“Excellent.” Dr. Weber shrugged. “I’ve waited thirty years. It’s not like waiting a year or two more will hurt me. Thank you for your time, Professor Carson.”
The department head slunk off down the sidewalk and away from the parking lot.
Shay blew out a breath and shook her head. As much as she loved uncovering truths, she wasn’t a real professor, and a few fun lectures now and again wasn’t the same thing as having time to do a professional—which by its nature was slow and methodical—archaeological dig.
She headed toward her car.
Interesting story, though. Maybe something to check out in the future.
Shay stepped out of the car in the bay at Warehouse Two and headed toward the office, a purse over one shoulder and a satchel containing her book over the other. She blinked and smiled at a familiar teen perched on the edge of Peyton’s desk. It’d been far too long since she’d talked to Lily.
The teen grinned at Peyton, who was sitting in his chair. “Come on, you never know. You might like it. Just think about trying it. Don’t be such an old man. Shay does it, and she’s older than you.”
The hacker shook his head. “I’m not crazy like you and Shay. I don’t need to jump off buildings. I like living, and I cherish every single second of my life. No pointless risks for me.”
“Boring.” Lily stretched out the word.
A delicious scent hung in the air, along with the extra heat that came from using the pizza oven.
I thought he’d never be able to do anything, but he’s approaching becoming the Pizza King in truth. I’ve rarely been happier to be wrong about something.
Shay walked over to the office. “What’s up, you two? What are you trying to peer-pressure Peyton into?”
Lily shrugged. “Trying to get Peyton interested in parkour, but he’s going full grandpa on me.”
He rolled his eyes. “I have enough danger in my life. I don’t need to add more.”
Shay chuckled and turned to Lily. “It’s been a while since I last saw you. You don’t look panicked or like you have to hide from gangsters.”
The girl shrugged. “I’m fine. Everything’s going well. The money you’ve paid me has made it easy to keep everyone in food without scavenging.”
“You earned that money—every penny. Not that I’m upset that you’re here, but why are you here?”
“Just stopped by to see if there were any jobs and if you wanted to work out later. Even with the parkour, it’s just not the same without you.”
Shay furrowed her brow. There was nothing wrong with taking Lily to Warehouse One for a little workout, but something tugged at the back of her mind. A small twinge of guilt, especially with Alison in town. Spending time training a secret protégé she’d hidden from James and Alison felt a little bit weird, and even a little wrong.
Fuck. I probably should tell them about her sooner rather than later, but I just have to figure out the best way to do that. It’s not like she’s a secret kid from a previous marriage or something. They don’t have a cartel or gangsters after them. At least not anymore.
The tomb raider shrugged. “I’m sure something can be arranged. Not sure about jobs. Things have been a bit dry lately on that front. I’ve got Peyton looking into a potential job, but we need to do a little background research on the site.” She sniffed the air. “Setting that aside, something smells damned wonderful, Peyton.”
Peyton grinned and stood. The sight wiped the smile off Shay’s face. The man’s pants were an abomination—shiny gold stripes and whorls over red spandex and flared bottoms. It wasn’t just unfashionable, it was anti-fashion. A sartorial sin.
Shay groaned. “So which of you is Starsky?”
Peyton and Lily exchanged looks.
“Huh?” was Peyton’s brilliant reply. “Starsky?”
Lily just shrugged.
Shay waved a hand. “No respect for the classics.”
Captain Anti-Fashion marched over to the pizza oven, grabbed his paddle, and pulled out a mouth-watering thin-crust pepperoni pizza. Being good at cooking pizza went a long way toward making up for his unfortunate clothing choices.
Shay licked her lips and then blinked as Peyton deposited the pizza on a tray next to eight other pizzas on a nearby table. Each had a single slice removed.
Shay gestured to the table. “Are we having a rave or something you didn’t tell me about? Or is James stopping by and worried about making weight for a new pro-wrestling career he hasn’t told me about?”
Lily snickered.
Peyton shook his head. “Nope. I wanted to perfect the flour-to-water ratio, so I needed to do a few experiments. Well, more than a few, because things just weren’t right.” He pointed to one of the older pizzas. “None of my test slices were quite right, but I figure Lily can take the pizzas back to her underground lair to share with her special underdweller friends.”
Lily rolled her eyes. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a paperclip. With the precision of a Marine Corps Force Recon sniper, she pelted the hacker in the head.
“Ow.” Peyton rubbed his head. “That hurt.”
Shay laughed. “Don’t pick a fight you can’t win, Peyton.”
Osiris took advantage of the distracted humans to snatch a pizza from the table and drag it away. The cat stopped and tilted his head. A mouse grabbed a free piece of pepperoni and scurried off with it. The cat dropped the pizza and sprinted after the rodent with a yowl. Instinct fueled his active hunt.
Shay winced. Nothing should be getting into the warehouse, including mice, but it wasn’t like she could call a normal pest control company. After a moment, she shrugged. The cat would finally earn its keep. Not a bad deal.
Lily snorted at Peyton. “’Underdwellers?’ Seriously?”
Peyton shrugged. “Is that not politically correct? What should I be calling them, ‘tunnel rats?’”
“Don’t make me hurt you,” Lily warned. “I wonder what your little girlfriend would think if she knew what you actually did for a living. Of course, knowing you, someday you’ll
