She shook her head at him, at a loss for words, as one of the doctors called out, summoning everyone to join him. There were only a handful of nurses left with the clearance hospital now, and barely twice as many doctors, but it appeared that they were all being called over for an impromptu meeting. Even the orderlies were being summoned.

“I don’t think you realize how the world sees you, Cate,” Jack said as she started to back away. “You’re so beautiful and capable, and it’s like you don’t even know it.”

“Enough of the flattery, Jack,” she said, dismissing him as she turned. “I’ll come back and see you soon, I promise.” His words echoed in her mind though. Was that truly the way he thought of her? It certainly wasn’t how she’d ever thought about herself.

“Cate,” he called.

She pivoted, the sudden somberness of his voice making her pause. The way he’d said her name, so serious, so deep, wasn’t a tone she was used to from him, especially after him teasing her.

“You’ll tell me if they’re coming, won’t you?” he asked. “I’m not waiting here like a sitting duck if the rumors are true. I won’t die like a coward in this bed.”

“You really think . . .” She didn’t want to finish the sentence, didn’t want to admit her fears. But it was clear what Jack suspected: that they were going to be overrun by Germans, which would mean certain death or capture for them all.

“I saw it first-hand, Cate. We’re out of our depth here fighting the Nazis,” he said. “We were unprepared and they know it, and they’ll show us no mercy if they find us here.”

Cate nodded, suddenly as cold as ice, frozen in place as she stared back at Jack.

“You promise you’ll tell me?” he asked.

She took a deep, cautious breath. “I will,” she replied. “Jack, I promise you, I will.”

She gave him one last glance, a knot forming in her stomach as she digested what he’d said. Although she tried to remain as positive as possible, his words cut deep. She’d hoped that the evacuation was as much a precaution as anything, but the tension amongst the doctors had been taut enough to cut with a knife earlier, and it had her worried. And now hearing Jack reiterate what she’d already heard . . . She squeezed her eyes shut for a beat, trying to push the thoughts away.

Were they going to be sitting ducks for the enemy? Why was nobody telling them the truth? Or were the doctors in the dark, too?