Peyton nodded slowly, his face still scrunched up in confusion. “So, you’re not a hitman – woman – whatever - anymore?” He gave her a side long glance. “At least not on purpose.”
“Nope. I was tired of that shit for a lot of reasons. Lucky for you, I still keep my eye on a lot of sites related to my old job, if only to watch out for anyone coming after me. You’d be surprised how easy it is to stay under the radar once everyone thinks you’re dead and they stop looking for you.” She winked and rested her hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, easily maneuvering the car. “I was doing my regular check on those sites and found out there’s a hit out on your stupid ass, so I decided to save it. Your ass, not the hit. Lucky for you I can use an IT guy and you don’t annoy me to the point of wanting to kill you.”
Peyton let out a long sigh. “I didn’t know there was a hit out on me,” he rested his arm on the side of his door, tapping the leather. “But I guess I’m not surprised either.”
“Oh?”
“You know me.” He shrugged. “I’m an information guy. I was digging around when some new clients contacted me about working for them.”
“Criminals?”
“Depends on whether you think breaking the law makes you a criminal or just financially motivated.” He slunk down in the seat and started to put his foot up on the dashboard till he saw the cold look come across Shay’s face. At the last second, he crossed his leg and sat back up.
“Good move. May not be my car, but it’s still a Porsche. Have some respect.” Shay cut across to a side street where she could get around the traffic.
She ignored the honks this time.
“I thought I could handle them, but I found some information that links several members of Congress to a bunch of different organized crime groups. Mafia, Russian mob, Harriken, even a couple of problem Elves that might be involved with some shady Oriceran groups. I was planning to bank it for later use.” Peyton turned to look out the window as they drove. “I think I fucked up. There’s a chance I trusted the wrong guy when I was confirming things, and I…”
“What?”
“I guess I thought my family would protect me even if I don’t ever see my brother and sister anymore. They’ve been my get out of firing range free card for a while.”
“Looks like that card just expired on you.”
Peyton looked down at his hands. “So, you think me turning up that information is what got the hit put out on me?”
“You were the keeper of secrets for a lot of dangerous people. The word is a lot of them think you’re about to leak that information. The second that rumor got out there that you’d possibly leak anything? They wanted you dead. This shit isn’t a game.”
“I never thought it was a game.”
“Sure.”
Shay glanced at Peyton and considered telling him she’d found evidence there might be more to the hit than worried gangsters, something more personal, but decided it’d be too much, too soon. Shock still covered Peyton’s face, and she could tell he was having trouble processing it all.
“No one wants you to burn their poor honest congressmen,” she offered instead.
Peyton snorted. “People taking money from organized crime are honest?”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“What?”
“The actual definition of an honest man.”
“What’s that? I figure criminals have their own kind of honor, but that’s not the same thing as honesty.”
“Not exactly. An honest man stays bought once you bribe him.” Shay took a deep breath and shook her head. “I warned you about this. You can’t roll around with this kind of scum and not end up in the mud. I always told you that you should stay the fuck away. It doesn’t matter if you’re one of the best when it comes to research. All it takes is for you to learn the wrong thing, and then you’re not only a liability, you’re the liability. Like now.”
Peyton frowned. “I used to help you, and you’re not exactly a saint.”
Shay wagged a finger at him. “If you were smart, you would have stayed away from me, too. But lucky you, I turned over a new leaf, and I’m helping your ass.”
“Lucky for me, you need me.” He eyed her, “You’re really not a killer now?”
Shay looked over her shoulder and easily maneuvered the Porsche in between a semi and a Subaru, cutting in and out of lanes. She loved the way the car responded to her touch. Just like a good piece of artillery or the right man. Well balanced and responsive. “I don’t kill people for money anymore. I’m not gonna say I never kill anyone.”
“They should put up a statue of you and give you the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Shay chuckled. “Yeah, you’re just as mouthy as I remember.”
Peyton shrugged. “What’s the plan here?”
Shay changed lanes. “Long-term, I’m snagging you back to L.A. with me, where I can hide you safely for a while. Set you up with a project I have in mind.”
“And short-term?”
The ex-hitman gave Peyton a feral grin. “I kill you and collect your bounty.”
“Don’t move,” Shay said, slathering red moulage makeup on Peyton’s forehead. The fake wound would look real enough in a picture as long as she gave everyone a reason to believe what they were seeing. “You’re gonna get this shit on the sheets, and I don’t want to have to pay an extra cleaning fee to the hotel.”
“You’re really worried about some cleaning fee?”
“Hey, some of us didn’t grow up in rich families.”
Peyton snorted. “I know how much money you made in your old job. You have to have a pile stashed somewhere.”
“Doesn’t mean I still don’t appreciate the value of a dollar. Now stay fucking still.”
“It’s so weird
