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“This is it. Put your stuff inside, and let’s take a walk. I will explain how things work around here.”
Fred tossed his flour sack in, thankful to be rid of the load.
“We all have nicknames; that way, if anyone gets caught, they won’t give up any important information. Give me a name you like.”
Fred clenched his jaw. After a moment of thought, he looked his brother in the eyes.
“Tell them my name is Miller. That way, every time anyone calls me, I will remember Father and what he had did. It will remind me why I’m still alive.”
Honza frowned. “And why do you think that is, aside from Mark risking his own life to save yours?”
“To avenge them.” Fred clenched his jaw. Hot tears filled his eyes as the guilt and shame crushed his spirit.
His brother stepped closer and laid his hands on Fred’s shoulders. “And that we will, brother. You have my word.”
Honza took him from one shelter to another and introduced Fred to everyone at the camp. There was no way he could remember all their names. These people came here from all over. Fred recognized Polish and later understood that the commander spoke Ukrainian. Most of them were Slovaks, warmly welcoming him to the encampment.
But with each new person they met, his disappointment grew. Hedvika was not among them. Fred understood that asking questions would get him no answers, and if she had adopted a new name, as it seemed to be the rule at this camp, he would never find her. How many similar secret settlements were there throughout the mountains? That night, Fred promised himself that he would never stop searching for her. His life belonged to Hedvika, a small repayment for all that she had lost because of Father. And because of him. The folly of his own actions weighed heavily on his heart. Had he brought them straight into the forest and let them stay at the deer feeder, Father would have never known. All of them would still be alive.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Northern Moravia, 2025
Meghan shuther eyes against the darkness and prayed.
God, please, don’t let Oliver die.
Her heart throbbed at the thought that he could have been shot while unable to defend himself. By the faint light of her phone, she crept toward the exit. Hiding while he risked his life wasn’t what she planned to do. Meghan wasn’t some helpless damsel in distress. She had to help him.
Once at the mouth of the cave, she peered around the boulder. There was no one there. The sound of rapid footsteps thumping the forest floor caused her adrenaline to spike. To the left of her, someone shouted a command. They were chasing him. Her hands shook. But then her rational mind kicked in. If they were running after him, it meant that Oliver was alive.
She stepped out of the cave and scanned her surroundings. An ATV was parked in the shrubs to her left. If she could get on and cut through the undergrowth, she would have a chance to get ahead of them. Praying under her breath, she sprinted to the machine and started it, then pushed the throttle to the max as the shouting continued, the rear tires spinning and kicking up a flurry of dry leaves. Meghan drove into the forest. Branches whipped against her as the noise of the engine drowned out the commands of the running men. Her only hope was that they would have assumed one of their own rode the vehicle.
Oliver, where are you?She prayed God would grant her a miracle.
And then she noticed a flash of his jacket between the trees. Her heart beating in her ears, Meghan drove the machine toward him. Oliver turned. His expression told her he was ready for a fight. The intensity melted away as soon as recognition hit him. His face broke into a wide smile. She slowed down enough for him to mount the seat behind her.
“What took you so long?” he said into her ear.
“You told me to wait,” she shot back over the roar of the engine.
“Good, you did not listen. Please take it to the right. The logging road will take us to the mill. The backup is on their way.”
A shot rang through the forest.
“Go, go, go!”
He needn’t tell her that. Meghan drove the ATV straight down the mountain, avoiding the trees and low branches.
God, help me not to tip this thing.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Northern Moravia, 1945
When the war finally ended,Fred was a different man. He lost Honza during one of their daring operations and didn’t even get the chance to bury his brother. Fred thought of Hedvika every day and accepted that the life he lived now was God’s punishment for what his family did to hers. He prayed that the Lord would grant him one more favor before his days on Earth ran out. He wanted to see her one last time.
The trek home was treacherous like the one Honza had taken him on two years before. This time, Fred had no guide. He woke up each morning and followed the sun as it crossed the sky and settled in the west. It took him over a week, but there was no need to forgo sleep. No one was after him this time.