“You belong to the Adams Family. They really are a screa-um. I guarantee you,” Shay began, keeping her voice calm, “your siblings still have people on the lookout for you. If anything, with your dad dying, they’ll be on hyper alert to make sure you don’t pop up out of nowhere to peel away part of the fortune.”
“I can take care of myself, especially around my family.”
Shay scoffed. “Remember how you got here.”
Peyton threw up his hands. “Just because you’re good at killing doesn’t mean you’re the queen of all badasses, Shay. Sure, I had a hit on me, but I have a few technical skills.”
“Telling yourself bullshit doesn’t make it any less bullshit. You were a rich boy ignoring the game you were playing with a dangerous crowd. The only reason you’re not dead is because I saved your life, and now you just want to throw it away.”
Peyton snorted. “You don’t give a shit about me. I’m just a tool to you. Why do you care if your hammer runs off and gets broken? Buy another hammer.”
“Fuck you, Peyton.” Shay wasn’t ready to admit to herself that he was that rarest of commodities in her life… a friend.
“I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me unless you kill me.”
Shay narrowed her eyes and took a step toward him. “I’m not a one trick pony. Locking you up for a while works just as well.”
Peyton stood his ground, glaring at her.
Shay’s voice was filled with venom. “If you leave, this place will be empty an hour after you get on the plane, and I’ll have a different phone number.” She stomped over to the Spider. “Do what you want.” She sounded calm despite the knot in her gut.
She threw open the Spider’s door and slipped inside, already thinking about where she could move everything important from Warehouse Two and finally throwing out all his crap. Things could go back to the way they were, predictable.
“Fuck that,” Shay muttered to herself, and started her car. “Maybe I should grab what I need and burn this entire damned place to the ground.” Thank God I never showed him any other Warehouses.
Shay tapped boxing gloves with her opponent and moved backward in the ring, keeping her focus on him. She’d already forgotten his name. Trevor something. It didn’t matter. He was just an unfortunate living punching bag for her today.
She’d driven straight to Steel Gloves, wanting the release that only punching someone could bring. Exercise on her obstacle course might be cleansing, but fiery rage cleansed her soul.
I saved that stupid kid’s life, and now he’s gonna go and get himself killed to pay his respects to a piece of trash father?
Her opponent stepped forward, throwing a few test jabs, which Shay easily blocked.
He gave her a cocky grin. It reminded her far too much of Peyton. She launched a series of quick jabs, forcing the man back. He finally found an opening and sent a powerful hook her way, but she ducked the punch at the last moment, and hit him with a series of body blows.
Focus on the task at hand. Stay in the moment. Her mind continued to drift. If his mother knew all this shit was going on and looked the other way, she’s just as bad as the rest of them.
Shay’s distraction let her opponent land a solid punch that sent her staggering back. She let out a growl and shook her head.
“You’re good,” her opponent said, bouncing side to side on his toes. “But I’m better.”
Cocky little Peyton. I gave you a new life. A new purpose, and this is how you repay me? Fuck you. Stick with your training. Singleness of purpose.
Shay rushed the boxer, gliding between his blows like he was announcing them. She slammed a glove into his face and immediately followed up with another hit.
He stepped back, but her speed made his escape attempt futile. Blow after blow landed, each hit bringing out a grunt.
The angry tomb raider forced him into a corner where he finally collapsed, a trickle of blood coming from his nose.
Shay brought up her elbow to slam into his neck, blinking, pulling back at the last minute.
Fucking get it together, woman. This is just some douchebag in the gym, not a mercenary trying to kill you.
Shay took a deep breath, moving back several steps, shaking her head and trying to clear out the murderous bloodlust.
Her opponent pushed himself off the ground, sniffing as he dabbed at his nose. He worked at pulling his gloves off.
“Sorry, I got excited after I got some good hits in.”
The man let out a low grunt, glancing at her as he looked at the blood on his fingers. “It’s okay. Nothing to apologize for. I’m impressed with your skills, and I underestimated you. Not many guys can beat my ass. Guess I shouldn’t have taken a chick so lightly.”
Shay let out an annoyed sigh and looked around at the small crowd who were already gathering to watch them. Pick your battles. Fuck Peyton. It’s his own damned fault if he gets killed.
She held out her hand to shake. He took her hand as she leveraged her body weight and flipped him onto his back, dropping to her knee and whispering to him, “We all make mistakes. Some live to try again.” He looked at her nervously as she grinned and stood back up, holding out her hand. Everything changes. Always a permanent part of any plan these days. The return of magic was teaching her that much.
Shay blew a good hour driving in the Hollywood Hills, still clearing her head. She considered tracking down the Demon Generals to lay waste to the gang. She rested one hand on the top of the steering wheel as she cruised around a curve on Nichols Canyon Road.
Mapping out kill strategies always calmed her down. But she accepted that killing dozens of gang members was just as idiotic as Peyton
