Chapter One

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The Pit Stop was a dump, unlisted on any system directory she'd ever seen, and that was exactly why Devi liked it.

Her father and grandfather had told her stories about similar places before the Fall. Lamps dangled from the low ceiling, closely spaced, though only half of them worked so it did little to cut the darkness. Smoke hung in a heavy wreath above the bar, and she winced as she walked through the cloud and the acrid scent of tobacco stung her nose.

Cache walked close by her side, and Devi leaned in to murmur to her friend. "I'm allergic to cigarettes. Seems like it wouldn't matter here, doesn't it?"

"I think someone in Empire came up with a new allergy patch." A burly man at the table to their right shoved his chair back, and Cache sidestepped it without lifting her gaze from the tablet in her hand. "Granted, the last patch was buggy as hell, but you've got to be a damn neuro and a code-hacking genius to restrict specific chip functionality. All or nothing, and all that shit."

"I have no idea what you just said. But, since I'm the boss, we're going to pretend I did." Two men sat at a back table. One was blond and pleasant-faced, but a deep scowl broke the handsome lines of the other's face. "Is this them?"

Cache finally dragged her attention from her handheld and reached up to shove the heavy fall of her hair back from her forehead. Spiky pink highlights caught the dim light, and she tucked the strands behind her ears in an impatient gesture as she glanced at the men who'd caught Devi's attention. After a second's consideration, she blew out a breath that somehow managed to be pleased and frustrated at the same time. "The blond's Trip, and an official pain in the ass. The other one must be his boss."

"His name's Zel, according to Juliet. She's dealt with his settlement before." What she hadn't mentioned was that, in spite of his dark severity, he was so attractive.

"Zel looks cranky. I wonder..."

Devi had never been fond of surprises. In their line of work, they usually meant trouble. "Think it's a bad meet?"

"Huh? Oh, no. Not that." Cache dropped her voice as they drew closer to the two men. "Just keep 'em talking. I'm gonna try something."

"It's not going to hack him off, is it?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Cache's full lips tugged up in a wicked grin, and the spark of delighted challenge that filled her dark eyes was something Devi hadn't seen in a long time. "Trip's a chip monkey. He won't have a clue."

Devi was more concerned about the severe-looking--though undeniably handsome--man with him. They wouldn't go hungry if they didn't do this deal, but they could use the extra goods it would bring. "I trust you, Cache."

They reached the table. Devi slid into a rickety chair and nodded shortly. "You're Zel?"

Silver eyes, cold as steel, stared back at her. "I'm Zel." He jerked his head, indicating the man to his left. "Trip."

"I believe he and Cache are acquainted." She held out her hand. "I'm Devi. I run the trucks."

For one tense, uncomfortable second, he stared at her. She heard Cache murmur a greeting to Trip, incoherent tech jargon that held the overtone of a flirtatious insult.

Zel ignored their companions. His gaze lingered on her face, intense and deadly serious. He lifted his hand with the same deliberation, curling wide, strong fingers around hers. The warm touch tingled up her arm, and she pulled her hand back as he spoke. "I run the Rochester settlement."

"We have some arrangements to make." She took the tablet from Cache and laid it on the table in front of Zel. "As you can see, we'll pass through two more checkpoints, then veer from the set route to this spot for delivery." She tapped the screen. "We sent you the coordinates. I trust you've reviewed them and found the location satisfactory?"

The almost tangible pressure of his gaze remained on her face. "It's fine. Do you need an escort out of the safe zone?"

"No." She handed the tablet back to Cache, glancing over just to escape those piercing eyes for a moment. "Consider it part of our service."

Cache lifted her right hand, palm side down, and twitched it to the side twice, swiping her hand across the surface of the table like she was brushing away crumbs. When she put her hand down again, she'd closed it into a fist. Her dark eyes caught Devi's, then flicked to Zel. It was part of their silent communication, one of the many signals they'd worked out, and its meaning was unmistakable. Halfblood.

Devi considered the man in front of her anew. It would hurt for a halfblood demon to be here, but that could explain his tension. Pain instead of nervousness.

It didn't make her feel better.

Still, the job was taken and halfway done. They just needed to finish it. "Two hours," she told him coolly. "We'll call when we have a better estimate."

One eyebrow shot up, and he looked at the man beside him. Something passed between them in silence before Zel nodded. "Can your girl ping Trip with the passenger list? I need to set a few things in motion."

Cache didn't wait for Devi to answer. She grinned, eyes sparking with triumph. "Check your files, chip boy. And FYI, keeping your boss's avatar from glitching is wreaking hell on your security."

Trip didn't rise to the bait. Instead, he favored Cache with an indulgent smile. "Yes, good for you. Maybe one of these days you'll grow up and figure out how to beef up security on your own broadcasts."

The superior expression on Cache's face melted into outrage, and Zel's hands twitched, as if he wanted to rub his temples. He checked the gesture and indicated an empty table a few feet away instead. "Got time for a few more questions while she yells at him?"

"Sure. It could take a while." This was one area where Cache didn't need her help or protection, so Devi readily switched seats. Zel followed, every movement as careful and deliberate as everything else he'd done. "Wouldn't you rather cut the meeting short?"

His shrug bunched the solid muscles under his vest. "Pain's in my head. Literally. Doesn't tickle or anything, but I'll manage."

"All right." The oppressive heat in the room slicked her skin with sweat, so she gathered her hair and lifted it off her neck. "What else do you need from me?"

It was darker in their corner, but light from one of the gently swinging lamps glinted off his silver eyes, revealing that his attention was fixed on the curve of her neck instead of her face. He looked predatory--hungry, even--and he didn't have the grace to act embarrassed when he realized she'd caught him staring. The corner of his mouth kicked up in a wicked, suggestive smile. "That's a loaded question."

The attention was flattering, especially considering how long it had been since her last dalliance. All work and no play, Devi. "Too bad for you we're already business associates, then. It's my one ironclad rule."

"Too bad for me." Easy agreement, but the heat of his gaze didn't diminish. "Do you ever do jobs outside the Midwest?"

She tensed instinctively, the way she always did when anyone seemed a bit too interested in what she and her crew did. "Depends on the job. We do the occasional long haul."

"Interesting." He rubbed the side of his neck, under his ear, his fingers pressing into his skin right where she knew his network chip would be imbedded. His expression grew calculating, almost as wary as she felt. "Trip says three of you are women. Never run into a crew with more than one."

"Only a few around. Too many adrenaline junkies who think the best way to win a fight is to muscle through it."

He nodded, whether in agreement or acknowledgement she couldn't be sure. Smoke wafted across the table, stinging her eyes as the murmur of low voices around them emphasized Zel's long, heavy silence.

Finally, he sighed. "Job's a seventeen-year-old girl. She has to get to Manitoba, but we can't risk sending her out with some of the usual people we deal with. They're..." The tight set of his shoulders and his disapproving frown conveyed his sentiments more clearly than any words could have.

"Unsavory?" It was a commonly held view, and Devi couldn't even disagree. The straight arrows didn't often accept commissions from outcast settlements.

His eyes hardened, cold ice instead of liquid silver. "Last month, a crew out of Stearns took ten thousand chips from a nineteen-year-old halfblood and dumped her on our doorstep, half-dead. Unsavory's a fucking compliment."

"That's terrible. And it has nothing to do with me or my crew, unless you know who did it and want us to track them down." She almost hoped he'd say yes.

Then again, from the look in his eyes, maybe he'd already done it. He sat back and folded his arms over his chest, a posture both defensive and aggressive. "Might be a sexist assumption, but it crossed my mind that a crew with three women on it might be less likely to condone gang raping someone for having a little bit of demon blood."

"I don't condone gang raping anyone, but it has more to do with common decency than a potential victim's parentage." Or with her own gender.

"Don't know if you've looked out your truck's window lately, sweetheart, but that's uncommon decency these days."

The world was depressing enough without philosophical discussions over drinks. "Are we lamenting the presently sad state of the human condition, or are we talking business?"

One dark eyebrow rose. "Your business is the sad state of the human condition, isn't it? Either way, Manitoba. A small settlement just outside Winnipeg's network. Would you consider making that haul if the price was right?"

She tapped her fingernails on the table. It would only pay if they could combine runs, rustle up a few more jobs in the general vicinity. Still, given ample opportunity, Juliet and Cache would be able to get the word out. "How much lead time would we have?"

"Up to you. She should be gone already, but we could--"

"Dev!" Cache's voice cut through the noise of the bar, steady but tense. When Devi turned she found Cache on her feet, eyes unfocused as her hands moved in quick, efficient gestures. She'd seen the same thing happen before, though not often--not many people could handle the sensory overload of being in two places at once.

Cache didn't speak again, her concentration obviously on whatever was happening back in the truck where their bodies waited. But Devi didn't need words; Cache's hands spoke a language no one else inside the network could understand. First the sign for Juliet, then a quick sequence: checkpoint, trouble, weapons.

Shit. They had to get out. Devi's chair hit the floor, and she lunged for Cache, grabbing her arm. "Two hours out," she called back. "We'll contact you again."

"Wait--" She heard the table tip over in a clatter that brought shouts of protest from those in the general vicinity. Cache stumbled, still disoriented, and Devi tightened her grip around the girl's upper arm, holding her steady.

They just had to make it out the door. Once they made it there, they could easily drop out.

Devi dragged Cache through the exit--

--and came back to herself in a dizzying, nauseating rush. The truck rumbled and lurched under her--engine gunning, gears grinding--and she heard shouts and fading gunfire behind them.

Devi jerked free of her harness and dove for the front of the cab. "Is Cache out?"

"Kinda busy here, boss." Tanner's usually smooth voice came out harsh and clipped, as clear a sign as any that things were bad. "Shane's trying to figure out what tripped the checkpoint, 'cause the damn thing opened fire on us."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"One bullet got through and winged a passenger, but that's not the worst of it. Those guns are designed to hollow out a truck's undercarriage. I think Ruiz is leaking fuel. And now we're offroading."

It was the worst thing that could happen. The routes were carefully designed and calculated, and they didn't allow much room for error. "Don't tell me that. There aren't any biofuel stations between here and where we're going."

"Which is a damn crying--"

The old CB radio that served as a backup communications system crackled to life, and Shane's voice spilled out in a flurry of nervous static. "The gunfire screwed us over good. Cache's holding the network connection together with spit and dreams, and if I don't get under the cab in about twenty seconds we're gonna lose our ADS."

"Which makes us sitting ducks, even if we're moving."

Tanner flashed her a disbelieving look. "Oh, boss, you're not--"

She cut him off with a hiss and a nod as she snatched up the CB handset and keyed the mic. "Got it. Tell Juliet we're stopping. We've got three minutes to replace those cables and patch the gas tank on her rig."

"Ten-four. I'll try to calm the passengers down."

"I'll be back to help." Devi dropped the handset and rubbed her hands over her face. "Try to find some cover, Tanner. Make it a little harder for the bastards to find us if they manage to sniff us out." Even as she spoke, she recognized the futility of her request. This part of what used to be southern Minnesota bore mostly flat terrain. Not exactly conducive to hiding two tractor-trailers.

Tanner downshifted and jerked the wheel, steering them toward the dubious cover of a small copse of trees. "Only thing in the world I like less than driving without an anti-demon signal is stopping without one."

"We'll be sitting still a lot longer than three minutes if that truck runs dry."

"Point taken." The large man blew out a breath and cast her a serious look. "If there was ever a time to summon one of your miracles, chica..."

"Tanner, you've got to learn to trust me." The truck shuddered to a stop, and she shoved open the door and bounded out of the cab.

Chapter Two

Zel righted the table and spared a moment to marvel at the detail that went into the virtual setting. Somewhere out there, millions of the highest tech computers the human race could produce sucked in energy from vast solar panels and used it to store the grain of a crappy table in a crappy bar. The wood had split when it hit the ground, and a tiny sliver shoved under his nail as he dragged the shattered table back into place. Somewhere out there, one of those computers sent a signal and his chip triggered pain, insignificant compared to the burning discomfort of being uplinked to begin with, but it never failed to amaze him.

To the rest of the bar's patrons, this miracle was nothing. As soon as the women left, the commotion died down, the humans in the room resuming whatever conversations had been interrupted by Devi's abrupt departure. To them, the network was nothing to inspire awe--they lived inside it as often as not, unbothered by the signal that clashed with his magic like sandpaper scrubbing his skin.

He ignored the splinter under his nail and glanced at Trip. "Can we get the fuck out of here? I'm getting pissy."

"Oh, are we pretending that's new?"

"Hilarious." He started toward the exit, trusting Trip would follow. "We'll talk about this outside."

"Talk about what? The foxy ladies, or whether they're going to make it through their trouble?"

A snarl worked its way free, unbidden and unwelcome. He couldn't afford to waste his concern on a trucker, one whose very willingness to do business with him proved she had something to hide. Upstanding haulers took their contracts from city leaders and followed the rules; the ones who smuggled people and property to outcasts were usually little better than criminals themselves. Hardhearted opportunists taking advantage of desperation, or the kind of sick vultures who preyed on those with no recourse in human law.

And yet... Memory summoned the image of tawny skin and wild curls, hair that seemed to defy gravity and breasts that might as well have. No weak, fragile woman--her clothes hadn't hidden her muscled frame, and he doubted she was any softer in reality. Not with a reputation for running a tight, disciplined crew.

Devi was a hot, tempting package, and Zel had the sinking feeling he was about to drop back into a body with a raging hard-on just from watching the dim light play over her curves.

Sweet fuck, he needed to get laid.

He stepped through the exit and endured the miserable plunge out of the network, a jittery moment where his makeshift office superimposed itself over the bar he'd left behind. His stomach flipped, but the nausea faded under a wave of relief as the persistent pain from the Global's anti-demon signal vanished.

By the time he blinked away the blurry remains of his disorientation, Trip was banging away at one of the computer terminals, a look of gleeful concentration on his face. "You wanted me to track them, right? I mean, I figured you did."

"I wasn't sure if you could."

"Mmm. The techie has a messy chip. All kinds of completely traceable signal interference. You know, if you're awesome like me."

"Messy like black market?"

"It's sure the hell not government-issue."

There were only a few reasons for a supposedly legitimate human to have a black-market chip, and any of them would go a long way toward explaining Devi's off-the-book missions. "You've run into her before, haven't you? The techie. What's her story?"

Trip spun in his chair and shrugged. "Never checked her out beyond the basics. I could figure it out, but it might take me a few hours."

It was an inexcusable breach of trust against someone he was trying to forge a business relationship with, but that wouldn't stop Zel. Not if he was going to entrust Devi's crew with the life and well-being of his sister's eldest child. "First find out where they are. Then find out everything you can about why that girl's got a black-market chip. Hell, find out everything you can about all of them."

"Yes, sir."

Zel snagged his handheld from his desk and shoved it into his pocket as he rose. "Ping me when you have their location. I'm going to gather Lorenzo and a few soldiers. They've got relatives of three of our people on board those trucks, and if there is trouble..." It was Zel's responsibility to see them safe.

Trip had already turned back to his task, but there was a smile in his voice when he spoke. "I'll find them for you, boss."

He'd find them because he was the best, but Zel couldn't resist prodding him as he strode toward the door. "You'd better. No letting an uppity kid with purple hair outwit you."

"Hey, you just make sure the diesel queen doesn't dazzle you stupid with her big baby blues."

Zel walked backward toward the door so he could flip Trip his middle finger. "Less talk, more walk, buddy."

Trip took the rude gesture with another broad smile. "Your heart rate and blood pressure skyrocketed." He nodded to the desk. "Telemetry doesn't lie."

Figured Trip would get pushy. "Get your nose out of my vitals and track down your little playmate."

"Got five searches running right now. You're the one making small talk."

As soon as he was out into the narrow hallway, Zel dragged his tablet out of his pocket and brought up the display. Concentrating on the glowing screen made it easier to ignore the way the sloping concrete walls seemed to close in on him as he walked. Fifty years ago, his office had been a security hub, a windowless, claustrophobic room buried in an underground maze. Fifty years before that, it had been dirt, the ground on which one of the country's top hospitals stood.

A hundred years ago a lot had been different.

As he shoved through the double doors that led to the wider corridor, his tablet beeped, indicating a connection. "Lorenzo, you better be wearing pants, because we're about to go topside."

There was no answer for a few moments, and Lorenzo laughed. "Okay, now I am." He sounded a little winded, and a woman giggled in the background. "What's going on, Zel?"

"The truckers out of Nicollet freaked out in the middle of our meeting, started wiggling their fingers at each other in some sort of secret code and dropped out of the network."

"Hmm. If I believed in omens, I think I'd be concerned right about now."

"Unless you want me sending the people whose relatives are on that truck after you, I suggest you and your newfound concern meet me in the weapons locker."

A door chime echoed over the connection, and Lorenzo sighed. "I'm already on my way. We heading out to find them?"

Zel reached the concrete stairs and took them two at a time. "She said they were two hours out, but I'm guessing she meant to get there early so she'd have a chance to scout. Trip's tracking down their exact coordinates now."

"And she didn't say what was happening?"

"She didn't seem the trusting type."

"Then what makes you think she won't shoot us on sight if we show up, all in her business?"

He'd gotten the distinct impression that Devi never shot without considering her actions and making a reasonable business decision...and if he admitted as much to Lorenzo, he'd have two jackasses ragging on him. "Good point. I'll send you in first."

"As long as she's got eyes, we should be reasonably safe, then."

The thought of Devi laying those big blue eyes on Lorenzo and liking what she saw brought jealousy to a low boil. Zel's demon heritage afforded him an array of skills suited to killing, whereas Lorenzo's demonic parentage had given him the preternatural ability to seduce damn near anyone. His friend's cocky assertion was more fact than ego, and Zel didn't like it.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't use it--or at least redirect it. "Forget about the leader. If you feel like charming someone, see if you can sweet-talk their techie into spilling some dirt. Trip said she's got a black-market chip."

"You're no fun." The transmission cut out, and Lorenzo joined him as he rounded the corner. "Have I told you that lately? How you've lost every single bit of personality you used to have?"

"Depends on your definition of lately." Zel tucked his tablet back into his pocket as they bypassed a group of sleepy-looking women herding their toddlers toward the nursery. A little boy with corkscrew curls and eyes like cut emeralds broke free of his mother and charged at them on stocky legs, arms wide open and face full of glee.

He pounced on Lorenzo, who swept the boy up and over his shoulder. "Oh, I caught him. That's a good thirty pounds of kid, Zel. What do we do with him?"

Zel's joking retort died on his tongue as silence swept through the hallway. Too many eyes watched him, some set in faces made old from stress and some heartbreakingly young--and not just the kids. The little boy's mother was barely more than a girl herself. Only a few years older than Zel's niece, yet Kaya's hand curled around the swell of another pregnancy and the green eyes she'd passed onto her son looked hard in her young face.

So many fragile lives, all his responsibility now. And Lorenzo wonders why I don't have any fun.

Kaya was the one to break the uneasy silence, stepping forward with a nervous smile. "Come on, honey. We can't be bothering the warrior."

"Pretty ladies and cute kids are never a bother." But Lorenzo tickled the boy's chin and lowered him to the floor. "Run on. Your mama says it's time to go."

The boy grinned and scampered back to the safety of Kaya's arms, and Zel turned his attention to his destination: a pair of glass doors emblazoned with a blue and red logo that had once marked this sector as a bank, a place to store valuable things.

Which it still was--if you found weapons valuable.

Lorenzo headed for the vault. "What do we think this is? A little mishap or a full-fledged shitty situation?"

"I think we'd better plan for the worst." Devi hadn't seemed like a woman who spooked easily, but something about the hand-signs her tech had flashed had put nervousness in her eyes.

"If this woman runs her own hauling crew, she can probably shrug off the occasional demon attack," Lorenzo said matter-of-factly. "Assuming it's just some random thugs and not a warrior clan."

"She's not usually hauling our people or their loved ones."

Lorenzo said nothing, and Zel glanced over to find the younger man watching him closely. "Transport's always a risk," he said finally. "Everyone knows that, Zel. No one would blame you if this run went south."

Zel shrugged off the words as they reached the vault. He pressed his hand to the clear plastic bioscan pad next to the door to disengage the locks, then hauled the solid steel door open. "You trying to make me feel better, or asking if I'm thinking with my dick?"

His companion barked out a short laugh. "The second option would never have occurred to me. Now that you mention it, though, I'm pretty damn sure I know what the answer is."

Fuck. "I'm not. Tempting, but it's not that. A few months ago, no one would have blamed me if this delivery went south. But, in case you haven't noticed, shit's gone to hell. And we need that shipment of fiber optic cable, or we're going to end up cut off."

Lorenzo seemed to accept the explanation, and he nodded as he pulled open a locker and retrieved a shotgun. "You think we get a discount if we save her ass?"

"Better." Zel was still wearing his shoulder rig, but he snatched up an automatic rifle and a backup knife for good measure. "I think she might be able to get Rosa up north in one piece. If we could get her trained up, let everyone know we have our own healer..." The boost in morale alone would be worth it.

"You're the boss. Wouldn't be if we didn't trust you."

"I'm the boss because Oliver Wetzel married my mother." Zel swung his new weapon over his shoulder and reached for a duffel bag packed with backup weapons and ammunition. "Or are you trying to say you just haven't bothered to overthrow me yet?"

"I happen to like my leisure time. You work too damn hard."

Zel choked back a laugh as they started for the elevators. "You get much more leisure time and you're going to run out of playmates. There are a finite number of adults in this settlement, you know."

"Didn't you hear? Lovers are recyclable." Lorenzo grinned. "Some simply aren't satisfied with one night."

Zel was saved from the obligation of coming up with a suitable retort when his handheld beeped. He tapped the side of his earpiece with one hand and jabbed the button for the elevator with the other. "Trip? Tell me you got a location."

"Yes and no." The boy sounded frazzled. "Well, yeah, I did, but you're going to hope I'm wrong."

The elevator was too damn slow, so Zel broke into a jog and kicked open the door to the stairs. "Spill it."

"They're less than an hour out, which is good." Trip paused. "But they're also stopped, which is bad."

"Fuck. Track them and tell me if they start moving again. And keep digging for info."

"Got it."

Zel waited until they'd reached the top of the staircase and were already headed for the lobby before speaking. "They're not moving. We need to take one of the Jeeps with an ADS."

Lorenzo swore and pulled him to a stop. "Are you ready for what we might find out there? If the passengers are dead and the cargo's gone? If you're going to lose it, you'd be better off staying here and letting me lead the team."

A snarl caught in Zel's throat, and he shook his arm free. "I'm going. And I'm not going to lose it unless you piss me off."

"Not my goal, but I'll keep that in mind."

The sound of men and women gearing up for a fight penetrated the glass doors in front of them. Zel closed his eyes and concentrated on the storm brewing inside him. Angry winds and rumbling thunder--his demonic half hungering for violence.

Every halfblood had another nature, the part of them that stood apart, alien and dangerous. Some welcomed a beast as an ally or battled an inner darkness as a foe. For him, it had always been the storm. Gentle rains in the quiet moments, and the vicious maelstrom he struggled to contain when anger rode him hard and close.

Leashing the fierce wildness drove him half-crazy, but he didn't have the luxury of charging out into battle just because his skin itched with the need to fight.

Once he could have, when his stepfather had ruled Rochester and he'd been a strong right hand. Not anymore. Now Zel had to consider the good of the settlement, weigh every life risked against the potential gain. Supplies. People. The fact that if he didn't get the warriors outside for a fight soon, the restrained energy would boil over. He had to consider all of that.

He didn't have to consider the hauler's gorgeous blue eyes, but that wasn't stopping him.

Zel cursed and shot his friend a look. "You don't have to come. Most of the others are going to climb the walls if they don't see action, but you haven't got that particular problem."

"I climb the walls for different reasons," Lorenzo agreed.

And Zel had dragged him away from his usual diversion. "Straight answer, Lorenzo. Yes or--"

"I'm going," he interrupted. "Hailey will have to stay here, so you need me to watch your back."

Hailey would chew his ass for calling Lorenzo before her, but his second had earned a few extra minutes of sleep after a long day of mediating increasingly hostile disputes amongst their people. "Get the soldiers organized. I have to wake her up before I leave."

Lorenzo apparently couldn't resist one last jibe as he backed away. "Good luck with that. See you on the surface."

"Uh-huh." When Lorenzo had gone, Zel leaned against the wall and dialed Hailey's extension.

Chapter Three

Back on the road, this time behind the wheel, Devi picked up the radio handset again. "Juliet?"

"Yeah, boss?"

She tapped the monitor set into the truck's console. "On our programmed route, we'd have to go through one more checkpoint before turning off the main road. I'd like to avoid that. How confident is Shane that the ADS is fully functional?"

A brief pause, then Shane's voice. "Fifty-fifty at best. The thing's fritzy as hell, but I need at least an hour to get it running at full capacity. An hour where we're stopped, I mean."

It was risky. All the major trade routes were wired with widely spaced emitters, funded by cooperation between territories and cities. They pulsed with low frequency sound, so low humans couldn't hear it, just feel the intermittent vibrations, and the coverage was sparse. It only worked at all because it was meant to protect fast-moving vehicles equipped with their own ADS systems.

If they took the trucks offroad again, they'd lose the scant protection offered by the highway system. Still, they didn't stand a chance against another assault from an unmanned checkpoint. "I'm willing to chance it if everyone else is," Devi said, raising an eyebrow at Tanner.

He looked less than thrilled, his full eyebrows drawing down over eyes the color of dark chocolate. "Did you ask the smartass if he figured out why the last one tried to take us out?"

"Do you want to suggest he access official logs while we're out here on unofficial business?" she shot back.

Silence for one heartbeat. Two. With the third, Tanner sighed. "Into the wild we go."

"It's either this, or cross our fingers and hope the problem back there wasn't ours."

Juliet came back over the radio. "We're game if you are, Dev. Gear it up and keep it running, and I'll be right behind you."

"Got it." She tossed the handset to Tanner and rode the accelerator harder. There was a sign, one of the few still standing, signaling the turnoff on the small two-lane road. "Think the truck can handle it?"

"No." Short, to the point, and eminently cynical. Typical Tanner, which is why his next words surprised Devi. "But we've been through worse, and you've pulled our asses out in one piece. Which I'm always grateful for, you know, seeing as a fine ass like mine is a rare commodity."

"Do you need a sign for that ego? Oversize load, maybe?"

"You're just bitter because your precious rule about fraternization puts me and my hot ass off limits. Ruiz'd do me though. And Cache would too, if she wasn't too busy knocking virtual boots with Shane. Did you know those two have been uplinking to make with the kinky virtual fucking?"

"I'm going to have to kill you now." The threat lacked heat, because Devi was too busy brooding. Her precious rules were, indeed, putting some hot ass out of her reach, but the man from the bar topped the list.

Zel, she reminded herself. At least half-demon, which made him dangerous, but that didn't deter her libido one bit. The dark hair and quicksilver eyes would have stopped her in her tracks, if only--

If only this wasn't work. Except that it was, and there was no getting around it.

Off limits.

Tanner had taken her threat as an invitation to keep talking. "--and when I grabbed her arm, she damn near planted her heel between my legs. Has Ruiz been giving her self-defense lessons on the sly? Because every time I suggest them she uses her special ‘Fuck you, Tanner' gesture."

"Uh-huh." Devi slowed for a rough patch of road. "Try to remember that gesture is an insult, not a suggestion."

The look Tanner shot her combined disgust and annoyance. "C'mon. I'm a horny bastard, but I'm not an ass. And I'm glad someone's teaching Cache to kick ass, but if she wants to learn, it should be from me. Ruiz can stick to teaching her about rocket launchers."

"She says she's not teaching her to kick ass in general, only yours."

That made him laugh, the rich, warm laughter that attracted female attention wherever they went. "Juliet Ruiz just got a lot hotter."

"Right." The last thing she had to worry about was Tanner making a play for another member of her crew. For all his swagger, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen him with a woman.

Juliet's voice crackled over the radio again. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Dev, but we've got another problem."

Not now. Not here. She keyed the mic. "Please don't tell me that."

"Think my fuel sensor's hosed. It's been riding half-mast since we patched the tank, but the gauge just bottomed out into the red all at once. I'm on fumes."

Devi groaned. "What about the ADS, Shane?"

"It's sending out bursts now. It might discourage demons while we're on the move, but if we stop, I wouldn't make any bets. I can get back under the cab and send Cache up top to see if she can work a little networking magic, maybe boost the signal."

Devi downshifted and swore. "Pull off after me. We'll keep both running until we can get everything irreplaceable moved over to this trailer. We can't stick around. We've got to get out of here."

Shane spoke over muffled noises. "Cache and I are getting ready now. We'll tackle the ADS while you guys shift equipment. Ruiz is pulling off."

"Five minutes." She didn't dare give them longer.

The dust they'd kicked up still hung heavy in the air as Devi jumped down from the cab and rushed back to meet the other truck. Air brakes screeched as it slowed and stopped.

Juliet climbed out, blonde ponytail swinging. "Passengers first?"

"If that's all we can get, we'll take it. Rochester will have to deal. But I want you on Shane and Cache." Devi motioned to Tanner. "You handle the transfer. Guns will be a better bet than fists and feet if trouble shows up."

The makeshift door carved into the side of the trailer popped open. Cache hopped down, staggering a little under the weight of the heavy pack looped over one shoulder. Her gaze darted around the trio and finally landed on Devi. With her lips pressed into a tight line, she freed a hand and tapped her chest, flashed five fingers and gestured to the top of the truck.

"Five minutes," Devi confirmed, speaking aloud as she repeated the signal, more out of habit than anything. Cache couldn't hear her, and that made her trip up to fix the ADS transmitter that much more dangerous. She also wouldn't hear a yelled warning or last-second instructions.

Devi turned to Juliet, who was busy loading and checking two large pistols. "Get up there and keep your eyes peeled."

Cache was already scrambling up the side of the truck. Shane hit the ground in a swirl of dust, his dirty blond hair sticking up in so many directions it looked like he'd miswired something and shocked himself. His gaze snagged on Cache, and his eyes held enough worry to make it clear Tanner's talk might have been more than bullshit.

Devi caught his arm. "Keep your head on straight," she admonished. "If you can't do that, you don't need to be involved."

Shane bit off a curse and jerked free of her grasp. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going." He dropped to the earth and rolled under the truck, dragging his bag with him.

A moment later, raised voices echoed from the half of the trailer outfitted to carry passengers. Tanner's loudest whistle cut through the noise, and she heard him issuing firm, no-nonsense orders.

Each trailer had a weapons locker installed near the front. Tanner would take care of clearing the stalled truck, even of its guns and flares, so Devi climbed into the trailer of her own truck. She'd stack the arms in her sleeper berth if she had to, but they needed to be able to access them quickly, even with the trailer stuffed with passengers and cargo.

She was elbow-deep in rifles and spare ammunition when she heard the first scream.

She dove out of the locker. Outside was already chaos. Roars echoed amongst the screams, and Devi stumbled out of the trailer. The ADS had failed or the signal hadn't been strong enough or something, and now they were under attack.

She could only see a handful of skins--so far, she reminded herself--but it was enough to send a cold shiver through her. Skins were the worst kind, demons who wore human faces and sometimes made you think they might be capable of experiencing human emotions, like mercy and compassion.

And maybe they were, they just never showed it.

Juliet had an arm hooked around the ladder on the side of the trailer, both pistols blazing as she drove away two skins trying to crowd Tanner and the passengers back into the confined space of the trailer. Devi slung up one of her rifles and fired at one, then the other. They disappeared around the edge of the trailer.

Shane rolled out from under the cab and to his feet in one swift movement, a handgun clutched in his hand. "Signal's too weak! Can't fix it without--shit! Wings! Cache!"

But Cache was oblivious, hunched over the open panel on top of the truck, focused on her work. Devi could barely see her over the top edge of the trailer, and then something flew overhead, large enough to cast dark shadows on the light-colored metal. "Fuck." She hurried to the second ladder. "Get up there, Juliet!"

The woman had already turned to scramble up the ladder. Devi had almost made it to the top rung when a strong hand closed around her calf and pulled--hard. She tumbled off the ladder to the ground, and vivid light exploded behind her eyes as her head slammed into the hard-packed earth.

A shot exploded above her. At first, she thought her ears were ringing, but the noise crystallized a moment later into a high, wordless scream.

Cache. Devi struggled to sit, to find her friend, but a scuffle in the dirt nearby drew her attention. A demon, maybe the one who'd grabbed her, held Shane's head between his hands, and the man was seizing as the creature tried to force him out of his own body.

She'd dropped her rifle, so she pulled her hunting knife free of her boot and brought it down as hard as she could into the demon's back.

Blood--or whatever demons had in its place--splashed everywhere. The skin roared in pain and twisted away, taking her knife with him.

Cache screamed again, and bodies tumbled to the ground a dozen feet from Devi, obscured by the cover of enormous, membranous wings. Shane recovered enough to roll to his knees, but he couldn't seem to get to his feet, not even when the nearby bodies rolled, giving them both a glimpse of purple hair.

The skin she'd stabbed snatched Devi up by the shoulders and slammed her against the side of the trailer. "Breaking you will be a pleasure," he rasped, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, splashing hot on the flesh bared by her ripped shirt.

She had to get away. She didn't know where Tanner and Juliet were, and Cache and Shane were both down. Not to mention the passengers--

The demon's hands slid up to her face, and Devi's vision swam as heat and blazing whiteness closed in on her. She felt the first stirrings of panic for herself as she realized the bastard was trying to pop her out of her body.

She screamed, clawing at his face, finally gouging her thumbs into his eyes. A shriek rewarded her, and the fingers clutching her face slipped away as another roar, this one of challenge, split the air.

The blurry shapes surrounding her doubled, and with them the sounds of combat. Grunts of pain, gunfire and shouts. When the haze clouding her vision cleared, she saw the man from the Pit Stop standing over Cache with the wing who'd attacked her in his grasp. Devi watched, primal satisfaction burning through her as Zel drew a blade, deep and sure, across the demon's neck.

Juliet dropped off the trailer, and a few men Devi didn't recognize swarmed the trucks. They'd obviously arrived with Zel, and Devi ignored them all.

She scrambled to where Cache lay, still, barely breathing, and touched her face. "Come on, sweetie. Open your eyes."

Cache didn't stir. Blood seeped from a shallow gash just above her temple, but it was impossible to tell if she had any internal injuries. Behind them, Shane lurched to his feet with an incomprehensible mutter.

Devi watched him, dread growing in her chest, and Juliet knelt beside her. "Flipped?"

"No." Shane was human, and there was only one thing a demon could do to human consciousness--pop it out and replace it with his own.

Devi reached for the gun at her hip and watched Shane--or what used to be Shane--shuffle closer. His eyes were flat, blank, and his body jerked like a marionette in the hands of an unpracticed puppeteer.

She shot him before she could talk herself out of it, before her own doubts got someone else killed. He hit the ground in a boneless heap, limbs grotesquely askew, and a snarl cut through the sound of battle. The skin who'd attacked her and Shane stared directly at her from ruined eye sockets, the face that had started preternaturally beautiful marred by gore and a twisted expression of rage.

Devi rose. "Juliet."

Juliet tossed her a machete. The demon couldn't see her, but he could still sense her if she gave him time, so she moved quickly. She stepped up behind him and swung, gritting her teeth as the blade hesitated, then sliced past flesh and bone alike.

The skin's head hit the ground with a thump, and Devi fought hard not to follow. Adrenaline had already started to fade, leaving her numb and shaking.

A strong hand curled around her free arm. "The demons who survived are retreating. Our ADS finally cut through the battle frenzy."

"That's got to hurt." Silver eyes, somehow dark even in the slanting afternoon light, stared down at her, and she choked on a sigh. "I thought I got to him in time."

He said something in response, but she couldn't hear him over the loud buzz that built again in her ears. He frowned and lifted his other hand to brace her.

She wasn't making any sense. She took a deep, fortifying breath, and it cleared her head a little. "Cache is hurt. Do you have a doctor at your settlement?"

His gaze jumped from her face to the flat ground where Juliet hovered over Cache, only a few feet away from Shane's still body. "Lorenzo! One down over here." Those outrageous eyes fixed on her face again. "The man who got popped. He was one of yours?"

"Shane." She shuddered. "He was trying to distract-- He... I thought I got to him in time."

"I'm sorry." Simple words, but the understanding and sympathy there was as tangible as the warmth of his hands on her arms.

A flurry of shouts echoed inside the trailer, and a woman dragged out one of the passengers they'd brought from Nicollet. "Zel, this one's on the Known list."

His fingers tightened briefly on Devi's arms, and he released her with a curse. "Who is he?"

Devi recognized him easily. "Elan Cyrus. He was on your manifest. We picked him up on the edge of town with the rest of the passengers."

"Cyrus?" Zel pulled out a handheld and touched the screen. His frown deepened as he read, his eyes flicking from left to right. "He met one of our women at a bar in the Global four months ago. He was coming here to be with her." He lifted his gaze to the woman standing behind Elan Cyrus. "This is the one Kate's been waiting for. Supposedly."

She lifted her chin stubbornly. "I've studied that list until my eyes burned, Zel. He's an operative."

"I believe you. Cuff him and Trip'll scan his chip when we get back. We've got to get out of here before more demons show."

Devi closed her eyes and tried to shut out the sound of the passenger's protests as they dragged him away. "How far is it to your settlement?"

"Twenty minutes if we bury the needle. Probably more like forty in your truck." A pause, and the sound of boots scraping against dirt. "Lorenzo! How's the girl?"

His answer chilled Devi. "Needs a healer about five minutes ago."

"We have a healer." The emphasis Zel put on the word made it clear he wasn't talking about an ordinary doctor, but someone with magic.

"Not a halfblood." She'd heard of demons who could heal with a touch but, as far as she knew, the talent didn't extend to their half-human offspring.

"Not a halfblood." He didn't elaborate, just gestured to his Jeep. "I can't promise you full run of the settlement, but we have an area for visitors. Help Lorenzo get her into one of our 4x4s and we'll ride ahead. My people will help yours get your trucks moving and bring them behind us. It's the only way to get her there fast enough."

She knew she should send Juliet or Tanner ahead and stay with the trucks and the cargo, but her head throbbed and Cache was dying.

Devi braced one hand on the side of the trailer and took a deep breath. "Tanner!"

He appeared, covered in blood but moving so effortlessly it was clear none of it was his own. His gaze swept the space between them, only hesitating twice--once on Shane's body and again on Cache. "Shit."

Her vision blurred again. "Cache is hurt, and I need to go on ahead with her. Zel's people are going to help you get the trucks going again. Can you stay here and handle it?"

He caught her arm and lifted his hand to the back of her head, where his fingers came away bloody. "Damn it, Dev, you knocked yourself silly. I can't put you in a car with two halfbloods."

"Don't be an overbearing jackass. Cache needs me right now." She pushed his hand away and took a few steps. She was steadier on her feet now, calmer and more focused. "Siphon half the fuel from my truck into Juliet's. It'll get them both there, and we'll figure out the situation later."

He didn't like it, that was clear, but he didn't argue. He nodded shortly and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "We'll be right behind you."

She caught his hand. "Thank you."

The man Zel had called Lorenzo had already carefully lifted Cache and was carrying her to the Jeep. Devi followed closely, her heart pounding. "How experienced is your healer?"

The man smiled reassuringly, but stress bracketed lines around his eyes. "Rosalyn's got more raw talent than anyone I've ever seen. She can help."

Zel swung into the driver's seat and started the engine. "I'll have her meet us at the visitors' barracks. Devi, help Lorenzo brace your friend. It's going to be a rough, fast ride."

She clambered into the back and squeezed against the seats. Lorenzo lifted Cache in after her, and Devi cradled her head in her lap. "Drive fast." The words came out sounding more like an entreaty than anything else. "We've already moved her, so we may as well get her there as soon as we can."

The engine roared underneath them, and Zel glanced back as he shifted into gear. "Fast it is, sweetheart."

Cache's dark skin was ashen even in the dim moonlight. Devi clutched her hand as the Jeep took off, rattling across the landscape.

All they had to do was get her to a healer. It was simple enough, and it had to work, because she couldn't lose half her team in one night. She couldn't screw up that badly, couldn't kill two of her friends, and still make it.