The soldier snorted and puffed on his cigarette before blowing smoke into her face. Her eyes watered as she tried not to cough, not wanting to give him the satisfaction even as the smoke curled around her skin.

“Your dog, eh?”

Cate fought the tremble that threatened to shake her body as she eyed the gun at his side. She glanced sideways, frantically searching for a way to escape, but there was none. Even if she dropped the blanket so she could run faster, where would she go? They could have dogs nearby for all she knew, dogs who would sniff her out and rip her to pieces if the soldiers didn’t shoot her first, a bullet piercing her back or entering the back of her skull. It would be a death sentence for Jack, too, if she was gone.

They moved closer to her, trapping her all the more tightly between them. The one with the cigarette lifted his hand and put his thumb beneath her chin, forcing it to jut upwards as he inspected her face. Cate clutched the blanket tighter between her fingers, clenching her toes as she forced her feet to stay still. She wouldn’t show them how afraid she was, just as she wouldn’t spit in their faces even though she’d never wanted to do something so badly in all her life.

“I don’t think you have a dog,” he sneered.

She forced her eyes up, staring back at him, not hesitating. “Why else would I be out in the cold, sir?”

The soldier behind her laughed. “Maybe you were out looking for some company, eh?”

Cate felt fingers against her hair and she bit back a scream, but she was saved by heavy footfalls that echoed out of the darkness from the woods. She strained her eyes to see, her stomach sinking as she realized it was another soldier, and when he stepped out of the dark shadows, her blood ran cold. He was clearly superior to the other three, even the way he held himself, his posture as commanding as his stare. Was that the SS symbol on his hat? If she’d thought the first three were bad, then he was probably pure evil.

I need to get them further away from Jack, she thought in a panic. I need to put more distance between us.

She’d been walking for some time, but still, if they were moving in the direction she’d come from, they could end up finding him, and with more soldiers arriving . . . She knew there was a chance she was starting to lose her mind, delirious from so long without food and water, not to mention the sheer terror she’d experienced, but she still needed to lead them as far away as possible. Maybe he’d manage to crawl to a farmhouse if she didn’t come back?