Chapter Twenty-Five

The next morning Alessandro woke up first. He grinned as he looked down at Evangeline's peaceful, sleeping face. She was wrapped around him with her head on his chest and one of her legs thrown over his waist. At some point, she had kicked off his robe and was now only in a small nightgown that the hospital had given her. He guessed that she had gotten a bit warm with the fire going before it died.

He softly traced his fingers over her back as he laid with her. He knew that he had things to take care of but she was more important than anything else. He could lay with her forever but was brought out of his thoughts by his phone ringing. He quickly used his free hand to grab it off the nightstand and answered it so that it wouldn't wake Evangeline. "What?" He snapped in agitation.

"Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Luca said through the phone.

Alessandro groaned as he laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. "What do you want, Luca?" He questioned with a sigh.

"I was wondering where Evangeline is." He said through the phone. "She's usually here by now and there is a lot of work to do today," Luca explained.

Alessandro exhaled as he glanced at Evangeline's sleeping form. "Give me a minute. I'll wake her up and see if she's up to coming in." He murmured.

"What do you mean?" Luca questioned in confusion.

Alessandro sighed heavily. "I'll explain in a minute." He set his phone down on the nightstand and turned to face Evangeline. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "My angel." He said softly. "Wake up angel."

She moaned as her eyes partially opened. "What is it, love?" She asked in a rough voice.

"Luca is on the phone." He said in a quiet voice. "He wants to know if you can go into the office. There seems to be a lot of work to do."

She mumbled something under her breath before looking at him with a sigh. "Alright. Tell him that I'll be there in an hour." She shook her head as she sat up and moved to the edge of the bed.

Alessandro told Luca what she had said before hanging up the phone. He watched as she ran a hand through her hair and stood up. He chuckled as she walked to the bathroom and muttered. "I swear that man wouldn't be able to find his damn brain if it weren't for me."

Once she had disappeared in the bathroom he climbed out of bed and went to the closet. He got dressed and walked back into the bedroom. Evangeline was standing by his dresser in a set of red lace panties and a matching bra. She was groaning as she looked through the pile of clothes that Sabrina had given her. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She jumped but relaxed when he pressed a light kiss to her neck. "Is everything alright angel?" He asked in a whisper.

She shook her head. "I don't have anything to wear to work. These are all too casual." She said with a pout.

He chuckled. "I promise that I'll explain to Luca why you're not dressed professionally." He said quietly.

She shook her head as she grabbed a pair of tight, hip-hugging jeans and a camisole that would stop right above her belly button. "No offense to Sabrina but she obviously has never needed professional clothes." She mumbled as she walked to his closet.

Alessandro laughed as he followed after her. "To be honest she hasn't needed them. I've known her and Jesse since middle school. The three of us went to school with Richard. Jesse and Sabrina have been together since the last year of middle school. Since Jesse's father was one of my father's soldiers Jesse already had a place in the family." He shrugged. "Which meant that Sabrina also had a place in the family once they made their relationship official. She never needed to work. She's always been taken care of by him."

Evangeline smiled in adoration as she pulled her clothes on. "That's really sweet. It's rare that people stay together that long." She said as she grabbed one of his button-up shirts. She buttoned up a few buttons before tucking the shirt into her jeans. "Is she his saving angel?" She asked as she slipped on her heels.

Alessandro nodded even though he was extremely distracted by her wearing his shirt. "Yeah." He cleared his throat as she turned to face him. "They didn't find out until after high school but yes. She is his saving angel."

Evangeline gave him a bright smile. "I'd love to meet them." She said as she stood in front of him.

He grinned as he pulled her into his arms. "How would you like to meet everyone in the family?" He asked as he trailed his hands lightly down her back. "I'd love to introduce you to the family as my queen."

Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him. "You want to introduce me to your mafia family as your queen?" She asked in shock.

He let out a laugh as he pressed his body into hers. "Yes. You are my saving angel. That makes you my queen. Which makes you their queen as well." He grinned wickedly. "You're not worried or afraid to meet everyone, are you?"

She scoffed as she rolled her eyes and pulled away slightly. "No way. I just didn't know if you wanted to introduce me to them just yet. We've only known each other a short while after all."

He shook his head with that same grin on his face. "If it had been up to me everyone in this family would know who you are and what you mean to me already."

She laughed as she lightly slapped his shoulder and walked past him. She made quick work of pinning her hair up in a tight bun with a few shorter pieces hanging around her face. She put a bit of eyeliner on to make her eyes pop before walking back into the bedroom. "Okay. I'm ready." She sighed as she grabbed her purse and phone. "We're going to need to stop at my house on the way home tonight to grab some of my things." She said as they walked to the garage.

"I'll have someone follow us in one of our moving trucks so that we can grab everything that you want to bring with you." He gave her a mischievous smile as he started the car. "You did agree to move in with me."

She laughed as she nodded in agreement. "That I did."

He drove her to work and kissed her before she rushed inside.

He made his way back to his mansion and ran into Richard. "Do you know where Sabrina is?" He questioned.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "She's with Jesse upstairs. Why?"

Alessandro grinned widely. "I need her to plan a party fit for a queen." He said excitedly.

Richard's grin matched Alessandro's as he said. "She accepted being our queen?" He questioned in hope.

Alessandro gave him a nod as he walked away.

He walked upstairs and knocked on Jesse's door. He chuckled when Jesse finally opened the door in just a pair of shorts. "Seriously Alessandro?" He demanded in exasperation.

Alessandro chuckled. "Apologies for the interruption. I need to speak with Sabrina for just a minute." He said apologetically.

Jesse groaned as he looked over his shoulder. "Alright." He said in disappointment. "Hang out here for just a minute or two." Before Alessandro could respond in any way Jesse slammed the door shut.

Alessandro shook his head with a small smile as he leaned against the wall next to their door. He was only waiting for a few minutes before Sabrina pulled the door open and stood in front of him. She crossed her arms over her chest and let out an impatient sigh. "No offense boss man," She said with a click of her tongue. "What do you need?" She demanded.

Alessandro chuckled as he stood up straight. "I am truly sorry to interrupt you two and your baby-making, but I need you to do something for me."

She ran a hand through her hair and placed her other hand on her hip. "What is it, Alessandro?" She questioned as she tilted her head slightly.

He blew out a rough breath as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Normally my mom would've taken care of this but," He sighed heavily as he shoved a hand through his hair. "You and I have known each other for a very long time. You're like a sister to me. So I was wondering if you would do me the honor of planning some type of party."

She raised an eyebrow as she studied him. "What for?" She asked in curiosity.

"I met my saving angel." He said with a small, adoring smile. "This morning she agreed to meet the family and become our queen."

Sabrina squealed in joy as she hugged him tightly. "Oh my gosh! This is amazing!" She exclaimed in excitement. "We're going to have to invite everyone. Every single person in the family has to be there." She said as she pulled away from him and started pacing. She began rambling about everything that had to be done. "We can use the gardens and have a feast fit for a queen." She continued rambling and pacing as Jesse came out of their room.

Jesse raised an eyebrow as he looked between Sabrina and Alessandro. "What'd I miss?" He asked as he gave Sabrina his attention.

She gave Jesse a bright, excited grin as she stopped in front of him. "Alessandro just asked me to throw a party to introduce his saving angel to the entire family." She clapped her hands excitedly. "It's going to be a party fit for a queen." She turned to Alessandro with serious eyes. "I'm going to need to know everything about her. Favorite foods. Favorite music. Favorite drinks. Everything."

Alessandro let out a low laugh. "Don't worry. She's moving in today after she gets off work. So you can ask her yourself."

She let out another squeal of joy as she rushed into her room.

Alessandro shook his head with a smile. "I don't know how you keep up with her."

Jesse chuckled. "I can't imagine being with anyone else." He said as he looked towards their room with loving eyes.

Alessandro patted his shoulder in understanding. "Thank you for loaning her to me. This introduction party is important to me." He let out a sigh. "I want everyone to know who she is and what she means to me. I need everyone to know her. She may be able to take care of herself, but I need to know that she'll always be safe and protected." He said quietly.

Jesse nodded in understanding as he caught a glimpse of Sabrina as she moved around their room. "I understand exactly what you mean." He slapped Alessandro on the back before going into his room and softly closing the door.

Alessandro sighed as he went to his office to get some work done.

Evangeline blew out a small breath as she walked through the lobby. She set her coffee and breakfast down on her desk before walking down the short hallway to Luca's office. She knocked on the door before walking in. "What in the world are you wearing?" Luca questioned with a raised eyebrow and amusement dancing in his eyes.

She groaned as she set a cup of coffee and a bag of food on his desk in front of him. "Don't start Luca." She said as she sat down across from him. "I had a long day and night."

Luca looked her over with a frown. "Is everything okay?" He questioned.

She sighed as she leaned back in the chair. "Alessandro found my family." She said quietly. "I reunited with them a couple of days ago." She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I told them about my past. So they know everything. Along with Alessandro."

Luca's eyes went wide. "They know everything?" He asked in shock.

She shrugged. "Everything except for how I got all of my scars." She blew out a rough breath as she unconsciously rolled up the sleeves of Alessandro's shirt. "Alessandro knows about all of my scars but my family only knows about the ones they were able to see." She explained.

Luca scoffed. "I don't even know how you got all of your scars." He frowned when he saw the bandages on her forearms. He leaned back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest. "Evangeline." He said in a hard tone. "Why are there bandages on your forearms?" He demanded.

Evangeline sighed heavily as she started playing with her hair. "It's a bit of a long story." She muttered as she sunk into her chair.

Luca simply raised an eyebrow while he waited for her to explain.

She groaned as she stood up and walked to the windows. "Last night, after Alessandro dropped me off, I had another nightmare." She blew out a rough breath and folded her arms over her chest. She leaned against the wall next to the windows while she looked down at her heel-clad feet. "It was one of my worst. It was about how I got this scar." She whispered as she subconsciously traced a scar on her thigh through her jeans. She knew that Luca knew exactly which scar she was talking about. "I wanted it to stop. I wanted the pain and heartache to go away. To wake up and have the nightmare end." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Pain was the only way to make it go away." She held up her arms and lifted her shirt to show her bandaged side.

Luca stood up and walked over to her with despair and pain in his eyes. "Oh, Eva." He said softly, gently pulling her into his arms.

She bit her lip as she shook her head against his chest. "When I finally woke up I realized what had happened and just how bad it truly was." She cleared her throat as she pulled away from Luca. She looked outside and quietly said. "I had grabbed one of the daggers that I keep in my nightstand and started cutting. To cause the most pain I dug the dagger in as deep as I could get while being asleep." She clicked her tongue as she turned to face him. "Thankfully I was conscious long enough to call Alessandro. He rushed to my house and found me. He took me back to his house and got me help."

Luca pulled her into another gentle hug. "We have to do something about these nightmares Eva." He said in a concerned tone. He pulled back enough to look at her with worried eyes. "Next time that happens someone may not be able to get to you in time." His voice hitched in heartache at the mere thought of losing her.

She let out a small exhale as a smile appeared on her face. "I already found a solution." She said softly.

"What would that be?" He questioned as he folded his arms together.

Her smile grew as she said. "Since Alessandro brought me to his house last night to get the help I needed I ended up spending the night there. We learned that sleeping with Alessandro keeps the nightmares away."

Luca's eyes went wide in surprise. "Seriously?" he questioned, hoping that she wasn't just telling him something he wanted to hear.

She nodded. "Both times that I've slept with him I've had no nightmares."

Luca grinned brightly. "This is amazing news." He said joyfully.

She laughed as she ran a hand through her hair. "It is. Maybe I'll start sleeping more often."

Luca scoffed as he sat down behind his desk once again. "We both know that's not going to happen."

She shrugged before moving to stand in front of his desk. "So where is all this work that needs to be done?" She demanded with a raised eyebrow.

Luca pulled a huge box from under his desk and set it on the desk between them. "This is just the first box." He said as he leaned back in his chair. "We should be getting a box like this every week for the next month or two." He explained.

Her eyes went wide. "What the hell?" She demanded as she looked between him and the box.

He sighed heavily. "Do you remember that rival publishing company that was around the corner a few months back?"

She tilted her head slightly. "Yeah. Um. Ginger's Family Publishing, right?"

He nodded. "Yes. It seems that they went out of business and because they seemed to love you the last time we tried to negotiate territory and whatnot they sent us all of their clients and possible clients."

"Jesus fuck." She mumbled as she grabbed the box off the desk. "So what are we doing with all of these clients and possible clients?"

He shrugged. "Go through everything. Even the published clients. They went out of business for a reason. I want to make sure that we don't do the same by making the mistake of simply taking them at their word."

"So you want me to read through every single manuscript that has been sent to them by next week?" She asked incredulously. "All while doing my usual work and going through manuscripts sent to us?"

He sighed heavily. "I know it's going to be tough but it has to be done." He grinned mischievously. "I know you can do it, Eva. It wouldn't be the first time that you've had a lot on your plate."

She scoffed but walked to the door. "You owe me for this." She said with a glare. "This is going to be exhausting."

He chuckled as she went to her desk with the box of manuscripts.

She dropped the box unceremoniously on the floor next to her chair before sitting down. She took a sip of her coffee before shaking her head and getting to work.