Shay snorted. “Right back at you.”
Peyton pointed at his chest with a thumb. “I’ve got a life and a girlfriend, thank you very much.”
His fashion sense, including the pastel jacket with shoulder pads, silk pants, and lack of socks reminded Shay of a very important question she needed to ask.
“She’s agreed to go out with you again despite your habit of wearing…” Shay gestured toward his clothes, “well, shit like that?”
Peyton rolled his eyes. “She appreciates my unique style, yes. It’s part of her being smart and nerdy-sexy. She can see past the petty confines of common society.”
“’Nerdy-sexy?’ What the fuck does that mean?”
“She works on computer simulations for physics stuff, including the interface of regular physics and magic.”
Shay nodded. “Okay, doesn’t sound like a bimbo. I’ll give you credit for having some taste, and not being scared off by a woman with a brain.”
Peyton grinned. “And I’ll even admit she’s got a thing or two to teach me about programming.”
“Does she now? Guess it’s a good thing your ego can handle a smart woman.”
He laughed. “My boss is smart and has threatened to kill me several times. Kind of makes my girlfriend seem mild in comparison.”
Shay winked. “Just consider it part of your man training.” She stepped out of the office. “Keep looking… Wait a second.”
She took a few steps toward a table near the pizza oven. The bowl on the table had been scraped clean, but the red-stains around the rim and the sweet scent pointed to cherries.
“For the love of all that is holy and sacred,” Shay began, taking another step toward the bowl, her stomach tightening, “please tell me you’re not making cherry pizza.” She gagged at the sacrilege.
Peyton laughed and walked toward the table. “Nope. I figure I’ve got this great stone oven, so why not do more with it than just cook pizza? It’ll teach me to handle the oven better.”
“Do more? Like what, cremation?”
“Ha-ha. Very funny. I mean like pies.”
Shay eyed him. “I thought you were going to be the Pizza King?”
“Well, the Pizza King also wants to earn the title ‘Pie Prince.’” Peyton shrugged. He snapped his fingers. “Oh, I forgot. We had an overnight guest. I found here her this morning when I came in to cook.”
Shay stared at him, though inward relief swept over her now that she knew Lily was in the warehouse. “Came in to cook? Don’t you mean came in to find jobs?”
Peyton ignored the question and the look. “I didn’t ask her much, but I think something might have happened. Something kind of rough.”
“What are you talking about? Something happened with Lily?”
“Yeah. She looks pretty worn out and, you know, dirty. I get that she hangs out in tunnels half the time, but she didn’t get that dirty in a few days.”
Shay frowned. “Where is she now?”
“Sleeping on a cot in the break room. One of the few times I’ve actually seen her sleeping. I wasn’t even sure Gray Elves slept.”
“I’ll go talk to her. You keep looking for jobs.”
Peyton gave a little salute and headed back into the office.
The tomb raider marched down the hall to the breakroom. The Gray Elf lay on a cot with a thin blanket pulled up to her shoulders. Her face was covered with soot, and her hands were covered with scratches. Her jacket was draped over a nearby chair and had a few new holes that Shay didn’t remember being there the last time they’d seen one another.
Shay pulled a chair in front of the cot and turned it backward. She sat down and rested her arms and chin on the back as she watched the slumbering girl.
Lily moaned, and her eyes fluttered open. She let out a little yelp and jerked up.
Shay chuckled. “Good morning to you too, Lily.”
“I’m a…very light sleeper. You just surprised me, is all.”
“I could say the same thing about you. Not like I mind you staying at the warehouse—hell, I prefer it—but why are you here? You didn’t tell me you’d be coming, and you seemed pretty damned adamant about not staying here the other day.”
Lily sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “Because I can’t go back to the tunnels.”
“Can’t go back? Why? I don’t understand everything about your little group, but it didn’t seem like they were about to exile you because you hang out with me. Harry wanted me to throw jobs his way, and he…uh… Well, they don’t seem like they’d turn their back on you easily.”
“It’s not that, it’s… I’m being followed. I needed somewhere safe and secure. Someplace no one would ever think to look for me. Some place that even if someone from the tunnels got caught, they wouldn’t know where it is.”
Shay frowned. “Followed? By Demon Generals?”
Lily shook her head. “Nope. I wouldn’t be so worried if it was just some gang members. No, these guys…they’re with the 25K Group.”
Shay stared at the girl for several seconds before responding. “The 25K Group? The fucking triad?”
“Yeah.” Lily looked down and shrugged.
Chinese organized crime had always had a strong influence on the West Coast, but had suffered in places like Los Angeles in recent decades because of the aggressive expansion of Oriceran criminal groups and hungry organizations like cartels and the Harriken. With the recent destruction of the Harriken and the Nuevo Gulf Cartel, however, opportunities had arisen for groups to expand their influence.
Shay had heard rumors that the 25K Group was poking around in Los Angeles, even if they didn’t have a major foothold as compared to their strength in San Francisco and San Diego.
“How the fuck did you get the triad after you?” Shay demanded.
“I just…was doing my own tomb raid. I figured with all the training you’ve been putting me through and how I was able to knock down the thugs in New York, that I was ready to try something on my own. Something local that didn’t require Peyton
