Flipping the page, Mila peeked over the top of the book she'd been reading. This was the fifth evening she'd stayed late to sit with Josef while he worked on his report. The first night had been much like their usual evenings spent working late at the office. They had chatted while Josef read through the ever growing stack of files on his desk, had taken a break for dinner, and another for coffee, and had called it a night by 8 o'clock. However, with each passing night, the conversations had grown shorter, and the breaks briefer, until both had stopped entirely. She'd been sitting in her usual spot, the armchair directly across from Josef's, for nearly two hours now and he had yet to utter a word to her despite her numerous attempts to strike up a conversation.

"As much as I like sitting with you while you work, wouldn't you say it's about time for a break?" She chimed, closing the copy of 'Great Expectations' Josef had given her for Christmas. "We could go pick up dinner-," She continued but was cut off.

"I'm not hungry," Josef said flatly, without so much as a glance away from the file he was reading through.

"Well..." Mila began, sitting her book down on the desk. "We could get coffee ... I'm sure that cafe down the street is still open. If we hurry-,"

"You're free to leave if this isn't entertaining enough for you," He interjected harshly, his eyes darting up to look at her.

"That's not what I meant..." She trailed off, taken aback by his sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry this isn't how you envisioned spending your evening, but when I said I needed to work I meant it," He continued, his words tumbling out with a venom she'd never heard from him before. "The door's there if you feel the need to use it," He added, nodding towards the door before turning his attention back to the file on his desk.

Mila blinked back the tears that burned her eyes. Josef had never been angry with her, much less raised his voice at her. She shook the urge to cry away, rearranging her face to hide the hurt his words had left in their wake. If he didn't want her there, that was fine. She would leave.

Grabbing her book from the desk, she picked up her bag and coat and tossed them over her shoulder. Grasping the doorframe, she looked over her shoulder at Josef. He was still seated, his eyes having never left the pages in front of him. She studied him for a moment. His eyebrows were scrunched, pulling all the other features of his face into a strained expression. His eyes were heavy and bloodshot, despite the untouched glass of Scotch sitting on the desk beside him. He looked exhausted.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," She said, exiting the office when he gave no reply. Entering the long hallway that led to the back entrance of the War Office, she sighed, slipping her arms into her coat as she walked. She had made it nearly halfway down the hall when a hand grasped her arm, turning her around to face the person it belonged to. Josef stood before her, an apologetic look on his face, his coat in hand.

"I'm sorry," He said earnestly. "I didn't mean any of that."

"I know," She nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Come on," He nodded towards the door at the end of the hall as he slipped his coat on.

"But I thought-," She began, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"It can all wait until morning," He shook his head, flashing her a small smile as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She returned his smile, looping an arm around his waist as they headed for the door.

"Have you made any progress?" Mila asked, once she and Josef had arrived back at his house. Her thoughts had been preoccupied on their walk home from the office, half of her time spent worrying about Josef, and the other half worrying about what would happen if he ever managed to uncover the truth.

"I wish I could say so..." He called from the kitchen, where he was already putting the kettle on for tea. "The truth is, I don't even know where to begin," He added, turning to face her as she entered the kitchen.

"You still don't think it could be someone who broke in?" She asked casually, laying her coat over one of the dining room chairs.

"No ... No, it has to be someone from the inside," He replied, pulling two cups from the cupboard. "Who that someone is..." He added, with a bitter 'humph.' "Well it could be anyone ... There's no way to know how long they've been operating either. For all we know, the attempt on General Eichmann's life last year could've been carried out by the same person."

"I thought the assassination attempt was carried out by Resistance," She commented, taking the cup of tea Josef had poured her.

"That was the assumption, but no one was ever caught," He shrugged. "When I accepted this position, I thought I'd be updating a few out of date security protocols ... Not investigating a potential spy within the War Office," He chuckled sarcastically.

"I'm sure General Eichmann wouldn't have put you in charge if he didn't think you could do it," She said with a reassuring smile.

"Humph ... You flatter me," He returned her smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Truthfully, I'm a bit out of my depth," He shook his head. "And as if that wasn't enough, we'll be getting a visit from Berlin."

"A visit?" She furrowed her brow.

"As I'm sure you can imagine, the Fuhrer wasn't thrilled to hear a supply transport had been intercepted behind German lines," Josef explained. "Berlin wants answers."

"When will they arrive?"

"Two weeks," He replied.

"So soon?"

"It would be sooner, but Heinrich Muller is in Rome on official business at the moment," He shrugged.

"Heinrich Muller?" She'd never heard that name before but if he was being sent to Rome on business of the Fuhrer's then she imagined he was someone important.

"Head of the Gestapo."

"The head of the Gestapo will be here?" She took a sip from her cup, trying to hide her surprise. The thought of Gestapo snooping around the War Office was enough to make her stomach turn, but the head of the Gestapo?

"They want answers, and Muller is the best at getting them."

"Have you ever met him?" She asked, taking another gulp of tea.

"Heinrich Muller?" He asked. Shaking his head, he took a drink from his cup. "No ... He's not a military man, at least not in the normal sense."

"How so?" She asked, sitting her tea down on the counter.

"He's not enlisted," Josef explained. "His rank is more of a ... political one."

"I see," She nodded, her mind racing as it tried to process all the information he was giving her. "What will he do once he arrives?"

"I imagine he'll open an inquiry of his own," He said, sitting his cup down as well. "Starting with this report I have yet to finish," He said, pulling the thin folder he had brought with him from the office, out of his satchel.

"If you need to work, please do," She said in earnest. As nervous as this investigation made her, She felt bad for distracting him. Besides, maybe if Josef were to come up with his own conclusion, Heinrich Muller would take his report without conducting his own investigation. "I don't want to distract you."

"I think it's a bit too late for that," He said, tossing the file onto the kitchen counter. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her towards him. Nuzzling his face against the crook of her neck, he relaxed against her, inhaling deeply before breathing out a long sigh. His breath sent a tingle down her spine that only grew as he brushed his lips against the skin of her neck. "Besides, I think work can wait."

"I'm starving," She said, her eyes fluttering closed as he continued to leave a trail of kisses down her neck, to her collarbone.

"So am I," He mumbled against her ear, causing her cheeks to flush. Her breath hitched in her throat as his teeth grazed her earlobe, his hands firmly pressing her body against his. Drawing her arms up, she wrapped them around his neck.

"Wha-what about dinner?" She asked halfheartedly. Her mind was growing hazy, thoughts of Gestapo and formal investigations fading with each touch of his lips against her skin. Cupping her bottom, he lifted her off the ground, sitting her down on the kitchen counter.

"I think dinner can wait too, don't you think?" Josef replied, his hands resting against her thighs.

"I suppose it can," She smiled coyly, running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she pulled him closer, pressing her lips to his.

Lifting her off the counter, Josef carried her out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bedroom. Pushing the door open with the toe of his boot, he carried her inside, tossing her down on to the bed. She hit the mattress with a thud, laughing as he unlaced his boots and jumped onto the empty space beside her, causing her to bounce into the air a few inches when he landed. She turned over onto her side to face him. Running the back of her fingers along his cheek, she smiled, looking back into the blue eyes that were gazing at her. Brushing away the curls that had fallen out of the pins holding them in place, he rested his hand against her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips lightly.

"I love you," He said almost absentmindedly, his gaze moving from the spot his thumb had been tracing, back to her eyes.

"I love you." And she did ... With every part of herself.