edged focus has rio’s brow furrowed, but lean arms splay casually over the back of the couch. it’s a game plan he’s cookin’ up with mick, the piece of muscle idling in a chair alongside him like the right hand he is. ironing out the bullshit standing in the way of him and a nice, big check. mind’s so curled up in it, he doesn’t register the girl ‘til she’s sliding over the tops of his thighs and pressing herself up flush. and she’s right there, can smell her like it’s the only thing existing in the room now and he answers her lead in with a vibrating hum. chin’s angled up in acknowledgment, the wings of his inky eagle stretching around his throat. accepts her bite and her words without straying gaze, doesn’t seem to matter anyway ‘cause her lips are on him like smoke and fire and it’s feelin’ like no ain’t on the multiple choice.

“i dunno, where i’m sittin’, you don’t look like you need a lotta help,” rio notes with a graveled tone, head canting slightly to the side as he watches her face. arms lower, his hands at the fishnetted knees folded on either side of him. “you could go and take a ride on any fool in the joint,” he continues, long fingers sliding up her thighs, “bat them eyelashes an’ do it like that,” shifts pointedly beneath her, his touch unwavering in it’s path up her sides to the arms linked behind his neck, “and pick him for whatever he’s worth.” shit, she could slide the watch right off the dude’s wrist and he probably wouldn’t keep up with it. makes rio wonder if she’s workin’ that magic on him. he plucks her hands free and makes to check them out like he’s gonna find his wallet in ‘em, only a ghost of a smirk in the corners of his mouth. “it’s a good game.”

did some animal part   of his brain dreaded saying her name aloud might somehow summon her ?      is that why he never did ?    she came anyway :       standing apart from everything as if   plucked straight from a summer painting   .    the corners of her mouth twist itself into something of a smile that never touches her eyes .    strange .    strange because adelaide is strange  ,        isn’t she ?    ❛     today i do .       ❜    her tongue favors sweetness ,   it’s true :    bellinis , cranberry cocktails ,     white russians if it’s feeling spicy!  —   or does it ?   maybe it’d merely been easier to convince her body into accepting pre-determined assumptions and infused expectations without so much rebuttal .     regardless ,    that bourbon is    his   &    she wants it  .    wants it because it doesn’t really belong to her .   and sugary sweetness could never hold a candle to the satisfaction of making something your own  .    

❛     i know you were expecting   something else .  forgive me ,   ❜     docility unspools from velvety tongue ;      (     forgive her ,    darling .        how can you not ?       what a monstrous creature ought to deny such a   gentle plea ?    )   spindly fingers reach beyond the bridge of his nose ,   close enough to assault it with a feminine fragrance ,   dodging the bottle  &   aiming for his glass instead /  it cushions against pillowy lips ,   strong notes of oak and caramel immediately recognized .  

❛     men tend to respond better when doing business with  mr.buchanan  rather than adelaide ,  i’m sure you understand .    ❜     how had he pictured “him”?   was he an old, bitter man?  did he have a beard ?   was he balding?    did he have an accent, a wife, children?  people’s creativity when it came to the portrayal of her alter never ceased to amuse her .    ❛     it felt —– inadequate ,    to send a representative in my place ,     once i knew it was you .     ❜  

i’m sure you understand. “nah,” rio shakes his head, palming at his stubbled chin. he doesn’t understand at fucking all. his eyes glitter curious, half annoyed and half charmed and that’s a familiar feeling. proximity to her insists on it, always has. addie’s claim also triggers mixed feelings -- could she really have not known it was him? would she confess it if she had?

in the end he smiles crooked, scoffs a laugh, because fucking hell this is trouble... and real interesting. standing up tall, he finds her eyes proper now and rio’s pleased to find not a lick of change in that mad crystal gaze. “so guess it is your’s.” the words have to claw from his mouth, same as back then, but doesn’t make it any less true. his time and talents and attention, they belonged to her like a dancing little ballerina in a box she could open whenever she wanted to be amused. was meant for her like the bottle of bourbon for mr. buchanan.

of  course  she  doesn’t  answer.  kate  wouldn’t  be  kate  without  her  aloofness  and  hardened  feelings.  more  so  when  it  comes  to  feelings  that  kate  couldn’t  afford  to  have,  even  with  all  the  money  in  the  world.  but  she  doesn’t  need  to  say  it  out  loud.  it’s  an  unspoken  infatuation.  whatever’s  happening  with  them,  whatever  was  happening  with  them,  is  on  the  list  of  many  reasons  why  she  needs  to  disappear.  

❛  marshal.  ❜  she  corrects  with  a  tilt  of  her  head  and  twitch  of  the  corner  of  her  lips.  he’s  all  cool  confident  in  his  abilities,  which  isn’t  really  anything  crazy  considering  he  was  half  the  time  just  the  puppeteer.  and  kates  not  really  worried,  either.  escaped  edward  multiple  times  before,  but  she  needs  reasons.  excuses.  and  that  asshole  was  just  a  good  one  to  hide  behind.

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eyes  drifts  to  her  empty  glass,  finger  tracing  the  rim  once  again  as  a  beat  between  them  grows.  makes  it  look  like  she’s  actually  thinking  it  over.  even  though  she’s  already  made  up  her  mind.  one  way  or  another,  she’s  leaving  in  the  morning.  still,  greens  flicker  back  up,  searches  his  browns.  ❛  three.  ❜  she  finally  states,  sniffling.  hands  raise  her  glass,  motions  bartender  to  fill  her  up.    ❛  i  got  a  motel  for  tonight.  i’ll  drive  back  in  the  morning.  ❜

eyes roll on instinct and his lips smack, admonishing, but also like he’s tasting the idea. three months? bullshit. but he lets that hang, finding priority in draining his own drink in a lazy amble to keep up. palm pillows the sharp cut of his jaw as he looks at her sideways, blinking slowly. “wouldn’t be that motel ‘cross the street, would it?” expression barely twitches, but there’s a wicked grin in his eyes.

a pause lingers as he carefully twists his glass against the table, the fresh amber liquor swirling the bottom. he takes a sip and sucks his teeth. “i’ll drive you back.” the amount of truths this girl has told him could fit in the palm of his hand and he wants to tell her she’s more trouble than she’s worth, but they’d both know that’d be a lie... and that’s what the real trouble is. he’s hard pressed to stop.

sharp intake of breath hisses between clenched teeth and his arm stops dead in it’s upward track. bruised ribs don’t got a breath of mercy for him today and two broken fingers taped together on his right hand render him altogether useless in helping kate tug his shirt on. ain’t no new holes in him at least, just the old gun shot wounds mostly healed hidden in the brownish purple skin stretching over his shoulder.

he leans against kate’s solidity for a beat, catches his breath before he licks his lips and attempts lamely to start buttoning up the shirt. “i got a thing to do tonight,” he rasps, tone more cracked than gravelly now. the beating he took wasn’t a pretty one, but at least he still looks better than the other guy. dark eyes flash to her’s and there’s a mix of deadpanned impatience and wary humor there, but altogether blank in it’s vulnerability. “need you to go in my place.” leave it to rio to demand a favor from her while she’s still in the middle of another one.

eyes  examine  his  features  after  the  three  little  words,  almost  as  if  she’s  searching  for  any  explanation  in  his  expression.  eye  contact  remains  before  she  blinks  away,  leans  against  her  seat  and  dips  her  chin.  ❛  we  both  know  the  money  wasn’t  the  issue.  ❜  which  is  honest,  because  she  had  made  more  money  in  the  few  months  she  spent  working  for  rio  than  she  had  doing  her  little  schemes  and  leeching  the  three  years  she’s  been  on  the  run.  maybe  even  before  that,  too.

kate  stifles  out  a  laugh,  eyes  rolling  up  to  the  ceiling.  ❛  i’ve  been  doing  just  fine.  before  you  and  after.  ❜  fine.  but  exhausted.  all  she  knows  how  to  do  is  run.  she’s  just  hoping  fleeing  the  country  will  buy  her  some  temporary  stability.  eyes  flicker  back,  brows  knit  together  briefly.  there’s  something  weird  in  her  stomach  sitting  here  across  from  him,  but  she  curves  it  and  instead  continues  her  hardness.  ❛  i  have  places  to  go.  ❜  kate  resorts,  shifting  until  she’s  leaned  on  forearms.  ❛  look –  i  told  you,  edward  is  getting  closer  and  i  need  to  leave.  and  i’m  making  sure  he’s  following  me  away  from  your  business.  ❜  a  beat,  she  squints.  ❛  you  knew  i  wasn’t  going  to  stick  around  forever.  ❜

“yeah, so what’s the issue?” leaves his phantom smirking mouth like it’s rhetorical and it might as well be, rio know she likely ain’t answering that shit. even if she did, wouldn’t have his name attached to it. no sense in talkin’ about business and pleasure ‘cause even he’s not sure which is which and when.

kates  trying  not  to  stress,  but  it  feels  like  she’s  constantly  on  her  toes  and  now  that  she  has  rio  to  worry  about,  the  weight  holding  her  down  is  far  heavier  than  before.  been  around  him  and  his  crew  enough  to  know  he  isn’t  exactly  keen  on  letting  things  slide,  to  forget  the  fact  there’s  someone  out  there  who  knows  what  he  does,  even  if  kate  had  her  own  baggage.  the  more  she  thinks  about  it,  her  eyes  bounce  around  the  bar,  wondering  if  he  didn’t  come  alone,  wondering  if  he  had  his  own  agenda.  

elbow  placed  on  table,  hand  reached  behind  her  ear  to  impulsively  scratch  behind  it.  between  rio  and  edward  and  all  the  other  enemies  she’s  made  over  the  last  three  years,  she’s  itching  to  flee  and  buy  herself  a  few  days  to  get  her  head  together.  stifles  out  a  scoff,  eyes  rolling  and  she’s  growing  impatient.  downs  the  last  of  her  drink  before  returning  her  attention.    ❛   what  are  you  really  doing  here,  rio?   ❜   avoids  his  question  with  her  own.  as  if  she’d  tell  him  anyway.   ❛   what  do  you want?   ❜

hands lay flat on the table as he leans back, tastes the liquor on his lips. head gives a half shake like he’s surprised she even needs to ask, half impatient and half impish when he locks his gaze and shrugs, “you.” and he means that like he says it, except he’ll qualify it with a dry smile, cocking his head. “and your expertise.” safe to say kate can get into places he can’t and... yeah, she’s got potential.

freckled  canvas remains  cold,  narrowed  eyes  steady  on  familiar  face.  the  simple  answer  for  her  disappearance  was  that  she  was  getting  too  close.  too  close  to  getting  caught,  too  close  to  rio.  michigan  was  probably  the  longest  she  stayed  in  one  place  since  miami,  and  it  had  gotten  too  dangerous  to  stay.  so  she  did  was  she  did  best.  ran.  one  way  ticket  to  australia  sitting  in  her  bag,  awaiting  the  morning  for  kate  annie  to  start  a  new  life.  and  here  comes  rio  to  put  a  dent  in  plan.  

❛       if  i  ratted  you  out  …   you’d  be  in  cuffs  by  now.       ❜       she  states,  coolly,  using  calloused  knuckles  to  wipe  the  remaining  bourbon  from  her  lips.  and  even  if  she  had  sold  him  out  to  save  herself,  it  wouldn’t  had  worked.  edward  was  hot  on  her  tail  and  was  running  himself  through  the  ground  in  order  to  see  kate  behind  bars.   main  reason  why  she  left  in  the  first  place.  mucky  color  eyes  finally  flick  away  and  down  to  her  half  empty  glass,  running  fingers  along  the  brim.       ❛       how’d  you  find  me  ?       ❜

“uh-huh.” says like it’s doubtful, like he knows the shit wouldn’t stick, but more than that, it’s not really the point. the feds are whatever, more often than not it’s a worry that can roll right off his oily back ‘cause of who he’s got on his side -- rio’s more interested in what it’d take for her to get to that point. “nah, but that’s not your game, is it?” betrayal and deceit are par for the course, but he’s never got the sense that kate’s the kinda girl to play to the police’s tune. it’s part of what’s brought him. “you got another way of dealin’ when you get spooked.”

and that’s what happened, right? it’s what he figures. she got scared, which is a little bit of an affront to rio, who feels like he can handle whatever bullshit blows his people’s way. kate was becoming part of the group.