Hidden in the Shadows: An utterly gripping and heartbreaking World War II historical novel about love and impossible choices (Wartime Holland Book 2) by Imogen Matthews

Author:Imogen Matthews [Matthews, Imogen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803143743
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2022-04-19T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

LAURA

I jump awake at the sound of boots thumping across the floor above us. It’s pitch black but I daren’t switch on the light.

‘Do you hear that?’ Bets whispers urgently, tugging at my sleeve in the darkness.

‘Shh. Don’t make a sound. It’s got to be a raid.’ I grab her hand for comfort, then climb in beside her. We cling to each other and I sense the trembling of her body. We both stiffen at the scraping of furniture above us and raised male voices. Then comes the higher-pitched voice of Liv, indignant and confrontational as ever. I will her not to goad them as they’ll be only more determined to turn the place upside down till they find what they are looking for. She carries on and I catch odd words, but none of them make any sense. The German voices cut across her – are there two, three of them? The confusion carries on until the door slams. We flinch. Then silence.

I rush to the window and tentatively push aside a corner of the curtain. I make out several pairs of boots, their metal tips glinting in the pale light of dawn. I quickly drop the curtain in shock.

‘They’ve definitely gone, have they?’ Bets is over by the steps leading out of our jail and is straining to hear anything at all. This happens minutes after the clip of boots have died away. As there’s been no sign of Liv leaving, I have to believe she’s still in the house.

‘Liv, Liv?’ Are you there?’ Bets calls, first in a tentative voice, just in case Liv is not alone, then becoming more panicky. No answer. ‘She can’t have abandoned us? Can she?’

I don’t want to believe it either. ‘She’s up there, I’m sure of it.’ I try to steady my voice but it cracks, betraying my fear. I eye the trapdoor, our only means of escape.

Together we stand on a stair halfway up and heave our shoulders against the trapdoor. One, two, three attempts, but it won’t budge. We both shout hoarsely, despairingly.

We flinch at the sound of a door thudding shut. I run to the window to see the back of Liv’s darned stocking legs as she disappears down the path.

Can you imagine what’s going through our minds? How she’d persuaded the Germans to leave who had no idea we were inches away from them. And now no one knows we’re locked away down below. Our terror intensifies at this realisation.

Exhausted, I slide down onto the floor and hold my head in my hands. This is worse than the terror I’d experienced when the shots rang out signalling the end of Berkenhout. I hadn’t realised how lucky I’d been simply to run. Here, I’m losing my mind, imagining the walls and low ceiling crowding in on me, sucking out what little air there is. Is this some obscure punishment meted out by Liv because she hates us?

Hours pass. I become aware that Bets has come to sit on the floor next to me, her body pressed right up close against mine.

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