Shay chuckled, and Lily put on a top hat and spun him around.
They both all but skipped down the rows, looking at hats and jackets. “I could put together some awesome outfits.” He pulled down an old Army jacket. “I didn’t think about it until just now, but you have both men and women’s clothing here.”
“Sometimes it helps to play up my feminine wiles, and sometimes it helps for people to not even notice you.” She nodded toward the station wagon. “That one’s attached to a man’s identity.”
“A cross-dressing Shay? It’s hard to imagine.”
“I did it when I needed to.” She shrugged. “It was all about getting close to the target. I did what I had to do to kill them. Depending on the country and location, being a woman might not get me close enough.”
“And now?” asked Lily, twirling around with a sparkling black dress held in front of her.
“Now I’m a tomb raider. It’s less about fake identities, but we both know shit can turn on a dime. This crap with Yulia reminded me that I’m gonna rack up a few enemies in this new career and I need to take that into account. I might need a disguise or fake identity for future jobs.” Shay gestured around the warehouse. “All of this may be necessary on some of my jobs, so it’s best if you become familiar with what’s in here. That way you can provide proper support.”
Peyton gave a solemn nod. “I think to become truly familiar with everything I’ll need to test drive the cars. With my colleague, of course.”
Shay smirked and pointed to the station wagon. “Like I said, that one’s attached to a man’s identity. You can drive it.”
“Huh. Not so interested in that.”
“Okay, I’ve got to get going.” Shay pulled out her phone and tapped on her custom security app. “Both of your biometrics should now work with the Annex’s doors.” She spun on her heel and waved. “And put back all that crap where you found it before you leave.”
“But…” Peyton groaned.
A few hours later, Shay relaxed at Warehouse Two with a book on the purported influence of aliens on history: From Vimanas to Ezekiel’s Wheel.
The book wasn’t from Warehouse Four, but instead had been borrowed from a local library. It had been published in the early 2000s. One problem with more modern books on the subject was that they all assumed every mysterious piece of history could be explained away by Oriceran contact.
A century of speculation about aliens had been tossed away and was now considered a worse explanation than the influence of creatures like elves, Atlanteans, and gnomes.
Shay snickered at the thought.
Having the truth about Oriceran come out might have cracked the old dogma, but the new paradigm was just as narrow-minded. The level of decent knowledge on the issue was pretty damned low, unfortunately. Sometimes, though, the crazies had been right all along.
Peyton tapped at his keyboard in the office. Lily was back between the cubicles, taking a nap.
Peyton sped up, the keys clacking. A few seconds later he increased his speed even more, his pace now furious.
Shay set her book down and glanced at him. “What did that keyboard ever do to you? Does it owe you money?”
He shot up, pushing his chair out of the way. Osiris leapt to the ground, hissing.
“No, no, no.” Peyton ran his hands through his hair. “This is bad. Very bad.”
Shay rushed into the office. “Talk to me.”
Peyton took a deep breath. “It’s Randy.”
“Okay, you need to clue me in, here. You’re freaking out, and I don’t know what the hell is going on.”
“I found some people poking around—digging. It’s not random. It’s obvious they suspect I’m still alive and are looking for evidence. I’ve traced them to my brother.”
Shay sighed and nodded. “That might not mean anything. He might just be nervous and double-checking. Being thorough is a good move, but you’ve covered your tracks well.”
“Or maybe you were right, and he saw me when I went to my father’s grave.”
“Not a chance.” Shay shook her head.
Peyton eyed her. “Not a chance? You were the one who made it sound like it was a dumb move. You bitched a lot about it at the time.”
“It was a dumb move, but that doesn’t change the fact that I made sure that no one saw us.” She nodded to the computer. “You know what to do. You saying these losers he’s hired are better than you?”
“No,” Peyton grumped.
“Hell, you’ve already traced them to your brother. That shows how sloppy they are.”
He nodded once. “Yeah, you’re right. These guys are damned sloppy. Randy should have offered more money to get some better guys.”
Shay snorted. “Then fucking clamp down on all their attempts, but make it clear it’s not you. If they don’t track you down, it doesn’t matter if your brother is sniffing around.”
The hacker nodded and sat back down, his face a mask of grim determination. “You’re right. I can do this. I’ll show these assholes who the real computer expert is.” He frowned. “I’m going to be the ghost haunting them, but they’ll never even see me.”
Shay stepped out of the office, her thoughts still swirling. They needed a more permanent solution to deal with Randy. Peyton wouldn’t be able to reclaim any sort of actual life if his brother was waiting to kill him the first time he popped his head up.
She glanced over her shoulder at her assistant.
We’ll see where this goes, Peyton. Sometimes, though, it comes down to kill or be killed. Are you ready for that?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Shay hummed to herself as she opened the door to her home. She chuckled, remembering Peyton mentioning needing his own place so he could bring women there. She wondered how the man intended to meet women when he had to keep such a low profile.
What’s the guy going to do? Lie
