Page 16 of Intent to Kill
Her hair, shorter now but still almost at her waist, blew gently in the wind. The waves that she’d had in the eighties were swapped for dead straight locks that brushed up against her sculpted cheekbones and framed her perfect, peach-pink lips.
Mercedes was just as beautiful as the day he first saw her. Now, though, there were no bruises scattering her face as a symbol of their adventures. There was no smudged eyeliner or wind-whipped mascara running down her cheeks. This woman was poised and elegant. She wore leather pants and shit-kicking high-heeled boots, but everything about her oozed classy confidence.
“It’s good to see you, baby,” Adam said.
“Can’t say I agree,” she smiled, though she avoided looking at him, instead staring out across the dirt field.
“You got my note.” Adam ran his fingers through his dark hair.
“Oh, I did,” she said. “Taunting us after all this time. That was fucking stupid, Adam. But then again, you’ve always had cobwebs in your brain.”
He smiled at the comment. She was icier than he remembered, but still as sharply witted. Her dirty mouth and sick mind were the parts of her he first fell in love with.
“So what’re you doing here, baby? Far cry from your mansion,” he said.
She laughed at the low shot and crossed her legs. “I like my mansion. It has fine, expensive, silk sheets, perfect to get wrapped up in.”
The air seemed to sizzle. He had to look away before he pounced on her right there. “I love it when you talk dirty.”
“Just... take your bullshit and leave, Adam. As you can see, we’re doing fine on our own.”
He gave her a disbelieving look.
She scoffed and faced him finally. “Everyone thinks you’re dead. I’d rather it stayed that way.”
“So would I, for now, at least.” Adam wiggled his brows. “Just admit you need some help getting the band back together.”
Her expression grew irritated, her mouth turning into a thin line as she leaned across Adam’s body, her lips inches from his, her breath close enough to feel it on his mouth.
He stretched along the bench, waiting to see what move she would make. His breath stilled when she reached toward his pants. To his utter disappointment she simply pulled the radio from his pocket.
Leaving him sighing at her teasing, she smiled when she pulled away. “Paul, on your left.”
Adam watched as Paul finally made the connection. He waved with a flick of his wrist as Paul jogged over and Mercedes stood to greet him.
“You sneaky motherfucker!!” Was that Dan’s voice he’d just heard? Adamoofedwhen he was tackled to the ground. In a tangle of limbs, Dan hung onto him like a needy squid. “I knew that note was from you, you dramatic fuck.”
Adam laughed as Dan let him go and stood up. Brushing the dirt from his pants, Adam looked up to find a solemn Carlos staring down at him. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, until Carlos extended him a hand, helping him from the ground and pulling him into a bear hug, too.
“You are one stupid dickhead,” Carlos said as they pulled away. Dan and Carlos joined Paul at Mercedes’ side.
Well, that was one thing that he didn’t count on.
He thought he was rushing back to pull together the leftover pieces of his crew, slapping Band-Aids over bullet wounds and gluing them together haphazardly. But no, there they stood before him, not broken but together.
“Alright, I’ll play,” Adam said. “I want in.”
Mercedes crossed her arms. “No way. You’re out. You’ve been out for five years.”
“She’s right, man,” Carlos said. “It’s far too dangerous for you now.”
“So get in your fucking car and drive away now before I make you,” Mercedes ordered.
“Hey, that’s not the doting girlfriend I left behind here.”
“Left behind being the key word there,” Carlos said, his voice a warning.
Interesting. Adam hadn’t anticipated that anyone other than Mercedes would be bitter at his absence. It seemed he had hurt more feelings than just hers when he fled Ridge City five years ago. He’dbarelyescaped with his life, to be fair. They should’ve known that, they were the ones who dragged him to safety and helped him fake his death.
