Page 64 of The Berlin Sisters
‘They know,’ she said, pausing at the door to unlock it and turning to face David. ‘I don’t know what or how, but my father warned me – there were SS at our apartment, and I came here as quickly as I could to make sure you were safe. I don’t know how long we have before they get here, or which of my family members they’re even looking for.’
‘Where is my daughter?’ Herr Goldman said. ‘Is she in danger, too?’
‘Eliana has gone to get Hanna, they’ll be here soon,’ Ava said. ‘But for now, we have to get to the bunker. It’s the only place we’ll be safe.’
‘The SS are coming here, aren’t they?’ David asked.
‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘I think so.’
The moment the words were out of her mouth, David grabbed hold of his father’s arm and moved even faster across the back garden than Ava.
Ava felt as if she’d been watching the house all day, when in fact she knew it couldn’t have been for more than two hours. Her legs ached from being in the same position for so long, and her heartbeat hadn’t settled since she’d left the office that morning. Now, darkness was slowly starting to creep across the sky, and she had no idea what to expect, what to do.
‘Do you hear that?’ David asked.
‘Yes, I hear it.’
She wished she had binoculars so she could see what was coming, but her ears told her that it was more than one vehicle travelling up the road or already turning into their driveway. Their home was secluded and surrounded by trees, which meant they were able to hear any motor vehicle approaching.
A flash of black confirmed her fears – the SS had arrived, so there was no chance Eliana and Hanna were going to be joining them anytime soon. She only hoped they would realise before it was too late, and manage to turn around instead of being accosted by the men when they arrived, or by a patrol on the road.
‘Is there any chance that could be your father arriving?’ David asked her.
She moved closer to him, wanting to make certain she was completely obscured from sight. ‘I don’t know.’ If she were being truthful, she didn’t think there was any chance it could be him. Her father had managed to warn her, but she doubted he’d have been able to escape the city, and if he had, he certainly wouldn’t be in an SS motorcade. Her greatest fear was that he wouldn’t come at all, and then she wouldn’t know what to do.
Ava watched as two men stepped out of the first car, but it was the second car that captured her attention. The driver turned to open the back door of the car, and she couldn’t imagine who their passengers might be.Couldit be her father?
No. No, no, no!
‘Eliana,’ David whispered, at the same moment as Ava murmured her own sister’s name.
She watched in horror as they were dragged from the car to the house, the men pounding on the door before kicking at the timber until it gave way, and then disappearing inside.
‘What do we do now?’ David asked, turning to her.
Ava blinked away her tears. ‘We wait,’ she said. ‘If we try to go in there now, they’ll only kill us both, and then we won’t be any use to anyone.’
She reached for David’s hand, intertwining their fingers as they stood together and watched the house. She dropped her head to his shoulder as she tried not to imagine what they were doing to her beautiful sister, and to the girl who’d become her best friend.
Ava woke with a start, scrambling to her feet as she realised she’d fallen asleep.Everything came rushing back to her then, as David reached out a hand to steady her.Hanna.Eliana.Mama. She was grateful he was holding her as she stared at the house.
‘You should have woken me,’ she mumbled. ‘I don’t know how I fell asleep.’
‘You were barely asleep for thirty minutes,’ he said, and it was then she realised she was still holding his hand. He must have noticed too, for he looked down and then let go of her, their fingers slowly parting.
‘Has anything happened?’
‘Two of the SS men just left,’ he said.
She looked at the house, wishing they were able to get closer without being seen. ‘So you think there’s only two of them left in the house? No one else has arrived?’
David nodded. ‘That’s right.’
Ava stood for a moment, thinking through what her father would do in this situation, what Hanna would do, if she were in her shoes. She imagined Hanna would be far better at coming up with a plan, would have no doubt already thought through exactly what to do if she were faced with this very situation.
‘You didn’t see any sign at all of my mother?’ she asked, knowing it was unlikely that there’d been a sighting of her in the short time she’d been asleep.
‘No,’ David replied, his face falling. ‘No sign at all.’
