leaving Germany. They might not like it when we return.”
Anya could handle anything as long as the children would make it out of the country safe. “All right,” she agreed.
“You haven’t even heard my plan.” He tilted his head to the side. “We will be alone for days, and your fiancé won’t like that you’ve run away with another man.”
She gagged. “Dierk can go to the Devil for all I care.”
“Why are you marrying him if you don’t like him?” he asked softly. His expression remained blank. Why did he even care if she married Dierk?
“We can discuss this all on the way to where we are going.” She gestured toward the car. “Don’t we need to leave?”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “But I expect you to answer me.”
“I know,” she said. “And I will.”
They hurried and got inside. Mr. Jones—Arthur started the engine, and they took off. She hoped they made it out of the city without incident. Though once they managed to escape the main danger, the questions would start, and she didn’t feel comfortable answering them all…
Chapter 9
They were still driving well past daylight. Anya couldn’t say how long they had been traveling. She didn’t have a watch to check the time, and she had never been one to gauge the time by the rising of the sun. It didn’t matter though. It could have been an hour or five, and her anxiety level still would not have leveled off.
Silence had filled the car the entire time Arthur had been driving. She had expected him to ask her a lot of questions. He had surely acted as if he would before they’d left. Now that he hadn’t, it made her a thousand times more nervous. Why hadn’t he said anything? Was he waiting for her to start speaking? Should she tell him everything? Somehow, she doubted he would understand her situation. She barely did, and she was living it.
“Are you going to tell me where we are going?” Anya couldn’t take the never-ending quiet any longer. She’d never been the sort to sit still and enjoy the calm. That wouldn’t change no matter what body she inhabited.
“You decided it was time to talk.” He tapped the steering wheel. “It took a whole two hours. I’m amazed it took so long.”
Two hours? She wouldn’t have guessed it had been that long. How had he been able to keep track of the time? Should she ask that too? “You could have said something sooner if it bothered you.” Now she was starting to get snippy. It was probably from lack of sleep, and hunger. Her stomach growled on cue.
“You told me you would explain everything on the way.” His lips tilted downward, but he kept his focus on the road. That was probably a good thing. She had no desire to be in a car accident. “I am letting you control the pace. I suspect what you have to say is not easy to discuss with anyone.”
She hadn’t realized she was that transparent. “There isn’t much to say.” Anya shrugged noncommittally. “My father.” She had a hard time referring to Edward Wegner as anyone related to her. “Wanted me to marry Dierk. I’m not in a position to deny him anything.”
“But you don’t even like him.” He sounded exasperated as he spoke. “Why don’t you put up a fight even if it is a token one.”
How could she answer that? She didn’t know what Anastasia had done. Had she protested the match, or had she gone willingly to the slaughter? Anya would have screamed and cried and begged until her father relented. The difference was Anya’s father was a normal human who actually cared for her. They had a good relationship, and she could rely on him to protect her and care for her if needed. She missed him terribly… Anastasia’s father was a controlling misogynistic arse who didn’t care about anyone except himself and his own ambitions. “How do you know I didn’t?” she said softly. “Or if I did that, it would matter? What good is a token effort if it ends with pain you cannot imagine?”
She had a feeling that Edward Wegner believed in physical punishment. He was harsh with her whenever they had to spend any amount of time together. She hadn’t wanted to feel the sting of a slap or anything worse, so she had remained quiet and pretended to be a demure and obedient daughter. When they returned, she might not be able to