Chapter Fourteen

Evangeline watched as Alessandro, Braydon, and his family walked through the castle to get to their cars. Once they were out of sight she focused on the twin assassins. She moved into the shadows before making her way behind them. She reached out and touched their shoulders. They jumped up and spun around in shock. "You scared the shit out of me Evangeline." One of the twins said with a hand over her heart.

Evangeline raised an eyebrow. "I taught you two better than that." She said with a slight smile.

They were twins who had run away from a horrible home environment when they were only ten years old. Their names were Nick and Madison. They looked almost exactly alike. Both of the twins shrugged with bright smiles. "We're just happy to see you alive," Nick said.

"Nikolai told you guys that I was dead." She stated as she leaned against the wall with her arms folded over her chest.

Nick and Madison looked at each other before nodding. "Yes. He's claiming that he, himself, has killed the deadliest assassin that the world has ever seen." Madison said.

She scoffed. "I knew it." She muttered. "So what are you two doing here? I thought that it was going to be a bit longer before I saw you two again."

Madison groaned. "We were sent here to keep an eye on the Rinaldi family and the reaper." She explained hesitantly.

Evangeline frowned as she looked between the twins. "Why are you watching the reaper?" She demanded.

"Correction," Nick said as he held up a hand. "We were watching him. Until he fell off the grid yesterday."

"Why though?" Evangeline demanded as she moved to stand directly in front of them.

Madison let out a long breath of air before replying. "Because Nikolai is paranoid and thinks that the reaper may be in contact with you somehow."

Evangeline groaned as she looked at the ceiling of the castle. "You've got to be shitting me." She muttered.

"I wish we were," Nick said as he sat down and relaxed in his chair. "Nikolai thinks that if we can prove Jaxon is in contact with you then he can help Nikolai capture you."

Evangeline shook her head. "Alright. I want you guys to keep at it but give Nikolai false information. I don't need Jaxon to become a target for Nikolai just because of me." She told them quietly. "I need to figure something out to get Nikolai off my ass." She mumbled.

Madison and Nick both nodded. "Anything for you Evangeline," Madison said softly.

"Thank you, guys. I'll see you soon." She walked out of the castle and got into Alessandro's car once she reached it.

"Are you okay, little angel?" He asked her softly.

She nodded. "For now." She said quietly as she looked out the window.

They drove to his house and went inside while someone parked his car. They walked through the house to his office. Once they were seated and comfortable Evangeline said. "I just need to make a quick call to Jaxon and then we can get Braydon in here to start planning. We have a bit to figure out and we have to have it figured out by tomorrow." She said as she pulled out her phone.

Alessandro nodded. "I'll text Braydon and let him know to make his way this way."

She gave him a small smile while she dialed a number on her phone. She waited a few minutes before hanging up and then dialing the number again. "Hello there, little Evangeline," Jaxon said as he answered the phone.

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Hi, Jaxon." She said softly. "We need to talk." She said as she leaned back in her chair.

She could hear the frown in Jaxon's voice when he responded. "What's going on Evangeline?" He questioned.

She sighed heavily as she rubbed a hand over her face. "Nick and Madison are in town." She said after clearing her throat.

"Why are those two in town?" He questioned in confusion. "Nikolai shouldn't be sending another assassin here for at least another day or two."

Evangeline inhaled deeply before saying. "I spoke with them. They said that they were sent here to watch you."

"Watch me?" He asked incredulously.

"Nikolai believes that you are in contact with me and he believes that you could help him get to me." She explained.

"Great," Jaxon muttered. "Like we needed this thrown in our path."

She snorted as the office door opened. "I told you that Nikolai would become suspicious if you kept coming to see me. It's kind of your fault that he sent Nick and Madison."

Jaxon chuckled through the phone as she watched Braydon sit down across from her. "Alright I'll take the blame this time, but that doesn't mean that I am going to just abandon you, Eva."

"Jaxon, I never said to abandon me. We'll just have to lessen the number of visits we have for now." She said quietly.

"For how long Evangeline?" He demanded through the phone.

She could tell that he was getting furious and she wasn't sure how to help him calm down. "I don't know Jaxon. The one thing that I do know is that anytime we even talk there's a chance of Nikolai finding out. If he does then we're both in trouble."

She could hear Jaxon throwing things around. "We need to kill Nikolai then." He said after a couple of minutes.

Evangeline let out a humorless laugh. "Good luck getting close enough to him to take him out."

"There is only one person that I know who can get that close to Nikolai." He said calmly.

"Oh yeah?" She asked. "Who would that be?" She demanded.

"You." He said simply.

Evangeline froze and went quiet. "Me?" She questioned in a whisper.

"Yes, Evangeline. You." He sighed heavily through the phone. "You are the best there has ever been. You can get out of any type of confinement. Hell, you could take out an entire army by yourself."

Evangeline glanced at Alessandro, who was sitting next to her, as she thought about what Jaxon had said. "You know what Jaxon?" She said once she finally collected her thoughts. "I think you're right. I just need to think it through and make a plan." She knew that she meant it and that it would take some time to figure things out but it would be worth it in the end.

Jaxon chuckled. "That's my girl."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. I'll figure this out but no more visits after this. We need to lay low until I take care of Nikolai. I'll call you when the job is done."

"Talk to you then."

They both hung up and she shook her head. "Everything okay little angel?" Alessandro asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah. Jaxon just said something interesting that gave me a lot to think about once Braydon and his family are safely in Brisbane." She said with a small smile.

Alessandro leaned over and pressed a quick, light kiss to her lips. "Let's get them to safety then."

She gave him a bright smile before turning to Braydon. "Okay, Braydon. I already have a plan so I'm just going to tell you what's going to happen."

Braydon nodded in understanding. "Okay, I'm listening."

She blew out a rough breath. "Alright. We're going to go to an abandoned warehouse in about two hours. It'll be late enough where no one will even be out at that time. We'll take some pictures of you guys tied up first before applying the makeup and whatnot needed to make it look like you were all shot. Once we take those pictures I'll have everything I need to give to Jaxon so that Nikolai will believe that you are all dead." She ran a hand through her hair as she leaned her elbows on the desk in front of her. "Then once you guys are cleaned up you will be put onto a plane and flown to Brisbane. When you arrive I have an old friend of mine who will be meeting you there and taking you to your new home for the time being. He'll explain the security system and other security measures that he has set up for you before letting you guys get settled in."

Braydon's eyes were wide as he stared at her in shock. "You already have a house set up for us out there?" he questioned.

She let out a small laugh. "Of course. Or at least it will be set up by the time you guys get there tomorrow." She said with a shrug. "The friends that have helped me are the best. They have helped me get so many people into hiding that they're professionals at it by now."

"That is amazing," Braydon said in amazement. "I am truly grateful that you are helping us, Evangeline." He said softly.

She gave him a small smile. "It's no problem." She sighed as she sat back in her chair. "Now once you guys are there you won't be able to talk with anyone from here. It would be too dangerous." She tilted her head slightly as she studied Braydon. "If there is someone that you want to stay in contact with I have a phone program that I can put on any phone. It will make it so that you can call people, talk to them for as long as you'd like, without anyone being able to track you or even know that you were making a phone call. It's how I've kept in contact with Jaxon all these years. It's how other assassins keep in contact when they don't want anyone to know that they're speaking to each other." She shrugged as she folded her arms over her chest. "It is the best way to stay completely off the grid. Not even the best tracker would be able to track you."

Braydon and Alessandro stared at her in complete astonishment. "That's incredible," Alessandro said softly.

She blushed as she looked down at her lap. "Thank you." She whispered.

Braydon cleared his throat. "Um. The only person that I would stay in contact with is Alessandro. Marie might want to keep in touch with her parents but I'll have to talk to her."

Evangeline nodded. "Okay. Just let my friend, Ethan, know when you get there and he'll tell me when he calls me to let me know you guys made it out there. In the meantime." She said as she stood up and walked towards the large window. "Go home and get your things packed. Only take the things that you guys can't live without. I'm sure someone here will take care of the rest of it for you guys but the house will be fully furnished. It'll be close to the town so that you guys have easy access to anything that you'll need. There will also be two cars in the garage for you guys."

"What about work?" Braydon questioned. "How will we be able to buy the things that we need if we have no money?"

Evangeline let out a small laugh. "Of course I have a job set up for you. Ethan will have all of the information waiting for you when you arrive. Which is another reason why there are two cars in the garage." She said as she turned to look at him. "Like I said. Everything will be ready for you by the time you get there tomorrow. For now, go home and pack. Prepare your wife for what we have to do in a couple of hours. We'll come to pick you guys up when it's time."

Braydon stood up and nodded. "Thank you so much, Evangeline. Alessandro is a very lucky man. You are an amazing woman." He said in awe.

She laughed. "Thank you." She said softly.

Alessandro grinned as he sat and watched two important parts of his life getting along. He relaxed in his seat while Braydon left his office. "He's right, you know," Alessandro said as he stood up and walked over to her.

She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Right about what?" She questioned as he stepped closer to her, causing her to have to tilt her head back to look up at him.

He looked down at her with adoration and awe in his eyes. "About you being an amazing woman."

She blushed as she looked down at their feet. "I don't know about that." She mumbled.

He gently placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head to look into her eyes. "You are an amazing woman. You can do all of these things that no one else can do." He shook his head in amazement. "I can't imagine what you've been through and I'm certain that it wasn't anything that anyone would ever want to go through, but here you are. You have all of these talents and abilities and you still have a heart of gold. You are the sweetest woman that I have ever met and you're willing to risk your life, sanity, and humanity for people that you barely know."

She bit her lip as she looked into his eyes. "I would never abandon people who can't protect themselves. Whether it's against assassins or simple thugs." She said quietly.

He grinned as he caressed her face lovingly. "That is why you are an amazing woman. I am so joyful that I get to have you in my life and that you're choosing to stay in my life."

A small, loving smile slipped onto her lips as she softly said. "I'm joyful and grateful that I get to have you in my life."

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips as his hands slid down to her neck. "I know this is going to be a long road for us." He whispered against her lips. "I know that there are going to be difficult times, but I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else." His thumb absently rubbed her quickening pulse as he looked into her eyes. "I know that we haven't known each other that long but I have seen everything that I need to see. I know everything about you that I need to know. You are truly an angel and I will do anything for you."

She looked into his eyes with tears in her own eyes as she gently gripped his wrists. "It's not going to be easy but I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you." She whispered out. "I agree that it hasn't been that long but I know everything that I need to know. I will do anything for you."

He grinned as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers once again. She pressed her body into his as she kissed him back. After a few minutes, they pulled away from each other and simply rested their foreheads together as they caught their breath.

For the next couple of hours, they sat together and spoke about anything and everything. Evangeline avoided talking about what had happened to her in the camps but she had opened up about what had happened before that. It hadn't been easy but she trusted Alessandro and believed that he should know at least a bit about her past.

He had been furious when she had told him what had happened to her when she was only a child. Yet he knew that it wouldn't do him any good to let that anger free at that moment. He pushed it down deep to deal with later when Evangeline wasn't around. He opened up about how he lost most of his family. About how Luca was the only blood relative that he had left.

It was hard for both of them to talk about their pasts but they knew that they'd be okay as long as they were together.

Before they knew it the hours had passed and it was time for them to pick up Braydon and his family. They drove to his house and parked out front. They met Braydon at the door and everyone could easily feel the tension in the air. "Are you guys ready?" Evangeline asked quietly.

Braydon nodded as he blew out a rough breath. "As ready as we'll ever be."

She nodded. "Grab your family and let's go. The sooner we get this done the sooner you and your family will be safe."

They all climbed into their cars and Braydon followed behind Evangeline and Alessandro as they made their way to the warehouse that Evangeline had chosen. It was going to be a long night for the Rinaldi family but in the end, they would be safe.