“Thank you.” Deirdre pulled her collar taut around her neck and cast her eyes to the floor. Her voice was soft. “For both helping to repair my phone and saving me from drowning.”

Brendan was far from a good, decent man and was no stranger to all kinds of unforgivable transgressions. But at the very least, Deirdre’s gratitude was sincere at this moment. He had saved her life.

“It’s nothing.” Brendan considered the young woman’s pale, half-traumatized mien and fought the urge to just pull her in