Hammer Down: Children of the Undying: Book 2 (34 page)

She shifted uncomfortably. “I went in this morning to gather some information about the AI and talked with it for a while. As I was leaving, it told me I’d passed the test and granted me full access to the archives.”

“Just like that?” Terrifyingly simple compared to what it had put Devi and Cache through—and just flat-out terrifying, to imagine the thing was completely unpredictable. “Did it tell you why?”

“It—” She’d gone pale, and she folded her hands in her lap. “
He
said there was no need to customize a test for me. Whatever the reason, it’s obvious there isn’t a single test to gain access to the Templar archives. There’s a testing
process
, and the AI makes it up as he goes along.”

Hailey’s eyebrows came together over her eyes. “Are you telling me that it makes moral judgments?”

“I don’t know if it’s that esoteric. Psychological profiling, maybe?” Marci shrugged. “All I know is that I didn’t consent to any test like Cache said she and Devi had to. And if the system doesn’t think it needs permission…”

Lorenzo scrubbed a hand over his face. “Have you told Gabe yet?”

“Yeah. He wasn’t pleased.”

Undoubtedly an understatement, and Zel anticipated hearing all about the halfblood’s displeasure at having his lover put in harm’s way, no matter how unwittingly. “Then no one else accesses it from now on,” Zel said, making it an order. “Marci, you and Cache will have to find a way to get as much data out of it as you can. We need that information.”

She nodded her understanding. “We’ll get the firewalls finished and complete the server integration—provided our friend John the AI is feeling cooperative.”

The vast library Devi had described would take years to pick through, especially with only three people able to access it. So much for angels and their fiery swords. “We have a few months of breathing space, either way. The demons are keeping the skies clear, so we can concentrate on raising the standard of living around here.”

“Like moving the livestock
outside
?” Drake muttered.

That, and a hundred other things. More fresh game. Space for the children to play. Sunlight. Hell, even something so small as moving people into the old hotels that stood mostly empty, their top floors too vulnerable to attack from the skies. Room to spread out, maybe even build.

Live.

Zel nodded and pushed his chair back. “First thing in the morning, we’ll start building…what did they call them? Barns?”

“Barns.” Lorenzo easily recognized the dismissal and tossed a smile Jai’s way. “Do you have plans, or can I convince you to help me with something?”

“I’ve got a few minutes.” Jai rose and glanced at Zel. “I’m taking one of the trucks over this afternoon to meet with Aton’s second-in-command, but he’s hoping you’ll come and check on their progress soon.”

Meeting with the demons tended to be an unsettling experience, so much so that Zel was happy to leave them to Jai as often as possible. “Tell him I’ll be there in a few days.”

Jai nodded and departed with Lorenzo, Drake hard on their heels. Hailey rose and paused, one hand braced on the back of her chair. “You asked me to check on Kate, Dakota, Chuck and Molly?”

Zel had seen Chuck and Molly bickering their way through another lesson with the weapons master, but children were resilient. Adults, on the other hand… “And?”

“The kids bounced back. Dakota’s a little more ornery, but he’s not enamored of our new allies. Few of the veterans of the last war are.”

“Understandable. And Kate?”

Hailey actually smiled. “Don’t count her out. She just needs time to get right with what she did, or maybe get right with the fact that she’s not wrong with it.”

“She said she couldn’t.” Devi rested her elbows on the table. “In the VR test, I mean. She said she couldn’t protect herself and the kids, but she did it here. She’s strong.”

“She is. She’s had a hard couple weeks, but she’ll get through. We all will.”

Zel could only hope. “Good. I’ll see you tonight, Hailey.”

His second’s smile turned teasing as she released the chair. “You two get some rest before tonight, hmm? It’s going to be quite a party.”

“We wouldn’t miss it.”

It sounded like a warning, and Hailey left with laughter trailing behind her. When the door clicked shut, Zel spun his chair and raised one eyebrow. “We won’t be missing it, will we?”

“Not an option.” Devi smiled. “Too many people are counting on their leader to show them how hopeful he is about the future.”

It was the same pressure that had been grinding him down for months, but it seemed easier to manage with his lover smiling at him. “A topside celebration. I wonder if there’s another place in North America that would dare attempt it.”

“Rochester is unique now, both in amenities and knowledge.”

Zel reached out to tease at a strand of her hair, mostly for the pleasure of feeling its texture against his fingers. “You’re unique too. Those demons obey you like they’re scared to death of you. Whatever this mark is, Aton gave us power.”

“For whatever reason,” she agreed. “The plus side is that we don’t have to worry as much about the safety of the settlement.”

The demons had cleared the area of competitors with a brutal efficiency that left most of their more human allies torn between gratitude and suspicion, and Zel understood the feeling. “For now, at least. Until Aton returns from…wherever he is.”

Her gaze softened. “Are you all right? I know you wanted him dead, but…”

Three days of backbreaking work had made it easy to run from that question. Zel trailed his fingers down her arm, lingering where the sunburst pattern marked her skin. “I don’t know.” He wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone else, but with her, he could be weak. “I want to believe he died for me. But does it mean anything, if he’s not really dead? Is this what he
wants
me to believe?”

“I don’t think there are easy answers.” She rested her cheek against his head. “We just have to do what we’d do anyway, as much as possible, and not worry too much or overthink it.”

We.
Damn, he loved that word. “Does that mean you’re giving up the wild road now?”

She eased onto his lap. “Are you asking if I plan to stick close, or trying to tell me you don’t want me taking more contracts?”

The sleek curve of her hips fit perfectly under his hands. “I’m gathering intel. Refining my plan of attack.”

“Mm-hmm. And why are you attacking me, again?”

He worked his fingertips under the edge of her shirt and stroked her lower back. Even that tiny brush of skin stirred the hunger that had been threatening since the first touch. “Because I don’t want to be the only leader. Not anymore. And Hailey deserves time to spend with her child.”

A little of her teasing demeanor faded. “You think they’ll listen to me? The hauler who delivered a spy, an attack from the city
and
a horde of demons?”

“Daylight, Devi. There are people in their twenties and thirties who can count the number of times they’ve been topside on one hand. I’m finding that freedom buys a lot of loyalty.”

“I guess I take all that sunlight and open sky for granted.” She leaned in and brushed her lips over his jaw.

Two nights with her in his bed hadn’t taken the edge off. Sometimes it seemed like a lifetime might not be enough to touch her in all the ways he wanted, the ways he
needed
. He inched her shirt higher and tilted his head back, inviting her to trail those luscious lips wherever she cared to. “You can still have them. Just…stay with me, Devi. Be my more articulate partner. Lead with me.”

Her mouth hovered over his ear. “As long as you need a lover as much as a partner.”

“You’re the one sitting in my lap, beautiful. What do
you
think?”

She eased one hand into his and wove their fingers together. “I already talked to Tanner. I gave him one of the trucks. The other belongs to Rochester now.”

He didn’t want to think about Tanner, not with a hot woman straddling his thighs. “You belong here.”

Devi laid her other hand against his cheek. “In the town or with you?”

Instinct had a ready answer. He tightened his fingers on her body, pulling her close. “With me. Belong to me.”

She closed her eyes and kissed him hard, only for the space of a heartbeat. Then she rested her forehead against his. “I already do.”

Peace.

Zel reveled in the warm press of her body, strong but sweetly pliant. Darkness still twisted inside him, the demon with its seductive whispers, but the tune had changed.
Keep. Cherish. Protect.

And beneath it a softer whisper, one that came from the heart of him. “I love you.”

She breathed a contented sigh and touched her mouth to his again. “Show me.”

He took her lips first, teasing with his tongue until she opened for him, then taunting her with tiny nips and almost-kisses. The chase, and his favorite part of sex with her now that he knew she wouldn’t allow herself to be teased for long.

After several long minutes, Devi shuddered and pulled his hair. His head fell back, and she gazed down at him with pleasure-glazed eyes. “I want more. All of you.”

“All of me?” He got his hands under her shirt and found the perfect weight of her breasts, nipples already tight against his palms. “I’m yours, gorgeous.”

A sudden smile curved her lips. “You want me right here, don’t you?”

“Depends on what you mean by
here
. The chair?” He licked her chin before closing his teeth on it in teasing warning. “The table? The floor?”

Devi moaned. “The conference room?”

“Afraid someone’s going to catch us?”

“I suppose you’re not.” She eased her fingers under the back of his collar and scratched him.

As hard as he was, he didn’t care if half of Rochester lined up outside the door to watch. He surged to his feet and spilled her back onto the table. “Not like we can take our time. You promised Hailey we’d be at the party tonight.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “Nightfall is over four hours from now. If you think I won’t ride you too hard to last that long, you’re mistaken.”

The words heated his blood.
She
heated his blood, set it aflame in his veins and made him wild. One tug of his hands on her upper thighs ground her hips against his. “Sounds like a challenge to me.”

“I love a challenge.” Devi caught his shirt and dragged him down close. “I love you.”

The world vanished in a rush of need. He crushed his mouth to hers and kissed her, kissed her until she moaned, kissed her until she whimpered.

He touched her. Licked her. Bit her.

Loved her.

Her legs came around him, strong and sleek, pulling him closer with each thrust. Taking him, all of him, her grasping hands and throaty whispers begging for more.

Pleasure tightened his skin, and he wasn’t a halfblood or demon-spawned warrior or a man at war with himself. In her arms, in her body, he was Dominic Wetzel. Zel.

Hers.

With her sweet warmth clenched around his cock, he came so hard he really didn’t care when someone stumbled into the conference room; he just glared at the man until he jerked the door shut with a string of awkward, embarrassed apologies.

Then Zel dragged Devi to the floor and started all over again.

Devi didn’t bother checking the living quarters. Instead, she went straight to the computer hub to look for Cache.

She found her at Trip’s desk, eyes not quite focused, lips moving soundlessly. Her fingers poised over the keyboard, her pinky bouncing up and down.

Disturbing her while she was co-located could be dangerous, depending on what she was doing, so Devi sat on the edge of a table by the wall and waited.

It didn’t take long. A few more minutes and Cache blinked once, her eyes focusing on the screen. Her fingers hit the keys and became a blur, so fast the click of each key became indistinguishable from the next.

The typing trailed off. Cache looked up from her screen and blinked again, looking surprised. Her fingers flashed, a quiet question.
Been here long?

Devi shook her head and spoke aloud as her own fingers moved. “Going to the party?”

Cache echoed the gesture, shaking her head as she picked up a nearby tablet and tapped out a quick message.
Me and Trip are working on a program that might let me copy data from the Templar library and replicate it. Besides, he’s all alone in there.

Even asking the question had the potential to make Cache feel bad, but Devi couldn’t stop herself. “Are you okay?”

Fine. Go have fun at the party. You earned it.

She’d never liked crowds, and Devi didn’t blame her. Still, it felt wrong to leave Cache underground while she went out to celebrate with the rest of the settlers. “You were part of this,” she said slowly. “You saved them too.”

Cache smiled and set her hand on the shiny next-gen server that had belonged to Aton. “My reward,” she said with careful enunciation.

Words important enough for her to speak aloud, more than enough answer for Devi.
Have a good night. See you tomorrow.

You too.
By the time Devi reached the door Cache had closed her eyes again, lost to the network.

Devi made her way upstairs, her thoughts turned inward. Someday, something would pull Cache out of the reality she’d created for herself. For now, Trip was there. She had someone to share her space with, a companion who understood how deeply she loved those circuits and lines of code, and that would have to be enough.

The door to the courtyard, though marked clearly as the exit to be used, creaked and scraped as Devi pushed it open. The sky stretched overhead, the same as always, but the amazement and joy on the faces around her made it seem more wondrous. Tables and food carts had been placed in a tight perimeter around the overgrown courtyard along with tall solar lamps, burning strong in the gathering dusk.

“Can you believe we ever thought this was normal?” Juliet hopped up to sit on a table and patted the wood beside her. “Half the people here have never been able to just sit and
look
at the stars, you know.”