Chapter Text
Rio didn’t understand how they’d gotten here. Looking back on it, he did it all wrong. Seeing the tear tracks when he tore the blindfold from Elizabeth's pale face hurt more than he wanted to admit. He had only meant to scare her into dealing with her rotten egg, and had never imagined it would end with him almost bleeding out, and having to cut a deal with fucking Turner to save his sorry life.
His touch became rough against the newly replaced bandage on his chest, and the sharp pain snapped him out of his pity party. He was going crazy in this tiny hotel room, but he had one more thing to set in motion before he could spring back into action. His gaze fell on the model airplane, glue still drying, and his chest panged with anger. He was the one that’d taught her how to shoot in the first place, and her first target other than the bottles they’d used had been him. It was hard to put a name to what he was feeling, but his mind put it all to the back burner and decided to focus on finishing up here. He jotted down another fake name, the last that he’d give to Turner as collateral, and signed his name at the bottom of the hotel’s notepad with a smirk. That’d keep the FBI chasing their own tail for long enough that Rio could get his operation back on track, and the smile remained up on his face as he threw the duffle bag on his shoulder and with a gentle hand, picked up the wooden model airplane.
He waltzed into the lobby, certain that Turner wouldn’t be back for another few hours, and approached the front desk. He made quick work of talking up the lady working into checking him out of his room.
“Looks like your room and incidentals are all covered” the Lady—Angela, he figured out with a glance at the name tag—said. Rio thanked her, and decided he couldn’t help but piss off Turner a degree further when the idea came into his mind.
“How am I doing on loyalty points?” He threw her a placating smile, really trying to sell the roll of ‘Mr. Kowalski’
Angela looked down at her computer, cheeks reddening, and he watched as her eyes grew a bit wider.
“After this stay, you’re officially a gold status member. Congratulations!” she said in her finest customer service voice, and he gave her another winning smile before he turned around and walked away. The smile dropped from his face almost instantly, and he laughed to himself. Big surprise that an eight week hotel stay was going to generate some points for his account. To be honest, it seemed like something Turner would care about, and he was happy to have stolen them from him.
By the time Rio got outside the hotel, the G-Wagon was waiting in the pickup lane with Mick at the wheel. He pulled the door open and met his right hand with their handshake.
“Hey Boss, where to?”
Rio pulled himself into the passenger seat, choosing to ignore the searing pain through this side and shoulder. The pain faded quick, and he was wearing a genuine smile when he responded.
“Gotta go to Rhea’s.” Mick nodded and pulled smoothly into the city’s traffic. The gears were already turning in Rio’s head, planning on going to the bar after because it was halfway back to his apartment in the city. He had work to take care of, but that would wait until tomorrow.
Rio knocked on the door and took a step back, using the time to look around Rhea’s neighborhood. The drive had been quick, and the pressure on his chest had lightened a bit when he saw Marcus’ bike in the driveway.
Rhea opened the door, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar before they softened.
She was smiling when she yelled “Marcus, come see who’s at the door!”
The boy came flying down the steps and launched himself into his Dad’s arms. “Daddy! I missed you so much! I lost another tooth while you were away!” Marcus gave a wide smile to show off the gap where his baby tooth had been, and Rio's half-concerned expression broke into a full grin.
“That’s awesome, pop. Wanna see what I brought you back?”
Marcus nodded and immediately craned his head when Rio slid his hand into his bag to grab the model airplane. He revealed the gift and Marcus’ grin got impossibly wider, and with a glance upward, Rio saw that even Rhea’s impassive gaze flickered with happiness. Things hadn’t been the best between Rio and Rhea when they were together, but they’d fallen into a friendly routine for a few years now. Rhea invited Rio inside, nudging Marcus to go play so they could talk.
Rio enjoyed the chance to debrief with someone that didn’t work for him, and Rhea was glad that he was safe and Marcus’ dad had come back like always. He brought Marcus and his mom to a late lunch at a nearby cafe, and by the time they got back the sun was starting to set. The painkillers Rio had taken earlier were starting to wear off, and as he pulled the G-Wagon out of Rhea’s neighborhood, he found himself heading in the direction of his bar.
The bar mostly managed itself, so Rio was happy to see things were still running smoothly when he pulled up out back.
The bartender had no complaints, and after giving him a raise for the lack of trouble about his absence, he started to walk towards the front.
All of a sudden Mick was in front of him, blocking the narrow hall towards the front of the bar.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Boss,” Mick said. His jaw was clenched like he was already waiting for a fight, and Rio popped an eyebrow to the shorter man in his way.
“And why would that be?” Rio was gritting his teeth now.
“You’ve been gone a bit, and stuff’s changed. Your lady comes here every night, has a few, and I drive her home,” Mick had a half guilty look, having omitted anything like this on the way to Rhea’s.
Rio didn’t like the sound of that, but in the back of his mind he knew Mick was acting in Rio’s best interest. He strained around Mick to catch a look around the bar, and sure enough, there was Elizabeth. She was on her third, judging by the two empties in front of her, and her head was hung low.
“I usually bring her home about an hour from now,” Mick supplied. Rio took a step back. Mick looked tired, and Rio reminded himself his right hand deserved a vacation as soon as things got straightened out.
“You bring her straight to her house?”
“Well there was one time we had to stop. She got sick and-” Rio cut his friend off with a stiff nod. This had been going on long enough that Elizabeth was clearly comfortable with their routine. Rio leaned back against the wall and ran a hand down his face. Eight weeks in the hotel hadn’t even been enough time for Rio to decide what to do about Elizabeth, and he definitely wasn’t dealing with it tonight. He was still so angry that she'd actually shot him.
But still, “Message me when she’s home and in the door, yeah?”
Mick held his gaze, and gave a fixed nod before Rio turned around and left the car. He got in the wagon, and after taking a minute to collect himself, went to his apartment for the night.