The question jolted through her, and she reached out, grabbing hold of him. “No! No.” A month. She swallowed hard. “I got worried, and I—didn’t have anywhere else to go.” She’d said that already. She felt so stupid, so blindly trusting. And she was too late, too slow; there wasn’t enough time left. His right hand rested on her shoulder, heat seeping through her. She bit down on her lip, swallowing hard.
