Wait, that doesn’t even make sense. The timing would be too weird unless…
“How…” Shay began. She sighed.
Admitting she was in a relationship shouldn’t be such a big deal. If they insisted on meeting James, she could always just make up an excuse. Telling the truth wasn’t an option, given how famous the bounty hunter had grown.
I’m trying to hide in the shadows, and he’s showing up on the news. Interesting pair we make.
Shay gulped down some wine under the careful gaze of her three friends. “How did you know?”
Janelle smirked and leaned back. “I can just see it. You’ve always been so tense. I think you need to switch jobs, because all that archaeology is going to give you a heart attack.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
“Exactly, but now you’re not as tense, which means two things: You’ve got a man, and you’re getting some.”
All the women laughed.
Not as tense, even though I’ve been searching the room for threats?
Shay finished her wine, the pleasant buzz slicing away some of the paranoia. “Okay, I admit that I’ve got a new guy, but you were all wrong. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to say anything.”
Bella tilted her head. “We were all wrong?”
“I told you about the guy, but everyone said he was gay.”
“Oh, that guy.”
The three other women exchanged looks and grins.
“Why don’t you tell us a little about him?” Janelle prodded.
“He’s a really private guy,” Shay offered. “I think he’d be annoyed if I talked about him too much. He’s not all that used to relationships. He’s been career-focused most of his life. His whole life is his job, barbeque, and this girl he’s adopting.”
Shit, that’s probably too much information.
“Wow, a family man already,” Kara commented.
Janelle looked thoughtful. “Be careful. Those career guys don’t always know what they really want from life. They play around, but don’t want to commit. Just because he’s got a kid doesn’t mean he’ll commit to you.”
Shay chuckled. “I’m not sure I know what I really want from life.”
Janelle smirked. “You do what you need to do, girl. Just make sure you’re running things.”
Am I running things? I don’t know. James isn’t exactly clued into a lot of this stuff. I had to practically throw myself at him to get his attention, but it’s also not like he’s staring at other women and waiting for his chance to step out, either.
“I am really happy for you,” Bella offered. “I’ve been so worried about you working too hard. I know you’re an archaeologist and everything, but the future is always more important than the past.”
Shay chuckled and refilled her wine glass. Not all that long ago she might not have believed that, but now she wasn’t so sure. Things were starting to change, albeit slowly.
The women lapsed into reflective silence as they continued to sip their wine and attend to what was left of their entrées. The varied conversations of the nearby tables flowed over and around them.
Shay took the opportunity to survey the restaurant again. Her attention lingered on a few men in a booth on the opposite end of the room, but their rowdy, drunken laughter made it unlikely they were hitmen trying to sneak in a hit.
A couple of waiters emerged from the back. She focused on them to ensure they were staff she’d seen already that night. Dressing as waitstaff and shooting someone was something she’d done more than a few times.
Spun right from dating to looking for enemies.
The tomb raider forced down the laugh that wanted to erupt. Chatting with her friends and being personal without giving them the truth had become easier as the months had passed. Compartmentalizing her life had become normal.
Could I have had friends even back as a killer? Maybe not. I’m not going to kid myself. The edge is still there, but it’s not as sharp, and that’s why I can even be around normal people.
Kara’s face set in determination. “You know what we should do? We should all run those stairs again. That was tough, but fun.”
Bella grimaced. “I was sore for days after that. I don’t know if I want to inflict that kind of pain on my legs again for a while. What about you, Shay?”
She shrugged. “I agree with Kara. It was fun. I think we should. I’ve also been kind of thinking of taking up parkour. It looks useful. Uh, I mean it looks like it could be a good workout.”
Janelle gave Shay a suspicious look. “Parkour? Isn’t that all that running and jumping off buildings stuff?”
“There’s some of that, but it’s not about being a daredevil, really. It’s about using the environment and momentum to your maximum advantage. It’s great, because not only do you get a good workout, it teaches you to be very aware of your surroundings.”
Her friend shrugged and picked up her wine glass. “Sounds like a lot of work. I think I’ll stick with the stairs.”
The other women nodded their agreement.
Shay shrugged. “Whatever works.”
She’d need to find a parkour group. Annoyance lingered in the back of her mind over how the cat burglar had eluded her. While ego had played a role, the practical implications of parkour-enhanced mobility weren’t lost on her. As her most recent trip to Paris had demonstrated, being a tomb raider often took her away from blasted deserts or arctic wastelands to urban population centers.
Shay frowned. Training in parkour would mean having to deal with a whole new group of people and even more lies, but it’d be easier than when she’d first befriended this trio.
Lying had always been easy, and it’d served her well in her old career. Lying to people she planned to see again had been a new experience, though, and all her practice made the whole process smoother. Fucked up, perhaps, but she wouldn’t ignore the truth.
“Something wrong, Shay?” Bella inquired. “You were making a face for a second.”
The tomb raider shook her head. “Just was thinking about this asshole I
