Chapter Nine

Alessandro blew out a rough breath as he leaned back in his chair. Things were very bad. There could be an assassin after Braydon and his entire family. He needed to do something but he didn't know how he could help him against an assassin.

That's when an idea popped into his head. He looked at the watch on his wrist and saw that it was after six in the evening. He picked up his cell phone just as it started ringing. He chuckled when he saw Evangeline's name pop up. "Hi, there little angel. I was just about to call you." He said as he relaxed into his seat.

She giggled that little giggle that he loved so much already. "Oh really?" She asked playfully.

He chuckled. "Yes really."

She smiled. "Well, I'll be ready to go in about ten minutes if you want to start heading this way."

He grinned. "Okay, I'll head your way now." He said as he stood up and grabbed his gun and favorite knife.

"Oh." She said suddenly. "Why were you about to call me Alessandro?" She asked softly.

He chuckled. "There was something that I needed to talk to you about, but it can wait until dinner."

"Oh okay." She said softly. "I'll see you in a bit then Alessandro."

They hung up and he got into his car to pick up his angel.

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Evangeline sighed in contentment as she leaned back in her chair. Alessandro was on his way to pick her up. She didn't know what it was but it just felt so right being with him. She always wanted to be with him. She felt safe with him, which was something that she only ever felt with Luca. She blew out a soft breath as she stood up and made sure all of the files that Jaxon had given her were in her briefcase.

She was shutting everything down when her phone rang. She smiled when she saw that it was Alessandro. "Hi, Alessandro." She said joyfully.

He chuckled. "Hi there, little angel. I'm downstairs."

"Alright. I'll be right down." She said as she turned the lights off.

She made her way downstairs and smiled when she saw Alessandro standing by his car. She walked over to him and stopped right in front of him with a wide smile. "Hi." She said softly.

He gently caressed her face. "Hi there, little angel." He took a step away from the car and opened her door for her. "After you love."

She blushed and looked down as she got in the car. Alessandro shut her door once she was inside and quickly made his way around to the driver's side. Once he was inside he asked her. "How was your day angel?" He started driving towards her house as he listened to her.

"It was fine. Lots of paperwork and a couple of meetings." She sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Also got a visit from an old friend."

He glanced over at her before focusing on the road again. "Oh yeah?" He asked curiously.

She nodded. "Yeah." She said softly as they pulled into her driveway. She took a deep breath. "Do you want to come inside while I change?" She asked quietly as she grabbed her stuff.

He chuckled. "Of course." He said as he turned the car off. He held up a hand. "Don't move. I'll get the door."

He got out of the car and rushed to her side of the car. He opened her door and held his hand out to her. "My lady."

She giggled as she put her hand in his and climbed out of the car. They walked inside and she set her purse and briefcase on the table by the door. "Give me five minutes." She said with a smile.

He shook his head with a smile. "Take your time, little angel." He said as he sat down and got comfortable on her couch.

She rushed upstairs and into her room. She stopped for a minute to admire her room. The guys that cleaned it up did an amazing job. They changed out her carpet and everything. She shook her head to bring herself out of her small trance and went to her closet. She quickly changed into tight-fitting jeans and a camisole that stopped right above her belly button, exposing another tattoo and a belly button ring. She grabbed her favorite leather jacket that was the same length as her shirt and threw on a pair of high-heeled, knee-high, black boots.

She made her way downstairs and into the living room. "Okay, Alessandro. I'm ready."

He stood up and turned to face her. "You look amazing." He said in awe.

She blushed as she played with her hair. "Thank you."

He held a hand out to her. "Shall we, angel?" He asked softly.

She smiled. "Yes, we shall."

She intertwined their fingers as they walked towards the door. She grabbed her purse and keys as they left. She made sure the house was locked up and security was set before getting in the car with Alessandro. He drove them to the same restaurant they went to before. She let out a small laugh. "This is your favorite place isn't it?" She asked playfully.

He chuckled. "It is actually." He said as he turned the car off. He opened his door and rushed to her side before she could open her door. "My angel." He said softly.

She climbed out of the car and they walked inside together. They went straight to the same booth as the last time and got comfortable. Once they ordered their food she took a sip of her soda before asking him. "So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

He sighed as he leaned forward, placing his forearms against the table. "First I'm going to say this and I hope it doesn't change your mind about me." He took a deep breath. "I'm the leader of the biggest mafia family in Milan, Italy."

Her eyes went wide. "Are you serious?" She questioned as she folded her arms over her chest.

He nodded with furrowed eyebrows as he tried to figure out what she was feeling. "Yes."

She let out a laugh. "Of course. It makes sense." She mumbled.

He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "You're okay with this?" He asked.

She nodded with a small smile. "Of course. It isn't surprising. You're a powerful man and you were able to easily get rid of the bodies that I left behind the other night. You also had some men easily clean up my house and replace everything that had blood on it." She said quietly.

He chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that you're okay with it."

She nodded. "You're okay with me being the world's deadliest assassin. I have no room to judge you for being a mafia boss." She shrugged. "Besides, not all mafia bosses are bad." She said softly.

He grinned. "I'm so glad you see it that way."

She blew him a kiss as the waiter brought their food out. He set their plates in front of them and said. "If there is anything else that you guys need please don't hesitate to let me know."

"Thank you," Evangeline said with a small smile.

They started eating as Alessandro continued speaking. "Okay, so now that you know about me being the mafia leader there's something that I wanted to talk to you about."

She nodded as she swallowed the bit of food in her mouth before saying. "Go on. I'm listening."

He blew out a rough breath. "I have a third in command named Braydon." He started. "He has a wife and two young kids. He told me that someone from a rival mafia out in Russia approached him and tried to get him to turn on me."

Evangeline frowned as she listened to what he was saying. She knew that name. Braydon was the man that she was supposed to be saving tomorrow. "Okay, so I take it that he refused." She said softly, already knowing that he did.

Alessandro nodded. "Braydon is loyal to me and Luca. He would never betray either of us." He sighed. "His father was the same way with my father."

She released a short breath of air as she leaned back in her seat. "What are you going to do?" She asked as she folded her arms over her stomach.

Alessandro cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat. "I called a friend of mine in Russia. His father is the Pakhan of the biggest Bratva in Russia. So I knew that he would have information about the mafia boss that tried to turn Braydon." He shook his head. "His name is Nikolai Petrov. I personally have never crossed paths with him but my friend Dimitri has. He told me everything that I needed to know about Nikolai."

Evangeline furrowed her eyebrows as the name Dimitri seemed to bring out a memory that she hadn't thought of in years.

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- They were chasing each other through the house. They were laughing and enjoying their time together like they always did. That was until she tripped and fell to the floor, scraping her knee and elbow in the process.

She started crying as she held onto her knee. The little boy, that she automatically felt a connection to, knelt in front of her with concern on his face. "Are you okay butterfly?" He asked her in a panic.

Her bottom lip trembled as she shook her head. "My knee and elbow hurt." She said in a small voice.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close as a woman came rushing to their side. "Oh, you're okay little princess." The woman said soothingly. She pressed a kiss to the girl's knee and then her elbow. "All better."

The girl sniffled as she leaned into the little boy. He hugged her tightly until she stopped crying. "Are you feeling better, little butterfly?" He asked her quietly.

She nodded. "I'm okay Max." She said softly.

He grinned. "Want to go steal some cookies from the kitchen?" He asked her in a whisper.

She giggled as she nodded slightly. They stood up and raced to the kitchen and snuck out two cookies each.

They raced to their secret hideout while laughing and chatting. He made her feel safe and happy. -

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"Evie?" Alessandro said as he gently touched her hand. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She frowned as she cleared her throat. "Yeah sorry. You said the name Dimitri and I just got swept away in a memory that I didn't even realize I had." She mumbled. She blew out a rough breath as she ran a hand through her hair. "Um. Would it be alright if we took the rest of this to go? We could go back to my house." She suggested quietly.

He frowned but nodded. "Sure."

They got their food wrapped up, paid for everything, and then headed back to Evangeline's house. They were quiet on the way back, both lost in their thoughts. Once they got there they sat on her couch together. She cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. It's because of my past and I promise I will explain it soon." She said quietly. "Let's continue with what you wanted to talk about though."

He nodded in understanding as he got comfortable with her. He took a deep breath before he continued speaking about Braydon. "As I was saying, I've learned what Nikolai is capable of." He sighed heavily. "Dimitri told me that one of two things can happen. One, he can send an assassin to kill Braydon, his wife, and their two children. Or two, he could be patient and bide his time. Then once we've let our guard down he could send an army to our front door."

Evangeline exhaled roughly as she ran a hand through her hair. "He's going to send an assassin." She mumbled as she stood up and grabbed her briefcase. She took out the files that Jaxon had given her. "Do you remember that I had an old friend visit me earlier?" She asked as she sat back down next to him.

He nodded. "Yes." He said in confusion.

She sighed as she handed him the files. "He's an assassin. Nikolai sent him to take out Braydon and his family." She cleared her throat as she folded her arms over her chest. "Jaxon and I had always been close. We've kept in touch over the years and he knew I was out here." She clicked her tongue. "Jaxon and I have always had a strict moral code. We don't kill anyone innocent. Especially children." She blew out a rough breath. "When Jaxon got the job and found out that Nikolai wanted the entire family taken out he came to me."

"He came to you for what?" Alessandro questioned.

She scoffed. "He came to me for help." She stood up and started pacing. "Jaxon knows me better than anyone. Yeah, Luca knows me better than most people but he wasn't with me when I was younger. He wasn't there while I was being trained." She said quietly. "Jaxon was there. He became my big brother. He took care of me until I was strong enough to take care of myself. Even after that, he did what he could to take care of me. He was always there for me and he is one of the main reasons I never lost my humanity." She waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway. He knows that I have refused to use the skills that I have learned during that time of my life. However," she said as she stopped in front of him. "He also knows that I would never let innocent people be murdered simply because one man refused to do what Nikolai wanted. Especially children." She sighed heavily as she sat down next to him again. "I may not have used my skills in a while but I'm not rusty. I can still do everything that it takes like I never quit doing it. So he asked me to take over the job for him."

Alessandro's eyes widened slightly. "What are you going to do angel?" He asked, hoping that she was going to help Braydon and his family.

She let out a humorless laugh. "Jaxon asked me for help because I know how to make a person disappear without actually killing them." She looked at him with sad eyes. "I still have all my contacts from those days. I've helped every single one of them go into hiding during my assassin days. They would do anything to help me. I can make Braydon and his family disappear until this is all over with." She said softly.

Alessandro shook his head with a proud smile. "You are amazing." He said softly.

She scoffed. "I'm not, but thank you." She said quietly.

He grabbed her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. "You are amazing my little angel." He took a deep breath. "You're planning on doing the thing that I was going to ask you to do."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You were going to ask me for help?"

He nodded. "Yes. When I spoke with Dimitri and he told me that Nikolai would possibly send an assassin I thought that we were screwed. I was worried that the worst would happen because we may be the strongest mafia family out here but we can not keep Braydon safe against an assassin." He shook his head. "Braydon is a close friend of mine and I don't want to lose him." He chuckled softly. "I'm even the godfather to his two kids." He sighed. "So after I found out about the assassin I was trying to think of a way for me to keep him safe. That's when it hit me. Evangeline used to be an assassin, maybe she could help."

She gave him a small smile. "I will help you." She let out a light laugh. "That saves me from sneaking past all of your security. I know your little community is on lockdown by now so that means that for anyone else it would be almost impossible to get in." She shrugged. "I mean I still could've gotten in easily but now it saves me from doing the work of sneaking in."

He chuckled and pulled her into his arms. "Thank you, Evie."

She smiled as she leaned into him. "So I think that since Nikolai is persistent and impatient we should get Braydon and his family into hiding as quickly as possible."

He nodded. "I agree." He looked down at her. "Are you okay with going to my house now and talking to him and his wife?" He asked her quietly.

She sighed. "As long as we take the food." She said with a small smile.

He chuckled. "Of course angel."

They grabbed their things and headed out to his car once again. He drove them to his house and he helped her inside. They went into his office and Alessandro pulled up a chair next to his. "You can sit next to me." He said softly.

She smiled in adoration as she sat down next to him. "Thank you."

Once they both sat down and got comfortable Alessandro picked up his office phone and called Braydon and Richard. "I need you both in my office as soon as possible." He said, leaving no room for arguments. Without waiting for a response he hung up on both of them.