If there was one lesson Shay had internalized in her life, including her decade as a brutal killer, it was that the more ornate a lie, the easier it was to see through it. People craved the easy to understand, the banal. Anything that stepped outside those boundaries upset their carefully balanced world and made them start wanting to look deeper.
There was no reason for her to give them a reason to do that.
Shay blew out a breath and checked the area as she rounded a corner. There wasn’t a single person around. Even though she was now living more openly, she couldn’t let her guard down when she was about to drive to a warehouse. The only people who knew the locations were those she could trust with her life, and although she’d destroyed the Nuevo Gulf Cartel, she had a long list of other enemies who might love a chance to kill her or destroy her warehouses.
Don’t know if I’ll ever be able to let my guard down entirely. James is an utter badass who wasted a bunch of Harriken, and he still had assholes who blew up his house with a rocket launcher before people bought a clue. And he was trying to spread his reputation around, unlike me.
She pulled out her phone and dialed Peyton.
“What’s up?” he answered cheerfully.
“I just gave a lecture at the university.”
“That go well?”
Shay grinned. “My lectures always go well. When I set out to do something, I don’t do it half-assed. I’m sure most of these kids will change their majors to revised history or archaeology if they haven’t already. A lot of them aren’t even from the department, or at least I don’t think they are.”
Peyton chuckled. “Humble much?”
“I don’t believe in false humility. Anyway, I was just giving a lecture on the city of Old Dwarka. I did some background research on it for the lecture, and everything I’ve found suggests there’s treasure to be found there. I’m beginning to think I should check it out.”
“Old Dwarka. Isn’t that the place that’s underwater?”
Shay scoffed. “I’ve got a lot of dive gear.”
Peyton laughed. “Yeah, and you bitch a lot about having to do stuff underwater.”
“Touché. Just start looking into it. I’ve got a decent pile of cash from all my tomb raids, even with the recent warehouse upgrades. Aletheia has an established reputation now, meaning I can pursue a personal opportunity here or there.”
A crunch came over the line.
Shay frowned. “What the hell was that? Did you just break something?”
“Potato chips.”
“You couldn’t have waited to eat?”
Peyton chuckled. “You called in the middle of my snack. You’re the one with bad timing, not me.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just start doing background research on Old Dwarka. Not sure it’ll be our next raid, but there’ll be no patron this time, and we’ll keep what I find. I really need to get my own arsenal of artifacts, so I’ll have more options.”
“Not disagreeing. Sounds like a good plan.”
“I’ll let you go back to your chips now, Peyton. Enjoy, and don’t choke on them.”
He laughed. “Thanks.”
Shay ended the call.
If I want to have any chance of dealing with people like Yulia, I need to bring a lot more artifacts with me. It’s time for the next step in my career or for me to walk away, and I don’t feel like walking away.
Shay tensed as movement caught her attention. Someone was sprinting toward her.
Chapter Three
The tomb raider narrowed her eyes and widened her stance. Even though she was in a skirt and button-up blouse for her lecture rather than something more practical—let alone tactical—she had a knife concealed in her skirt and a gun in her purse. That was one thing she could always say about when she needed to carry a bag of some sort. They were great places to hide weapons.
Shay gritted her teeth.
Don’t ruin my day, asshole. I was having a nice post-lecture buzz, and I don’t want to have to explain away a body on campus. It took me too much effort to get established here.
Shay rolled her eyes and snickered as the form closed on her. The battle would need to be postponed. It wasn’t an assassin, or at least she didn’t know of an assassin who’d be caught dead in khaki pants, a cardigan, and a bowtie.
She sighed and let her shoulders relax, even if her stomach was still knotted. In a sense, the man might be more dangerous than an assassin. It was her department head.
What the hell does he want? He wasn’t even at my lecture.
“Professor Carson,” the man called. He arrived at her car and bent over, puffing and red-faced. He needed to get in more regular cardio if a little jog like that had him suffering so much.
Shay gave him a polite nod. “Hello, Doctor Weber. In a rush, I see.”
Dr. Weber took a few more seconds to catch his breath before straightening. “Yes. I just had something to ask you about. Something that I wanted to do in a semi-private setting, which is why I didn’t just come to the end of your lecture to ask you about it.”
Shay shrugged. “Okay. I was on my way home, but ask away.”
“It’s just…” He sighed and looked away. “I’ve sat in on a few of your lectures and, of course, I reviewed your previous material. Your understanding of revised history to archaeology, especially for someone so early in your career…well, it’s unparalleled. When you lecture, it’s often like you’ve been to these places. I can really feel your passion for your work.”
Been to more of them than you realize. Maybe not doing careful archaeology, but
