Red Rainbow by G Johanson (top books of all time TXT) 📗

because... well, I didn’t press it, basically. Even if only half of them check out, it’s a decent trade, releasing an innocent man and getting up to six offenders in exchange.”

Gehring chose Alexia. She only had eyes for one man. Not him, admittedly, but with her true love unobtainable she could be trusted not to stray from whichever man she did marry. She was pretty, compliant, her nationality made her somewhat exotic (not here, but back in Bremen it would be a different story). Yes, she would do. She’d have little choice to accept once he laid out her options. Marry him and return to Germany or stay in France and be outed as a traitor who’d sealed the death warrants of six of her countrymen and women.

He didn’t love her, and she would never love him. That didn’t matter. Love was for fools, a device that the sheep chose to believe in to give their empty lives a false meaning. She would also serve as a reminder of his partial victory over César. César thought himself so clever, diverting them from their mission, stalling them from seeking reprisals. These deaths were on his head – if he hadn’t pulled a Trojan horse routine, Alexia would never have had to come forward to ‘save’ him. She did not know the nature of her entrancement, so she had no idea that he had already saved himself and was never in danger, in truth. But the names she would reveal were a different story, all down to him.

“Bring her in, let’s get those names,” Kretschmer said keenly. “César isn’t under arrest so we wouldn’t be lying to her. We’re letting the names of his contacts go. He’s going to help us trap Florence.”

Gehring masked his anger at this plan. They were playing into his hands completely. It was just more delaying tactics. The best thing they could have done was press ahead and make the reprisals. The men were, quite rightly, getting very restless at seeing nobody punished.

César had a strange visit from Gehring in his cell, which was not locked, though he fancied he was not entirely free to leave. Nor did he want to until this was over. The puppet show was getting more elaborate and complicated. He offered to help them trap Florence, and they agreed to it. ‘What do you need?’ ‘Time – let me know when the Allies are close, and I’ll tell you more’.

Gehring hadn’t been involved in these talks. He hadn’t been around in a while. He didn’t explain his absence and César didn’t ask. Gehring was in a chatty mood and claimed to want to help him – that was an instant hackles-raiser. Gehring went over old ground, going back to how somebody had done him a disservice in reporting him to them about his tete-a-tete with Florence. Gehring acted as though he wanted to bring this person to justice, yet, by their own rules, this informant had done nothing wrong, merely presenting them with accurate information. Gehring suggested disgruntled former employees, friends he’d not been able to make time for. Or perhaps the fiancée he jilted or her friends and family. Low blow. César sprung to her defence – maybe a mistake, but he could always ask some of his Gestapo friends to deal with Gehring if he deemed it necessary.

“She doesn’t go out much. She wouldn’t hear about it until much later, and you guys were on my doorstep pretty early.”

“The telephone.”

“I’m helping you, remember? What are you doing?” César said knowingly.

“The Allied Forces aren’t here yet,” Gehring said, the pretence of civility evaporating.

He left, having done more damage than he realised. César was going to stress about Emmanuelle the whole time now. He had truly loved her and had fooled himself into believing she truly loved him too. Unfortunately, while she loved him devotedly, it was a false love. She kept saying the same thing over too many times for him to ignore. He was not her usual type, in appearance or personality. Curiosity impelled him to track down her two previous boyfriends which confirmed this. What she usually looked for was nothing like him, not a bit, hence why she expressed surprise that she’d fallen head over heels for him. Her emotions were manipulated, but part of her intellect questioned it. Those alarm bells ensured that wedding bells did not follow. Letting her go was damned hard, but it was the right thing to do. She would not find her dream man who she deserved to be with while he was blocking the view. As breaking the enchantment seemed impossible, all he could do was make sure not to take advantage of it. He loved her too much to do otherwise. Emmanuelle would have made him so happy at the expense of her own free will, way too high a sacrifice. Marcella knew what she was getting into and had lower expectations. It was still dodgy, but any relationship of his would be unless he wore a mask every time he saw them. Or met a female Gehring, but celibacy would be better than ending up with a loveless soul like that whatever their gender.

Chapter 16

Cloak and Dagger

Hilaire fancied she had a couple of hours at most before Florence came to find her. She’d tried sneaking out early other mornings and failed, Florence appearing as she tried to make for the door. Hilaire was a hardy soul. That ghoulish face appearing from nowhere was still a strain on the heart. Each time she had stayed in upon being discovered trying to leave. This time she told Florence she was going out on a supposed shopping trip.

“They’re looking for you too now.”

“I’m drab and inconspicuous, remember? They don’t stop every woman that looks like me,” Hilaire said. She was just another unremarkable old woman to look at now. She’d had to be, sacrificing her long blonde locks to look different to how she had for