“Shhh,” I ordered as quietly as I could muster.“I don’t know.We just stopped.”
“We’re here already?”Her voice had dropped to a compliant whisper.
“No.”I hesitated.“I don’t think so.”
“Then what?”The flashlight was clicked on again, lighting her worried eyes as she shifted to a seated position beside me.
Pressing my index finger to my lips, I motioned for her silence.
“It’s probably nothing.”I mouthed.“Just wait.”
I employed my most determined expression, hoping to settle her, but in my mind, a thousand paranoid scenarios were playing out and helping to unravel me.
What if the port authorities were suspicious, had been trailing us and pulled Hans over?Or worse, what if it was the local police?Either type of official would want us to produce documentation we didn’t have, and my Dutch wasn’t as good as my French and German.
What if it’s Ian’s men?
I tensed at the insidious thought.Even if Ian had somehow worked out where we were and how we’d got there, British officials had no authority in the Netherlands, but crouched in the shadows, that knowledge did little to assuage my gripping trepidation.
Reaching for her hand, I held her closer and rummaged in the bag for my gun before flicking off the flashlight.If the worst happened and the back doors were flung open for inspection, we didn’t need an additional light drawing attention to our hiding place.
“Adam, I’m scared.”
Her breathing sped up the way it used to when I threatened her with some delicious punishment, except that time, it wasn’t me pulling her strings; it was an unknown entity.Probably nothing more nefarious than an unplanned toilet break, but potentially something far more malicious.The fact that I couldn’t know for sure tore me up inside.So used to being in authority and the one making decisions, it was crippling to have to wait and see how things panned out.
“Shhh.”Releasing the safety catch, I nuzzled the word into the side of her neck.“Quiet, little girl.Let’s listen.”
Straining my senses, I did just that, striving to ascertain what was going on outside the vehicle.For a long moment, there was nothing to hear.No obvious footsteps or voices, and in that empty void, I couldn’t recall if I’d heard Hans’ door open or close from the front cab.
Then, suddenly, a male voice outside splintered the silence that had stretched around us.
“It’s probably Hans,” I whispered, although I was no longer sure if I was trying to reassure her or myself.
“Yeah.”Her tone remained unconvinced as the sound of large boots on gravel reverberated through the side of the lorry to where we were waiting.
Gripping her hand tighter, I listened harder.“Do you hear a second voice?”
“I...I don’t know, Sir.”
Shit, why had I asked?All she’d do was worry about that eventuality, yet somewhere in my periphery, I thought I’d heard another man speaking.
Maybe I’m just losing it.
“I think someone’s coming!”
Her voice choked with emotion, and acting on instinct, I shifted in front of her, putting myself and my weapon in the way of whoever was potentially about to climb inside.
Whatever happened next, I vowed to protect my beguiling little brunette.
We hadn’t escaped the hell of Fortorus, only to fall into an even greater pit of despair.
