Not yet. She had to get him away from Commandant Jaros and back to the US without endangering a camp jammed full of innocent people and the mission itself. She couldn’t do it without all her faculties.
Sophie gently removed his arm from around her ribs and wiggled out of bed. He made a small sound in his sleep as she slipped from his grasp. She leaned down and kissed the corner of his mouth before she left.
-
Sophie stood beside the Rev’s Jeep as he prepared to drive into Parnaas, repeating to him the story she’d given Sergei and Sevastian last night.
“I need time, Dave. Buy me some time. That’s all I ask.”
“I’ll do my best.”
She watched the convoy roll away, wishing she could go with them. But she belonged here now. With a sigh, she walked back to the infirmary.
Michael was finishing a small plate of eggs and dry toast, his first solid food in several days. “Good?” she asked. He let out an ecstatic whimper. “Want more?” He nodded. She walked down the hallway and got him seconds of the unappetizing food, which he ate with frightening zeal.
He insisted on getting to and from the shower under his own steam, albeit slowly and very painfully. When he returned, Sophie sat cross-legged on his bed with a serious look on her face.
“I am in trouble?” he joked, sitting down beside her.
She dried his feet thoroughly, applied the ointment Raj had prescribed, then started wrapping his toes. Michael tried to push her aside so he could do it, but Sophie knocked his hands away. They glared at one another.
“Yesterday, I talked. Today, you talk.” She smoothed the bandage neatly around the ball of his foot. “Where’s your passport? I doubt it’s stuffed in your pocket, and you’re going to need it to get out of here.”
“It’s in Kaliningrad,” he said. “I left my identification there before I crossed the border into Orlisia. It can be easily retrieved.”
She stared at him in surprise. “You left your passport in the Soviet Republic? Where?”
“With family friends.” He raised his heavy eyebrows at her expression. “Not all Soviet people wish to see Orlisia enslaved, you know. Perhaps you have been spending too much time with my mother.” She looked down, feeling her face redden with embarrassment.
After a moment, Michael let out a long sigh. “I gather from the conversations I have had with you, and also with my parents last night, that I am expected to return to the US without delay.”
“We can’t put you on a plane while you have an infectious pneumonia. Anjali figures we need a few more days to ensure you’re not going to relapse and are no longer contagious.” She pulled the last bandage taut and tucked the end in. “But the sooner we get you back to New York, the happier I’ll be.” Sophie risked a look up at his face. Dark and moody, but not quite as angry as she expected. “How do you feel about that?”
“How do you think I feel?” he said. “I came here to help liberate my country. Until the Soviets blew up our resistance cell, I was helping in some small way to do that. When they attacked, I barely escaped with my life. I made my way to the border in the freezing cold, got caught, and ended up in Parnaas. Where,” he concluded bitterly, “I had to be rescued by a woman.”
His lack of gratitude stung. “Yes, I’m sure that’s very damaging to your pride.” She ignored his foul look. “Michael, I’m not forcing you to do anything. If you wish, you can finish getting better, then walk right back across the border into Orlisia.”
He snorted in disbelief, and her lips pressed into a hard line.
“This is not a prison. You’re free to go; I won’t stop you.” Her heart constricted in terror even as she spoke. If he went back, everything would end between them. She could not endure another round of this.