Sera stepped out into the wind just as the others emerged from the hardware annex. Zubair's eyes went to the pastel store behind her, scanning the still and empty shelves visible through the glass.
"Looks like someone beat you to it," he said, his tone unreadable.
"It sucks," Sera replied with a shrug, a slight frown of disappointment on her face. "But it's nice to know I wasn't the only one who wanted cherry blossom hand lotion."
Alexei smirked, brushing past her toward the Hummer. "If we get tracked by scent, I'm blaming you."
She fell in step behind them, the weight of her hidden haul warm and smug inside her chest. Lachlan glanced back once, his eyes narrowing slightly in quiet question, but he didn't ask.
By the time she climbed into the back seat, the creature had settled into a pleased hum. The day's bitterness had been replaced with something almost… satisfied.
Lachlan put the Hummer into gear. "Next stop?"
