She ignored the immediate blush that ignited her sister’s cheeks, praying that she wasn’t foolhardy enough to actually fall for the charms of a German soldier, albeit an extremely handsome one. Right now it felt like saving soldiers was the riskiest thing she could do, but being entangled with a Nazi? That was a cat-and-mouse game she was not going to allow her sister to entertain, no matter the consequences.

“You’re certain it’s this way?”

Less than an hour later, Cate’s teeth were no longer chattering; she was dressed properly in Elise’s clothes and with a warm jacket on, and they were walking side by side, shoulders brushing. It was strange to be so close to a stranger, especially after being with just Adelaide for so long. As the war had raged on, and the situation had become more dangerous, any of their neighbors who could move away had done so, at least for the short term, and Elise and her sister had retreated and kept largely to themselves. So to find herself rubbing shoulders with someone who wasn’t her sister was unusual at best. But in the dark and with the constant fear of a gunshot piercing the night air, it was beyond unusual; it was unbelievable.

Elise’s ears were pricked as they walked, listening for the smallest of sounds, certain they were going to encounter a German patrol or unwittingly be caught in the crosshairs somewhere, but so far they’d managed to move undetected. What possible excuse they could come up with if they encountered the same patrol Cate had met earlier, though, she had no idea. But what she did know was that they were playing with fire; a patrol had been close enough to flush Cate out in the first place, which meant it was highly likely they could bump into them again. The Nazis might be out looking for Allied soldiers, but she didn’t want to come across any.

“I’m sorry,” Cate whispered.

“What for?” Elise whispered back.

“For risking your family,” she whispered. “For forcing you to take me in. I should never have put that burden on you.”

Elise sighed, instinctively touching Cate’s shoulder, feeling her brother’s palm settling over her, telling her everything was going to work out for the best. “Let’s just find your soldier and we can talk later. The quicker we make it back home, the better.”

She just wanted to be with her sister, to know that at least they were as safe as they could be in their home, hidden away from the world, hunkered down. At least at home they could speak freely and try to work out a plan for what they were going to do.

“He’s over here, I think,” Cate said.