Hidden Truths (Intertwined Souls Series Book 3)

by Mary D. Brooks

  “It was a surprise to me as well.” Eva took a drag of her cigarette. “Larissa was quite a revelation.”

  “You got here in 1942?”

  “Yes, with my stepfather, Hans Muller.”

  “Your stepfather killed my mother.”

  The force of the statement caused Eva to feel as if she had been slapped. Whether Theo intended for his words to have that effect on her, she wasn’t sure. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her rising anxiety.

  “Yes, my stepfather killed your mother and many others.”

  “Father Haralambos said you were there.”

  “I was. He took me out with him to witness his brutality.”

  “You watched my mother get murdered.”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you do?”

  Eva stared down at her hands and fell silent for a long moment. “I did nothing. I couldn’t do anything to save her or anyone else that day, Theo.”

  “That is a very strange thing to do—to bring you out into a warzone with him,” Theo said as the waiter came back with his coffee and Eva’s tea. He poured the tea for Eva before he picked up his coffee and took a sip.

  “He was very controlling, and that was his way of keeping me where he could keep an eye on me.”

  “It’s too bad you didn’t know who you real father was.”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you meet my sister?”

  “The first time I saw Zoe she was sitting outside and she made a passing comment about my inability to walk properly,” Eva replied as she picked up her cup and stared into it.

  “A passing comment? That’s a polite way of saying my sister told you exactly what she thought.”

  Eva couldn’t help but smile at how accurate Theo was in his description of Zoe. “She called me a cripple.”

  “Why couldn’t you walk properly?”

  “I had been caught up in a bombing in Paris when I was there with my stepfather. It damaged my back and I couldn’t walk properly. It took me some time to recover.” Eva left out the reason for the bombing and her part in the French Resistance. It wasn’t something she wanted to share with him.

  “Why was Zoe watching you?”

  “Zoe was in the Resistance and she used to monitor who and what was going on with the German command house, where I lived with Muller.”

  “Was this after my mother was killed?”

  Eva shook her head. “No. Zoe was involved in the Resistance long before your mother was murdered.” She watched Theo’s reaction. “She is a very brave woman. I don’t need to tell you how young she was when the war came to Larissa. She lost you and your brothers, and she lost her father. It was just the two of them.”

  “Yes, Father Haralambos told me how brave she was. It hurts me to know she was alone after Mama died.”

  “She suffered a great deal, but she has such a strong character that, even though your mother’s death nearly drove her to the edge, it didn’t. It made her stronger, if you know what I mean.” Eva glanced outside at one of the conductors, who was talking animatedly with an engineer. “If it wasn’t for your sister, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “Father Haralambos introduced us saying that it would be easier for me to get the identity papers to him via Zoe. It would arouse suspicions if I kept going to the church far too often. Zoe was going to be my maid.”

  “That makes sense. You gave Zoe the identity papers and she gave them to Father Haralambos.”

  “Yes.”

  “When I heard from Father Haralambos that she was in Australia with you, I wondered why she would leave Larissa and go to another country with a German.”

  Eva picked up her cigarette and flicked the ashes in the ashtray. “You were wondering if I had used Zoe to get out of Greece.”

  “The thought crossed my mind,” Theo replied honestly. “The Americans had just arrived, and you were wounded. Your stepfather was dead and you were stuck here. Didn’t the Americans think you were the enemy?”

  “No. Zoe had told the Resistance about my involvement, and they told the Americans that I was working with them.” Eva stopped for a moment. “We thought Father Haralambos had been killed when he was put on the same train as the Jews and troops heading to Thessalonica and then heard that the train had been blown up.”

  “If Zoe wanted you dead, that would have been the perfect time to exact vengeance, but she didn’t because she had feelings for you.”

  “You think I convinced Zoe she was a lesbian and that’s why she saved my life?”

  They gazed at each other for a long moment before Theo spoke. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Have you thought that maybe Zoe used me to get out of Larissa?” Eva asked. “She did want to leave Larissa; there was nothing here for her.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I do. I fell in love with Zoe knowing that if Muller found out, I would be dead. He did find out and he was going to kill me. Zoe was not in love with me, I knew that. Zoe called it a heavy like, which meant a deep friendship to me.”

  Theo grinned. “That’s one of Michael’s sayings…”

  “There are three stages to a relationship: Like, Heavy Like and Deep Love. I’m in the second stage. Heavy Like. When I get to stage three you can shoot me, because I’ll be useless,” Eva quoted Theo’s older brother. “Zoe was in heavy like and that’s all it was.”

  “She wasn’t in love with you?”

  “No. Zoe didn’t know what she was feeling, other than she was attracted to me. For some time I thought she had talked herself into liking me as a way to accomplish her goal.”

  “To kill you.”

  “Zoe was a fourteen year old child who saw her mother brutally murdered, and that hatred had to be channeled somewhere or else she would have gone insane with grief.”

  “Why did she want to kill you if it wasn’t you who killed our mother?”

  “When your mother lay dying, Zoe heard a woman laugh.”

  “She thought you had laughed while my mother was dying?”

  “Yes.”

  “It wasn’t you, or else you would be dead by now. Zoe would never give up if she thought you were responsible for doing that.”

  Eva shook her head. “No. It wasn’t me. It was my nurse, who was behind me. Zoe exacted justice at the right time.”

  “That sounds like my sister and something I would have done as well. Why didn’t Zoe go after Muller?”

  “Killing Muller would not have achieved Zoe’s goal,” Eva explained. “Zoe wanted to inflict pain on him as he had done to her. She could inflict this pain on him by killing his daughter.” She stopped talking when the waiter approached the table next to them and waited for him to leave before she continued.

  “Zoe spent her time thinking of ways to kill me. Her cousin spent his time trying to figure out how to stop her from doing it because it would have brought death to more of the villagers.”

  “Stavros? Poor fellow. I heard what happened to him. He was a true hero.”

  “Yes.” Eva nodded. “He was killed, which left Zoe with nothing to lose.”

  “If Zoe wanted to do something, she would have done it. My sister just doesn’t give up. Surely she didn’t have feelings for you before she met you?”

  Eva looked around the now mostly empty carriage for a moment. “Father Haralambos told her I was his daughter and we were working together.”

  “That stopped Zoe? She would have found another way.”

  “You’re right. She didn’t give up,” Eva replied. “Zoe was determined to kill me even though I was working with the Resistance. She was just going to do it another way. She tried very hard to still hate me and would bait me every chance she got.”

  “Zoe has always been a determined girl.”

  “It was mentally and physically exhausting.” Eva took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled. She watched the smoke rise for a moment. “I thought Zoe would kill me. I didn't know how or when, bu
t she would do it.”

  “Instead she fell in heavy like with you.”

  Eva smiled. “So it seems. I had feelings for her from the moment I met her, but Zoe’s feelings were mixed. I just didn’t know what to believe because I couldn’t trust myself to know.”

  “Father Haralambos said something about Muller wanting to kill you. From the stories I’ve heard in the village and from Father Haralambos, he sounds like a deranged man.”

  “My stepfather found out about us and he ordered his second in command to kill me.” Eva took a deep breath. “Instead of him taking me to a field and shooting me like Muller wanted, he decided he was going to have some fun.”

  “Oh.”

  “He took me to the cabin on Athena’s Bluff.”

  “Thieri’s cabin? Zoe loved that cabin, although I don’t see the attraction, it being up a mountain.”

  “Yes. He told the housekeeper to tell Zoe where we were.”

  “He wanted her there?”

  “He was going to… He had plans.” Eva shuddered at the memory. “I figured that if I got him angry enough, he would kill me first.”

  “So his attack on Zoe wouldn't happen.”

  “That was my plan.”

  “But you said you weren't even sure if Zoe loved you at that point?”

  “No, she didn’t love me, but I loved her, and I didn’t want her to die because of me,” Eva replied. “I made Reinhardt angry and he did what I thought he would do—start beating me.”

  “You loved Zoe so much that you didn’t care what they did to you?”

  “Yes, I loved your sister that much, and I love her even more now. My problem was that Reinhardt stopped when he realized what I was doing.” Eva shrugged. “Can't say it was very smart of me, but I didn't know any other way to stop him.”

  “So did Zoe get the message?”

  “She did. His plan was thwarted because the Americans were coming and the Germans were retreating. He decided he wasn't going to wait for Zoe to arrive and shot me anyway.”

  “Where was Zoe?”

  “What I didn’t know at the time was that Zoe was talking the Resistance leader into coming to save me.”

  Theo shook his head. “The place is exploding, the Germans are retreating, the Americans are coming, and Zoe wants the Resistance to stop doing what they were doing so they come help a German?”

  “Yes. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?” Eva asked with a smile. “It made perfect sense to Zoe. He listened and sent a few men to help Zoe and one of my guards, Henry, who was also helping the Resistance.”

  “What happened? How did the Resistance stop Reinhardt?”

  “The Resistance didn’t stop him. He shot me.”

  “He shot you and then what?”

  “He shot me in the shoulder. His aim was off, so he was about to finish the job when Zoe came bursting in.” Eva smiled. “I don't remember much of it because I was just trying to stay alive, but I do remember seeing the door fling open and hearing Zoe's voice.”

  “Unbelievable. First she wanted to kill you and now she’s saving your life!”

  “Your sister is courageous, Theo. I know she shot Reinhardt in the face from what she told me, but it was my guard Henry who told me he didn’t recognize Reinhardt after he saw the body. She emptied the entire clip into his face.” Eva continued to play with the gold lighter in an attempt to steady her hands, which had started to shake on remembering the fear and pain as she lay on the floor of the cabin.

  “You have both been through quite a lot.”

  “We all have. It’s war.”

  “So whose idea was to leave Larissa for Australia?”

  “It was Zoe’s idea. I just didn’t care where I was going to go or what I was going to do, but it was Zoe who convinced me to leave Europe. When the war came to Larissa, your father helped two Australian soldiers to try to get back to their unit. Those soldiers told Zoe about Australia and she wanted to go there.”

  “What made you so sure that she didn’t want to finish the job by killing you?”

  Eva looked out the train window contemplating the question before she turned back to Theo, who was waiting patiently for her answer. “I thought about that,” she said honestly. “She could have let Reinhardt kill me. She didn’t, and here we are, both of us alive and well.”

  Eva looked at Theo, who appeared to be lost in thought, before she spoke again. “Must have come as a shock to find out Zoe was still alive.”

  “I was shocked, relieved, worried, and grateful to God that she was still alive when so many had died.”

  “Did it come as a shock to you to find out your sister is a lesbian?” Eva asked, taking a leaf out of Zoe’s direct approach. She wanted to see Theo’s reaction to the blunt statement because his opinion mattered. This was Zoe’s brother; the man Zoe idolized while she was growing up. Eva never doubted Zoe’s love, but she was painfully aware of the trouble Theo could cause if he wanted.

  Theo stared down at his now empty coffee cup. “Not really.”

  “No?”

  “No.” Theo shook his head. “Zoe was young and she had lost everyone. All the men were gone, either dead or fighting. Zoe was at that stage of a young girl’s life when changes happen.” He looked a little embarrassed. “Only women were around and Zoe was young...”

  Eva resisted the urge to laugh at Theo’s absurd reasoning. “So you think Zoe turned to me because there were no men around? So her feelings for me are not real?”

  “I don’t know, maybe. I’m told that it might be a phase she is going through, but Father Haralambos said it’s real. I’ve been around...um...ah...it’s real,” Theo stammered to a stop. “Father Haralambos tells me it’s real and he’s a priest, so he must know.”

  “You really don’t understand any of it, do you?”

  “Yes…I mean no.” Theo shook his head. “Doesn’t mean just because I don’t understand it that I can stop Zoe from how she feels.”

  “You love your sister and I understand that. She’s your flesh and blood. I know you are trying to understand.”

  “Is your brother supportive of your...um...way?”

  “I’m an only child,” Eva replied. She mentally shook her head on how similar Theo was to Zoe—very direct, and there was nothing hidden. Must be a Lambros trait.

  “I don’t want to make her choose. My father told me that I should never ask a woman to choose because I would lose. The person that asks, well, they don’t win that argument.”

  “Even if your sister is a lesbian?”

  Theo leaned back in his chair. “I have a choice. I could accept Zoe for the choice she has made or I could lose my sister and what is left of my family. I don’t want to lose her again. Father Haralambos told me about you and how much you love Zoe. Far worse things have happened to my baby sister than for her to be branded a deviant by the village. She’s alive, she seems happy, and that’s all I care about. I want Zoe to be happy. My father would want me to protect her…”

  “From me?”

  “No, from all the evil in the world. She has gone through so much and I don’t want to have her hurt. I wasn’t here to protect her or my mother back then, but I’m here now. That I can do. That means I accept her and accept you in my family.”

  “Thank you, Theo. You share your sister’s forthright nature and honesty.”

  “What would you have done if I had said I didn’t approve?”

  “I don’t want to talk about something that won’t ever happen now.” Eva couldn’t even think of the nightmare that would engulf them if Theo had decided to oppose her love for Zoe.

  “Alright. Has Zoe told you about our family?”

  “Zoe talks about the family all the time. I’ve heard so many stories about you and your brothers. It’s like I know you already.”

  “I have this photo that you might like to see.” Theo removed his wallet from his back pocket, took out a creased photo, and gave it to Eva.

  Eva took the photo and smiled on seeing a
very familiar face looking back at her. It was a photograph of a very young Zoe being held aloft on the shoulders of the tallest of the three brothers. “This is just beautiful.”

  “I found it in the box where Father Haralambos had put all the photos from the farm. He wanted them kept safe.”

  “Zoe didn’t go back to the farm after your mother was killed.”

  “Father Haralambos told me. She doesn’t know about all our possessions. I’ve got them at my house.”

  “Your house is the one in town, right?”

  “Yes, do you know it?”

  Eva nodded. “Yes, the German command house was right across the road. I lived there. That’s where I first saw Zoe.”

  “Ah, yes, the bombed house. That’s still there. It’s not completely destroyed.”

  “They haven’t demolished it?”

  “No. I don’t think anyone had the time, and with the civil war breaking out, it wasn’t a priority.”

  “There’s something in there that I want.” Eva leaned forward. “I hope it’s still there, but I don’t know if it survived the bombing.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s a photograph of my mother,” Eva said softly. “I don’t have any photographs of her, and I had it in a desk. There’s also a painting that your mother did and it was also in my rooms.”

  Theo nodded. “Once I get the two of you settled in Thieri’s cabin, I will go and look.”

  “How do you know we were staying there?”

  “Father Haralambos told me.” Theo smiled. “I wondered what you looked like since your father is Father H. You don’t look like him.”

  “I look like my mother—dark hair, blue eyes, and tall.” Eva smiled. “I’m named after my maternal grandmother, Eva Mitsos.”

  “Mitsos? Petros Mitsos, the war hero?”

  “Yes, my grandfather Petros, his wife Eva, my mother Daphne and her sister Theresa. You know of the family?”

  “I have heard of them. Father talked about him all the time,” Theo replied. “The Mitsos family is well respected in Larissa, even though we don’t have any of the family left there. Your grandparents passed away before the war. There has been a lot of sorrow in that family.”