“On it.”

The sisters were Rhodi and Dawn, two of Taured’s earlier converts who’d moved into the compound with him eight years before. Her mother called them loyalists, in a not-nice way. They looked like twins but got pissed if you said so. Dawn had a tattoo on the back of her hand, a mandala, as she called it—that’s the only way Summer knew how to tell them apart. Not that she needed to; she didn’t like them or the way they watched her mother with little smiles on their wiry lips. They smoked their cigarettes and leered and listened like desert snakes.

The BMW’s door opened and closed. Summer watched Sammy’s boots stir up dust as he walked the two envelopes over to Taured.

“This it?” Taured asked.

“Yup.”

“Good, go gas her up. I’m sending you out again.”

“But we just got back.” Sammy’s voice was incredulous.

Taured kept talking like he hadn’t heard the upset in Sammy’s voice. He was rattling off the next set of plans. Summer was lying in a pile of her own sweat, realizing that her mother would be gone again by morning. They always left in the night and were gone by the time everyone was up for breakfast. If she wanted to talk to her, it was going to have to be tonight.

“You’re going to Florida.”

“Man, we have to go so soon? You said there’d be a break after Minnesota, and we went on to do two more cities—”

“Lorraine is causing problems.”

There was a thick silence as Sammy reevaluated his position. Summer, who had never seen the underside of any car before today, much less two, was praying, her lips moving without sound. In her mind, she saw her mother’s pierced ears—was he referring to that or something else?

“I told you about that when we was in Saint Louis,” Sammy said. “I can’t control her on these trips. She’s getting the other women riled up, telling them they don’t need to do things—”

He was shifty; Summer could see the little traitor’s feet stirring up dirt as he sold her mother out. She let the air rush out of her nose as she ground her teeth, all praying done.

“You threatened her kid, man, she’s agitated.”

She grew stiff waiting for what Taured would say next. Her? Taured had threatened to do something to her? Summer was on edge now for several reasons: Sammy was talking to Taured with open disrespect, the type that usually received a punishment. If they fought and Sammy fell to the ground, he’d see her. But instead of an explosion, Taured’s next words were measured.

“Replace Shanna and Desiree with Frank and Chord on this trip. Remind her about Summer if she acts up again. The sins of the parents will be visited upon their children.”