“This time, nothing about you. What?” Shay snapped. She didn’t need Peyton seeing her in anything remotely resembling a vulnerable state.
“The Professor all but handed you the location of the stone.” Peyton shrugged. “It’ll probably take you longer to fly there and back than it will to recover it.”
“Do you have a point, or are you just trying to annoy me?”
“That call was about Brownstone asking you to go somewhere this weekend, right?”
Shay shrugged. “He’s taking Alison to New York. He wanted me to come along. So?”
“I don’t get why you lied about being able to go,” said Lily.
“Didn’t you hear me? New York! It’s too risky for me to go.”
Peyton shook his head. “I thought you weren’t worried? You told me not to worry.”
Shay pointed to him and then her. “You were exposed on the East Coast for like five seconds in the middle of the night. I stole from an underworld courier and got in a gun battle in a subway, and, for that matter, more people are interested in seeing me dead in general. It’s just too dangerous for me to go showing my face around NYC without a good reason.”
“That’s a lot of new information to take in,” said Lily.
“Why didn’t you tell him the truth, then?” asked Peyton.
“Brownstone doesn’t need to need to know all my business. It’s also why I’ve held back on telling him much about you or Lily.” Shay shook her head. “Whatever. We don’t have time to worry about taking a kid to a musical. I need to get ready to go to Lake Michigan.”
Peyton shrugged. “Your choice. I’m going to go and see if I can find that missing amphibious jammer I mentioned yesterday.”
“Good plan.”
Shay sighed again once Peyton disappeared into the shelves with an annoying look on his face. Lily gave her a reassuring shrug like only a teenager can do and followed Peyton into the shelves.
In truth, she wanted to go to New York and spend time with both Brownstone and Alison. She wanted to tell him…
She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to tell him. Maybe that she thought he did good work?
The tomb raider gagged at the thought. She didn’t get what it was about the man that invaded her mind and refused to leave. She’d met plenty of tough and impressive people in her life, not to mention plenty of stubborn ones.
Introspection wasn’t one of Shay’s strong suits. Most of her life had been dedicated to professional killing. Hits were about action and reaction, not how she felt about the jobs. Feelings got in the way of being a good killer.
Tomb raids weren’t all that psychological either. A well-executed tomb raid required research, bravery, and a reliable gun or two, not self-reflection. She’d managed to live her life without having to look into what motivated her—other than a desire to be the best, whether it was at killing or tomb raiding.
With Brownstone, though, she wanted to understand why she felt the way she did. She needed to understand. If she understood why she might manage to exert better control.
She’d done many things that didn’t make sense to her. Things that gave her no advantage or reward. She’d never lived her life that way before.
Even when she’d saved Peyton she’d wanted an assistant out of it. She was willing to call him a friend now, but that didn’t change her initial self-serving motivation.
In contrast, Shay had helped Brownstone attack the Harriken and kill Alison’s father. She’d protected the girl and murdered two mercenaries who were targeting her.
Sure, she’d received money for the tomb raid in Mexico that had helped convince the Professor to give up the protective artifact, but it wasn’t like Brownstone had paid her for any of the other things. She’d chosen to help—despite it being dangerous and stupid if she thought about it for too long.
I’m supposed to be a pro. I’m supposed to help people when it’s advantageous for me, not do people favors—especially those involving risking my life for someone like James Brownstone.
Shay shook her head. She’d need to consider doing another mission with Brownstone. If this was all just some weird attraction, spending more time around him might cure her of it. Hell, it’d make the Professor happy for them to team up again as well.
Her stomach clenched at the alternative. Brownstone might be becoming something more than a partner to her.
Shit. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.
Shay stared at the stone oven as Peyton paced back and forth in front of it. “You do know that if this sucks, I’ll be spending my entire time on the job thinking about terrible pizza. It might distract me at a critical moment. Bad pizza could get me killed.”
“Give him a chance. He’s been practicing on me and I’m still alive.” Lily was wearing a Chanel sweater Shay recognized from the warehouse. She let it go. It was nice to see some of the clothes getting some use. Still, Peyton was rubbing off on the kid in some strange ways.
Peyton snorted. “Bad pizza might get you killed?”
“It’s possible.”
“Well, don’t worry. I’ve had a lot more practice. I can guarantee this pizza won’t get you killed.”
“And how much of that practice involved sprinklers?” Shay inquired.
Peyton furrowed his brow. “Only the one time.”
Lily held up two fingers.
Shay face-palmed. “You know, you might have to face the cold reality that you’re just not meant to be a pizza man. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. It’s not like I should be a life coach or a nun.”
“Nope, I’ve got this. Every failure gives me new data, and I adjust. I’m closing in on the target.” Peyton slid the paddle underneath the pizza and transferred it to the tray. “It’s like anything else in life—just got to practice. I’ve been paying attention, traveling around, and having pizza all over LA. I’ve been looking at their ingredients and asking questions.”
“Asking questions?” Shay raised an eyebrow. “And how did that
