AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You never share your secrets with me. I don’t see why I should share mine with you.” With a yank, I shrugged my arm free. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Kristin.” It wasn’t his usual commanding tone, but a plea. That was the only reason why I paused. I couldn’t be angry with him when he showed his kind side. “I know why you’re angry, but I’m trying to keep you safe. A spy job in The Netherlands, close to the German border, that involves a Gestapo agent? I don’t want you near one of those bloody sadists again.” He brushed my shoulder, a shiver shuddering through him. “I saw what they did to you, and it scared me to death. I wasn’t sure I could heal you properly. What happened to you was my fault because I’d dragged you to Berlin.”
“You didn’t drag me.” A husky breath blew out of me. “I wanted to go with you.”
“Still my responsibility. Never again.” His thumb rubbed my shoulder. “Think about the situation in reverse. You were scared when you were asked to heal me, right? Do you think I want to see you hurt and bleeding again?” His eyes darkened, but it wasn’t lust. “I trust you. You’re one of the people I trust the most, but some secrets are dangerous to carry. And I’m not at liberty to reveal them. You aren’t ready for a delicate job that requires experience and a set of skills you don’t have yet.” He punched out each word with the patience of a teacher explaining something difficult to a student.
He might be right on that point, but how could I gain experience if he didn’t allow me to work with him? “Connor knows your secret, though.”
Cold anger slashed across his face. “He does. And he’s risking his life because of that.” His fingertips touched my arm in an intimate gesture that was more personal than a kiss; as if he knew exactly how to ignite my body and make it crave for more.
The power he had over my reactions angered me, because he always managed to soften me with his touch. Besides, he was violating our non-relationship rules again.
I folded my arms over my chest. “I heard your conversation with Connor in the cemetery.” The speed with which those words rushed out of my mouth made me think that, deep down, I’d always wanted to spit them at him and had been waiting for the right moment to tell him. Just to show him I could be a spy too.
But the flare of fury or surprise I was expecting didn’t come.
He shoved his hand into his pocket. “I know. Even Connor suspects it. He isn’t a man easily tricked.”
Bugger it. I bet that surprise showed onmyface. My arms fell limp at my side. “You knew? But you didn’t tell me anything. You could have sent me home before I heard the conversation.”
“You would have asked more questions. Pretending to not know that you were there meant you couldn’t discuss the meeting with me.”
Unbelievable. He knew me so well. Well, I might have underestimated the spy game, after all. “Are you going to discuss that meeting with me now?”
“No.” He frowned. “You heard me. You heard Connor.”
“Does this secret have to do with the mission in Venlo?”
He scratched his stubble. “No, I hope not.”
Exasperation burst out of me in waves. “I’m not going to offer you my help again. I don’t want to make a fool out of myself for a second time. Good night, Mr Turner.”
Without waiting for his reply, I stormed out of the room, crumpling Peggy’s paper into my fist.
~*~
I DIDN’T KNOW if I was being the unreasonable one, or if Roy was the mule in the situation. As I lay on my bed after our conversation in the dispensary, I admitted that I didn’t want to find myself in a locked room with an SS officer, or worse, a Gestapo agent ever again. The thought sent a sharp chill through my body. But if all the good people cowered in fear in front of the Nazis, then Europe didn’t stand a chance.
“Kristin.” Peggy dragged herself inside, her face pale and sullen. “Did you have any luck?”
“Where have you been? I searched for you in the hospital.” I propped on my elbows on the bed, pulling out the crumpled piece of paper from my pocket. “Is that your list?”
She grabbed it with eager hands, and a slow smile lit her face. “Cricket, that’s it.” Relief radiated from her. “Thank you so much, Kristin.” She hugged me.
“I was lucky.” Only regarding the piece of paper. I patted her back. “Do you still want to try to not take the Eros?”
“Absolutely. I need to know if I’m crazy.”
“But if nothing happens and your beast doesn’t go wild, how will you know if our organs work?”
“Oh, that.” She brushed a tendril of hair from her face. “Well, there’s only one way to find that out.”
“Do you mean trying to get pregnant?”
Her head hung over her chest as she turned the list over. “I wouldn’t mind. Having a family, I mean. I’ve always wanted to be a mother. To be honest, I don’t care about being a soldier or a fighter. It’s a noble call, but it’s not mine. I want a simple life, a life like that of my foster parents. They’re so happy together. If I’m right, I might have the chance to become a parent.”
I didn’t want to crush her dream, but if she was right and she had a baby, I doubted Raven Park would allow her to keep the child. They’d hunt her down. But I squeezed her shoulder in sympathy. “You’re so brave. I’m proud of you.”
