Chapter Eight

Evangeline glanced at the flowers that had been delivered to her. She could already guess who they were from as she pulled the small card out of the bouquet.

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'Little angel,

I hope these put a smile on your face the way you put a smile on my face anytime that I think of you.

Eternally yours,

Alessandro.'

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She couldn't help the smile that slipped onto her lips. She set the card down and picked up the package. She carefully tore it open to find a black velvet jewelry box. She frowned as she slowly opened it. Only to find the most gorgeous bracelet that she had ever seen. It had charms that represented butterflies, music, flowers, drawing, and the carnival. The bracelet itself was silver. All of the charms were silver with different types of gems. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. She slipped it on before she noticed a small note in the box. She picked it up and read it with a smile.

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'My angel,

I know that I already sent you flowers but I wanted you to have something that lasts longer. I admit I did have some help from Charlie but still, I hope you like this gift.

Eternally yours,

Alessandro.'

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Evangeline was brought out of her thoughts by the elevator. She glanced up and saw Jaxon walking towards her. "Okay, Evangeline. Here is everything that I have for this job." He said as he set his files on her desk. "If you need anything else you know how to get a hold of me."

She grinned as she opened the file on top. "Of course I do. I'm the one that designed it."

He rolled his eyes. "Always have to remind me of how good you are."

She laughed as she leaned back in her chair once more. "You know I'm just teasing you Jaxon. I know you're just as good as me."

He shook his head. "Oh no. No one is as good as you, Evangeline." He said with a wide smirk as he walked back towards the elevator.

She laughed as he disappeared behind the elevator doors. Jaxon always knew how to make her laugh and smile.

She sighed heavily as she looked at the files on her desk. She despised using her training but she knew that it had to be done. She couldn't let innocent people, let alone children, be hurt when there was something that she could do about it.

Throughout the day she went back and forth between work and studying the files for the family Jaxon had asked her to save. The father's name was Braydon Rinaldi. His wife was Marie and they had a two-year-old son and a newborn daughter.

She was staring at a photo of the family when her phone started ringing. "Galeazzi Publishing." She mumbled into the phone. "This is Evangeline. How can I help you today?" She asked as she set the photo down on the desk.

"Is that really how my brother has you answer the phone?" Alessandro asked with a chuckle.

Evangeline giggled as she leaned back in her chair. "It was different when I first started but I changed it a bit."

Alessandro sighed. "I was wondering if you got the gifts I sent for you." He said softly.

She smiled in awe as she looked at the bracelet that was around her wrist. "I did get the gifts. The flowers are so beautiful and the bracelet." She shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "The bracelet is gorgeous. I love it." She grinned as she moved her wrist around a bit. "It also fits perfectly."

She could hear the smile in his voice as he said. "I'm really glad that you like it."

She smiled in awe. "I do love it." She said softly.

"Good." He said. Even though she couldn't see him she knew that there was that sexy, all-knowing smirk lighting up his face the way that made her heart race. She heard a noise in the background before he said. "Look I have to go but I will see you later. What time do you think you'll be done today?" He asked softly.

She bit her lip. "Um. Not too sure just yet. I'm doing double the work today so it might be a late one."

"Okay, little angel. You just let me know." He said as someone shouted in the background.

"I will Alessandro." She said with a small smile. "I'll see you later."

"Goodbye angel," Alessandro said before they hung up.

After her short talk with Alessandro, she went back to work. She made quick work of taking care of everything for the office. There wasn't too much that needed to be done. Luca was going to have a lot to sign the next day but she was done with everything for Luca. She only had the bit of work that she usually had left. She quickly took care of that and spent the rest of her time in the office studying the files that Jaxon had given her.

The security looked easy enough to get past, though she could tell just by looking at the schematics that the type of security that was being used could be more secure. If the compound went on a lockdown it would be near impossible to get in. Of course, it wouldn't affect her but for anyone else, it would be almost impossible.

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Alessandro sighed heavily as he hung up the phone. He was joyful that Evangeline loved the flowers and bracelet that he had gotten her. He had been hoping to talk to her for a bit longer but there were things to take care of with his family. "Alright boss. Everyone is gathered up in the meeting room." Braydon said as he walked up to him.

Alessandro nodded. "Alright let's get this over with." He took a deep breath as he walked towards the meeting room.

They walked inside and Alessandro looked over everyone that lived in the small community that they made for themselves. He shook his head with a small smile as he saw some of the kids chasing each other around. As soon as he got on stage the entire room went quiet. He cleared his throat. "First I would like to start by saying thank you for coming to this meeting. I understand that everyone has been a bit busy lately but there is something that everyone needs to know." He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Braydon has come to me with some interesting news that may end up bringing a new enemy to our door." He blew out a rough breath. "Braydon has been approached by a man from a Russian mafia family that's led by a man named Nikolai Petrov."

"What does this mean for us?" Someone shouted from the back of the room.

Alessandro folded his arms over his chest as he responded. "I'm not sure yet." He sighed heavily. "Now I have never dealt with Nikolai personally but from what I have heard he is just as bad as Enzo Moretti. Unfortunately, Braydon, Richard, and I all believe that the reason Nikolai is trying to get a man on the inside is that he is working with Enzo Moretti. Since this seems to be the case we are going on lockdown for a while just to be safe. I'm not sure if anything is going to happen but I would like everyone to take every single precaution that they can."

"What about those of us with families?" A short, older woman questioned from the front row.

Alessandro nodded. "For those of you with families, especially children, I will be setting up one of our safe houses. I can understand the need to keep your children safe so for those of you who would like to go to the safe house until all of this is dealt with please come to me for the details." He clapped his hands together. "I know this is something that could ruin a lot of things for us but it needs to be this way. At least until we know what we're dealing with. Once again, for right now, we are going to be on lockdown just as a precaution until we know what's going on. Thank you all for your time. If you have any questions or concerns just come to me, Richard, or Braydon."

He stepped down from the stage and started talking with some of the people who had concerns and questions. Some people were worried and others were afraid about what would happen. He calmed everyone down and assured them that they would be safe, whether they were in their community or the safe house.

Once he was sure that everything was taken care of he went to his office and sat down in his chair. He exhaled roughly as he rubbed a hand over his face. He couldn't believe that he had to deal with a Russian mafia family on top of Enzo Moretti.

He picked up his office phone and called his old friend in Russia. His name was Andrei Ivanov and his father was the leader of the mafia family out there.

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Dimitri Ivanov was tall, standing at six-foot-three. He was pure muscle from all of the working out that he did. He had pitch-black hair with purple amethyst eyes. He always took pride in how he looked. He was a caring man who took care of those around him. He could also be cruel, but if you were to betray him or threaten him or someone he loved and cared for.

Dimitri was sitting in his car, watching one of the assassination camps that he and his father were trying to take down. He was writing down notes that could help them when his phone started ringing. He answered it without looking at the caller ID. "What?" he demanded as he kept a close eye on a guard that was walking along the perimeter wall of the camp.

"Is that how you talk to an old friend?" He heard Alessandro ask with a chuckle through the phone.

He rolled his eyes with a small smile. "It's how I answer the phone when I don't check the caller ID." He muttered. "What's up Alessandro? How have you been?" He asked as he followed the same guard with his eyes.

"I'm doing better. I found my saving angel a few days ago." Alessandro said with a smile.

Dimitri grinned, knowing that Alessandro had been waiting for his saving angel as long as he had. "That's amazing. Congratulations."

Alessandro chuckled. "Thank you." He sighed through the phone. "I'm calling for a different reason though." He said calmly.

"What's up Alessandro?" Dimitri questioned as he furrowed his eyebrows. The guard that he had been watching had just walked through a secret side door.

"I need to know everything that you know about a man named Nikolai Petrov," Alessandro said as the conversation turned serious.

Dimitri frowned as he wrote down the location of the side door. "Why do you need to know about him? He's in Russia. Not Italy."

Alessandro exhaled roughly. "One of his men approached Braydon, my third in command, a couple of weeks ago. Tried to get him to flip on me." He explained.

"Why?" Dimitri asked in confusion as he set his binoculars down on the passenger seat. It made no sense for Nikolai to be in Italy.

Alessandro sighed heavily. "I believe that he has allied himself with Enzo Moretti. I know what Enzo is getting out of that alliance but I'm not sure what Nikolai is going to be getting out of it."

Dimitri started his car and headed towards his father's house. "I don't understand that either. Nikolai has no business being in Italy. We've been tracking all of his business and he has no business in Italy."

Alessandro sighed. "Okay, so that is something that we'll have to figure out later. Right now I just need to know what I should be expecting from him." He said as he rubbed his forehead.

Dimitri shook his head as he pulled into his father's driveway. "I can tell you that he doesn't take rejection very well. If Braydon refused to turn on you it most likely pissed him off. Which means he is bound to do something stupid."

"What do you think he'll try to do?" Alessandro questioned.

Dimitri blew out a breath as he walked inside his dad's office. "He could do a couple of things. He has these assassination camps so he could send an assassin to take out him and his entire family, children and all. He could bide his time and make you guys feel safe before sending an entire army to your doorstep. I suppose it just depends on his mood."

He sat down across from his dad. "Hey, pop do you have any idea why Nikolai would be allying himself with Enzo Moretti in Milan, Italy?" He asked his dad.

His father, Alexander Ivanov, frowned as he looked up from the paperwork he had been looking over. "Nikolai allying himself with Moretti doesn't make any sense. He has no business out there."

Alexander Ivanov was the pakhan of the biggest Bratva in Russia. He tried to be fair with his family, but if you were an enemy he was merciless. He was tall, standing at exactly six feet. He had pitch-black hair with pure mercury eyes. He was well built despite his age. He prided himself on his appearance.

Dimitri shook his head as he went back to talking to Alessandro. "Even my dad doesn't know Alessandro."

Alessandro sighed. "It's alright. I'll have some men look into it but I know what to expect from Nikolai. Thank you."

"Of course," Dimitri said. "If we learn anything I'll call you and let you know."

"Thank you," Alessandro said before hanging up.

"This isn't good," Alexander said as he leaned back in his chair.

Dimitri nodded in agreement. "No, it isn't. If Nikolai is trying to get an alliance in Milan then there must be something out there that he wants."

Alexander furrowed his eyebrows as he thought for a few minutes. "What could he possibly want out in Milan though?"

"Maybe he wants to set up another assassination camp," Dimitri suggested as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.

"If that's the case he wouldn't need an alliance with Moretti," Alexander said in confusion.

Dimitri blew out a rough breath. "We're going to have to do some investigating then." They sat in silence for a minute before Dimitri spoke again. "Oh, speaking of investigating. I found something at that assassination camp today."

"What is it?" Alexander asked as he sat up straight.

"I found a secret side door that we could use to get into the camp." He explained.

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" He was intrigued.

Dimitri nodded. "Yeah. I watched a guard go in and out of it several times today."

Alexander smirked. "Perfect. It looks like we need to start planning our attack."

Dimitri nodded in agreement. "Yes, we do."

Dimitri stood up and went to the door. "Oh have we made any progress on finding Evangeline?" He asked in a quiet voice.

Alexander frowned as he looked at him. "The only news that I have is that she's still gone off the map. No one knows if she's alive or dead. No one has seen her in years."

Dimitri sighed in defeat. "Alright."

He left his father's office and walked to his own. He sat in his chair and shook his head as he turned his computer on. A photo of his sister popped up on his screen as it loaded. It was the last photo that they took together. It was just the two of them with her hugging him tightly with the brightest smile. She looked like an angel. He felt his heartache at the loss of his sister. He missed her so much every day.

He sighed as he opened up a schematic of the camp that he had saved on his computer. He got to work as he tried to clear his mind.