Page 5 of Claimed By The Dragon Daddy

I moved Sofia on my hip. “Understatement of the year.” She’d already made it clear she thought my relationship with Evan was dangerous.

“I just left it at that,” Mason said. “But I thought you should know. She’s been in a mood, and she won’t let this go.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Evan said, running his fingers through his hair, giving me a faint smile.

The two of them discussed things for a few more minutes, then Evan ended the call, looking at me with wariness in his dark eyes. “Mason’s right. You’re going to have to tell her, Mariah.”

I dropped into a chair across from him and sighed. “I know.”

I just knew what she was going to say. I loved my best friend dearly, and I knew she was only looking out for me, but I simply didn’t want to have the same conversation again.

“Is there a reason you’re avoiding this?” Evan looked at me. “I know how much Analise means to you. She should know the truth.”

Sofia squirmed, so I lowered her to the floor, where she started crawling around, slowly but surely. It wouldn’t be long before she was speeding all over the place.

“I agree. She deserves to know the truth. It’s just that Analise…”

“What is it?” Evan moved out from his desk to sit in the chair beside me, reaching for my hand.

I pursed my lips, not sure how he’d take this, but I supposed he deserved to know the truth as well. “Analise hasn’t been very supportive of our relationship lately. She thinks being involved with you is too dangerous.”

Evan frowned, and the muscle in his jaw ticked, but then he leaned back and sighed. “She’s not wrong. Look what happened.” He spread his arms wide. “Tomas never would’ve come after you if it weren’t for me. I’ve questioned myself a hundred times these past weeks, too, knowing you’d be safer if you weren’t involved with—”

“Evan, no.” I leaned forward, gripping his hands. “Don’t say that. Don’t even think it.”

I’d had my own doubts about our relationship, even questioning if it was worth it at one point, but I'd worked through it, and I knew Evan was worth it all. I wasn’t happy about the threat Tomas posed, but I also wasn’t willing to walk away from the man I loved because he had enemies.

“I love you, Evan.” I squeezed his hands tighter, searching his face. “I’m safe now. We belong together.”

He leaned forward, cupping my jaw and stroking my cheek. “I know,” he whispered, but then his eyes darkened. “That doesn’t mean I’m okay with putting you in harm’s way.”

“You aren’t,” I assured him. If anything, Evan was even more protective of me now than he’d been before. “But now you see why I’m not eager to have this conversation with Analise.”

He pulled me into his lap. “It will be okay. She loves you. She just wants what’s best for you.”

I reminded myself of those words now as I stared at my phone. Analise was coming from a place of love and concern. Tired of putting it off, knowing it had to be done eventually, I tapped her name on the screen and brought the phone to my ear.

“What is going on down there?” she hissed, picking up on the first ring.

“Hello to you, too,” I responded, bracing myself. Mason was right. She was in a mood.

“I was starting to think you were avoiding me,” she said, her irritated tone making it clear that’s exactly what she still thought. “Things aren’t adding up. Mason increased security at the club right when you left town to be with Evan. What aren’t you telling me?”

I sank down on the plush four-poster bed that Evan and I were sharing in his childhood bedroom. “That’s why I’m calling. There are some things you need to know.”

There must have been something in my tone because Analise flipped from irritation to worry in a split second. “Are you okay? Because I’ll be on the first plane out if something has—”

“I’m fine,” I assured her, though it was only a partial truth. Physically, yes, I was fine, but it would take longer for me to feel completely back to normal. I cleared my throat. “Remember that day after Evan first left for Texas, when I asked if you wanted to get a massage with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I went to dinner afterward. When I left the restaurant, Tomas was waiting for me.”

“What do you mean, waiting for you?”

“He was waiting to…take me.” I forced the words out, my face twisting as I whispered, “Tomas kidnapped me.” I braced for her reaction.

“He what?” she screeched, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear. “What the actual fuck, Mariah? Are you serious? If this is some kind of joke…”

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