Page 80 of The Secrets We Left Behind
It’s too late to change my mind, even if I want to.
“Adelaide!”
She turned at his call, and as he strode toward her it came naturally to her to open her arms to him. His eyes lit up, and he no longer seemed to hide from her, his smile wide and genuine ashe held her against his chest. And just as it had felt natural to go to him, it also felt right to lift her face to his, expectantly, for the kiss she knew would follow.
“What a nice surprise. Is everything okay?”
She leant against him, fitting snugly under his arm. She still had Oscar’s leash looped around one wrist, and she smiled as Wolfgang reached down to pat him.
“Everything is fine,” she said. “I just hadn’t seen you in a few days and ...” Lying hadn’t ever been something she was good at, and she decided to play embarrassed instead of continuing on. She held her tongue as they started to walk, heading for one of their favorite spots well away from sight.
“Adelaide, I have some news for you. We’re going to be moving on soon,” he told her, frowning as he met her gaze. “I know that will come as a shock, but I’ll make sure to come back and see you as often as I can. Perhaps if we end up in Paris, you can eventually come and join me?”
Her stomach lurched as she stared up at him, committing him to memory. She hadn’t been lying to Elise when she’d told her that she hadn’t forgotten what he’d done; the trouble was simply that the longer she spent in his company, the easier it was to make excuses or pretend it wasn’t even him at all.
She batted the thoughts away. No matter how she felt about him, she was going to protect her sister and her friends, and if that meant betraying Wolfgang, then so be it. Nothing ran thicker than blood, and she loved Elise more than anything or anyone in the world.
“There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about, too,” she started, hesitantly.
“Go on,” he said.
She looked down at how shiny his black boots were and found herself wondering if he polished them himself as he passed her onthe narrow part of the track. But she quickly forgot his boots as she realized it was her chance to leave the scarf, her sign for Elise. She unlooped it then as he moved ahead, quickly letting it slip from her fingers to catch on a branch while his back was to her.
“Addy, what were you going to tell me?” Wolfgang asked, suddenly turning back around. Her heart sank when she saw him look past her and frown. “Isn’t that your scarf back there? Did you drop it?”
Adelaide feigned surprise as he brushed past her to retrieve it, taking it from him, knowing she had no choice but to accept it. She could feel everything starting to unravel and a bead of sweat broke out on her top lip. “Thank you. Silly me.”
He gave her a strange look but kept walking, and she took his arm, trying to stay calm.
She’d been going to tell him that there were rumors of Allied soldiers, send him in the wrong direction, anything to keep him and his men away from her home, and she knew it would be plausible if she kept her head. He had no reason not to believe her; she had his trust, and she’d also already brought a British soldier to him. All those nights worrying that Peter might have given them away had been for nothing; he’d clearly kept his mouth shut. Either that or he wasn’t alive any longer.
And she had to do it soon, before it was too late. She’d already taken too long deliberating to waste another minute.
“Commander!”
The shout was loud, and two soldiers came running toward them. Adelaide jumped back from him, not sure whether he wanted to be seen with her so intimately cuddled against him, but he reached for her hand and kept her close.
“It had better be important.” His voice was more growl than anything, but the two men were not deterred.
She swallowed, instinctively clutching Oscar’s lead.
“Commander, there’ve been reports of two men on the run. They’re not from around here, and we suspect they’re Allied soldiers.”
Wolfgang’s hand pulled away from hers as he gave the soldiers his full attention, and she wished the ground would open up and swallow her. It had to be Jack and Harry.
“Where were they coming from?” Wolfgang asked.
Adelaide wanted to run. She wished she could grab Oscar and disappear, but as she eyed the pistols all three men carried, she knew she’d never be able to get away.
“Sir, a word in private,” one of the soldiers said, as the other stared at her, his eyes as cold and hard as ice.
She knew then it was over, that there was no chance she was ever getting away from them unless she could somehow convince Wolfgang that his own men were lying to him.
“Just say it,” Wolfgang ordered. “Where were they seen?”
The soldier coughed and then stared straight into her eyes. “It was the men hidden, keeping watch. They were seen leaving from her house,” he said as he pointed at her.
No. No, no, no!
