August 1992

Beth arrived home after another thrilling day at the Tastee Freez. Waving at her new neighbor, she smiled as he walked over. He was her age and was also going to be a senior next year. She felt bad that he had to move this soon to graduating but apparently he'd move around a lot growing up - army brat. Beth didn't know anything about that. She'd spent her whole life in Michigan and up until ten months ago her life had been as humdrum as could be.

"Hey you," she said. "How's it going?"

Bouncing his basketball, he shrugged and said, "Not much. What are you up to?"

"Just getting off a long shift and about to go in and make dinner. You?"

"Just shooting some hoops. What are you making for dinner?"

Beth smiled and rolled her eyes. Her new friend was kind of a mooch. Him asking her what was for dinner was his not so subtle way of asking for an invite to eat.

"Something easy. Probably macaroni and cheese and pork chops."

Rubbing his stomach, he replied, "Oh, man that sounds good. I haven't had macaroni in ages."

"Want to come over?"

"Sure. If you want me to. I went to Blockbuster earlier and I got The Cutting Edge and My Cousin Vinny. Oh, and Beethoven too. We can watch that one with your sister."

"Gimme about an hour and then why don't you head over."

"It's a date," he replied, jogging back to his driveway and sinking a shot.

Walking inside, her mother was dressed for a night out and chomping at the bit ready to leave. "I'm heading out," she said, taking the keys out of Beth's hands. "Your sister's hungry. Feed her, will you?"

"Don't I always?" Beth muttered to the already closed front door.

Her summer had kind of sucked. In between working a crummy fast food job, watching her sister all the time, being a third wheel to Ruby and Stan, and missing Rio like crazy this summer was the worst. The only bright spot was the boy next door. He made her laugh and was just fun to hang out with.

She'd thought about the possibility of being more. Like dating him or something. She wasn't ready now. But maybe one day when she'd gotten over Rio a little bit more. Her heart was still just a little sore.

Beth changed out of her uniform and took her paycheck out of her purse. She'd have to stop by the bank on her lunch break tomorrow. Staring at the amount, she shook her head in disgust. So much work for so little. How could anyone pay bills working for such a paltry amount? Gosh, she missed working for Rio. The pay was great and the work was far from monotonous, but that was no longer an option.

More than once, she'd thought about calling him up and asking for work but the way things had ended had just been too awkward. Calling him and begging for help would be too devastating after that. She didn't have much but she had her pride.

Twenty minutes later, her new neighbor-friend arrived way too early per usual. As she cooked, he quizzed her for the ACT test she was going to retake in a few weeks and helped Annie change the outfits on all twenty of her Barbie dolls.

Getting up to stretch, he looked at the pot of macaroni so wistfully that Beth opened a drawer, took out a spoon, and handed it over to him.

Trying her homemade macaroni, he smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm. Beth Marks, you are one fine cook."

"Jimmy Turner, you are one terrible study buddy. Sit down," she ordered, pointing her wooden spoon to a dining room chair. "And keep quizzing me."

Devante put the car in park next to the Tastee Freez. "You boys, ready?"

The three guys in the car slowly nodded their heads. "Yeah," Rio said, speaking for them all.

"Aiight. You've got about twenty minutes. Get the money and get out."

Rio donned a black cap and bandana and double checked to make sure his gun was loaded and in working order. Opening the side door, he said, "Let's go."

Marcus and Earl followed closely behind. They'd planned it all out a couple days ago. Marcus would grab the manager on duty and get him to open the safe. Earl would take money from the registers. Rio would supervise and make sure no customers tried to be heroes. He didn't really like holding up places, but when you needed some quick dough it was the way to go. And they needed cash fast. They had customers waiting but no supply. Their supplier had upped their prices last minute and wanted cash up front. So here they were getting some cash.

Sighing, Rio looked back at the two men behind him. He had no worries about his brother Marcus. He'd done this dozens of times. He wasn't on some kind of power trip and just went in did what he had to do and got out. Earl was another story. Rio didn't know how this slimy POS had gotten on Devante's crew. He was sick and twisted even by gang standards. Rio didn't mind using force when necessary but he didn't relish in it. It was sometimes just a means to an end. But Earl…he lived for that crap. He was violent just for the hell of it. A queasy feeling stirred in his stomach as he remembered the Taco Bell employee, an elderly man in his 70s who hadn't caused no trouble during last week's hold up, that Earl had felt the need to pistol whip….twice. And his way with women wasn't no better. Probably because he was five foot five, two hundred pounds, and ugly as sin, the only way he could get any attention from the ladies was when he forcefully took it. Chicks just seemed to know that they shouldn't be left alone with him. The guy was the last person Rio wanted to work with, but it was what it was. He'd just have to make sure they were in and out, no screwing around.

He let the two men go ahead of him when they got to the door.

"Everybody get down and put your hands behind your head!" Earl yelled as he entered.

The dozen or so people in the restaurant quickly dropped to the ground. "Crap," he muttered to himself as he watched the cashier with long strawberry blonde hair quickly follow suit. She had the day shift. She wasn't supposed to work nights. Why the hell was she working tonight?

"Now, everybody slowly stand up. Keep your hands behind your back and walk slowly to the counter. Then, sit down and face the counter. Don't look back or we'll shoot," Marcus ordered.

All three men watched as the frightened customers and staff, made their way to the front of the store. No one tried anything funny. Marcus hurried and grabbed the manager, heading towards his office and the safe.

Rio grimaced as Earl pointed to Beth instead of the male cashier. She slowly stood up, her lower lip shaking ever so slightly as Earl pointed his gun and motioned towards the registers. He didn't like the way it made him feel seeing someone holding a gun to her head. Of its own volition, the gun in his hand was pointing at Earl's back. There'd be hell to pay with Devante if he shot one of his own crew but if he laid a hand on Beth he couldn't promise that he wouldn't cap him. The bastard best keep his distance.

Earl threw a bag at Beth and told her to fill it. Quaking, Beth stuffed the cash from both registers in the bag in record time and passed it back.

"Can I sit back down now?" she asked.

"Aww, girlie, if I had just a bit more time you and I could have some fun," Earl said, clearly leering at Beth's breasts.

Rio's hand tightened on his gun and he took a step forward. His head tilted sideways and he cracked his neck.

Fortunately, before he did or said something he'd regret, Marcus returned with his own bags of cash. Making sure the manager and Beth had returned to where everyone else was sitting, he ordered, "Don't turn around. Count to a thousand and then you can leave. If we see anyone coming out, we'll shoot. No questions."

They slowly backed out of the Tastee Freez. Rio was the last to leave, his gaze lingering on Beth's back and cascading hair. It was the closest he'd been to her in months and a sense of overwhelming loss flooded him. He missed her.

Back in the car, Devante took off like a bullet. Rio looked through the bags and counted the cash. "Looks like we got about fifteen grand."

Devante nodded. "Good. That should be the last place we have to hit up. If those greedy asses don't jack up the prices again, we'll get our supplies in the next couple of days. Did everything go aiight?"

"Yeah," Marcus nodded from the front seat. "Manager couldn't empty that safe fast enough."

"You missed a treat, Devante," Earl said. "The cashier she sure was a pretty little thing. Long hair and porn star boobies."

Already on edge after having to watch this troll from hell pointing a gun at his Elizabeth, Rio looked out the window. He really didn't want or need to get into it with Earl.

"Wish we would have had a few more minutes in there. I'd have liked to get to know her better if you know what I mean," Earl continued, tempting fate. Rio's knuckles were white from clenching them so tightly. It took all his willpower not to punch the creep.

"Come to think of it I might have to make a return visit. Maybe when she's headed out to her car after work we could stop and talk a while. She could take a ride on my di—"

And just like that, Rio snapped. Grabbing Earl by the neck with both hands, he pulled him halfway across the length of the backseat and squeezed as hard as he could. "Listen here, you maggot, you don't go near her. You get me?"

Earl's eyes had bugged out a bit and he was sputtering, unable to breathe. Rio allowed his hands to squeeze tighter. "If you ever go near her again, I will murder your ass faster than a McDonald's drive thru. You look at her I'll kill you. You touch her I'll chop off your balls, shove them in your mouth, and then kill you. Stay away from my bit—"

"Rio, let 'im go. Chill, man" Devante reprimanded from the front. "He ain't gonna go nowhere near your chick."

Earl gasped for breath as Rio released his grip. "I'm sorry," he coughed. "I didn't know she was yours."

"Neither did I," Marcus muttered from the front.

Rio skulked back in the corner of his side of the back seat, internally cursing himself for inadvertently revealing his feelings for Beth to all the occupants of the car.

Beth smiled as she put her car in park. For someone who'd been held up at gunpoint and had seen her life flash before her eyes last night, she was surprisingly cheery. Well, she had good reason. She held all the cards and it felt incredibly good. In fact, she'd been so confident that things would go her way that she'd quit her job at the Tastee Freez this morning.

Stepping out and locking the door, she walked jauntily up the steps to the red brick house she'd only been to once before. She rapped loudly on the door four times and waited. A minute later, the door opened and Rio stood on the other side in a plain white T-shirt with a slice of pizza in his hand.

Shaking his head, he said "No" and made to shut the door. Reacting quickly, Beth put her right foot in the way and pushed back on the door with her hand.

"I think you're going to want to let me in," she said.

"Why's that?" Rio responded, looking her up and down and licking his lips in that infuriating way of his.

"I know what you were up to last night. I've come to make a deal."