Page 35 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions (Till Death Do Us Part #7)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Holly

I winced as the denim of my jeans scraped over my sore ass cheeks as I got dressed the next morning.

Maniacal chuckling sounded from behind me.

I’d heard Jason enter the apartment and get in the shower a few minutes ago, so I wasn’t surprised by his presence in my room.

It was the laugh. Since I’d known the man, I could count on one hand the number of times he’d truly laughed, not faked it to fit into a situation.

Turning, I glared at my mentor. “It’s not nice to laugh at other people’s pain.”

“Hols, that’s all I laugh at.”

He had a fair point. I finished buttoning up my jeans, wishing I had a pair of granny panties to help protect the sensitive skin of my ass. But no, all I had in my underwear arsenal were thongs.

Grumbling, I reached for my bra that was still on the end of the bed. Jason was standing in my open doorway in nothing but a towel around his muscular waist. I was not sexually attracted to the man, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t admire his toned, older physique.

“Roman and Jesse make it in okay last night?” I asked, like they were checking into a hotel room.

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Jason snapped. He gestured behind me. “I take it your time with the agent went well?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” I threw back at him while reaching for my shirt.

I winced, the movement causing my ass to shift inside my jeans.

Fucking Hell, Master Mal was not kidding when he said he wanted to leave me with a reminder to call him.

Before Jason could react to my sass, I asked, “Do you have phones for us? Master Mal wants me to call him today.”

“Of course, I have phones. I also have an alias set up for you should you need to give him a real name.”

My eyebrows went up. “You do?”

His eyes narrowed, and I had a feeling he was going to call me stupid this time, not just my question. “Every contingency, Hols. Including the one where you fall in love with the first Dom who treats you with a modicum of respect.”

My back stiffened. I wasn’t in love with Master Mal, but I still didn’t want him dead. I didn’t want anyone dead who wasn’t on my list.

Well, other than a few politicians, but that was everyone in the world. Not just me.

A little over two hours later, I was calling the number on Master Mal’s business card that he’d handed Jason to give to me after I’d danced for him in the private room. It rang several times before a woman’s voice picked up.

“Um, may I speak with Special Agent Mallory, please?”

“Who’s calling?” Due to the lack of niceties, I assumed this to be Agent Mira Barnes, Master Mal’s partner.

She had a reputation amongst her colleagues for being ambitious to the point of recklessness.

I wasn’t sure I liked her as Master Mal’s partner.

He should be working with someone who was as honest as he was.

I realized after opening my mouth that I couldn’t say ‘Little Owl’ to Agent Barnes. I had no idea if she knew about Master Mal’s lifestyle, nor did I believe she would appreciate the nickname as I did.

But what the hell was I supposed to say?

Glancing down at the wallet Jason had handed me with the phone, I quickly opened it and found an Alaskan driver’s license under the name ‘Phoebe Snetsinger’.

It had a Juneau address not too far from the club, but also not this address where I had slept the night before.

I barely got “Phoeb—” out of my mouth when I heard a sharp, “What the fuck are you doing on my phone?” over the receiver.

My heartbeat picked up at the sound of his voice. Across the room, Jason’s eyes narrowed on me as he ate breakfast. I quickly turned my back to him so he couldn’t see my expressions.

The phone made a sharp crackle as it exchanged hands. Though muffled, I heard Agent Barnes’ excuse that the phone had rung so she picked it up, believing it might be their boss, and then Master Mal’s harsh order to close the door on her way out.

When he spoke next, it was clearer. “Supervisory Special Agent Mallory.”

Arousal shot threw me like a drug and I purposefully shifted my legs so that I felt the burn on my ass. He hadn’t broken the skin. I had one spot where I was bruised, but it was little and manageable. I was just extremely sore. “Master Mal?”

His voice instantly changed from professional to sensual. “Little Owl. Good girl. Thank you for calling me. How’s your ass?”