One side of his mouth tilts up. “I should be capable of that.” His smile softens to that of gratitude. “Thank you, Rosita, for everything you and your husband are doing for us.”
“You are welcome. But please don’t make us regret it.” She nods and leaves the room.
Johann helps me out of my soiled clothes, taking his time. The splint makes things challenging, but he undresses me without hurting me too much.
He takes the washcloth, dips it in the water, and bathes me. The way he tenderly caresses my body distracts me enough so the pain in my hand isn’t quite as intense. He lightly kisses my body as he works, further trying to distract me from everything going on. Distract me from the knowledge he will be leaving soon.
He then helps me into the nightgown and into bed.
Dr. Hubert enters the room and has me lie on my back. He covers my lower body with the thin blanket and pushes the nightgown high enough to expose my belly.
He takes a few moments to examine my flat tummy with his hands, asking me questions to gauge how far along I am in my pregnancy. “As far as I can tell, things are progressing well. You and the baby just need to rest now.” He smiles kindly at me.
“Thank you,” I say, returning his smile, mine filled with gratitude. He nods at Johann and leaves us alone in the room.
I lie on my side, my hand supported by pillows. Johann strips off his clothes and climbs under the bedcovers with me. His hot body cradles me from behind and his warm hand rests on my belly.
Despite the pain in my hand, exhaustion tries to pull me under its spell once more. I fight the urge to close my eyes and give in to it. As soon as I fall asleep, Johann will leave, and I don’t know when I will see him again.
“Will you come back once you’re rid of the car?” I ask.Please come back. Please come back safe.
“I will. As soon as I can. If it weren’t for that, I would not leave you. But Dr. Hubert is right. I cannot stay here, even if the car is hidden in the barn. It’s too risky. It needs to be dealt with first.” He kisses my shoulder, but something about his voice warns me he’s not telling me everything.
“You’re not coming back right away. Are you?” The two words linger in the air like smoke after a bomb explosion.
For a heartbeat it feels as though he’s going to brush off my concerns, and I glance over my shoulder.
He slowly shakes his head. “I want to fight to make sure the world is a better place for our child to grow up. This, the world Hitler is working towards, I cannot let that happen. If there is some way I can help your side, I will.”
“And if you can’t?” I swallow the emotions that threaten to choke me.
“Then I’ll come back to you sooner.” He brushes a kiss on my lips, branding them with a promise. A promise I pray he can keep.
“Where will you take it? The car?” My voice crackles with building tears.
“As far away as what’s left in the petrol tank will allow. South and away from any areas heavy with patrols. The farther away the better.”
“What if someone catches you?” I don’t say it out loud, but I have a feeling he knows what I mean. By now the Gestapo will be wondering who helped me escape. I don’t know how well Johann covered his tracks—if there is a record at the prison that he was the man who claimed to be moving me to Avenue Foch.
If the Gestapo figure out it was Johann, they will be looking for him, the Austrian traitor among them.
His life will be in as much danger as mine is.
“No matter what happens, Angelique, I will fight my way back to you. I will find you.” He kisses the shell of my ear. “But you need to promise me something.”
“What’s that?”
“If I’m not back by the time you are well enough to travel and you find a way to return to England, you need to go.” His hand cups my belly. “For our baby’s sake. Promise me that.”
“I promise.” I don’t have the strength to argue otherwise. “But please come back to me. I’ll be lost without you.”
He kisses my shoulder again. The touch of his soft lips forever marks me as his. “I promise I’ll come back.” He’s quiet for a long moment, and I already miss his deep, resonating voice. “Do you really have a sister?” he asks.
“Yes. I do. Everything I told you about her is true. What I didn’t tell you is that she is married to an RAF pilot and is hoping to one day have lots of babies. If she has her way, our baby will have lots of cousins to visit.” I leave things hanging about which country we’ll end up in once the war is over. First, we have to survive it.
“The people who helped Oskar and his family escape the country. Can you contact them? Will they be able to help you return home?”
I shake my head wearily. “It’s not safe for me to try to communicate with my contact. It will only put her in danger. She was the one who made the arrangements to help them.” And this is assuming the Gestapo hasn’t captured her.
