Page 78 of Shadows In Paris
He opened his arms to greet her too, and she walked into them, gripped by a wave of fierce emotion, but awkward in front of Hannah.
‘Great to see you, Raven,’ she said, glowing as she stared up at him.
He squeezed her tightly and released her slowly. The feel of his hands lingered on her body, and she longed to stay close to him.
‘Let’s get you inside out of the cold. I lit a fire.’
Jack opened the door for them both to enter the little cottage and Lizzie stared about her. ‘This is like something out of Hansel and Gretel.’
‘No wicked witch, though. Come in and get warm, you two. I’ll bring you something to eat and you can tell me all about your exploits, and why you didn’t follow your orders, Seagrove!’
CHAPTER 40
They sat next to the fire and warmed themselves whilst Jack brought them each a steaming bowl of broth. Hannah rummaged in her satchel for the baguette, and they dipped it in their bowls.
‘If you hadn’t turned up when you did, I was about to go into the city to look for you,’ Jack said, settling into a chair and lighting a cigarette.
‘I can’t believe you are here. HQ was dead against it,’ Lizzie said, careful not to mention Val by name. They were under strict orders not to reveal information about the SOE staff to members of the Resistance, and she didn’t know how much Hannah knew.
‘They were against it, but when you said Hannah had gone missing and you were staying to look for her, I convinced them it was a good idea for me to drop in for backup. And here you are perfectly fine without my intervention. I had visions of breaking into German High Command to rescue you, but the pair of you stroll in here, bold as brass. The boss said you would handle it without me. She was right.’
‘Lizzie broke into German High Command!’ Hannah said in between mouthfuls of bread and broth.
‘Did she now?’ Jack said, and Lizzie felt his eyes drilling into her as she ate, and she avoided meeting his stare. He blew smoke circles over his head and Lizzie ventured a glance at him. ‘Tell me what happened, Seagrove.’
Lizzie recounted how she’d found Philippe who connected her with a cleaner in his network, and how she’d gone in pretending to be one of the cleaning team. She gave Jack the shortened version, glossing over their exit. If she told him the details, the whole story would unravel about Karl, the Nazi officer from the train, and how she endangered them all by eating cake and allowing him to drive her to the farmhouse.
And on top of all that, if it wasn’t enough to raise red flags, he turned out to be the dead major general’s brother. No, she would keep that between her and Hannah. She didn’t want Jack worrying about her more than he already did. In his quest to watch over her, he could use it against her in the future. She wouldn’t risk having her wings clipped, even in the name of him keeping her safe.
A look of understanding passed between Lizzie and Hannah.
Jack studied Lizzie’s face but didn’t question her on the matter any further. ‘I scoped out German High Command this morning and saw them preparing to lock down the city. Hannah, does your face adorn every shop window and noticeboard by now?’
Hannah rolled her eyes. ‘Something like that.’ She continued the story and told Jack how they had escaped the city in the milk truck.
‘Is it hidden in case they come looking for you?’ he asked.
‘We skidded off the road into a snowdrift and had to abandon it on the side. It won’t be long before it’s covered ifthis heavy snowfall keeps up,’ she said, looking out of the cottage window. ‘I’d forgotten about this place.’
‘Me too. It belongs to old friends of my parents, and I took the chance the spare key would be in the usual place. They obviously still stay here sometimes because there were some basic supplies in the cupboard.’
‘Do we have a pickup arranged?’ Lizzie asked.
‘Tomorrow. I wanted enough time to find you both, and now we don’t have a way to contact them to move it to tonight. Will you come back with us, Hannah?’ Jack asked, without missing a beat.
Hannah looked startled. ‘No, it’s kind of you to invite me, but I told Lizzie I can’t. Not until this nightmare is over.’
‘My mother called to let me know Henry has a few days' leave coming up. It’s his first in ages and seems serendipitous with us all together like this. I can get you in with no fuss. It would mean the world to him to see you, even for a brief reunion. Won’t you reconsider?’
Hannah looked from Jack to Lizzie. ‘Let me think about it.’
‘No problem. It’ll be wheels up tomorrow night, so sleep on it.’
‘My work here isn’t finished,’ she said.
Jack’s expression was sombre. ‘I understand that. Neither is ours.’
‘How will I get back in?’
