Shay chuckled a little. When she thought about it, a surprise battle actually sounded fun.
They made it to the top of the stairs. James stepped to the door and Shay instinctively tensed, remembering the gunshots at the ARCO Tower.
The bounty hunter pulled open the door, and no bullets flew. Instead, she could hear light classical music playing.
“Huh?”
James held the door for her and motioned her toward the roof. Shay passed through the door.
No gangsters. No witches. No frogmen.
There was a blanket surrounded by candles. Chocolate-covered strawberries were piled high on a silver tray in the center, along with two glasses and an open bottle of champagne. A small speaker on the edge of the blanket provided the music.
James grunted. “I got a little worried when the news said it might be cloudy tonight. It would have ruined the view.”
Shay walked toward the blanket and smiled. Judging by the elevator, they were over seventy stories up. The vastness of Los Angeles lay around them—the tall buildings and the lights. The view from ARCO Tower had been impressive, but this was like being a Greek goddess on Olympus who could look down on the works of the mortals.
“The podcast said that women like nice views and surprise desserts.” James shrugged.
Shay smiled as she turned 360 degrees, taking in the view from every angle. “It’s definitely romantic.” She laughed. “I guess you do learn things from listening to those podcasts.”
She knelt on the blanket and popped a chocolate-covered strawberry into her mouth. She let the flavor linger on her tongue before she started chewing.
James knelt beside her. “I wanted to do something nice. We’re both so busy, always kicking ass. This shit means a lot more to me than just sex.”
Shay snickered. Only James Brownstone could get away with referring to their relationship as “this shit” and have it come out sounding romantic.
“I know that, dumbass. I also know you’re still getting used to it.” She shrugged. “Shit, I’m still getting used to it. You kept yourself away from other people because you thought you were weird, but I was a ruthless killer for half my life. I prided myself on not giving a shit about anyone and never relying on anyone.”
James looked at her. “And now?”
“And now I love you. I care about Alison, Lily, and Peyton, too. Fuck, even my friends who made my place smell for weeks. I care about them.” Shay sucked in a breath.
I say I care about him, but I keep shit from him, shit he deserves to know. I keep telling myself it’s for his own good, but how can he keep himself safe if he doesn’t even know about the threat?
James frowned. “Something wrong?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
His eyes widened, and panic covered his face. “Oh shit.”
She punched him in the arm. “I’m not pregnant, dumbass, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Visible relief followed. “Still getting used to my first daughter, is all.”
Shay rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing like that.”
“What then?”
She took a few deep breaths. “Before I confirmed everything about your alien identity, I’d started looking into some other alien stuff.”
“What alien stuff?”
“I found a stone on a job in Mexico. This possessed elf had it. I thought he was possessed by a demon, but I don’t know. Since then, I’ve had several more jobs or encounters involving these stones. They aren’t magic, from what I can tell, but they have writing on them. Writing that I established doesn’t come from our planet or Oriceran.”
James nodded slowly but kept silent.
“I’ve been able to link these stones to your amulet. So wherever your homeworld is, your people have probably visited before. Not only that, they might still be here among us.”
He furrowed his brow. “How do you know?”
“Partial translations of some of the writing on the stones suggests they’re here, or at least they have been recently.”
James frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“Because I also found out that I’m not the only one interested in it. The Professor and Correk are, which isn’t such a big deal, but they aren’t the only ones either.”
“Who else?”
Shay looked away. “The government. The federal government. There are secret projects, Ragnarok and Nephilim. The government knows non-Oriceran aliens are here, and they’re worried about them. They have this asshole, Durand, working on collecting alien artifacts. I’ve tangled with him a few times. That raid I just went to in Montana for the Professor? There was an alien artifact there, too. Another stone. Some CIA guy named Daniel Goldstein is interested in this stuff, too, but I don’t think he’s working for the other faction.”
“Shit,” James rumbled. “So everyone knew about this but me?”
Shay put her hand on his shoulder. “I was worried that if I told you, you might go knocking some heads. You’re tough, but you can’t take on the entire government.”
The bounty hunter chuckled. “Why does everyone always think I’m going break everything and throw people through windows?”
“It’s not exactly like you’re a man famous for measured and calm responses to people who piss you off.”
“The government fucked with me over Alison, but from what we found out, it doesn’t sound like that had anything to do with this shit.” He frowned deeper. “Or did it?”
Shay shook her head. “Nope, but I’m worried that if these Ragnarok or Nephilim assholes ever figure out you’re an alien, they might lock you up or try to drag you off to a lab somewhere.”
James smirked. “Love to see them try.” He shrugged. “Look, not gonna announce my background to the world, but if they haven’t figured it out by now, they probably won’t.”
The tomb raider blew out a long breath. “Now you know the truth. You pissed? I kept Lily from you, and now this. I wouldn’t blame you if you were mad.”
He shrugged. “Nah. Not like you told me the government had a secret barbeque project and you’d been keeping it from me.”
Shay laughed. “You would be more
