“That’s exactly it. You weren’t supposed to know. None of my family was supposed to know.” “That was the first condition.”
“Headquarters agreed to take me on only if I was completely cut off from my old life. On paper, I died. To everyone. To you too, and that was the hardest part.”
He took a tentative step toward her. She instinctively stepped back. He stopped at once.
“I’ve been passing strategic information for almost two years, Anya. Operational plans, troop movements, names of enemy agents—everything I can reach from where I sit.”
“I have a courier I see once a month. He takes microfilm and moves it on through his channels. So far no one in the German command suspects that General von Riedel is working for us.”
“Then tell me why I should believe you.” The question came out sharper than she intended. She didn’t want to speak to him that way, but strain had gotten there first.
He didn’t take offense. He simply nodded, as if he had expected exactly that. “You shouldn’t believe me just because I say so.”
“As an agent, you shouldn’t take anyone at their word. From a professional standpoint, I could be a provocateur. I could be a double agent trying to get close to you and uncover your network.”
He took another careful step and came close enough that she could see the wear in his face. This time she did not move away. “But I can tell you something only I would know.”
“Think back to our wedding night. After the guests left.”
“You lay down on the pillow and started crying. I asked why, and you said you were afraid to be that happy because life always takes away the things that matter most.”
“And you told me you’d take our happiness back,” Anna whispered, remembering. “Every time, as many times as it took.”
“Yes,” he said. “Only the two of us knew that.”
She stared at him, and something inside her gave way. The wall she had built over two years—brick by brick, out of grief, discipline, and the need to keep going—began to collapse.
Behind it was the one thing that had never really gone away. “Dima,” she said softly, and his name broke in her throat.
He crossed the distance between them and held her so tightly it hurt. She pressed her wet face into his chest and cried. For the first time in two years, she was not crying from grief.
They stood that way for a long time in the ruined church, among the mud and burned walls, while the war outside seemed to fall silent. For a few minutes there was only the two of them, and the two lost years between them.
Then he gently pulled back. He took her face in his hands—those same strong hands she remembered so well—and looked her in the eye. “We can’t stay here long. Patrols could come by at any time.”
“But there’s something else you need to know. A new man has arrived in headquarters from counterintelligence.”
“His name is Walter Kranz. He’s considered one of their best at identifying our people. He knows there’s a leak in the building. And he’s not looking for me. He’s looking for you.”
“Kranz knows there’s a mole in headquarters, and he’s digging hard. He doesn’t know who yet, but he’s smart, ruthless, and patient. You need to be twice as careful now.”
Anna nodded. She had already heard the name in passing. Walter Kranz had arrived only days earlier—a quiet, forgettable man with dead-cold eyes…
