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.