Chapter Fifty-three
Erik closed his eyes, let Christine's image fill his mind…
Christine with her own eyes half-closed and her face flushed as he made love to her that final time…
The sound of the gun shot seemed to almost split the small office in two and Erik felt the hot, thick spray of blood on his skin.
There was a heavy silence and then a hideous thud as Major Hetzner's body struck the floor.
Christine stood alone in the doorway.
For a long time, neither of them moved or spoke.
Then Christine let Sam's revolver fall from her hand as she cautiously stepped over the body, averting her gaze from the scarlet puddle that soaked his golden hair.
He could not say who was trembling more as she slumped into his arms and he cradled her close.
"He's…he's dead, isn't he, Erik," she said in a frightened voice.
"Hush, Christine..hush," he said, leaning back against the wall and letting her rest against him.
Her hand was still shaking as she touched his ravaged face.
"He was the one who did this to you," she whispered, pushing his hair back from his forehead.
He nodded as he caught her cold hand in his and held it against his cheek.
"I'm glad I killed him," she sobbed as Erik slowly covered her pale, tear-stained face with kisses.
Finally, his lips found hers.
"Christine, my angel…my sweet angel," he breathed, remembering the name he'd called her so often in Paris.
Only the sound of Jacques stirring in the corner drew them back to reality.
Carefully, Erik gathered her up and lifted her over Major Hetzner's body.
His car was still parked at the edge of the landing strip and he carried her to it.
He set her down beside it, but he was not ready to let her go. He kept his arms around her waist, let his face rest against her hair.
"Why did you come back?"
"I couldn't leave you again, Erik. I couldn't stand to live the rest of my life without you. Not after last night. And, then, when I saw the Nazi flags on that car, I thought I had lost you…and I would have if Sam hadn't given me his gun."
"Sam," Erik said, laughing, "Damn, I'm in his debt again."
He opened the car door and helped her in.
"We'd better get the hell out of here, angel," he said, settling into the driver's seat, "we still have two letters of transit left."
"Erik, anywhere you go…let me go, too," Christine said quietly as she leaned against him.
He put one arm around her shoulder and, turning the key in the ignition, eased the car off into the dark night.
THE END