April finished settling the kids back at their games on the first level of the apartment building after being given the all clear by one of the soldiers. This guy was a Mercenary, as evidenced by the dark T-shirt and ripped jeans. All the Mercs wore the black shirts on duty. He disappeared back outside.

It was nice to have the new soldiers providing extra protection, but none of them seemed all that happy to be there.

Of course, who was happy?

She sat at a beat-up table and read through the notes she’d made on an old legal pad outlining information on the kids and their routines, just in case something happened to her.

The front door opened, and Sharon Matson slipped inside, her face red and sweat dotting her upper lip. Her curly, blond hair was piled high on her head, and somewhere, she’d found mascara to highlight her stunning blue eyes. In her late twenties, probably, she had joined Vanguard three months ago, quickly disappearing into the Pure apartment building. Today, she wore jeans and a long T-shirt, her hands covered by thin gloves.

For goodness sakes. Gloves in this heat? April forced a smile. “I’d offer iced tea, but I don’t have any.”

“That’s all right.” Sharon’s fake smile outdid April’s by a mile and a half. “I wanted to make sure you and the kids were all safe.” She strode forward and pulled out the other chair at the table, sitting gracefully.

If that were the case, shouldn’t she look around at the kids playing on the floor? “That was nice of you,” April murmured, setting down her papers. “A soldier came by and helped us out of the basement.” The Merc soldiers weren’t known for their conversational skills. Except for Damon. Now there was a guy who could talk. “All I was told was that it was safe to emerge.”

Sharon folded her gloved hands in her lap, away from the table. “I heard it was the Twenty gang again. They’re stepping up their harassment since that Merc killed the vice president.”

“That Merc” had been Greyson Storm, and he was defending pretty much everybody from the psycho president and his sidekick. “The president is crazy, and Grey had no choice.” April swallowed, and sweat rolled down her back. Man, she missed air conditioning.

“Maybe.” Sharon wrinkled her nose. “Do we really know that for sure? I mean, Scorpius does make some people crazy. Maybe we’re being fed lies by Vanguard and now the Mercs.”

April shook her head. The president had tried to bomb Vanguard territory. Some Scorpius survivors lost their sanity in one way or another. Some became animals, while others turned into super brilliant serial killer sociopaths. “I believe Jax about the president,” she said quietly, tugging out a nearly empty plastic bottle of hand sanitizer to rub over her palms.

Sharon swallowed, her gaze on the gel. “It’s not safe here for you.”

April finished rubbing and tucked the bottle away. “I’m not sure about that. It has been so long since anybody contracted the bacterial infection from a surface.” These days, only the exchange of bodily fluids led to infection.

Sharon shook her head, her cheeks now the color of an over-ripe red apple. “We’re some of the few people left uninfected, and since we’re the only ones who can have babies, we have a duty to keep ourselves safe. Right?”

Oh, April was no way ever having another baby. Losing one child was all she could take. “Not really.”

Sharon’s lips tightened. They were a lush pink. Had she scrounged up lipstick for her outing, too? April squinted and tried to look closer.

“So… I’m here for a reason,” Sharon said, her placid smile back in place.

No kidding. “Oh?” April asked.

The front door opened, and Damon walked inside. She partially pivoted toward him. Heat wafted inside, swelling toward her. Though not all of it was from the sun. Her limbs tingled. Why did that happen every time he entered her space? It was just crazy.

Sharon twittered.

April wanted to look at the crazy blonde to see what a twitter looked like, but she couldn’t move. Damon was moving in her direction, doing a full body scan of her, head to toe and back up, his deep gaze missing nothing. Now, her knees tingled. Then her breasts.

She should say something, but her throat had gone dry. So she studied him from beneath her lashes. For a big guy, he really did move quietly. There was a sense of grace to him that held an edge of danger. “What exploded?”

He drew out a raggedy velvet chair and dropped into it. “Another truck. The Twenty gang is conducting a campaign of general harassment at the moment.”

“Why?” she whispered. In a time when food was getting scarce, who had the energy to harass anybody?

“They’re out for revenge. They work for the president, right?” Sharon blurted, her darkened eyelashes making an impressive fluttering motion as she ran her gaze over the sexy ex-cop.

A hot wave of possessiveness, shocking in its strength, rippled through April. She frowned, her stomach clenching. What was happening?

“You okay?” Damon reached out and brushed a strand of wayward hair away from her cheek.

Electricity zapped through her skin. “Yes.” April cleared her throat. “Sharon and I were just chatting. You’ve met, right?”

Sharon leaned toward Damon, leading with her impressive chest. “I think you nodded at me once.”

His grin relaxed the tension around his eyes. “That’s how the Mercs say hello. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You, too.” Sharon’s voice became slightly husky.

Nobody moved to shake hands. Those days were long gone.

April studied the blonde. She was nearly purring, her gaze running over the very hard planes of Damon’s chest. Slapping her would be totally inappropriate. Probably. Should she stake her claim? In a mission, on-op, undercover type of way? She was pretending to date Damon, right? “I, um, missed you,” she said quietly.

Amusement sparkled in his brown eyes. “Missed you more.” He caressed down her arm to take her hand.

He was so good at this. April tried to smile, but her cheeks hurt. Her lip started to tremble, so she gave up the fight.

Sharon preened. “Our territory is so much safer now that you’re here. I heard you just took out the Twenty gang member shooting at Vanguard, Damon.”

Well, that was information the blonde hadn’t shared earlier. April’s skin cooled. Awareness and a familiar fear slid beneath her anxiety. Was he okay? “You did?”

He lifted one powerful shoulder. “Somebody shot at us, and we shot back. Everyone is fine on this side of the fence, baby.”

Even the endearment said in that sexy voice didn’t diminish the reality of danger. What was she doing, trying to play a secret agent in this crazy and sucky world? She couldn’t even hold his hand without getting all mushy. She tried to free herself, but his fingers tightened around hers. Shock grabbed her at his easy strength, and then an unsettling warmth spread through her lower half. Why did he have to be so sexy? “How many aren’t fine on the other side of the fence?” she asked.

His expression didn’t change but a glint—a hardness—filled his eyes. He turned toward Sharon. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your talk.”

“No, not at all.” Sharon sat back in her chair, the blue of her eyes seeming all for Damon. “I was actually here to invite both you and April to a little get-together at our church tonight. Before the pandemic, did you go to church?”

Now that was an inappropriately personal question. April opened her mouth to answer and then realized Sharon wasn’t asking her.

Damon nodded. “Every week. The entire family went every Sunday, and even after we lost Dad and one of my brothers, it was still a tradition. Kept my mom happy.”

His mom sounded fascinating. Growing up in a family, an actual unit, was something April had wished for every night while in one of her foster homes. But how could he live, how could he even smile now that he’d lost everybody? The tingles in her body cooled and left her limbs feeling heavy. As usual. “Do you miss church?” she asked, wanting inside his head.

He focused on her again, his eyes softening. How did he do that? “I miss family.”

Yeah. That.

Sharon cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to her. “I know you’re a Merc, and I’m sure that means a lot to you. But the Pure has a mission, an important one, and you could be a part of that. Neither of you has been infected, and that matters. We’re the only ones who can continue the human race.” She turned her gaze toward April. “Don’t you want to have more children?”

“No,” April blurted instantly, her body turning to lava and then ice. “God, no.” The room narrowed from the outside in, and her chest compressed with a sharp pain. “Never.” She tried to yank away from Damon. Her throat closed. She couldn’t breathe.

“April,” Damon said, his voice sharp.

She jerked.

“April.” The sharpness disappeared and was replaced by a low command. “Look at me.”

She swallowed, or tried to, and looked up at his face. Intense, brown eyes. Hard, sculpted features. Raw strength.

He leaned in, both of his hands grasping hers now. “Stay with me. Take a deep breath.” The order was said calmly, but it was an order nonetheless. One she instinctively obeyed. “Good,” he said. “Another, and let it out slower this time.”

She did as he said, and the buzzing between her ears slowly dissipated. The muscles in her chest and shoulders lost some of their tension.

“Better,” he said, leaning in and brushing a lock of hair away from her cheek.

The simple touch forced tears to her eyes. What had just happened? Vulnerability rammed through her, making her sway.

“You’re okay, baby.” He kept coming closer, his lips nearly to hers. “That was a good job. All you have to worry about right now is this minute. There are no obligations. Ever.” Then he brushed his mouth against hers in a touch so light it pulled all her focus away from fear and right onto him. “There you go.” His lips formed the words right on hers.

She sucked in air.

His smile felt good against her. “Well.” He leaned back, giving her space to breathe. “We just found the best cure ever for a panic attack.”

She could only stare at him. So many feelings bombarded her that she couldn’t actually feel anything. She was numb. In shock. But need? Yes. And intrigued.

Sharon coughed, and April jumped. She’d forgotten the other woman was even there.

Damon didn’t look away from April, and he certainly didn’t jump. The guy was more aware of his surroundings than anybody she’d ever met. “You okay now?” he asked.

Hell no. “Yes,” she murmured. “Sorry about that.”

He shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry about. You’ve been through unimaginable horrors. Panic and fear are normal. We’ll deal with them one at a time.”

She blinked. Deal with them? “We?”

His smile held more determination than amusement. “Yeah. We. It may take you a while to get settled into it, but you’re covered, April. I’m not letting anything happen to you. That’s a promise.”

Her lips twitched to say something, anything, but what were the right words? Then she looked guiltily over at all the kids playing on the floor. Not one of them was looking her way, and most seemed to be concentrating on different board games. She wasn’t doing a very good job of watching them.

Sharon pushed her chair back. “On that note, I should get back to the kids in the church. It’s about naptime.” She stood. “I’m sorry if I upset you, April. But please come to the dinner tonight and just get to know some of our members. We’re actually a pretty nice group.”

With armed guards at the entrance to the apartment building.

“We’ll try,” Damon answered for both of them, his focus remaining on April.

Sharon left quietly.

The kids laughed, and the warmth inside was nearly unbearable. But April could only concentrate on Damon. “I don’t know how to pretend,” she admitted. “It’s all too confusing.”

“Because you’re attracted to me?” he asked, one eyebrow rising.

She straightened. Had he just said that? Was it arrogance or just…honesty? “Yes.” She lifted her chin and forced herself to keep his gaze. “I am, and I’m getting confusing signals from, well, myself.”

He didn’t laugh at her. Didn’t even turn arrogant. “I’m attracted to you, too. So if you’re afraid of being embarrassed, of feeling something real while I’m just pretending, then stop being afraid. I think you’re beautiful, smart, and kind. Your tits are unreal, and I’ve wanted to take your mouth from the first time you got sassy with me. Hard and deep.”

She freed her hands and threw them up. “Who says that? I mean, who in real life actually says that?” A million years ago, she’d read awesome romance novels with something called alpha males, and it had been fun and intriguing. But this guy? He actually sounded like one. A real one.

“I do.” His gaze didn’t waver. Not even a tiny bit. “I’ve never been a game player, and since we’re at the tail-end of an apocalypse, I don’t have time for that crap.”

“This—you’re…nuts.” That’s all she had.

“Maybe.” Now he did smile. “But here it is. We have a job to do, and we’re gonna do it. While we’re flirting and touching, I’m feeling it as much as you are. It doesn’t have to go anywhere. There’s no pressure for you to do anything but just be in the moment. If we take it further—if you want to—then great. If not, we’ll have some fun and maybe save some lives.”

She shouldn’t ask. She really shouldn’t. “Do you want to take it further?” Her voice cracked.

He sobered, an intensity swelling from him. “Hell yes. To bed and then to bed again. But I ain’t lookin’ for ever after, April. Can’t.”

“Just here and now,” she murmured thoughtfully. Was it possible?

He nodded, looking like one of those tough-guy heroes from an action movie. “Think about it.”

Like she had a choice. She might not think about anything else. “Okay.”

“For now, let’s plan for our dinner date tonight. Something tells me it’s going to be interesting.”

That was probably an understatement. Big time.