Tall, Silent & Lethal (Pyte/Sentinel #4)(2)

“What’s on the other side?” his father asked, making everything in him go still and making him wish that he’d chosen any other parchment than the one on his lap.

“It’s nothing,” Christofer answered, but it was too late. His father, always curious about his work, was already reaching out and taking the parchment out of his trembling fingers and turning it over.

For a moment his father didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to, the resemblance to Christofer’s mother and her father was unmistakable. Unwilling to look at the man that he would never be, Christofer picked up his glass and finished off his drink, wishing that his body wasn’t so damn small so that he could handle more than one glass of whiskey.

“This will be you one day,” his father said, his tone firm as though he truly believed it.

“No,” Christofer said, shaking his head as he looked at the fire, “it won’t.”

“The doctors could be wrong,” his father quickly explained, repeating an old argument that was better left off dead. “Once the war is over we could bring you to Berlin, Austria, London and maybe to America to-”

“To what, Father?” Christofer asked, wishing that his father would finally give up the dream that he would one day wake up and be normal like everyone else. “To spend a fortune? To get poked and prodded and called a freak in a dozen new languages before they finally turn us away with the news that there is nothing that they can do?” he asked, hating the bitter edge to his voice.

“They could-” his father pushed, his tone as desperate as Christofer’s was bitter.

“They can make me grow?” he asked, chuckling coldly as he reached over and took the parchment from his father’s hands and flipped the image over so that he didn’t have to see what should have been and continued to work on Marta’s image.

“Maybe,” his father said softly although they both knew that he wasn’t bringing up traveling because of his deformity.

His father wanted to send him away with his sister and stepmother before Hitler’s men finally came knocking on their door. It was only a matter of time now before that knock came and when it did, they could only hope that his father had managed to get enough of the women and children from the village sent off before it was too late.

They’d all heard the rumors and even though they prayed that was all they were, rumors, they couldn’t behave as though they were blind to the truth. They’d seen the soldiers marching past their village, seen the arm bands marking Jews, communists and traitors. They knew something was going on and they knew that it was only a matter of time before this war and Hitler’s cause plowed through their town, leaving it in shambles.

For the past year, his father had been carefully, and as quietly as possible, sending villagers out of Germany. It was a slow process, but by the end of the year they should have the village deserted and when that time came, they would leave under the guise of visiting relatives in London. Only they most likely would never be coming back, not while a tyrant like Hitler ruled them.

“I think it would be best if I sent you and your sister to stay in London,” his father said quietly.

The charcoal in Christofer’s hand stilled once again. “It’s not necessary,” he said, dreading leaving his father behind as much as he dreaded being called a freak somewhere new.

“I believe it is very necessary, Christofer,” his father said with a sad smile marking his tone.

“But, Father-” he started to argue even though he knew that it was pointless. His father might be tolerant of him and his condition, but he was still his father and his word would be obeyed.

“I’m off to bed,” his father said, carefully getting to his feet. “Try not to fall asleep in front of the fire,” his father said with a forced smile.

“I’m almost done,” he lied, knowing that he’d rather work until exhaustion took over instead of lying in his bed, forced to think about all the things that were out of his control.

“Just promise me one thing,” his father said quietly as he stood over him, forcing Christofer to look up and meet the eyes that once held a great deal of humor and now only held sorrow.

“Anything, Father,” he swore without a moment’s hesitation.

“Promise me that you’ll always watch over your sister.”

Christofer forced a smile, because he knew that his father wouldn’t be asking this of him unless he’d already settled the plans to send them away.

“Even when she’s being a brat and in desperate need of a spanking,” he promised, earning a chuckle from his father, the last sound of amusement that his father would ever make as it turned out.

Chapter 1

New York

Williams Mansion

Present Day…..

“Izzy, he’s going to find out,” Kale said, sighing as the woman in the bed next to him pulled the sheet off her head so that she could give him what she probably thought was a murderous glare, but really, the woman was just too damn cute to pull it off.

“Are you planning on telling him?” she demanded as she took a big bite out of a chocolate caramel candy bar that actually looked pretty tasty so he snatched it away from her.

When she opened her mouth, no doubt to demand that he give it back to her, he took a huge bite out of the candy bar as he glared right back at her, silently reminding her of their agreement. She could either share or go find herself a new hiding spot. In the end, she simply muttered as she pulled the sheet back over her head and continued getting her sugar fix.