Dangerous

Seventeen

"You think you can slip in fake cash and I ain't gonna notice?" Rio asked the girls while his two men held guns to their head, well more like Ruby and Beth, Rose and Annie were in the middle the so the guns weren't right at them. 

"No, it's not possible. We have a system." Beth said trying to calm the gangsters down. Rose just stood there with her arms crossed. The events from the past two maybe three months, she doesn't know anymore. Ever since her life started to go downhill again the days just seemed to blend together. Rose didn't really want to deal with anything at this moment, she came because Annie asked not for whatever this was. Rose knew where this was going as well, one of the many girls that they brought into their systems didn't give them real money back. Rose hated where her life was at this moment. Knowing every mistake these mothers make t, keeping secrets from her friends, then whatever else could happen with Ezra still out there. Rose just wanted to lay down and die.

 "Me too," Rio says. 

"We know what is real and what is fake," Beth said trying to reasons with him.

"Oh, me too," Rio said with a smirk. 

"You tried to rip me off 100 G's" 

"What? No." Beth said and the two other mothers started to freak out. Rose just sighed and leaned against the fireplace. 

"We would never do that!" Annie said putting her hands up. 

"Maybe it was one of the women!" Ruby said in a panic. Soon everyone went quiet, Annie and Beth brought their arms down to their side. Rose slid down the walls and shook her head. "Maybe one of them didn't wash the money." 

"Stop talking," Rose said. She was all around done with her life and accepted death, just not by Rio's hands. 

"And just turned in her surveys and didn't go shopping." 

"Shut up," Rose said starting to get an attitude. Standing up from where she sat and hit her head against the wall. 

"What women?" Rio asked with a stern look. The silence that fell over the room was filled with tenseness. Rose groaned and looked at the women, Beth looked over at Rose, Rose just sighed and walked away from the guns and laid down on the couch. 

"We couldn't wash the cash fast enough, so we had to outsource." Beth tried to explain.

 "You shared my business with other people?" Rio questioned the women. 

"I was busy almost dying so you can't blame me," Rose said with a hand on her face as she listened to the conversation happening. Ruby and Annie looked at each other confused about Rose just said. Beth and Rio however were just looking at each other. Rose took her hand off her face and looked at Beth and Rio. Rolling her eyes and seeing Ruby and Annie looking at her with sad eyes. 

"None of them actually knows anything," Ruby added. 

"They're just women who think they're literally shopping," Annie said, trying to help Beth out. 

"Which one of your lady friends screwed me?" Rio asked with anger on every word. 

"How could we know?" Beth asked shrugging and looking over at the mothers. 

"I need a name," Rio said, his voice was low and serious. His stare could kill the mothers if they looked him right in the eyes. 

"Why?" Beth asked.

 "Someone kill me." Rose groaned, taking her hand off her face and looked at one of Rio's men who was looking at her annoyed just like everyone else was. 

"You have a gun. Pull the trigger. please," Rose said to him. "Sorry," Rose said and turned her head to face the back of the couch. 

"To handle it," Rio said as he turned back to the mothers. 

"Listen, there could be any one of 30 people who--" 

"You're gonna give me a name," Rio said cutting her off. "Or I'm just gonna pick one at the next PTA mixer," Rio says then walking away, his men put their guns down and followed him. The girls stayed where they stood until the door closed behind the last gangster. Beth then turned to Rose and put her hands on her hips. 

"Rose. What the hell is your problem?" Beth asked the girl on the couch. Rose lifted her head at the sound of anger in her voice. Turning to look over at the mother. 

"My problem? You guys are dealing with gangsters and you bring in more people. You have no idea what you are doing. Annie and Ruby are risking their lives just so they can put dinner on the table and make sure their children are still with them by the end of the day. You are doing this because you have a thing for the big gang leader, the thrill that runs through your blood while running this 'secret shoppers' it's like it's your own little gang. My problem is the fact that I'm done. I'm done. I just want to be normal. I can't do that. Believe it or not, I'm the leader of a big gang that could easily get rid of Rio and his gang from needing to deal with you, but you wouldn't like that. In fact, Rio and I are partners in the gang life as Annie says. The only reason I got back to running this gang was for you and to help with whatever is going on here. I was almost killed because Annie didn't know the truth about Ezra and he knew where I was. I don't blame you, Annie. I was normal for two years and then you wanted to rob a store. Now you are all caught up in the gang life and the bad boy package that comes with Rio. So I'm not helping anymore. Deal with all of this yourself. I'm done, just done. Just so you if you do ever start your own gang, I will always be more powerful than you." Rose said taking a breath and walking out of the house. The three mothers stood there, Beth was pissed, Annie felt a little bad, and Ruby just looked at the ground. 

"Let's figure out who screwed us over," Beth said and walked away from the fireplace. 

***Next Day***

"So, I want a group around back, on the left side, and right. We need our best people. Ezra is powerful and so are his men. I only want our best men and women with a mix of not so good. If some people die I want it to be our not so good. Got it." Rose said to the three people in front of her. 

"Yes." The three said. Rose shooed them out and they smiled slightly and walked out. Rose opened the bottom cabinet in her desk, the gun that laid inside. Rose just looked at it and imagines flashed in her head she looked at it.