Mastered (The Enforcers 1)

But then what more could he possibly do to her than what he’d done tonight? She was without pride, shamed beyond measure and more humiliated than she’d ever been with Eddie. She would never be the same woman again. Drake had utterly destroyed her, and there was nothing left but the shattered remains of her dignity. To hell with it all. She would never trust another man as long as she lived.

Edward’s mouth tightened into an angry line and then he escorted her out of the building to the street side, where he motioned for a waiting cab.

“My sister manages a hotel in Brooklyn. It’s nothing fancy, mind you, but I’ll call her and let her know to expect you. She’ll have a place for you to stay for as long as you need until you decide where you want to go.”

She looked up at Edward, his features blurring behind the sheen of tears. “I can’t let you or her do that, Edward. I have no money for a hotel. At least not for more than one night. Until I find a job.”

He took her hands in one of his as he opened the back of the cab and gently set her inside.

“Don’t you worry about that,” he reassured. “My sister will take care of your arrangements.”

Then he pulled several bills from his pocket and thrust them toward the driver, giving him the address to the hotel in Brooklyn.

“Good-bye, Evangeline,” Edward said in a soft voice, his eyes brimming with sympathy. “It was indeed a pleasure knowing you, and I wish you well.”

As the cab pulled away, Evangeline buried her face in her hands and burst into a torrent of tears.

Dinner was hell for Drake. The facade he’d so arrogantly reflected on when riding up the elevator with the men meeting him for “business” at his apartment was utterly shattered, and it was only the fact that he was clinging to the tattered remnants of his iron will with his bare fingernails that kept him from bailing and telling them all to go fuck themselves.

As it was, when one of the men had chuckled, clapped Drake on the back as they’d been seated in a private room at one of the restaurants Drake frequented and said, “Good show, Drake. Can’t ever forget to remind a woman of their place in the world,” Drake had nearly reached over and beaten the ever-loving hell out of him.

Evangeline’s place in the world? Somehow, without his even realizing it, she had become his world. And he couldn’t imagine his world without her sweet, generous smile, her endearing determination to take care of him and for him to know he was cared about. Which was all tonight had been about, goddamn it!

He couldn’t stop the sight of the devastation in her eyes from replaying over and over like a never-ending highlight reel in his head. Her tears and fear. Of him, goddamn it. He, who had vowed he would never give her any reason to fear him, that she would always be safe with him and he’d protect her above all else. And the idea that he’d done far worse to her than her piece of shit ex was more than he could bear.

But he couldn’t react. He couldn’t rush through dinner so he could hurry home and get on his knees and beg her forgiveness. Forgiveness he didn’t deserve. Because then these men would know just what Evangeline meant to him and they’d use every means available to blackmail and extort whatever they could from him.

Drake was a never-ending source of frustration to his enemies and competitors because he had no weaknesses. They had no way of touching him, hurting him, and they feared him because he was ruthless and would take out any threat to him and his business interests. Not to mention he was surrounded by his most trusted men who would give their lives to protect Drake and they were every bit as feared as Drake himself was.

But they would hurt Evangeline with no second thought or compunction. They’d use her as a means to an end and not give a fuck if they destroyed her—and him—in the process. They’d relish the opportunity to take Drake and his monopoly on numerous business practices completely down.

And Drake could never live with himself if Evangeline was hurt, brutalized or killed because of him. He could never live without her. And the hell of it was he was only just admitting it, but he’d known for a long time. He just couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge the truth, because it made him weak and vulnerable.

How to make her understand?

He’d just destroyed something so very precious and shit all over the unconditional trust and faith she’d so generously given him with no strings, no conditions, though God knew he’d never given her any reason to do so. He’d taken but had never given her anything that mattered. At least not to her. Throwing expensive trinkets her way was like tossing a pet treats when all she wanted was what he hadn’t been brave enough to give her. Unfettered access to his heart. He was a fucking coward who wasn’t worthy to lick her shoes.