The little dog came trotting out of the trees near the house, breaking into a run when he saw them. Elise bent low and scooped him up as he came near, his pink tongue lolling out as he licked at her face, his leash still attached to him.

“He’s panting heavily,” Cate said. “Do you think Adelaide could be coming back?”

They stood and listened for a moment, ears strained.

“She’s not coming,” Elise said, her voice flat as she held up Oscar’s tattered lead. “Addy loves this dog more than anything, and she would never have let go of him. And if she did, she’d have been running and hollering after him.”

Cate exchanged a long look with Elise, who kept the dog tucked under her arm.

“We need to go,” Jack said. “I’m sorry, Elise, but we can’t wait.”

Elise had tears shining in her eyes, but she forged on ahead, and Cate noticed that she never, not once, looked back. It was as if she knew her sister wasn’t coming; but Cate kept looking for her, certain that she was about to see a mane of blonde hair flying in the wind behind Adelaide as she raced to catch up with them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE ADELAIDE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

ADELAIDE
ONE HOUR EARLIER

Adelaide had drifted along on her own and had then sat beneath a hefty oak tree for hours, wrestling with her thoughts. She’d become so used to being under her mother’s wing, and then Elise’s, and now she was all alone.

I’m not alone.

She lay her head back against the rough bark of the tree, eyes shut, lost in thought. She wasn’t alone, because Elise was waiting, always waiting, with open arms; and yet right now, she’d never felt more alone in her life. And with a choice to make that was ripping her in two.

She stroked Oscar, who’d loyally and patiently followed her and then sat in her lap. His rough coat was familiar beneath her fingertips, and when she finally rose, she had his lead between her fingers. It was time to go.

When she reached the two Nazi soldiers on guard, stationed well ahead of the house where Wolfgang was living, she raised a hand and waved, making sure to smile. She received a warm wave in response.

This was why she was so lucky: she’d become untouchable. She was marked as Wolfgang’s, and not a hair on her head could be harmed. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

“Could you take a message to the commander for me?” she asked, speaking slowly to make sure they understood her German, which had improved since meeting Wolfgang, although they mostly spoke in English since they could both converse fluently in it.