Mastered(37)

“Yeah, a hired goon who looks like he just got out of Rikers,” Steph said, anger still seething in her voice.

Evangeline’s earlier look of shame and defeat evaporated and her spine went rigid. She stared back at Steph, her gaze unflinching as her face flushed. But not in embarrassment. No, his angel was pissed.

He fought to hide his reaction—his surprise—and forced himself to remain a bystander and allow Evangeline to fight her own battle unless it became apparent she was backing down. She further surprised him by walking up to Steph and getting right in her face so there was no possibility of misunderstanding. She pointed her finger directly into Steph’s chest, eliciting a look of complete shock on her friend’s face as if Evangeline had never stood up to her—or any of her so-called friends.
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“You will not talk about Maddox that way,” Evangeline snapped. “He has been nothing but kind and patient with me. He intervened at Impulse when Eddie would have likely put me in the hospital. He was kind, respectful and gentle. He took me home, made certain the apartment was safe and told me he would be there the next night at seven because Drake wanted to see me. But I had to work and so Maddox waited for me at the pub until I got off and drove me to Impulse to meet Drake, where we agreed on a personal matter that will remain personal. You have no right to judge Maddox or Drake or Thane, for that matter, who went out of his way to let you know I was okay, when you know nothing about them. And furthermore, you are clearly questioning my judgment. My wants and my needs, which I remind you, are my concern. Not yours. I don’t tell you how to run your life, Steph, and I expect that same respect in return.”

Her hand swept toward Thane, who was wearing a look of shock mixed with approval. Pride even. Thane lifted his gaze to Drake as if to say, You picked a good one. Drake merely nodded his agreement.

“And Steph. You showed up at Impulse after being told I was fine and what my plans were for the night and threatened Thane unless he brought you to wherever Drake and I were. Has he hurt you? Has he threatened you in any way? Because the way I see it, he has treated you with far more respect than you’ve afforded him. I expected more from you, Steph. I expected your faith and trust in me to make my own decisions. I don’t need your, Lana’s or Nikki’s approval or permission to do anything. I don’t interfere in your personal lives, and yet you interfere with mine at every turn. And just to remind you, I never wanted to go to Impulse. It was the last place I wanted to go, but the three of you railroaded me into going, and the result was a night of humiliation I’ll never be able to forget.”

She shuddered and clasped her hands over her upper arms as if she were suddenly cold. Drake could contain himself no longer. He stepped forward and wrapped her securely in his arm, replacing her hand on the arm facing away from his body and rubbed up and down both for warmth and comfort. And to let her know he had her back.

Thane looked completely bewildered and discomfited by Evangeline’s defense of him and Maddox. There was a different look to his eyes when he gazed at Evangeline now. One that held a glimmer of respect, and Thane didn’t respect many people.

Drake’s admiration grew even more because he’d been right, or rather his gut instinct about his angel had been dead-on. Her sweet, soft, delicate feminine appearance, in fact, disguised a woman with an iron will and determination that wouldn’t allow anyone, even himself, to run over her. No matter that she thought the opposite. She clearly thought she was timid and weak and hated conflict, and she likely did. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own and stand up for what she thought was right. His arm tightened around her, giving her a gentle squeeze of approval as pride settled over him. As did peace. He’d chosen well. He hadn’t been wrong about her at all.

Steph looked taken aback, her mouth falling open at Evangeline’s outburst. She glanced between Thane and Drake like she was sizing up two serial killers. Then her gaze drifted back to Evangeline, clear disbelief reflected on her face. Before she had time to respond to Evangeline’s blunt, impassioned statement, Evangeline pressed while she had the advantage.

“I’m fine, Steph. You were told I wouldn’t be home tonight or today or whatever it is. There was no reason for you to come here and cause a scene. I’ll call you, Lana and Nikki in the next day or two and explain everything. Until then, I would appreciate privacy and no more embarrassing scenes at this hour of the morning.”#p#分页标题#e#

Steph pinned Evangeline with a ferocious stare, one Drake imagined worked to intimidate Evangeline most of the time. Only this time, his angel didn’t seem in the least fazed.