Chapter 20 #2
His fingertips tightened against her, and he was instantly more aware of how close they were together in this crate, their bodies stuck so tight that they were sweating. Not romantic in any way. But still—he couldn’t help but feel more … exposed? No, that wasn’t it.
He wasn’t really sure.
But he did know one thing—the thought of her sneaking into Germany didn’t settle well with him. “If the Nazis have made it clear you’re persona non grata and they catch you there, they might …”
Jack didn’t finish. Truth was, everything about what the Nazis were doing with their political prisoners was just rumor. Speculation based off intelligence that no one was talking about and Jack had only heard from the brief conversations he’d had with Noah on the way to France.
“They opened a camp for political prisoners in Dachau last year,” Ruby said. “I’d probably end up some place like that. One of my cousins in Munich whom we managed to get out with his wife and son and bring to Palestine—he said they’re sending political threats to the camp.”
Jack’s fingertips brushed against her wrist, searching for her hand. He slipped his hand into hers, words failing him.
He knew what it was like to feel so desperate to help someone he loved that he’d do just about anything. That’s why I’m here.
And he couldn’t judge her for it. The Nazis worried him—and he didn’t have family there confronting their erratic behavior. “What did your cousin say about how things have changed there?”
Ruby shuddered. “It’s bad, Jack. Especially for the Jews.
They’ve been cut off from the civil service, the law, academia …
and there are nationwide boycotts against Jewish businesses.
President Hindenburg is nearly useless in his opposition to the Nazi policies.
My Catholic family is faring better, but even some of them are fearful.
And my siblings—there are five of us. Three of them are still in Oberstdorf. ”
“I wish you’d told me this sooner,” Jack said as he moved his free hand up to shift some of the straw away from his face. More straw fell to take the place of the piece he’d moved.
The roar of the engine filled the tiny space, the bumping of the road making the crates around them sound like living, breathing things offering squeaks of conversation and complaints about the discomfort of the journey.
“Would it really have made a difference? You’re doing this for your sister, right?
Besides.” She sniffed. “I’m not a charity case.
I did my best to try to get help for my family where I could—no one cared.
Or they don’t believe my family is in danger.
” She shook her head bitterly. “Not even some of my family believe they’re in danger.
My uncle joined the Nazi party. Another one told me, right before I left—‘You really think they’ll make life worse for us?
We fought for Germany. We’re brothers.’’”
She released an angry, choked laugh. “Brothers. Until they decide you’re not. You can’t help me, Jack—only your money can. And, let’s face it, you wouldn’t have given it to a girl who robbed you at gunpoint, would you?”
He winced. She wasn’t wrong. If she’d told him this bleeding-heart story in Cairo, he probably wouldn’t have believed her. She was a good actress, after all, and she was a thief.
And now?
What reason does she have to lie? He was going to pay her if she got him to Baghdad and back safely. Her motivation to tell him all this was substantially less … complicated now.
Which means she’s probably telling the truth.
The lorry dipped over a rut in the road, sending a jolt through them. The squeal of the brakes cut through the stillness.
Her story sounded genuine. A lie of that detail would be hard to keep straight. “So why are you telling me now?”
“Because you asked.” She sighed. “Besides, what else are we going to do while stuck in a tomb on a way to a foreign checkpoint where we could be detained and jailed if caught?” She let out a laugh that hinted at her continued lack of calm at their current surroundings.
“That’s true.” He squeezed her hand, trying to offer her some reassurance.
“Enough about me. Tell me about you. Or your sister. What was she doing in Baghdad?”
He wasn’t sure how much he was ready or willing to share with Ruby yet, but she’d revealed some deeply personal details. If he avoided doing the same, she might be hurt by it.
“Truth is, I haven’t talked to my sister in twenty years.
” He scratched at his neck, trying to ignore how badly his legs were starting to cramp.
“She and I had a falling out around then, and we haven’t talked since.
It wasn’t until recently that a mutual acquaintance approached me and told me she’d been working at a dig in Ur and gone missing. ”
“Oh.” Disappointment was thick in her voice. “Then you’re not close.” The fact seemed to bother her. “Why did you fall out?”
Why? Jack didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to remember how he’d pleaded with Alice, begged her to see reason.
“She started working for a man I consider to be my enemy. A real ruthless, amoral son of a bitch. And she knew—she knew—the only reason he wanted her to work for him was to stop me from trying to make sure he met the justice of a firing squad.”
“Stop you? How?”
“Because if I ever did anything to him, he’d make sure Alice—that’s my sister—paid for it. Whether he was dead or alive. So she was his insurance. And, despite knowing that, she chose to work for him anyway.”
Ruby cleared her throat. “It sounds like she was trying to protect you.”
What?
He laughed skeptically. “How would that protect me?”
“I don’t know. But maybe you’re not seeing the full picture. Maybe he was threatening her too. Were you two close?”
The idea that Alice might have ignored everything Jack had told her to protect him wasn’t a new one, but he didn’t want to think about it either.
Alice had a choice. Jack would have taken care of them—the same way he always had.
He would have taken her to the other side of the earth and gotten as far from Prescott’s reach as he could, same way that Kit had.
In the end, Alice’s choice had been to ignore Jack’s pleas.
He gave a gruff nod. “She was one of the only people I gave a damn about. I would have done just about anything for her.”
“Then that’s probably what it was. Your enemy, whoever he is, must have used her love for you to convince her to work for him.
Listen, I speak from experience here. I’m willing to do just about anything for my family.
Lie, cheat, steal. Let myself be plastered to a sweaty man and smuggled into Iraq.
Nothing is beneath me if I can save them. ”
He chuckled, her joke breaking the tension. “Hey, I bathed a couple days ago. You’re no less sweaty than I am.”
“Yes, but I’m a lot prettier to look at.”
“You don’t think I’m pretty?” He smiled. “That might be the meanest thing you’ve said yet, Ruby W—” He paused. “Is Wilson your actual last name?”
“Hmm … don’t you think I’ve shared enough secrets, Jack Darby?”
“So the answer is no.”
The squeak of the brakes cut into their conversation, and Jack twisted his head, more alert to their surroundings now. They must be approaching the Allenby Bridge. Which meant they were a stone’s throw from Transjordan.
One step closer to getting to Baghdad.
Of course, to get there, they still needed to leave the Jordan Valley for Amman, then face the treacherous route through the desert.
Now he knew something that would probably haunt him every mile to Baghdad: this wasn’t just his life or Ruby’s on the line. Every person counting on her—her siblings, cousins, and more—they were all at risk. And the desert didn’t care who needed saving.