Don't Look Down

Chapter 8

Wilder was standing in the dark at the edge of the forest when Armstrong caught up to him, tripping on a root just as she reached him so that he had to catch her, the first time he'd ever touched her. "Slow down," he told her, keeping his mind on the mission.

"Slow down?" She grabbed on to him. "Moot's in there."

She was shaking under his hands, and he held on to her a moment too long, trying to make her calm. "I'm thinking." Trying to think like a five-year-old girl. "Moot's in the swamp, not the forest. As long as Pepper stays on dry ground, she'll be okay."

For the first time since he'd met her, Armstrong lost her cool, clutching him tighter. "We have to get in there, she could be in danger-"

"Wait."

"No."

"Stop it," he said, his voice sharp, and her head jerked up. "You're panicking."

"But…" She drew in a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. No panicking. What do we do?"

Wilder wanted to say, You go back to base camp and III go into the forest, but he knew that she wouldn't. "If you're coming with me, you're coming as part of the team, not as a crazy aunt, understand?"

"Yes," Armstrong said, meeting his eyes, and he saw raw fear there, barely under control, and tightened his grip on her.

"You stay behind me," he said quietly, trying to calm her down. "You watch my back, and if you see Pepper, you do not go rushing to her until I tell you to."

She swallowed and nodded. "All right. Yes."

Her voice was steadier, low again, and he let go of her and turned back to the road, figuring there was a fifty-fifty chance she'd follow orders.

Okay, Pepper was looking for a mole and she'd gone into the forest. Probably looking on the ground, in the bushes…

He walked into the woods, moving low, trying to see what she had seen, circling the base camp in a clockwise direction, searching in the dusky light for clues. He could feel Armstrong, silent behind him, staying close, and that was good. He came to an old dirt trail that headed deeper into the forest and paused. A kill zone-that's what a road like this would be taught as in Ranger School. But what would the pathway underneath the overhanging oak trees and the Spanish moss be to a five-year-old?

An invitation to a mole hunt.

Wilder went to his knees and crawled out onto the road, searching as much with his hands as his eyes in the dim reflected light from the camp. He felt Pepper's track, the faintest imprint. He lightly ran the tip of his forefinger along the dirt, getting the impression. Then he felt another. She had been heading down the road, away from the camp.

Wilder got to his feet. "She went this way."

"I'll get a flashlight," Armstrong said.

"No. Ruins your night vision. I know this road. I parked my Jeep down there, off to the left away from the swamp. If we're lucky, that's where she went, to the left, into the forest."

"Why-" Lucy started to say, but then she stopped. "You're sleep-ins out here instead of the hotel."

Wilder nodded and began to move down the trail, eyes shifting left and right, trying to see it there was a point at which the little girl had left the trail, which he sincerely hoped she had not since there was swamp-and Moot-like creatures-to the right. Left would be better. Forest. Safer.

Mole hunting, jeez. Wilder guessed that kids Pepper's age took things literally, something he'd have to take into account in the future.

"Let me call for her," Armstrong whispered from behind him. "She'll come if I call."

"No. I'm listening. Sound is more important at night than seeing." And you don't know what else is out there.

He moved forward once more, taking short steps, eyes shifting, looking off-center of his pupils where the night vision was better. A small Hash of orange caught his eye and he stepped closer to it. A Fritos wrapper hung on a palmetto branch. On the right side of the trail, of course. "What was that fairy tale where someone left a trail of bread crumbs?"

"Hansel and Gretel."

Wilder pointed at the wrapper. "I assume Pepper knows it."

Armstrong reached out for the wrapper, but Wilder grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Best leave it if Pepper put it there."

Wilder shifted his focus to what was ahead. He pushed into the undergrowth and then he heard a soft popping sound, wrong for the forest, wrong for the swamp. "Stay ten yards behind me," he whispered to Armstrong and moved ahead, and as soon as he was clear of her vision, he drew the Glock. The ground went down ever so slightly and soon he was in a mixture of trees and swamp-bell, swamp- decorated every few yards with a Fritos or Cheetos bag. He kept the Clock extended in front of him with his gun hand and placed his off arm, bent at the elbow, in front of his face to protect his eyes from branches and leaves. It was getting dark. Damn dark, Wilder thought. But the popping sound had not come again. Was that good?

He thought of Pepper alone in this place. What the hell had she been thinking? Did five-year-olds think? Wilder was in uncharted territory as far as the nature of his mission objective. He moved his feet carefully, stepping over the soggy ground without making a noise, in hunter mode.

He heard another popping sound and then something large and heavy splashed through the water for several seconds before silence ruled once again.

The damn gator.

But not Pepper. No way the gator got her. She would have screamed. But he still felt the adrenaline pumping and something else-fear. Not for himself, but for Pepper, and it was a disturbing feeling because he had never experienced fear for another person.

Damn kid.

He took another cautious step and saw Moot, the upper half of her body out of the swamp, resting on a spit of dry land, her head going back and forth as if looking for something. Wilder took a step closer and stumbled on something soft, hitting the ground and rolling to avoid falling on Pepper.

Moot swung her head in their direction and Wilder froze. If she went for them, would the Glock stop her? He was aiming it when something hit the water in the swamp and Moot swung her head around, back in the direction he'd come from. Something else splashed, and then Wilder saw a good-sized rock bounce off Moot's back. He followed the trajectory and saw a shadowy figure about fifteen feet away and realized what was going on.

Lucy was distracting the gator from him and Pepper. She was risking her fool neck, but by God, she had his back. She had a damn good arm, too, he saw as she pitched another rock at Moot.

Hell of a woman, he thought, and crawled back to Pepper, keeping an eye on Moot and his hand on his Glock in case the gator decided to head for Lucy. When Moot stayed where she was, he put his hand gently on Pepper's back, on top of her Wonder Woman cape. "Hey. P.L., you okay?" he whispered.

''Shh," Pepper whispered, staring into the swamp. "M-moot."

"I see her." And she was too damn close, Wilder thought. Less than fifteen feet away, just some thick underbrush between her and their location, probably the same distance from Armstrong. Wilder felt Pepper shivering under his hand. He had to get them both out of there fast.

"She's protecting her nest." Pepper pointed, her finger shaking, her foil-and-duct-tape bracelets reflecting the little moonlight that filtered through the trees.

Wilder peered into the dark. Through the brush and palmetto bushes he saw a mound, about three feet high, about ten feet behind Moot.

''She's dangerous when she's protecting her eggs," Pepper whispered in a wavering voice.

Wilder put his hand once more on her back, taken off guard at how small and fragile she felt. "That's okay. I'm dangerous when I'm protecting you."

Pepper looked up at him. "Really?"

Ah shit, Wilder thought and then froze.

There was something else out there, moving just once, not natural, wrong, something bad, something worse than Moot. Nothing Wilder could pin down to confirm that feeling, but he was absolutely sure of it. Pepper's ghost, he thought. And if Pepper hadn't been lying next to him, he'd have gone and tracked down whoever or whatever it was. But she was right next to him, and she was scared. And that gator was too close and too on edge.

And Armstrong was out there alone.

"Let's go," Wilder said quietly. "Your aunt is worried."

He got to his feet and saw Armstrong standing ten feet away now, as ordered, absolutely still. He knew she must have wanted to run to Pepper, but she hadn't. Teamwork.

Pepper got up, and he shepherded her behind him as he backed away, blocking her from Moot. When they reached Armstrong, she snatched up Pepper, wrapping her arms around the little girl, and he pulled her close with one arm, keeping Pepper between them as he whispered in her ear. "Moot is right there. Take her. I'll be a little while."

"No," she whispered back. "I'm not leaving you alone in here."

"Get her out now," Wilder said, his voice flat, and Armstrong hesitated and then turned for the road.

Wilder shifted his attention back to the swamp as he heard the strange, light popping noise again. Another pop and then all hell broke loose as Moot surged out of the water in their direction. Wilder brought up the Glock, but then he heard a third pop, and Moot slammed to a halt, swinging around to look in the other direction.

Armstrong was moving for the road, Pepper in her arms. Wilder stayed, gun at the ready, watching Moot watch something behind her. Minutes passed and yet the sounds of the low-country night did not return to normal.

There was a sudden splash and Wilder saw Moot turn and dive into the water heading back to her nest.

Time to go.

He backtracked toward base camp, not sure what was going on in the swamp but damn sure he didn't like any of it, and even more sure that whatever it was, it was not going to touch Pepper or Lucy Armstrong.

Lucy walked down the center of the road as fast as she could, Pepper's foil bracelets scratching her neck and Wilder a silent, comforting presence behind them.

"I'm sorry," Pepper whispered into her neck.

"Not your fault," Lucy whispered back, not knowing if gators attacked people for talking and not wanting to find out. "It was my fault, I forgot your party."

"I just wanted everybody to be happy," Pepper said miserably. "Mom and you were fighting, and I thought a party would make you happy-"

"Oh, God, Pepper, we're so sorry." She held the little girl tighter. There was light ahead, the glow from the base-camp lights, and the green darkness of the swamp and woods ending, and Lucy picked up speed, almost running.

"-And I wanted more Wonder Woman stuff," Pepper said and sobbed once before she caught herself.

"I'll get you more," Lucy said, stricken with guilt. "I will fix everything."

Pepper sniffed. "Really?"

"Yes."

Pepper sniffed again. "That's what J.T. said."

"He did?" They reached the edge of the woods and Lucy glanced back at Wilder, who was watching the dark forest.

"He said he was dangerous when he was protecting me, just like Moot was dangerous when she was protecting her eggs."

"Does that make you J.T.'s egg?" Lucy said, and Pepper giggled and then sniffed. She's okay, Lucy thought. Thank you, thank you, she's okay.

Then they came out into the open, and Gloom yelled, "Lucy's got her!" and people began to converge on them, makeup and wardrobe and grips and camera people, Althea and Bryce, everybody crowding around under the lights.

"Wow," Pepper said, cheering up at all the attention.

Gloom took her out of Lucy's arms and hugged her, getting tangled in her blue cape in the process. "Don't you ever do that again, young lady."

"I won't," Pepper said, and then Estelle from wardrobe grabbed her and hugged her, too, as Daisy pushed through the crowd and saw Pepper and burst into tears.

"Okay," Lucy said, cheerfully. "Into the camper."

Estelle put Pepper into Daisy's arms while Lucy turned back to the crowd.

"We are so grateful for your help," she said, putting as much feeling as she could into her voice. ''It means so very much. Thank you very, very much."

"Is she okay?" Mary Vanity asked, her heavily outlined eyes avid, trying to see Pepper as Daisy carried her toward the camper, hugging her the whole time.

"She got a little scared," Lucy said. "There was a gator."

"Moot?" Althea said from behind Mary. "Oh, no." She looked after Pepper with real sympathy on her face. "She must have been terrified."

"She's a tough little kid," Lucy said. "Everything is fine now." Or it's going to be, she thought grimly and headed for the camper.

"Hey," Gloom said to her and she stopped. "Real story?"

Lucy spoke low. "She was scared because all the adults were acting like idiots so she wanted to make sure there was a party tomorrow night and everybody would be happy."

Gloom shook his head. "We have to get her out of here."

"Working on it," Lucy said.

"Can I assume Captain Wilder was a big help?"

"Captain Wilder is a fucking hero," Lucy said, looking over at the edge of the trees, where Wilder stood still as a shadow, looking back into the woods, still protecting them. Oh, God, she thought as her heart thumped, do not get suckered into another one of those guys. You learned your lesson with Connor.

Gloom nodded. "He sounds like Will Kane."

"Give it a rest," Lucy said and turned toward the camper, only to stop when Gloom grabbed her braid and tugged on it. "Ouch?"

"Tell the nice hero thank you," Gloom said, and Lucy pulled her braid from his hand, took a deep breath, nodded, and went toward Wilder, determined to be grateful but businesslike.

"Thank you," she said when she reached Wilder, and he turned, looking surprised.

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, thank you very much." Lucy tried to say more and then realized she was shaking. "Look at me," she said, appalled. "I'm a mess."

"Delayed reaction," Wilder said. "You were tough when you needed to be. That was a good thing you did with the rocks."

His matter-of-factness undid her. Lucy held out her hands, trembling. "That alligator was right there."

"Shhhh," he said, moving closer, broad and solid in the darkness, and without meaning to she leaned against him, her forehead on his shoulder, her hands on his chest, so grateful he was there, she didn't care that she was shaking. He put his arms around her without hesitation, and she was grateful for that, too, more than grateful; it seemed like forever, maybe never, since anybody had held her and made her feel taken care of. He patted her awkwardly on the back, clumsy but sincere, and it felt so good that she sniffed into his collar.

"I'm sorry," she said, not really sorry at all as long as his arms were around her. "I'm not a wimp, I'm really not." But I could learn to be if it gets me this.

"No, you aren't," he said, "you were great in there," and she felt tears well up and relaxed against him until she remembered Pepper saying she'd just wanted them all to stop fighting.

She pulled away. "Don't be nice to me," she said, as he dropped his arms. "It's my fault she went in there. I was so caught up in all this movie mess that I didn't see her go-"

"None of us saw," Wilder said. "Jeez, lighten up."

Lucy started to laugh, blinking back tears. " 'Jeez'?"

"You did good in there," Wilder said, clearly ill at ease. "You backed me up, you were there when we needed you, you completed your mission."

"Oh." Lucy smeared tears away with her fingertips, hating that she was making him uncomfortable. "I'm a good soldier." Well, that was something.

"No," Wilder said, looking flustered. "I didn't mean… I meant you're a good wingman."

"Oh." She sniffed and nodded, trying to be chipper. "Wingman. That's great. Thank you." Get away from the poor guy before he hates

you for being so wet. She took a step back, not wanting to go, wanting to know she'd see him again off the set. "Uh, listen, we're having a Wonder Woman party for Pepper tomorrow night. Pepper would really love it if you'd come." I'd really love it if you'd come and I swear I won't cry.

"I'll be there," Wilder said.

Lucy nodded until she felt like that stupid Wonder Woman bobble-head. Then she jerked her thumb toward the camper. "I have to go. You know. Pepper."

"Right." Wilder nodded to the woods. "Me too."

"Right." Lucy took another step back and tripped, and Wilder lunged forward and caught her, steadying her with his hands again, which she liked a lot more than she should have. "Jeez," she said, her voice bright as he let go. "Tree roots."

"Well, it is a forest," Wilder said.

"Yes, it is," Lucy said and thought, Kill me now. "So, uh…"

"Party tomorrow," Wilder said.

"And stunts," Lucy said, brightly. "You know, you, falling out of a helicopter on a cable."

"No problem." He was fading back into the trees as he spoke, almost disappearing, and Lucy felt twelve again, digging her toe in the dirt and watching some sixth-grade boy go home, wishing he would stay.

"Yeah," she said, almost to herself. "No problem."

She turned and went back to Gloom feeling worn out and stupid and happy, which made no sense whatsoever. Her life was a mess, for crying out loud.

"Hey," Gloom said when she joined him. "What do you need me to get for this party tomorrow?"

"A Wonder Woman cake," Lucy said, looking back at the woods. "And a Wonder Woman Barbie." She faced him. "You got time to get that?"

"I'll make time," Gloom said, determination on his long face. "That kid gets her party."

"Why aren't you straight?" Lucy said, putting her arms around his waist. "I could live happily with you for the rest of my life."

"No, you couldn't," Gloom said into her hair as he held her close. "You need somebody who'll fight back and have sex with you. Which brings us to Captain Wilder the fucking hero. I think you should stop holding out."

Lucy let go of him before she betrayed herself. "We have to get back to work. But extend second meal for another half an hour. We've got the time and I need it right now."

"Daisy?" Gloom said.

"Yeah," Lucy said.

"Okay, family first," Gloom said. "But don't forget the hero, will you?"

"Not a chance," Lucy said and headed for the camper.

In the forest, Wilder was searching his brain. He'd heard that popping noise before, in some other place at some other time, but his mind couldn't process it. Too many females around, muddling his brain. Pepper and Lucy Armstrong. What a pair.

Especially Armstrong, coming unglued there at the end. Never thought he'd be patting her on the back while she sniffed into his collar. That had been, well, pretty damn good, actually. She'd felt great against him. And Pepper, trusting him like that in the swamp, that was-

Something moved in the trees and Wilder froze. A bird flew out of the brush and he relaxed again.

It hadn't been a bird in the swamp with Pepper.

Nash? The stuntman hadn't been in the base camp, but Wilder saw no reason the Australian would be messing with the alligator, especially with Pepper close by. He really seemed to care about Pepper. As he pondered it, Wilder saw no reason for anyone to be out in the swamp. Except that Pepper had seen a ghost.

Someone moved outside the trees. "Wilder?" Gloom called out.

"Right here." Wilder moved out of the woods and nodded toward the camper. "They okay?"

"Lucy's in charge, they'll be okay," Gloom said. " Thanks. For Pepper."

Wilder nodded, surprised. All these people, thanking him. What did they think, that he'd go out for a beer while they searched?

"Yeah, I know, you'd have done it for anybody," Gloom said. "Listen, about Lucy…"

"Yeah?" Wilder said cautiously.

"She's really special."

Wilder nodded.

Gloom shook his head. "No, really special. You know how some people see the glass as half full and some see it as half empty?"

What the hell?

"Well, Lucy looks at it and says, 'Somebody forgot to fill the damn glass,' and then makes sure it's filled up for everybody else." He looked back toward the camper. "But this time she's out of her league. You know?"

"Yeah," Wilder said, feeling sorry for him. The poor guy had no idea how far out. If he knew about the CIA, he'd probably have Armstrong's butt back in New York with the dogs by now.

"She's going to try to fix it all on her own," Gloom was saying. "Lucy's not good at asking for help."

"Okay," Wilder said, not following.

"But she thinks you're great," Gloom said. "Says you're a fucking hero."

Wilder didn't know how to react to that. "She was pretty good in there herself." A fucking hero? Damn.

Gloom nodded. "I love her a lot. Take care of my girl, will you?" Then he walked away.

Wilder watched him go, perplexed. That had been strange. Still, she thought he was a hero. That was pretty good. Wilder remembered LaFavre, talking the previous afternoon, saying, "Women are usually real grateful to heroes." Lucy Armstrong, grateful. That would be something.

Then he shook himself. Like Althea hadn't been enough trouble. Of course, she had acted like he ought to be grateful, like she'd done him a big favor and he owed her, which made him glad he was camping out in the woods. Mind back on the mission.

It hadn't been Nash in the swamp playing ghost, it hadn't been anybody from the movie; they'd all have rescued Pepper. Which left the only other players in the game.

Wilder got out his cell phone as he made his way to his Jeep, punching in the numbers. When Crawford answered, he said, ''Meet me at the diner in fifteen."

"I can't-"

"The fuck you can't," Wilder said and turned off the phone.

When Lucy got into the camper, Daisy was sobbing and Pepper was breathing hard, her eyes wide with fear.

"I'm so sorry," Pepper said, her little chest heaving as she clutched at her mother, "I'm really sorry," and Daisy cried harder, sobs shaking her thin frame, her pale face blotchy under her blond frizz.

"Okay, that's it," Lucy said sharply as Daisy began to hyperventilate. Her cries got louder, and Pepper's eyes got wider and she began to whimper.

Lucy got a glass from her cupboard, filled it with water, and threw it in Daisy's face.

Daisy jerked back and stared at her, eyes wide as the water matted her hair and dripped off her face, drawing in sharp breaths but not sobbing anymore.

"You are scaring your daughter," Lucy said gently, and Daisy turned to look at Pepper, now almost rigid with fear and guilt.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry." Daisy hugged her close, breathing hard but holding back the cries.

"It's all my fault," Pepper wailed into her chest.

"No," Lucy said. "It was nobody's fault, it was a misunderstanding because we didn't talk to each other." She stared at her sister until Daisy met her eyes. "So from now on, we're talking."

They sat in silence, Daisy rocking Pepper in the swivel chair until the little girl's breathing slowed and her body relaxed. When Lucy was sure Pepper was asleep, she stood up and held out her arms.

"Give her to me, I'll put her on the bed," she told Daisy, and Daisy stood up, staggering a little under Pepper's weight, and handed her over.

Lucy put Pepper on the bed and covered her with her blue-checkered quilt and then stood looking at her for a moment. She could have been gone in an instant, so little. It was a miracle they'd found her in time. No, not a miracle. Thank God for J. T. Wilder, she thought, and held on to her feelings with both hands. He was a good guy, a great guy, but that was all.

Then she got two root beers out of the fridge and sat down across from Daisy.

Daisy looked like hell.

"Here." Lucy handed her a root beer. "Now, you're going to tell me everything. I was being patient and tactful, but that's over. You're in trouble and Pepper knows it and you can't take much more and neither can she. You tell me everything now."

"I can't," Daisy said, her voice a whisper.

"I won't go to the police," Lucy said, and Daisy looked up sharply. "That's what you're worried about, isn't it? That whatever Connor's gotten you into is illegal-" Daisy started to protest and Lucy held up her hand. "Forget it, I know it's Connor. He's suckered you into something and you're afraid you'll end up in jail. Well, it's not gonna happen. Not on my shoot. Gloom wouldn't stand for it."

Daisy smiled weakly and Lucy said, "Tell me."

Daisy sighed. "The backer, Finnegan. He's using the movie as a front for something. Connor won't tell me what, but it's about that helicopter. He paid me to keep my mouth shut about the changes, about how there's no continuity in the script."

"Helicopter," Lucy said, thinking back to the script. "Explosions. Armored car. Are they planning to really rob an armored car?"

"I don't know." Daisy slumped back in her chair, misery personified. "According to the script it's happening on the bridge. And there's a speedboat, it's supposed to be under the bridge for safety, but Doc slipped and said he's supposed to take it into the swamp." She swallowed hard. "Connor gave me fifty thousand dollars to keep quiet, Lucy."

"Oh," Lucy said, knowing exactly what that kind of money would mean to Daisy, to any single mother.

"And he said there'd be another fifty thousand after it's over. I want that money," Daisy said, the old stubborn look in her eye. Then her face softened and her lips quivered again. "But there's something wrong, I knew it was going to go wrong, I knew whatever it was, was so big that it had to be illegal. And then Lawton died and everybody quit, but I can't, I need the rest of the money, and…" She held out her shaking hand. "I was like this. So Connor got me something to calm me down."

"I'm going to kill him," Lucy said, grateful to have a concrete goal.

"No, no, he was good to me," Daisy said, her eyes pleading. "He helped me. Don't say anything to him, I really need the money." She leaned forward. "Lucy, a hundred thousand would be enough to support me and Pepper for a long while. Years. I can go to school and be a teacher, I'm a good teacher, Pepper's learned a lot."

"I know," Lucy said, thinking, Jesus, all she wants is a teaching degree? "Look, I can help you get that-"

"I want to do it on my own," Daisy said. "No more getting bailed out by my big sister. All that money you've sent me over the years, I'll never be able to pay it back-"

"Those weren't loans," Lucy said, appalled. "I don't want you to-"

"I want to," Daisy said, her voice rising. "I want to be strong, I want Pepper to look at me the way she looks at you. She thinks you really are Wonder Woman."

Lucy waved that away. "That's just an aunt thing. She doesn't see me enough to know I'm just like everybody else. Hell, if you could have seen me fifteen minutes ago-"

"You're not like everybody else," Daisy said, misery in her voice. "You are Wonder Woman. You always have been."

"Daisy-"

"I want to be for Pepper what you were for me," Daisy said. "And if I go to college, if I get a job, a real job, not a movie job, with a real home for Pepper, no moving around, then she'll see-"

"We'll make it happen," Lucy said. "We'll do it together, just like we used to. Remember? Stuck like glue to each other."

"Not if I'm in jail," Daisy wailed.

"Okay." Lucy patted her hand. "You're not going to jail. I'll just find some good reason to cancel the shoot on Thursday. That way, whatever it is won't happen."

"They won't let you," Daisy said, her voice sobby. "Connor will do it anyway. And I think Finnegan would do anything he had to. They're driven, Lucy, it's big, big money. Millions."

"Uh huh," Lucy said, thinking fast. "Okay, we've still got all day tomorrow and most of the day Thursday to work this out. We don't shoot until after dark on Thursday. So I can still fix this."

"How?" Daisy began to cry. "If I go to jail, will you take care of Pepper?"

"No," Lucy said, "because the only way you're going to jail is over my dead body. But Gloom will take her. They can watch High Noon and sing 'Us Amazonians' together."

"It's not a joke, Lucy," Daisy said through her tears. "You can't fix it this time. These guys are pros, they have guns, you can't fight them."

"The hell I can't." Well, guns. That might be beyond her. "Okay, maybe I can't alone, but I have a secret weapon.' Lucy tried to make her voice light. "He's a pain in the butt, but he's good with guns."

Daisy sat up, blinking tears away. "You can't tell Wilder. Connor is furious about him. He's afraid he'll snoop around and find out what's going on."

"I'll play it by ear," Lucy said.

"Lucy, you can't" Daisy said.

"Look, don't tell me how to save you, just trust me that I will, okay?" Lucy ducked her head down to look into her sister's face. "Have I ever failed you?"

Daisy shook her head as the tears started to roll down her cheeks again.

"Well, I'm not going to start now." Lucy got up and put her arms around her.

Daisy collapsed against her and cried, but it was different this time, a sort of worn-out relief spending itself in tears, not hysteria. "I just wanted to do it myself," she said, but all the fight had gone out of her.

"I will fix it," Lucy said into Daisy's ear. "I swear I will. I will. And then we will go back to New York and put Pepper in school and you can go to college and we will be a family again. I will fix everything."

"All right," Daisy said, exhausted, a dead weight against Lucy's side.

Lucy held on, patting her, and tried to make a plan.

For a start, she needed backup.

Definitely]. T. Wilder, she thought and closed her eyes.