“Norway? I thought you were from Sweden.”

“My family line started in Norway, then was moved to Sweden to help train new Ravens. By then the Crows had spread from Norway to Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Of course, the Crows were different then.”

“Different how?”

“Angrier. It was like they wanted all the Viking men dead. And if the women and children got in the way . . . they didn’t care. After a few centuries, though, we all calmed down. But the Crows still hold to their code.”

“What code?”

“They haven’t told it to you yet?” He smirked. “It’s ‘let rage be your guide.’ ”

“Rage? Let rage be your guide? That’s healthy.”

“It’s the code of the first Crows and it still stands. I’m sure they’ll teach you more about it.”

“Yeah. I’m sure,” she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. “Already I’ve learned about how my body is ill-shaped for ever being an actress and how everyone seems to like my dog better than me.”

“Why would you say that?”

“She’s already made friends and all they did with me was throw out my clipboard.”

“What were you doing with a clipboard?”

“That’s what you got out of what I said?”

“Pretty much. I am glad you brought Brodie with you.”

“Me, too. But I told . . . uh . . .”

“Skuld?”

“Right. Skuld. I told her I wouldn’t come unless Brodie was with me. I wouldn’t have left Big B alone. That dog saved my life.”

“How?”

Kera smiled a little. “By needing me. She was so sick when I found her. I had to hand-feed her the first few weeks. But then she got healthy and she needed exercise and to go outside and to be around other dogs, which meant other people. She forced me back into life. When I found her, I’d kind of given up. I was comfortable going to work, then coming home, and doing nothing more than watching TV and waiting for my next shift at whatever job I had at the moment. But that didn’t work for Brodie.”

“Was it that bad for you? When you got out of the Marines, I mean.”

Kera wiped her mouth with her paper napkin and stared out at the ocean again for a moment. “It wasn’t that I’d been through what some others had been through,” she finally said, looking at Vig as she spoke. “It’s just . . . I had lost a few of my friends, which was really hard. But that’s the risk you take, ya know? The risk we all take. But I was lucky. I came back with all my parts intact and when I was still in, I was with guys who respected and watched out for me. It was like having a bunch of big brothers covering my back. So, returning here and being a citizen . . . ? That was hard. For instance, I’d goout with a guy, and he didn’t understand why I insisted on not sitting with my back to the door.”

“Why would you sit with your back to the door?”

“Exactly! But apparently that suggested I didn’t trust the guy to watch my back, which I didn’t. He wasn’t one of my fellow Marines who had been trained just like me, who knew to keep an eye on the door even when we were having a deep discussion about something. And the few girlfriends I had before I went in, listening to them talk afterward, they all seemed so . . .”

“Vapid?”

She winced. “Kind of. And I hated feeling that way and I hated feeling like I was being a horrible person because I felt that way. I mean, they didn’t know any better. They hadn’t been out there. They hadn’t seen what I’d seen. Been where I’d been. But before I knew it, I was completely on my own. They didn’t want to deal with me any more than I wanted to deal with them. So it was just me and my job and nothing else. But then I found Brodie . . . and she watched my back. We were partners, ya know?”

“Yeah. Actually, I do. That’s how I feel about all my Raven brothers . . . even the ones who irritate the fuck out of me.”

“See?” she said, her smile wide. “I knew you got it. I could tell that when you came into the coffee shop.”

“When you thought I was brain damaged?”

“I didn’t mean that as an insult. Guys having their brains scrambled by IEDs, you know, Improvised Explosive Devices, happens more than anyone wants to admit. Your truck drives over one of those, and if you wake up with all your arms and legs intact, you still might get your brains scrambled. Suddenly everything looks like a threat. Even when you’re back home with your family. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a guy from some Oklahoma ranch who just wanted to help his country. And some guys . . . they break.”

“But you didn’t.”

“I never got my brains scrambled. But I miss the camaraderie of the Marines. I miss knowing there are guys around me watching my back.”

“But you have that now.”

“Yes,” she agreed, smiling sweetly at him. “I know you’re watching my back.”

“I don’t mean me. The Crows. They’ll always have your back.”

“Maybe. Sure!” She winced again. “I guess.”

Vig’s heart dropped. “You don’t like them either.”

“I don’t know them. But from what I’ve seen so far, they spend a lot of time at the pool, going to movie and TV auditions, and watching ridiculous reality TV. And that’s only what I’ve seen in the last few hours. And the minute I even mentioned organization, they all freaked out on me.”