Location: Toretto's House, Early Morning
The sun barely touched the horizon when Adrian awoke. Sleep had been fleeting—Mia's warmth beside him was grounding, but his mind ran faster than his body ever could. Shadows of the past never slept. Not even when he tried.
He sat up silently, careful not to wake her, and stepped out onto the balcony. A cigarette hung loosely from his lips, unlit. Old habits. The kind he used when thinking of warzones and choices that left blood on his hands.
Behind him, Dom stepped through the door.
"No offense," Dom said quietly, "but you don't look like a man built for peace."
Adrian smirked. "Peace is for the dead. I prefer balance."
Dom folded his arms. "You gonna tell me what you really are, Lucifer?"
Adrian's face didn't change, but inside—he paused. "Who told you that?"
Dom looked out over the streets of East LA. "Letty doesn't say much, but she's sharper than people think. She saw the scar on your shoulder—bullet wound, military-issue. Then the way you handled Hector's guys the other day? You didn't flinch. You don't just learn that."
Adrian leaned forward. "So what do you think I am?"
Dom didn't answer immediately. "I think you're the guy who looks out for Mia when I'm not around. And I think you've got more ghosts than answers."
Adrian turned slowly. "You're not wrong. But here's the truth, Dom—everything I've done... everything I am—I put it in the ground the day I met your sister. For her, I'll stay buried. But if anyone threatens her, this family, or even you..." His voice dropped to something far more dangerous. "They'll wake the Devil."
Dom met his gaze. "Then we're square."
Location: FBI Mobile Unit
Brian stood tense in front of a table littered with surveillance photos, GPS logs, and crime scene maps. On a monitor, footage of Adrian walking the streets with Dom, laughing with Mia, helping Vince with repairs played on loop.
"He's a ghost," said Agent Bilkins. "No paper trail, no fingerprints, no DNA in the system. The CIA flagged a blacked-out profile under the codename Alpha. But get this—the report is sealed under Omega clearance."
"Omega?" Brian frowned. "That's presidential level…"
Bilkins nodded. "This guy... might be the most dangerous man in the world. And somehow, he's fixing engines in East LA."
Brian clenched his jaw. "We're not blowing this. I can still bring in Toretto. That's the mission."
"But Adrian King isn't part of the mission anymore. He's a warning. Leave him out of this."
Brian didn't answer. His eyes lingered on a freeze-frame of Adrian with Mia.
Later: Adrian and Mia
Adrian rolled under a Charger, grease on his jaw, shirt halfway unbuttoned as Mia watched from a short distance, biting her lip.
"You keep looking at me like that, I'm gonna start charging for the view," he teased.
Mia threw a rag at his face. "I'm just trying to figure you out."
"You and half the intelligence agencies on the planet."
"You gonna disappear on me someday?" she asked seriously.
Adrian sat up, wiping his hands. "Not unless you send me away."
Mia knelt beside him. "I'm not scared of who you were, Adrian. I'm scared of who you might pretend to be with me."
His hand reached up, cupping her cheek. "With you? I'm just a man. No code names. No missions. Just me."
They kissed again—slow, lingering—and for a moment, Adrian King wasn't Lucifer or Ghost or Devil.
He was just… Adrian.
Elsewhere: Planning the Final Run
Back at the garage, Dom gathered the crew—Leon, Letty, Vince, Adrian, and Brian. The plan was on the table: hijack one final high-stakes shipment, something clean and fast before laying low for a while.
Adrian observed from the back, arms crossed.
"You sure you wanna do this?" he asked, looking directly at Dom.
"It's the last run," Dom said. "After this, we're ghosts."
Adrian raised a brow. "Trust me. You don't want that title."
Brian tried to speak up. "We should be careful—Fed's been sniffing around the east highway. I say we take a detour."
Everyone turned to Brian, and something in Adrian's expression tightened. He could see the cracks. Brian was sweating under the collar—his eyes darting, voice slightly off. He was lying.
Adrian didn't call it out.
Not yet.
Final Scene: A Visitor from the Past
Late that night, a message buzzed through Adrian's encrypted satellite phone.
Unknown Sender: "The DEA wants you to know she's alive. And she remembers everything."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
Monica Fuentes.
The final heist was closing in. Brian's mask was slipping. Monica's reappearance would complicate things. And Adrian?
He was about to step back into the shadows.
End of Chapter 12