Chapter Six
Adam
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“THIS IS IT.” HANS FLUNG open the doors of the truck, sending a sudden stream of cold air and a beam of intense light pouring into its dark confines. I started at his call, stirring Caroline beside me. “Welcome to Zurich!”
Blinking into the shadows, I tried to make sense of the abrupt wake-up.
Had we arrived already? Caroline and I had been entwined since Hans’ impromptu pitstop, and yet again, the hours had rushed by in a flash.
Initially, we’d laughed at the impertinent way she’d threatened to punish me, my indignation turning into whispered words and kisses as I held her.
At some point, despite the uncomfortable setting, we’d slipped into sleep.
After days of stress and anxiety, it was good to finally bank a little rest.
We deserved that much.
Not that we were out of the woods yet, and climbing to my feet, I knew it. Arriving in Zurich was only the first step in getting a new life organized for us, but it was an important one. Collecting my contingency funds and documents would mean we were on the right path.
“Bedankt, Hans,” I replied, averting my gaze from the flashlight’s beam as I rose to greet him. “Weet je waar UBS Bank is?”
There was no real need to ask the driver for directions to the bank.
A branch as large as the one I sought had to be in the center of Zurich, and I was sure it would be easy enough to find, but I took the opportunity to ask, regardless.
Normally, I’d have used online maps to find the location, but hurling my phone into the English Channel had temporarily put paid to that solution.
Being without the device was like being flung back into the last century.
“UBS?” He shook his head. “You won’t find a bank open at this time.”
My stomach fell at his answer, the logic of his statement falling into place immediately.
After arriving in Rotterdam early in the morning and traveling for the best part of nine hours, it was probably closer to nine in the evening than nine in the morning.
That was why he was using a flashlight to illuminate our traveling space.
Night had fallen as we’d slept in the back of his lorry.
Shit. I glanced at Caroline, who was slowly stirring on the floor. Nowhere will be open.
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WHY HADN’T I REALIZED we’d be arriving too late to go directly to the bank? I should have been able to work that out for myself, yet in the haze of breaking out of the regime I’d helped to create, I hadn’t acknowledged our timings.
“Heb je ergens waar je vanavond naartoe kunt?” Hans took a step toward me as he inquired where we would stay that night.
It was a bloody good question. I had no obvious answer and no foreign currency or passports to book into any local accommodation. The well of anxiety that had only recently started to calm stirred within me. With nowhere to stay in a foreign city, things looked suddenly bleak.
“I don’t know.” The weight of that confession tightened the knotting apprehension in my stomach.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I really hadn’t thought the logistics of my plan through properly, and such slapdash behavior wasn’t like me. Maybe that smack to the head Caroline had given me had caused more damage than I wanted to admit.
“I might know a place.” He pressed his lips together as if he wasn’t certain about making the offer. “Het is niet geweldig, maar het is veilig.”
It’s not grand, but it’s safe. The translation ran through my mind as Caroline climbed to her feet.
“That would be incredible, thank you.” If Hans could provide us with somewhere safe for the night, he’d be going above and beyond my limited expectations. Usually, I’d have been suspicious of such an act of generosity, but my reduced circumstances inspired more compliance.
“Is everything okay?” Caroline glanced between us, the light in her eyes conveying her concern. She couldn’t speak Dutch, but I had no doubt she could pick up on my bubbling unease.
“Yes,” I replied, keen to smooth over her trepidation.
That was my job, after all. I’d promised to get her away and protect her. Rendering us homeless on night one wasn’t exactly the best way to start.
“We just arrived a little too late for the bank,” I went on, ignoring the way Hans’ brow rose at my understatement. “But it seems maybe Hans has a place we can stay the night.”
Her gaze flitted to the driver. “Really?”
“Perhaps.” Hans glanced at the floor. “My sister, Anneke, has a small apartment, but she’s in the hospital right now, so...”
Perfect.
My heart sped up at the news, Hans’ offer and subsequent reticence suddenly making sense.
He was obviously a decent guy and didn’t want to leave us without a roof over our heads, but suggesting his sister’s place in her absence presumably seemed as though he was overstepping the mark.
The apartment wasn’t his to loan out. All we had to do was assuage his conscience, assure him we’d take care of the place, and we’d have somewhere warm to hide where the local authorities couldn’t stumble upon us until the sun rose.
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Maneuvering past me, Caroline closed the short distance to where Hans was waiting. “Is your sister all right?”
“They don’t know.” Hans swallowed as if the admission was painful. “They’re running all sorts of tests, but there are no answers yet.”
Caroline peered back at me, and even in the half light, I could see the empathy etched into her attractive features.
It was strange watching her interact so freely with someone else, let alone another man, but standing there in the truck, I caught a glimpse of the woman she’d once been before the BTP regime had acted to pulverize her.
The one with freewill and a big heart. It was that same big heart that had prompted her to flee Gamma block for Fern the night I’d first found her.
Without her compassion, we might never have met.
“You poor thing,” she soothed, glancing back at Hans. “It’s so hard when someone we love is unwell.”
“Yes.” Hans drew in a steadying breath. “She’s a good woman. I am sure she’d want to help you both, but...”
“It feels wrong giving us permission without asking her first.” Caroline reached out and squeezed Hans’ shoulder. “We understand, don’t we, Adam?”
We do? I blinked at her, unsure I agreed. It sounded like she was talking us out of the only offer we had.
“I mean, we’d really appreciate it, and we’d look after your sister’s place,” I replied eventually. “You have my word on that.”
Though what the word of a former commander in Ian Jackson’s authoritarian regime was worth, I couldn’t be sure.
“Yes, but we have sympathy for your situation, too, Hans.” She picked up my ball and ran off with it in the entirely wrong direction. “We don’t want to put you in any position where you’d owe your sister an apology. Especially when she’s ill.”
Hans’ focus slipped from her to me. “But you have nowhere else.”
“Exactly.” I emphasized the word, considering striding over there and tanning her pert little backside for her contribution.
Compassion for his situation was one thing, but what was she thinking, trying to convince the man that we didn’t need his help when we did?
If Hans left us outside on the dark Swiss street, we’d have nowhere to go.
Stranded and alone with no Swiss money, we’d have been forced to find a park bench somewhere, potentially drawing the unwelcome attention of the local police.
If they ran security checks or decided to take us into custody, they might just be able to put two and two together and identify us. Or me, at least.
I couldn’t let that happen.
“I swear we’ll treat your sister’s place with the utmost respect, Hans.” I moved toward them. “And I’m happy to pay for the night there, although I only have British pounds until I get to the bank.”
He nodded at me. “It’s a two-bedroom apartment, so maybe we all stay there tonight. That way, you both have a bed, and I won’t feel as though I’m endangering her property.”
I tried not to take the insinuation that we’d endanger anything personally.
“But what about your truck?” Caroline motioned to the pallets packed around us. “Don’t you have to get the produce somewhere else?”
“The delivery is already delayed for this Swiss trip, so...” Hans shrugged. “I might as well get some sleep tonight and head off in the morning.”
“Yes, you need sleep, too,” Caroline concurred as though she was the driver’s official advocate.
“So, it’s agreed, then?” I wrapped a possessive arm around her middle, meeting the driver’s eyes. “We can take one of those bedrooms for the night?”
“Ja, for one night.” Hans’ voice echoed with resolve. “The apartment isn’t far from here. Get out and I’ll get the spare keys.”
***
“THIS IS LOVELY.” CAROLINE’S smile was nervous as Hans led us into the narrow hallway of his sister’s home.
I’d seen similar expressions from her multiple times. It was the same nervy gesture my subordinates had offered me at Fortorus.
“It’s Anneke’s taste, not mine.” Hans dismissed her praise, shrugging off his coat as he motioned for us to move into the apartment.
“There’s a bathroom that way.” He pointed to a door on the left. “Your room is the next on the right.”
“Thanks again,” I told him, as, clutching our bag, I steered Caroline in the direction of the bedroom. “We’ll be on our way as soon as the bank is open.”
“Thank you, Hans!” Caroline called back as I opened the door and ushered her inside.
“Oke.” His voice echoed along the hall, and raising my hand in acknowledgement, I flicked on the light switch and closed the door behind me.
Dim illumination lit the space, presenting a wardrobe and a double bed, the walls and soft furnishings all decorated in the same pale, feminine floral tones whichever way I looked.