Damon woke, his throat on fire. He rolled to the edge of April’s bed and tugged up his jeans before walking into the kitchen area. A pitcher of water sat on the counter, and he drank directly from it. His head ached dully, which was a vast improvement from the day before.

A quick look outside confirmed that the moon was high in the sky. It was about, what? Midnight? Smoke covered the orb, making it glow an eerie, deep yellow.

He set the pitcher down and looked around. April was often called to check on the kids, so it wasn’t a surprise to find her gone at midnight. He was much happier waking up with her in his arms, though.

Sitting at the table, he waited patiently for her.

A scrape sounded at the door to the interior of the building before it slowly swung open. He turned, seeking her face, and had to drop his gaze a couple of feet. A child stood there, softly illuminated by a lamp in the middle of the outside room.

He reached for the lantern on the table and twisted the knob, lighting the space. “Lena?”

The little girl smiled and bounced inside. She wore small pajamas with ducks all over them, and her hair was a wild mess around her shoulders. Within seconds, she’d climbed up to sit on his lap.

He looked down at her. None of his brothers had kids, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with the little girl. In the soft light, she looked imminently breakable and fragile. “You okay?”

She nodded, smiling and showing a gap in her front teeth.

He smiled back. “You lost a tooth.” Did kids still believe in the tooth fairy? They should. He needed to find something to have April leave under Lena’s pillow. Wasn’t there candy in one of the warehouses? It was worth a ton more than cash these days.

Lena looked around the apartment as if searching for somebody. Then she shrugged.

This was odd. Where was April? If she were out with the kids, Lena probably wouldn’t be here. Unless April was upstairs with the teenagers again. “Are you looking for April?”

Lena shook her head, and her hair splayed all over. Frowning, she looked up at the newest bandage on his head that covered his stitches. Then she gingerly reached up and traced the edge of it, her small lips pursed in thought.

“I’m fine, darlin’,” he said. “Just a bump.”

Her eyebrow arched, making her look years wiser. Then she patted the other side of his bald head and smiled, running her hand above his ear to the crest of his skull.

“They had to shave my head. I used to do that anyway. Thought it made me look tough like Shemar Moore,” he whispered.

She snorted.

All right. So maybe he didn’t resemble the handsome movie star. But April had seemed to like his head shaved, so he might keep the look if the scar wasn’t too bad over his other ear. Doc Penelope had a light touch, so she’d probably done a good job with the stitches.

He focused on the little girl. If he hadn’t been in April’s apartment, would she have been able to just head out the door? They needed to get better security in place to protect the kids. Somebody this fragile deserved a bigger shield than they were providing. “You know to stay inside unless April or another grown-up is with you, right?”

She solemnly nodded.

Okay. That was good. “Did you hear the explosions earlier?” Maybe those had scared her enough that she couldn’t sleep.

Another nod.

“You’re safe now. You know that, right?” There had to be a way to reassure her.

She sighed, and her eyelids fluttered. The girl was definitely getting tired. That was good. He smiled. “Should you be going back to bed?”

Her bottom lip stuck out.

“Or not,” he hastened to say. If she started crying, he’d be lost. She looked adorable with the pouty lip, too. “I’m sure April will be back soon. Do you want to wait for her?”

Lena just studied him with those dark eyes. Her coloring was interesting. Her hair was so blond it was almost white, and her eyes were a fathomless black. The mystery of where she’d come from and how she’d survived to reach Vanguard was one talked about by the soldiers sometimes. Nobody had a clue.

Damon looked back at her. “How come you don’t speak?”

She shrugged, her expression almost bored.

Obviously, the line of questioning didn’t spook her, so he pressed on. The girl couldn’t remain silent forever. If she were in trouble, she needed to be able to yell for help if possible. “Did you speak before? A long time ago?”

She nodded. Ah. Finally getting somewhere with her. So she had been able to speak. There wasn’t a physical reason she didn’t speak now, so this was something she needed help with. “You’re safe now, Lena. I hope you know that. You can talk, and nothing bad will happen to you.” He made a note to ask April how anybody knew the girl’s name. Chances were, she’d had it on something with her when she arrived, but now Damon was curious. “Do you want to talk?”

She didn’t react at all.

He searched for the right questions to keep her engaged. “Sometimes, it seems like you know things about people, but that’s just a coincidence, right?”

She tilted her head.

Maybe she didn’t know the word coincidence. Or perhaps she just didn’t want to share. “Do you know things about people?”

She twisted her little face up like he was crazy.

Humor took him, and he chuckled. “All right. I’ll stop asking dumb questions.” It was silly to think that the girl was psychic or anything. She liked to give gifts, and people would always search for meaning in things. Especially these days. “Though it’d be nice if you decided to speak at some point.”

She looked around, obviously getting tired with the conversation.

Where the hell was April? Damon searched for something to say. “Are Tina and Rory asleep?” The three were rarely seen without each other.

Lena nodded.

“But you’re not. Did you have a bad dream?”

She cut him another look, this one letting him know he was done asking questions. He sighed. “All right. I don’t know what to ask you anyway.” Interrogating known killers was easier than questioning this little bit of a thing.

Lena reached into a pocket on her duck jammie shorts and took something out.

Damon’s breath caught. Present time. What in the world could she have brought him? He instinctively held out his hand.

She dropped a rusty silver cross with a smooth chain onto his palm.

He looked down. A cross? “I used to wear one of these all the time.” On a necklace his mom had given him. His was gold, but the designs were similar.

Lena jerked her head toward his neck.

Well, all right. He fastened the necklace around his neck, and the cross fell to the center of his chest, just like his old one. It was definitely a man’s necklace. The second it was in place, he felt centered. “Why me?” he asked simply.

She tapped the cross.

“Where in the world did you find this?” he murmured. The kids were known to investigate all the old apartments, so it wasn’t a shock that she’d discovered a necklace. But again, why give it to him? Maybe she’d found it and since he was almost living in her building now, had wanted to give him a present. Or was it something more?

Her eyelids started to droop.

Ah. “Honey? Why don’t you go back to bed?”

She swayed toward him and set her head against his chest. She felt so tiny and vulnerable against him. How in the world had she survived on her own before finding Vanguard?

He stiffened and then relaxed, looking down at her blond head.

She snuggled closer with a soft sigh and fell right asleep. She was small and delicate, and she was seeking some sort of shelter. For some reason, she’d chosen him.

He swallowed, careful not to move and jostle her. He’d never had a child fall asleep on him before, and he wasn’t sure what to do.

Where in the world was April?