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“That was more than ten years ago, Vinnie!”

“So? You think the people who really love you are ever gonna forget the expression on your face? You think they’re ever gonna forget the sound of you cryin’ like you’d never stop?”

Lucy massaged her temples, her brother’s long-distance challenge echoing in her ears. She didn’t expect him to understand. She didn’t expect anybody to understand. How could she, given the tenuousness of her own grasp of what had happened and why?

She’d made a lot of mistakes on the night in question. Turning tail and retreating into the protective custody of her family had been the worst.

There was an awful irony about what she’d done. She’d expended a great deal of time and energy trying to persuade her many male relatives that she was more than capable of standing up for herself in what they universally agreed was a man’s world. But when push came to shove, she’d behaved as though her spine were made of over-cooked linguini.

For the first time in her life, she’d acted like a victim. Like a helpless, hapless female.

And she’d been paying for it ever since.

Lucy glanced at her watch. It was nearly half past five. Time for her to be off. She rose to her feet and began gathering up her things. Her purse. Her coat. Her scarf. The files she needed to—

The telephone on her desk started to ring. Every instinct Lucy had warned her that the individual on the other end of the line was one of her brothers. Or maybe one of her uncles, depending on how efficient the Falco grapevine was on this particular evening.

She hesitated for a moment, then made up her mind. “I love you, guys,” she said to the still-ringing phone. “But I’ll talk to you next year.”

She dashed out before she had a chance to relent.

Gulliver’s Travels was located in a small four-story building with a central lobby. The guard behind the security desk—a skinny guy with a mustache—leaped to his feet as she came around the corner, heading toward the main exit.