HIS NEIGHBOR WOULDN’T STOP REPORTING THE SOUND OF A GIRL CRYING INSIDE HIS HOUSE—THEN HE HID BENEATH HIS DAUGHTER’S BED AND HEARD HER PLEAD FOR SOMEONE TO SPARE HER

Thomas took Lucia to a motel first because he did not know where else to go. He felt ashamed the moment they walked into the dim room with two beds, a humming air conditioner, and thin curtains that did not close right. He had built luxury houses for men who saw their children twice a month, and now his own daughter had nowhere safe to sleep except a roadside motel.

Lucia sat on one bed with her backpack in her lap.

Thomas sat across from her.

For a long time, neither spoke.

Then Lucia said, “Are you mad at me?”