In the small bathroom off her room, April smoothed back her hair and secured it with an elegant clip. A small lantern set on the non-functioning toilet filtered some light into the room so she could see in the square mirror above the useless sink. Running water was a thing of the past.

Her apartment led to the main rec room for the kids and also had an outside entry, which was nice.

It had been so long since she’d worn her hair up, she felt like an imposter. The easy twist had been her favorite for PTA meetings and school functions, and yet, now, it seemed fake.

The lipstick she’d accepted from Lena felt foreign on her lips. She hadn’t worn makeup in nearly a year. Survival didn’t require looking pretty.

Yet tonight, she had a part to play. It wasn’t as if she wanted to look nice for Damon. Nope. Not at all. She rolled her eyes at herself. Guilt, a very familiar feeling, made her chest feel heavy. How could she even think of flirting with another man? With anybody in this dangerous world?

A strong rap on the outside door made her jump. Her heart rate kicked into motion, hard and fast, and butterflies flew uninhibited through her abdomen.

For goodness sakes.

She turned on the simple sandals she’d borrowed from Lynne Harmony and walked past her definitional kitchen and bed area to open the door.

Her mouth went dry at the sight of the male standing there.

Damon had somehow found a black, button-down shirt that emphasized the width of his muscular chest. His jeans were dark but not wrinkled, and he wore what looked like black soldier boots. He’d shaven, and to say that his jaw was a hard line would be a serious understatement.

His gaze raked from her hair to her sandals and back again, lingering several times in between. “You look lovely.”

She smoothed down the blue skirt of the heat-conscious sundress she’d found in the women’s laundry area where clothes from scouting trips were dumped for anybody who wanted them. Spaghetti straps held up the bodice, which led to a waist that flared just slightly at the hips. “Thank you.” She leaned in. He smelled good. Really good. “You clean up nice, too.”

He held out an arm. “You ready?”

“No.” She took his arm and walked out into the warm evening with him. The sun was just starting to dip in the sky, and the heat would likely last all night.

“You’ll be fine.” He seemed so tall walking next to her.

They walked to Main Street and then headed toward the closely guarded apartment building. “I feel like I should be bringing something, but I know they won’t eat any food prepared outside of their building,” she murmured.

He nodded toward a couple of Merc soldiers patrolling, and they did the nod-thing back. “I filched a bottle of wine from Jax’s stash but then figured we wouldn’t want to waste it on the Pure folks if this goes south. So you and I can drink it later.”

Later. Them. Drinking. Her foot caught on the edge of a pothole, and Damon quickly righted her. “Thanks,” she said.

“No problem.” They reached the apartment building where two guys with guns flanked the entrance. At one point, the Pure had placed a fence around their building, but Jax had taken it down. The guns were a good deterrent to visitors, however.

“I’m nervous,” April whispered.

“Turn that into curiosity,” Damon returned. “They’re going to ask you about me. All they know is that I’m an ex-cop, a Mercenary, and I pitched a fit about being exposed to Scorpius when the Vanguard medic treated me. Jax set that up, but they don’t know it. Use it. Say I’m a bit of a germaphobe.”

She nodded. “Let’s do this.” Before she could move, two men strode out of the entry. The first was Pastor King, who was tall, lanky, and around thirty years old. The second man, Joe Bentley, was a bit older and wore a white golf shirt with trendy, wired glasses. They both approached, donning welcoming smiles.

Pastor King held up a hand. “April. I’m so glad you could join us again.” His smile widened on Damon. “And you must be Damon Winter. It’s an honor to meet a former police officer. I’m Pastor King, and this is Joe Bentley. Joe runs the practical side of the church, and I’m in charge of the faith.” His smile was charming, although his face showed fading bruises.

Damon nodded. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard concerns about your church.”

King chuckled. “Jax Mercury doesn’t trust anybody but his own lieutenants. Come inside, you’ll see that rumors are unfounded.”

“Sounds good. What happened to your face, Zach?” Damon asked as they strode toward the entrance.

“A maniac attacked me awhile back. Nothing to worry about. And please, call me ‘Pastor,’” King said. “The folks here have gotten me used to the title, and now I think it sets a nice tone for the entire church. I’d really appreciate it.”

“Sure thing,” Damon said easily.

If April didn’t know better, she’d think he was out for a nice dinner with friends. She kept silent and followed Bentley into a foyer that had been constructed of the same blocks she had in her basement for the kids.

Damon stiffened just slightly next to her.

Pastor nodded. “I know. We have the entire first floor fortified, just in case. Protection of the kids is too important to take for granted.” He led the way around the books, down a hallway, and into a large gathering room with tables set comfortably throughout. “This is where we take our meals. The classrooms are on the second level, and all of the living quarters are on the third and fourth floors.”

The smell of lemon cleaner and bleach competed with the scent of something delicious. Mouthwatering. April looked around.

The makeshift kitchen was through an open doorway to the right. She caught sight of Sharon working with a couple of other women.

Four men entered through the back door, each carrying what appeared to be supplies. They skirted the tables and headed into the kitchen. Oh, yeah. The Pure had raided a couple of the Vanguard warehouses for food, supplies, and weapons. Jax was still deciding what to do about it.

“Tonight, I thought we could have a more private dinner,” King said, gesturing toward a room off the main common area. “Is that all right?”

Damon answered for them. “Sounds good to me. Something smells wonderful.”

“It’s Sharon’s work,” King answered easily, escorting them toward the room he’d indicated. “She was a chef at an exclusive country club in Palm Desert before the pandemic. She can take anything and make it not only edible but phenomenal.”

April walked into a room that had probably been the super’s apartment way back when. Everything had been taken out, leaving a nice, open room with a heavy and ornate rug covering the floor. A yellow linen tablecloth covered the table, along with what appeared to be pure silver candlesticks, their mint green candles already flickering. The table had been set for six with elaborate nametags. “Fancy,” April said.

“We do like to please.” Pastor King drew out a chair for her next to the head of the table.

She sat, almost sighing in relief when Damon sat on her other side. Bentley took the spot at the foot of the table, and two women, one of them Sharon, entered to sit across from April and Damon.

Damon read his nametag with its oddly scrawled and perfectly straight penmanship. “Somebody has OCD.”

King chuckled. “That’s me. I use a ruler and everything. But I wanted this to be kind of formal.”

Sharon smiled widely and set down two opened bottles of Cabernet. “I hope you like barbequed steaks.”

April’s stomach almost growled. They had barbecued steaks in the Pure? Maybe she would just up and join. When was the last time she’d had a steak?

Damon slid an arm over her shoulders as if he’d done it a thousand times before. “Must’ve been some grill you picked up. Where did you get the steak?”

Darn good question. April stiffened, and then she forced her body to relax. She had to start playing her part and stop being such a complete dork. Going on instinct, she let her body lean a little toward Damon.

Pastor King watched them carefully, his green eyes shrewd. “God does provide.”

That was so not an answer. April blinked. “The steaks are beef, right?” She wasn’t to the point of eating dog yet. She just wasn’t.

Sharon giggled. “Of course. Definitely beef.”

There were a couple of farms still working upstate, but when had the Pure group made it out to get food? Or did they have contacts in the outside world? April made a note to ask Jax when she got a minute.

As her mind wandered, people brought in dishes, laughing and joking. Men and women alike, and they all seemed to be having a good time. After setting down the very fragrant food, they quickly disappeared.

The pastor grinned. “We all take turns with the work around here. Whatever you’ve heard, it isn’t true.” He poured April some wine and handed the bottle over to Damon.

“Where are the kids?” Damon asked, pouring his wine and then passing the bottle down.

“They ate earlier,” Joe Bentley said, passing the wine to the other two women without taking any. Must not be a drinker. “I wish Jax Mercury would stop worrying about the kids and women here. They’re fine.”

April studied the charismatic leader. He was young but definitely had an energy about him. “Then why not let Jax come in and meet with people?”

“They don’t want to meet with him,” Pastor King said quietly. “They’re terrified of catching Scorpius, all of them. And it’s up to us to protect the kids.”

She shook her head. “Jax can take serious precautions for a meeting, and you know it.”

King smiled. “And then what? Periodic visits? Jax dictating how people should act or live? Even before the pandemic, we had freedom of religion in this country. My congregation is living the way they want. That matters to me.” He sipped again and then nodded at Damon. “You’re an ex-cop, and you’ve been checking all of us out since the second you arrived. What do you think?”

Damon shrugged, and his shoulder brushed April. “So far, everything looks fine to me. And this food smells fantastic.” He accepted a bowl of salad from Sharon and dished some for April and then himself.

“How long have you two been together?” Sharon asked, her lips just a tad tight.

Damon flashed April a grin. “I think this is our tenth or so date. I want a bigger commitment, and April is thinking about it.”

April smiled. That would explain any awkwardness on her part. “I haven’t dated since I was a teenager, but Damon can be very persuasive.”

“I’m sure,” Pastor King murmured, taking a sip of his wine. “I’m sure he’ll become protective rather quickly. There isn’t much choice these days, now is there?” His voice was calm, almost serene.

“Vanguard seems well protected,” Damon said, cutting into his steak. “Don’t you think?”

“From the outside, sure,” King said. “But my people need shielding from the bacteria.”

April took a bite of steak and tried not to moan in pure pleasure. “How many people are in your congregation anyway?”

Sharon finished chewing. “Thirty women, twenty men, and fourteen kids. That’s all.”

Damon ate some of his salad. “How do you know all of your members haven’t been infected?”

“We have the test,” Bentley said after swallowing some truly amazing potatoes.

April jerked. “You have the test? Wait a minute. What?” The Vanguard group didn’t even have a medical test yet. They were looking for one at the Bunker.

Bentley nodded. “Yeah. One of our members worked for one of the early labs, and when it folded, he took all the tests with him. It’s an easy spit test. If the vial turns blue, you’ve got it. If not, you don’t.”

April looked at Damon.

His shrug was casual, but the look in his eyes was anything but. “The early tests were spit tests, if I remember right. But then the labs became secured, and testing was moved to certain locations. I hadn’t realized anybody still living had access to those easy and early tests.”

“We do. Like I said, God provides,” Pastor King said, lifting his glass again. “And I should tell you both, I believe He brought you here to us. April, you’re fantastic with organization, and we need that. Damon, we need your skills as a police officer to protect us.”

The heads around the table all nodded.

Pastor King smiled, displaying his perfect row of teeth. “Welcome home, my friends.”