Chapter Seven

She walked inside and stopped at the receptionist's desk. "Where's the guy that refuses to leave?" She demanded as she scanned the room.

The receptionist pointed to a man in a black suit that was sitting by the fountain. "That's him."

Evangeline sighed. "Alright. Thanks, Brandon." She said before walking over to the man by the fountain. Only to stop in her tracks. "Seriously?" She said as she threw her arms up in exasperation.

The man stood up with a wide smirk. "Well hello there Eva." He said as he folded his arms over his chest.

She groaned as she turned towards the elevators. She knew the man would follow her without her having to say anything. Once they were alone in her office she looked at him with furrowed eyebrows and her arms folded over her chest. She leaned back in her chair and glared at the man across from her. "What are you doing here Jaxon?" She demanded.

He shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. "I just thought that I would come and check on you. I heard that you had a visit from a couple of assassins last night." He said with a frown.

She rolled her eyes as she picked up a pen and started twirling it around her fingers. "You don't need to keep looking after me Jaxon. If Nikolai finds out that we've even been in contact you know what'll happen." She said as she leaned forward in her chair with worry in her eyes.

Jaxon waved her off. "You know that I'm always careful. No one even knows where I am. They never do." He said as he crossed his ankle over his knee and folded his hands over his chest.

She scoffed as she tossed the pen onto her desk that she had been twirling around. "Just because they don't know where you are doesn't mean that they aren't suspicious." She said in agitation.

Jaxon sighed heavily. "Evangeline, I will not just abandon you. Even if they are suspicious I will continue to check in on you." He leaned forward and placed his forearms against the edge of her desk. "You are my little sister and I know that you have been through so much." He scoffed. "Hell, you've even covered my ass more times than I can count. Just because you're on Nikolai's most wanted list doesn't mean anything to me."

She shook her head. "You know that I'm only on that list because he wants me back under his control." She said in annoyance. "By putting me on that list he's made everyone want to go after me because they think that they can get to me."

Jaxon chuckled. "I'm sure that those two assassins that were after you last night are gone." He said as he leaned back in his seat.

She shrugged as she folded her hands together on the desk in front of her. "Of course they are. They tried taking me by surprise in the middle of the night but they didn't do their research very well. If they had, they would've known that I'm a very light sleeper."

Jaxon let out a small laugh. "I would be too after everything that you've been through." He said quietly.

She waved him off. "So is that the only reason that you're here?" She questioned as she turned her computer on. "Or is there some other reason you have decided to grace me with your presence?" She asked with a small smile.

He chuckled. "You always were able to read people a little too well." He said as he rolled his eyes.

She clicked her tongue as she opened her email. "How else am I supposed to be able to tell if someone is lying to me or hiding something from me?" She asked with a smirk as she gave him a quick side glance.

He shook his head. "I completely get it." He said with another laugh. "Nothing wrong with it. That doesn't mean I like it though."

She rolled her eyes as she started reading through her emails. "Seriously though. What else brings you out here to see me? I know you mostly do work in the U.S." She said softly as she started responding to emails.

He sighed as he rubbed his shaved head. "I need your help with something." He muttered.

She raised an eyebrow. "The reaper is asking little ol' me for help?" She asked incredulously as she looked at him.

He groaned as he threw himself back in his chair and let his arms hang over the armrests. "Don't sound so surprised, Eva. This wouldn't be the first time I've asked for your help. It also wouldn't be the first time that you saved my ass." He scoffed. "Hell, it probably won't be the last time either."

She blew out a rough breath. "What is it, Jaxon?" She asked as she leaned forward in her seat.

Before he could say anything her work phone started ringing. She sighed. "Sorry, Jaxon. Give me just a minute." She picked up the phone. "Galeazzi Publishing. This is Evangeline. How may I help you today?"

"Hey, Evangeline. It's Brandon." The receptionist said through the phone.

She rubbed a hand over her forehead. "What is it, Brandon?" She asked quietly.

"There seems to be a couple of delivery men down here for you." He said in confusion.

She understood his confusion. She never really received deliveries. "Um, alright just send them up. Thanks, Brandon."

She hung up and gave Jaxon her attention. "Now what is this about Jaxon?"

Jaxon exhaled roughly. "I was given a job. It's here." He said quietly.

She raised an eyebrow. "What's the job Jaxon?" She asked knowing that it had to be something that they would both be against.

He shook his head. "He wants me to take out a young family. This couple just had their second child." He explained.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Why does he want them dead?" She demanded in confusion.

"Because the husband is part of the biggest mafia family in Italy. Nikolai wanted him to become a traitor but he refused to flip. His loyalty to this family was stronger than Nikolai anticipated." He explained in a rough voice.

Evangeline sat there in confusion as two different people stepped off the elevator. "I have a flower delivery for Evangeline Monroe." One guy said.

"And I have a package delivery for Evangeline Monroe as well." The other man said.

She sighed and stood up. "That's me." She grabbed the flowers and set them on her desk. "Thank you." She grabbed the small package from the other man. "And thank you."

After that, they left and she sat down across from Jaxon once again. "Sorry about that." She shook her head. "Now back to what we were talking about." She said with a long exhale. "Why is this guy so important? Why does Nikolai want him flipped so badly?" She questioned as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair.

Jaxon stood up and started pacing. "It seems that this guy is close to the leader. His third if I remember correctly."

Evangeline let out a humorless laugh. "If Nikolai could get someone that high up to turn they'd have everything they'd need to burn the mafia family to the ground." She ran a hand through her hair as she glanced at him as he continued pacing.

Jaxon nodded. "That's why he wanted to flip him."

"Why a family in Italy though? What would he gain by that?" She questioned as she watched Jaxon pace around the office.

Jaxon shook his head. "I'm not sure but I think he may be helping someone by the name of Enzo Moretti. He's another mafia boss here in Milan. According to the bit of research that I have been able to do, he's been a rival of this other mafia family for as far back as I could find."

Evangeline leaned her head back against the headrest of her chair. "Of course. It's better to have allies everywhere just in case. With Nikolai being as fucked up as he is, not many people would want to work with him." She shook her head. "It makes sense but what doesn't make sense is why Italy?"

Jaxon shrugged. "I haven't been able to figure that out yet." He said as he stopped in front of

her.

She blew out a rough breath. "I think I know why." She muttered as she thought for a minute. She let out a harsh laugh. "It's because I'm here. If he has an ally here then he can watch my every move. He's getting smarter. Instead of just sending assassins after me he's going to take things slow and try to learn all my routines and whatnot." She explained as she tugged on her hair.

Jaxon scoffed. "He's getting desperate and this sounds like a last attempt to get to you."

She nodded. "He'll try to do things rather quickly to get to me but if he can't get an inside man in the other family it's going to take him longer."

Jaxon agreed. "Yes and because Enzo Moretti is so focused on taking that family down he won't help Nikolai with this until he at least gets a man on the inside."

"The higher up the better," Evangeline said as she put everything together.

Jaxon nodded. "Yes. He'll keep trying but for now, we need to do something about this young family."

Evangeline groaned. "Let me guess. I'm staging their murders and then getting them off the grid." She stated as she put her head in her hands.

James sighed. "You have more connections than I do and you've done this before. Several times. You know just what to do." He smirked. "Besides I've been checking out this family's security and it seems like it's almost impossible to get inside without getting caught."

Evangeline let out a loud groan as she shoved her hair out of her face. "You want me to take care of this job for you because I can get through any type of security without being caught?" She questioned even though she already knew the answer.

He nodded with a laugh. "That's the idea." He said.

She shook her head with a scoff. "Of course." She stared at her computer screen for a few minutes as she thought about it. "Damn it Jaxon." She muttered as she stood up. "You knew I wouldn't be able to say no. I never could when there were children involved." She said as she walked over to the window.

Jaxon walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll owe you one." He said. "And you know that I wouldn't ask you to get involved if I could do it myself. This is difficult though."

"Not to mention that this man is already going to be on high alert seeing as he's one of the highest-ranking members of this family." She stated as she turned to look at Jaxon.

Jaxon nodded in agreement. "It's going to be tough to get inside as it is. I'm sure he'll have extra security in his house because of his kids."

Evangeline clicked her tongue. "You're lucky I love you Jaxon." She shook her head. "I'm going to need you to lay low where no one will find you for at least three days. I'm also going to need everything that you have on this man, his family, and all of the security details." She said with a reluctant sigh.

Jaxon chuckled. "I know the drill with you Evangeline. I have everything in my car for you."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. You knew that I was going to help you." She muttered.

He scoffed. "You would never let anything happen to children. You know that if I were to fail Nikolai would just send someone else who would be all too willing to take them out."

She nodded. "I know." She sighed heavily. "Go get the files. I'll start looking into this. Just add it on top of all the other shit I'm doing today." She muttered as she went back to her desk.

She started working when Jaxon said. "Oh, and I like your hair down like that. Any special reason that you have it down?"

She bit her lip. "Not really." She said as she avoided looking at him.

Jaxon chuckled. "Mm-hm. Does it have anything to do with the flowers and the package that came for you?" He asked as he walked towards the elevator.

She rolled her eyes. "Just go get those files for me."

He laughed as he got onto the elevator.

Alessandro sighed as he drove back to Evangeline's house. When he got there he walked inside to find Richard sitting on her couch. "How are they doing upstairs?" he asked as he sat down next to him.

Richard shrugged. "The bodies have been taken care of but the mess is going to take a bit." He explained.

Alessandro nodded. "I'm not surprised." He muttered. He ran a hand through his hair. "How's the family doing? Has anything else happened?"

Richard shrugged. "Not that I'm aware of."

Alessandro nodded. "Good." They sat in silence for a few minutes before Alessandro's phone started ringing. "What is it?" He demanded as he answered the phone.

"Boss." His third in command, Braydon, said through the phone. "There's something that I need to talk to you about."

Alessandro internally groaned. "Alright." He rattled off Evangeline's address. "Meet me there."

He hung up before Braydon could say anything else. "What is it?" Richard asked him.

Alessandro shook his head. "I'm not sure. That was Braydon. Said he needed to talk to me about something."

Richard groaned. "It's never good when Braydon needs to talk about something."

Alessandro nodded in agreement. "He's usually quiet and only really speaks with his family."

They waited in silence for about fifteen minutes when there was a knock on the door. Alessandro opened it and gestured for Braydon to get inside. "Whose house is this?" Braydon questioned as he looked around. "It looks like a woman's house." He muttered.

"It's my saving angel's house," Alessandro mumbled as he sat down in a comfortable armchair. "Aurora designed it." He said quietly. He cleared his throat. "Now what is it that you needed to talk to me about?" he asked as he looked at Braydon.

Braydon sighed as he ran a hand through his short reddish-brown hair. "A man approached me a couple of weeks ago. Said that he worked for a man named Nikolai Petrov."

Alessandro frowned. "Nikolai Petrov." He mumbled. "That's a Russian mafia leader." He said with furrowed eyebrows. "What did he want?" Alessandro demanded as he tried to put the pieces together.

Braydon sighed. "He wanted me to flip on you." He said as he sat down across from Alessandro. "He said that he could make it worth my while if I gave him something to take you down." He said quietly.

"Why would a Russian mafia leader want to take Alessandro down?" Richard asked in confusion.

"Because he's working with Enzo Moretti," Alessandro said with disgust in his voice.

"Why though?" Richard questioned. "What does he gain from that alliance?"

"I don't know," Alessandro said as he shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense." He looked at Braydon. "Did this man say anything else to you?" He demanded.

Braydon blew out a breath. "When I refused he tried to bribe me. He never said anything about why they wanted me to flip. Only that they wanted to burn the family down to the ground."

Alessandro shook his head. "You refusing them will just piss them off. Who knows what they'll do. We need to be on high alert. I want to put more security everywhere in this compound and make sure that every single capable man is ready just in case."

Braydon nodded. "I'll take care of everything."

Alessandro sighed. "Thanks." He looked around the house. "Richard, finish everything here. I'm going to head back with Braydon."

Richard nodded. "You got it."

Alessandro blew out a rough breath as he left Evangeline's house. He knew that Evangeline could take care of herself but he was worried. He knew what Enzo was capable of. He was more worried about Nikolai. He had never dealt with him before but he had heard that he was ruthless and heartless. Just like Enzo.

He didn't know what he was going to do but he knew that he needed to figure out what Enzo and Nikolai were up to.

He needed to do it before anything happened to Evangeline or his family.