Kara stood behind the bar, pulling on a long tap on a wooden barrel to serve beer. I walked to her and her eyes flickered with surprise, then annoyance. “You again.” She put a mug in front of me. I fished a coin from my bag and placed it on the bar, but she didn’t take it. I had never liked beer and I didn’t want to drink it at this hour of the morning, but I could tell from Kara’s expression that she was trying to keep up appearances. I took a sip from the mug, the bitter froth tickling my lip.

“Krys isn’t here,” she said.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“Out of the city.” She lowered her voice. “He’s away on an errand for Korsarz.”

“The black marketeer?” She nodded. “But Krys would never work with Korsarz.” Krys hated the man and all he stood for. “Not unless he had to.” I thought back to the potatoes Krys had managed to get for Sadie—and his reluctance to say how he had procured them so quickly. He claimed someone owed him a favor, but I realized now that he had gone to Korsarz to help Sadie—and me even, though it meant working with the despicable man to repay to debt.

“When will Krys be back?” I asked.

“I have no idea. Do you want to leave a message for when he returns?” Kara asked, pushing a napkin across the bar.

I shook my head. But suddenly I was filled with remorse. Krys had helped me, even as I refused to do the same for him. Thinking better of it, I scribbled a note.

I’m sorry. I will help with whatever you need. E.

I debated putting some sort of affectionate sign-off and decided against it.

But still I had no way to hide Sadie. Krys, I realized, was not the one who could help me now. I handed Kara the note and took a deep breath. “I need your help.”

“Me?”

I nodded. “I have a package I need you to store.” Kara looked confused. “She’s outside.”

Her jaw tightened. “No. Absolutely not. We can’t shelter fugitives here.”

“She isn’t a fugitive, just a girl trying to stay alive.”

Still, Kara refused. “If the police come looking, we’ll be shut down.” I could tell by her voice that she was not concerned about the business of the piwnica itself, but rather its use as a front for the work of the Home Army.

“Please. She’s got nowhere else to go.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“Krys is also helping her,” I added. It was only partly a lie; he had found food for Sadie. “She has a hiding place that he thinks may be of use to the Home Army for storing things. But not if she’s caught.”

Kara’s expression softened. “There are cellar doors around the corner behind the building. Take her and I will meet you there.”

I sprinted back up the stairs and outside to the archway where Sadie hid. “Follow me.” I led her around the back of the building. There were wide metal double doors in the ground, the kind used to unload beer and other provisions. One door opened and Sadie climbed down the ladder into the cellar. I started behind her, but Kara stopped me. “You don’t need to be here,” she said coldly. “Go take care of your errand.” She might have agreed to help, but she still didn’t like me.