Hailey whirled toward Nick’s voice—and finally saw the motorized skiff bouncing and bobbing just a dozen yards away. With another burst of adrenaline, she swam toward him, crossing the distance in seconds. He rose from the floor of the little boat to help her over the side, and then she collapsed next to him, her chest heaving with the effort.

At a glance, she could see he was in similar shape; breathing hard, her backpack next to him, his shoulder wrapped in a checkered towel. There was blood soaking through the towel, but he seemed mostly upright, and some color had returned to his cheeks.

“We should get you to a hospital,” Hailey said, as she found her voice between gasps.

But Nick was shaking his head, looking back toward the museum.

“She’s not going to stop coming. We need to end this.”

“I agree,” Hailey said. “First we get you fixed up—”

“No,” Nick said. “I mean we need to stop. We should call the police.”

Hailey paused. Of course, he was right. The woman had shot at her—had shot him. The smart thing to do would be to call the police, probably the FBI. There was something big going on that they were only beginning to understand, something that involved a killer and stolen art and a historical conspiracy going back hundreds of years. And the two of them were so small—a card counter and an ex-con—they were clearly in over their heads.

“They’ll lock you up,” she said. “You’ll be connected to the stolen art, and they’ll put you back in prison. They’ll take the book away, and the eagle.”

They’ll take it all away. Whatever this is, wherever it leads—they’ll take it from us.

“But we’ll be alive.”

Hailey paused again. He was right, they’d be alive. But for how long? Would the woman stop coming after them, once the police were involved? And what would happen to Hailey? Was she ready to run again? To keep running?

“It’s not enough,” she said.

“Hailey—”

“No. And it’s not about some big score, not anymore. It’s like—the first time I learned to count cards. It was a doorway to a secret world I’d never known existed. I couldn’t turn away.”