Chapter 14

A silver Cadillac pulled up on the isolated airstrip to drive Will and I into town. Woody announced that he would tend to the plane and meet us back at the hotel. Santorini was 100 times more beautiful than the pictures Gio and Charles showed me back in Athens. I could hardly believe this was where my Mom and Dad met and fell in love. There were high cliffs above the sea and the roads in town snaked through buildings like the switchbacks I once drove on with Holly in Northern California. Almost every building I could see was a brilliant white and there were magnificent boats near the docks. One of them reminded me of Dad's boat back in Manchester.

I peered up at Will through my eyelashes. He was quiet again, looking out the window. His jaw set firmly in place, a trait I had begun to recognize. He had experienced belonging to a gang, joining the MI6, and the death of someone close to him; I wanted to know more about his story, but our game of 20 Questions had come to an end, and he looked uncomfortable talking about it. Idly I wondered if Gio knew about his history.

The car parked at a large structured edifice. The sight of it gave me the chills because the intimidating nature of it reminded me of WWM. The white sandstone matched much of every other building I saw there.

"This is the archive." Will remarked. My mouth dropped open looking at the sheer size of the place. For most of the buildings I've seen in Greece so far, this was the largest. Will and I left the driver behind,and walked through the entrance framed by glass. We were promptly greeted by a pretty dark-haired receptionist.

"We're here to see-" Will checked a card Gio had given him before we left. "Dr. Chen—we have an appointment."

"Right away." She picked up the phone and then put it down.

"He's in his office. Follow me." She led us through two security doors and down a long corridor. We arrived at an office that seemed to be at the back corner of the building, with windows looking out at the calm ocean.

"Ms. Westfield." A dark-haired man stood in front of one of the windows, looking at me intently. I walked over and shook his hand.

"Eva, please."

"When your assistant called me, I could hardly believe you were already coming. Your Father was right."

I gasped excitedly. "You knew my Father?"

He nodded as if he didn't understand.

"Yes, he said you were coming to collect the letters."

"Letters? What letters?" This was getting more confusing by the second. I already have the letters! I looked up at Will who shrugged.

"He didn't tell you?"

I shook my head.

"Hmm very strange." He folded his hands. "Very strange indeed. Maybe you can call him and he will be able to tell you more."

My jaw clenched. Will put his hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong, dear?" The doctor's eyes widened.

I struggled to get the words out. "Well my Father actually—died two weeks ago."

"Oh dear, oh dear, I'm so sorry." He put both of his hands to his face. "I had no idea!"

"It's alright, you didn't know." I assured him. "But he left me letters that my assistant believed led to here. Having to do with original copies of Dickens novels."

"Come with me then, I'll show you the letters he left right away. Your Father paid frequent visits here, I remember well."

He led us out the door of his office. "They're letters of correspondence between your Mother and Father. He wanted them here for safe-keeping. He said that you may come looking for them."

We followed Dr. Chen down several hallways. The floor was so clean it shined and there were rooms upon rooms with clear glass paneling that showed cabinets and artifacts protected by thick walls of clean glass. Will studied me as we walked. He calmly nudged my shoulder.

"Hey. Everything okay?" He whispered.

I smiled and nodded. He knew what it felt like to lose someone and I felt connected to him in that way.

We entered a separate department and I held my breath. There were so many books that lined bookshelves and they were all so beautiful. I wanted to know everything about them. It was no wonder Dad paid so many visits here.

"Where did I put them? Where did I put them?" He tapped his chin then mumbled something about his poor memory as he looked around. "Ah!" He walked over to a row of file cabinets and flipped through one and then another. His search continued for several minutes, allowing me to take in more of the surroundings.

"Here we are. They haven't even been touched since your Father dropped them off a few years ago." He took a pair of plastic gloves out of his pocket and put them on. Then noticing our bare hands, he took out two more.

"Isn't this a bit overkill?" I asked. "These letters can't be more than 30 years old."

He lifted up his finger. "This is how we treat all of our documents. Your Father paid handsome money to have them treated this way, so treated in this way they shall be."

I nodded and put on the gloves, indicating Will to do the same.

Dr. Chen opened the folder on the table and unfolded the letters. There must have been twenty. A lot of the handwriting was different from my Father's... I smiled when I realized this was the first writing I had ever seen of my Mother's.

"She was a skilled poet. I think you will enjoy these." He flipped his wrist up to look at his watch.

"If you'll excuse me, I have another meeting to get to. Let me know when you are finished. Just push this button." He indicated a red button on the wall, then closed and locked the door behind his. I felt a little claustrophobic all of a sudden when I realized there was no other way out.

"Sheesh, this place gives me the creeps." Will looked around nervously.

"It's so quiet." I remarked, sitting down and flipping through a few of the letters. He pulled up a chair and sat next to me.

"I have an idea. You read through Dad's and I'll read through Mom's. Then we'll only have about ten each."

He obeyed and started reading. I looked at the first one.

Dear Mallory,

Not a day goes by where I am not thinking of you. Every time I watch a plane fly by I am reminded of our fun adventures over the sea, where the world is ours. The pregnancy is going well, but I find myself very weak and sick. The doctor says it will be a painful delivery, but I can't care about that. I will carry my baby to term if it kills me. I already have so much love for her it gives me strength to write every day. Nefeli will be so sweet and tender just like her Father. Mama and Papa Sivino wish you safe travels, they are all too excited for your return and for our wedding day! Be safe, my love. Nefeli and I can't wait to see you again soon.

All My Love,

Alena

She was pregnant... with me!? But I was very confused by the name Nefeli. I looked through the other letters to see if I could find more information. I turned on my phone to call Gio. Crap, no cell service.The feeling we were locked in the giant room without service made me uneasy.

"These letters are pretty—graphic." Will swallowed hard. "I don't think I can read any more about your parents'...romanticlife." I gasped and snatched the letter away from him. "Don't read those parts!"

He smiled. "Well there's definitely no safe here anyway-not where that code he gave you would work. I say we try those Dicken's books you thought of at the house. They'd be in this same room and that may be what he wanted you to find."

My mouth twisted and I looked up at him from where I sat. "Yes, but shouldn't we ask Dr. Chen before we snoop around?"

Will's gaze wandered down the sun-dress I was wearing. He kneeled and his hands searched my dress pockets. My body tensed instantly.

"Relax, I'm just getting the notes." He smiled. I wanted to slap him across the face for being such an idiot. He didn't deserve whatever rise he was getting out of me.

Eva, get your shit together and stop acting like an idiot! Those were mainly Holly's words, but they worked for me.

"If your Dad didn't tell the doctor about it there's a reason." He got up and left cold space between us. My heart returned to its normal beat and I bounced out of the seat excitedly. I began searching through the tall book columns. There were so many books it gave me a headache to look at each one.

"Eva, it's over here!" Will was two rows down moving a ladder attached to a sliding panel.

"It's at the top I think." I started climbing. Sure enough, first editions like the ones in Dad's Manchester home lay in a row before me. I traced my fingers delicately along them and picked out A Tale of Two Cities. I looked around it, behind it, hoping to find what I came here for.

"There's no safe!" I said.

"Keep looking. I'm kind of enjoying the view down here." The color drained from my face. My dress!

"Pervert!" I yelled, trying desperately to tuck it around my knees. In the attempt, the ladder shifted hard to the right forcing the books out of my hand and fallen to the floor. My heart raced as I clutched the book shelf.

"I wasn't actually looking you idiot, who do you think I am?!" His hands clutched onto the ladder. "Just fall, I'll catch you!"

My eyes threw daggers at him. "No!" I shouted. "You're sick! You're a sick man-child lunatic... butt-head!" My fingers were slipping and my arms hurt, but they were the only thing that was keeping me from falling. The shelf wobbled.

"Eva, I'm sorry, I didn't know it would make you this upset! Now come down before the whole bloody thing falls." I had no choice. I closed my eyes and dropped, landing on him and causing both of us to crash to the floor. I got up and struggled to catch my breath.

"Do you—try to make people hate you?" I wheezed, grabbing onto my knees.

"No." He smirked, dusting off his pants. "It's just the way of English gentlemen."

"Is it?" I raised an eyebrow. "Then English women must have dragon scales for skin." I picked up the fallen books and checking to make sure everything was in place.

"Well, American women surely don't." He replied. Oooo!If this wasn't a first edition of Charles Dickens, I would have hurled it at him right then and there. Bastard.

I began leafing through the pages of A Tale of Two Cities. A piece of paper fell right out of Chapter 1 where it was the best and worst of times. Will picked it up.

"It's a poem—written by your Mother." What? I examined it carefully. It began with a note from Dad.

Dearest Eva,

I know these are troubling times. I am writing you to tell you to be strong in these times. If you have found this, then you have found the clue I left for you and the numbers to the safe that I included. The map to its whereabouts is hidden in this poem that your Mother wrote to me. It is the last poem she wrote, but I arranged some of the words to help you. Be strong my dearest and promise me you will not trust anyone, not even my personal assistant, Gio. This must not be trusted to anyone but yourself. They are coming for you and will follow you until you lead them to the safe. DON'T TRUST ANYONE. This is my final warning. Soon my treasure left for you will be in your hands and you will abandon WWM as you see fit. Leave, disappear, do whatever you like, just don't let them find you. I love you my darling and I will miss you,

M. A. Westfield

My breathing hitched. He never said he loved me in person before. And he must have known he was going to die. But the part about Gio—that confused me the most. Will took it and read it.

"Do you know why he told me not to trust Gio?" I bit my lip.

"No." Will put the letter down. "What do you think is in that safe?"

"I...I don't know." I closed the books that had fallen and handed them to him, then I leaned against the opposite bookcase, thinking deeply. "He said other people are looking for it. Does that mean Plymouth?"

Will shrugged coming back down the ladder. "It's a damn good reason for not killing you." Holy Crap. We both froze at the realization.

"They knew I was the only one who could come in here and get through to Dr. Chen. I'm fair game once we are back outside." My heart started beating faster. Will took my hand, his eyes searching mine.

"No, you're not. Because I won't let that happen."

I sighed, nervously folding my hands. "I still don't get why he said Gio. Why Gio?" I trusted him more than anyone else. If I couldn't trust him I couldn't even trust Will or Austin or Charles.

"Well then I wouldn't trust me. I'm an ex-gang member you know."

I frowned and hit him on the shoulder. "That's not funny!"

He was teasing, but it made me think more seriously. I didn't even know what he did to have people like Loraine hunting him down. For all I knew she could be paying him to follow me. The thought made me sick to my stomach.

"Look, I'm joking! I don't know how Gio feels, or the Aussie or anyone else--" He sighed, his brown eyes looking darker and even more mysterious. "I only know how I feel about you, Eva."

My mind instantly went back to the time he locked me in the closet at WWM. His words still resonated through me. I can't lose you again. My life was still in his hands, whether I liked it or not. I felt like I should have let go of him but my hands held on.

Voices came from somewhere down the hall. With no time to read what my Mother had written I stuffed it into my dress pocket.

"The doctor must be coming back." We ran back to the table and sat down. I rubbed my hands, feeling the pain of holding on that bookshelf before.

Sure enough, Dr. Chen walked down the hall and unlocked the door.

"Are you still looking?" His voice practically shrilled in the muffled silence of the room.

"Yes—no." I stood up. "We just finished."

Will followed my lead, straightening his suit. "Do we leave them here?" He asked.

"If you wish, but I'd rather you take them. I've had enough people sniffing around here trying to access them. Apparently, every literary agent around here wants to publish them. I told them they would have to ask you... anyway do as you wish with them."

Will looked at me, concern flashing across his eyes.

"Who tried to access them?" I asked, incredulous. I folded all of the letters carefully, taking them with me to the door.

"Several literary agents and journalists, as I said—savage creatures. Willing to go around anyone for a good story." I thought for a moment.

"When?"

He scratched his forehead. "Come to think of it, a few of them stopped by just the week before last. On Thursday and Friday." My heart sank in the pit of my stomach. The days following Dad's accident.

Someone already knew about them, and it wasn't just one person.

"One of them even came— someone who called themselves your Father's assistant. Now, that I didn't believe for a second."

My knees buckled, but Will caught me and supported me in his strong arms.

"Is everything alright, Ms. Westfield?" Dr. Chen looked worried.

I straightened my posture and waved him off. "Yes, yes. I'm just ready to leave. Now." Will followed close behind me as we made our way to the front.

"You only ate fruit for breakfast, let's go get you something to eat." He whispered in my ear. I nodded. At the entrance, I turned to thank Dr. Chen and his assistant profusely and left the building, too focused to say anything further. Will looked around before opening the door for me.

Our driver Joe was steady at the front wheel. "Where to, kids?"

Will looked at me expectantly.

"Somewhere private." I said. "I need a quiet place to think."

"I know just the place, Miss." He drove off and down the road. Somehow the sky was less blue and the people not as friendly as they had seemed on the way up.

Five minutes later, Joe pulled up to some kind of cove. An isolated stretch of pebble-sanded beach. I stepped out and ran, ran as fast as I could to the edge, where the sand met the quiet waves. I looked down and noticed all the pebbles in my sandals. Will ran after me.

"Eva..."

"It was him, wasn't it?" I murmured, crossing my arms. "He knew."

The driver rushed over and Will nodded to him, handing him a few dollars. "Could you grab her a sandwich?"

"Right away, sir."

After he left, Will stepped closer beside me, his presence a comfort. "We can't be sure if Gio was here. It could very well have been one of Plymouth's men posing as him." I nodded. "If I know Gio, and I've known him for about as many years as you, he would never do something like that without talking to you first."

"Still." I said, sucking in deep breaths. I was beyond relieved to be out of that claustrophobic archive room. "I'd like to keep this note between us if you don't mind."

Will seemed slightly startled by the fact I wanted to keep this a secret.

"Of course." He replied.

I pulled the note out of my pocket. "We still haven't read the part from my Mom."

"Lead the way, Ms. Westfield."

I read it aloud:

"My love is like the Ocean Waves. It rises and falls but stays strong in the face of danger. Be strong, my love, ever strong. As you battle the tempest and come ashore to your waiting loved ones. The journey across the rocky cliffs is great, but I will wait for you, as family is the most important thing. I will wait and wait until they bury me in the rocks of my own pain as I bear my dear child, Nefeli. My time after is not long, but my love is ever strong. Strong as the waves of the ocean."

"Who's Nefeli?" He asked.

"I noticed the name in one of Mom's other letters. I think it must be me? She didn't have any other children."

He stood back, looking me over. "You look like you could be a Nefeli." I smiled.

"I still don't understand. Apparently, it's some sort of map."

"Let me look at it." He took it and sat down in the sand.

My phone vibrated. There were a few messages now coming in from Austin and one from Gio. I sat down in the sand beside Will and unlocked the screen to scroll through to Austin's.

Just checking to see if you made it safely. I catch myself thinking about you and our private swim. ;)

I smiled and closed the screen. I'll have to call him before the plane takes off.

"I don't think I'm ready to go back." I breathed in the fresh salty air.

"Then don't."

I looked at him, confused.

"There's no law saying you have to go back." I considered his words and quietly looked out over the ocean. The sun was getting lower in the sky. My heart picked up pace wondering if Mom and Dad had watched the sunset here before.

"I still don't know what she looks like—my mother." I frowned. Will looked up from the letter.

"Well if she's anything like you I understand why your Father was so in love with her." I felt slight heat in my face. Will continued to baffle me. One minute he's the most obnoxious, detestable human being I ever knew and the next he's more gentle and caring than even Gio. I bit on my lower lip.

"Do you still think about her?"

"Who?" He looked surprised.

"You know...Ally?"

He looked out over the ocean. "Yes. She was the only person I ever loved." His voice was deeper, his eyes darker. I folded my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them, looking at him sideways.

"You remind me of her a little." He said.

"I do?" I sat up, incredulous.

"Yeah." His lips broke into a smile. "Same naivety—yet same fiery spirit." I hit him on the shoulder.

"I'm not that naïve!" He smiled and looked back down at the poem.

"Why don't you tell me more about your past?" I could feel him closing off. I frowned. Not again.

"There's really nothing more to tell. The past is in the past."

I looked back forward into the water and sighed. Back to being same 'ol Will. Joe, the driver showed up with sandwiches wrapped in paper. They didn't look like any type of sandwich I had ever seen before

"Sometimes I just miss Subway." I took a big bite. It tasted like a bunch of different flavors, but overall it was good and I was starving. I glanced back at my phone. Maybe now was a good time to call Austin. I stood up and dusted off my dress.

"Where are you going?" Will demanded.

"Relax, I'm just calling Austin."

He shifted uncomfortably.

"I was wondering when you were going to call." The deep timbre coming in on the receiving end reminded me of blue eyes and messy blond hair. I laughed, and looked around to make sure Will and the driver were out of earshot.

"I'll be back soon."

"What sort of business is taking you away from me?"

I bit my lip. "Ah, just a few arrangements. It just has to do with my family—my Dad."

"I see."

I closed my eyes. It wasn't a lie, but I certainly wasn't being honest. It made me feel guilty to my core.

"I guess I'll see you soon then. Tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yes, for the wedding!" I thanked my lucky stars I had brought something appropriate to wear from L.A.

"Miss you, Eva."

I breathed deeply. "Miss you too, Austin." I hung up, not sure if I was relieved or upset at how fast things seemed to be going between us. I walked back over to Will and Joe who watched me carefully.

"Want to watch the sun go down from here?" Will asked somberly.

I looked out, it would be too beautiful to miss.

"All due respect, Ms. Westfield, but I was given strict instructions to have you at the hotel by sunset." The driver folded his arms.

I put my hands on my hips. "By whom? Gio?" He nodded, looking confused. "Well, all due respect to you too, but I'm a free woman and I shall do as I please." He looked to Will for help, but Will responded by shrugging and putting his hands up in surrender. I smiled in my victory and started running into the water. I didn't care if the waves splashed my dress.

"I'm free." I said. "You hear me? Free!" I shouted into the waves.

"Ms. Westfield!" The driver seemed surprised at my sudden outburst of emotion, but I didn't care. No one was going to tell Eva Westfield what to do anymore. Behind me I could hear Joe mumble something about women and walked back towards the car.

I ran back to Will at sat, kicking off my sandals, letting the sand pebbles work through my toes. The sun sank lower and lower as we sat quietly. It was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen, even if it was only my first in Santorini. The whole time we didn't speak, just watched. The blast of orange, yellow, and finally purple set fire to the sky and then began to diminish themselves slowly.

Once the last of it was gone we made our way back to the Cadillac.

"You finally ready to go, free bird?" The driver asked, opening my door.

"Very funny, Joe. I just needed a moment."

We arrived at the hotel and I decided to do some more investigating of the poem on my own. So far, the only thing that made sense where the lines You battle the tempest to come ashore.Which I took to mean we were in the right place. Santorini was surrounded by nothing but ocean. I tapped my pen on my chin. It was still a big island with a gazillion places to hide a safe. Half of me wondered if this even led me to anything at all or was just another one of Dad's practical jokes. I couldn't imagine he would have done such a horrible thing, especially since his last letter acknowledged a safe's existence.

I padded over to the window in my tank top and baggy sweats and peered out of it. Joe was standing right outside the door with the first watch. Will would have the second starting soon. I checked my watch. It was almost midnight and Gio still hadn't called. What could he be doing? Will was in the shower at the moment, leaving me alone to finally organize my own thoughts, even though it seemed to do more harm than good. I found myself thinking of Gio and what my Father said about him. My mind was so wired I didn't even think I could get my opinions in a decent order tonight. Un-trustworthy or not, I still wasn't planning to tell Gio about the poem.

Then I started thinking about Austin and how the more I didn't see him, the further he slipped away from my thoughts. He was so handsome, kind... Part of me wondered what he would say if he knew about his uncle's devious ways, and his plan to boot me out of WWM.

The bathroom door flung open and Will walked out of the steaming room, fresh from the shower. My face flushed. He wore nothing but a towel. When he noticed me watching I quickly looked back down at the paper. Holy Shit, Eva! He must think I'm a creep for staring at him like that.

"Figure the riddle out?" He asked.

I continued staring down and turned back to face the window. "No."

I could see his reflection in the window, which gave me no escape. His strong biceps and broad shoulders made it harder for me to focus. Then I realized this was the first time I saw him without a shirt.

"Ms. Westfield." Oh, I wish he would stop calling me that!

"Yes?" I turned back. I was looking anywhere but at him.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes—why wouldn't it be?" My heart was racing. I peeked up at him. He was studying me carefully.

"I don't know." He smirked and went through his suitcase. My jaw set. I would not have him thinking I was attracted to him. There was certainly no room for two in his ego.

"Could you please-" I indicated at his T-shirt lying on one of the beds and sat down at a desk by the door.

"Could I please what?" He acted all innocent. All I knew was that this man couldn't be anymore childlike.

"Could you please put a shirt on, genius? I'm trying to translate this." He moved closer which made my heart beat faster. I could feel heat radiating from his body behind me.

"Show me what you're looking at." His arms were leaning on the table on either side of me. I could see his tattoo clearly and feel his nose breathing in my hair.

"What are you doing?" I snapped, trying to re-gain focus. At this point it didn't matter if Will was insanely good looking, his ridiculous behavior had me more irritated than ever.

There was a knock on the door. We both froze. It couldn't have been Joe because he had a key. Will threw on a shirt and I followed him to the door.

"Who's there?" He commanded loud and clear.

"It's a surprise for Eva!" I looked at him confused then unbolted the door myself and opened it. My face blanched when I saw who was there. It was Austin.

Author's Note

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! So this marks 14 weeks--14 weeks of editing and posting! Motivation can be harder to find some weeks than others but I have really been enjoying re-living Eva's journey and feel incredible now that I've made it this far. Not to say I'm a great editor (believe me when I tell you I actually think I'm pretty awful at it but have had amazing help along the way) Thank you all for being so encouraging! ❤️