“You have singlehandedly fucked up the most precious gift a man could ever be given, one that you will never find again,” Zander boomed out. “And you know what? I don’t feel sorry for your stupid ass. You deserve to die a cynical, lonely old man who believes no one is loyal to you. Jesus. I never thought I’d see a brother of mine treat any woman this way, but especially not a woman as special as Evangeline.”
“You’ve lost all respect in my eyes,” Hartley snapped. “I would have never thought you were capable of treating an innocent, guileless, beautiful and loyal woman who is everything good in this fucked-up world and certainly the only good thing in your fucked-up, miserable world so horrifically. You make me goddamn sick.”
“Give it a rest,” Drake roared. “She’s got you all by the balls and you don’t even see it. Jesus Christ. Get the hell out of my office and don’t come back until you’ve decided who you’re loyal to. Your brother? Or the woman who sold out not only your brother but you and the rest of our brothers as well.”
“You destroyed her,” Maddox said quietly, speaking up for the first time since everyone had entered the room. He’d stood back, his animosity and rage a tangible presence in the room. “She was on her knees begging you, for fuck’s sake, and you ripped her to shreds, leaving her no dignity, no pride, and she didn’t care because all she wanted was for you to listen to her. To give her a chance. To have the same faith in her that she had in you.”
Flashes of discomfort mingled with his men’s pissed-off, brooding stares. Stares that all judged and found him guilty. Him. When he wasn’t the one who sold them all out to the fucking cops. And yet here they stood, visibly bothered by the image of Evangeline on her knees begging him for a chance.
God. The entire thing was a blur to him. His entire world had shattered and come to a grinding halt the moment he realized that his angel had betrayed him. What had he said to her? He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He’d only known he had to get away from her before he completely broke down and made more of a fool of himself than she had already made of him.
A vague image of her on her knees, reaching for him as he steadily backed away, raw anguish etched on her face, tears streaming in endless rivers.
Please.
It was all he could remember her saying. The roar was too loud in his head, the pain in his heart too overwhelming. From others he expected nothing less. But not from his angel. And he was pissed that he’d allowed the one person past all his carefully constructed barriers to the very heart and soul of him to do what no one had ever been capable of doing before.
Destroying him.
“You’re wrong this time, Drake,” Justice said flatly, anger pouring off him in waves, his entire body tense, almost as if it were taking all his restraint not to launch himself at Drake and beat the hell out of him. “I’ve never questioned you. Never once doubted you. I’ve followed your lead without question. But you just orchestrated the biggest fuckup of your entire life, not to mention committed an unpardonable sin against a woman who loves you more than she cares for her pride or anything else in this goddamn world. You completely demolished a good woman whose only sin was loving and accepting you with no strings or questions. Just . . . unwavering acceptance. Who else can you say that about? Who else can you say has ever loved you unconditionally? Who’s accepted the good and the bad and never left your side, always defended you, fought for you and refused to allow her fear of your world and the life you lead to ever let her leave you? She would have stood by your side and loved you forever, but you just ruined the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to you. All because you’re an unfeeling asshole who wouldn’t even allow her to defend herself. You never once asked her if she betrayed you. You assumed and you judged her, condemned her and found her guilty, and never once did you give her a chance to explain.”
His eyes were raging and his hands were balled into tight fists at his sides. The others looked to be in wholehearted agreement with every word that blew explosively from Justice’s mouth.
“And then you just threw her out on the fucking streets with nothing. Without the job or the place to live that you forced her to give up. She worked herself to the bone to selflessly support her family, and she never once complained. How the fuck do you think she’s going to make it on her own now that you made her completely dependent on you? You’ve broken every promise, the very creed of our lifestyle, by shitting all over the gift of her submission and leaving her to fend for herself.”