“Yeah,” said Werner. “And she kept shooing that dog out of the dining room, even though we kept telling her, ‘No, don’t worry, he isn’t bothering us!’”

She burst into laughter, and Werner joined in. A warm glow flooded her body. It was glorious—the salty sea air and the wind, and Werner so close to her.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she was seized by the feeling that she was doing something wrong—a deep sense of shame.

“Is something the matter?” asked Werner. “You got so stiff.”

“I was thinking about that boy. We’re here on vacation, and he—”

He turned her around and embraced her, holding her head against his chest. “No more of that now,” he whispered. “It’s over. OK?”

She nodded, but it didn’t feel over.

4

4

He had managed to drum up two hundred five euros—not even 10 percent of what he needed. The fruits of an entire morning of phone calls and text messages. Some friends he had. Laugh with many, but don’t trust any. A few of them hadn’t bothered to reply, and the rest were either unable or unwilling to help. Rick was the only one who had been honest with him, telling him to his face, “I don’t lend money to friends—all you get is grief.” Ralf had hung up angrily.

After that, he had shaved, gotten dressed, and eaten breakfast, and he now found himself pacing back and forth in the kitchen. His parents were still in bed. He heard the muffled sound of their TV, and from time to time, his father’s voice carried through the wall.

Ralf looked at the clock on the microwave. Quarter past eleven. In forty-five minutes, he would have to report to Mikey. He caught his reflection in the shiny door of the appliance. His jaw muscles were taut, and his eyes seemed deeper in their sockets than usual. He had hardly slept. Time after time, his thoughts had led back to the same place: strangely enough, it wasn’t Mikey who scared him most. Ralf was more afraid of himself. Of what he might be capable of if things got out of hand. Jeffrey’s gun was in the drawer of his bedside table, stuffed behind a stack of car magazines. It was fully loaded. He didn’t have to take any more crap from Mikey.

His phone started to buzz. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. A message from Naomi. She’d slept at Sara’s last night. Looked like a photo was coming through. Maybe a cute selfie, or a picture of the girls having breakfast? Curious, he tapped at the screen to load it. A few moments passed before he fully understood what he was looking at. He felt the blood drain from his face.

5

5