"You don’t have to trail after her," she told him, soft enough to pretend they were having a private conversation, but loud enough that all thirteen people heard it. "There’s a spot for men like you with the General. Protection. Real food. Beds that don’t move. Authority." Her fingers hovered near his sleeve and didn’t touch. "With us, you won’t be wasting yourself."

Zubair didn’t blink. "I’m not wasted."

"So you’re hers." It wasn’t so much of a question as much as a prod. "All four of you."

Lachlan laughed once. Not friendly. "We’re not furniture."

"Speak for yourself," Elias tossed, dry. "Some of us are lamps."

Sera watched the woman work, still curious. "You’re trying very hard," she said. "Does it usually work?"

"Women like you burn out," the woman answered. "They run out of favors. The men move on."

Sera smiled a little, like she’d just found a puzzle piece. "You keep mistaking envy for intelligence. You should fix that. It’s going to get you killed one of these days."

The woman’s cheeks lifted like she’d understood the words and hated that they didn’t give her anything to grab. "We share," she pressed, turning away from the cut. "That’s the rule. It keeps the peace."

"Peace for who?" Lachlan asked. "You and your clipboard?"

"You think you’re the first," she said, not looking at him. "Pretty girl with a bunch of men to protect her. You’ll say you don’t need anyone and then you’ll beg for a favor. That’s how it goes."

Sera’s chin tipped toward the leather again. "The difference is simple," she told her. "I don’t ask, and they don’t give out favors."

Elias reached like he might steady the gate while Sera worked the lock.

Lachlan’s hand snapped out and knocked his away, harder than the moment deserved. Heat jumped through his shoulders, sudden and stupid.

"Back," he growled, under his breath.

The blue started under his skin and hit his jaw. Sera’s fingers brushed his wrist...light enough to ground him in the moment.

The snap bled out of his posture like she’d opened a pressure valve. He blew out once, rolled his neck, and gave Elias a thin apology. "I’ve got the door, mate."

"Noted," Elias returned, unruffled. "No need to Hulk out, so to speak."

The woman lifted her chin again. "Two stores each," she repeated. "No stripping. No backtracking. Food court stays—"

"We’re not negotiating lanes," Zubair cut, still calm. "Move your people. Don’t crowd her."

The ratty-cap watcher dragged his gaze off Sera and onto Zubair. He didn’t like what he saw there and looked away again. The pipe man tested his grip. The shy one blinked like she’d remembered how.

"Tell you what," Lachlan added, cheerful because that’s when he meant it least. "You stick to your little system. We’ll stick to ours. If we overlap, we’ll flip a coin and see who wins."

The woman sneered. "You don’t have any coins."

"There more than one type of head we can flip," he shot back.

Alexei shifted half a step, eyes on the group, not the gate. "They keep looking at her," he noted, almost bored. "I am losing patience."

"Make more," Elias murmured. "Sera wants to go shopping, and this is the only place for miles that probably hasn’t been emptied out."

Sera crouched and slid her arm farther under the buckled slats. The lock didn’t fight. It clicked. She stood and pulled. The gate rose a foot, then two, dust tumbling in gray sheets.

The bat man lunged like he finally couldn’t take the waiting. Zubair moved just enough to block a line he might try to use. The man found himself staring at Zubair’s chest and reconsidered physics.

The glossy one smiled again, too bright, too wide. "If you strip that store," she warned, "we’ll report it. The General doesn’t—"

"Report it," Sera told her, still lifting, voice light. "Tell him you tried to take what was mine."

"You think everything is yours?"

"If I can reach it." She met the woman’s eyes. "You should try it. It’s faster than begging."

The woman’s men looked between them, waiting for someone to lose control. Lachlan’s grin widened at the edges like he could smell a fight he’d enjoy.

Elias reached back into his pack and casually pushed the box of ammo deeper out of sight. Alexei’s hands stayed empty, knuckles quiet, attention hard.

The shy woman spoke for the first time, voice small. "You shouldn’t be here," she told Sera, not unkind. "People like you don’t... end well in places like this."

Sera blinked at her. "People like me change the place," she answered. "That’s the point. If we were all the same, then the world would be a very boring place."

The glossy one laughed once, brittle. "Or the place chews you up."

"Try," Lachlan invited, eyes on the bat man. "Make my day."

The woman looked back at Zubair, tried one more time. "You can still make a better choice."

"I did," he returned, no heat.

She turned on Elias. "You’re smarter than this."

Elias offered a thin smile. "I’m adapting."

She tried Alexei and got nothing for her trouble but a flat stare.

Finally, she looked at Sera’s face again, took in the black eyes, the brass, the leather, the way all four men stayed inside her orbit.

She tried to hide the jealousy but failed completely. "You won’t last," she whispered, just for herself. Then louder: "Two stores. Or we’ll have a problem."

Lachlan’s tone brightened. "We already do."

Sera didn’t bother answering.

She lifted up the chain barricade in front of the store with very little strength.

Metal rattled up another three feet. The opening yawned enough for her to walk through without ducking. Dust soaked the air. The noise rolled down the dead corridor.

On the other side of the gate, black leather waited on hooks and shelves. Vests lined in brass. Jackets cut to take knives and not care. Pants made for a body that didn’t ask for permission.

Sera stepped forward, eyes lit with that same curious focus that had carried her from barricades to mansions to this ruin of a mall. She didn’t look back to see if anyone followed. She didn’t need to.

The gate climbed another foot with a grinding groan.