‘‘Sure. I got it. I’m gone.’’ He raced out, and she watched him, heartsick.

‘‘What is it, Anna?’’ Cam put his hands on her shoulders, turned her to face him. ‘‘What happened?’’

‘‘Give me a minute. I broke records getting here, and I need some time to settle.’’ She blew out a breath, drew one in, and felt marginally steadier. ‘‘Go get your brothers, Cam.’’

‘‘Okay.’’ But he lingered, rubbing his hands over her shoulders. It was rare for her to look so shaken. ‘‘Whatever it is, we’ll fix it.’’

He walked to the cargo doors, where Ethan and Phil stood outside arguing over baseball. ‘‘Something’s up,’’ he said briefly. ‘‘Anna’s here. She sent Seth off. She’s upset.’’

She was standing by a workbench, with one of Seth’s drawing books open, when they came in. It made her eyes sting to see her own face, carefully, skillfully sketched by the young boy’s hand.

He’d been more than a case file, almost from the start. And now he was hers, as much as Ethan and Phillip were hers. Family. She couldn’t stand to think that anything or anyone would hurt her family.

But she was steadier when she turned, scanned the quiet and concerned faces of the men who’d become essential to her life. ‘‘This came in today’s mail.’’ Her hand no longer trembled as she reached into her purse and pulled out the letter.

‘‘It’s addressed to ‘The Quinns.’ Just ‘The Quinns,’ ’’ she repeated. ‘‘From Gloria DeLauter. I opened it. I thought it best, and well, my name’s Quinn now, too.’’

She offered it to Cam. Saying nothing, he took out the single sheet of lined paper and passed the envelope toPhillip.

‘‘She mailed it from Virginia Beach,’’ Phillip murmured. ‘‘We lost her in North Carolina. She’s sticking with the beaches, but coming north.’’

‘‘What does she want?’’ Ethan stuffed hands that had curled into fists into his pockets. A low, simmering rage was already pumping through his blood.

‘‘What you’d expect,’’ Cam answered shortly. ‘‘Money. ‘Dear Quinns,’ ’’ Cam read. ‘‘ ‘I heard how Ray died. It’s too bad. You might not know that Ray and me had an agreement. I think you’ll want to make good on it since you’re keeping Seth. I guess he’s pretty settled in there in that nice house. I miss him. You don’t know what a sacrifice it was for me to give him up to Ray, but I wanted what was best for my only son.’’

‘‘You ought to have your violin,’’ Phillip muttered to Ethan.

‘‘ ‘I knew Ray would be good to him,’ ’’ Cam continued. ‘‘ ‘He did right by the three of you, and Seth’s got his blood.’ ’’

He stopped reading for a moment. There it was, in black and white. ‘‘Truth or lie?’’ He looked up at his brothers.