“Adam’s not dead, Tia.”
“What?” Like turning off a tap, the tears stopped flowing instantly.
“He’s al–”
“Shut the fuck up. God, if you’re saying what I think you are,” Tia panicked, reaching out to cover Mercedes’s mouth with her hand.
Ignoring Tia’s protests, Mercedes slapped her hands away. “He’s alive, we—he never died. We just made it look like he did.”
With wide eyes, Tia wrestled her wrists out of Mercedes’s grip and covered her own mouth with her hands. “What the fu–” Her eyes flickered over Mercedes’ shoulder.
The shadows of two men standing over them covered the sunlight. Slowly, Tia looked up, examining them from toe to top. Adam and Paul stood towering above, umbrellas over their heads, looking down on the girls. Mercedes stood up first, and then reached her hand out to help Tia up, too.
Mouth agape, Tia stared at Adam, casting her eyes over every inch of him as if to confirm his existence. “Oh my God, you really are alive.”
Adam smiled confidently. “Takes a lot more than that to bring me down.”
“Fucking hell,” Tia sighed.
“You see? We can protect you, we hid Adam from Dorian Blake for five fucking years.”
“And counting,” Paul added proudly.
“Wow,” Tia said, taking her sunglasses off to get a better look. “And the five of you are really taking another shot at this?”
Adam, Paul, and Mercedes nodded in unison.
“You really want to help us?” Tia asked.
“Absolutely,” Adam nodded, but Tia turned to Mercedes.
“Don’t give anything more to the person who keeps murdering your girls,” Mercedes said.
Tia glanced between Adam and Mercedes, back and forth, back and forth. Finally, she nodded approvingly, and Mercedes had to wonder what the fuck that meant.
“I suppose you have kept this one hidden for a long time.” Tia gestured at Adam. “Man, people really believe you’re dead. Imagine what they would do if they knew.”
“No one can know…not yet,” Mercedes said.
“Element of surprise and all that,” Paul said.
Tia stared into Adam’s eyes again. And Mercedes just couldn’t help herself, much to her dismay. She had to look. Jealousy pangs beat in her chest as she searched Adam’s eyes for what Tia was looking for.
She startled like she was physically slapped when she saw it.
Adam’s wild recklessness was replaced with wisdom and restrained confidence. His carefree stare had been replaced with a fiery shimmer.
Tia looked to Mercedes then, and after probing her own eyes for a moment, she smiled wide. What did Tia see when she looked at her?
“Okay,” Tia agreed. “The girls and I…we’re in.”
10
THERE’S FIRE
MARCH 1991
“Here she comes,” Mercedes said, rolling her fingers together in a nervous tell that she tried to hide. Still, Adam saw it. This was an important job to her. More than a job, really. He’d make sure they didn’t let her down.
