Chapter Sixteen

Once she was in her house Evangeline got ready for bed. She had just pulled her blankets back and was standing in front of her nightstand when she felt it. Someone was behind her. She quickly reached into the top drawer of her nightstand and grabbed one of her daggers. Within the blink of an eye, she spun around and held the dagger to the intruder's throat.

She groaned when she saw Jaxon standing in front of her with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "Expecting someone Eva?" He questioned as his smile turned into a sly smirk.

She tossed her dagger back into her drawer. "Damn it Jaxon." She said in exasperation as she sat down on the edge of her bed. She ran a hand through her hair. "What are you doing here?" She demanded as she looked up at him.

He chuckled as he sat down next to her. "I know how you work. I figured that by now the Rinaldi family would be safe and on their way to their new home."

She yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "So you decide to try and sneak up on me in my bedroom?" She questioned as she rested her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

He shrugged even though she wasn't looking at him. "I thought that you'd want some help with the report."

She grumbled as she tossed herself backward on her bed. "You have your laptop?" She asked in exhaustion.

He nodded and held it up for a second. "Of course."

She let out a tired sigh. "My camera is downstairs. On the side table. Go get it. You can use my desk while I tell you everything."

He looked over his shoulder and studied her for a minute with a frown. "Are you okay Eva?" He asked in concern. "I have never seen you this tired before."

She took a deep breath. "I don't know Jaxon. I've had a blackout recently and I haven't gotten much sleep since then. The only time I've slept since then was when I fell asleep on the couch with Alessandro." She said quietly.

Jaxon frowned as he stood in front of her. "Why aren't you with him then?" He questioned in confusion.

She shook her head. "He knows that I'm an assassin. He knows that I was taken from my family when I was young. He knows about the abuse before I went into the camp, but that's all he knows." She let out a long exhale. "I've been having nightmares about my time in that camp again. They're getting worse every night. I'm worried that something will happen while I'm asleep. Or that something will slip out before I'm ready to tell him everything about my past."

Jaxon's frown deepened as he folded his arms over his chest. "If he hasn't run away yet Eva, I don't think he will. No matter what you tell him."

She let out a small laugh. "He said that he wouldn't leave me. No matter what had happened in my past." She said quietly as she looked at the ceiling.

"Then why aren't you telling him about your past?" He exclaimed as he threw his arms out.

She glared up at him as she sat up slightly. "Just because he says he won't leave doesn't mean that I want to risk losing him." She sat up and roughly shoved a hand through her hair.

Jaxon knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. "Look, Eva. I know you. I understand that you doubt just about everyone and everything good that comes into your life. You were the same way when you first met Luca and Aurora, but look at you guys now." He said softly. "You're actually semi-happy now," he sighed. "I've seen how you've been the last few days. I know it has to do with Alessandro. You've been happier than I've ever seen you. I haven't met him but if he's anything like Luca you have nothing to worry about. If he says he won't leave then you should trust him."

She shook her head with a sigh. "It's not that I don't trust him." She said softly. "I'm just afraid that he won't look at me the same way. Or feel the same way about me."

Jaxon blew out a rough breath. "Well, you won't know for sure until you talk to him. I'm certain things will be just fine but you're going to drive yourself crazy with the what-ifs and maybes."

She looked into his eyes and nodded. "Thank you, Jax." She whispered. "You always know just what to say."

He chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "You don't seem to listen to anyone else."

She stuck her tongue out as she rubbed at her face. "Go downstairs and get my camera. I'll tell you the details of the Rinaldi family's death." She said as she laid there with her eyes c.

He shook his head with a smile as he stood up. "Back to being the same old bossy Eva."

She threw one of her small pillows at him. "You love it." She called after him as he went downstairs.

She laid down and got comfortable while she waited for him to get back. He walked back in and shook his head. "You better not fall asleep on me before this is done, Eva."

She rolled her eyes. "Hurry up then." She mumbled as she turned to face him.

He got his laptop set up and plugged in her camera. He loaded the images and nodded. "I see you haven't lost your touch, Eva."

She let out a small laugh. "I don't think I ever will." She said quietly.

He printed the images and got to work on his report with Evangeline giving him all of the details of how the Rinaldi family supposedly died. It only took about fifteen minutes to fill out the report. Evangeline had been fighting to stay awake the entire time. As soon as she finished telling him the last detail she started dozing off.

Jaxon turned around to talk to her but froze when he saw her sleeping. He chuckled as he watched her for a minute. She always looked so peaceful when she first fell asleep. Nightmares had always haunted her when she was asleep so that peace never lasted long.

He sighed heavily as he stood up and walked over to her bed. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. She was always going to be his little sister and he would always care for her.

He tucked her hair behind her ear before collecting his things and turning everything off. "Hey, Jax." She said hoarsely.

He turned to her with a shake of his head. Of course, she wasn't fully asleep yet. She never was when she knew there were other people in the room. "Yeah, Eva?" He asked as he stopped in the doorway.

"Do you remember what my middle name is?" She asked sleepily.

He frowned as he thought for a couple of minutes. "Um. It was Selene if I remember correctly." He said as he studied her. "Why?"

She sighed tiredly as she laid on her back. "Alessandro thinks that I may be the long-lost sister of a friend of his. He showed me a photo of her." She mumbled as she started falling asleep. "She has the same hair and eyes that I do. She also had the very same necklace that I have. Alessandro said that it was a unique one of a kind that was made specifically for her."

Jaxon frowned as he watched her fall asleep before he could respond.

Jaxon left her house after a few more minutes. He tossed his things into the passenger seat and got into the driver's seat. At first, he simply sat in his car thinking about what Evangeline had told him. Then he decided to get answers for himself.

He drove to Alessandro's little community and stopped at the gate. "Can I help you, sir?" A man asked as he stood in front of him.

Jaxon sighed. "Yes, I'm here to see Alessandro." He said as he gripped the steering wheel.

The man frowned. "Do you have an appointment?" He questioned.

Jaxon shook his head. "No, but I need to speak with him. It's about Evangeline."

The man's frown deepened. "Alright. Let me call him."

Jaxon nodded and leaned back in his seat as he waited for the guard to come back.

The guard came back after a few minutes and nodded at him. "You can go through. Park your car in front of the house and Samuel will be waiting for you. He'll take you to Alessandro."

"Thank you." He said as the guard stepped away from the car and signaled for the gates to be opened.

He drove through to the front of the house and parked. He walked up to the door and was greeted by a man that he assumed was Samuel. "If you'll please follow me, sir, Alessandro is waiting for you."

Jaxon followed him quietly as he took the house in. He could easily tell that Alessandro was well off and could take care of Evangeline. Even though she didn't need it.

Samuel stopped in front of a door at the end of a hallway. "Here we are, sir. Go right in."

Samuel gave him a slight bow before leaving him alone. He opened the door and walked inside, closing the door behind him. "I'm going to assume that you're Jaxon," Alessandro said from where he stood in front of the windows.

Jaxon nodded. "Yes, I am."

Alessandro turned to face him. "My guard, Leon, at the gate said that you needed to speak with me about Evangeline." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Jaxon nodded. "Yes."

Alessandro gestured for him to sit down as he sat in his chair behind his desk. "So talk." He said simply.

Alessandro was sitting in his room when his phone started ringing. He groaned before answering it. "What?" he demanded.

One of his guards at the gate, Leon, responded through the phone. "Sir I truly apologize for interrupting your night but there is a man here at the gate."

Alessandro frowned. "What does he want?" He questioned in confusion. He wasn't expecting any visitors.

"He said that he needs to speak with you about someone named Evangeline," Leon explained.

Alessandro furrowed his eyebrows. "Did he give you a name?" He asked as he made his way to his office.

"No sir," Leon said through the phone.

Alessandro thought for a minute as he softly closed his office door. He was curious about the man at the gate. He thought that maybe it was her friend Jaxon. "You know what?" He finally said. "Send him in. Thank you, Leon."

"Of course sir."

He hung up and stood in front of the bay windows in his office. He wondered why James would be coming to his house to talk with him. He could have sworn that Evangeline had said he was in hiding.

He was brought out of his thoughts by someone walking into his office. None of his men would have the audacity to walk in without knocking first. And he was correct. Jaxon walked in and they were now sitting across from each other.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" He questioned. "Leon said that it was about Evangeline."

Jaxon nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "I just came from her house." He held his hands up to show that he meant no harm. "After working with her for so long I know how she works and knew that the Rinaldi family were safely on their way to their new home. I thought that I would help her with the report." He explained. "She always hated doing those damn reports." He said with a chuckle. "Anyway, she said something to me that caught my interest."

"What did she say?" Alessandro questioned as he studied the large man in front of him.

Jaxon rubbed his bald head as he leaned forward. "Well, first she asked if I remembered her middle name. I'm not surprised that she doesn't remember it. Nikolai's trainers did everything to pretty much break us down to numbers. Most people who go into those camps don't even remember their maiden names."

Alessandro raised an eyebrow. "What is her middle name?" He was intrigued to learn more about his saving angel.

"Selene," Jaxon said softly. "She said that you thought she may be your friend's long-lost sister. That you showed her a picture of a young girl who looks just like her."

Alessandro grabbed the file that Luca had found on his desk and pulled out the photo. "Yes. This is my friend and his family, including his sister." He said as he handed it to Jaxon. "She was taken when she was four years old. They came close to finding her once when she was around ten but Nikolai moved her to the camp just before they got to the house that she was being kept in."

Jaxon studied the photo for a minute before nodding. "Yeah, that's her. She was a bit older when I first met her but that's definitely her when she was younger." He sighed. "Have you contacted your friend about her yet?" He questioned as he handed the photo back to Alessandro.

Alessandro shook his head. "No. I'm waiting for her to be ready. She said that she wasn't sure if she was even the same girl."

Jaxon chuckled. "Yeah, she's definitely that young girl. She just doesn't want to admit it or even think it's a possibility because that's how her mind works. She always worries that anything good will be taken from her the moment she finds it. So she's cautious and avoids even thinking about it sometimes."

Alessandro nodded in understanding. "I can understand that."

Jaxon blew out a rough breath. "I'm glad that you know who and where her real family is. I know that she's been thinking about looking for them for quite some time but she's too afraid that they'll judge her or won't remember her."

Alessandro shook his head. "Trust me they have not forgotten her. They're still trying to find her." He explained softly. "They've been looking since the day that she was taken and they won't stop until they find her."

Jaxon nodded. "That's good." He clicked his tongue. "My advice to you would be to just bring them out here to see her. She'll be shocked at first but with you there she should be fine. She needs her family even if she won't admit it." He said quietly.

Alessandro gave him a single nod. "Thank you for the advice."

Jaxon sighed as he stood up and walked over to stand in front of the bay windows. "There's one other thing that I wanted to speak with you about." He said quietly.

"Alright," Alessandro said as he leaned back in his chair. "What is it?" He asked.

Jaxon ran a hand through his short buzz-cut hair. "I've spoken with Evangeline about this and as much as I hate to admit that she's right she actually is." He shook his head as he stared at the forest surrounding the community that Alessandro's parents had created. "Nikolai has sent assassins to spy on me because he believes that I could help him bring Evangeline back to the camp. I refuse to do that to her and she made some very good points when she said that we shouldn't see each other for a while. As much as I hate it she's right. We have to stop with the secret meetings and phone calls until Nikolai is dealt with."

"What does this have to do with me?" Alessandro questioned as he rested his chin on his hand.

Jaxon exhaled roughly. "I know you're going to do so anyway but I want you to look after her. Take care of her. Make sure that she's happy." He said softly. "She sometimes forgets to take care of herself. I've seen her go days without eating before simply because she's felt low or because she was too focused on getting something done. It's a bad habit of hers. She also doesn't sleep sometimes. I need someone to make sure that she is taken care of." He turned to look at Alessandro with saddened eyes. "She's my little sister. It's going to be torture for me knowing that I can't take care of her, but I'll be alright if I know that she has someone looking after her."

Alessandro stood up and moved to stand in front of Jaxon. He put his hand on Jaxon's shoulder and softly said. "I will do everything I can to take care of her. I will not let anything happen to her."

Jaxon nodded and patted Alessandro's back. "Thank you. I'm really glad that she has found you. She deserves to be happy after everything that she has been through."

Alessandro agreed as he took a step back. "I will do everything I can to make her happy and keep her safe."

Jaxon gave him a small smile as he walked towards the door. "Thank you, Alessandro. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again."

Alessandro chuckled. "I don't doubt that."

Alessandro sat down behind his desk as he looked towards the bay windows. He was grateful that Evangeline had a good friend like Jaxon. He sighed as he looked at the time. It was too late to call Alexander so he would have to do it tomorrow. He got up and went back to his room to go to bed for the night.