Shay snickered and shook her head. Nope. She didn’t believe it. Her life would never get that boring. She wouldn’t allow it.
Her phone chimed with a text from Peyton.
The client has paid for the coin job.
Good, Shay texted back.
Also checked, no word from the Japanese guys pointing at you. They only mentioned that they ran into some trouble and had to abandon the dig.
Also good.
Okay, good night.
Good night.
Shay tossed the phone back onto her nightstand. Her current life was far different than when she was a killer. She had friends and arguably even family, but it was no less dangerous.
“Oh, well. Might as well keep at it while I’m still breathing.”
A couple of days later, Shay stepped out of her car into the bay at Warehouse Two, yawning.
“I’m bored,” she announced.
Even though it hadn’t been long since her last job, something tugged at the edge of mind, prodding her to do something more with her time. She was half-tempted to try to schedule some impromptu small-group discussions at the college regarding her last lecture.
If I make too much noise at the university, they’ll figure shit out, though.
Shay sighed.
Peyton waved from the office. “You’re bored? It’s not exactly been weeks since your last job.”
Shay shrugged and headed toward him. “Yeah, but I like to keep busy. You know me.”
“Just saying, a little downtime isn’t always a bad thing, especially for someone as, uh…”
“What?”
“Let’s just say your default mood is very tense.”
Shay snickered. Couldn’t argue with the truth.
She glanced around. Lily hadn’t been by since the Switzerland job, nor had Shay heard from her. It was hard not to worry about the girl, given her unusual situation.
I’m not her mom or sister or anyone more than a woman willing to help train her in exchange for help. I should remember that. Maybe it’ll make me less stressed.
Counter thoughts pushed their way in right after. Between Alison and Lily, Shay had to accept she had more of a soft spot for teens than she’d ever realized or expected. She recognized her younger self in them, and despite the negative events that had already stained their lives, she hoped they could avoid the dark path she’d walked.
No one should end up in their late twenties worried about whether their so-called friends would shoot them to death in their own kitchen. It was as sad as it was pathetic.
Unlike Shay, Lily and Alison also had magical powers that could be exploited if they didn’t learn how to control them and defend themselves. Alison had the school to defend and train her, but Lily only had Shay to help her. Her friends might have her back, but in the end, they were all just lost kids.
Peyton hunched over his keyboard, furiously clicking and typing with a frown on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Shay asked. “Is your brother poking around?”
Threatening Randy would at least give her something to do.
“No, no. Nothing like that. I just was trying to find you work because I knew you were going to walk in and complain like you just did.”
Shay laughed. “I’m that predictable?”
“Sometimes. Anyway, I’ve been hitting the dark web pretty hard to turn up something useful.”
Shay crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re telling me you can’t find any jobs?”
Peyton shook his head. “Nope. I can find tons of jobs, but I don’t think they’re up to Aletheia’s standards. You’ve leveled up enough that it’d damage your brand if you took penny-ante crap.”
“You sound like you’re my manager.”
He shrugged. “Something like that.”
“Okay, there, Mr. Coolidge, what jobs are you saying are beneath me?”
“For example, got a guy in Oregon who wants to hire a tomb raider for five thousand dollars to help him find some rare pottery shards.”
Shay snickered. “Yeah, probably spend that much on supplies just to find his stupid shards.”
Peyton clicked, then tapped the screen. “This guy is offering twenty-five thousand, but it involves you going into some remote part of the Amazon and he’s pretty much guaranteeing you’ll be attacked by monsters.”
“Pass. If I have to fight monsters, I want at least a hundred thousand, if not a few hundred thousand.”
“Exactly. Oh, this is a really funny one. A Japanese man is offering a thousand yen for someone to help him catch a tsuchinoko.”
Shay furrowed her brow. “One of those snake cryptids?”
Peyton nodded. “Yeah. I had to look it up, but that’s what they are.”
“And a thousand yen is what like…ten bucks? Is he fucking kidding?”
Peyton shrugged. “Don’t know. I mean, the offer was on a legit if shady dark web tomb-raider recruiting site. It’s not something you can find just by typing ‘Need tomb raider’ into a search engine. He did say he’d offer ten percent of gross profits on any money he made from the tsuchinoko, including—you’ll love this—merchandising rights.”
“I think he’s about twenty years too late for people to be really impressed with a cryptid.” Shay shrugged. “He should ask Daisuke and Asahi for help. They probably could use a thousand yen about now.”
Peyton smirked. “Very funny. You’re such a bitch sometimes.”
“Funny bitch, though.” Shay sighed. “And that’s what we have available? Merchandise deals, pottery, and guys who want me to risk my life for less than the cost of the equipment for the job?”
“Yeah, it’s all that kind of thing. Everything’s really quiet. Not the first time.” Peyton shrugged. “But nothing worth you getting out of bed for. That’s the problem with being such a high-end tomb raider.”
“What about Smite-Williams? He’s got to have something interesting for me.” Shay rubbed the back of her neck, mild panic overshadowing her boredom.
Peyton shook his head. “Haven’t heard a peep from him. Come on. It’s not a big deal to have a few days off. You’ve done it before. I don’t get why you care now.”
Shay shook her head. “It’s kind of like parkour. I don’t like losing my momentum, and I have a lot of it built up.”
“Something will turn up. In the meantime, go hang out with your friends or call
