Page 83 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions (Till Death Do Us Part #7)

Chapter Seventy-Three

Holly

The dark circles under Master Mal’s eyes caught my attention as he shifted closer to the door so neither Jason nor I were in reach to disarm him as we walked to the bed.

I kept myself between Jason and Master Mal.

Jason was the unpredictable factor in this scenario.

Did Master Mal realize that or did he think he had the advantage because he was armed?

One flick of Jason’s blade, and Master Mal would be dead before he knew what hit him.

Unlike when Dominique had held her gun on Master Mal, his finger was not on the trigger. There was something else in his dark green eyes as we stared at each other, but I couldn’t place it.

There was no question if he knew who I was or why I was here.

I could see it in his eyes. I didn’t know how, but Master Mal had not only discovered his little owl was a killer, but that I was the Atelihai Killer.

He was here for me . There was no shock on his face, despite that he was seeing me for the first time without any disguise.

Jason sat down first. He was too casual, too obedient.

It scared me. I put my hand on his arm, silently begging him not to act.

I didn’t want Master Mal to die. I wasn’t sure why he was here or why Hagley was restrained as he was, but I did not want his desire to capture the Atelihai Killer to get him killed.

I lowered myself slowly to the bed. “You look tired, Sir.”

He raised an eyebrow at the title. “Well, after being played the fool, one tends to not sleep all that good, Holly.”

I flinched, but not at finally hearing my name from his lips. “I never played you,” I assured Master Mal, tightening my grip on Jason’s arm. “I was honest with you about everything except who I am.” When he didn’t say anything right away, I asked, “How did you know? When did you learn I was alive?”

Master Mal let out a dry laugh that held no humor whatsoever.

“Necrophilia has never been one of my kinks, Little Owl.” I winced at the pain in his voice.

Pain I had put there. “I put it all together the night you killed Dominique, and you have a librarian at the state hospital to thank as to how I even knew you were alive.”

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, because I couldn’t recall any librarians from the asylum that would specifically remember me. “I’m sorry.” It seemed like such a silly thing to say, but it was all I could come up with.

“What’s the plan here, Holly?” He leaned against the wall, lowering his gun to his hip so it was no longer pointed at me. “What happens after you kill Hagley?”

Everyone ignored the muffled protests from the principal.

I didn’t even spare the man who’d ruined my life a glance.

My entire attention was on Master Mal, and not because he had a gun in his hand.

There was not a single part of me that believed he would actually hurt me.

I had a feeling that the gun was for Jason, which was equally terrifying.

I couldn’t let Master Mal kill Jason either.

“I’m free,” I answered him honestly.

“And the killings stop?”

I nodded. “I have no reason to kill anyone else.”

“You killed Dominique.”

I winced, looking away from him.

“Eyes on me, Little Owl,” Master Mal ordered, like we were back at Snow Chains .

My eyes snapped back to him automatically, and I lifted my chin. “She threatened you, Sir.”

His nod was stiff. “So your statement that you’re done killing comes with conditions. Good to know.”

Jason sighed, long and frustrated. “I’m bored. Can I kill him now ?”

“No!” I shouted, immediately putting my back to Master Mal and turning towards Jason. I spread my arms wide, trying to block his line of sight to anywhere on Master Mal Jason might consider to be a target. “We made a deal,” I reminded Jason. “You can’t kill him!”

Jason glared at me for a heartbeat before letting out an irritated grunt. “Fine, Hols. Talk to him, fuck him, kill him yourself. I don’t give a damn.” He shifted himself back on the bed to lay down. The man even fluffed the pillow before closing his eyes. “Wake me if he tries to arrest you.”

I swallowed hard, but also felt relieved. Jason might actually go to sleep, despite the potential threat in the room. In his way, he was giving me a chance to figure out what I wanted to do by taking himself out of the present equation.

Carefully, I turned on the bed to face Master Mal again.

Confusion clouded his features as he watched Jason’s resting form. “Is he actually going to sleep right now?”

I shrugged. “Good chance. We just drove down through Canada.”

A snort escaped him as he rested his head back against the wall. “No wonder I beat you here. I took a four-hour plane ride two days ago.”

“Alone?” I couldn’t help but question. We didn’t see anything suspicious outside that could indicate an ambush.

Master Mal studied me for a long moment before admitting, “Yes. I came alone. Suspended, remember? I believe someone stole four people in my custody from a safe house. Brass wasn’t too happy about that one, Little Owl.”

Guilt squeezed my heart, and I made a face. “Sorry about that.”

“How did you know which safe house? Did you break into my home computer?”

I shook my head quickly. “No, never, Sir! I swear, I was with you for you , not for your job.”

Something flashed across his face. It’s too quick to identify, but instinct told me it was surprise. “Then how did you know?”

“Jason,” I told him, gesturing behind me. “He’s…resourceful, and fucks a lot of random people. Sometimes they unknowingly give him information.”

Master Mal’s eyes flicked to Jason again. “Him? He’s an even bigger asshole than I am. How could he possibly get people to tell him things? He’s not exactly charismatic.”

I shrugged. “He can be when he needs something.” I could still see the disbelief on his face.

“What deal did you make for my life?”

I flinched, not sure how to explain that. “It’s not important, Sir.”

“But he wanted to kill me? Because I was fucking you?”

Slowly, I shook my head. “Because I was falling for you.”

Master Mal stared at me, unmoved by my confession. “I see.”

My heart couldn’t take much more of this stilted conversation. Especially not after he’d basically just ignored my declaration. “Sir, why are you here?”

He looked back at me. “You don’t get to just run away from me, Little Owl.”

I had no idea what to say to that. He stood up off of the wall, coming closer.

Just before he reached the bed, he tucked the gun into the back of his dark jeans.

He knelt down in front of me, but he was so tall that we were now nearly the same height.

It made me think of the times he lifted me and I was just slightly taller than him.

His dark green eyes bore into mine. “I’m sorry, Holly. For what happened to you, for what you’ve suffered through. I’m not saying this as a cop, but as a man. I am so sorry.”

My breath hitched in my throat. As my chin quivered, a tear escaped my left eye. “They raped me,” I said, my voice moist with unshed sorrow.

Master Mal reached up to catch the tear running down my cheek. “I know.” His voice was as low as mine. “I’m so sorry. It’s beyond inexcusable.”

I leaned my face into his hand. “Do you know everything?”

He nodded, his face closer to mine now. “I believe so. The only thing I don’t know is what’s next for you, Little Owl.

So much of your life has been dictated by the choices that were taken from you.

Now I’m asking not what your plans are or what you think you have to do.

I am asking what you want to do. What do you want, Holly Marteen? ”

There was no better sound in the world than hearing my name from his lips. My heart felt like it was going to burst into a million pieces every time. I loved when he called me his little owl, but hearing ‘Holly’ in his deep baritone voice was indescribable.

There was only one answer, and if I was going to jail or if this was the last time I would see him, then there was no reason to not be honest. “You,” I answered, staring down at him. “I swear, Sir, I never played you. I didn’t know who you were that first time.”

“But you did when I approached you at the bar?”

Ashamed, I nodded. “Jason was so pissed, but he didn’t understand—still doesn’t—why I feel safe with you.”

“Even now?” he asked, likely indicating the fact that he was armed. He probably didn’t realize I was too.

“Yes.” Slowly, I reached up to touch the dark circle under his right eye. “You would never hurt me, Master.”

His hand dropped to the leather still around my throat. “You’re still wearing it.”

“I can’t take it off,” I reminded him softly. “Only you can.”

My heart practically shattered as his fingers worked the buckle in the back and gravity pulled the warm leather down onto my lap.

“You’re free of my service, Little Owl.” Tears streamed from my eyes and I swore my body forgot how to breathe.

But he didn’t drop his hands as he had my collar.

Instead, he cupped my face between his large palms. “I’m going to ask you again, Holly.

Free of any contractual obligations, free of any expectations. What do you want?”

My answer did not change. “You,” I pleaded. “Please, Sir, I just want you.”

“And you would return to Juneau with me? To be my sub for the rest of our days?”

I hesitated, because I really had no desire to return there. “If that’s your wish, Sir.”

He studied my face for a moment before concluding, “But you’re done with Alaska, aren’t you, Little Owl? That’s why you drove. Where are you headed next?”

I sniffled. “Anywhere that doesn’t have snow.”

Master Mal nodded, and I swore I saw something calculating behind his gaze. “I’d love to see you on a beach.” His thumb rubbed along my cheek. “You’re too pale, Little Owl.”

I gasped when he pulled my face down to his.

His lips are soft, but just as demanding as they’ve always been.

Hope and despair war within me as I cling to him.

Would this be our last kiss? Ever? If so, I never wanted it to stop.

I wanted to fuse our lips together so all I would ever know was the taste and the feel of this man.

But unfortunately, it had to end. Master Mal pulled back, and devastation crashed over me, tears pouring from my eyes like someone had left a faucet on. I was trying to be strong, but I didn’t have it in me anymore. I didn’t have the strength to say ‘goodbye’ to this man.

Leaning up, he pressed his lips to my forehead. My entire body was shaking under his touch.

In a swift, single motion, Master Mal pulled his gun out from the small of his back, pointed it at Principal Hagley, and pulled the trigger.

I jumped at the loud bang as the principal fell, a red circle now between his eyes. Shock kept me frozen on the bed.

Jason cracked one eye open, turned to see Hagley was now dead, and then settled back down again. “Three minutes,” he grunted, which was his standard timer when we weren’t familiar with an area’s response time.

Master Mal straightened to his full height before me, offering the hand that wasn’t holding his gun.

All I could do was stare at his palm, precious seconds ticking by in my head.

“Why?” I finally was able to ask, shifting my eyes up to his.

I wasn’t angry that he’d taken Hagley’s death away from me.

In an odd way, I was relieved it was all over, even if I hadn’t been the one to do it.

I was just completely confused that Master Mal had been the one to end Principal Hagley’s life.

“Because I love you more than I love the law,” he answered in a steady voice. “And I’ll be damned if anyone besides me gives you the freedom you crave.”