Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
“Evangeline is ours, boss,” Justice spoke up. “She’s yours, yeah, but by proxy, that makes her ours too. The only way someone will get to her through me is if I’m dead.”
As Drake studied his men’s expressions, he realized that Justice spoke the truth. Evangeline did in fact belong to them all. She was one of them, which meant each of them would protect her like they did one another.
Drake nodded his acknowledgment and acceptance of his men’s vow to put themselves between Evangeline and harm’s way. Some of the tension that had knotted his insides ever since he’d decided to go public with Evangeline eased, and he relaxed for the first time since Evangeline left him.
His men—his brothers—were solid. The best of the best. He trusted them with his life and now he was trusting them with Evangeline’s, and he knew Justice wasn’t just saying meaningless words. He and all of his men would put themselves in front of Evangeline. They’d die for her just as they’d die for him. That kind of loyalty couldn’t be bought. It was earned and in turn reciprocated because he’d go to the wall for any one of them and they damn well knew it.
“I’ll go through my invitations,” he conceded. “There’s always a pile of them on my desk. I’ll choose one that garners me and Evangeline the most exposure and then I’ll put on a show that can’t possibly be mistaken. After that night, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Evangeline belongs to me and is under my absolute protection.”
Silas stared piercingly at Drake as if peeling back the layers and leaving Drake a wide-open book.
“And is that all it is? A show?” he asked in a somber voice.
Drake’s features became icy and he stared coolly back at Silas, matching his enforcer’s intensity.
“She is mine and that is all you need to know. What is between me and Evangeline is strictly that. Between us and not open for discussion or analysis.”
Silas’s lips tightened but he didn’t press the issue. Maddox didn’t seem any more pleased with Drake’s response than Silas had been, but like Silas, he left it alone.
“Now, if that’s all we have to discuss, I’m calling it a day,” Drake announced. “I’m staying home and not going to the club tonight, so I’ll need you, Zander and Hartley to cover, Maddox. If there are any problems, call. Evangeline and I plan to stay in tonight, but I can always bring her with me if something needs my attention.”
9
Evangeline paced the living room of Drake’s apartment, restless and on edge. She was about to go stark raving mad from her self-imposed seclusion over the past several days. She wanted to get out, get some fresh air, take a walk, anything. But to do so would require a security team of Drake’s men. Men she was mortified to face.
She knew she had no reason to feel shame. She was not at fault, but she couldn’t stand the thought of facing their scrutiny and the knowledge of what had happened in their eyes. Whether she found judgment or sympathy, neither was a desirable option.
With a sigh, she flopped onto the couch and spread her arms out as she lay back. She had to find something, anything to do. No one could sit around and do nothing every single day. It disgusted her that she’d become one of those women who had no life except whatever surrounded her man. She wasn’t a helpless twit, but one couldn’t tell by looking at her. God knew she wasn’t acting like an independent, self-sufficient woman.
Was she insane for taking Drake back so easily? There were still so many unanswered questions swirling around in her mind—questions she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to—but at the same time, a nagging worry assailed her. She couldn’t live in ignorance forever, could she?
She couldn’t live her life as a coward with her head stuck in the sand. Soon, she had to confront Drake and ask him the questions burning a hole in her brain. Even if it meant losing him.
Pain surged through her veins and grief overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes. No, she wouldn’t go there. Surely there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for the secrecy Drake was shrouded in, the extreme security measures he implemented and his overzealousness when it came to her safety.
As her mother often said, it did no good to borrow trouble.
The buzz of the intercom startled her from her troubled thoughts and she jumped, getting to her feet from the couch to hurry over to the com.
She pushed the button. “Yes?”
Her voice was shaky and she breathed in deeply to calm her frayed nerves.
“Miss Hawthorn—Evangeline,” Edward said in a friendly voice. “There is someone here to see you. Shall I send him up or should I tell him you aren’t receiving visitors?”