They hit the next strip of commercial buildings without ceremony. It was a line of four very popular stores, a patchwork of half-torn vinyl signs and hand-lettered CLOSEDs that had given up trying to look official. The Hummer idled while Lachlan took a slow loop, eyes on glass and rooflines, the engine's bass hum steady in Sera's ribs.
Zubair marked the storefront he wanted with a tilt of his chin. "Hardware annex," he said. "Odds and ends. Might have what the main didn't."
Sera followed his line, then let her gaze slide to the unit next door: a cheerful mashup of scents-and-lotions chained to a discount home store. Pastel window clings promised semi-annual bliss. The creature inside her perked up like a dog hearing a can opener.
"You three can go there. I'm going to that one," she said, pointing at the store that she could practically smell while still in the Hummer.
