“Are you fucking kidding me?” Judd’s angry question brought all of our attention back to him and his weapon. “You had the book in your hands and you chose that?” He waved the pistol in Spencer’s direction. “I should kill you now,” he said, pulling it back to me. I never thought I’d be so relieved to have a gun pointed in my face.

“All right. Enough,” Tommy said. He took a step forward, shouldering me out of the way so he could stand between Judd and I. “I’ll give you the damn book, and you’ll let her go, right?”

“You really think you’re in a position to negotiate?” Judd sneered at him.

“You want the book. I want my daughter safe. I don’t think I’ve been in an easier negotiation in my life.” The steadiness in Tommy’s voice was impressive.

“Fine,” Judd said.

Tommy tossed the ledger onto the bed in the same way Judd had tossed Spencer. It bounced once, then slid to a halt at her feet. “There. You’ve got it. Let her go.”

“You heard him, sweet tits. On your feet.” Judd beckoned to Spencer with the gun but kept it pointed at Tommy this time.

Spencer didn’t move for a long time. She looked from Judd, to the book, to me. I pleaded with her silently to get up and come to me so I could get her out of that room. Mercifully, she slid from the bed and took several shaky steps toward my arms, which had lifted instinctively to reach for her.

“Oh, but there’s just one more thing,” Judd said, as if it had only now occurred to him. “See, Pop knew that Buffer here would be too much of a chickenshit to finish the job, which is why he sent me.”

“And now it’s finished,” I said. “You’ve got the ledger.”

“Right, but that’s not the end of the game.” Judd lifted the gun and pointed it straight at Tommy’s heart. “This is.”

It only took one glance between Spencer and I to work out what we’d both do. In the same instant that Judd squeezed the trigger, she grabbed his forearm and yanked it hard, and I threw myself into Tommy, sending us both crashing into the wall. The shot was deafening. Heat exploded through my upper arm before it went numb and a red stain started to creep across the fabric of my torn sleeve. Spencer clamped her teeth onto Judd’s wrist, and he shrieked. The gun flew from his hand and tumbled under the bed. He shoved Spencer back, then dived for the ledger, rolled onto the floor, and got back to his feet in one motion.

“This isn’t finished. Not by a long shot.” He ran for the door and swung it open. It slammed into my side, blocking any attempt I could make to grab him before he disappeared. I heard his car engine roar to life and the tires of the Mercedes squeal as he tore away from the motel.

“Someone will have heard that,” Spencer said, already back on her feet. She and Tommy both helped me to mine, though I barely registered what was happening. “We should go.”

“SO EXPLAIN THIS again. You two are…what? Some kind of gypsies?” Spencer asked.

I sat at the old table in Tommy’s kitchen, my bloody shirt balled in my lap. “Not—”

“Travelers,” Tommy said. He sat at one of the island’s white stools. “They…” He paused. “We call ourselves Travelers. People call us Irish gypsies but rarely in a kind way.”

“Sorry,” Spencer mumbled into the first aid kit she’d opened on the table between us.

“I think we have bigger things to worry about than ethnic insensitivity,” I said over her head. “Whatever protection you had from Pop is now gone along with Judd and the ledger.”

“I don’t think I’m the only one he was here to kill. Lucky for both of us I was smart enough to make copies.”

“That’s good for us, but since Pop doesn’t know about them, I need to get a hold of Jimmy and tell him what happened. Hopefully, he’ll be able to get Maggie somewhere safe.”

“I’ll call Maggie.” Tommy slid from the stool. “To let her know you’re safe and she and Jimmy aren’t. I’ll make arrangements for them to get up here, and we can figure out where to go from there.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear from you,” I said, looking him straight in the eye.

“And what makes you say that?”

“Your safe combination. 1031. It’s her birthday.”

Tommy gave me a long look, then nodded once.

“That’s a story I wouldn’t mind hearing sometime,” I said.

“It’s only partly my story to tell,” he said. “Maggie and I were close. I was close with both your parents, but she and I met when she first came over from Ireland. Your grandparents had already promised her to Jim though. I never really had a shot. When your dad was killed, I begged her to leave with me, but your brother was just a toddler and she was pretty far along with you. She just couldn’t imagine the kind of life you boys would have on the run.”

“I have a pretty good idea,” Spencer said, though she didn’t look at him.

Tommy winced. “Spence, I know you don’t want to hear it now, but I did what I had to keep you safe. Please understand that.”

“You’re right. I don’t want to hear it.” She ripped open a package of antibiotic ointment, her back still stubbornly turned on her father.

“So you took off and left her behind with two kids and no one to provide for her,” I said, still trying to piece together my own story.

“I wasn’t going to leave without her, but Maggie wouldn’t let me stay. She knew there’d be trouble after what happened to your dad. She told me about the ledger Michael kept, that it would give me a little cover in case he came after me.”

“It was her idea to take the book?” I couldn’t believe it. Why hadn’t she told me about all this before I left?

“It was. I wouldn’t even have known about it if she hadn’t told me.” Tommy pushed a hand through his hair. “You don’t know how many times I thought about going back for her, but I’m not sure she ever really forgave me for what happened.”

“She’s forgiven you,” I said after considering it for a second. “She didn’t want me to come up here. Tried to talk Pop out of sending anyone after you.”

Tommy almost smiled then. “Anyway, I’ll go make the call.”

I nodded my thanks. He paused in the kitchen doorway for a second and watched his daughter smooth a glob of antibiotic ointment over the gash in my arm. A pained expression twisted his features, but they soon fell into lines of resignation. He left Spencer and I alone without renewing his pleas for her forgiveness.

I closed my eyes and breathed out a heavy sigh through my nose. I concentrated on the feeling of her cool fingers moving across my skin. When she finally broke the silence, the sound of her voice made me jump.

“You and my dad were the most important people in my life, and I didn’t know either one of you.” It was a statement of fact, without any trace of the sadness I would have expected to hear.

“I know, Spence.” I opened my eyes again to watch her, though she refused to look at me just as stubbornly as she had Tommy. “But your dad really did think he was protecting you. As far as I can tell, the only thing he’s been worried about since you were born was keeping you from getting mixed up in all this.”

“Yeah, well, it didn’t work out so well, did it?” She slapped a piece of gauze over my wound, sending a sharp current of pain down my arm and up through my shoulder. I sucked air between my teeth but didn’t even think about asking her to be gentler.

“I’m sorry, Spencer. I could say it a thousand more times and it wouldn’t make up for what I’ve done, but it’s the truth. I know you’ll probably never forgive me, but—”

“Probably not.”

The corner of my mouth lifted in spite of my throbbing arm or the raw guilt I felt. “Always straight to the point, huh?”

“I couldn’t get anyone on the phone.” Tommy came back into the kitchen, a cell phone pressed to his ear. “I’ve called three times, but it just rings. Is this the right number?” He crossed the kitchen and handed a scrap of paper to me. The number for the trailer’s landline was scrawled across it, and I wondered vaguely how Tommy had it and if he’d ever used it before today.