by K. S. Adkins
As I was drying off, he said he was going to grab us a bottle of wine so I continued my routine until he returned. When my phone lit up, I wasn’t expecting an answer so quickly but there it was for me to see.
Ricardo Martin: age 35 (single male)
Parents: deceased (no siblings noted)
Employer: unknown
Criminal History: Assault age 16 (no charges filed) Grand theft auto age 17 (community service) Larceny (misdemeanor) age 17, Larceny (felony) ages 18, 19 (eighteen days served in county with community service). Felony murder two counts (case unsolved) age 19. Possession with the intent to distribute, (charges dropped pending work program) age 20.
His history didn’t shock me, he pretty much told me he had a colorful past and I didn’t see how any of this could possibly link itself to me. However, I was smart enough to be cautious now. Even if he didn’t mean me harm, if I was in fact who he was here to deliver, whoever he was working for may. Adrian and his threats came to mind but I don’t see how they would even know each other. Adrian dealt in drugs, hookers, and underground fighting. Yes, it seemed too convenient that we all lived in close proximity but I had no more to go on.
Emailing him back, I asked him to also run Adrian Lennox and see if there was a connection between the two. As far as I knew, Adrian’s record was clean. Why wouldn’t it be? He always had his thugs do his dirty work for him. I wasn’t expecting to find anything and minutes later when he emailed me back, I was proven right.
Shit.
Deleting the thread and logging out, I dress and wait on the couch for Rio to return. Checking myself in the mirror, I notice a glow that I hadn’t seen in years, if ever. Despite the betrayal of looking him up and being proven wrong, I was in a good place emotionally. So I needed to trust Rio, I could do that. It was time to put my trust in someone and I decided even with his past, he was a safe bet.
“You look fucking edible.” He says standing in the doorway looking all sorts of yummy himself. He may be a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy but damn, he does it right.
“Would you like to skip dinner and stay in?” I ask crossing and uncrossing my legs slowly.
“No, you and me are going out. We got all night to scratch that itch.”
Helping me up, he dips me and had me rolling in laughter when he actually motor boated me. “Couldn’t help myself,” he says pouring me a glass of white wine. “Those tits get me fired up.”
“Cheers,” I say lifting my glass and pushing my chest out.
“Cheers, little Bet.” When our glasses clink I felt like absolute shit for doubting him and promised myself I wouldn’t do it again. Dinner of course, was amazing too, we laughed constantly and at about nine o’clock we started doing shots. At eleven, I was on my way to total oblivion when he cashed our tab and he helped me stumble out of the restaurant.
Taking advantage of a break in the weather, he leads me to my favorite spot. We each fall into an Adirondack chair and when he takes my hand and kisses my wrist, I wasn’t too drunk to miss what came next.
With lightning showcasing his beautiful face, it was that exact moment I fell in love with Rio.
There was nothing better than Bet smiling, that was a fact. Even buzzed, she appreciated what surrounded her. No, I wasn’t a fan of island life but she was, so I decided for her I could deal. Kissing her inner wrist, she let out the smallest sigh and her eyes softened. Those beautiful eyes lit up for me, the guy who fell for her in no time flat. There was no denying it, no hiding it either.
Which was why I needed to tell her the truth about why I’m here. If I lost her because of it, that’s on me but she’s levelheaded and I had to believe she would forgive me. She would understand it was business. I couldn’t think of anyone who would get that more than her. Adrian had me by the balls as much just as he had her, we could work this out. Reaching over, I pull her up and onto my lap and let her settle in. Bet is a small woman who happened to fit perfectly under my chin. Running her fingers over my arms, she tilts her head back and speaks into my ear before I can confess.
“Here’s something else about me you don’t know,” she begins. “In college, I was once arrested for public intoxication.”
“You?” I laugh, “Don’t see it.”
“It’s true!” she says sitting up and turning to face me. “I used my fake ID to get into the bar and then security called the cops when I refused to climb down from the table I was dancing on. Granted, it didn’t stick because of my father but I was cuffed, fingerprinted and photographed. I even threw up on the cot! Wow, I can’t believe I forgot that.”
“My woman has a record.”
“That was the last time I did anything like that. My father was pissed. Alan never said a word one way or the other, and my mother thought it was a phase.”
“Was it?”
“I think it was pre-wedding jitters,” she admits quietly. Looking out over the water she tenses up a bit so I try and calm her again.
“Keep going,” I tell her while rubbing her back.
“I was so young and scared. I was a sophomore in college and I was getting married. He loved me so much. I knew one day I could love him too,” she says “I just---”
“Who you trying to convince here, little Bet, me or you?”
“Shit, I don’t know,” she says falling back onto me. “I suppose there’s no use in what ifs. Even if I could go back and change anything I’d still be where I am now. Moving forward, no matter the step, is difficult. I’m trying really hard not to let you feel the fallout from it, but I know you won’t be exempt. Guilt is what’s kept me going for six years. Hell, long before that. I felt guilty that I didn’t love him like he loved me, that I didn’t do more. I thought I had time to get there.”
“All this work you do, that help with the guilt?”
“No, but I tell myself it does. How about you? All those years protecting Rion, did that ease your guilt?”
“Some,” I admit, “But I gotta tell ya, every day was a struggle to do good. Making them proud and keeping her safe was important to me. I did the best I could but I ain’t ever going to be straight like you deserve.”
“What if I told you that I’ve backed several ventures that provide less than legal services? That I believe in their causes and support them fully. That my money helped a certain group of people locate missing persons as well as eliminate future threats to the public. Because the city doesn’t have the resources and I do, I keep them well-funded. Women and children were being stolen in broad daylight, but these guys are good, Rio, like mercenary good. My point is, no one is straight as an arrow. No one. Sometimes you have to do a little bad to get to the good. If I had the skills and the stomach for it, I’d help them myself.”
“I was a thief, Bet,” I remind her, “You’re like Robin Hood with a hot ass, you give back. I took what didn’t belong to me.”
“What if you got involved with the group and helped them retrieve what was stolen? I have to believe you’re good at finding things, being a thief and all.”
“Are you offering me a job?”
“I hadn’t meant to, but you’ve got to admit, it makes sense. People are missing, their families are devastated and they were stolen, right? You’ll just be stealing them back.”
In a moment of seriousness, I put it out there, needing her to know how I felt. “I’m in love with you, little Bet.”
“You’re sure, right? No take backs?” she asks breathlessly.
“What’s it gonna take for you to fall in love with me?”
“I want it to be you, Rio.” She admits quietly.
“Then I’ll keep convincing you until you do.” I tell her.
At that moment, I knew I had a chance of winning her heart and I wouldn’t stop until I did. My debt to Adrian didn’t matter, her being loaded didn’t matter either. What happened here with us was real; nothing and nobody would ruin this for us.
“So tell me something no one else knows about you, Rio Martin.”
�
�That one’s easy,” I tell her, whispering in her ear.
Slapping me on the shoulder she lets out a loud laugh followed by, “You whipped your dick out in church?”
“It’s called holy water, Bet,” I mumble. “The priest said it washed away your sins.”
“You dip your finger in, not your dick---” she says trying to piece it all together. “Please tell me the priest didn’t catch you.”
“Nope,” I say as my face heats up. “Senior did.” When she falls down, curls into a ball and laughs her ass off I had to admit, it was pretty funny. Now, not then. Definitely not then. I’ve never lived that down and thinking of Junior meeting Bet so they could laugh together made the whole thing worth it.
Standing up, I extend my hand and she takes it while dusting off. Walking back to the room hand in hand, I have to admit making her laugh was the second most rewarding job I’ve ever had. Loving her was the first.
At least it felt pretty rewarding until we were attacked.
Holding hands wasn’t overrated.
I used to think it was when I was in college. I hated it, actually. When Alan would grab my hand I would take it back and get frustrated with him. I used to think it was his way of showing others I was taken, a guy thing. To me it felt like I was being led around because I was thought to be too stupid to walk unassisted. Looking down at us walking casually hand in hand, I realized it was Alan’s way of showing me he cared about me. It was a connection between two people and I didn’t take the time to see that.
The amount of guilt one person can carry can’t be measured, it’s specific to that individual. Even with Rio claiming to love me, it was going to take time to adjust to having someone in my life. Putting someone first again, being considerate and compromising. Here we are sharing this new connection and I felt no guilt. What I felt was at ease, open, and vulnerable, in a good way.
He said ‘I’m in love with you’ so easily but he meant the words. Both of us have made some serious declarations this week. When Rio did it he didn’t blink or sound nervous, if anything he sounded confident. It was proof that he was good for me, that he had this beautiful heart and I had to do everything in my power not to destroy it.
Turning the corner to head uphill, I looked down at our hands again and smiled. He didn’t just hold my hand, he guided me, protected me in the dark. It also felt like he wanted to show me off and was looking for any excuse to find someone to share his good fortune with. I know this because I felt the same way. I wanted to gloat, puff up and point at Rio and say “Oh yeah, this guy? All mine bitches!”
For the first time in my life, I felt possessive.
This man belonged to me and me to him. I wouldn’t share him. I’d scratch eyes out and sling insults at women thinking to poach my territory. I was an alpha female claiming her male with no one around to witness it. All of these things felt fanfuckingtastic, even without an audience. So much so that he needed to know right now. For me timing was everything and this was the time. Pulling him to stop, he stops easily, looks down at me and I stick my chin out proudly while clutching his hand. “Rio, I---”
“Whoa!” he yells and yanks me a few steps back.
“What---?” I try but he cuts me off.
“Did you see that?” he asks looking around.
“See what?” I counter because it’s so dark but even though I couldn’t see it, seconds later I felt it.
With an unholy scream, I break away from Rio and run in the opposite direction. In the back of my mind I knew running was stupid and clearly not fixing the problem but I was too petrified to identify what the problem was.
“Bet!” he yells after me. “Wait! Stop running woman, you’ve got a fucking bat in your hair!”
Skidding to halt, I throw my hands in the air and start shaking my head furiously. Oh God, I’m going to get rabies. I’m going to die from a bat bite. Reaching me he immediately bends me over and the two of us go at my hair until I feel the blood sucker free itself.
“Oh God, I’ve got rabies! Oh fuck! Am I bleeding? Did we kill it? We have to kill the host right? I know I read that somewhere. I think I’m going to pass out.”
“It’s gone,” he says as out of breath as I am. “It didn’t bite you, it was as scared as you were.”
“Check my scalp!” I demand. “I swear it bit me!”
“Let’s get to the room first---” he starts but then his eyes go round and like he was set on fire, Rio took off like an Olympic sprinter. Jesus, he even screamed louder than I did.
Apparently loving someone meant chasing after them when they lost their damn mind. So that’s what I did, until he needed me to rescue him.
For the first time in my life I was the hero not the villain.
Fuck keeping calm.
There was a God damn bat stuck to my back.
With my heart on my sleeve, I told the woman I loved her flat out and then this shit happens. When she stopped me she had something to say but I cut off her off. There was no way to prepare for a rabies infested bat attack and screaming was all I could come up with. The fact was, Bet handled her attack much better than I was handling mine.
Now I’m running in circles and I can’t shake the damn thing. Out of fucking nowhere, Bet comes at me tackling me face down into the grass. Screaming like a banshee, she starts beating the holy shit out of me.
“Die, fucker!” she screams punching me in the back. “Oh God, it touched me!” she yells running around me. “Roll over!” she demands but ain’t no way I’m rolling on this thing.
“Get it off me!” I order her.
“Okay!” she cries out. Waiting for her to kill the son of a bitch took forever. Then finally, I can hear her talking herself through it and though I kept waiting for a kidney shot, it never came. Let me say the kidney shot would have been preferred over her beating me with a God damn sandal. Wallop after wallop came and I’m pretty sure I counted seven licks to my back before she stopped. “It’s gone,” she says collapsing next to me.
Rolling to my back and opening my eyes, I ask her. “Where’s your shirt?”
“Over there,” she says throwing a hand out. “You used your fucking sandal on it so why’d the shirt come off too?” I ask.
“The sandal was a last resort, thank you very much. I tried shooing him with my shirt first but he was too strong!” she cries out burying her face in my chest.
“You saved my life,” I tell her with a smirk.
“Damn straight, I did,” she says looking up at me. “This kind of shit doesn’t happen in the city.”
“Bastards didn’t put this in the welcome flyer.” I point out.
“Oh, I’m totally writing a letter.” She says.
“They say a traumatic event can make couples even stronger. We just had a near-death experience, you love me yet?”
Her silence and the look of want was all the answer I needed. Helping each other up, dusting each other off, she may not have said she loved me back but she did take my hand first this time.
That had to mean something.
Before the bat invasion, I came to terms with my feelings and the simple act of holding hands. After it, I took his hand first needing to be as close to him as possible but chickened out on the, I love you. Now that we’re back to our perspective rooms, I had the opportunity to wig out privately in the bathroom.
He’s really in love with me.
Why am I smiling? I shouldn’t be. What I should be doing is running over to the bar and speed drinking. He can’t love me. I worked so hard to be unlovable. Where are my cigarettes? Probably misplaced, right along with my common sense and underwear. Oh God, moving forward is making me fucking manic. I love him, I know I do, I can feel it but now I’m afraid to say it. It’s new and it’s frightening because I can’t say if it’s the crazy circumstances making feel this way or if it’s genuine I fell hard and fast kind of feelings. Who falls in love in less than two weeks? Oh that’s right, I do. The woman who wanted to die did. I’m not a pussy, I’m a hard
core boss but also still a woman running scared. Looking over my shoulder, I hear him come in and watch as he pours us each another glass of wine. I start to lose my nerve again too dammit. He looks in control whereas I’m an emotional shit show.
Changing into my robe, I tie an extra knot in it hoping to give myself a barrier and time to figure this out. Push him away, that’s what I’ve got to do. That’s easy, right? Women do it all the time. Sitting down on the bed, I wanted to hyperventilate. Being purposefully mean wasn’t what I was about. Besides, he was right. I was a horrible liar, oh and I loved his ass.
When lightning cracks snapping me from my meltdown, I jump letting out a squeak. “It’s getting closer.” He says reaching out for me. Pulling me to my feet he puts a glass in my hand and I’m too freaked out to say thank you. Taking a huge gulp, I follow it up with another. Tilting my chin up he kisses me once and whispers, “God didn’t forget about you, little Bet, he wanted me to find you.”
At a loss for words because his were perfect, I watch him wondering what other methods he had for breaking me because if it was a religious experience, I couldn’t handle it. Growing up in church, God was praised for all the good he did; I was taught he died for my sins. If there was good in losing my family I didn’t see it. Life hasn’t been good since, I can tell you that much. My brain nor my heart could understand why I had to lose so much then to find Rio now. My mom used to say, God will never give you more than you can handle. God, I decided, gave me way more credit than I was due. Until Rio, I wasn’t handling anything and I knew it.
The thunder chose that moment to rumble again saving me from saying something I couldn’t take back like, maybe God knew something I didn’t. If Rio was right that he was my second chance and I was his, I probably owed God an apology and a bottle of red wine.
Another crack of lightning causes me to tense up and holding me still he whispers, “You’re always safe with me.” Looking up at him I want to say the words again but the room fills with white light then we’re bathed in total darkness.