Chapter Thirty-One

Alexander sat next to Dimitri as they made their way back to Alessandro's house. His heart was breaking as they pulled up in front of the mansion. He knew that Ivy was going to be devastated. He took a deep breath as he climbed out of the car. He walked around the car and sighed heavily when he saw Ivy waiting on the porch. He walked up to her and stood on the step beneath her. "I am so very sorry my sweetheart." He said as he gently took her hands in his. "We couldn't stop her from being taken." His voice broke at the end of the sentence.

She looked into his eyes as tears gathered in hers. She covered her mouth with one of her hands and shook her head in denial. He pulled her close as he moved them out of the way of the others. "I am so sorry sweetheart. I know how hard this is, but we have a tracker on the van that they took her in. We should have a location soon." He said quietly.

She sniffled as she wiped at her eyes. She looked into his eyes again. "Find her Alex. Find her and bring her back."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We plan on it."

He watched as she walked inside. He ran a hand through his hair as Dimitri walked up to him. "How is she?" He asked as they walked inside.

Alexander shook his head. "She's trying to stay together but she's hurting."

Dimitri sighed. "We lost her all over again." He whispered.

Alexander nodded solemnly as they walked into the house.

Alessandro hopped out of the SUV once it stopped in front of his mansion. He stormed inside and shouted. "Everyone rest, eat, and make sure you have all your gear!" He started walking up the stairs. "As soon as we have a final location we move out!"

He stormed into the room that he shared with Evangeline and slammed the door shut. He sat on the edge of the bed and let his head fall in his hands. He couldn't stop thinking about Evangeline. She had looked like an avenging angel while fighting off those men. He had wanted to help her, but Jaxon had prevented him from doing so. He knew that it had been for a good reason. She would have gotten distracted just enough to be overtaken by the men and he could have died or been hurt in the process.

He should have known that Nikolai would have had something under his sleeve. He should have brought more men. Done something to be more prepared for what had happened. He was furious at himself. He should have done more to help her. With that thought in his head, he jumped to his feet and started destroying his room. He yelled and raged as he destroyed everything in the room that belonged to him.

Jaxon shoved a hand through his hair as he sat down at the kitchen table. "So how do you know my sister?" Dimitri asked as he sat down across from him.

Jaxon looked up at him and let a small smile slip onto his lips. "I was at the camp when she was first brought in." He said softly. "Before she came along I was the best." He shook his head with a chuckle. "She was so small when they first brought her in. I couldn't believe that they actually did bring her in. She was not like the usual kids they brought in."

Dimitri frowned as Ivy brought over some food. "What do you mean?" He asked as she served them some pasta out of the pot.

Jaxon took a bite of his pasta before saying. "The kids that were brought into those camps were runaways and kids that got into a lot of trouble. They were kids that no one could handle. Most were grabbed off the streets but we had the occasional one that had been sold or gifted to Nikolai."

Dimitri cut him off as he asked. "People sold or gifted their children to him?" He asked in astonishment.

Jaxon gave him a single nod. "Yes. They were hard to handle and fought back quite often." He took a couple of bites of his food before continuing. "When Evangeline was brought in I could tell that she was different. When I spoke with her I knew without a doubt that she didn't belong in our world. She was a sweetheart.." He was cut off by loud shouting that came from Alessandro's room upstairs.

They both jumped to their feet and raced upstairs to his room. They barged in and stood frozen in their tracks. The room was a disaster. They noticed that all of Alessandro's things were thrown around and destroyed. Yet Evangeline's things were left untouched. They quickly walked up to him and pulled him back. "Calm down, Alessandro," Dimitri said calmly.

Alessandro tried shrugging them off but they held firm. "Let me go." He said through gritted teeth.

"You need to calm down," Jaxon said. "This isn't going to help Eva."

Alessandro finally threw himself forward and got free of their grips. "She would be here now if you wouldn't have held me back." He snarled as he turned to glare at him.

Jaxon shook his head. "No. I prevented the both of you from being taken." He crossed his arms over his chest. "They would have broken her if they had gotten a hold of you as well."

Alessandro swore under his breath as he started pacing the room. "How did he know that we were coming?" He asked rhetorically. "How did he know to triple the security?"

Jaxon shrugged. "My guess is a spy."

Alessandro swore again as he leaned against a wall. He hit his head against the wall. "I can't believe that. A spy in my own house?" He whispered rhetorically.

Dimitri shrugged. "It is possible. Could be the girlfriend of someone. Or maybe a foot soldier." He sighed. "You have been quite distracted lately."

Alessandro shook his head as he closed his eyes. "I just want to get her back." He whispered.

Jaxon took a deep breath. "You know I hate to say this, but I think Evangeline may have gotten captured on purpose."

Alessandro glared at him. "Why would you think that?" He demanded.

Jaxon cleared his throat. "Well, when we were in the camps and whatnot we worked together quite a few times. I've learned how her mind works in those types of situations. She always has a backup plan."

"What are you trying to say?" Dimitri asked as he slid his hands into the pockets of his pants.

Jaxon rubbed the back of his neck. "Evangeline was always the type of person to have a plan. She thought out every single possible outcome." He scoffed. "She still does. So I'm guessing she's thought of the possibility that Nikolai would double everything at best. At worst he'd triple everything."

"Why didn't she say anything?" Dimitri asked as he kept a close eye on Alessandro, who had turned to face the wall and was staying quiet.

Jaxon let out a humorless chuckle. "She never did say anything about worse possibilities. She would have kept it to herself as long as it didn't affect anyone that'd be with her."

"Wouldn't it have affected us though?" Dimitri demanded.

Jaxon shook his head. "No. She knew that as long as she could get to one of the assassins most of them would be out of the equation. Then she'd be able to take out the very few assassins left and then help with the soldiers. Or she somehow knew that none of the people that were with her would be harmed." He shrugged. "My guess is the former because she knew Nikolai better than anyone did. There were no guarantees that he wouldn't harm any of you just to get to her."

"Do you know why she let herself get captured?" Alessandro asked in a rough voice.

Jaxon looked at him for a minute before letting out a slow exhale. "I'm going to answer that honestly but I'd appreciate it if you didn't hit me once I've said it." He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned against the bedpost. "She most likely got captured on purpose because she knew deep down that she wouldn't be able to get close enough to Nikolai. The only way for her to actually get close enough to him to kill him would be to let him capture her and then wait for the opportunity to escape and kill him." He explained.

Alessandro turned and stared at him with furious eyes. "You think that she purposely let that bastard capture her?"

Jaxon scrubbed at his face. "Yes. It sounds like something she'd do."

"Why?" Dimitri questioned.

"I'd say it's because of you guys," Jaxon said quietly. "Because of all of the people that she's helped during her time at the camp." He cleared his throat. "Because of the kids that she knows are being tortured in those camps and because of those kids that she's already helped while she was at the camps."

"She's doing it to free everyone from his torment," Dimitri said in realization.

Jaxon gave him a nod. "She's always wanted to be free of him but she'd never do this if it were for her alone. For others though." He clicked his tongue. "She'd do her best to help them live their lives freely."

Alessandro sat on the edge of the bed that hadn't been touched by his rage. "That's exactly what she would do." He mumbled as he placed his head in his hands.

Jaxon sat next to him and patted his back. "I'm sorry Alessandro. I know how much she means to you but she said that she promises she'll keep her promise."

Alessandro nodded. "Of course, but how is she supposed to do that when she's most likely going to be chained up?"

Jaxon chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Why not?" Dimitri asked.

"Evangeline can get out of any type of confinement. I don't care what type it is. Chains, ropes, handcuffs, wire, etc." He scoffed. "That's part of the reason why she's the best there is."

Alessandro sighed. "I know it's not going to do me any good but can you tell me about how she was during that time?" He asked.

Jaxon nodded. "Sure." He sighed as he leaned back against the bedpost. "Like I was saying to Dimitri downstairs. When I met her she was a sweetheart. She wasn't afraid. She was a brave young girl but she was anxious and cautious about everything. She didn't belong there." He shook his head. "I didn't believe that she belonged in our world at all." He scoffed. "I still don't think she belongs in our world. She should have been treasured and cherished. Not thrown into an assassination camp where she was tortured when she did something wrong. When she arrived at the camp she was old enough for her to start the training and studies. At first, she refused to do the training. She was okay with the studies because she claimed she didn't want to be an idiot." He rolled his eyes with a small smile. "She always was a smart little pain in the ass. Anyway, she did very well in her studies. She was always the smartest person in the room. When it came to fighting though, she tried to stay strong to what she believed. She repeatedly said that her daddy always told her to try other methods first. That violence was always a last resort. She stuck to her guns as best as she could, but over time she finally started to train. She had a god-given talent from the start. She was a natural. It didn't take her very long to catch onto everything she was taught. She could absorb any type of knowledge like a goddamn sponge. I swear she has a photographic memory. It didn't take long for her to become the best in hand-to-hand combat. Once she did start the training it didn't take her long to become the best at everything. Every form of hand-to-hand combat. Every form of weapon. That wasn't the only thing that made her such a legend to the other assassins though." He looked to the ceiling and shook his head with a small smile. "The other part of the reason that she was a legend among all assassins was because of the torture chamber."

"There was a torture chamber?" Dimitri asked in disbelief.

Jaxon nodded. "Yes. If we didn't do something right, or if we didn't even attempt to do it, we were thrown into the torture chamber. It's how we were kept in line. How those who had a harder time learning things started getting help from those who were willing. That or they tried to escape, but that never ended well. Evangeline, though. The first couple of times she was taken into the chamber she screamed. Everyone in the camp could hear her no matter where they were. I knew exactly what they were doing to her. Hell, it'd been done to me so many times, but no one could interfere. Or else both people would be in there. After that second time though, we never heard anything from the chamber when she was in there. Not even a single sound. Between that, how fast she learned, and how much she helped others she became the most famous assassin. She studied everything that she could get her hands on. So she knows how to do quite a few things. She can do so many things. Some of them even surprised me. She was a good-hearted woman though. She sort of became like a mother to the younger kids. She was like a goddess sent down to Earth to help and care for others. She took jobs for some of the newer kids who were too young to be able to do those certain jobs. She kept most of those kids alive. Not just in the camp where we were but in others too, when she would travel. She's an amazing woman who finally had to leave to keep her humanity. She wasn't only doing the jobs that were assigned to her but she was doing jobs for others as well. Jobs that were too tough or horrible for them to do themselves. It was double the darkness. Double the killing. Double the trouble of keeping her humanity. When it started becoming too much we all pitched in and helped her plan an escape. She's seen so much. Been through so much. She had no choice. She was losing more of her humanity with every job that she went on. It was better for her if she left. So we made her leave. She fought us every time that we talked about it. She wanted to stay and help other kids that were being brought in. She wanted to help the other kids that were in the camps but hadn't started their training yet."

"If she would've stayed she would've lost her humanity and been lost to us for who knows how long," Dimitri said with a sadness in his heart that ached.

Jaxon nodded in agreement. "She would have been lost to all of us. I mean she would have been there but there would have been nothing of her old self in her eyes. Do you know what I mean?" He asked rhetorically.

Alessandro stood up and started pacing. "Yes, I know." He stopped in front of Jaxon. "Are the others reliable?" He questioned.

Jaxon scoffed. "They'd give their lives for Evangeline. She's done so much to help all of them. She's even helped me more times than I can count."

Alessandro nodded. "Alright. I want them to come with us once we have a final location on Evangeline. They can spot other assassins and take them out better than we can."

Jaxon gave him a nod. "Of course. They'll be more than willing to take out everyone you ask them to if it means helping Evangeline."

Alessandro closed his eyes as he let his headrest in his hands. He supposed that he had to wait for the news of the last location to find his saving angel again.