Page 6 of Alex

Chapter Three

Will openedthe door looking half asleep and slightly pissed off, his black hair which was too long in Alex’s opinion falling over his face.

“Thanks for doing this, Will.” Alex stepped past him into the warmth of the hallway which by the looks of it had been decorated since he was there last. Will had met the love of his life last year and was now firmly ensconced in domestic bliss.

“No problem,” he grumbled over a yawn making Alex chuckle.

He followed as Will led him into the kitchen where he could smell coffee brewing. It was then Alex realised he hadn’t touched the coffee he had poured in Jack’s office. He’d been keen to get started and find Evelyn. He smiled when he saw Will’s police detective girlfriend Aubrey who was already dressed for work.

“Morning, Alex.” She smiled as Will walked over to her scratching his belly like a sleepy cat and then slid his arms around her waist as he stood behind her and leaned his chin on her shoulder. It was an intimate gesture and one which made Alex’s chest tighten.

“Morning, Aubrey. Sorry to spring by so early,” he said suddenly wanting away from the domestic scene in front of him.

“It’s okay. I have to be at work at six am anyway. This way Will can get a head start on stripping the wallpaper in the spare room.” She grinned at Will who frowned and sighed but Alex could see he would do anything for Aubrey. Well, he did fucking steal a plane and fly halfway around the world to rescue her from drug lords.

“I keep telling her we could hire someone to do all this, but she just likes to see me suffer.”

“But then it wouldn’t be personal, and I want this to be ours,” she replied as she handed Alex a mug of hot steaming coffee.

Will rolled his eyes then kissed her softly before disentangling himself from her and walking towards the hallway that led to his home office. “Come on, Alex. Let’s see what you need before she has me sanding floors,” he said ducking as a tea towel came flying at his head.

“Missed,” he called, and Alex heard her laugh softly.

Aubrey and Will were a great couple but on paper a complete mismatch. She was a copper, Will was a tatted up ex-con turned tech mogul, with millions in the bank. Their differences couldn’t be compared to Wills and Jack’s though. The two brothers couldn’t be more different if they tried but after years of estrangement, they were closer than ever now.

Alex was glad to see it. Family was everything in his book even if you didn’t see them as often as you wanted. He followed Will into his office which was a home office like no other. It looked more like mission control at NASA. The room housed four colossal computer monitors, two large servers in the corner with fans whirring to keep them cold, and a whole host of other things that Alex had no care to understand. What Will did was over and above what the average person could grasp.

Will sat down in a black leather executive chair and pulled himself up to the desk hitting keys on the keyboard as he did. “What is it you need, Alex?” he asked twisting to look at him with an open expression.

“I need you to look into anything under the name Evelyn Garcia or Evelyn Fernandez. That was her mum’s maiden name,” he said.

“Okay. Any more details? Age? Date of birth, etcetera?” Will’s fingers started to fly over the keys.

“She might have property in France, USA, or the UK or possibly Cuba as it’s our place of birth, but it is less likely. Her date of birth is the same as mine. Tenth of June, but she’s a year younger.” His mind flew to the last birthday they had spent together.

“Alex, where are we going?” Evelyn asked with a giggle as she held tight to his hand, the blindfold he had placed over her eyes making it impossible for her to see.

“Just wait and see.” He chuckled as he led her down the path towards the surprise he had planned. It was her eighteenth birthday and he wanted it to be special. He was leaving for France in two months and had no idea how he was going to cope without seeing her every day. She had been his life for twelve perfect years and now they would be apart for twelve months with only short visits in between. He pushed the thought away as he moved to the blanket he had laid out for them helping her sit, before removing the blindfold. Evelyn blinked her eyes, the light from the hundreds of tealight candles he had lit showing the joy on her face.

“Oh, Alex, it’s perfect,” she said throwing her arms around him and kissing him hard.

He caught her and held her tight as he took control of the kiss feeling her body soften into his, her fingers threading through his hair. He pulled back not wanting to get to carried away before he had given her the birthday gift he had planned.

“Ready for your present?” he asked excitement bubbling inside him.

“Yes,” she said clapping her hands.

His Evelyn loved presents and surprises. He smiled and hoped this would be one she would never forget. Leaning back, he reached for the box and held it out for her. He watched with his heart in his mouth as she opened the box to reveal his grandmother’s engagement ring. She had given it to him two years before, making him promise to only give it to the woman he had given his heart to freely. She had died three months later, and he had held on to the ring knowing one day it would belong to Evelyn.

Her eyes came to him in question as he took her hand in his.

“Evelyn, I know we’re young, but I’ve loved you since the day we met. You’re my best friend, my soul mate, the only person I want by my side for eternity. Marry me?” he asked and saw her face crease into a smile as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Of course, I’ll marry you,” she said once again throwing herself into his arms.

She pulled away and he fitted the ring onto her finger, the antique white gold ring with three diamonds along the top and tiny diamonds along the shoulders fit her perfectly. He had the wedding band to go with it and couldn’t wait until they were both on her finger for good.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful,” she said with tears in her eyes.