"Hey, Darlin'. I let myself in, hope you don't mind." Rio muttered, still looking at the screen in front of him.
I took my keys out of the door and closed it before responding "Rio, what're doing here?"
"You want to tell me why I took Beth to an OBG/YN and the doctor said she's pregnant?" he asks. His voice is mono-toned, but I don't need to be a detective to know he's pissed.
This isn't my drama and I'm already fed up with it, "That's just what she told me, so I guess it's a surprise for the both of you. Congrats, Papi." I say, rolling my eyes as I place my bag on the little entryway table.
I hear him get up and stalk towards me as I walk towards my kitchen, "Did she promise to let you into their little sorority if you played games with me?" he spat.
"You're hilarious. This isn't my drama, okay? But, you don't want to believe me so I guess I'll have to show you." I stalk towards my bag, which holds my computer.
"What're you doin', Citrine?"
I don't answer him and I grab the computer and storm back into the kitchen where he is still standing. I want to slam the computer on the counter, just to prove I'm pissed, but I'm not rich so I can't afford a new laptop. I open the computer up and quickly type in my password and begin to pull up the security video from the shop.
"You don't want to believe me, so you're going to witness it. My shop has security cameras, with audio." I began rewinding the video right before the women came into the shop.
"You don't have to do this, mama." he sighs, placing his hand on the counter, leaning on it.
"No, clearly I have to." I snap.
The video begins to play and I turn up the volume, he proceeds to watch the whole video, not once looking away. Once Beth was out of the frame, I paused the stream.
"I shouldn't have accused you."
"You think?" I snap, "You don't know me, Rio. We spent one day together and I'm being dragged into this shit. And then I get accused of random shit. You need to clean up your mess before you bring other people into your life. Now, if you don't mind, I waited an extra hour at the store thinking you were going to pop up, but you were just here in my apartment, somehow. I would really like it if you would leave." I finish, pointing to the door. I didn't yell, but I was stern. I honestly thought if I yelled he would kill me.
He stares at me for a moment, like he wants to say something, but he never does. He just nods his head a little and simply walks out the door, slamming it. The loud sound made me jump, but I still let out a sigh of relief. I shut down my computer and grab a glass of wine and sit on my couch. Which makes my stomach churn lightly, because I can smell his cologne. And even though it smells amazing, right now it's a reminder of what has happened today and what I just learned about this man.
Rio has tried to call me for the past couple of days, but I haven't been answering. I just went to work and came home like normal. I thought about taking a few days, but that wouldn't be fair to the girls. Also, if I'm home Rio might stop by for a visit. At least when I come home from work I have the chance to see his car in the small parking lot.
Things were slowly going back to normal, except today during my lunch I spilled coffee on my shirt and I don't want to be sticky so I decided to run home and change before returning.
I use the bathroom and walk back into my room to grab my bag when I hear my door open and close. My heart begins to race as I think it may be Rio. However, it could also be an intruder. I grab the bat under my bed and slowly peek out to the hallway, checking to see if the coast is clear. As I creep down the small hall I can hear my heart beating in my chest. I raise the bat to prepare for a swing when I see a back facing me. I almost scream the moment I realize it's not Rio standing in my living room. I continue my quiet walk to the stranger and immediately swing the bat at his head. He falls to the ground, unconscious.
Well, what the fuck do I do now? There's an unconscious stranger lying on my living room floor. I race back into my bedroom to grab my bag and phone to call the police when I hear a vibrating noise. I return to the living room and it's coming from the man's jacket. I hesitate at first, but I grab the phone and groan when I see the caller ID. I press the green button on the bottom right of the screen and press the phone to my ear.
"What'cha got, man?" he asks instantly.
"Oh, well things over here are going quite well actually. How's your day going?" I retorted.
"What are you doin' there, mama?"
"Excuse me, I live here. Why the hell did you send one of your men to my home to begin with, Rio?" I snap.
"You weren't answering my calls."
"So you send a stranger to my house?"
"He's not a stranger, he's my guy." I can hear the smirk in his voice.
"Well, your guy is going to be here for a while."
"Sorry, what?"
"Either you come get him or you can go get him from the police station, your call, papi."
"Mama, you aren't gonna call-"
I hung up on him before he could finish, sliding the phone into my pocket. The reality of what I just did makes me wish I just spent the day with coffee on me. I look through my bag to find the small taser I keep on me and the pepper spray on my keychain. It's not much, but it's the only kind of weapon I had other than a kitchen knife. I don't want to hurt this unknown man on my floor, I just need him to stay here until Rio shows.
I sit down on my couch, with my small selection of weapons and the bat in hand as I wait for Rio to show or the guy to wake. Sadly, the latter was my fate. The man groans, slowly sitting up and holds the side of his head where the bat had made contact. He almost immediately makes eye contact with me.
"I was told you weren't going to be here." he said, getting up.
"Surprise." I mutter.
"The police coming?" he asks, taking a small step towards me.
"No, not yet. Rio is on his way, but if he doesn't show I think I have enough for the police to get you charged."
"What makes you think that?"
I reach into my pocket and take out his phone, "Yep, I've already written down the serial number, and I have cameras in my apartment, I think that'll do just fine. So, you can either sit on this couch with me and wait for your boss or I can go ahead and call the police."
The man sits down and I scoot to the other side. We sit in silence for a few minutes until he reaches over to my coffee table to grab the remote to my television.
"What is with you guys just coming inside my home and making yourselves comfortable?" I groan.
The man just shrugs and begins flipping through channels. I roll my eyes.
It seemed like forever until the front door swung open to reveal a very angry Rio.
"You think you can speak to me that way? That you can threaten me and my people? That's not how this shit works." he growls, making his way towards me. He looks at the man sitting beside me before looking at me again "You didn't tie him up or anything? You're bad at this threatening shit."
"She got me a drink and an ice pack too." the stranger shrugs.
Rio just looks at me with confusion and anger in his eyes, "You're really bad at this whole threatening shit."
I shrug, "Is this the first time you've sent your people to my house?"
"Nah, see that's not how this works, mama. You don't get to just ask questions. You gotta learn you can't just talk all that game to get me over here to just ask shit. You can't be making empty threats." he lectures.
"I don't appreciate you sending people to my home and I don't want it to happen again, got it? And it wasn't an empty threat." I snap.
"You got my man a fucking ice pack and a drink if you wanted to call the cops, you would've." he shrugs.
"I still can."
"Mick, why don't go ahead out. We'll talk later." Rio said, not once looking away from my face.
"She's got my phone." he replied.
Rio shakes his head, the smirk returning once again, "Give him the phone, Darlin'."
"No." I lean back on the couch, crossing my arms.
He steps closer to me and repeats his demand. I decline once again, and he nods his head. He comes up to me and hovers over my body. Before I can register what was happening he grabs my wrists and pulls them above my head. I try to pry them out of his grip, but even when he uses one hand to hold me down I can't get free.
"Where's the phone?" he asks the man, who now has a name... Mick.
"Back pocket." he replied.
I groan as I twist my hips to try to place a majority of my weight on the phone. Rio looks down at me with a twisted smile and slides his hand down the back of my shirt to my pants. I kept trying to get away, but nothing was working. I feel the phone beginning to slip from my pocket and I aim to do something I've only done one other time in my life, kick him in the crotch. I lift my leg and I guess this man can read minds, because he quickly dodges out of the way, phone in hand.
"Nice try." he smirks, tossing Mick his phone. Who quickly leaves my apartment and shuts the door behind him.
I'm now alone with Rio, once again. I can't believe I thought I could get the upper hand on him, a gangster, who has been at this for who knows how long.
"You know I haven't seen your bedroom yet. Do you want to show me or should I find it myself?" he asks, still above me. I don't say anything and just look down at my lap. I felt his hands move down to my waist and instantly I picked up and threw over his shoulder.
"I'm not a sack of potatoes, put me down!" I yell.
He walks down the small hallway, and is able to see my room. He walks, shuts the door and drops me on the bed. I react quickly and push myself off and try to rush past him and to the door. He grabs my waist again, and spins us so I'm facing the bed again.
"Where're you going, mama?" he whispers in my ear. He spins me to face him and he tucks some hair behind my ear. "You aren't talking so big and bad now, huh?" he smirks. If I had the courage I would slap him. But I honestly think I pushed him too far.
"Lay down on the bed." he instructs, letting go of my waist. I hesitate, and he says "Now, Citrine."
Fuck, I really fucked up. I back up to the bed and lay down. He instantly climbs on top of me, hovering above me once again.
"You're brave, I'll give you that. You can't talk to me like that shit from earlier, got it?"
I quickly shut my eyes and nod my head quickly. I feel the bed shift as he lowers his head down to my ear, "I told you, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not gonna hurt you. You won't feel any pain from me, except the good kind." he purrs in my ear.
Damn, this is actually kinda turning hot. Is this toxic? I feel like this may be toxic...
I open my eyes and see him already looking at me in mine. He slowly leans down and connects our lips. I instantly wrap my arms around his neck and drag him down closer to me. The kiss becomes more intense and I move my hands from around his neck to underneath the front of his shirt. Rio pulls back and looks at me.
"You sure, mama?"
"Yes." I whisper.