to beat the fuck out of each and every one of them. He’d be damned if they were going to pass judgment on his relationship with Evangeline. Fuck that.
“Oh, I don’t know. Let’s see. She hasn’t so much as set foot out of your apartment since you brought her back there. Hell, no one has so much as seen her. You were going to make her your queen and go public with her, but she’s more scarce now than she ever was before.”
Drake’s eyes narrowed at the implied criticism in Maddox’s voice. As though Drake were purposely keeping her under wraps.
“She is free to come and go as she likes,” Drake said in an icy voice. “She’s aware of the necessity of higher security, and she accepts that. I’ve offered to have some of you accompany her wherever she’d like to go, but so far she’s refused, preferring to stay in.”
“Hell, she’s probably embarrassed,” Justice said in disgust. “She has no way of knowing what or how much we know, though she likely suspects we were privy to every single detail of what went down that night. It’s understandable why she wouldn’t be eager to face judgment from others.”
“Who the hell says she would be judged?” Silas demanded in a pissed-off tone.
Justice shot him a look of impatience. “Evangeline has pride. In spades. I’m not saying any of us would judge her. She did
nothing
wrong.” He shot a pointed look in Drake’s direction that had Drake baring his teeth. “But
she
doesn’t know what we think or know or what side of the picture we line up on. It’s likely she’s avoiding all of us. I don’t blame her. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the exact same thing in her shoes. By her way of thinking, she’s been shamed enough.”
“Fuck that,” Maddox growled. “The hell I’ll let her believe that shit.”
Silas held up his hand to silence Maddox. “I’ll sort Evangeline out.”
Drake slashed a look in his man’s direction. “Oh, you will?”
Silas met his stare without backing down. “Yeah, I will. I’ll let her know that whatever fucked-up shit she has going on in her head is just that. Shit. We had an agreement before for a once-a-week takeout date. So I’ll get takeout and bring it over to your place tomorrow and I’ll set her straight then. No way in hell is she going to hide away in shame for something she was innocent in.”
Drake held on to his temper by a thread. Only because he knew Silaswould cut his own throat rather than ever betray someone he considered a brother—his only family—was he able to control his anger at the condemnation in Silas’s voice. Hell, it wasn’t as if Drake didn’t harbor enough self-blame without it being served up to him at every turn by the men loyal to him.
Even as the initial rage threatened to erupt, it abated just as quickly. He was grateful for Silas’s fierce defense of and regard for Evangeline. Drake knew of no other recipients of either from Silas save those currently gathered in Drake’s office. And going public with Evangeline instilled paralyzing fear in Drake—not an emotion he was accustomed to at all. But with his relationship becoming very public, he needed unconditional loyalty to Evangeline from every single one of his men, because he would be relying on them as well as himself to keep her safe at all times.
And Justice was likely correct in his conclusion. Drake cursed the fact that he hadn’t even considered that Evangeline would be mortified to face his men, but now that Justice had suggested it, it certainly seemed highly probable. That night had been degrading and mortifying for Evangeline. Of course she wouldn’t want to be around people who knew every single detail.
He was also dead on about Evangeline having fierce pride. It was one of the things Drake admired most about her.
“Silas is right,” Drake conceded. “The air needs to be cleared and Evangeline needs to be put at ease. I won’t have her uncomfortable with the people I trust her life with.”
He
“Oh, I don’t know. Let’s see. She hasn’t so much as set foot out of your apartment since you brought her back there. Hell, no one has so much as seen her. You were going to make her your queen and go public with her, but she’s more scarce now than she ever was before.”
Drake’s eyes narrowed at the implied criticism in Maddox’s voice. As though Drake were purposely keeping her under wraps.
“She is free to come and go as she likes,” Drake said in an icy voice. “She’s aware of the necessity of higher security, and she accepts that. I’ve offered to have some of you accompany her wherever she’d like to go, but so far she’s refused, preferring to stay in.”
“Hell, she’s probably embarrassed,” Justice said in disgust. “She has no way of knowing what or how much we know, though she likely suspects we were privy to every single detail of what went down that night. It’s understandable why she wouldn’t be eager to face judgment from others.”
“Who the hell says she would be judged?” Silas demanded in a pissed-off tone.
Justice shot him a look of impatience. “Evangeline has pride. In spades. I’m not saying any of us would judge her. She did
nothing
wrong.” He shot a pointed look in Drake’s direction that had Drake baring his teeth. “But
she
doesn’t know what we think or know or what side of the picture we line up on. It’s likely she’s avoiding all of us. I don’t blame her. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the exact same thing in her shoes. By her way of thinking, she’s been shamed enough.”
“Fuck that,” Maddox growled. “The hell I’ll let her believe that shit.”
Silas held up his hand to silence Maddox. “I’ll sort Evangeline out.”
Drake slashed a look in his man’s direction. “Oh, you will?”
Silas met his stare without backing down. “Yeah, I will. I’ll let her know that whatever fucked-up shit she has going on in her head is just that. Shit. We had an agreement before for a once-a-week takeout date. So I’ll get takeout and bring it over to your place tomorrow and I’ll set her straight then. No way in hell is she going to hide away in shame for something she was innocent in.”
Drake held on to his temper by a thread. Only because he knew Silaswould cut his own throat rather than ever betray someone he considered a brother—his only family—was he able to control his anger at the condemnation in Silas’s voice. Hell, it wasn’t as if Drake didn’t harbor enough self-blame without it being served up to him at every turn by the men loyal to him.
Even as the initial rage threatened to erupt, it abated just as quickly. He was grateful for Silas’s fierce defense of and regard for Evangeline. Drake knew of no other recipients of either from Silas save those currently gathered in Drake’s office. And going public with Evangeline instilled paralyzing fear in Drake—not an emotion he was accustomed to at all. But with his relationship becoming very public, he needed unconditional loyalty to Evangeline from every single one of his men, because he would be relying on them as well as himself to keep her safe at all times.
And Justice was likely correct in his conclusion. Drake cursed the fact that he hadn’t even considered that Evangeline would be mortified to face his men, but now that Justice had suggested it, it certainly seemed highly probable. That night had been degrading and mortifying for Evangeline. Of course she wouldn’t want to be around people who knew every single detail.
He was also dead on about Evangeline having fierce pride. It was one of the things Drake admired most about her.
“Silas is right,” Drake conceded. “The air needs to be cleared and Evangeline needs to be put at ease. I won’t have her uncomfortable with the people I trust her life with.”
He
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