"I crave you as if I've already had you before, that scares and excites me all at once"
« In which Adriana Narvaez, a mother
of two, finds herself falling deep
into the world of crime after an
innocent robbery turns into a money-laundering bus...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"He asked us to pick something up for him in Canada."
"What?"
"I thought we were done with this." Adriana took another sip of her coffee, courtesy of Beth, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth in thought. "He says it's better if we don't know." Adriana hummed in response, glancing at each of the girls to gauge their reaction. Annie let out a knowing hum, obviously knowing something that the rest of the girls didn't. Adriana could only glance at Annie expectantly, not quite catching on to Annie's train of thought.
"I mean, come on." Annie's brows knitted in confusion once she realized no one caught on, turning to each of them with a knowing smirk. Realizing no one quite understood, Annie rolled her eyes."Oh, guys, seriously?" Adriana only shrugged the rings on her finger tapping rhythmically against the glass cup as she awaited Annie's answer.
"Just say it!"
"Drugs, up to our asses!" Adriana couldn't help the surprised chuckle that escaped her lips, resting her head against her hand. Noticing Ruby's astonished stare, Adriana met her eyes with a shrug as Annie continued her incessant babbling. The fact of the matter is, that it's not a stretch, but Adriana didn't quite think it was Rio's style. Drugs? Maybe a bit, but she could just feel that it was something bigger.
"Okay, when are we supposed to do this?"
"Friday."
Well, I can't Friday. I have a home visit for my custody case." Adriana couldn't help the shake her head at Annie's words, her incessant tapping against the mug, ceasing.
"So, you're gonna tell the man with the crying skull tattoo that Friday doesn't work for you?"
Adriana snickered at Ruby's word, turning to Annie with raised brows. She could see Annie's resolve quickly fall apart as she avoided the two women's eyes.
"Fine. But we have to be back in time for me to clean up and get all the drugs out of my cavities." Adriana ignored her conventional image of gang members, shaking her head as she stared down into the forming image in her coffee cup.
"He didn't say it was drugs, you guys. It could be something else. Okay?"
"Like what?"
"Guns." Adriana snorted at this, glancing up at Beth through hooded eyes. But before she could say anything, Ruby surged forward in her seat, her eyes wide in wonder. "How is that better?"
"Can't fit up your ass."
$$$
"Get the hell off of my phone, Marco!" Hanging up the phone with a frustrated huff, Adriana slammed the phone on the marble, shoving the onions into the skillet. Pressing her hand to her head as she felt a headache slowly creeping onto her, Adriana quickly covered the steaming beef and broccoli, cleaning up the mess around her.
"Ana! Come pick up your toys and ask your Abuela if she wants something to eat before I go!" The little clicking of her fake aurora shoes signified that Ana was doing exactly as told, giving Adriana a sense of relief. She had no time nor energy to deal with her kid's disobedience. Ever since Rio had stopped by her childhood home, Adriana had let her mother move in with her and it didn't make things any better. Nightly lectures on how she needs to get her life back on track, nagging about how she keeps her kitchen, requests to buy Vaporub every ten minutes. You can never have too much Vapo rub.
"Abuela said no. She also said that you can go and she'll handle lunch."
Adriana didn't need to be told twice, gathering her purse and coat, planting a quick kiss on Ana's forehead, and calling out a 'goodbye' to everyone in the home. Shutting the front door behind her, Adriana locked the two other additional locks on her door, turning on her heel only to meet the very thing she was hoping to keep from her mind.
"Holy-- Shit!"
Letting her keys slip through her fingers, Adriana tensed up in fear, as she met the tattoo that always came to her in her dreams. "Glad I caught you before you left." His familiar gravely voice sending shivers down her spine. Meeting his eyes, Adriana felt her beat in her chest, not from fear but something else entirely. Leaning down to pick up her keys, she felt his unmoving intense gaze.
"I'm starting to think you're becoming obsessed with me," Adriana mumbled, deciding to test her luck as she brushed past him with a huff. Brushing her hair back from her face, she slowly began to collect herself before she had to confront him once again.
"That ain't no secret, sweetheart. And don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you."
Unlocking her car door, Adriana turned to meet his eyes, her eyes darting to his lips which began to twitch into a smirk. Noting how she kept silent, no doubt waiting for him to speak, Rio's tongue darted across lips as his eyes began to wander. "What is it?"
"Tell your girls you won't be joining them on your little trip to Canada. You and I are going on our own little trip."
"To where, exactly?"
Averting his gaze with a smirk, Rio let a beat of silence pass between them before clearing his throat.
