“Nazis have ways of making people reconsider their loyalties.”
“She would never give us up. Never.” Barrett’s vehement words sliced through the air like a sword, brooking no further argument. “Stay here.”
Ellie pulled Kat down to the ground next to her and huddled close. Cold soaked through her wool skirt, but her legs sighed with relief from the break of constant movement.
“What’s your boyfriend’s problem?”
“We’re being hunted like rabbits. What else do you think?” Kat pressed closer, desperate for the body warmth. Across the dirt road, Barrett headed toward the faint outline of a road sign. “And he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Beau, suitor, kissing partner. Take your pick.” A foggy breath puffed out from Ellie’s lips. She’d had more than one glass of Madam’s offered wine, and the sweetness mingled with the mustiness of unturned earth. “How did they find me so soon? This is a huge country.”
“I’m sure Eric’s put every one of his dogs on this search, but it’s not just you he’s after. Barrett alone is worth a king’s ransom for all his connections.”
Ellie dropped her chin to Kat’s shoulder. Short little breaths shot to the back of Kat’s ear. A few seconds passed before the telltale grinding of back teeth came.
“Spit it out before you grind your molars to dust.”
Shifting her pointy chin, Ellie took a deep breath and blew icy air onto the back of Kat’s neck. “I just . . . I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“We’re freezing to death in the middle of nowhere with armed Germans on our tails. Of course you don’t feel good. I feel positively sick.”
“No. It’s something more than that.” She sat up straight, digging her fingers into Kat’s shoulder. “I don’t think this is going to end well. Eric will find us no matter where we go.”
Kat grabbed her hand before her collarbone snapped in two. “He no longer has a say in the matter.”
Ellie slowly shook her head. The fear that had burned so strongly in her eyes moments before succumbed to something infinitely more dangerous. Resignation. “You don’t know him. He won’t let me go.”
In some ways Kat agreed with Ellie. She knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t go away without a fight, and the thought of engaging him in such a showdown was enough to sour the sickness coiling in her belly. She tilted her face to the hazy night sky and drew in a ragged breath. The coolness slid down her throat and stymied the acidity eating at her. She had to believe they’d get away. Just a few more days, and this would be a nightmare left far behind them.
“Why did you come here, Ellie? Truly, because hiding in a vineyard with the enemy hunting us is no longer a time for flippant lies.”
Ellie sagged next to her. “I was suffocating. Each day in that house was a slow death. Sure, I loved the money and clothes, but I never wanted all those responsibilities that came with it like you did. I wanted to be able to make my own choices. If I wanted ice cream for lunch, then by golly that’s what I wanted to eat. Not the soup and salad Mother had arranged. I wanted a chance to see new things and meet new people and know they were my friends because they liked me, not my family.”
“I want those things as well.” It was softly spoken, but Kat’s whole heart shouted with the admission.
“Then why didn’t you reach out and take them?”
“I’ve never had your gumption. We were given our roles to play at birth, and I’ve upheld mine all these years to be the perfect daughter, to conform to our family image. Then you left, overturning everything I felt was supposed to be dear to us. I felt betrayed because you didn’t seem to care.”
“That’s not true, Kat. I never meant to hurt you. Never. I’m sorry I’ve been such a terrible sister.”
“I’ve been a terrible sister, trying to force you back into a mold you were never meant to occupy. But now I think, perhaps, it’s time to change our molds. I’ve done everything I can to keep you safe, and despite the hardships, every effort has been worth it. I just don’t think we can ever return to what was.”
Ellie clasped Kat’s hand between her own. “That’s not such a bad thing. I kinda like this new and daring version of the Whitford sisters.”