Chapter 3
THANKING HER RESCUER WAS possibly the most important thing on Audrey’s list. To finally be able to do it, even if she couldn’t really express what it meant to her, felt amazing. So did being in his arms. She’d expected a perfunctory squeeze, at most. But he’d hugged her back, and what had been meant as a simple thank you had turned into an embrace. Had she ever really let anyone hold her? Not like this. This whole thing had gone on way longer than she’d intended because…well, he seemed to need it. She knew grief and pain, and she’d recognized it in his face. If a simple hug would help even a little bit, who was she to deny him?
He seemed to register the weirdness a few moments after she did. They broke apart, an awkward disentangling of limbs. Audrey didn’t know what to do. She
