Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A few weeks went by, and so much had gone down. I had traveled to California to get a printing warehouse going in the Redlands. Rio had Eddie and Tony come with me to ensure I was safe. Annie and Eddie were getting closer, I could tell. He texted her pretty much the entire week we were gone. Eddie had moved into his own place once he started getting a cut of our profits. Rio and I had a pattern of fucking and fighting. He clearly had issues with strong women. But I was showing him a thing or two. I don't know what made me think of it, but I started to worry about Rio while we were away. Not just him about him fucking someone else, but him getting killed. I remember talking to Eddie one night while Tony was passed out on the hotel couch.

"Yo, you good?" Eddie said, rolling a joint.

"Yeah, just thinking, I guess," I said, scrolling through my phone. Eddie smiled.

"You're wonderin' if Rio is hittin' some other bitch..." Eddie said as he sealed his vice.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. I know that look." Eddie said, lighting his joint. "I've only seen two chicks that have been with him. Seriously I mean. His ex-wife and another ex-girlfriend. I've known Rio pretty much my whole life, and he was with both of them for more than half of that time. When he is in, he's all in. It takes a lot for him to want you to stick around for the long haul." He said, passing me the joint. I took a hit and looked down at the ground.

"He's only had, two girlfriends?" I asked as I handed the joint back to him. He nodded as he took a hit.

"As far as I know. Just Rhea and that one crazy bitch Kayla or some shit. He was with Rhea for five years. But they make better friends than married and shit. They got Marcus out of it, though." Eddie added.

"Yeah, Marcus is cute. I like Rhea too. I thought she would be a bitch, but the one time I met her, she was really nice." I said, scrolling through my phone again. Eddie nodded.

"Yeah. I feel you. He's into you, though. Really into you. I think it confuses him n' shit. It happened fast. Plus, you were a cop n' everything." Eddie said, smiling.

"Yeah," I said with a smile and shrug.

I woke up one morning and heard Rio downstairs talking to someone on the phone. He sounded pissed, and I knew it couldn't be good. I honestly didn't know what it could have been. We were pulling in some serious banks from Jersey, Cali, Chicago, and Detroit. I was making 30k a month, and Rio was pulling in about 100k per month. I made him take over the utility bills and postmates account, which was hard to do. Rio was...traditional when it came to finances. I knew he gave his ex-wife Rhea about 40k a month which I actually loved. Rhea deserved it. She was such a good mom. Marcus was starting to warm up to me mainly because when Rhea would bring him over, I would have sugar and toys readily available.

I quietly walked downstairs and poured myself a cup of coffee, Rio now yelling on the phone on the balcony. A few minutes later, he comes back in and curses in Spanish. He notices me and comes sauntering over. He looked really hot in his black muscle shirt and basketball shorts. It was rare to see him in comfy clothes like this.

I put my coffee down as he came up and lifted me, so I was sitting on the counter. He settled between my legs and rested his hands on my thighs. I put my hands on his shoulders and kissed him.

"So what's going on?" I asked as I ran my thumb over his bottom lip.

"Just a little complication. I'm handlin' it." Rio said while snaking his arms around my waist. I eyed him. "I said I'm handlin' it, baby. Now, I need you to do a pickup. The printers have moved locations. Now I'm gonna get a shower. You're welcome to join me." He said, smirking and laying a kiss on my neck. He just lied to me. He wasn't handling it. Rio wouldn't act panicked if it were handled.

I pulled up to the cute house that Rio gave me directions for and parked on the other side of the street. Rio wanted me to bring along Eddie or Mick, but I told him no. I could take care of myself, and I would only be watching Beth and the girls. What could go wrong?

I texted Beth to let her know I was here. As far as I knew, her kids were asleep upstairs, so I didn't want to wake them. A few seconds later, Beth appears at the door and smiles at me almost appreciatively, but her smile quickly fades. I think the girls always had a sense of relief when I was the one who would show up for pick-ups and not Mick or, even worse, Rio. I could tell there was a lot of bad blood still on Rio's part with Beth. Not that I blamed him, she did put three slugs in him and damn near killed him. But he knew he needed her. She was our best printer across four charters.

"Hey," I said, smiling.

"Hey. We are almost done with this batch. Drink?" She asked, heading to the fridge. I declined, and she nodded. She poured herself a large glass of wine. I eyed her intensely. "Yeah, I know I'm on the clock, but...trust me. It's necessary. The kids are at Dean's moms' house tonight." She says. I walk over to the counter and lean on it with my forearms.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm just...there's just a lot going on. Dean and I aren't doing so well again. I swear it's like since I found out about him cheating last year, we just can't get our footing back for longer than a few weeks. My son is failing math. Rio is just working us so hard, and it's getting insane..."She says before remembering who she is talking to. "Sorry." She said quickly. I shrugged.

"No, don't apologize. Love the man but goddamn, he stubborn." I said, groaning. She smiles slightly.

"You love him?" She asked. I shrugged my leather jacket off, exposing my arms.

"Um, I mean, I don't know. We haven't been...whatever we are for that long. Sorry, I don't mean to..." I started to say. "I know you guys..." I said awkwardly.

"No, no, please. Andy, I need you to know that Rio and I are over. Like really over. I hate to say it, but I was using him. I'm not proud of it. But it's the truth. I'm not into gangbangers, no offense." She says quickly. I laugh.

"None was taken. The man is what he is. To be honest, I sometimes wonder if that's one of the things I love or hate. I'm sorry about Dean. What makes you think things aren't good with you and your husband?" I asked. Just as she was getting ready to answer, Dean came crashing through the door, an older brunette stuck to his lips. He and the brunette see Beth and me.

"Beth? Oh my...what are you doing here? I thought you were at work." He says, shaking. The blonde quickly ran outside, and I heard her tires squealing shortly after. I look at Beth, who is now red in the face, and her teeth are gritted. Dean scans me and sees the tattoos on my arm. "Oh great, you've got a gangbanger in our house. You're lucky the kids aren't..." Dean said. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't call her that," Beth growled. Just then, Ruby and Annie come up from, I am assuming, the basement aprons on.

"Oh great, and you're printing in our home. That's just great, Beth." Dean said, throwing his keys on the entry table. I didn't like his tone.

"Hey Deanzy, what are you doing here?" Annie asked nervously.

"He was trying to bring his newest mistress here, too, I am assuming, have sex in our bed?" Beth asked. Ruby cursed, and Annie scoffed, widening her eyes at Dean. "Dean, just get out," Beth said calmly. "I can't even act surprised. Just leave." Beth said, sterner this time.

"I'm not going anywhere until we talk about this," Dean said in a threatening tone. I stood back while Annie started throwing jabs at him. Before I knew it, Dean was coming at Annie. I think the dude had been drinking. He didn't strike me as the type of guy to hit a woman. Yet again, he was a cheater, and those types are void of morals. Like I was one to talk, my man was a hard-core gang leader. While Beth and Ruby tried to stop Dean, I had enough. I pulled out my handgun, and I walked to Dean, his back to me. I put the gun to his head. Beth and Ruby quietly begged me not to kill him. I wanted to, but I wouldn't.

"Take your hands off her, then back up," I said, giving him room to comply. Dean did, I said, his hands in the air. "You're gonna go sleep it off at a hotel," I said simply. I followed him to the door. My gun still pointed at him.

"Okay, okay." He said shakily. Once I had made sure he was gone, I calmly put my piece back in my jeans and headed to the basement. I turned around to the ladies, clearly stunned.

"You forget, I am not a good guy," I said simply. "Now, let's get this shit packed up so I can go home," I said as the girls nodded and followed me. Once we had packed up everything and I gave them their cut from the previous drop, we headed outside.

"Beth might be a good idea for you to stay with one of them tonight," I said. Beth nodded, trying not to cry. I felt terrible for her. She looked completely defeated. "He's a scumbag. You can do a million times better....just not our boss." I said, winking. She smiled and chuckled lightly as a tear ran down her cheek. Annie and Ruby rubbed Beth's arms and headed with her back inside. A part of me kind of wished I had friends like that.

When I got back to the apartment, it was late, like early morning. I looked at my phone as I texted Beth on her burner to ensure she left. She texted me back instantly and told me she went to Annie's for the night. I put my key in the door and aimlessly walked in, still looking down at my phone. I look up and see Rio, Eddie, Mick, and Tony sitting in the living room. Rio looks up at me as I throw the duffle bag on the ground. He smiles slightly.

"Hey, baby." He says, getting up and placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Hey," I said, looking up at him, smiling.

"Eddie, I need a favor," I asked.

"Sup?" Eddie asks.

"Head over to Annie's place and check on Beth. Make sure that tool Dean doesn't show up. I almost had to give him a taste of lead poisoning tonight." I said as I finished explaining what happened.

"That Dean man gets dumber every time I see him," Rio said, laughing. Eddie nodded.

"Alright, man, I'm out. I'll check in later." Eddie said as he headed towards the door.

"Yo, low profile, alright? Can't be too careful with them trackin' us this hard." Rio said, suddenly realizing what he said. I bit my lower lip and rolled my eyes. Yeah, he was hiding something.

"I'm going to bed. Night boys." I said, giving Rio a threatening look. He tensed his jaw, not taking his off of me as he gave me a sideways look. He knew he was in trouble. I headed upstairs and slammed the bedroom door. I heard Rio tell the boys to head home. I was pissed, and I was gonna give him an earful.