Page 7 of Alex

“Not as beautiful as you, mi nena,” said as he admired her knowing in his heart that he would carry this precious memory to the grave as being the best birthday of his life.

“What will my parents say though?” she said biting her lip.

Evelyn’s parents were strict and although they loved Alex, they believed she was too young to decide her future.

“Well, that’s where present two comes in.” He handed her a second slightly larger box.

She looked up at him and grinned before opening it. Inside was a circular pendant in white gold. The middle was hollow like a wedding ring and had tiny crystals around the outside. “Alex, this is perfect.”

“Turn it over,” he said nerves fluttering in his chest as she read the words on the back.

Mi nena was etched along the top curve with Evelyn Martinez along the bottom. It was an assumption he knew, but he hoped she would like it. “It opens up, look!” Evelyn opened the circular pendant and found a plain white gold wedding band inside. It meant she could wear it, and nobody would know the significance except them.

“This is…” She couldn’t continue as her tears blocked her throat almost making him cry with her. Instead he hauled her into his arms and held her close. They ate under the stars surrounded by flowers and candlelight. Alex fed her fresh cut fruit after they had dined on Cuban sandwiches and sweet flan.

“Nena Garciaor Nena Martinez try those too,” he said to Will his trip down memory lane leaving him shaken.

“Okay. So, I take it we’re cyberstalking?” he asked, and Alex nodded. “What’s the story with you two anyway?” Will’s directness always surprised Alex.

“That story is one to be told over something much stronger than coffee and we don’t have time. Just call me as soon as you have anything. We have forty-eight hours to find her or the shit will hit the fan. You need to talk to Jack about this one as it involves Zenobi and with you working for Fortis it might complicate things with Kanan.”

Kanan was Roz’s husband and also an ex-SIS agent. He was also very protective of his wife and with Will being part owner of the company charged with taking out one of her girls it could get awkward.

“Hey, anything to get out of stripping wallpaper, even my brother’s ugly face on a Saturday morning.” Will grinned before sobering. “I’ll work on this non-stop. Whatever is going on with you and Siren it isn’t finished, not by a long shot.”

Alex nodded. A truer word was never spoken he thought as he left Will to work and headed for the gym at Eidolon. He needed a workout preferably one where punches were thrown, and he knew just the men to help him.

Changinginto shorts and a loose vest Alex made his way to the fully equipped gym. Liam was in the ring with Mitch, their firearms and weapons expert. He had worked for SO19 the UK Police Firearms Unit at the London Met for ten years before joining Eidolon. At six-foot three and 200 pounds of pure muscle Mitch was a beast in a fight.

Born in Peckham South-East London he had spent the first part of his youth in a gang on his council estate before finally getting his act together when he was twenty. Now at forty-five he was the oldest member of the team and took great pleasure in whooping everyone’s asses just to prove he was still a badass. The team frequently got their own back by putting up pictures of Idris Elba who he had been mistaken for more than once.

Waggs, currently holding his own in the ring against Liam, was an ex-Green Beret and the team medic. Tall, though not as tall as Mitch, with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, Waggs was the quiet one of the group, and more serious than the others. He was a sound guy and had patched all of them up at some point or other.

Blake and Reid were using the weights and Reid lifted his head in greeting when he walked in.

“Alex.” Blake greeted him with a smile. He was the baby at thirty and seemed to always have women literally eating out of his hands.

“They been in long?”

“A few rounds, I think. Liam has this one. He has a bug up his ass and it’s making him bitchy,” Blake remarked of the cockney that was usually the life and soul of the group.

“Fancy a few rounds?” Alex asked them both knowing one would surely take him up on his offer.

“Sure. You hankering for an ass-kicking?” Reid headed for the second ring and tossed his shirt on the floor revealing his heavily tattooed torso.

“Dream on, Captain Kirk,” Alex replied and watched Reid scowl at the nickname they had given him. Kirk as a first name was just begging for a Star Trek joke.

Thirty minutes later both he and Reid were sweating as they traded hit after hit, kick after kick, neither one managing to get the upper hand.

Mitch, Waggs, and Liam were watching the fight taking bets as Blake called time. He and Reid shook hands as Jack walked into the gym. He looked at Alex and beckoned him over with a nod of his head. Wiping his face with a towel, Alex jogged over, his instincts telling him this was it. They had a lead on Evelyn. He felt wired and full of energy despite the workout he had just had.

“Yeah?”

“We found her and by we, I mean my geek brother found her. She has a chalet in Courchevel under the name Nena Fernandez.”

Everything inside Alex settled for just a second before he remembered the clock was ticking. “Let’s go.” He headed for the shower. It was time to find Evelyn and figure out what the fuck was going on.