Page 146 of Vacation Friends

“I know . . . I know.” Maddie’s voice cracked as she said the words.

The reality of everything that had happened crashed on her.

She’d come so close to death.

Even though she didn’t want to marry Josh, she didn’t want to see his life end this way.

Just as her knees started to buckle, arms reached around her.

Brody.

But he wasn’t subduing her as he had Adrienne.

No, he held her up.

This time, she didn’t resist.

Maddie buried her head in his chest as her muscles went totally limp.

Two hours later, Maddie and Brody were still on the cliffs.

Someone had put a blanket around them. Paramedics had checked her out. Police had arrested Adrienne.

And the search party was still out there trying to find Josh.

How could he just be gone like that?

She’d heard someone say something about a strong undercurrent tonight.

Had the ocean pulled him out to sea that quickly?

When everyone left them alone for a minute, Maddie turned to Brody. “How did you know?”

“I thought something might be up, so I tried to follow Adrienne. But I lost her. I kept wandering around, and I finally found you guys.”

Gratitude filled her. “I’m so glad you came when you did. If you hadn’t shown up, it would be an entirely different situation right now.”

“I’m glad I got here when I did.”

She pressed her eyes closed as she realized all the things she needed to say to him—the apologies she needed to make. “What you told me about Adrienne was the truth. I’m so sorry I questioned you. Adrienne told me the two of you were still together and made it sound like you were a player.”

“It was a lot to take in,” he murmured. “Adrienne . . . she has some issues. It’s why we broke up. She was sweet when I met her the first time. But as we got to know each other, something about her didn’t seem right. It seemed off, you know?”

“Like what?”

“She would just go ballistic over seemingly minor things. When one of her friends got the apartment that Adrienne had also been trying to get, I caught Adrienne trying to sabotage her friend by charging up her credit cards so she’d have bad credit. That’s when I knew we were done.”

She soaked in everything he said. “So why did you come here with her?”

He let out a long breath. “A year ago, my sister was killed by her husband. It was right before Adrienne and I met. It tore me up knowing what had happened to her. Knowing I hadn’t been able to stop it.”

He paused and Maddie gave him a minute to collect his thoughts. Moisture glimmered in his gaze.

He licked his lips and continued. “Adrienne mentioned to me that she’d been married before and that her ex-husband had been a bad man. So when she called me and told me he was threatening her, I didn’t want to leave her on her own, not if I could do something to protect her. I agreed to come on this trip with her, but I set some very firm boundaries because I didn’t want her to think too much of it.”

That sounded exactly like Brody.

She squeezed his hand. “You came here to watch out for her.”

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