Easier to make, Lucy thought. "Well, headbands are better. They'll hold our hair back for us. You can take the action figure with you to wardrobe tomorrow and show them." I'm going to have to wear a Wonder Woman headband.

"Headbands are better because they hold our hair back when we're fighting crime," Pepper said.

"Exactly," Lucy said, thinking of Finnegan. "So about that root beer-"

Stephanie opened the door of the camper and said, "You'd better see this."

What now? Lucy thought and stood up, letting Pepper slide off her lap before she went to the door.

Bryce and Wilder were standing there under the base-camp lights, Bryce looking like a kid who was waiting to get grounded and Wilder looking like hell. "What?"

Stephanie jerked her head toward Bryce, and Lucy looked at him closer.

The side of his face was red and starting to swell.

"What the…" Lucy came down the step to look at him more closely, Pepper right behind her.

"It was my fault," Bryce said. "I went into the bar, I-"

"This was a bar fight?" Lucy said, incredulous.

"We didn't start it," Bryce said. "This guy spilled-"

"We?" Lucy looked at Wilder. "Bryce generally doesn't get into bar

fight."

"Lucy," Bryce said.

"Could I see you in my camper, Captain Wilder?" Lucy said, and Wilder turned and went up the step without a word.

"Lucy. "Bryce grabbed her arm as she started to follow him, and she turned and glared at him, but he didn't let go. "No, it was my fault. I took him there. I picked out the bar. I wanted a tough place. For the movie."

"There's no bar in the movie."

"No, but Brad would go into that kind of bar. It was research."

Lucy shook her head, too mad to argue. "Stephanie, take Bryce to makeup and have them put arnica on his face, and then take Pepper back to Daisy, please."

"No," Pepper moaned. "I want to stay with you and J.T."

"Bryce, find out from them what you have to do to look decent tomorrow. We'll have to shoot you from the left tomorrow if it's noticeable."

"That's not my good side," Bryce said.

"It is now," Lucy said and went back into the camper.

Wilder was sitting at the table when she went in, his hands pressed flat against the surface.

Lucy cut Kirsty off on the iPod and stood in front of him with her arms folded. "Captain Wilder, are you trying to kill this movie?"

Wilder shook his head once, not meeting her eyes, his rugged face in profile to her.

Lucy stared at him, willing him to look at her. "Why in the name of God did you let him go into that bar?"

"His choice," Wilder said.

Lucy bent over the table, determined to get his attention. "Look at me, Wilder. Take some responsibility here. Bryce wouldn't know a dangerous bar if it had a dangerous bar sign out front. You would. Why did you let him go in there?" When he didn't answer, she said, ''Look at me, damn it. "

He turned his head and she looked into his eyes and saw misery, bone deep.

She straightened, thinking, What the hell happened? His eyes went back to the table, and she went over to the cupboard and got out her emergency kit: a bottle of eighteen-year-old Glenlivet and two glasses. She put the glasses on the table, poured a shot into each, and sat down, sliding one across to him.

He picked up the glass and she saw his hand shake, not much but not steady.

He's vulnerable, she thought. Who knew?

He tossed back the scotch and put the glass on the table again, and she poured another shot. The third time seemed to do it; the rigidity went out of his shoulders and the hand that held the glass stopped trembling.

When Wilder spoke, his voice was low. "It wasn't a dangerous bar when we went in. Three guys came in after. They were the dangerous part."

"What happened?"

He swallowed. "I crippled a man."

Lucy drew back, knowing from the way he said it that "crippled" wasn't a figure of speech.

"One of the three," Wilder said. "He pulled a knife. It wasn't a good knife, but it had a sharp edge."

Lucy thought about what a knife could have done to him and crossed her arms in front of her.

"He never got near Bryce," Wilder said.

Lucy shook her head. "It's not-"

"I'm sorry about screwing things up for tomorrow," Wilder said, and Lucy thought, The hell with tomorrow.

She picked up her glass to drink and then on second thought offered it to Wilder, and his hand covered hers as he took it, warm, still a little shaky. She waited a moment to let go of the glass, looking into his eyes. "It's all right. I get it now." She smiled at him. "Thank you for saving Bryce's butt."

He nodded and took the drink.

"So how did the fight happen?" she said. "Did somebody recognize Bryce?"

"No." Wilder tossed back the shot and then leaned back, looking more thoughtful than bleak now, relaxing by millimeters. "Those three guys just started it."

"Why?" Lucy said. "Did Bryce say something?"

"Well, he didn't fit in real well," Wilder said. "But they were looking for trouble."

"And Bryce looked like trouble to them?"

Wilder shook his head.

"They were looking for you," Lucy said, her heart sinking. "Finnegan said he wanted you gone. I didn't think he meant permanently."

"Maybe, but that's a stretch," Wilder said. "It's all right."

"It's not all right, there was a knife, they could be waiting in your room for you right now-" She stopped when Wilder shook his head.

"I won't be in the room anymore."

That was the second time he'd said that. Was he leaving? Lucy nodded, going for nonchalant. "Where will you be? In case we need you for a stunt. Or something."

"Around. Don't worry about it. I'll be close." He relaxed into the plush chair, evidently in no hurry to get to his mysterious place, his eyes almost warm now, and she was treacherously glad he'd be close.

Don't be stupid. She poured herself a drink and sipped it. "You know," she said, as the warm glow of the scotch spread, "this shoot was already a mess, and now I've got Finnegan, and you had this bar fight. I thought it was just a management screwup, but now I think there's something very wrong here." Daisy wouldn't be upset about bad management. It has to be more than that.

"Maybe," Wilder was saying. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know," Lucy said. "But my sister is involved in it, and I like her a lot, so I'm going to have to stop it."

Wilder straightened a little. "Pepper's mother is involved?"

Lucy nodded.

"Tell me about it," he said, completely focused on her now.

The temptation was great. She sipped her scotch and watched him, alert and still across from her. He looked powerful, certain. If things went very wrong, he'd be a very good person to have on her side. "I think Connor roped Daisy into whatever it is that's going on. I don't know how. Stephanie says the old director was behind the deal with Finnegan, but I think it was Connor. And Daisy follows Connor without question; he's been looking out for her since Pepper was born." Lucy met his eyes and flushed. "I know, I should have been the one taking care of her, but-"

He looked confused. "I didn't say that."

"Well, I should have been there for her." Lucy drank more of her scotch, relaxing as it sank into her bones. "I should have gotten her away from Connor, I knew that. I just didn't want to fight with her. It was her life. But I swear I had no idea Connor would do something that would hurt her. Connor cares about her and Pepper; Daisy's always been like his little sister and I'd have sworn he wouldn't hurt them."

Wilder still looked confused. "I thought you lived in New York."

Lucy stopped, jarred out of her rationalization. "I do, but that's not the other side of the planet. I chose to go to New York, I could have gone to L.A. with them-"