Addy reached for the handle, extending her hand, fingers clenching around wood as she took a deep breath. If someone was determined to get in, she reasoned, then they would have simply kicked the door in, and it was that sudden realization that gave her confidence.

“We either wait in here, afraid, or we open the door and see who it is,” Elise said. “But if someone forces their way into our home, I will shoot.”

Addy nodded. She didn’t doubt her for a second, and when Elise nudged her with her shoulder, she knew it was a now-or-never moment.

“On three,” she whispered. “One, two . . . three!” She yanked it back, and then almost fell straight out the door, she was so taken by surprise.

“Oh my God!” she gasped.

She’d expected German troops demanding to be fed, watered and put up for the night, but this . . .

She bravely stepped forward, using her right hand to press her sister’s rifle down and out of the way as she stared at the scene in front of her.

It’s nothing short of a miracle.

CHAPTER SIX ELISE

CHAPTER SIX

ELISE

Survivors. Elise almost dropped her rifle, she was so surprised by the scene in front of her, and she put a hand on her sister’s shoulder to steady herself as she looked down.

The two men wore what was left of their British army uniforms, and they were on their knees in a bloodied, muddy heap on her front doorstep. Their faces were thick with dirt, but one pair of eyes glinted up at her, searching her face, as she had the sudden and impulsive thought to haul her sister back into the house and lock the door. She tentatively pulled Addy back a little.

“Elise, we have to help them!” Addy cried, dropping down, her hands hovering over the closest man, the one who’d been so intently staring up at Elise.

Elise stared a moment longer before panic set in. She frantically, futilely scanned the darkness, wondering who could be watching, who might see the two men who’d somehow hauled themselves to her house. Why us? Why did they have to come here?

“Get inside,” she said, catching Addy’s wrist and pulling her back. “Now.”

“What? Why?” Her sister’s face was a picture of confusion. “We have to help them!”

“No, we can’t,” she said, surprised by how firm her own voice was. “It’s too dangerous.”

The men were groaning, one more than the other, and she watched as one of them crawled forward, like a broken dog hauling himself across the doorstep on his hands and knees. Her heart broke and her stomach churned uneasily at the sight of him, but she had to protect Addy. There were only two of them now, and she wasn’t about to lose her sister or risk being taken herself for helping strangers. It was a luxury they couldn’t afford.