April carried warm cups of juice into the younger kids’ playroom, fondly remembering the days when she could get ice with a push of a button. Now there was no ice—period. She set the cups down on a bright red table in the middle of the room, and the kids rushed for it.

Little Rory, his blond hair a mess around his face, grasped a cup first and then handed it over to Tina instantly. The girl’s brown eyes sparkled, and she smiled at him.

They were the best of friends. How in the world had they found each other and then survived before the Vanguard soldiers came upon them? April rubbed her chest. It was a miracle. Sometimes, even she had to wonder if there was something bigger at play. How had the kids survived?

A shadow filled the doorway, and she partially turned to see Marcus standing there. His gaze was direct, and he shoved his hands into his front jeans pockets as if to show he was no threat. With his size, he was dangerous whether he wanted to be or not. But it was time for her to give him a chance. “Marcus. Come on in.”

His expression didn’t change, but he strode inside, looking toward where the kids had settled in to play games and drink their too-warm juice. “Penny wanted me to check on you. After the panic attack and then the night of booze.” His voice was more hoarse than Jax’s. By far.

April arched an eyebrow. “She’s sending you on errands now?”

His grin was quick and unexpected. “Yes.”

April stared, almost entranced. Marcus Knight had gone from deadly to shockingly handsome with one grin.

He was back to glowering now, however. And eyeing the door.

It was rare to see him away from Penelope. “You’re making progress,” April said softly.

“So they say,” he said, shuffling his feet. “I don’t like being away from her, but that obsession has to stop. Scorpius can’t rule me.”

That was a favorite phrase of Vinnie’s. Was Marcus seeing the shrink? Made sense. The bacteria messed with whatever section of the brain held empathy, giving sociopathic tendencies to everyone. Some of those turned obsessive. She’d seen it several times in the past couple of months. One guy had even been obsessed with feet. Couldn’t see enough of them. Where was he these days anyway? The guy had been a mechanic.

Lena bounded up and jumped for Marcus before April could intervene.

The man easily caught the girl and swung her up before gently depositing her back on her feet. He dropped to his haunches so they could be eye-to-eye. “Nice jump.”

April gaped. Had that just happened?

Lena clapped her hands gently against Marcus’s cheeks.

He studied her. “If you don’t talk to me, I don’t know what you want.”

April held her breath. Would the little girl finally speak? Maybe Marcus, as tortured as he was, could be the one to get through to her.

Lena watched him beneath surprisingly dark eyelashes. Then she tweaked his nose.

April’s jaw dropped. She stiffened in case Marcus freaked out, but she needn’t have bothered.

Marcus chuckled. “You’re a feisty one.”

Lena snorted and then turned to run back to her friends.

Marcus slowly stood. “Okay. Bye.”

April shook her head. “She likes you, Marcus.” The girl settled in with Tina and Rory, reaching for a playing card. “I wonder if you can get her to talk.” Lena didn’t act like she was troubled, but she wouldn’t speak. Marcus definitely had a tortured soul. Maybe somehow they recognized something in each other.

Marcus watched the kids play for a minute. “Perhaps she doesn’t have anything to say.”

A simplistic and yet profound statement. April looked at him, measuring him. “It’d be better for her, a sign of healing if she started communicating.”

“She is communicating. You just don’t like how she’s doing it.” Marcus focused back on April, his eyes more green than brown today. “Let her be who she needs to be in this world. If she decides to talk, she will. If not, then…not.”

That was more words in one sentence than she’d heard him speak in the last several weeks. And it seemed as if he weren’t just talking about little Lena.

How many people had given this new Marcus a chance? It seemed like everyone walked on eggshells around him. She made up her mind right then. “Would you like to help with the kids?”

His eyebrows rose. “Huh?”

Yeah. This was the right decision. “The kids like you and obviously feel safer when you’re around. Lena is much freer. So I was wondering if you’d agree to spend some time every day around them. Playing or just hanging out. It’d be good for them.” And probably good for Marcus.

His jaw went slack and then firmed again. “I, ah, don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.” He shuffled his large feet. For the first time, Marcus looked surprised. An emotion other than anger, blankness, or amusement. Human.

April smiled. “Thank you. I’ll get you a schedule as soon as I can.” She really needed to find a new clipboard. It was time.

“Okay. I guess. Maybe.” His uncertainty was endearing. He turned for the door and halted when Damon filled it. His shoulders went back, and his chest broadened. “We have a plan yet?” Marcus asked.

Damon walked inside, his gaze raking Marcus. “We?”

Marcus nodded, a muscle now visibly ticking in his jaw. “I’m going on the raid.”

Damon pursed his lips, looked as if he were going to argue, and then caught sight of the kids watching avidly. “You should go talk to your brother.”

Marcus strode away and out of the room without another word.

Damon studied her. “Why was he here?”

April’s stomach flip-flopped. Their night before had been wild, and she was falling deeper with the ex-cop. But it was too late to worry about that. So she forced a smile. “I think Doc Penelope is sending him places so he gets used to being without her. It’s time he gave her space.”

Damon rubbed a new bruise across his jaw that he must’ve gotten at the gang house. “Do you think there’s something between them?”

“Dunno.” If there were, it had to be majorly intense. Not that what April had going on with Damon wasn’t. This was beyond intense and miles outside her comfort zone. But she kind of liked it. “I think he’d jump in front of a bus for her.”

“Without question,” Damon agreed. “I worry about her, though. What kind of pressure is she under?”

April mulled it over. “I don’t know, but I think Doc Penelope can handle anything. Whatever they went through in that Bunker definitely bonded them.” Though it was sweet for Damon to worry. “I’ll make a note to talk to Penelope, though. Just in case.”

“You’ll keep me updated?”

Always. She nodded. Her chest warmed at his trust and acceptance that she knew what she was talking about. “I’m thinking of finding a clipboard. You know, just to stay more organized.”

His eyes flared. “Baby, I would love to see you with a clipboard.” His voice deepened even more. “And nothing else.”

Her body went all tingly. How did he do that? The sweetness of the moment was overshadowed by the mission coming up. She wanted to act naturally, but her hands shook, and her stomach hurt. How did Lynne Harmony survive being in love with Jax?

Not that April was in love. Nope. She shook her head. No way would she be dumb enough to let that happen. Right?

A soldier entered the room. What was this, Grand Central Station? She turned.

“Hi, ma’am.” The kid looked about eighteen but wore a gun on his thigh and the Merc black T-shirt. “I’m supposed to bring you this.” He handed over a folded piece of paper. After giving a nod to Damon, he turned sharply and strode out of the room.

“Bet he was ROTC,” Damon said thoughtfully.

April shrugged and unfolded the note to read the delicate script. “It’s from Sharon. The Pure gang is having Bunko night.” She’d played Bunko way back when. Nostalgia swept her.

“No,” Damon said. “I can’t cover you because we’re doing a couple of run-throughs and then taking off. It makes more sense for us to travel at night.”

“How far is Reno?” she asked, turning the note around in her hand.

“Eight or so hours…without problems,” he said.

Rogue gangs and Rippers still patrolled and set traps on the major highways as well as well-traveled side roads. So there would probably be problems. “What time are you leaving?” she asked, her stomach already starting to hurt.

“Hopefully around ten. I’d like to be in place in Reno for an attack at dawn.” His voice remained level, and his body was relaxed, but his gaze was searching.

An attack. At dawn. Her throat constricted, but she kept her voice level. “I heard that the president has probably already taken control of the facility. The Elite Force will be waiting for you.” Surely they’d heard of the raids on the Twenty gang houses by now. Vanguard wasn’t the only organization with scouts watching everything in the city and reporting back.

Damon rolled his eyes. “This place is worse than a knitting factory. Can’t anybody keep their damn mouth shut?”

She turned to fully face him. “Why? We’re supposed to share this kind of stuff.” She lowered her voice to a tense whisper, oddly hurt. “Even if we are just fucking.” A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that the kids couldn’t hear her.

His chin went up, and his eyelids dropped to half-mast, giving him a predatory look. “We’re doing more than that, and you know it.”

She squirmed beneath his gaze but kept her mouth closed.

“In addition, we are not supposed to share mission details. If I do nothing else right, I’m shielding you from that.” He cupped her cheek, his palm callused and warm.

“There’s no shield in this world.” She turned her face and kissed his lifeline.

He tapped her on the nose, the motion playful. Then he dropped his hand and looked at his watch. “I have to go but will meet up with you after dinner.”

To say goodbye. She bit her lip.

He took the paper from her and read the script about Bunko again. “Do you want any more discussion on this?”

“You said it can’t happen,” she said simply. The last thing she was going to do right now was make him worry when he was going off to fight the Elite Force and blow up the entrance to a casino. She wanted him to concentrate and focus, and definitely come back safely. “Okay?”

“Promise me you won’t go into that church while I’m gone. I can’t explain it—my gut tells me something bad is going on or will soon.”

She nodded. “I promise. We can argue about my next step when you get back from Reno.”

“Now that’s a date.” He pressed a hard kiss to her mouth and then walked away.