“I’m sorry,” I’d whispered, and then slid my body on top of his and tried to help him forget.
The waiter brought the check and I paid for my dinner, gathered my book and purse and got to my feet. As I moved through the restaurant toward the front door, something pulled at me and I found myself walking toward the group of men and the young soldier who had asked for the chair.
He turned at the touch of my hand on his arm and again I was reminded of William, though a little less so now as I saw his gaze was now swimming in the effects of alcohol, shoving some of the earlier pain I’d seen aside.
“Take care of yourself,” I said.
For a moment he sobered, taking in my words and nodding. But a second later he turned back to his comrades, the noise of the table luring him back under its spell.
I moved toward the exit, smiling at the concierge as I stepped out of the restaurant and into the hotel.
“Good night,” I said, heading for the staircase.
“Miss?” the concierge said.
“Yes?”
“Mr. Baker is waiting for you in the bar.”
“Oh,” I said, frowning. I hadn’t expected him back so soon. “Thank you.”
“How was your meal?” Lee asked after I’d reentered the restaurant and took a seat at the bar beside him, eyeing his half-empty drink. He’d been here at least a little while and I wasn’t sure if it should worry me that his meeting had ended quickly or not.
“It was fine,” I said, waiting for him to tell me why we were meeting. “Is... Are we...” I wasn’t sure what my question was.
“We leave tonight,” he said and then reached across the table and tapped a finger on my engagement ring. “Hide this.”
Now I had several questions, but I knew asking them was useless. I nodded and got to my feet.
“I’ll go pack.”
27
With curfew stillin place, we didn’t have much time. Thankfully, I hadn’t unpacked much, just my toiletries, the picture of William and I, and my pajamas, all of which I gathered and placed back in my valise before staring down at my ring. But I didn’t have time to reminisce. Pulling it from my finger, I searched the lining of my little suitcase for a loose stitch, finding one and giving it a hard yank. Managing to make a small hole, I slid the ring in and zipped the case closed. After giving the room a quick last look to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, I opened the door and hurried downstairs.
The drive was relatively quick, Lee watching our surroundings as usual while I sat in my seat, my hands clasped between my thighs, palms damp with sweat.
We pulled off the road and he parked behind a building and then turned off the ignition and turned to me.
“Should we be caught, there will be questions,” he said. “Why we’re here. Where we’re headed. Who I am to you. None of that worries me. We’ve practiced all that. What does worry me is time. We have a window to get where we’re going and retrieve the vehicle that will get us up through the country.”
“I understand,” I said.
He nodded and glanced out the windshield before turning to me once more.
“We’ll be meeting an old friend of mine. Klaus. He will help get us up the river to where we need to go. Your job will be to sit in the middle of the boat with your head down while we row. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll need to have your identification readily available.”
“Which one?”
“Both,” he said. “Stow one in your pocket and one in your bag. It is crucial you remember which one is in which place.”
“Okay,” I said, and pulled both sets of identification from my bag.
“Should we get caught, they will likely question you first.”
