She made a point to list them in order of favoritism. Antonio’s nostrils always flared when she did.
Victory day? What was victory day? Never mind—she’d figure it out later.
Repeating the secret in her head for good measure, she sprinted up the stairs to her bedroom, heading straight for the third drawer in her dresser.
It had been a habit she’d picked up when she was younger, always hiding her secrets and cash in the dresser. Banks had been out of the question when she’d made all her money via illegal street racing. Since she’d had Dorian’s money, she no longer needed to stash cash, but she still needed to stash secrets, so to the third drawer they went. In a notebook wrapped up in a green plaid shirt she never wore.
Adam’s green plaid shirt.
She watched the entry as she pulled the notebook from its hiding place, her eyes fixed like lasers to the double mahogany doors.
When she slid open the notebook, something crumpled to her feet, disarming her focus on the door.
A yellow envelope sat on her bare, peach-painted toes.
Someone had slipped an envelope into her secret notebook?! How did anyone know it was there? She’d never told anyone about it.
Okay, she’d told one person about it.But what did that matter? That person was dead. To her, at least.
She nervously picked it up off the floor. Messy handwriting. No return address. Tearing it open, she peered at the note inside.
Her heart reacted immediately—like it had spent the day visiting a theme park and riding a string of nonsensical, ridiculous, why-did-anyone-ever-go-on-these thrill rides—somehow both dropping to her butt and climbing straight out of her stomach through her throat simultaneously.
She clutched the note to her chest and inhaled, closing her eyes like it wouldn’t still be there when she opened them again.
It couldn’t be. It wasn’t what she thought it was.
Returning the letter to the wrongful place she’d found it, she slammed the drawer shut and held her hands at her heart, the words from the note replaying in her head.
In for life?
3
THE BIG FIVE
FEBRUARY 1991
Four men, one woman. The Big Five. The crew that nearly tore down an empire before they themselves were torn apart. Once you were in, you were in for life.
Or so it was supposed to be.
It’d been five years since Adam had seen anyone from his old crew. Enough time that maybe those old alliances were off the table. That maybein for lifewas just a saying and no longer a promise. After all, every one of them had since pledged loyalty to Dorian Blake.
Adam stood outside the shooting range, planted there for half an hour contemplating his decision. It’d been risky sending out his message, but taking a chance on someone, betting they’d still be on his side...that was riskier.
When he finally got the courage to walk across the road and push at the door, his hand felt like a loaded gun. Once he opened that door, once he stepped through and took his shot, there was no going back.
He only hoped he’d made the right decision.
Adam charged through the doors like he owned the place, because he once did. He’d picked out the blue, fluorescent lights, the metallic shooting bays, the brown paint peeling from the wall.
Scanning the room, he looked past the tired faces, patrons fumbling guns and missing shots, hitting only the plaster board at the range wall.
He spotted Paul from across the room.
They locked eyes, and Paul’s face dropped. The shock there only a second before Paul schooled his features, sneaking a double-take at Adam. Like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. After all, the last time Paul had seen him Adam, he’d promised he’d never come back to Ridge City.
His body still hadn’t moved, which made Adam all the more tense. Did he choose the wrong person to trust? Or would Paul come around just like he suspected he would? He had to start somewhere, after all.
