Chapter Eleven

Evangeline grunted as she hit the dummy again. She had run all the way home from Alessandro's house. It was a decent run, even for her. Once she got home she got changed into tight, short, yoga shorts and a sports bra. Then she went into her underground gym and started working out. She was grabbing her sai blades when the doorbell rang. She gripped them tightly as she made her way upstairs. She held both blades in one hand as she opened the door. She felt her shoulders sag in relief when she saw that it was Alessandro. She sighed heavily. "Hi, Alessandro." She said softly.

He gave her a small smile. "Hi, little angel." He eyed the blades in her hand. "Expecting someone else?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She looked down at the blades and shook her head as she turned away from the door. "I was in the gym." She mumbled. "I'll show you. Follow me."

She led the way to her office. She pulled the bookshelf open and looked at him over her shoulder. "Do not tell Aurora about this. She's been trying to get me to stop working out and to get rid of some of my weapons." She muttered as she pressed her hand against the biometric scanner that only she and Luca could get through. It wouldn't unlock for anyone else.

It unlocked a metal door that revealed a staircase. She led the way down the stairs. They stopped in front of another door with biometric security as well. She unlocked the door and walked inside the gym. It was the same size as the house above. It was huge and fit her purposes perfectly. "This gym is amazing," Alessandro said in awe as he looked around.

She looked around with a small smile. "Yeah. It took a while for me to build but it was worth it." She put her blades back in the display case. "Let me show you something." She walked to a door that was off to the side. "This door leads to my weapons room." She explained as she opened the door. "This is where I repair any broken weapons. It's also where I make weapons that I can't find anywhere."

He looked at her in awe and astonishment. "You make and repair your weapons?" He questioned in shock.

She nodded with a shrug. "Yeah. Most of them anyway. There are some that I get from an old acquaintance from my past. There are just some things that I don't really like making."

He chuckled as she closed the door. She popped open a panel and scanned her hand. Alessandro watched in amazement as cabinets hissed and popped out of the wall. He watched as Evangeline stepped up to the cabinets and pulled one open to reveal more weapons than he had ever seen. Which was saying a lot seeing as he was the Don of the biggest Italian mafia family. "Holy shit." He said as he moved to stand beside her. "There are so many weapons."

She laughed softly as she turned to look at him. "These cabinets line every wall in this room. They are all filled with weapons."

He chuckled. "I thought I'd seen a lot of weapons before but damn angel." He shook his head.

She giggled as she closed the cabinet. "I can't be sure if I would still be into all the weapons if I hadn't been an assassin but there's something about them. All of them are very deadly, especially in the right hands, but most of them are just beautiful." She explained.

He smiled as he watched her. He knew exactly what she meant. He didn't feel the same way about weapons but he felt that way about her. He knew how deadly she was yet she was the most beautiful thing in the world. "I can understand that." He sighed as he gently caressed her face. "Look about earlier with Braydon." He started.

She frowned as she blew out a rough breath. "You don't have to say anything. I understand that he's worried and scared. Anyone would be if they were in his position." She said quietly.

Alessandro shook his head. "That doesn't give him the right to talk to you the way that he did." He said as he felt that same anger course through him as he did earlier.

She gently grabbed onto his wrists and simply held on. "People say things that they don't mean when they're scared and angry. It's understandable. I've seen it happen dozens of times." She sighed heavily as she saw the anger in his eyes. "I promise that I'm okay."

After a minute he nodded. "Okay angel."

She smiled. "Come on." She said as she intertwined her fingers with his. "Let's go upstairs. I need a shower and some food."

He chuckled and followed her to her living room. She bit her lip as she looked around. "Um. I'll be quick in the shower. Make yourself comfortable." She said softly.

He shook his head. "Take as long as you need my little angel. I'll be right here waiting for you."

She blushed as she looked at her feet. "Thank you, Alessandro." She whispered.

He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead before he nodded towards the stairs. "Go on. I'll be here when you're done."

She rushed upstairs and into her bathroom to take a quick shower.

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Alessandro blew out a rough breath as he pulled his phone out. There was so much on his mind but there was one thing that he couldn't seem to get off his mind. Evangeline's necklace. It looked so familiar to him yet he still couldn't place it. He dialed Jesse's number as he placed his elbows on his knees. "Hey, boss, what's up?" Jesse answered with a yawn.

Alessandro sighed heavily. "I need you to look up something for me." He said as he rubbed a hand over his face.

Jesse chuckled. "You mean besides the identities of the four other bodies your saving angel left behind?"

Alessandro rolled his eyes. "I thought you would have had that done by now." He said as he leaned back against the couch.

Jesse gasped dramatically. "I am honestly hurt that you would seriously think I wasn't done." He laughed before saying. "I know all of them except for one. I'm having a bit of trouble finding any information about this last guy."

"It's fine. Keep looking into him, but I need you to look up something else while you're at it." He said as he looked towards the stairs to make sure Evangeline wasn't coming downstairs yet.

"No problem. What do you need me to look up?" He asked.

Alessandro could hear the clicking of keys in the background as Jesse typed on his computer. "I need you to look up pictures of Dimitri's family from before his sister was taken."

Jesse frowned as he held his phone between his shoulder and head. "Okay, but can I ask why?" He questioned in confusion.

Alessandro exhaled slowly. "I just need you to see if Dimitri's sister is wearing a unique butterfly necklace. Send me a picture of it and also her name." He said as he heard footsteps above him. "I have to go but send me that information. Also the information on those first three identities."

"You got it, boss," Jesse said before they both hung up.

Alessandro set his phone down on the table in front of him as Evangeline walked up to the couch. "Is everything alright Alessandro?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

He nodded. "Yes. I was just talking with Jesse, my tech guy. He found out three of the identities from last night. He said he's having a bit of trouble with the fourth guy." He said quietly.

"Oh." She said softly as she looked down at her lap.

He sighed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm waiting for Jesse to send me the files right now. I'm sure these people that you took out were all bad people." He said softly.

She ran a hand through her hair. "What if they weren't bad?" She asked in a small voice.

He pressed a kiss to her temple. "Then we'll deal with it together." He whispered comfortingly. "I told you last night. I will not abandon you. I will be for you throughout everything. No matter how bad." He whispered soothingly as he pressed his forehead against hers.

She took a deep breath in before whispering. "Thank you, Alessandro."

He kissed her forehead and softly said. "You're welcome, little angel."

They sat in comfortable silence, simply holding onto each other until his phone notification went off. He grabbed it and opened the email that Jesse had sent him about the bodies Evangeline had left behind. "Jesse just sent me the identities." He said softly.

She bit her lip as she pulled her hair over her shoulder and slightly tugged on it. "Okay." She mumbled.

He looked through each of them and sighed. "Well, this is good news." He said as he turned to face her. "The three people that have been identified were all bad people." He said reassuringly.

Her shoulders sagged in relief as she took in what he had said. "Thank you." She whispered.

He set his phone down and pulled her into his arms. "We just have to wait for Jesse to find information on the last guy." He said quietly as he leaned into the couch with Evangeline pressed into his side.

She scoffed. "I wouldn't worry too much about that fourth guy. I already know he was bad." She said as she laid her head on his chest. "Besides you won't find any information on him. He's learned to stay off everyone's grid over the years. I'm surprised that he was even in town."

Alessandro looked down at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Who was he?"

She sighed heavily. "He worked for Nikolai. He was undercover a majority of the time. He was never seen around Nikolai. Neither wanted anyone knowing they were working together. He has done some horrible things." She said in a haunting voice.

"You sound like you've experienced those things yourself." He said quietly as he held her a bit tighter.

She blew out a rough breath. "I was forced to work with him a couple of times. He also helped Nikolai's assassin teacher pet train me." She whispered out.

He held her comfortingly as he let her come back from her memories. "I'm right here angel doll." He whispered soothingly.

She let out a huff of air as she relaxed into him. "Thank you for being here with me." She whispered.

He kissed her temple. "I will always be here for you." He said softly.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Alessandro's phone started ringing again. He groaned as he leaned forward and grabbed it off the table. "What is it?" He questioned in a low voice.

Braydon sighed through the phone. "It's Braydon." He blew out a rough breath. "Look I know that what I said earlier was out of line and I truly am sorry for saying it, but this is difficult for me."

Evangeline tapped Alessandro's shoulder. "Put him on speaker." She whispered to him.

Alessandro did as she asked. "He said that he's sorry for what he said to you earlier," Alessandro said to her quietly.

She gave him a small smile. "It's alright."

Alessandro blew out a rough breath. "I can understand what you're going through Bray. Evangeline also says that it's alright. It has to be difficult for you since you have to ask for help just to keep your family safe."

Braydon cleared his throat. "Look I was just calling because I spoke with Marie." He said quietly.

Alessandro glanced up at Evangeline as he asked. "Alright. What have you two decided?"

"We're going to accept Evangeline's help and go into hiding. We've discussed it and decided that this is the best way to keep Jordan and Seraphina alive and safe." He mumbled into the phone.

Evangeline shoved her hair back as she asked. "Have you two figured out where you would want to stay?"

"Yeah, we talked about it. I can email the locations to Alessandro." He said softly.

She nodded. "Alright go ahead and do it now while we're still on the phone. I can tell you right now where you guys will be staying." She said as she leaned into Alessandro's open arms.

"Okay. Give me just a minute." They heard some clicking noises as he sent them the locations that they had chosen. "Okay sent." He said once he was finished.

Alessandro opened his email and showed the locations to Evangeline. "Okay." She mumbled as she looked at them. "Poznan, Poland is too close to Russia. He has a ton of spies and assassins there. Rawson, Argentina. Hm." She tilted her head slightly as she thought for a minute. "No, that's no good. He has a couple of spies in Brazil. So that's too close. Brisbane, Australia." She bit her lip as she looked at the ceiling. "That'll work. He has no business anywhere out in Australia." She said loud enough for Braydon to hear through the phone.

"Okay thank you. I'll let Marie know." He sighed. "How should we prepare for this Evangeline?" He asked quietly as if he were frightened of the answer.

She shook her head slightly. "For right now I just want you to spend time with your family and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow morning I will make a few calls to a few friends of mine to get a house ready for you guys. Tomorrow night will be when we most likely start to plan your guys' fake deaths."

"Will we be safe until then?" Braydon asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Yes, you will all be safe." She said reassuringly. "The assassin that is assigned to take you out is a good friend of mine and came to me to help him protect you guys. He went into hiding for three days. That's how long we have to get you guys out of town and set up in Australia." She scoffed. "Nikolai trusts in his assassins. He believes that Jaxon is doing his job. A job that should only take five to six days. Jaxon has been out here for two days already. Which means that we have three days. Until then Nikolai won't try anything else towards you guys."

Braydon sighed. "Alright. Thank you, Evangeline. I know that I may have been rude and offensive earlier but that's not how I usually am."

"I completely understand. This isn't my first time doing this and I've seen the same reaction in so many men. It's okay." She said softly.

"Thank you for understanding and again thank you for helping us. I honestly don't know what we would have done." He said with a slightly trembling voice.

"It's no problem. I am more than happy to help." She exhaled roughly. "No one should ever take out innocent people, let alone children, simply because they didn't get what they wanted." She said as she snuggled into Alessandro's side.

"I'll see you tomorrow night then." He said before they hung up.

Alessandro set his phone on the table next to him before wrapping his arms around Evangeline and holding her close. "Braydon isn't the only one that should be thanking you for keeping him and his family safe." He mumbled into her hair.

She looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" She questioned softly.

"Braydon and I have been friends since we were very young. His kids are my god kids. I love them like I love Aurora and Luca. I would do anything for them." He whispered.

She gave him a small smile. "I would never let children be hurt because of a man like Nikolai. I'm happy that I can help though."

He grinned and pressed a quick, light kiss to her lips. "Thank you, little angel."

They snuggled on the couch and simply talked about their lives until they fell asleep in each other's arms.