I yearn to dispute his points but can’t, frustrating as they are. “Then I’ll…I’ll go to Brouwer.”

Arie sighs as though weary of my badgering. He lifts his head to look at me. “After the shootings, Krauts will be scouring the streets. If Gerda cracks when she’s questioned, if she gives up any descriptions, you’d better believe they’ll find you.”

I think of the officers at the brothel-like house, now well acquainted with my face. The SS captain among them. But still…

“Fen, you need to listen.” Arie grasps my hand, rests it on his knee. “You promised me you’d try to get my niece to safety. Even without me.”

My heart twists at his tone, one of preparing me for the worst. An outcome I’m not about to accept. I pull my hand back and correct him. “Only if you didn’t come out of the hospital. But you did, and you’re here. And we’re staying together. That was our deal.” I hold his gaze for a long moment, unfaltering. I’m gearing up to argue more staunchly than I’ve argued anything in my life when he replies.

“Okay.”

The tension in my chest releases a fraction. “Okay?”

He smiles and touches my cheek. “Okay,” he echoes. No doubt aware I’m about to press for particulars, he adds, “When Brouwer gets here, we’ll see if he knows anyone to patch me up.”

“But…that’s still hours from now.”

“It’ll all work out, I promise.”

This is a compromise, I suppose, not waiting until the farm. Grudgingly I admit, while not ideal, it’s perhaps the most sensible choice. And anyway, I have no better suggestion.

I quickly remind myself of soldiers who have survived far worse. Among the Great War veterans I’ve met in London, some still carry around bullets in their aging yet otherwise healthy bodies, a peculiar bragging point at the pubs.

When at last the all clear sounds, I turn toward the window.

One threat over, leaving plenty of others.

“Evelien,” Arie says and reverts to Dutch: “You enjoy games, don’t you? Like playing hide-and-seek?”

The girl looks to me. I give her a small smile, encouraging her to answer, before I recall the significance of the reference. A code in her mother’s letter for hiding.

Evelien responds with a nod.

“Well, good,” he says. “Because for the trip we’re taking, to get there, that’s what we’re going to play.”

So that’s what he’s doing; he’s preparing her for the crate. An important step I should have considered.

But then, together that’s always been our greatest strength, balancing each other, bridging the other’s gaps.

“All right, you two.” Arie leans his head back against the wall. “Come over and try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”