Page 19 of Alex

Evelyn caught the slight accent she had up until then kept hidden. Italian if she wasn’t mistaken and not middle class. Definitely upper class.

“I have no idea who your brother is,” Alex replied and nodded to Liam before turning and walking away.

Evelyn spun to follow him when the woman called out.

“What will happen to me now?” she said as she struggled against Liam who was pulling her to her feet.

Alex stopped and slowly turned. “You will be detained and questioned. Once we have the answers we need, you will be charged with attempted murder.” He turned back towards the elevator ignoring the woman’s screams demanding to be set free.

Evelyn followed not at all sure what had just happened but feeling reasonably sure it was nothing to do with her current situation.

She waited until they were back inside Alex’s comfortable living room before she spoke. “Past mission?” she asked placing the weapon he had given her on the coffee table. The stark black assault rifles looked so out of place in the homeliness of the living space.

“Yeah, something like that. I can’t talk about it as I’m sure you can understand.” His voice had lost the previous coolness but still remained guarded.

She lifted her hair back from her face with her fingers. “Of course. Are we likely to have any more attempts like that?”

Alex watched her, his eyes going warm and tender before he shut it down. His voice was soft when he answered. “I need to call Jack but afterwards we need to talk, mi nena.”

Evelyn nodded, her belly fluttering at his endearment. It wasn’t the first time he had called her that since they had connected again, but it was the first time he had said it with the warm look in his eyes. “Okay,” she replied watching as he disappeared down the hallway and into the locked room she was not allowed in.

Moving to the kitchen, Evelyn rooted through the cupboards until she found a tall glass and then poured herself a cold glass of water. Leaning back against the unit she took a long refreshing drink and sighed.

She knew it was coming but she didn’t see how she could come out of this looking good. She didn’t want Alex to hate her, but she had to tell him the truth. She owed him that much at least. Holding the cold glass to her forehead she let the tension go and listened for his return. The room was silent, but she felt the exact moment he walked into the room.

Raising her eyes, she saw him watching her from across the room. His body taught; tension radiated off him. Her anxiety skyrocketed. The look on his face told her something terrible had happened.

“What is it?” she asked placing the glass on the side and moving to him her hands gripping his tee-shirt as she reached him.

“I’m sorry, mi nena, but Petra Chance was found murdered in her flat.” His pause let her know he wasn’t done with the bad news.

“And?” she asked her grip on him tightening even as he placed his hands on her hips to steady her.

“Lili was injured. It looks like she disturbed the attacker and was stabbed in the process.” His grip on her tightened when she flinched. “She’s in surgery now.”

“How? Why didn’t Roz call me?”

“Not sure. Mitch found her which is how we know.”

“Jesus Christ,” she murmured as he led her to the couch.

He sat beside her and settled her against his side, and she let him, needing his support. Her guilt at not keeping a better eye on Petra was fighting with her worry for Lili. They weren’t that close, not like she and Astrid were, but they had watched each other’s backs and she liked her.

Her head came to rest on Alex’s chest. The feeling of safety and security made her burrow deeper into him until his scent surrounded her and all she could think of was him. How he felt, how he sounded, the way his skin smelled and tasted.

The muscle was hard beneath her hand as she laid it on his left pectoral, her head resting against his shoulder as his arm came around her holding her, encompassing her in warmth. Evelyn’s heartbeat increased as her hand roamed over the muscle under her fingers, feeling it bunch and ripple as he moved.

“Evelyn?” he asked, his voice hoarse with a warning.

“Hmmm?” Evelyn turned her body further into him not wanting to think what her life had become, all the regrets she had, aching to feel him touch her. Her eyes met his when he squeezed her, getting her attention.

“What are you doing, mi nena?”

“I just want to feel close to you.” Her voice was whisper soft and she saw the desire swirling in his eyes.

Alex lifted his hand and used his finger to lift her chin when she dropped her eyes away. “There is nothing I want more than to feel your sweet body beneath me, to taste you, but not like this. When I fuck you, it will be because it’s all we can think about, not because you want to push away the bad,” he said as he looked into her eyes. He didn’t let her look away even when tears pricked her eyes. “I know I hurt you earlier. I’m sorry. I was cruel and spiteful, and it won’t happen again.”

“Why didn’t you become a chef, Alex?” she asked knowing her question had taken him off guard. It had been bugging her for a while. He was clearly excellent at what he did but she had never envisioned this for him.

She watched as he took a large inhale before speaking. “It felt wrong to do it without you. I lost my love for it. In some ways I blamed my desire to be a chef for what happened. If I hadn’t wanted to go to Paris, I would have been with you and we would never have been apart. I decided to join the army instead. It turned out I had an affinity for it, and I won’t lie, I loved it. It allowed me to channel my grief and anger in a healthy way. When I was twenty-four, I applied for Delta and got in. That was how I met Jack. We did a joint operation with twenty-two SAS and he was the lead. We got on well and he saved my life when he stopped me from using an entry point which was rigged with explosives. He later offered me a job with Eidolon. The rest is history.”

Evelyn shivered at the thought of losing Alex and pondered what he said silently realising how much that one night had rippled out to affect so many people. “What was your unit in Delta?”

“D Squadron. We were primarily assault and infiltration.”

“Why did you leave and join Eidolon?”

Alex shrugged. “I wanted the freedom, less politics and more action. I hated the fact we were so stifled by politicians and Jack offered me that. Plus, he’s a top operator and I respect him a lot.” Alex moved then and dropped a heart-stopping sweet kiss on her nose and then her eyelids before smiling. “Now, how about I whip your ass at a game of Scabby Queen while we wait for news?”

The card game was one they had played often, and she had always beaten him when they were younger. At the memory Evelyn threw back her head and burst out laughing. “Prepare to be beaten, Martinez,” she warned as she pulled away feeling lighter and happier than she had a few moments ago.

That was the Alex Martinez effect.