The Oslo Affair (Shadows of War, #2) by CW Browning (read after .txt) 📗

“I think it is,” she said slowly, “but it’s not without risk. I don’t know how much risk, but I feel it only fair to warn you.”

Anna smiled slowly, a glint coming into her eyes.

“When do we leave?”

Evelyn finished folding the last blouse and laid it in the suitcase before looking around the room to see if there was anything she’d missed. She had never fully unpacked, not knowing how quickly Vladimir would contact her, so there wasn’t much to re-pack. Not seeing any forgotten objects lurking in the corners, she closed the case, doing up the leather straps.

The sun had set outside and a fire blazed cheerfully in the hearth, throwing warmth out into the room. Turning, she went to stand before it, staring down into the flames thoughtfully. She had no idea how long she would be gone. It all depended upon how quickly this Risto Niva would meet with her, or even if he would meet with her.

Bill had anticipated that she would only be away from Scotland for a week or two, but it could very well be longer now. Evelyn frowned as a thought came into her head. She had only written enough letters to cover an absence of three weeks at most. Anything longer than that and her mother would start to wonder why she wasn’t hearing from her.

And Miles would think she wasn’t writing after all.

Her lips twisted and she sighed, staring into the fire. And why did that bother her so much? He was just a pilot who flew with her brother, after all. A very handsome pilot, it was true, and one whom she found interesting and fun to talk to, but an acquaintance just the same. If he thought she wasn’t returning his letters, it really shouldn’t matter to her.

And yet it did. For some reason that she couldn’t understand, Evelyn desperately wanted to extend their acquaintance and get to know him better. It didn’t matter that they were a country at war, or that his job ensured that he was in the first line of defense should Hitler attempt to invade England. It didn’t matter that he thought she was a WAAF in Scotland training other WAAFs to work in the plotting stations, which was perfect really. She hadn’t had to say very much at all regarding what she supposedly did in Scotland. He had made an assumption and run with it, leaving any further prevarication on her part unnecessary.

If she had an ounce of sense, she would stop writing to him and make it clear that she wasn’t interested. This was a doomed friendship, all things considered. She lived a life he could never know about, and he went up in a Spitfire everyday with no guarantee that he would return.

Evelyn pressed her lips together. Of course, there was no guarantee that she would return either. There were no guarantees for anyone anymore, except that they all would have to do things they never dreamt of in order to get through each day and, with a bit of luck, the war. That was becoming increasingly obvious.

Sighing, she turned away from the fire and went over to the desk near the window where her toiletries case sat. Opening it, she removed the insert and ran her fingers along the inside lining until she came to the small tab concealed in the folds. The inside of the case lifted out to reveal a compartment in the bottom where the microfilm Vladimir had passed her was concealed.

Evelyn stared at it thoughtfully for a long moment. She could leave it there and it would be perfectly safe, or she could remove it and leave it here, ready to be collected when she returned. If she left it here, there would be no risk of anyone discovering it with her while she traveled to Sweden. While there was no reason any border agent would search her belongings so thoroughly, there was also no reason to take the added risk of carrying the microfilm to Stockholm with her.

Especially if she was to be meeting another Soviet agent. For all she knew, Risto could be a trap for the Soviets to ensnare her. Did she really want to be carrying stolen secrets from Moscow with her if that was the case?

Turning, she slowly looked around the room. She could probably conceal the microfilm easily enough in this room, ensuring its safety. Daniel had warned against it, but if she hid it well where could be the harm? She was sure she could convince Else and Josef to reserve the room for her and not allow another guest to stay there. Perhaps that would be the wiser course of action.

Biting her bottom lip, Evelyn hesitated. Regardless of the dangers of being caught by a Soviet NKVD agent with stolen Soviet documents, the thought of leaving that information behind made her uncomfortable. No one knew what happened when her father had the same information. Had he done this very thing? Left it somewhere? Was that how it had been lost? Or had he kept it with him and it was stolen after he died?

At the thought of her father, Evelyn felt her chest grow tight and she blinked back sudden tears. The wave of sorrow took her by surprise and she sank into the chair next to the desk, taking a deep breath. What if he hadn’t died in Switzerland? She wouldn’t be here, worrying over the best course of action to take with secret Soviet documents.

After taking a few deep breaths, forcing the grief aside, Evelyn glanced into the case on the desk. After another long moment of indecision, she stood up and replaced the insert, concealing the compartment with the microfilm once again. She would carry them with her. They had been lost once, as Vladimir had so coldly pointed out. They wouldn’t be lost again.

Evelyn watched as Josef picked up her suitcase and turned