Chapter 401: Tuesday. Mlilo Research Center, South Africa.

THE SUN WAS barely peaking over the horizon. Grit was still stuck in Paxton's eyes. He'd barely slept between wanting to keep an eye on Coco and listening for danger. He shouldn't have played with the kids. The visions of danger were all the more terrifying when he could put names to the precious faces in those nightmares.

Coco squeezed Paxton's hand as they walked the distance from the main road toward the old resort where she'd made her home.

There was going to be a lot to account for once they crossed through the gates. He needed to enjoy these fleeting moments of calm before the storm. Somehow, despite all the bad going on, they'd landed in a really good place. Sure, they'd had to sleep on the floor of someone's kitchen on a thin mattress, but the atmosphere and kindness had made up for that. The only other place he'd ever felt welcomed like that was with Silas' family. Paxton had been a stranger to those people, and they'd treated him like a long-lost friend. And then there was