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“Yes.”

“You made the right decision based on what you knew.”

She watched me.

The fan started with a low hum. I angled it toward the open window.

“I gave you no reason to trust me,” I continued. “You couldn’t treat me as harmless because everyone liked me.”

“We did trust you. That’s why it hurt so damn much to do it.” She crossed her arms. “When you left the party, I wanted to follow you.”

The admission surprised me. “You did?”

“Yeah. I was furious. I was frightened. I also knew you were devastated.” Her eyes lowered. “I chose the pack.”

I rubbed the bandage on my arm, pressing a corner that had loosened back into place. “You had to.”

“I did.” The words carried authority and regret together. “I would make the same decision again,” she said. “But I wish there had been another choice.”

“There was.”

She looked up.

“I could have told the truth before Karen forced it out of me.”

Silence passed between us.

Hilary nodded. “Yes, you could have.”

I appreciated that she didn’t rush to comfort me.

She looked toward the window. “You saved my family today.”

“I saved everyone I could find.”

She looked around at her disheveled house. “You went back for Caldwell.”

“I couldn’t leave him.”

“You had already inhaled smoke and injured yourself.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“I know.” An emotion I couldn’t place crossed her face.

“It’s funny,” I said. “Hudson told me almost the same thing earlier.”

“He gets that from me.”

“The compulsive self-sacrifice?” I asked.

Hilary bit her lower lip. “No. The ability to identify it in other people.” She almost laughed. Then her gaze softened. “I’m not ready to pretend nothing happened.”

“Please don’t. I don’t want you to.”

“But you are welcome to stay here today.”

The qualification should have hurt. Instead, I heard what it cost her to offer it.