Mastered (The Enforcers 1)

Suddenly she didn’t feel as nervous. Calm pervaded her frazzled nerves and she soaked in Drake’s strength and his show of support.

“Hi, Mama,” Evangeline said in a cheerful voice.

“Evangeline? Is that you? Did you lose your phone? I almost didn’t answer. I get so many of those annoying telemarketers and scams claiming I owe the IRS some obscene amount of money. It’s ridiculous, I tell you. When a person can’t even answer her own phone without being harassed by someone who can’t even pronounce the word penalty or taxes owed. But then I remembered it was your area code and well, what if something had happened to you and someone was trying to notify me? I’d feel awful if I ignored that call.”

Drake’s lips twitched in amusement and his eyes gleamed with mirth.

“I’m fine, Mama,” Evangeline said, hastening to reassure her mother before her imagination ran wild and she conjured all sorts of horrific things that had happened to her daughter.

Her mom had been convinced that Evangeline would be mugged, raped or murdered within the first week in such a sinful city. She and Evangeline’s father had pleaded with her not to move to New York, and they hadn’t wanted her so far away from them. To say they were extremely overprotective of Evangeline was an understatement.

She bit into her bottom lip, knowing that when she explained her situation her mother—and her father—would freak out and beg her to come home. Drake gave her a comforting squeeze and a nod of encouragement that was badly needed. In that moment she wanted to bury herself in his broad chest and just hold on tight.

“I have a new phone. The old one . . . uh, well, it crashed on me and I can’t be without means of communication.”

She winced at the white lie, because she never lied, and she didn’t like the feeling of dishonesty. Guilt swelled in her gut and she prayed for forgiveness for this one fib.

“Oh, of course. I’m glad you did the sensible thing and bought a new one right away,” her mother said. “It wouldn’t do at all for you to live in that big city and not have a way of calling for help. What if you got hurt? Or someone attacked you. Why, just the other day I read a news article about two women who were accosted in New York City. You can’t be too safe these days.”

Evangeline flinched, closing her eyes as the lie swelled and grew, because she hadn’t bought the phone. Drake had. So far Drake had bought everything. She sat in Drake’s lap and listened as her mother extolled the dangers of living in a city where one’s neighbors couldn’t be counted on and people would walk right by someone in need.

She had tried to explain to her mother the stereotype of New York and that in fact it was quite safe, even if Evangeline lived in a sketchy area. Or rather she used to. Yet one more thing she had to tell her mother. But her mother refused to believe that a city as large as New York could possibly be safe and had told Evangeline that she was a sweet and trusting soul and cautioned her on a regular basis not to let herself be misguided. Oh how misguided her mother would think she was presently, throwing caution to the wind and handing her life over to a man she’d known mere days.

Drake shook against her and she glanced sharply at him, wondering what was wrong, but she saw him silently laughing, amusement clearly showing on his features.

“Um, Mama, is Daddy close to you? Can you put him on too? I have some things to tell y’all.”

“Of course.”

There was a long pause as her mother seemed to digest Evangeline’s request, which wasn’t unusual, so Evangeline could only think there was something in her voice that her mother had picked up on.

“Honey, is everything all right?” her mother asked anxiously.

“Evangeline, how are you, baby?”

Her father’s raspy voice washed warmly over Evangeline’s ears, making her momentarily so homesick that she couldn’t breathe. Drake squeezed her and she sighed. Whether in person or over the telephone, she telegraphed her emotions like the freaking Jumbotron in Times Square.

“I’m fine, Daddy,” she said lightly. “The question is, how are you? How have you been feeling lately?”

“I get by just fine,” he said gruffly. “You’re worrying your mother, so you need to spit out whatever it is you want to tell us so she doesn’t get her feathers all in a ruffle.”

She couldn’t help but soften all over and smile. God, she missed them. More than anything she wanted to go home and see them, but the cost of an airline ticket was money she wouldn’t be able to give her parents and right now, they needed financial support more than they needed her to visit.