Dominated: The Enforcers 2 (The Enforcers Series) (28 page)

Maddox held up his hand, listened to the receiver a moment and then turned to look at Drake, his eyes flashing, his entire body tense and radiating fearsome rage.

“It’s go time.”

Evangeline slouched uncomfortably in the chair, ropes digging into her wrists and ankles. Her face was buzzing with pain and heat from when the man had lashed out and struck her, but her head was what ached the most. She’d taken a brutal hit that rendered her unconscious when she’d struggled and fought back against the man trying to get her into his car.

She was going to die. Grief overwhelmed her because it wasn’t just her who would die. Her precious unborn baby would die with her. Drake would never come for her, would never give a hundred dollars for her, much less twenty million or however much the creep had mentioned.

And since she knew she was going to die, she had no desire to prolong her grief and agony. At first she’d thought only to do whatever it took to stay alive. To fight for her child if for no one else. But realization had sunk in when the man had brought her here, to a place that smelled of blood and death, and smugly informed her that he was going to chop her into tiny pieces so that no one had any hope of ever finding her body, much less identifying it, if Drake didn’t come through with the first wire transfer.

“He threw me out, or didn’t you know that?” she mocked through
swollen, throbbing lips. “He thinks I betrayed him and his men by giving the cops information. Now, you tell me. What do you think Drake would do in that situation? Do you honestly think he’d hand over twenty million dollars to someone demanding it in order to spare my life? You’ll probably get a thank-you card from him after I’m dead.”

“Shut up!” he raged, turning to backhand her again.

But something caught his hand. And then the entire room erupted in violence. Gunfire. Cries of pain. Savage curses. She closed her eyes, praying her death would be quick and merciful.
Oh, Drake, I loved you so much. I would have never betrayed you. Why couldn’t you believe in me? You’ll never even know of your child.

Sorrow was thick and suffocating, tears burning her swollen, throbbing eye. She closed her eyes and lowered her head in defeat as the world went mad around her.

She flinched and stiffened when hands glanced over her bonds. Then a man’s voice sounded in her ear.

“Don’t fight me, Evangeline. I need you to cooperate fully and do exactly as I tell you. Got me?”

Adrenaline surged in her veins. Her eyes flew open and to her astonishment, she saw
Drake’s
men. Everywhere. She looked in absolute bewilderment to see them fighting savagely, murderous expressions on their faces. To her further shock, she saw . . . Drake. He was ruthlessly working his way through two gunmen who posed no obstacle to him and his fury.

What was he doing here?
And why? Maybe she had finally lost the remaining vestiges of sanity she’d clung to the entire day. Or maybe she’d died and this was some sort of dying fantasy. But she felt no pain even as she made no move to struggle against Silas’s gentle touch as he cut through the ropes binding her.

“Get Evangeline out of here!” Drake barked without looking in her direction. “Make sure she’s safe and get her to help. This bastard is mine.”

His words sent a chill down Evangeline’s spine as she stared dispassionately as Drake circled the man who’d abducted her. Then she was swung into familiar arms and closed her eyes, blocking the horrific reality that Drake could
die
, and she drifted off, retreating to a place where she no longer felt pain, or grief. Nothing. She welcomed oblivion and surrendered to the dark void enfolding her in its soothing embrace.

•   •   •

Silas swiftly carried Evangeline from the room, flanked by Maddox and Justice, who stared down at her, worry in their eyes.

“Stay with Drake,” Silas commanded. “Cover him. Have his back. Make damn sure he’s safe at all times.”

“I’m staying with you,” Maddox said stubbornly. “With the help of Luconi’s men, we’ve already taken down any threat. All that’s left is McDuff, and the others are keeping close watch. But Drake made it clear that McDuff is his.”

Silas carried Evangeline to the waiting car and slid into the backseat; she now had her eyes closed, whether out of self-protection or true unconsciousness, he wasn’t sure.

He examined her carefully, looking for injury, but all he saw was the drying blood on the side of her head, the vivid handprint on her face and the blood at her nose and mouth from where the little fucker had struck her. He was gripped by rage and fury to the point that he nearly defied Drake and went after McDuff himself, and damn Drake’s orders.

It should be Silas. Not Drake.
He
was Drake’s cleanup man. His enforcer. His sole duty was to protect Drake and ensure that nothing threatened Drake’s business interests, a vast empire Drake shared with his brothers. He was always the one to take out any threat. It was who he was. What he did. And now, more than ever, this was personal to him when so many other times it was cold and impersonal. Just a job.
Nothing more. A necessary evil to protect Drake’s empire and the men he called brothers.

But . . . Evangeline needed him more right now. And if she were his woman, he too would want to be the one to take out the man responsible for terrorizing her, threatening her and putting his hands to her.

“Get me to Drake’s clinic,” Silas instructed the driver.

•   •   •

Drake stared at the pathetic piece of shit he held up by the collar of his shirt. McDuff’s face was swollen and bloodied, and the knowledge of his imminent death was in his eyes. He didn’t deserve a quick, merciful death. What he deserved was to suffer, knowing his fate. But Drake didn’t have the time or the desire. His only priority was in avenging Evangeline and then getting to her as quickly as possible.

He’d been so overwhelmed by rage and his desire to make her tormentor pay with his blood that everything else had been forced from his mind, but now he felt regret because he should have been the one to take Evangeline from this place. To offer her comfort, see to her needs, instead of one of his men. Would she see that as yet another rejection? More evidence in her eyes that she didn’t matter to him?

“Please,” McDuff said, slurring his words. “I’ll do
anything
. Just don’t kill me.”

“Is that what my woman said to you? Did she beg you not to kill her and my child?”

Horror reflected in McDuff’s eyes, and the sniffling coward began to cry. The acrid smell of ammonia rose, and Drake and his men looked at McDuff in disgust. He was pissing himself.

“I didn’t know she was pregnant!” McDuff shrieked. “I swear to you. I didn’t know! I didn’t hurt her.”

“Oh?” Drake asked in a deadly voice. “You didn’t hit her in the head
with the butt of your gun when you yanked her off the street? I didn’t just see you slap her in the face?”

McDuff was crying and babbling in earnest now, and as much as Drake wanted to prolong the little bastard’s agony, Drake only wanted to get to Evangeline so he could reassure himself that she—and their child—were all right.

With a twist of his hands, it was finished. McDuff sagged and Drake dropped him to the floor, turning away immediately to bark orders at his men.

He found Justice and lifted his eyebrows in silent question.

“Silas and Maddox took her to the clinic. Go to her, Drake. The rest of us will make sure the scene is secure and everything is wiped down.”

Zander was waiting to drive him when he strode out of the building, but Drake held his hands out for the keys. “You stay here and help Justice oversee cleanup. I’ll drive.”

Zander cocked his head and studied Drake for a long moment. “You going to be okay to drive, man? You’ve been dealt some pretty heavy shit today.”

“Not nearly as much as she has,” he snapped. “Give me the fucking keys.”

Zander handed them over with no further comment.

But when he was about to get in the car, Zander’s question stopped him in his tracks.

“Are you happy about it? No one asked. But are you happy about the baby?”

There was an underlying warning in Zander’s question. One that said if Drake so much as hinted he wasn’t happy about Evangeline’s pregnancy, any number of his men would step up to take care of both Evangeline and his child.

Over his dead body.

“I’m happier than you could possibly imagine,” Drake said in an even
tone. “But my first priority is Evangeline and making sure she isn’t hurt. And hope that she’ll forgive the unforgivable.”

Zander winced and nodded. “She’s a good woman, Drake. The best.”

“Yeah, I know,” he returned softly.

•   •   •

When Drake arrived at the clinic, he found Maddox and Silas pacing outside the exam room. When they saw him, they both stopped and waited for him to approach.

“How is she?” Drake demanded, his pulse racing with fear and worry.

Silas shrugged. “Don’t know yet. She was out of it the entire way. She opened her eyes when the doctor came in, but it was like . . . I dunno, man. She was here but she wasn’t here. She wasn’t aware of anything or anyone. If she knew who we were, she didn’t acknowledge us. She hasn’t said a single word since we left the butchery to bring her here.”

“Christ,” Drake said, ramming his fist into the wall. “Any idea if the baby is okay?”

“No, sorry,” Maddox said quietly. “We told the doc and he said he’d do some blood work, check her HCG levels and confirm that there is a pregnancy, since all we have to go on is a fading store-bought pregnancy test.”

Drake went still. It hadn’t occurred to him that she might not be pregnant. As soon as he’d seen the test, their child had become all too real to him. The idea of losing their baby or Evangeline was more than he could bear. If she lost their baby, she’d never forgive him. She might not forgive him regardless of whether there was a child, and who could blame her?

“How long has she been back?” Drake croaked out. “I need to see her.”

“Don’t know why you couldn’t go in,” Silas offered. “Maddox and I were just trying to give her as much privacy as possible.”

Not waiting for more, Drake opened the door and strode in, pulling
up short when he saw Evangeline’s pale face. She was lying on a hospital bed, rails up, covered lightly with a thin sheet. She wore a hospital gown and her eyelashes rested on her cheeks.

His gaze quickly found the doctor, who was standing to the side looking at lab results. He glanced up when he saw Drake.

“How is she?” Drake asked anxiously.

“She’ll be just fine,” the doctor soothed. “Got a little banged up. She’s going to have one hell of a headache for a couple of days, but otherwise she appears to be unharmed.”

“The baby?” Drake asked fearfully.

The doctor smiled. “Everything appears to be normal in the lab results. Her HCG levels are appropriate for someone six to eight weeks pregnant. She hasn’t been awake for me to question her regarding her last menstrual cycle, but my guess is she’s not very far along.”

Some of the awful tension coiling through his muscles eased and he sagged, weak with relief at knowing that Evangeline and their baby were going to be okay.

“Can I take her home soon?”

The doctor frowned. “Her prolonged state of altered consciousness is worrisome, but given the circumstances, not surprising. She’s suffered a traumatic experience, and sometimes our minds act in a way to protect us. I’m not opposed to letting you take her home, since you’ll simply be moving her to the top floor of this building; however, I’d like to come check in on her at least once a day, and call me if you have any questions or concerns regarding her condition. I want to know the minute her condition changes. Patty will give you a list of things to be on the lookout for, and if she exhibits any of the symptoms listed, you’re to get her back here or to the closest hospital immediately.”

“Thank you,” Drake said sincerely. “I’ll take excellent care of her and make sure she takes it easy until she’s completely recovered.”

The doctor smiled. “I have no doubt you will. And, Drake? Congratulations, son. You’ll make a fine father.”

To Drake’s surprise, when he turned back to Evangeline, her eyes were open and fixed on the ceiling above her. He rushed to the bed and slid his fingers through hers.

“Angel? Baby, I’m here. You’re safe now. You’re both safe. Nothing can hurt you now. The doctor says you can come home with me. Would you like that?”

But she didn’t so much as acknowledge a single word. It was as though she hadn’t even heard him. Her unblinking gaze was distant and so very far away that a chill of foreboding gripped him.

He looked at the doctor helplessly and the doctor grimaced even as he checked Evangeline’s vitals again.

Oh dear God, had he done this to her? Was this what he’d done? She was a hollow shell of herself. So very fragile, on the verge of shattering completely. Or perhaps, finally, she already had and he was looking at the remaining pieces.

He gathered her in his arms, closing his eyes as he pressed his lips to her hair.

“Come back to me, Angel,” he begged. “Come home. It’s safe now. Don’t leave me. I love you. I’m so sorry I’ve never given you the words, but I was afraid. So very afraid. But you make me fearless. You make me strong. You give me the strength to face the absolute worst with the knowledge that with you I can overcome anything. As long as you’re with me, my love. As long as we’re together.”

“I want to go home,” Evangeline said in a small, lifeless voice. “To my parents.”

Drake went utterly still, torn between jubilation that she was awake and speaking and despair at
what
she’d said.

Dread gripping him by the throat, he slowly pulled away so he could
see for himself that she was aware. Her eyes were dull, lacking the sparkle that was quintessentially Evangeline. Her face was bland and expressionless. She might as well be discussing the weather for the emotion she displayed. There was no anger, no passion, no color to her cheeks.

“Angel, please,” he said huskily. “Give me a chance to explain. There’s so much I must beg forgiveness for, so much I have to make right with you. Please, just come home with me. Let me take care of you and let me explain—apologize. I know I don’t deserve your sweetness, your light, your
love
, but, Angel, I’m begging you. Give me one last chance. I swear you won’t regret it this time.”