Wrath's Storm: A Masters' Admiralty Novel by Mari Carr (desktop ebook reader .txt) 📕

Again, he paused briefly before nodding. “My Oma made it.”

“Double-ring pattern?” she asked.

Jakob shrugged. “I don’t know. It was always on her bed. I had fabric added so it would fit.”

Walt’s brows rose. That was the most he’d heard Jakob say.

Annalise smiled. “You were close to your Oma too.”

“Yes.”

Walt sighed softly, suddenly feeling bad. It had been fun to tease the man, joking around with him like he would have with Oscar or Langston, but now he wondered how long Jakob had been hiding his true feelings for Annalise. Given the fact he’d had time to learn Annalise’s tastes and create this home with her in mind, Walt would say Jakob’s affections had been engaged for quite some time.

And yet he kept them hidden.

“Your home, Jakob,” Annalise said. “It’s beautiful. Perfect.”

This time, Annalise wasn’t looking away from Jakob, her gaze instead intent, focused on his face.

“We should discuss the case,” Jakob said, once again finding a way to avoid revealing his feelings for Annalise. The Ritter looked to Walt for support and he gave it, feeling bad for teasing the other man.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Walt said, noticing the way Jakob’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Should we return to the sitting room?”

This time it was Annalise’s turn to hesitate. She wanted to question Jakob about his house, but it was clear Jakob wasn’t ready for that conversation.

Walt gestured toward the door. Jakob and Annalise followed his direction, the three of them descending the stairs. He and Annalise claimed the same seats they’d vacated just a few minutes earlier, but Jakob remained standing.

Walt had to admit, Jakob had indeed built a wonderful, comfortable home. Everything in sets of three—three chairs here, in the kitchen, and a bed built for three.

After so many years, bouncing from war-torn countries to poverty-stricken towns, Walt was jealous of this oasis Jakob had created. This truly was the sort of place a person could come home to after a long day at work, prop his feet up, and just relax.

Even now he found himself sinking a bit deeper into the comfortable chair as his muscles loosened.

“Wine?” Jakob asked.

Annalise smiled and nodded. “That would be lovely, Jakob.”

Walt nodded as well, certain that whatever bottle Jakob produced from the kitchen was definitely going to be Annalise’s favorite.

When the Ritter returned, he had two—just two—glasses of red.

“You aren’t drinking?” Walt asked.

Jakob shook his head.

Walt looked around the room, considering the tour they’d just taken. “Jakob, this house is safe, right?”

Jakob considered the question, then said, “As safe as I could make it.”

“Have a glass of wine with us,” Walt insisted.

Jakob nodded, disappeared briefly, then returned with his own glass of wine.

Walt’s small house on his family’s property back in Charleston was more utilitarian, a stopover more than a home. He was pretty sure his brothers used it as a spare bedroom from time to time. Every time he considered returning home, something stopped him, and the next thing he knew he was taking another field assignment with Doctors Without Borders. The longest he’d been in one place had been the clinic in Libya, which had been his home base for nearly a year.

His mama called him a nomad, but there were times when Walt felt as if it wasn’t a place he was searching for so much as a person. Langston and Oscar had found their “people” and Walt was suddenly anxious for the same. For him, it wasn’t about the where, it was about the who.

His chest tightened a little as he watched the subtle interchange between Jakob and Annalise as he sat with his wine. She had slipped off her shoes upon sitting and her feet were resting on the ottoman closest to Jakob’s chair. She shifted them over a bit so that there would be room for his feet as well. Jakob gave her a soft smile as he lifted his next to hers.

Annalise reached for her bag, which was resting beside her chair, and she pulled out the same files they’d been studying at the restaurant before someone—God knew who—had interrupted their meeting.

For a moment, Walt wondered where Eric was and if he’d gotten away. He dismissed that concern immediately. Satan himself would probably struggle to bring the fleet admiral down.

“I need more information,” she said.

“Okay,” Walt said. “How do we get it?”

Annalise separated out two case files from the pile on her lap. “We go and Walt speaks to the coroner.”

“You want me to talk to a medical examiner?” Walt asked. “I’m not sure if I’ve said this before—oh wait, I have. I’m not a forensic pathologist.”

“Travel?” Jakob said, his eyebrows furrowed. It was clear he didn’t like the idea of Annalise being exposed any more than necessary.

“You said ‘coroner’ not ‘coroners.’” Walt paused. “I thought there were two potential victims.”

“Yes,” Annalise said firmly. The professor was back in her voice. “We are going to Krakow. Alicja Lewandowski’s case is the most complete, with the most potential for additional information. So, who’s up for a trip to Poland?” she asked, holding the file up.

Walt looked at Jakob, then reached for the file. “I’ve always wanted to see Krakow in the winter. Anyone up for a walk around Old Town?”

Chapter Eight

Holy shit.

This was gross.

Jakob stood by the door of the morgue, glad that he had an excuse—keeping watch—to stay away from the autopsy table where Walt, Annalise, and Dr. Adamicz were bent over a body. Not the body of Alicja Lewandowski—she’d died nearly a year ago, before Josephine was killed. Given the state of Alicja’s body, her relative—an elderly aunt—had opted for cremation, though that wasn’t common in Poland. Scattering ashes was still illegal.

Jakob had listened while Annalise talked about Alicja’s case. He would listen to her read the phone book. He loved the sound of her voice.

Loved her.

Which Walt clearly suspected, the Rotzlöffel.

“Would a hunter have that level of knowledge?” Annalise asked, dragging Jakob’s attention back to death, away from his ridiculous, embarrassing, unrequited love.

She liked