A Partisan's Fight - COMPLETED!

Chapter Sixty

Jolting awake, Mina was breathless. She sucked in as much air as she could, looking down at the sweat glistening on her arm and intermingling with the goose bumps. She looked around herself, wide-eyed. Forcing her heartbeat to slow down its pace, she gave herself a moment to collect her bearings.

"Markus." She breathed out his name, pulling herself up from the chair she'd fallen asleep in. With quiet, effortless steps she climbed the stairs. Her calming pulse elevated quickly with each passing step. Feeling the tears burn her eyes, she wasn't sure what to expect when she made it to his room.

Opening the door, Mina stared at the still figure in the bed. She'd made a mistake not coming up to him sooner.

"He has been mumbling your name in his sleep." Decker stood up from the chair he was resting in. Walking up to her, he barely looked at her as he made his way to the door, pausing only briefly next to her shoulder. "His fever broke about an hour ago. He will be fine, Mina."

The moment she heard Decker close the door behind her, she crumbled. Letting the strong facade fall away. Her chin quivered relentlessly. Pulling the chair closer, she sat down numbly. Watching his breathing make his chest rise and fall, Mina could feel her body relaxing. "I dreamed that you died."

Running her fingers through her hair, she couldn't help but break down. The tears flowed from her eyes, dripping down her face and into her lap only to be soaked up by the fabric of her dress. "I made a mistake, Markus. I... I should not have run. I should have stayed with you."

She stood up, rubbing her forehead with one hand and propping the other on her hip. "I do not know what I was thinking. I was foolish. I love you. I know that. I do not know why I am so scared."

The words died off as she paced back and forth, gathering what she could for any form of emotional control. "You... you stand for something I am not sure I should be allowed to have. At first I was so angry with you. I would have dreamed of this happening to you. Perhaps, maybe even dreamed of something worse happening to you. You killed my father, and that hurt me so deeply that the only thing keeping you alive was the fact that we could get Lotte back and shut some of these damn camps down. You were a means to an end, but now..." She turned to him, watching him sleep. "Now I am not sure that is an ending that I want."

Knowing what she had to do and knowing what the consequences were was worth the price and she was more than willing to accept that cost. However, the feelings she had for this man were tainting her focus. She had been willing to give her life for the cause. It would have been a traitor's death in Hitler's handbook, but a martyr's death in the patriot's handbook. Patriot. She'd never really thought much of the word. A word that pertained to giving everything for her country. That was what she was prepared to do, even if her definition of defending her country was different from everyone else's. Regardless of that, death was no longer in the cards for her. She had to survive this.

"I have to come back to you. I have to come to Hans. If I do not..." Sniffling, she rubbed the tense lines out of her forehead, shifting her gaze to the ground. Chewing on the inside of her lip, her heart felt heavy. Pulling her gaze up, she looked at the sleeping victim. "If I do not come back. If I die... Take Hans and get as far away from here as possible. Do not let him be in danger, Markus. I know you hear me. In your heart, promise me that."

She didn't know how long she knelt by the bed, but it wasn't long before she fell asleep, her head resting on her arm. Time seemed to fly by all too fast. The stress of everything made sleep a much-needed luxury that she didn't seem to ever get enough of.

"Mina, wake up." A shoving on her shoulder pulled her awake.

She half expected to see Markus laughing at her odd sleeping pattern, but she quickly realized that he was still very much asleep.