“I worry that she’d bring anything home with a broken wing or a grazed knee,” he said.
Elise stared into his eyes. “Or an injured German. Is that what you mean?”
He swallowed. He didn’t need to nod, because she knew. “That girl is as sweet and kind as they come, but she’s also as naïve as a child sometimes.”
Elise drew her brother in for a hug, arms wrapped tightly around him. “I’ll keep her safe while you’re gone, Louis. Don’t you worry.”
He hugged her back, chin to the top of her as she pressed tight to his broad chest.
“Just make it home,” she whispered. “I’ll keep everyone safe until you get back.”
“Elise,” Adelaide whispered to her from behind, her hand closing over her shoulder as she leaned in close to her.
Elise wanted to pull away, her memories twisting with the decision she was facing, knowing that her sister would automatically be on the side of helping anyone, no matter who they were. But she didn’t. Instead she reached for Addy’s fingers and held on to her for a moment, still thinking, still remembering, still trying to decide what to do. What would her mother have done, or her father?What would her brother have urged her to do, if he’d survived? Would Louis have thought she was being soft in siding with Addy, or after what he’d seen during the war would he have wanted to help any Allied soldier?
“We have to help her,” Addy implored.
“No matter what the risks?” Elise asked, choking back unexpected emotion as she felt Louis’s hand in hers, remembering his strength. She angrily swallowed it down, clenching her fists, not used to it and not liking the wash of vulnerability that came with it as the past merged with the present in her mind.
“Elise, I don’t see what other choice we have,” Adelaide murmured. “I’ve already told the Nazi captain that she’s my cousin, so we can’t exactly turn her out in the cold now, can we? And she’s never going to leave her Jack behind.”
Elise’s shoulders were heavy as she slowly turned around. Adelaide was right. And deep down, she knew what needed to be done; she just needed to be brave enough to do it.
“Can you find your way back to him?” Elise asked Cate.
“Yes, I can find him.” Cate’s voice wobbled, but Elise didn’t doubt her.
Elise couldn’t believe what she was about to say, but she knew it was the only decision she could make. Or at least the only decision she could live with. “Well, let’s get you into some dry clothes and go find him then,” she said. “We need to do it in the dark, and we need to do it fast.”
“You’re going too?” Adelaide asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Elise said firmly. “I’m going with Cate, and you’re staying here in case youradmirercomes calling again. At least you can keep him distracted if he does.”
She ignored the immediate blush that ignited her sister’s cheeks, praying that she wasn’t foolhardy enough to actually fall for the charms of a German soldier, albeit an extremely handsomeone. Right now it felt like saving soldiers was the riskiest thing she could do, but being entangled with a Nazi? That was a cat-and-mouse game she was not going to allow her sister to entertain, no matter the consequences.
“You’re certain it’s this way?”
Less than an hour later, Cate’s teeth were no longer chattering; she was dressed properly in Elise’s clothes and with a warm jacket on, and they were walking side by side, shoulders brushing. It was strange to be so close to a stranger, especially after being with just Adelaide for so long. As the war had raged on, and the situation had become more dangerous, any of their neighbors who could move away had done so, at least for the short term, and Elise and her sister had retreated and kept largely to themselves. So to find herself rubbing shoulders with someone who wasn’t her sister was unusual at best. But in the dark and with the constant fear of a gunshot piercing the night air, it was beyond unusual; it was unbelievable.
Elise’s ears were pricked as they walked, listening for the smallest of sounds, certain they were going to encounter a German patrol or unwittingly be caught in the crosshairs somewhere, but so far they’d managed to move undetected. What possible excuse they could come up with if they encountered the same patrol Cate had met earlier, though, she had no idea. But what she did know was that they were playing with fire; a patrol had been close enough to flush Cate out in the first place, which meant it was highly likely they could bump into them again. The Nazis might be out looking for Allied soldiers, but she didn’t want to come across any.
“I’m sorry,” Cate whispered.
“What for?” Elise whispered back.
“For risking your family,” she whispered. “For forcing you to take me in. I should never have put that burden on you.”
Elise sighed, instinctively touching Cate’s shoulder, feeling her brother’s palm settling over her, telling her everything was going to work out for the best. “Let’s just find your soldier and we can talk later. The quicker we make it back home, the better.”
She just wanted to be with her sister, to know that at least they were as safe as they could be in their home, hidden away from the world, hunkered down. At least at home they could speak freely and try to work out a plan for what they were going to do.
“He’s over here, I think,” Cate said.
They had a small flashlight, but Elise was loath to use it unless they absolutely had to. It was the one thing that would immediately give them away in the dark, but they weren’t going to find this Jack if they didn’t use it. She wished they could rely on her senses, like when she’d been a little girl out hunting with her father. He’d loved to blindfold her and Louis, making them use their ears and their noses, telling them that one day they’d appreciate how well they could focus on their surroundings. She was certain he’d meant in case she ever wanted to hunt when she was older, not that she’d one day be skulking in the shadows, fearing for her own life, in a part of France her family had called home for generations. And with Louis but a ghost haunting her memories.
“You’re certain he’s this way?” she asked.
“I’m certain. I didn’t travel far before they found me.”
