Page 26 of The Secrets We Left Behind
“I surrender.” The pained whisper made Adelaide turn, and any warm thoughts she’d mistakenly had for the commander disappeared as she looked at Peter. Poor, poor Peter. The small flag was clasped tightly between his fingers, his knuckles as white as his face, terror written as plain as day all over it.
“What happens now?” she whispered. “To him?”
The commander simply gave Peter a curt nod before moving to stand in front of the wheelbarrow and blocking her line of sight.
“Don’t worry yourself. You did the right thing in bringing him here.”
She wanted to ask more, but her words stuck in her throat as she slowly looked up at the man demanding her attention, watching as he reached into his breast pocket. For a moment she froze, terrified of what he was about to produce.
“Cigarette?” he offered, as she exhaled in relief.
“Thank you, but no, I don’t smoke.”
He nodded and put them away, surprising her that he didn’t light one for himself. He was still smiling, watching her, and she nervously ran her hands down her skirt before clasping them in front of her just for something to do.
“I should be heading home now,” she said. “My sister will be getting worried.”
“You have a sister?”
Adelaide swallowed. “I do. Her name is Elise.”
He gestured past her and barked an order in German, and she felt a familiar shiver run through her, the same one she’d felt as they’d hidden beneath her mother’s bed the night before.
Within seconds two soldiers were at his side, and she listened uselessly and wished she’d taken more of an interest in the German language when she’d been at school. With his men, he was a complex blend of intimidating and commanding, but the moment he turned back to her, the smile that had lit his eyes returned, asoftness there that scared her. Because any other time, she could have fallen for that softness, but he was a Nazi. He was her enemy.
“Perhaps we shall cross paths again soon,” he said.
Adelaide smiled and agreed with him, too scared to disagree. “Perhaps.”
She turned to leave them, cringing as she saw the way the two soldiers roughly hauled Peter to his feet, his yelps of agony as they dragged him along. Adelaide squeezed her eyes shut for a beat, trying to block it out, waiting for Peter to scream out in pain and confess that Harry was alive too, that she’d tried to convince him not to surrender—anything to make them treat him better.
But to his credit, the only noises he made were howls of pain that he couldn’t have stifled if he’d tried.
“Miss DuPont?”
Adelaide opened her eyes and slowly turned, waiting to be caught out, waiting to see a gun raised in her direction. But when she faced the German commander again, all she was met with was an amused smile.
“Yes?” It was barely a whisper.
“I think you forgot your wheelbarrow.”
Heat flooded her cheeks again, this time from embarrassment. How could she have been so stupid?
“Yes,” she replied, not able to come up with anything wittier. “So I did. I think your dashing uniform distracted me, sir.”
If Elise could have heard her, she’d have likely whipped her for daring to flirt with a German soldier, but it was the only thing that had come to mind. And it hadn’t required a lie, either.
His chuckle was deep. “Wolfgang,” he called to her. “You may call me Wolfgang.”
Adelaide was incapable of words, but she gave him a quick smile as she pushed her barrow and left the German house behind her.
I need to wash my mouth out with soap and water when I get home, she thought as she forced her feet to slow, not wanting to look like she was in too much of a hurry.And say a prayer or two for daring to have even one romantic thought about a monster.
But Commander Wolfgang didn’t look like a monster, and that was part of the problem. She couldn’t believe that a man who looked like him could ever be part of the massacre she’d seen the day before; so maybe Peter would be all right after all.
“Where’s Peter?”
Adelaide stood at the foot of the stairs, backing away as Harry started to descend. His hair was sticking up and his eyes were still bloodshot, but he looked a lot better for the long sleep he’d had.
