Chapter 37

• The night was still heavy with secrets as Ellie brushed aside her father’s anxious arms and ran into Ricky’s waiting embrace. The air crackled with tension and unsaid words, each heartbeat echoing like the distant toll of a warning bell. Ricky’s voice, gruff and urgent as a warning shot, cut through the soft darkness.
• “Shut up!” he commanded, his tone both tender and imperious. “Talk soft. Better still_ don’t say nothin’!”
• Her father, Joe Harrington, could hardly catch his breath, his worry etched deep into the lines of his weathered face. “Ellie,” he stammered, voice trembling with a mix of fear and relief, “what has happened?”