, but she realised in that moment, that all that mattered was that Letty was still alive.

They made their way down the stairs, and passed Riley, who laid in a heap, unconscious. The two stumbled onto one of the trains and into two free seats.

It was only then that Natalie allowed herself to relax slightly as the adrenaline wore off. The pain in her head flared as though the wound was on fire, which prompted Natalie to lean her head back so that it rested on the window behind her.

Letty was exhausted, and before she could think too much about it, she rested her head on Natalie's shoulder. It was as though the action was second nature - it felt so natural to the amnesiac.

Natalie glanced down at her best friend, who had her eyes closed. A small but genuine smile tugged at the Shaw woman's lips. Letty was here, and she was safe.

The train left the platform and delved into the dark tunnels, and allowed the two women to rest and relish in their small victory, together.

HAYLEY WRITES...

i have a love-hate relationship
with this chapter to be honest.
definitely not my best writing
but oh well.

anyone who follows my tiktok
(@.htchnr) may recognise the
memory that letty regained from
the video about nat's camera roll!

thank you all so so much for
your support of this book,
i love you guys so much!
it means so much to me.

anyways, don't forget to comment
and vote!

until next time :)