Love in the Shadows: A Page-Turning Historical Fiction Romance by Emma Nichols

Author:Emma Nichols [Nichols, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0D2J4DMP1
Goodreads: 214911286
Publisher: J'Adore Les Books
Published: 2024-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

18.

FABIENNE WINCED AT THE blinding pain in her arm as Frau Neumann helped her to the cottage door. She caught the headlights approaching from the road and pushed Johanna closer to the line of the building, holding her still until the vehicle veered left into the driveway of the house. The car came to a stop in the light that spilled out from the front door onto the gravel. Even though she knew it would be hard for them to be seen, her heart pounded as hard as it had done during the rescue mission. Johanna breathed heavily at her side.

The sound of male voices and heels clicking was their cue to move. Fabienne opened the door enough for them to slip inside, and eased the door closed behind them. She went to the window and peeked through the heavy curtains. The car passed around the fountain in the driveway and started back towards the main road.

The front door closed.

She leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply until her heart slowed. When she opened them, even in the low, lamp light, she could see Frau Neumann was wide-eyed and pale-faced. “What?” she said, in a firmer tone than was warranted since the kommandant’s wife had potentially saved her life. She tried to move, and her legs drained of energy. The fire in her arm flared. Her vision clouded. The room spun.

“You’re bleeding.”

Fabienne shook her head and staggered to regain her balance. “You must go.”

Even if she could tell Frau Neumann about the mission, she wouldn’t be able to find the words to describe the terrifying scene: women screaming, children crying, whistles sounding, machine guns mowing down people like blades of grass, more screaming, and then the haunting silence. It would have been a hundred times worse without the mist, or if the train had made it to the station and the Germans had been able to get there sooner. The train having stopped short of the station had been an error that had served the Resistance and the prisoners well. How many would survive? Only time would tell.

Frau Neumann helped her to the couch to sit.

Fabienne lowered her head between her knees to stave off the nausea and dizziness. The pain in her arm soared and, in her attempt to stifle a cry, she whimpered.

Frau Neumann eased her back and started to unbutton her coat. She wanted to resist but her body wouldn’t comply. The coat was slipped from her shoulders, and the pain surged. She moaned and tried to hold her arm, but her hand was raw from trying to dig the earth, her fingers swollen and tight. Frau Neumann lifted her hand gently and inspected it slowly. Fabienne was compelled to stare at her, locked into the compassion in Frau Neumann’s eyes and the tenderness of her touch. She felt the sadness rising from deep inside, the loss and grief of so many people, and swallowed hard to stem the tears building behind her eyes.

“Do

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