Chapter Seven
Caroline
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“THANK YOU FOR LETTING me see him, Officer.”
I glanced across to the driver’s seat and fleetingly met Kaspar’s gaze.
After being given her orders to leave Harper be by the brusque doctor at the hospital, she was driving me back to the police station.
I didn’t love the idea of going back to detention there, but the nerves stirring in my belly were more to do with the scheme unfurling in my mind than my temporary housing arrangements.
“He seemed brighter for your company.” She nodded in my direction. “And, I admit, he remembers a lot more now you’ve visited.”
“I’m glad.” Even though Harper’s memory loss was disconcerting, I felt eminently better for having seen him.
Just the touch of his hand had calmed me, and acknowledging his dominant quips about theoretical punishments to come reminded me that, however intense our current struggles seemed, there was a man who loved me enough to pick up his entire life and leave it to ensure my wellbeing.
That meant something.
That meant a great fucking deal.
He loves me. I bit back my smile. And equipped with his love, I can cope with anything.
“The doctor said his remaining memory should return, but perhaps your visits will inspire a swifter resolution.” Kaspar’s tone was contemplative.
“Visits?” I repeated, emphasizing the plural. “You’re thinking of letting me go back to the hospital?”
“I know you will want to.” She snorted, shaking her head. “There does not seem to be anything capable of keeping you two apart.”
The notion that even the police recognized the strength of our chemistry was oddly comforting.
Harper was a war criminal, but in rescuing me from the horror of the new order, he’d already started the process of his redemption.
If we got a shot at a life together, after all, I would help make sure he never stopped seeking salvation.
“When do you think the ICC will reply about his plea deal?” I gripped at the safety belt, sensing I was on thin ice with the question, yet asking all the same. The next phase of our lives depended upon the ICC’s concurrence.
“That is not a conversation I can have with you, Miss Craness.” Kaspar’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “Mr. Harper’s legal proceedings with the state are confidential.”
“Of course.” I turned to the window and watched the gray buildings rush past. I was sure Zurich was a lovely city, but nothing about the architecture I witnessed enthralled me. “I just worry about what comes next for us both.”
“You will be safe in our custody until such time that the deal is finalized,” she assured me. “We are legally bound to feed and house you.”
How reassuring.
“I appreciate that.” Anxiety twisted in my gut as the crux of my request loomed. “But if I’m to stay with you, I’ll need a few clothes from the house we were staying in.”
“Make a list of what you require.” Kaspar sighed. “I shall send a uniformed colleague to fetch some for you.”
“No.” My tone was a little more insistent than I’d intended, and Kaspar shot a curious look in my direction. “Please...”
I swallowed back my surging apprehension, trying to explain.
“I’d really like to choose for myself. I have such little control over anything at the moment, and after all those months at Fortorus.
..” I shuddered for effect. “I just want a little dignity. Being able to decide what I wear again will be a start. Is that such a big ask?”
A part of me loathed the way I used my former prison as a justification for the trip when I knew my desire to hide the bag of cash had nothing to do with that awful place.
There were still women locked up at Fortorus, after all, and only God knew what fate had befallen the ones Harper and I had released on the day we’d fled.
In the end, though, my own selfish needs took precedence.
I needed to change Kaspar’s mind about allowing me to go back to the house, and if that meant pulling the Fortorus card and hoping that, as a woman, she’d be more inclined to give a shit, then so be it.
I’d do whatever was necessary to secure a future with Harper.
“I understand.” Her tone sounded anything but understanding. “But going back there is not protocol.”
“It’s just a few things,” I insisted, hopeful that, just like with the idea of seeing Harper, I might be able to wear her down if I didn’t relent. “I don’t have much left in the world, Officer Kaspar, but those few clothes would really help me at the moment.”
“And where is the key for this house?” Her gaze narrowed as she turned to me. “I do not remember it on your person when we brought you in.”
“I have it in my bra. It’s a little trick I learned at Fortorus. Not that they allowed us the privilege of underwear for long.”
Her brow furrowed at my explanation. “I am sorry you had to live through such times.”
“Yeah.” It was my turn to sigh. “Me too.”
“I suppose we could stop by the house quickly.” Checking the clock on her dashboard, her gaze flitted to me. “But you must tell me how you and Mr. Harper were able to stay in such a place when you didn’t have the legal right to be in the country.”
Anxiety intensified at her shrewd inquiry. Pleased that she seemed to be ceding to my demand, the last thing I wanted to do was to drop Fabian in trouble in the process.
“Adam knows the man who owns the house.” Shrugging, I feigned ignorance. “He let us stay there for a while.”
“For free?” She sounded unconvinced.
“I don’t know the details.” I forced myself to meet her stare before she focused back on the road. “I was seriously traumatized when we crossed the border. Adam arranged everything.”
Once upon a time, I’d prided myself on my honesty and integrity.
Watching my country slide into shit and being rounded up as a criminal for little more than my gender and forced into incarceration had permanently altered me, though.
Sitting in the police car, the lies I told did disturbingly little to prick my conscience.
I was fighting for something more important than alleged decency.
Honor and righteousness had done little to save me in the dark days.
I’d be damned before I allowed them to thwart me as I grasped for any sort of happily ever after.
“I understand.”
Her response was clipped, and I noticed her taking a turning on the left, her fingers blanching as she acquiesced with the impromptu diversion.
I hadn’t expected her to offer to take me to the house right away, but staring out at the gloomy sky, I realized I couldn’t have conjured a better opportunity.
With Kaspar distracted by her own compliance and the only official in tow, it would be potentially much easier to fulfil my real reason for being there.
“I promise I won’t be long,” I went on, suddenly conscious of needing to fill the towering quiet in the vehicle.
She appeared to be giving me what I wanted, but I sensed there might be a price tag attached to the request. I only hoped I could afford the cost.
“That is good.” She didn’t turn to meet my eyes, and the absence of the gesture knotted my unease. “I shall have to ask Mr. Harper about this man he knows.”
“I’m sure he’ll be happy to help if he remembers.” I was suddenly thankful for Harper’s abrupt bout of amnesia.
“Of course, we can track down the owner of the house with ease, anyway.” Her knowing tone did little to assuage my concerns. “Then I can speak to him myself.”
“Absolutely.” My attention slid to the window, a hundred questions rushing through my mind.
If Kaspar spoke to Fabian, what would happen?
For starters, I was certain he would tell the truth and confirm he hadn’t known Harper prior to meeting us both on that day in the café, but then, he would also have questions to answer about leasing his property to unvetted tenants.
I didn’t know the law in Switzerland, but if it was anything like the UK used to be before it fell to fascism, signing a tenancy agreement could take weeks to finalize and involved numerous checks.
Fabian and Harper had settled the matter in little over an hour.
The slowing car dragged my attention from my growing woe, and lifting my head, I realized I’d been staring at my hands in my lap.
“Are w-we here?” I asked, not recognizing any of the local properties as she brought the car to a halt.
Harper and I hadn’t been in the area long, but I’d come to know a few of the local cafes and restaurants near the rented house, and none of the buildings out of my window looked familiar.
“No.” Her voice was stern. “This is not the address Mr. Harper was arrested at.”
“Then... where are we?” A part of me dreaded to ask, but it seemed Kaspar had something she wanted to say, and I wasn’t getting back into the house until she’d said her piece.
“We are at a crossroads.” Applying the parking brake, she shifted in her seat. “Where I am going to need you to tell me the truth.”
Shit. I didn’t like the sound of that.
“I am telling you the truth,” I started, but the wry look on her face conveyed how little she believed me.
“If you cannot be honest with me about how you and Mr. Harper came to be at the address, then I see little reason to take you there.” Her glare bored into me, as though she was daring me to lie to her face again.
“Please.” The initial niggles of what could prove to be a headache enflamed in my temples. “What does it matter how they knew each other?”
“It matters that you are lying.” She folded her arms across her chest. “My colleagues and I have gone out of our way to show you compassion, yet you are not telling us the truth.”
Closing my eyes, my hands rose to rub at the burgeoning pain in my forehead. “If I tell you the truth, then the man who owns the house will be in trouble.”
“If he has broken the rules, yes,” she barked. “Why defend him?”
“Because he helped us.” I blew out a breath, wondering how I’d slipped into the latest pit I’d fallen into. “He helped us when no one else would. I don’t think he deserves to be punished for that empathy, Officer. If anything, the world needs more empathetic men, not fewer.”
“That is your judgment, Miss Craness, and while I understand it, the law is still the law.”
“Oh, please.” I couldn’t hide the contempt in my voice. “That’s the type of bullshit I used to hear in Britain when I lost the right to work, and then the right to own property, and then hold a bank account. ‘The law is just the law,’ they’d say. ‘Suck it up, sunshine.’”
She scowled at my admission, apparently not wanting that level of honesty. Funny how that often happened. People demanding the truth rarely wanted to actually hear it.
“I have expressed my sympathy for what you have been through, and Switzerland has welcomed you here and offered you the chance to claim asylum, but that does not excuse those who have broken the law to get you here or help you stay below the authorities’ radar.
Now, please, what do you know about this man? ”
Stretching my neck, my mind reeled. If I told her what little I knew about Fabian, the police would be all over his house like ants, and inevitably, Adam’s bag would be found.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Miss Craness?” Kaspar’s prompt was goading.
“If you cooperate now, I will take you to the place and allow you to take your personal items before we track the owner down. If not, then we’ll head back to the station, and I cannot promise that you shall ever return. ”
For fuck’s sake.
“It doesn’t seem as though I have much choice then, does it?” I shot her an accusing glance.
“I suppose not.” Her tone sounded unconcerned.
“His name is Fabian, and that’s all I know.” Briefly, I thought I recalled Fabian introducing himself with his second name, but for the life of me, I couldn’t recall what it was. Perhaps Harper’s amnesia was contagious.
“Okay.” She sounded unconvinced. “And do you have an address for this Fabian?”
“I have a number,” I told her. “Or Adam does, if I can find the mobile phone he had. I think it’s at the house.”
“So, that is why you wish to return?” Her eyebrow arched, and I was struck by how little the gesture affected me. Apparently, it was only Harper who wielded the ability to make the deed sexy.
“No.” My answer was immediate. “I really do want my personal things. If I find the phone, then you can have it.”
“Danke.” She nodded, twisting to face the road again. “Then it seems we have a deal. I’ll take you there, and you find the phone for me. The authorities will want to speak to Fabian.”
I’m sure. “Okay.”
I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of snitching on the man, but I supposed he’d been happy to take Harper’s cash and ask no questions. While he’d helped us out, a man as unscrupulous as that was bound to attract the police’s attention sooner or later.
“Okay.” Checking her mirrors, she signaled to rejoin the line of traffic and pulled the car back onto the main road. “We are not far from the place.”
“Thanks.” Despondency mushroomed in my chest. I’d managed to drop Fabian into trouble, and there were still no guarantees that I’d be able to salvage the bag we needed.
She motioned to a road up ahead. “There is the street we found you on.”
Following the direction of her hand, my gaze landed on the line of new homes, but rather than the hope I’d previously felt at the prospect of returning there, there was only disillusionment.
Just when the horizon had started to look bright, the cloud overhead was stormy once more.