Chapter Twelve

Evangeline groaned as she slowly blinked her eyes open. The sun was peeking through her partially opened blinds as she slightly lifted her head to check the time. She rubbed a hand over her eyes as she let her head fall onto Alessandro's chest. "Damn it." She muttered.

"Is everything okay?" He asked in a husky voice.

She cleared her throat. "I'm late." She mumbled as she went to sit up.

He helped her sit up as he said. "I'm sure Luca will understand."

She let out a dry laugh. "He'll be fine. He's most likely signing all of the paperwork that I left for him on his desk." She scoffed as she shook her head. "Trust me it was a lot of paperwork."

Alessandro chuckled as he stood up and offered her his hand. "I can drive you again. If you'd like." He said softly as she stood up.

She smiled brightly as she looked up at him. "I would love that."

He grinned and kissed her forehead. "It'll be my pleasure angel doll. Now run up and get ready for work. I'll call Luca."

She let out a small laugh as she started heading towards the stairs. "Thank you."

While she rushed upstairs to get ready he grabbed his phone off the table and called Luca. "Hey what's up Alessandro?" Luca said as he answered the phone.

"I was just calling to apologize for Evie being late. We had a long night and overslept this morning." He explained as he ruffled his hair.

Luca chuckled. "Oh, did you now?" He asked with a smirk even though he knew Alessandro couldn't see him.

Alessandro groaned as he walked into the kitchen. "It wasn't like that. We have a problem with Braydon and his family that we asked Evangeline to help us with." He explained. "The planning went on longer than we planned and we fell asleep on her couch."

Luca laughed. "I was joking. Evangeline would make you work for it." He said teasingly.

Alessandro rolled his eyes as he grabbed a bottle of water.

"Anyway she's getting ready now and then I'm going to drop her off."

"Alright, that's fine," Luca said. "I'm going to get back to this paperwork that Evangeline left for me." He chuckled. "She wasn't kidding when she said that there would be a lot of paperwork for me to sign when I came in today."

Alessandro laughed. "She said that you would be busy for a while."

"She wasn't joking." He sighed. "I'll see you guys in a bit then."

They hung up and Alessandro went back into the living room to find Evangeline rushing down the stairs. "Okay, Alessandro." She said breathlessly as she slipped her pumps on. She grabbed her purse and briefcase before grabbing her phone and keys off the table. "I'm ready to go."

He chuckled as he watched her rush around and collect her things. "Let's get going then."

She gave him a bright smile as she pulled the door open. They went to his car and he drove her to work. "I'll see you later Alessandro." She said softly as she turned to face him.

He grinned as he leaned over the console. "Yes, you definitely will." He gently gripped her face in his hands and pressed a firm kiss to her lips. "Have a good day, little angel."

She blushed as she bit her lip. "You too Alessandro."

She got out of the car and rushed inside. "Well well well. Look who finally showed up." Luca said with a smirk as she stepped out of the elevator.

She blushed as she moved to her desk. "I'm sorry I'm late Luca. I fell asleep on the couch with Alessandro and didn't hear my alarm upstairs."

Luca laughed. "It's okay. Alessandro already told me. I'm just messing with you."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she sat down at her desk and turned her computer on. "Did you get all of those papers signed for me?" She asked as she glanced at him.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm almost done." He said with a chuckle. "I'm sure that you'll be bringing me more paperwork in no time."

She laughed. "Of course. That's my job." She said as she leaned back in her chair. "Oh but I am going to have to make a few personal calls today. It's to help Alessandro and Braydon." She said softly.

Luca nodded. "That's fine. Do what you have to." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

She nodded with a small smile. "Thank you."

Once he went to his office she got to work like she usually did. She worked for a couple of hours before finally grabbing her cell phone and calling the only person that she needed to call. "Hello," he said through the phone.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you ever look at your caller ID before you answer the phone?" She questioned as she leaned back in her chair.

He chuckled through the phone. "Well well. If it isn't Ms.Evangeline. It's about damn time we got a call from you." He said playfully.

She scoffed. "Oh please, Ethan. I just called you guys last week."

He chuckled. "According to Savannah, that's not enough."

"Nothing less than every single day will ever be enough for her." She said with a small smile.

Ethan chuckled. "I can't argue with that." He sighed. "To what do I owe this pleasure then?" He asked her.

She blew out a rough breath. "I need your help with something." She said quietly.

Ethan groaned. "I hate it when you say that. It always means that I'm going to be putting in a lot of work."

She laughed. "Don't worry. I'll pay you well just like always, but it is important and a rush job."

Ethan let out a loud groan of displeasure. "Damn it. You're killing me, Evangeline." He muttered.

She giggled. "I doubt that."

He sighed. "Alright. What do you need?" He questioned.

"Jaxon came to me with a job. I need this done within two days. Have Savannah help you. I need a four-bedroom house in Brisbane, Australia. The full security package. They have two young kids. Two years old and a newborn. One boy and one girl. So it needs to be easy for them to get around and close to everything that they'll need." She explained as she ran a hand through her hair that she had left down once again.

"You're trying to work me into the ground Evangeline." He muttered. "That's a lot to ask for. Let alone in two days."

Evangeline blew out a rough breath as she rubbed a hand over her eyes and forehead. "I know E, but that's all the time that they have. Jaxon came to me yesterday. He's already been here for two days. If we wait any longer then there's a higher chance this entire family will die and I am not willing to risk that." She sighed. "I know you can do the rush job. You've done it for me before and I will pay you double the amount that I normally pay you."

Ethan scoffed. "You know I don't want your money, Evangeline."

"You know that I'm going to give you money anyway." She said mockingly. "Just please do this for me. The money will be in your account tomorrow morning." She said quietly.

"Fine," Ethan said. The way that he said it, Evangeline knew that he was pouting. "I will do this for you. You need to talk to Savannah though. She'll be pissed if she finds out that you called and didn't talk to her."

"Is she close by?" Evangeline asked as she picked up a pen and started twirling it around her fingers. It was just something that she did when she was talking with someone or deep in thought.

"She's actually at the store." He said as he started typing on his computer.

"Of course she is," Evangeline muttered. "I swear that woman could shop nonstop if you let her."

Ethan chuckled. "That she could."

"Alright," Evangeline said softly. "Have her call me later or tomorrow. I do have some work to do so I might not answer today."

"That's fine. I'll let her know. I'm sure she'll understand." he said softly.

"Thank you, Ethan. I'll talk to you later." She said before hanging up the phone and sitting back in her chair as she ran a hand through her hair.

That was the only call that she had to make to get them set up. Savannah and Ethan would take care of everything for her and the house would be ready when Braydon and his family arrived. Since that was taken care of she went back to work.

It was another couple of hours later when she heard the elevator ding. She looked up with a frown. They didn't have anyone scheduled to come in for any meetings and they had already received their mail and packages for the day. She smiled when she saw Alessandro step off the elevator. "Hey, Alessandro. What are you doing here?" She asked with a bright smile.

He grinned as he stopped in front of her desk. He held up a bag of food. "I thought you might be hungry."

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Alessandro sighed as he parked his car in front of his house after dropping off Evangeline. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair was a mess but he was the happiest he had been in a long time. Even though they slept on the couch it was the best night of sleep that he had ever had. He walked inside and was stopped by Richard. "I see you had a good night's sleep." He said with a smirk.

Alessandro waved him off. "Shut up." He muttered as he made his way up to his room.

He took a hot shower and got dressed in a fresh suit before going into his office to take care of some business. A few hours had passed when he finally checked the time. It was late afternoon. He swore under his breath as he stood up and grabbed his things. He left his house and stopped at his usual diner. He ordered some food for himself and Evangeline before driving to Luca's office.

He parked his car where he always did when he went there and made his way up to the top floor. He stepped off the elevator with a wide smile. Evangeline was there at her desk looking as gorgeous and angelic as ever. The brightest smile lit up her face when she saw him step off of the elevator. "Alessandro." She said softly. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

He stopped in front of her desk and held up the bag of food that he had picked up. "I thought you might be hungry." He said with a wide grin.

She giggled as she looked at the time. "I didn't even realize that it was after lunchtime already." She said quietly.

He chuckled as he sat down across from her. "The day gets away from you when you're busy doing work."

She shrugged in agreement as she sat back in her chair. "So what do you have for me then?" She asked with a knowing smile.

He shook his head with a grin as he opened the bag and pulled out a burger and fries for her. "I also have these." He pulled out two strawberry milkshakes and set them on the desk in front of her.

She let out a squeal of delight as she grabbed the milkshake. Alessandro chuckled as he watched her drink some of it before grabbing her food and digging in. "Mm." She moaned softly. "This burger is so delicious."

Alessandro smiled. "I was hoping that you'd like it. It's my favorite burger from our restaurant."

She let a sly smile slip onto her lips. "Our restaurant?" She questioned before taking another bite of her burger.

He cleared his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well it's my favorite and it seems like you like it just as much. Not to mention it's the only place we ever eat at."

She laughed softly. "That's because that's the only place that you seem to go."

He rolled his eyes. "You like it though." He said teasingly.

She shook her head with a wide smile. "I do like it."

They ate in silence for a few minutes before her office phone started ringing. She groaned. "Damn it." She muttered as she looked for a napkin. "Um. Alessandro, could you hit the speaker button for me please?" She asked with a sheepish smile.

He chuckled as he did as she asked. "Galeazzi Publishing. This is Evangeline. How can I help you today?" She asked as she answered the phone.

"It's just me Evangeline," Luca said through the phone. "Could you come to my office for a minute please?"

She cleared her throat. "Yeah sure. I'm just going to need a minute."

"Okay. Take your time."

He hung up and she shook her head with a laugh. "I'll be right back Alessandro." She said as she stood up. She playfully glared at him. "Don't touch my food or shake. I will know if you do."

He chuckled and held his hands up. "I promise I won't, little angel."

She gave him a single nod before rushing to their little break room to wash her hands. Once she was done she went to Luca's office. "You wanted to see me, Luca?" She asked as she walked inside and closed the door.

He nodded. "Yes." He turned to face her and chuckled. "I take it Alessandro is here?" He questioned as he grabbed a tissue off his desk and held it out to her.

She blushed as she took it and wiped her face. "I thought I got all of it." She mumbled.

Luca laughed. "It's okay. You need to eat and he brought you the best burger in town."

She rolled her eyes. "What did you need, Luca?" She asked as she tossed the tissue in the trash.

"Oh right." He grabbed a file off of his desk and handed it to her. "This one. It isn't one of mine." He said quietly.

She frowned as she took it from him. "What do you mean?" She demanded. "I looked through all of these multiple times last night. No files should have been out of place or mistakenly put in with yours." She mumbled as she opened the file and started reading through it. She shook her head as she looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. "What is this?" She demanded as she took the information in.

It was information about Nikolai Petrov. "I don't know what it is," Luca said. "It was on my desk this morning."

She shook her head as she looked at the files again. "I don't know who could have left this file on your desk, Luca. I didn't even have this file." She scoffed as she snapped the file shut. "I don't need to. I know everything that I need to know about Nikolai Petrov." She spat his name out as if it were a curse just to say it.

Luca blew out a rough breath. "Go down to the security office and see what you can find out." He said softly. He grinned as he looked towards the door. "Finish your lunch break first though."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "At least I had someone bring me lunch." She teased.

He laughed loudly as she opened the door. "Oh wait until Aurora hears that."

Evangeline rolled her eyes and said in a singsong voice. "She won't do anything." She closed the door and walked back to her desk. She tossed the file in front of her computer and slumped into her chair.

"Is everything okay?" Alessandro asked as he leaned forward.

She blew out a rough breath and handed him the file that Luca had given her. "I don't know who or why but someone left this on Luca's desk between when I left last night and when he came in this morning." She mumbled as she picked up her burger and quickly finished eating it.

Alessandro frowned as he looked through the file. "Did you look through this entire file?" He questioned as he stared at a picture in it.

She shook her head as she leaned back in her seat. "I don't need to. I know everything about Nikolai that I need to know."

He frowned as he continued looking through the file. "This file has information on my friend Dimitri and his entire family." He said quietly.

Evangeline sighed as she ate her fries. "Of course. The Ivanov family is Nikolai's biggest rival." She muttered after she swallowed a sip of her shake.

He shook his head as he stood up and walked around the desk to stand by her. "Everyone who knows the Ivanov family or Nikolai knows that. However, not that many people know about this." He said as he set the file down in front of her and pointed at a photo of the family together with a young girl.

Evangeline frowned as she looked at the name. "Evangeline Selene Ivanov." She mumbled.

Alessandro gently touched her shoulder as he pulled out a photo with the other. "This is their missing daughter." He said quietly.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the photo of the missing daughter. "She has the same eyes and hair as I do," Evangeline mumbled out.

Alessandro knelt in front of her as he turned her chair to face him. "Do you remember your middle name?" He whispered as he took her hands in his.

She bit her lip as she thought for a few minutes. "Um. I think it started with an S." She muttered as she looked back at the photo. "Jaxon would remember better than I would." She whispered out.

"Could you call him and find out?" Alessandro asked softly.

She cleared her throat as she nodded. "Um. Yeah, I'm the only person who can get a hold of him right now. I built the program we use to talk on the phone off the grid." She murmured out distractedly.

He nodded and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Whenever you're ready, angel." He said quietly.

She took a deep breath. "I want to see who left the file on Luca's desk first." She said quietly.

He nodded and stood up. He held his hand out to her. "Let's go then angel doll."

She set her hand in his and stood up. "The security office is on the first floor." She sighed as she forwarded her office phone to her cell phone. She grabbed her cell phone and looked up at Alessandro. "Let's go. Marcus should be in the security office right now." She grabbed her shake before intertwining her fingers with Alessandro's and pulling him towards the elevator.

They made their way to the security office and she knocked on the door before walking in. "Hey, Marcus." She said in greeting as they stood behind him.

He spun around and gave her a bright smile. "Hey, Evangeline. Everything okay?" He asked.

She nodded and took a sip of her shake. "Yeah. Um. I need you to check something for me though."

He furrowed his eyebrows as he tilted his head slightly in curiosity. "What is it?" He asked.

Evangeline set her milkshake down on a side table as she blew out a long breath. "Someone broke into Luca's office last night and put a file on his desk. I need you to look back and see who it was."

Marcus frowned as he spun back around to face the wall of monitors. "That's impossible. No one has ever been able to get into this building after we close it for the night." He mumbled as he rewound the tapes from the night before.

Evangeline glanced at Alessandro with worried eyes. They both seemed to be thinking the same thing. There would only be one type of person who could get past their security. Assassin. "Okay," Marcus said, bringing them out of their thoughts. "Here is the footage from last night just before you left Evangeline."

She nodded and leaned a bit closer to see the screen better. They watched as she finished up and shut everything down. She had made sure everything was locked up and the alarms were set before leaving for the night. It was quiet for a couple of hours before they saw a shadow walk into the lobby of the top floor. "How did a man that big get into our building without raising any alarms?" Marcus asked incredulously.

Evangeline groaned. "Alright, thanks, Marcus. I know exactly who left the file." She patted him on the back before turning to leave. "Oh." She said as she turned back to him. "How's the family? Did everything go well with little Josie's surgery?" She asked as she picked up her shake.

Marcus nodded with a wide smile. "Yes. She's in recovery and should be able to go home sometime this week."

Evangeline smiled brightly. "That's amazing. I'm sure Sarah and Connor are grateful that everything went well."

Marcus nodded in agreement with that same smile on his face. "Sarah is as grateful as anyone could get. She also won't leave Josie's side now."

Evangeline let out a small laugh. "She's holding onto Josie because she knows what it's like to almost lose her. Makes sense. And Connor?"

Marcus chuckled. "Excited to have his little sister come home finally. He's been missing her."

Evangeline shook her head with an adoring smile. "And to think that he was so mean to her when you guys first had her."

"He was so used to being an only child," Marcus said with a soft smile. "He grew to love her though."

Evangeline grinned. "Well if there is anything you guys need just let me know. I'll also stop by the hospital within the next couple of days if she's still there to say hi."

Marcus smiled. "Josie will love that."

Evangeline nodded. "I'll let you know when I plan on visiting and you let me know where she is. I'll be there."

"Thanks, Evangeline. Josie is going to be so excited." Marcus said in gratitude.

"Anytime Marcus. You know how to get a hold of me."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I know."