"Tell her to stay in her room. And you do the same. We'd be crazy to go after that coot in the dark. He'll keep 'til morning."
Frank closed the door, double-locked it and went back to Nora's bed. He could hear a soft sobbing. He reached down and pulled back the covers and the sobbing came louder. Then he was down on the bed and she was in his arms.
She cried until the panic subsided, while he held her and said nothing. After a while she got control of herself. "Don't leave me, Frank," she begged. "Please don't leave me."
He stroked her shoulder. "I won't," he whispered.
They lay for a long time in utter silence, each seeking strength in the other's closeness. The silence was finally broken by Nora.
"Frank?"
"Yes."
"Do you want me?"
He did not answer.
"If you want me you can have me, Frank."