“Do you want to see them, Evangeline?” Justice asked gently. “If you don’t, say the word and Maddox and I will get rid of them. You won’t have to see them. I swear.”
She twisted her hands and then wrung them in agitation. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
“It’s your call,” Maddox said quietly. “Justice and I will be here the entire time. You won’t have to face them alone. And at any time, we can get rid of them. You say the word and we’ll make it happen.”
Swallowing hard, she punched the button again and hesitated, looking once more at Maddox for reassurance. Then she said, “Send them up, Edward.”
Maddox swore and then reached for Evangeline’s hand. “I don’t like seeing you so pale and afraid of these bitches, babe. You go sit down in the living room and get comfortable. Justice and I will let them in and have a little understanding with them.”
“Don’t frighten them,” she said quietly.
“You mean like they’re frightening you?” Justice said bluntly. “You don’t owe them a goddamn thing after they shit on you the way they did.”
She bit her bottom lip and turned unhappily toward the living room. She let Maddox help her into one of the chairs, and then he grasped her shoulders in his hands and looked her in the eye.
“They say one wrong word to you and their asses are out with instructions not to ever return.”
She nodded and then clenched her hands together in her lap as she tried to compose herself for the confrontation ahead.
Maddox walked away and she waited tensely for the sound of the elevator. A few moments later she heard it arrive, and then she heard Justice and Maddox speaking in low tones but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Finally the wait became too much and she bolted out of her chair and turned toward the foyer, where she saw her friends standing looking with openmouthed astonishment at Justice and Maddox, who both wore black expressions.
“Evangeline?” Steph asked as she stepped forward.
The two women stared at one another for a long moment, and then Steph let out a cry and ran toward Evangeline. A second later Evangeline found herself in Steph’s embrace as Steph noisily sobbed on Evangeline’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Vangie,” Steph said over and over. “I was such a bitch to you. Please forgive me.”
And then Lana and Nikki both pushed in, pulling Evangeline into a group hug. Evangeline stared at Justice and Maddox over their shoulders, her eyes huge with bewilderment.
She gave them what couldn’t possibly be misconstrued as anything but a plea for help as her three friends continued to hug and cry all over her. Finally Maddox waded in and gently took Nikki’s and Lana’s arms while Justice collected Steph, and the two men herded the women into the living room to seat them.
“Not leaving you, babe, so don’t get any ideas,” Maddox said in a low voice as he passed Evangeline en route to the kitchen.
Justice stood in the middle of the living room, his arms folded over his broad chest, looking every bit the part of a surly bodyguard while Maddox acted the consummate host and poured drinks for everyone. Then he sat down right next to Evangeline and directed his gaze to the women in the living room.
“Evangeline?” Lana whispered. “What happened with Drake? Are you still with him? Who are these men?”
“We work for Drake,” Justice said. “And she is definitely still with Drake.”
“Oh,” Nikki said, her eyes wide. “We were just worried. He came looking for you the morning after the night you called and spoke to Lana. He was, um, well, he was pretty pissed at us. But we didn’t know what happened. We still don’t know and we wanted to come and apologize to you in person. We were horrible to you,” she said, her voice hitching as another tear slid down her cheek.
“Can you forgive us, Vangie?” Steph implored. “I was the worst of all and I’m so sorry. You know I love you and I was just so worried that you were being taken advantage of.”
“Funny, that’s the same thing I’m concerned about,” Maddox said in a steely voice.
Lana, Nikki and Steph sent shocked looks in Maddox’s direction. Then Steph turned her gaze to Evangeline, her voice turning to a plea.
“You don’t think we’re trying to take advantage of you, Vangie. Please tell me you don’t think that.”
Evangeline shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what to think,” she said honestly.
Maddox put his arm around her in support and squeezed her shoulder. She looked at him in appreciation, thanking him silently with her eyes.
“Why are you here now?” Evangeline asked in a hushed whisper. “Why not before? When I n-needed you.”
Her voice broke and she went silent, refusing to break down into emotion. She could feel Maddox’s anger vibrating his body, but she placed her hand on his leg to prevent him from tossing her friends from the apartment.