Chapter 17
I only got the briefest of glimpses of the room filled with books and anxious-looking men before I was nearly bowled over by someone tackling me, arms wrapping tightly around my middle. My body reacted without my brain needing to summon a thought, dropping my center of gravity and planting my feet to brace against the blow.
But the arms around me weren't trying to confine me. I was getting hugged. Almost uncomfortably tightly, but still. I looked down and recognized Coco's dark head.
"Coco?" I said.
She hugged me tighter. Then I saw Charlotte standing behind her, looking at me through narrowed eyes. I patted Coco's shoulder, and she finally let me go.
"I'm sorry." She didn't so much whisper as just mouth the words.
"For what?" I asked, but she just shook her head sorrowful
