Mastered (The Enforcers #1) (6 page)

It was the height of cowardice, and Evangeline made no excuses, nor did she even attempt to offer any when she left her apartment well in advance of seven o'clock the next evening.

Though she'd been granted a temporary reprieve when she'd gotten home and her girlfriends weren't waiting up—much to Evangeline's utter astonishment—to make her spill all the gory details of her evening out at Impulse, they had awakened her the next morning by all piling onto one of the twin beds in the room she shared with Steph and literally pounced on her.

Evangeline had grumbled and whined about them waking her up when she had to work a late shift that night, but they'd ignored her and informed her she had time for a nap.
After
she gave them every single detail, word for word, of the ultimate payback they'd cajoled her into. As if she had a prayer of going back to sleep after recounting it.

She hesitated for a long time, biting her bottom lip until her friends grew concerned, and Evangeline knew she would have to spill or they'd assume far worse than what had actually happened, and they would absolutely have no compunction about paying Eddie an unexpected visit and beating the ever-loving hell out of him.

And one wimpy guy against her three ferocious, positively evil—their best quality, in Evangeline's opinion—friends? Wouldn't have a chance in hell. Then Evangeline would have spent the rest of her day figuring out how to afford to bail all three out of jail, when raising the funds to bail just one would have been impossible.

Her friends were loyal and protective, and their friendship was unconditional. Evangeline wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, which was why, despite her humiliation over the events of the night before, not to mention the OH-MY-GOD ending and her leaving like a mute automaton, programmed to obey without question, she poured out the entire story.

The first part involving Eddie was actually enjoyable, and now that she had distance and wasn't
existing
in that moment, she could actually find amusement in what a complete spineless wuss he was and what a complete moron she'd been to have ever allowed him to have sex with her. Especially allowing him to be her first. Despite the amusement she was able to summon, the humiliation was still ever present in her mind, because how stupid and naïve could she have been? She wasn't a stranger to hard life lessons, but this was one she would have been more than happy to take a pass on.

Her friends found it vastly amusing as well, once they got over their rage at the way Eddie had humiliated her and had actually assaulted her in public! But Evangeline had assured them that he had
thoroughly
received his comeuppance and he had ended up being far more humiliated than Evangeline.

It was then Evangeline had paused in the retelling, and Steph, ever the astute bulldog who never let anything go, narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she stared Evangeline down. She had the uncanny ability to make Evangeline feel like a guilty schoolgirl caught cheating on a test.

“Okay, all of that went down within minutes of you getting there. I mean, you had only just arrived and gotten a drink when Eddie came
up to you with his little tramp clinging to his arm. What he had to say couldn't have lasted more than a few minutes at most before the bouncer dude got involved and tossed Eddie and his floozy out, but you were gone a hell of a lot longer than that. So what else happened?”

At that, Nikki and Lana both clued in to what Steph was getting at, and Nikki pinned Evangeline with a piercing stare that was almost as squirmworthy as the ones Steph was so famous for.

“You're holding out on us,” Nikki accused.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Lana muttered. “Spill, girlfriend. We mean everything. And don't leave a single detail out or swear to God, me, Nikki and Steph will all make a trip to Impulse, find this bouncer who took care of Eddie and find out
exactly
what happened afterward.”

Evangeline groaned, because they absolutely would. The men who worked with or for Drake—she hadn't exactly been able to figure out the dynamics of that situation in the short time she'd been there—were
all
badasses. She hadn't
needed
more than a few seconds in their company to figure
that
much out. Anyone with eyes and any modicum of common sense could tell these were not men to fuck with. Ever.

She nearly laughed at the mental image of Maddox being confronted with three petite but very stubborn, determined women who were like pit bulls latched on to a prime steak when it came to something they wanted. They wouldn't be intimidated or put off by Maddox—or any of the other badasses who worked at Impulse. The poor guy—or guys—would never know what hit them.

Well, except for Drake. She very nearly shivered at the memory of him simply looking at her. Like he was peeling her, layer by layer, and seeing every single thought, reaction or emotion she so carefully
tried
to hide from the rest of the world. For all the good that did her.

No, her girls wouldn't have a chance with him. And though her friends weren't intimidated by much, one look from Drake would likely send them scurrying in the opposite direction. Which was what Evangeline
should have done, and she still questioned why she hadn't done just that. But she'd been in shock and utterly overwhelmed by the entire sequence of events. Nothing had gone according to her friends' carefully laid-out plan. But then Evangeline had never really truly believed it would, but foolishly, she'd allowed herself to be talked into the whole sordid mess. And what a mess it was.

She bit into her bottom lip, a sure sign of agitation. Her “tell,” as her friends often told her—in an attempt to get her to quit it. Not that it did any good. Because if she did relate what all happened after Maddox took care of Eddie . . . well, they would get it into their heads to go confront Drake, and that was the
last
thing she wanted. For a variety of reasons, the foremost being their safety. A close second was, well, it was humiliating enough already. To have her friends march down to Impulse and make a scene with Drake over it?

She shuddered at the thought. She'd already come across as a complete wimp incapable of taking care of herself, and having her friends go to bat for her would only further solidify that fact.

Steph's narrowed eyes and deep frown softened, and a look of concern creased her pretty features and she asked in a gentle voice, “Vangie, what
happened
?”

Evangeline swept them all with a glance. Not a look she gave her friends often, because she was too wimpy to cause conflict and she was the peacemaker of the group. She was a perpetual pleaser, much to her friends' dismay. They wanted to toughen her up. Make her more of a bitch on wheels—what they considered themselves, and they were
so
not. They were the very best friends any woman could have. But Evangeline just wanted peace. She didn't want a chaotic existence. She liked her quiet life, her small group of friends and her job at a local pub that wasn't even in the same stratosphere as a place like Impulse, but it was frequented by locals—except for Eddie, of course, who'd only been at the pub to seduce her. Policemen, firemen and EMS personnel in
particular, which made her
feel
safe. More evidence of her naïveté, no doubt. The patrons were friendly and remembered her by name, and the tips were good, thanks to her gorgeous legs, fuck-me shoes and sweeter-than-sunshine smile—according to her friends. Because she sure as hell didn't remotely regard herself in that manner. Their description of her made her hysterical with laughter, but she loved them dearly for their unconditional love and support and for the effort they put into trying to convince her they knew her better than she did herself. The endless hours they spent bolstering her self-confidence, and the absolute conviction she saw in their eyes and heard in their voices, warmed her inside and out.

Evangeline had merely rolled her eyes and informed them that any waitress who made the effort to remember their names and their preference in drink and to make them feel welcome after a long shift would receive the same.

Steph had snorted and then pointed out that if that were the case, they'd all be making as much in tips as Evangeline did.

With a sigh, Evangeline plunged ahead, because she was in a no-win situation. If she didn't tell them everything, they'd haul themselves down to Impulse, interrogate Maddox and then God only knew who else and likely end up in Drake's office.

And if she did confess
every
single thing? Who was to say the outcome would be any different? Only in this case, they might well skip Maddox and the other minions and go straight to
Drake
.

So she did something she never did with them because she trusted them absolutely. Never questioned them or their loyalty. But she also knew once they gave her their word, that even if it killed them—and it would in this case—they'd keep it. She set conditions.

“I'll tell you the rest but only if you
swear
to me that one, it
never
leaves this room and remains between the four of us. And two, you're to leave it alone. I mean completely alone, as in you forget it as soon as I tell
you and there will be no confronting anyone, no questioning anyone, no investigating anyone or being nosy. You have to swear it,” Evangeline repeated emphatically. “Or my lips are sealed.”

The three looked shocked but each nodded in turn, though Steph didn't look at all happy at having to promise something before she even knew what Evangeline was going to reveal. Her lips twisted into a mutinous line, but Evangeline stared her down, never once averting her gaze, until finally Steph threw up her hands in surrender.

“Okay, okay,” she said in exasperation. “I promise.” She glanced at Lana and Nikki and then added, “We
all
promise. Now will you just get on with it? We're dying of curiosity here!”

Satisfied that she had their consent, and knowing that they'd never go back on their word, Evangeline falteringly related everything that happened after Eddie had been tossed from the club. She left nothing out. No words that Drake had said to her. They were burned into her brain, so it wasn't as though she would ever forget them.

By the time she finished, her cheeks were on fire and no doubt so red that she looked like she was sunburned. The room felt way too hot and she desperately needed a cold shower, or even better, a bathtub full of ice she could submerge herself in until her flushed and aroused, traitorous body rid itself of the lingering aftereffects of Drake's mouth, lips, tongue. His touch. God, just his touch had sent her up in flames. She didn't dare imagine if things had gone further and they'd had full-on sex complete with penetration of
more
than just his tongue. She could feel yet another wave of heat invade her body, and every single one of her girly parts tingling in wild anticipation. She had to stop this!

How on earth,
hours later
, could just remembering all the things he'd done turn her into a complete hormonal mess? She didn't even have the courage to hold her friends' gazes anymore and had long since fixed her stare at a distant point so she
couldn't
see their reactions.

When she finally dared to sneak a glance at her friends' expressions
from underneath her eyelashes, their mouths were agape and their eyes wide with complete shock. And for once in their lives, particularly Steph's, who never had a shortage of anything to say, they were utterly speechless.

Nikki's mouth popped open and shut several times in a row while Steph just stared in stupefaction. Surprisingly, it was Lana, the quietest of the three, who finally managed to squeak out, “
What?
For real? Are you
serious
?”

And it
was
a squeak. Barely audible due to the obvious disbelief cracking her words.

Seemingly Lana's breaking the stunned silence began a barrage of questions from all directions until Evangeline covered her ears and groaned, sinking back onto her pillow and closing her eyes. She reached for the second pillow and would have pulled it over her head to shut them all out, but it was promptly snatched from her grasp and Evangeline found herself staring up into Steph's outraged features.

“Oh hell no,” Steph huffed, her eyes flashing as her head hovered directly over Evangeline's face. “You are not getting out of this.” Then she stopped, clearly at a loss for words for a second time in mere moments—twice in a matter of seconds? Her hand flew above her shoulder, palm up and fingers splayed wide in a universal gesture that screamed
what?
Her expression said everything else her gesture didn't cover . . . Like
why?
And
how?
And holy crap!
Really?

If it weren't for the fact that the events were all too real and they had happened to
Evangeline
, she would have found her friends' reactions comical and would even now be holding her sides and laughing hysterically as if she'd managed to successfully pull off the mother of all pranks, something she wasn't remotely capable of because her girlfriends informed her she was too guileless and wouldn't even begin to know how to deceive someone.