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Candy snapped her gum and raised a well-plucked eyebrow. “Why?”
“Tire pressure’s low. Think I ran over a nail or something,” Maria said, staring the young woman down. “Get Tommy.”
With an eye roll, Candy picked up the phone. “Tom, there’s a lady here with tire issues.”
Maria swore the woman muttered “bitch” under her breath, but she couldn’t be sure. Strolling to the back of the small waiting room, Maria crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the plate glass window. Not much had changed in this part of town. Heat rippled like waves off the asphalt. Worn concrete buildings, chain link fences, and resilient weeds popping up through cracks in the sidewalk painted a familiar landscape. Some areas of the neighborhood were cared-for, tourist-friendly even, but farther in, poverty stamped its ugly footprint.
“Who’s got the tire problems?” Maria turned at the loud, male voice.
Despite her mixed feelings about the man who’d nearly broken her and gotten her brothers arrested, nostalgia tugged. There’d been a time when they’d all been friends, when her crush on Tommy had been fun and flirty, when she thought a very different future awaited her.
Tom’s dark eyes widened when he recognized her. He ran a hand over the scruff on his chin, and then his handsome face broke into a wide smile. Maria didn’t feel even an ounce of attraction.
“Maria Ruiz, all grown up and badass, I see. What’s up, girl?”
She gave Tommy a genuine smile and walked into his open arms. Candy glared at them. Maria caught Tom winking in the younger woman’s direction, and inwardly rolled her eyes.
“Candy, honey, this is an old friend from the neighborhood,” he said.
“Whatever, Tom,” Candy answered, flipping her bleached blonde hair over her shoulder.
Tommy mumbled a few choice words under his breath, turned his back on the seething receptionist, and gestured for Maria to follow. He led her through the garage and into a back office. A metal desk covered with work orders, schedules, and receipts took up most of the space, but there were two chairs. Tommy pointed at one. “Wanna sit? Tell me what’s up? I’m thinking this ain’t about tire pressure,” he said astutely. Gone was the flirtatious charmer. “You okay?”
“I’m fine, Tommy. How are you?”
He shrugged. “Doing all right. Running this shop takes up most of my time. Keeps me on the straight and narrow. Mostly.” He said the last with a grin.
“Good for you. Saw your ma today at the store. She looks great.”
“Hardest working woman I know. How’s Paulo?” Maria caught the note of sadness in Tom’s voice.
“In the private sector now. He’s an engineer in North Carolina. Married with four kids, if you can believe it.”
Tom whistled. “Four, shit. But, nah, I’m not surprised. He was always going places. Glad he made it out of here.” He looked down at his hands, and the vibe between them turned uncomfortable.
“You know the del Fuegos?” Maria asked, opting to spare them both and cut to the chase. She no longer had the stomach to walk down memory lane. The next stop wouldn’t be nearly as pleasant.
Tom’s eyes flashed and then narrowed suspiciously. “You a fucking cop now, Maria?”
“No, Tom, I am not a cop. I work for a private security company doing protection work. Something happened to one of my clients, and I think Esteban del Fuego might have some useful information. I might have some for him.”
Tom sat up straighter, assessing her shrewdly. “This have something to do with the del Fuego girls getting killed?”
“It does,” Maria said, but didn’t offer anything more.
“What exactly do you want, Maria?”
“I want a meeting with Esteban del Fuego. On his terms. Just want to share some intel.”
“You’re nuts getting mixed up with those crazy fuckers,” Tom said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Like you aren’t mixed up with them,” Maria hissed, leaning forward in her chair. “You still have a little side gig, selling pills with oil changes? You used to sell them with empanadas until your mama kicked your ass out of her store.”
“You left, Maria. You don’t get to judge,” Tom said, glaring at her.
Maria sighed. “I’m not trying to give you a hard time. Honestly, that’s not what I came here to do. You have your finger on the pulse of this town. You know a little bit about a lot of things, at least you used to. I was sort of counting on that to help me out.”
“To help you out by getting you a meeting with a cartel boss? Why don’t I just shoot you myself?”
