Neil’s truck peeled out, leaving rubber on the road. Kade reversed at speed and barely braked before throwing the truck into drive.
Neil’s vehicle raced for the ramp, Kade’s on his bumper.
The Weres in the building were easy to read, now that they were angry and focused. “They’re coming.” Zach grabbed imagery. “They were on the top floor, but I see some running down escalators.”
“What about outside? Any in the parkade yet?” Kade asked.
Zach searched. “The ones in the building are moving toward the second level exit to the parkade. And there’s one in a vehicle. No, two. Second level.”
Kade cursed. The trucks hit the bottom of the second level ramp. Neil led them down the aisles of parked cars, dodging the occasional human. They had to make it across the parkade, to the first level ramp.
“We can’t fight them among all these people,” Cara said. “And they outnumber us.”
“But they won’t be able to shift, either.” Jessie pointed out.
“We have to stand them off.” Kade’s teeth had partially dropped, blood dripping down his chin. “Neil’s called in our people, but they’ll have to scramble to get into position in time.”
Zach got an image from the closest Dire and struggled to put it in context. “I think one of those cars—”
A car cut across their path. Neil’s truck slammed right into it, shoving it into several parked vehicles. Kade stood on the brakes, narrowly missing Neil’s back bumper.
The Dire Were driver climbed out of the car, six-foot something of pure, aggressive male. Even in human form, he was formidable.
Jessie’s hands tightened on the back of Zach’s seat. “Frigging hell.”
Neil bounded out of his vehicle to meet him. Kade switched into reverse and shot backward.
“Neil!” Jessie protested.
“There are people everywhere,” Kade said through gritted teeth. “He’ll be fine, but if they surround us, they’ll walk right in and grab Jessie. And there’s not a damned thing I’ll be able to do about it.”
Zach’s gut twisted. When the truck rocked again to a halt, Zach turned to look. But he didn’t need to see it to know.
Another Dire Were, in a vehicle behind them.
“Everyone out. Now!” Kade shouted.
As they bailed, the Were emerged from the car. Cara and Jessie hurried between the parked vehicles. They pushed past people that had stopped to stare at the accident.
Zach glanced behind. The Dire Were followed, his gold eyes locked on them. He radiatedintent.
Cara took the lead, while Kade traded glares with the pursuing Were. Zach scanned the parkade. There were enough people around to keep him from doing anything nonhuman.
The Bay’s building occupied the north side of the parkade, and it was locked up tight. Yet Zach sensed the Were activity within. The Dires headed for the locked doors to the parkade on the second level. More came from below. As Zach followed Jessie, he cast his mind forward. To the stairwells accessing the street.
“Not the east stairs,” he shouted to Cara, and she redirected south. Toward the only other access.
The accident was attracting quite the crowd, especially as Neil was engaged in a vicious fistfight with the Dire. The vehicles had completely blocked the ramp to the lowest level. As the others raced for the south stairs, a couple of male observers attempted to wade in to separate the combatants.
Zach wished them luck. The only reason the two Weres weren’t all fur and fangs was due to the human bystanders. Both Neil and the Dire were big guys, and although they were fighting as humans, they weren’t fighting nicely.
He mentally scanned the south stairs. They were clear, but not for long. A Dire moving in from the ground level wasintenton heading them off.
Zach turned to Kade. “Were. Single. Almost at the stairs.”
Kade nodded, and when they reached the stairwell entrance, he took the lead. Zach fell in behind, glancing back to the approaching Were.
More Dires had broken through the store’s locked doors along the north side. There were now six large, determined men descending on them.
