Hidden Truths (Intertwined Souls Series Book 3) Read online

  “I know.”

  “But you are going without Eva?”

  Zoe shook her head. “Eva is coming.”

  “Ah.” Elena nodded. “That’s why you are going.”

  “Eva wanted me to go back home and didn’t want me to give up my inheritance. I wasn’t going to go without her, so she said she was coming with me.”

  “That’s going to be hard.”

  “I know,” Zoe replied as baby Rebecca gurgled in her arms. “It’s been only five years.”

  “It’s going to take more than five years for the people to heal.”

  “I don’t think they ever will, El. Can you forgive those bas...er . . ” Zoe glanced down at the baby. “Sorry Rebecca, Aunty Zoe said a bad word.”

  Elena grinned. “I don’t think she understands you yet.”

  “Can you forgive the Nazis, El?” Zoe looked up and instantly knew the answer to that question. Elena was a Holocaust survivor and it was evident she was never going to forgive.

  “Eva wasn’t a Nazi. She was part of the Resistance.”

  “She was the enemy. Doesn’t matter that she was helping the Resistance. Most of them don’t know that. She’s the Butcher’s daughter. Imagine that, El, her going back to that hell.”

  “Why are you making her do this?”

  “I’m not making her do this,” Zoe said defensively. “She practically begged me to go.”

  “There’s another reason. There has to be. You don’t give in that easily.”

  Zoe turned to Elena and smiled. “Sometimes I do.”

  “No. I’ve known you for three years now, and in those three years, you have never surrendered or backed down. If I had a wager on whether you would go to Greece, I wouldn’t lose it.”

  “Usually.” Zoe smiled down at the baby. She gazed up at Elena. “I surrender what I want when it comes to Eva. Always. You just don’t know about it.”

  Elena blinked. “That’s the first time you’ve said that to me.”

  “I know. Eva comes first. She always will. She wanted me not to lose my inheritance. We talked about it, and I gave in.” Zoe didn’t usually talk about her intimate conversations with Eva to anyone, including Elena, but this was different.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “We will stay in the cabin on Athena’s Bluff,” Zoe explained. “I want to stay only for a few days, finish up this inheritance problem, and move out of the place. Maybe head to Thessalonica and spend a few days there.”

  “Then back home?”

  Zoe shook her head. “No. We’re catching a train to Germany.”

  Elena stared at her in shock. “You are going to Germany?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh my.” Elena put her hand over her mouth in suprise. “Why?”

  “I surrender to Eva.” Zoe smiled. “Eva surrenders to me. I asked her. It’s probably going to be the last time we will be in Europe, and she can’t leave without paying her respects to her mother. It wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair. She needs this; her heart needs this.” Her voice broke, and she looked away, trying not to let the tears flow. “I’m doing this for her. It’s a small price to pay.”

  “It’s not a small price, my friend.” Elena sat beside Zoe and put her arm around her shoulders. “It’s not a small price. You are going into the heart of the enemy.”

  “I hear the war has ended,” Zoe joked. “I know, El, but this is for Eva. She is going back to her hell for me.”

  “I’m very proud of you.” Elena kissed Zoe on the cheek. “Will you be going to Berlin?”

  “Yes, Eva grew up in West Berlin, in a borough called Zehlendorf.”

  “Zehlendorf? That is a very nice neighborhood. We lived in Berlin-Mitte. That’s very close to where we had our shop and we lived upstairs.”

  “It is? Maybe we can go by and see if it’s still there?”

  Elena bumped her shoulder against Zoe. “I would be very surprised if that shop is still standing. I don’t think it’s there anymore.”

  “How do you know? It might be.”

  “No, my friend, it’s gone. Everything we owned was taken from us, so nothing is left.”

  They sat quietly for a long moment, baby Rebecca making most of the noise.

  Zoe turned to Elena. “I will go to the shop and see if it’s still there.”

  “Zoe...”

  “We will go. Just give me the address and we will go.” Zoe smiled and kissed Elena on the cheek.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Four Weeks Later

  “What?” Zoe scowled at the letter. She was sitting in the Journey Room, having finished off the last of the painting she was to deliver to the studio in the morning. It was well past midnight, and Eva had gone to sleep.

  Zoe reread the letter.

  My dearest niece, it is with such heartfelt relief that we hear you are well. We couldn’t believe it when Father Haralambos informed us that you are safe and well. Your Uncle Dion, myself, and Maria are eagerly looking forward to seeing you after your long journey back home.

  Zoe made a face at the cat. “I am home, silly woman.” Ourania looked up at her mistress for a moment, stretched, and laid her head down again. “I know, this is boring you as much I’m bored reading it.”

  Zoe stared at the mural of Athena’s Bluff before she went back to the letter.

  My dearest niece, we have some great news to share. We are not sure if you remember Kiriakos Vaskos. Kiria Despina, the best matchmaker in all of Greece, assures us this young man is very suitable.

  “I don’t believe in hell but, if I did, hell will freeze over and the demons will be ice-skating before that happens. Kiriakos? Ourania, they want to marry me off to some boy. Do you believe that?”

  Ourania ignored her.

  Zoe turned away from the cat and back to her letter.

  We will discuss this when you come home. I’m quite sure there will be a lot of delicate issues we need to discuss that can only be seen to in person. Hoping this letter finds you well. God speed, your beloved Uncle Dion, Aunt Keramia and your cousins Maria, Petros, and Magdalena.

  Zoe got up from the sofa and crumpled the letter in disgust. ”I bet Evy is asleep.”

  She put away her easel and took off her art smock. She quietly turned off the light and went into their bedroom, which was cast in semi-darkness, the only light coming from a full moon filtering through the lace curtains.

  Zoe gazed at Eva, who was fast asleep. The evening was very warm, and Eva wore nothing more than a white singlet and underwear. She lay on her back with the white cotton sheet pooled at her feet. Zoe grinned at Eva’s pink panties—a funny reminder of Eva’s first laundry disasters. It seemed like yesterday they had fled war-torn Larissa and made their way to Egypt to await the refugee ship. Two fragile souls sailing on a ship to a country on the other side of the world, far removed from the war in Europe.

  Zoe turned to the open window and lowered it, but left it ajar. Eva always wanted to sleep with the window open, and Zoe wanted it closed. So they found a compromise. Zoe smiled.

  They had reached that compromise on the journey to Australia when Zoe found out that Eva felt claustrophobic and needed the porthole open while she slept. Eva didn’t tell her, but she woke every night and opened the porthole, and then went back to sleep. Zoe awoke in the morning to find the fresh breeze blowing into the cabin, and thinking the porthole latch was faulty, reported it to the crew. They played that game for a week until Zoe woke and found Eva opening the porthole. Zoe then patiently extracted the reason why Eva was doing that.

  But you didn’t tell me it had to do with Aiden. A lot of things have to do with Aiden, that god-awful demonic place, Zoe mused as she watched Eva sleep, her face relaxed and looking much younger than her thirty years.

  Zoe took off her clothes and slipped under the covers. She scowled and glanced at Eva. She rolled over and very gently shook Eva.

  Eva didn't move.

  Zoe leaned over Eva. “Evy?”

&nb
sp; Silence.

  “Hmm,” Zoe muttered, and laid her head on Eva's arm. “Evy, wake up.”

  Eva made a noise.

  “Evy, wake up.”

  “Wha...” Eva mumbled.

  “I have to talk to you.”

  “Hmm.”

  Zoe waited for a few moments and realized Eva had fallen asleep again. “Evy, I need to talk to you.”

  Eva grumbled and turned her head towards Zoe. Very sleepy eyes opened and regarded her. “Are you sick?”

  “No.”

  “Hmm.” Eva closed her eyes. “Someone dying?”

  “No.”

  Zoe smiled as Eva yawned. “You are so cute in the morning.”

  “What time?”

  Zoe leaned over Eva's body to barely make out the clock on the night table. “Nearly one am.”

  Eva sighed. “Zoe...”

  “I know, I know, but I've been thinking.”

  “Oh.”

  “I've been thinking about our trip and these thoughts keep running around in my head...” Zoe realized Eva had fallen asleep. “God, I love you but you really need to wake up.” She kissed Eva on the cheek. “Evy, I need to speak to you.”

  After another gentle shake, Eva's eyes popped open, and she gazed at Zoe. “Am I going to sleep tonight?”

  “Yes, as soon as we talk about this.”

  Eva sighed as she hitched herself and rested against the headboard. “Alright, I'm awake.”

  “Do you want a cup of tea?”

  “Are we going to chat til mornin’?”

  “It is morning.” Zoe grinned when Eva gave her an exasperated look. “Technically it is.”

  “Zoe.”

  Zoe cuddled up beside Eva and took her hand. “I received a letter today. Not today but yesterday, but I only found it today.”

  Eva smiled and closed her eyes. “Uh huh.”

  “I have to tell you about my cousin Maria and her family.”

  “Alright,” Eva replied sleepily.

  “When I was eight or nine years old, we were celebrating Easter at my uncle Dion’s farm,” she related, getting more comfortable snuggled up to Eva, who she thought was awake but had closed her eyes. “It was a big gathering with all my uncles and aunties, my grandmother, and all my cousins. The men were outside smoking and doing what men do.”

  “They often do that,” Eva mumbled.

  “Me and my cousin Maria—”

  “Which Maria was this?”

  “My uncle Dion’s Maria.”

  “How many cousins did you have called Maria?” Eva asked.

  “Six,” Zoe replied.

  “What about your aunty Stella?”

  “Stella doesn’t have children as far as I know...”

  “Why were they named Maria? Did they run out of names?”

  Zoe shrugged. “Every son in our family wanted to name a child after their mother.”

  “But not your father?”

  “No, Papa didn’t want another Maria Lambros in the Lambros clan. I was named after my mother’s mother.”

  “And how many cousins named Zoe are around?”

  “None. There's just one Zoe and I'm it.” Zoe leaned over Eva’s body to retrieve Eva’s cigarette case and lighter from Eva’s bedside table. She lit the cigarette and took a drag before she gave it to Eva. Eva opened her eyes and smiled before she took the cigarette from Zoe’s fingers.”

  “This is going to be a long story, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but not too long.”

  “Alright,” Eva mumbled as she took a drag of the cigarette. She blew the smoke and turned to Zoe with a smile. She leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

  “Now this I like,” Zoe said before stealing another quick kiss.

  “So what happened with Maria?”

  “I’m not quite sure who suggested it, but we wanted to smoke as well. I knew where Uncle Dion kept the papers that he used to roll up his cigarettes, so we snuck into his room and we took a couple.” Zoe laughed. “We couldn’t find the tobacco he used, so we decided to make our own.”

  “Uh oh...”

  Zoe gave Eva a gentle poke. “I thought tobacco looked like hay, but Maria said that it smelt like cow poop.”

  Eva burst out laughing and slapped her hand over her mouth. Regaining her composure with difficulty, she said, “Go on.”

  “Well, Uncle Dion didn’t have a cow, but he had horses and he had hay, so we went into the barn. I got the hay and Maria got the poop.”

  Eva lost control again and started laughing as Zoe collapsed against her and giggled.

  “Um, well.” Zoe took a deep breath. “We went behind the barn and we rolled the hay and the poop into the cigarette paper. I knew how to do it because I had seen Papa do it many times.”

  “Did you smoke it?”

  “Uh huh. We had a cigarette each and we took a puff at the same time. Ended up coughing and spluttering so much, Michael came rushing over to see what we were doing.”

  “Then what happened?”

  Zoe grinned. “We explained to Michael what we had done and he couldn’t stop laughing. That brought Thieri and Theo over to see what the commotion was about.” She rocked back and looked up at the ceiling. “Papa heard the boys, and next thing we knew, he came over to see what the trouble was.”

  “Oh, no,” Eva squeaked.

  “Papa couldn’t believe it and he really tried not to laugh, but I knew he wanted to because his eyes were going crinkly.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He rolled and lit a proper cigarette, gave it to me and told me to smoke it.”

  “He didn’t! Did he?”

  “Yeah. I took it and took one puff, inhaling deeply like he told me to. My eyes watered, my throat burned, and I began coughing.” Zoe snickered. “When I could talk, I told him I wasn’t going to smoke ever again.”

  “Smart man, that Papa Lambros,” Eva said, grinning.

  Zoe nodded in agreement. “Very smart man. So that’s why I didn’t smoke before I met you. Now I do, but you’re such a good influence on me...”

  “Yes, I’m passing on the great habits. Willie got me started on cigarettes... Well, actually it was cigars.”

  “Cigars?”

  “My grandfather used to smoke these great big cigars.” Eva smiled. “Willie really wanted to try one, but he was scared he might get caught. So he convinced me to go with him. If we got caught, I would say I was there to see my grandfather.”

  “Did you get caught?”

  Eva looked down at Zoe and smiled. “We got caught with our hand in the cigar box,” she said, and then laughed.

  “What happened?” Zoe asked.

  “Well, my grandfather came in and caught us. We tried to stammer our way out of it. Willie was terrible at lying—”

  “And you are good at it?” Zoe smiled.

  “Well, I was better at it than Willie.”

  “Did your grandfather believe you?”

  “No.”

  “So you weren’t better than Willie.”

  “Ha ha.” Eva shook her head. “Opa—”

  “Opa?”

  “Grandpa.” Eva translated the German word into Greek. “He gave us a cigar each, and taught us how to smoke it.”

  “You’re joking!”

  “No, he said if we were going to smoke, we should do it right.”

  “Did you enjoy it?”

  “Oh, yes.” Eva nodded. “I made the mistake of being so excited that I told my grandmother. She was furious with my grandpa!”

  “How old were you?” Zoe wondered out loud.

  “Fifteen. I miss him,” Eva said with a sigh, then took Zoe’s hand and kissed it. They fell silent. “So the long route to telling me about the smoking story is about Maria? What happened to Maria?” Eva asked.

  “Uncle Dion moved to America just before the war,” Zoe replied. “She’s probably married to some American boy.”

  “So you have family in America?”

  “Y
es, well, I did until they went back to Greece.”

  Zoe watched Eva attempt to keep her eyes open but she was losing the battle. A part of her wanted Eva to go back to sleep but her news was going to outweigh that desire for her partner. “Evy…”

  “Hmm? What about Aunty Stella?” Eva replied sleepily.

  “No, Evy, pay attention. Aunty Stella was married, but her husband died before I was born. Uncle Dion is my father’s brother.”

  “Right,” Eva said. “Stella didn’t have children?” She yawned.

  “What? No.” Zoe gazed at Eva, who had her eyes closed. “Evy, follow me.”

  “I’m following, love. Smoking cow dung, Maria sent you a letter, and your Uncle Dion and Aunty Stella...something.”

  Zoe sighed. “Wake up please.”

  Eva opened her eyes wide before they half closed. “I am awake and smoking a cigarette in the early hours of the morning talking about cow dung Maria.”

  “Well, we are talking about Uncle Dion and cow dung Maria, but we were also talking about Aunty Stella.”

  “Stella isn’t dead, right?”

  “No, but that’s not the problem.”

  “What is the problem?” Eva asked as she closed her eyes again.

  Zoe shook her head. “They want to marry me off.” She counted to one before Eva’s eyes popped open. “I thought that would get your attention.”

  “Who wants to marry you off? Aunty Stella?”

  “No. Uncle Dion, Maria’s father.”

  “Huh?” Eva stifled a yawn.

  “Maria and the family are back in Larissa from America and they heard that I was coming back.” Zoe waved the crumbled letter in front of Eva. “They write that they have found a good boy.”

  Eva giggled.

  “That’s not funny.”

  “No, it’s not,” Eva replied, amusement in her voice.

  “Why do you find that funny?”

  “I have this mental image of you hitting this poor boy on the head.” Eva dissolved into a fit of giggles. “What’s the boy’s name?”

  “Kiriakos Vaskos.”

  “Zoe Vaskos...don’t like it.”

  “That is really not funny.”

  “Zoe, my love, there is more chance of you growing two heads than you becoming Mrs. Vaskos.”

  Zoe tried not to grin. “I'm yours.”