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Welcome back to yet another chapter! Thanks to all of you that continue to read, and thank you to everyone that has read, reviewed, favorited, followed, or private messaged me. Each little show of support is so very important to me, so please keep it coming! I love to hear from my readers!

I realized that I haven't done a disclaimer in a while, so here it goes: I only use the characters of the show, not the timeline. All OCs are mine. So, if you think that something can't have possibly happened because that wouldn't fit with the timeline of the show, rest assured that it does make sense because I don't use the timeline at all. Great. Thanks.

Was anyone else upset that there wasn't an episode last week? I haven't exactly been in love with this season, but I still found myself missing it on Friday night. Ah, well. There's always this week.

Happy Reading!

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Chapter Sixteen: Excuses and Explanations

Steve

I knew that I shouldn't have been doing it.

Eavesdropping was for little kids that wanted to know what their parents were planning to get them for Christmas. But… it was also for former Navy SEALs that wanted to hear what their future mother-in-law had to say about her absence for all of these years.

At least… that's what I kept telling myself.

Alex and Evelyn had gone into the gardens to have their talk, and since it was growing dark, I had no trouble getting low to the ground and crawling up to a hedge that would hide me from their line of sight. I just had to hope that they wouldn't wander too far away as they talked.

"It's no excuse," Alex was saying, and he sounded angrier than I'd ever heard him. "You left in the middle of the night with an absolutely shitty note that you somehow thought would make things all better."

"I didn't think that the note would make things all better," Evelyn replied in a voice so similar to Allie's that my heart skipped a beat. "I hoped that the note would discourage any of you from looking for me. I couldn't exactly tell you what I had done. You would have tried to help me."

When Allie's dad spoke, I could tell where she'd gotten her sarcastic wit. "Yes, heaven forbid you let your husband help you. Why the hell did you steal the box in the first place, Evelyn? Did you see it in Medici's vault one day and think that it looked so pretty, and you just had to have it?"

Her voice as cold as ice, Evelyn said, "Don't make me sound petty, Alex. You know me better than that."

"No, I knew you better than that. I haven't seen you for two decades. I don't know who you are anymore."

She sighed, obviously unable to dispute that. "But you knew me then. When I took the box. I took it because of what it contained." She paused. "You do know what it contains, right?"

"We do." When Alex didn't continue, Evelyn must have given him a look, because he spoke again moments later. "Nuclear codes. Codes that could be deadly in the hands of anyone that had even less than half a mind to use them. And apparently, the codes can't be changed without the original codes. Quite a flaw in the Russian system, but it is what it is."

She sounded impressed. "You've done your homework."

"I'm not an amateur, Ev." He didn't mention that it was actually Catherine that had gotten us that information through her contacts. That wouldn't have looked quite as impressive.

"I know that you're not an amateur. But the box's secrets have been very well-hidden. I only found out because I was approached by an agent from Interpol."

That must have been just as much a surprise to Alex as it was to me, because his next words came out much louder. "What? Interpol approached you?"

"You know that we were on their radar back then." Evelyn remained calm. "When the agent approached me, I just thought he was going to ask me a question about that diamond heist in Rome. But then he told me that he had a job for me. Top secret. He had uncovered the secrets surrounding the box and he needed someone to get it out of Medici's hands before he decided to sell it to the highest bidder."

"So, why approach you?" Alex asked her. "Not to say that you're not talented, because you certainly are, but what made him think that you were the best choice?"

She sighed, and I heard her sit on the stone bench that was just on the other side of the hedge that I had hidden behind.

Perfect.

"He knew my background – that my father had been a Royal Marine. I suppose that he thought that kind of honor was bred into me. He wasn't wrong."

Alex also sat down, but I suspected that he was keeping his distance. "So, he chose you – the con artist of your family – instead of one of your siblings. And… I wouldn't exactly call leaving your family honorable."

"I wouldn't, either." She sounded sad. "But I didn't see another option. I was close to Medici, so I had the best way in. I was talented enough to pull it off. And if I didn't do it… there was a chance that Medici would sell the box to someone that would use it to hurt as many people as possible. Maybe even my children. I had to do something."

"So, tell me what happened."

She took a deep breath before she began. "I told the Interpol agent that I would do it, but on several conditions. First, he could never put my name on the record. Second, I wanted all suspicions of my previous crimes to be explained away. And third… I asked that he contact the CIA and ask them to give Allie a chance to work for them."

That surprised me just as much as it sounded like it surprised Alex. "Why the CIA? And why only Allie?" Exactly the questions that I had.

"The CIA because I felt that they could give Allie the best protection. And only Allie because I knew that she would be the only one that would even think about switching sides. But if maybe she did… Kol would, too. And Allie has always had exceptional talent. I knew that the CIA could use her, and she could do some good in the world."

"Well, they obviously agreed to your conditions, so what happened next?"

It was silent for a moment, and then Evelyn spoke again, sounding far away. "I stole the box. Medici had invited me over and then left to take a business call and I sprung into action. I knew exactly where it was, and the security measures were no match for me and all of the research that I'd done. I smuggled it out of his house and then headed for the airport where I was supposed to meet the Interpol agent."

"That didn't happen?" Alex sounded surprised. "The Interpol agent wasn't the one that told you to hide the box somewhere that Medici could never find it? We were all operating under the assumption that hiding it in the Kingsley archives had been your plan all along."

"No," Evelyn said as if it should have been obvious. "We were actually supposed to return it to the Russian government so that they could fix their nuclear system. But… it obviously never happened. I was on my way to the airport when the agent called me and told me that he'd been compromised. He told me that he was trying to get away, but that Medici's men knew that I had taken the box. He begged me to hide it until we could get to it again. All that I had with me was the new identity that he'd created for me."

That seemed like such an impossible situation. I found myself respecting her a great deal for all that she had done.

"I was driving the opposite way when I came upon the Kingsley Museum. It was closed down while maintenance was being performed and an addition built. There were so many people in varying uniforms… I saw my opportunity. So, I snuck a construction vest, made my way inside, and stashed the box in the archives."

Alex finished for her. "And by the time that anyone could find out what you'd done, the Kingsley would have become one of the most secure locations in the world."

"I had no way of knowing that," she said. "I planned to go back in later and get it back, but I just never got the chance. I met up with the agent and he said that we had to get out of Paris right then. By the time we thought that it would be safe to go back and get it, the Kingsley had its new security and we decided that it would be well-protected there until everything died down and we could go and get it back. We couldn't just march in with guns and badges, because then Medici would have learned where it was. Our safest bet was to operate under the assumption that Medici didn't think that we actually knew what was in the box. That I had only stolen it because it was a valuable piece of art. We thought that Medici would never be able to discover its location."

"How did he?"

Evelyn sighed. "I'm not entirely sure. A year ago, I got a call from a close friend that works for Interpol. She told me that there'd been some hits on my new name, and she thought that Medici had found me. I wasn't too worried because I moved around all of the time to stay away from him, but I became concerned for all of you. That's when I started tracking you down and calling in favors to try and keep you safe."

"You failed," Alex said bitterly. "Trent was taken, and Allie is being forced to steal back the box that you stole in the first place."

Her voice was sad. "I know that I failed. And I'm wishing that I'd never gotten involved in the first place, but I couldn't let Medici have those codes. Even in the present situation, I think that I did the right thing. I'm just sorry that Medici ever got Allie and Trent involved."

Alex let out a long, slow breath. "Me too. To tell you the truth, I wasn't checking in on Allie as much as I should have been. We had a fight when she wanted to join the CIA, and nothing was ever the same afterwards. We still talked, but not as often. And not about anything that really mattered. Hell, Kol told me more about her and her life than she ever did. I've been a terrible father to her."

If Evelyn hadn't protested, I likely would have. "No, you haven't. You were forced into an awful position when I left, but you've done a wonderful job. I'm the one that's been terrible."

"You had your reasons," he said gruffly. "Not that I think that's an acceptable excuse."

"It's not," she agreed with him. "And not a day went by that I didn't have regrets."

"Then why stay away?" All of the heartbreak that I felt at losing Allie was present in his voice. Allie had never talked much about the relationship that her parents had had before her mother had run away, but it was evident that they had loved each other very much.

Evelyn's voice held just as much sadness. "For the kids. I asked Interpol to put out the word that I had acted on my own. I hoped that Medici would spare you."

"He did." Alex sighed. "Until now."

"Has there been any word from Allie?" I could tell from her tone that she was genuinely concerned for her daughter, and I warmed to her.

Alex proceeded to tell her about the brief window of communication that we'd had with her before Medici had sprung his trap and taken it away.

"How did you find out, anyway?" he asked her, and I realized that had never crossed my mind.

"I still have friends in Interpol. They've been holding up their end of the bargain quite well. They make me a new identity every few months, give me odd jobs here and there to keep me working, and they feed me information on the kids when they have it. But our children are good, so I often don't have that much to go on."

"Interpol knows that we're here and knows what's going on?"

"They don't know much. They've only seen Allie and Medici together. Once they told me, I knew what must have happened." She sighed deeply. "I'm so sorry that I ever brought Allie into this. She shouldn't be cleaning up my mess."

"I can't say that I disagree with you, but I know that you never intended for it to happen this way."

"No, I didn't. And I'm going to report to Medici and ask him to use me instead."

"No!" Alex said sharply, a strong hint of fear in his voice. "You're the only wild card that we have, Evelyn. Medici knows that we're here, but he doesn't know about you. You might be able to get close enough to Allie to help when all of this goes down."

It was an excellent point… one that I hadn't even considered yet. Allie was lucky to have a man on her side with such a sharp mind.

"How do you propose that I do that, being that Medici cut off your method of communication with her? Besides that, he knows what I look like and he's surely been keeping an eye out for me."

Obviously, Evelyn and Alex were evenly matched when it came to intelligence, because I hadn't come up with that argument, either. I defended myself with the fact that I was supposed to be spying, not coming up with plans.

When Alex spoke again, there was a smile in his voice. "The Evelyn that I knew was a master of disguise. Have you really changed that much?"

Evelyn chuckled. "No, I haven't. Okay… I'll gather the supplies that I need and then work on a disguise. I assume that there's someone here that can do my paperwork?"

"We have plenty of people here for that. Just let me know what you need from them."

"Great. I'll let you know."

Common sense told me that they were concluding their conversation. Stealthily, I began to creep away. The last thing that I needed was for my future in-laws to catch me eavesdropping on their private conversation. I couldn't even figure out why I had even wanted to do it in the first place.

Curiosity, perhaps.

Back inside, the house was quiet. It was late, so I figured that everyone had decided to go to bed since no one had been able to come up with any kind of plan. Maybe we would be able to come up with something after some rest.

Upstairs in my room, I headed for the adjoining bathroom only to jump when I realized that Kol was sitting perfectly still and silent on the seat built into the window.

I cursed. "Jesus, Kol. What are you doing? I thought that everyone had gone to bed."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep." He sighed and leaned back against the window, his head blocking out the light from the moon. "My mom is back."

Understanding hit as I remembered Allie saying that she'd never even told Kol that she'd tracked down her mother years earlier. For Kol, there hadn't been any word since she'd disappeared. That had to be hard.

"Yeah," I said and sat down on the bed, facing him. "You okay?"

"Not really." He wasn't even looking at me as he spoke. He was somewhere far, far away. "She just walked out of our lives like we were nothing and now she thinks she can just waltz back in. I get that she felt like she was being some big hero by getting that box away from Medici, but we needed her, you know? And that didn't matter enough to her."

"I'm not sure that's entirely true…" I didn't know whether or not to tell him about what I had overheard in the gardens.

He looked up at me quizzically. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "I snuck out to the gardens when your parents went out there to talk. I can tell you what I heard if you want me to." I almost wanted him to say no.

But he nodded. "Yes. What happened?"

So, I told him about everything that I had heard. Once I was done, he sat there so quietly that I wondered if he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open.

Just as I was about to ask him if he was okay, he spoke. "In some ways, that makes it better. But in some ways… it just makes it worse. I just don't know what to think anymore. What kind of mother does that to her kids?"

"I honestly don't know." I couldn't see Allie doing that to our child. Or to me, for that matter.

"I've taken up enough of your time." Kol stood and forced a smile. "I'm going to go and try to get some sleep. Thanks for telling me what you heard. You're a good spy."

"Not a spy," I corrected him as he passed me.

The corners of his mouth lifted in a small smile. "Whatever you say. See you in the morning."

"Good night."

He was gone a moment later and I was left to wonder what would happen when Allie found out that her mother had come back and was trying to help us rescue her.

I didn't want to be the one to deliver that piece of news.

Allie

It had taken me so long to fall asleep that I wasn't even certain that I was actually asleep.

That is, until I saw Ari walking beside me, holding my hand.

"This is a dream," I realized aloud.

Ari looked over at me and smiled at me with that incredible flash of white teeth that had always made me feel at ease. "What?" he asked me as if he hadn't heard what I'd said.

"Nothing." It was only a dream, after all, and there was no harm in living in it for a while. It was much more pleasant than my real life was, at the moment. I deserved a little bit of relaxation. Although, I did wonder why I'd been thinking about Ari so much lately.

"Here we are," he said, and we moved away from the crowd before we stopped walking.

I looked around and realized where we were.

The Arc de Triomphe.

"I love it here," I said, but it wasn't actually me that said it. It was dream me.

Ari smiled over at me. "I know. That's why I wanted to show you something."

"There's not a lot about this monument that you can show me," I warned him. "My father used to bring us here all of the time."

"And I bet I know why." Just inside the arc, Ari stopped and pointed to a shadowy corner. "Spies used to leave codes here for each other. It was a drop location."

I nodded. "It's been used for centuries. But no one really uses it anymore."

"And that's why I thought that we could use it." When I looked at him in confusion, he smiled. "This can be our drop location. If you're ever in trouble, just leave me a message here on the wall." He plucked a stone out of his pocket and demonstrated. "Just draw this sign, leave the stone beneath it, and I'll know to look for you."

I was skeptical, to say the least. "You don't live in Paris, Ari. What if I'm in trouble and it takes weeks to find me because you didn't even know that I was in trouble?"

There was a glint in his eye as he smiled, a secret just below the surface. "Just trust me. I'll know. And I'll find you."

I woke with a start, and the memory came flooding back. That's what my dream had been… a memory. That conversation with Ari had actually happened, several years ago. But why was I only just remembering it now? Just because I was in Paris? Or…

"Ari's dead," I whispered to myself. "He can't help."

But as I pulled the covers up around me once more, I had an overwhelming desire to visit the Arc.

Okay, I finally told myself. One visit. What could it hurt?