Did she have a death wish? It was an earnest question. One that'd been kicking around Jakob's head for a while. She kept pushing every boundary she could, if not walking right over them, and now here she was again at the edge of fucking around and finding out.
"Here's how this is going to go, Princess," Jakob said, grasping her bicep before she could slip away, "so listen up. Hobbs is going to walk out of this room and go back to minding his own business while you and I get reacquainted."
"Excuse me?"
Elizabeth glanced at Luke. "You're excused."
"Oh, no. I don't care what bullshit you two have going on, I'm not walking out and pretending like whatever he's got planned doesn't involve turning you into a punching bag."
She scoffed, turning to face Hobbs. "If you think he," Elizabeth cocked her head toward Jakob, "would do that, you don't know him at all. And if you think I'd ever let anyone do that to me then you don't know me either. Get out, Fed."
"Elizabeth."
"This isn't an argument you can win." Her eyes narrowed, lips pursed together. Jakob released his grasp on her arm, allowing her to step out of the way. "I killed the last man who laid a hand on me, and no one's tried since."
Makarov? The fleeting thought passed through Jakob's head as he moved into the armory, undoing the straps on his vest.
"Woman, you don't know him from Adam anymore than I do."
"Maybe not, but I can spot a piece of shit at a hundred yards. He isn't one."
"And I am?"
"I didn't say that."
Hobbs frowned, like he couldn't figure out how this had turned into a them versus him situation in five seconds flat. Jakob sure could, though. Luke had all but laid his hands on her, cracking two ribs in the process. Right now, the Fed had Elizabeth's sympathy. However, a woman like her could only extend it for so long.
"Don't make me play the daughter card," Jakob said, tugging the knife free from his vest. He tossed both into a plastic tub under the bench and set to work on his belt and attached holstered sidearm. "We all know how trigger happy you are when it comes to Sam."
"Say that again."
The atmosphere shifted in an instant. Jakob turned around, facing them, all too aware that there was now a clear and present threat in the armory. That Hobbs was two seconds shy of ripping his spine from his body if Jakob crossed the line.
Because there it was-the Fed's dark side. The part of him Cipher would use like a goddamn trigger. She'd aim him in Mr. Nobody's direction, whisper 'bang' and the bullet would fire itself. No need to try and turn a vengeful man when you had the necessary leverage.
"H."
For a second, it seemed as if Elizabeth had just tasered Luke with a single breath. His spine went ramrod straight, head turning on a swivel to face her. She shook her head slowly, saying nothing else as he stared at her. The mix of pain and anger in Hobbs' eyes was all too apparent, yet the weakness...that was something new.
One syllable, one letter of the alphabet, and Elizabeth had him in the palm of her fucking hand.
Interesting.
"I'm not stitching you up if this goes south."
"Your concern's noted."
"Jesus," Luke said, wiping his hand down his face. "Whatever happens is on you."
Hobbs looked between the two of them then exited the armory. The door shut behind him, cutting off his last chance at stopping whatever came next.
"Reacquainted? You crossed the fucking line," Elizabeth snapped. "What part of don't-"
"The other knife." Jakob held his hand out. She was good, he'd give her that. He had been so focused on the one sticking out of his vest that Jakob didn't notice she'd stolen his backup as well. "Now."
"I only took the one."
"I'm not playing this game with you. Not tonight. Hand it over or I'll put a bullet in you as well."
The look in her eyes seemed to shift as Elizabeth walked toward him, hands by her sides and palms facing outwards, as if she was trying to prove something.
"You talk a good game, pretty boy, but you don't have it in you. Otherwise you wouldn't be standing there talking about shooting me."
"It's called giving you a chance."
"And that was your mistake." Beth came to a stop in front of him, well within arm's reach. Jakob was all too aware of every single twitch of her body, watching for the slightest indication she was about to try and kill him. "I told you if you stepped outside the hold, it wouldn't end well for you."
"Elle."
"Like I said," she whispered, leaning into him, "you aren't the type. You might tell yourself that if Cipher gave the order it wouldn't be an issue, but right now, you haven't so much as drawn-"
Jakob pressed the pistol's barrel against her stomach at the same time as she dug the tip of a knife into his throat. "What were you saying?"
"You're an arsehole." Elizabeth took a step backward, only for him to follow, then another, and another, until she was up against the door. "Two-faced lying son of a bitch."
"Speak for yourself, Princess."
"Oh, make no mistake, I'm just a bitch."
"So then, am I killing you," Jakob said, looking down at her, "are you killing me, or are we kissing and making up?"
"Bite me, pretty b-"
Her breath hitched in her throat as he caught her bottom lip between his teeth and tugged on it. In response, she dropped the knife, grasped his shoulder and used Jakob as leverage to drive her knee up toward his balls.
"Fight first," he groaned, blocking her with his hand before she could strike him, "fuck after. That how you want to do this?"
"No." Elizabeth quickly shoved his right arm away from her and dropped to her knees to pick up the knife. "Just d..."
Jakob fisted her hair and angled her head back, staring down at Elizabeth as he holstered his pistol with his free hand. It seemed she truly hadn't been lying about that whole fickle thing. "You hit me in the balls, I'll make you kiss them better."
"How about I cut them off then?"
"Elizabeth." His voice was a warning and promise all wrapped up in one pretty bundle of violence. Jakob leaned down, grasping her knife-wielding hand, and dug his thumb hard into the soft tissue between her own thumb and index finger. "This isn't a fight you'll win."
"I've never won one before anyway. Don't imagine that'll change now."
She dropped the knife, hand instinctively flexing open as the pain became too much. He jerked Elizabeth to her feet, turning her around and shoving her face first into the door.
"Then what the hell are you doing?"
"Making you work for it." Kicking off the door, she threw herself into him, angling her body sideways. Naturally, Jakob caught her, leveraging the momentum and sending them both crashing to the floor. Elizabeth landed first, catching herself with her hands and rolling out of reach. "Pashyol na..."
Jakob hit the carpet facing upward and kipped up in the seconds that followed, putting himself back on his feet. Shaw frowned, grunting when he quickly closed the distance between them and pressed his heel into her tailbone.
"Enough. Last thing you need is another rib injury." Easing off the pressure, Jakob lowered himself to his knees. He straddled her waist, stopping her from moving so much as an inch in any direction. "And I doubt the doc is in the mood to be woken up because my balls need stitching."
"There'd be nothing left to stitch up so I wouldn't worry about that."
Oh, she was stubborn, wasn't she? Jakob grasped her hair again, tugging her head up off the carpet. "I'm going to move, and you're going to sit up on your knees. If I see your hands go anywhere I don't like, the response will be painful."
Elizabeth pulled her knees up under herself as Jakob moved back, sitting upright, keeping her hands where he could see them. He still had hold of her head, preventing Beth from moving any further than she was permitted to.
"You know," Jakob said, "you really need to learn how to fight. This amateur hour shit is going to get you killed one day."
"I have two cracked ribs. Injuries like that aren't very conducive to physical training."
"And yet you keep throwing yourself at me. As flattering as it is, that's not a good way to heal injuries either."
"Fuck you," she spat, the anger in her voice as clear as day.
"If you insist."
"You used me as a distraction so you could shoot them!"
"Yes," said Jakob, letting go of her. He sat back on the floor, propping one knee up and resting his right arm on it. "And you know why I did it. It keeps your asshole brothers out of the way and gives us a clear shot at Dom. No more Hobbs and Shaw to protect him now."
She turned around to face him, glaring, yet the look in her eyes wasn't anger but a glimmer of acceptance. "You could've warned me."
"So you wouldn't have had to listen?"
"What do you think?" Elizabeth winced as she lay back on the floor, pressing her hand to her ribcage. "I've avoided-Fuck, that hurt."
"No shit. You're supposed to be resting and instead you're trying to kick my ass." Jakob moved to her side, gesturing for her to tug her shirt up. Shaw did, lifting it before Jakob began sliding his fingers over each rib. He muttered under his breath, looking more annoyed than anything. "You're lucky it's only muscle soreness."
"Trying being the operative word. Like you said...amateur hour."
"We'll fix that up once you're healed."
"Oh, we will, will we?" A hint of a smirk tugged at her lips as she spoke. "Who said there'll even still be a we by then?"
"I did. Or do you want me to throw you over my shoulder, carry you upstairs, and show you there's a we?"
She let out a short laugh before wincing, propping herself up on her elbows. "I want you to kill Dom, bring this chapter of our lives to a close, and find a hotel with a penthouse suite where we can hole up while everything blows over."
"Whoa, okay, let me write this down. My to-do list was just you up until now, but if I'm going to kill Dom and be stuck in a hotel-"
"Jakob."
"You know, we should've had hot, angry sex while you were still pissed. The mood is just ruined now."
"By the fact there's a Fed standing in the corridor?" Elizabeth murmured, gesturing at a shadow stretching out from beneath the door. "Hobbs has been waiting to come through that door and kill you since I kicked it."
Shit. He hadn't noticed that. "Guess I'll be using you as a human shield tonight."
"First, can I use you as a human crane?"
Jakob stood, taking her hands in his and pulled Elizabeth to her feet. She hadn't cooled off by any means, but the worst of her anger had been temporarily assuaged. Although what he said next was more than likely going to set her off like an earthquake triggering a volcano.
"There's something else you need to know," he said, "about what happened tonight."
"Will it piss me off?"
"Yes."
"Jesus Christ." She looked torn, as if she didn't know whether to press him or not. In the end, Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "What is it?"
"Hobbs told Dom to call your mom and get Hattie involved. She'll be stateside in a day or two."
Elizabeth looked up at him, studying the completely serious look on his face. "You aren't joking, are you?"
"No."
"Then you know what will happen if you or anyone else touches my sister."
He nodded. There were certain lines that even Jakob wasn't willing to cross-this was one of them. Not out of fear of reprisal, or the knowledge that whatever morals Elizabeth still clung to would be completely thrown out the window for the sake of revenge, but respect.
Hattie was her Jesse, and there was nothing Jakob wouldn't have done for his little brother.
After all, he'd found Lance and put that paralysed piece of shit out of his misery.
Then there was Leon.
Jakob chose to leave him alive. Perhaps it was out of respect for the friendship he and Jesse once had, but the message he'd delivered to Leon had been clear as day.
Leave while you still can and never come back.
"So," said Jakob, reaching for the door handle, "your room or mine?"
"His."
Well, he couldn't say he'd seen that coming.
Jakob opened the door, revealing Hobbs standing there, staring at them. Beth took one look at the Fed before she walked up to him, not bothering to even adjust the angle of her head.
"We need to talk."
It all looked absolutely ridiculous-her effectively speaking into Hobbs' chest-but it had the desired effect. He walked backwards with Elizabeth dogging him step for step until they reached his room.
"In there. Now."
There was nothing in her tone to say it was a suggestion. Nor did Hobbs take it as one. He stepped sideways, leading her inside his room. Elizabeth slid the door shut behind them, taking up position against it.
"You want to talk, Shaw? Talk."
"Shut up. You don't get to play the angel after what you did tonight."
Luke scoffed. Whatever Jakob had told her, it'd clearly shifted her attention onto him. "You mean save your brothers' asses?"
"I mean telling Dominic Toretto to call Magdalene and get my sister involved. I don't care what the two of you have going on, it's no reason to drag Hattie into this mess! You want to sleep with her? Go ahead. Just don't get her killed!"
He should've known it'd be something along those lines. What else could get a Shaw fired up like this except messing with their family? "She's a thirty-three year old woman, not a sixteen year old girl. You don't have to protect Hattie. She can handle herself."
"Believe me, I know how old she is, and it doesn't make a difference. Hattie is my little sister. She always will be."
"Then here's a question: do you know Hattie's been working for MI6 since she graduated from Oxford?" Luke stood, taking a step toward her. If Elizabeth thought he'd apologize for telling Dom to play the ace up their sleeve, she had another thing coming. "And here's the next one: how long has it been since you two were even in the same room together? Seventeen years? Do you even know a goddamn thing about the woman Hattie's become since you abandoned her?"
Maybe it was cruel to bury that many knives in Elizabeth's heart all at once, but he wasn't about to stand there and take any amount of bullshit from an overprotective, mouthy pain in the ass.
Yes, Hattie was her sister, but what the hell did Elizabeth know beyond that? All Shaw had done was bounce from prison to prison and work for the mob, always running away from the very person she claimed to be protective of.
Or perhaps that was her limited fucking understanding of protection. Gaining what little power she could and using it to her advantage.
As if Shaw ever had a chance of success.
"You want to protect Hattie?" Luke said, bracing his hand on the door. "Get me off this plane, help me save Sam, and learn to use a gun. Knives aren't going to cut it when Cipher sends Jakob to take you out."
"Aww, look at the peacock all puffed up and preening." Shaw smiled as she spoke. Actually smiled, like his words hadn't sunk in at all. What the hell was wrong with her? "Did it take you all day to prepare that little speech? You know what, I bet Cipher slipped her hand up your arse and played you like a puppet while she wrote it for you."
"Look at me? You don't even give a shit about Hattie, do you?" It was so goddamn obvious now. All of this was about her tiny, fragile ego. "You just want to be the Shaw-sorry, half Shaw-who finally takes Cipher down."
Elizabeth suddenly ducked under his arm, moving toward his bed and the phone on the desk. The one with footage of Sam on it. Luke turned around as she picked it up and started typing.
"Hey! Leave it alone! What the hell are you-"
She held the screen up to show him the message she'd written. I'm not content to just steal Cipher's money anymore. I'm burning everything to the ground.
Visible confusion crossed his face. Luke read the words again, eyebrows pinching together the more he stared at what she had written. Then Elizabeth lowered the phone and typed some more, allowing him to read it only once she was done.
So when do I get lesson two? If you want me to use a gun, you're going to have to teach me.
Wait...what? Luke snatched the phone, erasing what she'd written and typing up his own reply. Are we arguing for real or is this a set-up?
Shaw made a so-so gesture then helped herself to his bed, sitting down and stretching her legs.
"Get out, Elizabeth."
She looked up at him and the screen in his hand. Luke's new message was as straightforward as possible. He wanted to know exactly what she had planned. Every detail.
No more bullshit.
No more keeping him in the dark.
No fucking mind games unless he was in on them. If they were going to do this, Luke needed full transparency. So either she got onboard the Hobbs train or this scorched earth plan of Shaw's happened without him.
"If my sister gets hurt, Hobbs, I will make you regret ever touching her."