Even several of the OGs grumbled at the announcement.
Royce and Maria nodded in agreement, their cool gazes passing over the gathered bounty hunters and trainees.
This shit is coming together. I’ve got a good team here, and with Trey leading things in Vegas, we can probably get a good team set up there permanently sooner rather than later.
The Brownstone Agency might as well be an army. With James at their head, there wouldn’t be anyone they couldn’t take down. Sometimes to achieve peace you just needed to kick enough ass, and he couldn’t think of any situation that couldn’t be resolved with significant application of force.
Maria scratched her chin. “Inspiration.”
Royce and James looked her way with questioning expressions.
“Everyone who came in with Trey has personally worked with you, James, on a job.” Maria shrugged. “But a lot of the newer guys haven’t, because these days you only take on fours and fives. I think it’d be good for the guys to see you doing your thing, not on tv or the net but in person. I know it’s not worth your time, but even I busted the occasional low-level piece of shit when I was still in AET. It sets a good example. And I mean seeing you kick a bounty’s ass, not their asses.”
“Find me a good bounty or two who’ll make a good example, then. One thing I’ll never get tired of is taking idiots down.” James slammed his fist into his palm. “And it’s good to remind shitbags that they can’t hide from me just by being low-level.”
Maria smiled like she’d been given her favorite Christmas present. “Give me a day or two, and I’ll find something really fun for everybody.”
Chapter Three
This is what I get for not planning ahead, Shay thought.
She crossed her legs as she settled in at the dining room table and stared down at her phone sitting beside her plate and frowned. She didn’t even care about her sizzling steak. “This shit is annoying,” she mumbled. “I’m having one of those moments when I start thinking like you, James. That freaks me out a little.”
Alison gobbled down her steak, watching the two with interest.
James looked up from his slab of meat. “Huh? What are you talking about?” A faint hint of excitement filtered onto his face.
Poor guy. He probably thinks I’m about to say barbeque.
“Keep it simple, stupid,” Shay explained.
“I’m totally lost.” James glanced over at Alison. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“Wedding planning,” she mouthed.
“Oh.” A wide grin from James followed.
Shay’s head shot up. “What’s so funny?”
“I spent all that time worrying about the proposal.” James cut into his steak with the precision of a surgeon. “All that time I worried I was gonna fuck it up.” He finished slicing off a piece and looked back up at Shay. “But now you get to feel the pain. You get to deal with all this annoying wedding shit. That’s funny.”
Alison swallowed a bite and chuckled quietly.
Oh, it’s not gonna be that easy, James. Not that easy at all.
“I have to deal with the wedding shit?” Shay raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. It’s your wedding. Or you gonna use a wedding planner?”
Shay smirked. “Who says you don’t have to deal with anything? It’s your wedding, too, in case you forgot.”
“Can’t I just pay and let you make all the decisions? I’m a guy. It’s not like we care that much.” James shrugged. “I don’t care about what color napkins we have or how the tables are arranged or any of that.”
“Pay? I could pay for our wedding with the money I make from a lame-ass side job.” Shay’s gaze flicked back to her phone. “I’m fine taking point on this, but like I said, this is your wedding, too. Anything in particular you want? And don’t you dare repeat how you don’t care that much.” She rolled her eyes and nodded toward his coffee table. “This place is so clean we could probably do a transplant in here without antiseptic. You might be a badass who loves charred meat, but you’re anal as hell and obsessed with what you like, so you need to tell me what you want for this wedding. It’s not like we’re going to get a second shot at it, and I don’t want to hear a bunch of bitching while you’re walking down the aisle.”
Alison hid her huge grin by drinking some water.
James blinked a few times, confusion spreading slowly across his face. After a few seconds, a look of forlorn resignation set in, but it was quickly followed by something else: hope.
“Barbeque,” James declared. “Since you asked, that’s what I want.” He frowned at his steak as if irritated it wasn’t ribs or brisket. “Not just any barbeque, but barbeque from Jessie Rae’s. I already talked to Mike about catering it. He just said to give him the number of people and date, and he’d be ready. I’ll handle all the transportation shit if you don’t want to.” He pondered the possibilities. “I wonder if Addie Endo could transport Mike and all the equipment and ingredients? Or shit, should I just buy all the equipment and ingredients and have them at the venue?” He furrowed his brow. “This is getting complicated, but this is one time I think I’ll just have to put up with it.”
Shay shook her head slightly, looking amused. “Barbeque, huh? And you’re considering hiring high-end couriers to bring barbeque and pitmasters to your wedding? I’d like to say I’m surprised, but that’s like the most predictable thing you’ve ever asked of me.”
“Nothing wrong with being predictable. It keeps shit simple overall. Why? You don’t want barbeque?” James’ gaze flicked to Alison, but she ducked and chuckled.
He squared his shoulders. If his daughter wouldn’t back him, he’d have to win the battle himself. There were some things that were non-negotiable in life.
“It’s fine.” Shay shrugged. “You’re doing the hard part by getting the supplier, so we might as well make it a very Brownstone wedding. I’m assuming you won’t have a huge problem if we have other food as well? We can ask on the invites if they want barbeque or something else.”
James furrowed his brow. “Can’t we make the vegetarians bring their own food?”
Alison and Shay both laughed.
“I was thinking non-vegetarians who don’t like barbeque,” Shay explained. “Such people exist, you know. And I want at least some fancy food at this thing.”
“You can have pizza at the wedding if you want, too.” James grunted. “I don’t care. Get all the fancy pizza you want.”
“I’m not talking about pizza.” Shay eyed him, unsure if he was joking. “I’ll pick something a little classier for my contribution.” She set her phone down, crossed her arms, and smiled softly. “It turns out you have a lot more opinions on the wedding than you’ve been saying these last couple of months, or even a few minutes ago, Mr. I’m-A-Guy-And-I-Just-Want-To-Pay-And-Do-Nothing-Else.”
“Had too much time to think, so it’s hard to not think about them. It’s not a big deal or anything.” James shrugged. “Just not going to be annoying about it.”
“It’s fine. Glad you give a shit. It means you’re invested in this thing.” Shay nodded at the phone. “But I’m not sure yet about most of the details myself. I always assumed I’d never get married, so it’s not something I have put a lot of thought into. I do want something that involves fewer Special Forces soldiers and a venue not in the middle of a highway, but I’m not really clear on the details other than that.”
James frowned, and Alison gave them a worried look. They had been a little less than detailed on the exact nature of what had happened at the proposal. Shay had mentioned there were a lot of cheering people around, but she’d let the girl assume that it hadn’t involved a military strike team.
Shay held up her hand to display the jade ring. “To be clear, I loved the proposal. It was what I wanted, and it was epic. I’m just saying I want the wedding to be slightly more on the traditional side. Not totally traditional, but at least a little closer.”
James nodded. “Me too. I want
Father McCartney to do the ceremony.”
“Fine by me, but I’m telling you now, I’ll agree to love, honor, and cherish, but obey?” Shay shook her head.
“Yeah, you shouldn’t lie in a church.” James sliced off another piece of steak and speared it with his fork. “And we both know you do whatever the hell you want.”
“Like you don’t?” Shay raised an eyebrow.
“It’s worked for me so far.” James downed yet another piece of steak.
“Same here.”
Alison let out a contented sigh. “It’s so romantic. A wedding! I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.” She bounced in her seat. “And now we’re talking about the details. I don’t care if it’s probably not going to be for a year, I’m so excited.”
“You haven’t been waiting that long,” Shay replied. “It’s not like we’ve known each other for twenty years.”
James grunted.
Alison shrugged. “Percentage-wise, it’s been a much bigger chunk of my life than yours.”
“True enough, but it’s also not like I’m that much older than you.” Shay sent a playful glare at the girl, not sure if Alison was poking at her age.
Alison laughed. “Oh, that reminds me. Are you going to take Dad’s name?”
James crossed his arms and his face lit with interest, obviously eager to hear the answer.
Shay shrugged. “I figured I’d hyphenate. A lot of useful reputation built up in the name Brownstone. Seems a shame to not take advantage of that.” She winked at Alison.
“And weddings aren’t romantic,” James muttered. “They’re complicated and require a lot of work. Most times they aren’t simple. I should know. I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts. All the top ones on weddings.” He pointed his fork at Shay. “Which is why I’m leaving it mostly up to her. It’s not like hunting down a bounty.” He lowered his fork. “You know, if we had the wedding in Vegas, we could just go grab some Jessie Rae’s afterword. Ever consider that? Now that would be simple.”
Alison stared at James, her mouth open. “Dad, are you serious? Or is this some sort of sad, sad attempt at a joke?”
James shrugged again. “Why not? I’m sure I can get Father McCartney to go there. I don’t know all the laws and license crap, but if we look into it ahead of time, it won’t be a big deal. People do it all the time.”
Alison sighed and shook her head. “I keep having to remind myself that you’re still learning about women in so many ways. You’re the biggest badass in the United States, or maybe the world, but you’re more clueless than some of the boys at my school.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
I better nip this in the bud damned quick.
Shay gave James a death stare. “I’m not having some quickie wedding in Vegas.” She crossed her arms. “It’s going to be epic, just like the proposal. A touch more normal, though, even if I’m still figuring out the venue. And the theme. And everything else.” She shrugged. “But keep in mind that this is one bridezilla you won’t beat in a fight.”
“What’s the budget?” Alison asked. “That’s a good place to start planning from.”
“Budget?” Shay snorted. “Screw the budget. It’s not like I need to build another fifty warehouses. Between your dad and me, we can spend whatever we want. Sure, not gonna buy an island or something, but other than that, we can go anywhere.” She furrowed her brow. “Maybe even Oriceran.”
James shook his head. “I want to stay on Earth. Probably get jumped by some angry Council lackeys or Laena fans if we went to Oriceran. Can Father McCartney even marry us if we’re on another planet?”
Shay shrugged. “No clue.”
“Earth’s fine.” Alison smiled. “And since you have no budget limit, you should go crazy.” Alison gasped. “How about a cruise ship?”
“Cruise ship?” James frowned. “What do cruise ships have to do with weddings?” His frown deepened. “Does the captain have to marry us then?”
“You could charter an entire ship for the wedding and make it a wedding on the waves.” Alison bobbed her head. “This is genius. You should do it.”
“A cruise ship, huh?” Shay thought it over for a few seconds. “A huge cruise ship might be pretty epic.”
“Until it sinks.” James frowned. “Boats sink.”
Shay and Alison laughed.
“We just have to make sure we have enough lifeboats,” Shay suggested. She tapped the cruise ship idea into a note on her phone. “Gonna collect like twenty of the best ideas, and we can thin them down from there.”
“Glad this wedding isn’t happening anytime soon,” James mumbled. He furrowed his brow. “Hey, while I’m thinking of it, Shay, Maria is looking around for a good bounty that I can go do to inspire the guys by demonstrating ass-kicking. You interested?”
“Inspire the guys?” Shay made a face. “That sounds like you’re going to kick some level twos through a window or something.”
“Might punch them through a window.” James smirked. “Probably won’t be dead-or-alives, so I won’t kill them. Just wanted to ask if you wanted in.”
Shay shook her head. “Nah, you have fun. If something more serious and high-level comes up, let me know. Still waiting for Peyton to find me a decent tomb raid before the summer ends, too.”
James looked over Alison. “What about you?”
The teen sighed. “I don’t think I should come along.”
“Why?”
“Dad, I might be blind, but I also have powerful magic and can sense souls and magic and all that. I think the guys might get a little discouraged if I go in there and throw a spell or something that knocks out a bunch of guys.” Alison smiled.
“How is that different from me punching a guy through a window?”
Alison laughed. “You don’t get it. Even if you’re stronger than a normal man, it’s just more of something they can see themselves doing. It’s inspirational. It’s not like Drow shadow magic. Does that make sense?”
“Okay, if you don’t want to come, that’s fine. You’ve already done several bounties this summer.”
Shay smiled. “We’ll have a girl’s day while you’re kicking low-level ass. Just let us know when.”
“Okay, will do.”
Shay grinned. “And now back to wedding planning.”
Later that night, James knocked lightly on Alison’s door. “Alison, you still up?”
“Sure, Dad, come in,” she called.
James opened the door and entered. Alison sat at her desk, her fingers running over her adaptive Braille reader. He wondered what she was reading.
Alison set the reader down and turned to face him. “What’s up, Dad?”
He shrugged. “I just figured we should talk about stuff. I wanted to make sure everything’s okay with you. You’re going back to school soon.”
Alison smiled. “Everything’s great. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Trying to keep the lines of communication open.” James made air quotes around the last few words and scraped at the floor with his boot tip. “Something they said on one of my podcasts. Everything going okay with that boy?” He grunted.
“’That boy’ has a name, Dad.” Alison rolled her eyes. “Tanner. You don’t forget anything, so I know you know his name, and you’d like him if you met him.”
You’re damn right I know his name, and his smug little face.
“Just asking.”
Alison leaned forward and tilted her head. “And you’re going to keep your promise?”
Even if she couldn’t see his face, she could see his soul. A lie would be painfully obvious, but a little clarification wouldn’t hurt in case she gave him the opportunity to handle the situation in his preferred manner.
“Promise about what?” James asked.
“Going Overprotective Brownstone all over Tanner.” Alison crossed her arms and straightened her back. “If I recall, there was a clear promise made that you wouldn’t go, and I quote, ‘menace’ Tanner if you ha
ppened to bump into him when you dropped me off.”
James grunted. “Fine. I won’t as long as everything stays the same and he doesn’t give me a reason.”
“Keep in mind a valid reason will be determined by me, not you.” Alison blew out a breath and relaxed her shoulders. “Good, that’s all I needed to know. I’m not a little kid, Dad. I wasn’t a little kid even when we first met, and now I also have decent control of my magic. It’s not like you have to protect me from everything in the world.”
“You were planning to meet two shady gangsters in an alley by yourself when I first met you.” James snorted. “That sounds like a little-kid move.”
“I could have handled them. Seriously, you have enough faith in me to take me on bounties, but you act like I can’t be trusted around boys. A level-three witch is way more dangerous than a boy.”
James shook his head. “Not a teenage boy.”
Alison frowned and stared at him.
“Okay, okay. I know you’re not a little kid, and that you’re growing up.” James shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Alison stood and walked to James. She wrapped him in a tight hug. “No matter what, though, I understand that all you want to do is protect me. I love you, Dad.”
James patted her head. “I love you, too, Alison.”
She pulled away. “And I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that you’re getting married. Even though I already thought of us as a family, this will make it official.”
“I’m glad you’re happy, but keep in mind, it might not happen for a while. My best guess would be next summer, but she might push it out further.” James checked over his shoulder. “Sometimes I think Shay likes to make things complicated. I mean, who needs five warehouses?”
“Well, the system kind of makes sense.” Alison looked at him earnestly. “There’s different stuff in each one with different security requirements.”
“Just saying. I guarantee that if I get out of this wedding only having to worry about a cruise ship, that’ll be the simple and easy option.”
Shadow Of The Ring: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 16) Page 3