Oh!Dr. Grafton spun and punched her brother in the jaw! That threw Randall off balance. But not for long. He leveled a punch at his attacker that knocked Dr. G back.
“No...No!” Her screams fogged up the window with her breath, and all she could see was a tangle of the two men.
She wiped at it with her hand and saw blood on both men’s faces.
Then her brother brought the gun down on top of Dr. Grafton’s head.
The older man fell to the ground.
chapter
Twenty
The thump of a body on the ground shook her out of her stupor.
No. Get up. Please be all right.
But Dr. G didn’t move.
Randall dragged him off the narrow makeshift road and into the trees.
The front passenger door opened, and her brother slid into the seat. The gun in his hand was now trained directly at her.
“What did you do? Did you kill him? Heisstill alive, isn’t he?” If he’d taken the life of the only father who had ever truly loved her, they weren’t moving an inch.
His eyes gleamed in the dim light. “Maybe for now. But he won’t be for long in this cold. Now drive.” He jammed the gun into her temple. “If you don’t, I will shoot you. And each of the children hiding in the backseat.”
Melanie took one last glance at Dr. G’s motionless body. She fumbled with the keys three times before getting the key in the ignition and starting it. She’d come back after she dealt with her brother. And shewoulddeal with her brother. Anger burned sohot in her now that she was ready to spit fire at him. “Where are we going?”
“Back to Berlin, dear sister. And on the way, you are going to tell me the key to the pianist’s code.”
“What’s wrong?”Chaisley cringed at Rick’s sharp intake of breath. “What do you see, Rick? Tell me.” The intensity of the moment made her heart race. The situation was bad. She could feel it.
“Keep your voice low. We’re going to get closer.”
“Where are Melanie and the children? Dr. Grafton? You were watching them through the binoculars. Tell me, please.”
The car rolled forward.
She reached out and touched Rick’s arm. “I have to know what’s going on. They’re my family.”
He took a slow breath. “A Nazi just forced her back into the car. He had Dr. Grafton at gunpoint, hit him over the head with the gun, and left him in the snow.” Rick’s voice was calm and low. “We’ve got to do something. We cannotlet Melanie and those children be taken by him. We can’t. God help us.”
“Is Dr. Grafton all right?”
“I don’t know, Chais. He’s on the ground. Wait. He just moved. And the car is stuck. Melanie hit a tree when that madman stepped out into the road. Looks like the Nazi is forcing her to turn around. But the space is too narrow. Between the tree and the ruts in the road, their tires are spinning in the snow. That’s good. It’ll buy us time to close the distance.” They rolled ever closer toward the enemy that had Mel.
“Can you go any faster?”
“We’re about to go downhill, so we will pick up some speed. Right now, I’m praying he doesn’t see us. Our headlights are off, but we’re about to lose the cover of the trees.”
Chaisley swallowed and, for the first time in many years, wishedshe could see. Her lack of sight hadn’t made her feel helpless since she was a child. She clamped her eyes shut and clenched her jaw.God, take this fear away. Show us what to do.
Rick grabbed her hand. “Here we go. Get down. Just in case.”
She leaned toward him as their vehicle went down an incline.
“We’re in the open now, so he might see us.”
