Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Gwendolyn
Ten days had passed since I’d stupidly messed up and could have got myself caught.
What was more troubling was that I hadn’t heard from Malice in that time.
Hell, I was embarrassed for even bringing the issue to him to begin with.
I’d never before made a mistake and rushed in like that, and it was really weighing on me.
Felix and Amelia had noticed how fidgety and stressed I’d been.
Felix even arranged for Stasia to be my babysitter. She’d dropped by four days ago and hadn’t left since.
On the first night with her, we’d lain in my bed, reading our own romance books, and I knew she was just waiting for me to talk to her. She was always good at waiting for me to open up. She never pressured me into talking if I didn’t want to.
After I’d read the same paragraph for the tenth time, I’d ended up telling her everything.
About Blaze, my agreement with Malice, and my little hiccup.
I’d chewed my bottom lip while I watched her take it all in.
Concern had thickened my throat because she’d already been in her own fucked-up situations, and I’d just told her I was working with the biggest mafia man in our area.
“Over anyone, Gwen, I trust your judgment. You should too. If the first thing you did when you were scared was to call this guy, then he can’t be all that bad.
” She’d winced. “Well, not to you anyway. But if he hurts you, don’t forget I’m now trained with a gun.
” She shot nonexistent bullets from her fingers.
Of course I’d tackled her into a tight hug.
“Also, dummy,” she’d added. “You’re the smartest woman I know. Which contradicts me calling you a dummy, but whatever. What I’m getting at is that I doubt those hackers got anywhere near anything important, so stop stressing, or I’ll have to spill soft drinks all over your keyboards.”
I believed she would have too.
The next morning, I’d come out of my bedroom and apologized to Amelia and Felix for worrying them. They’d told me I hadn’t, and if I had, they’d known that with Stasia’s help, I’d get out of my funk quicker. Then they’d gone to school.
Now, days later, Stasia and I were going to veg out and watch some movies that would numb our brains while we snacked.
I had the popcorn cooking in the microwave while I watched it turn around and around as I wondered, once again, why I hadn’t heard from Malice.
Was he annoyed or pissed?
He shouldn’t be.
The Murphy brothers were bad all the way down to the marrow of their bones, but they didn’t know who I was.
At least I was nearly completely sure they didn’t.
“Gwen!” Stasia yelled.
I jolted, blinking from my thoughts. “Huh, what?”
“The popcorn’s ready,” she called.
I quickly opened the door. Thankfully it didn’t smell burned. I grabbed the bag and poured it into the bowl that sat on the tray next to some chocolate treats.
Stasia turned with a mug in each hand. “I’ve made our drinks. Are you ready?”
Smiling, I nodded. “Yeah, sorry for spacing and nearly losing the buttery preciousness.” I picked up the tray. “Let’s go.”
When we’d sat on the couch, I placed the food between us before she handed me my hot coffee.
“What do you feel like watching?” Stasia asked.
I shrugged and took a handful of popcorn as she turned on the television. I shoved the food into my mouth at the same moment my ears caught the words leaving the news reporter’s mouth. “In other world news, the notorious Murphy brothers were found dead…”
I coughed and choked as I spat the popcorn out onto my lap. “What the fuck?”
Stasia stilled beside me as we listened to how the brothers had been found in their bedrooms, hanging by rope from their ceiling fans, and all guards on the property had been executed by gunfire. No one was left alive.
They were dead.
My ears rang.
It couldn’t be because of Malice.
It couldn’t be because I had called Malice.
Could it?
He wouldn’t go that far because I was worried.
Would he?
Oh my God.
Was he worried that I was concerned about the Murphy brothers?
Brothers who raped and killed and tortured innocent people. Who allowed their gang to do the same.
Or was he more concerned that if the Murphy brothers found out about me, he’d lose his hacker?
No. Malice wouldn’t have done this because of me.
There was no way.
My stomach churned, yet tears of relief filled my eyes as all the stress I’d built evaporated.
When Stasia placed a hand on my leg, I looked over into her kind eyes.
“Even if those monsters got any information about you, it doesn’t matter now. They’re gone. You’re so fucking safe now. Yay.”
“Safe.” I breathed.
“Yeah, bitch, but… do you think this happened because of your call with Malice?”
I snorted, then laughed awkwardly as I wiped at my face. “Yes, no, maybe? I wouldn’t have a clue, but it’s a bit of a coincidence, right?”
She nodded. “He wanted to protect you.”
“What?” I huffed. “No. Ha. No way. He did this for another reason. That’s even if it was him. It’s not confirmed. Should I confirm it? Should I call him?”
Stasia was, no doubt, used to me talking about Malice.
About the little bantered moments Malice and I had shared.
For him, they were probably forgotten conversations.
But for me, I couldn’t seem to get them out of my mind, and I really should because he wasn’t even in my dating zone.
I’d looked into the man enough to know what type of women he dated, and they were complete opposites to me.
I had wild, curly hair that really was untamable sometimes. I didn’t wear makeup to cover my blemishes or freckles. I was a mess most of the time and lived in tracksuit pants and sweaters, and I usually spilled food or coffee over them.
Then there was the fact that I was short and plump. He dated tall and slim.
Which suited him, since he was devilishly handsome. The ass.
“Fuck yes, you should. And if he did do this for you, offer a blow job for reward.” She grinned.
Scoffing and choking over a laugh, I shook my head. “That’s one big no.”
She shrugged and shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth.
Rolling my eyes, I shook my hands out. Okay, I could do this. I could call him. I mean, I’d spoken to him several times now.
And if their deaths had been by his hand, I doubted he’d acted just because of me. Surely there were several other reasons that influenced his decision. If it was him.
With a frazzled brain, I reached for the new non-traceable phone.
I pressed on his number, put it on speaker, and set it on my thigh.
It rang for a few beats before his familiar rough voice came through. “Speak.”
“Uh, hey, Malice.”
“Doll.”
“Did you, uh—well, did you see the news?”
He hummed in response.
“So, um, I was wondering…. Did you do that?”
“My men did.”
But he’d ordered it.
“You only had them do it so you can rule over another part of the world, right? Ha-ha,” I asked, catching Stasia’s wide gaze as she pressed a hand over her mouth.
I winced.
Was that too much?
Would my question finally get me into trouble?
“You’re smarter than that, sweetheart.”
Me?
Was it me?
Was he worried for me?
“But I wasn’t sure they’d found me,” I whispered into the phone, gripping it.
“It wasn’t a risk I would take.”
Oh my fucking God.
Stasia reached out and shook me. I slapped at her to quit it.
What did Malice’s action mean?
Was it simply because I worked for him?
He didn’t want to lose my skills.
That had to be it.
My heart hammered and knocked against my ribs, rattling them. “Oh, ah, ha-ha, don’t worry, you didn’t lose my mad computer skills…. Though, Malice, I really am so sorry for bringing this to you if it caused any issues. But still, thank you for… well… uh, making me feel safe in my world again.”
The silence had me licking my dry lips and hunching my shoulders.
“Gwendolyn.”
Oh no.
“Uh, yes?”
“No more side quests. You work for me, and you only do the jobs I request.”
Swallowing, I nodded, but he couldn't see that, so I said, “I understand. I was just trying to help Blaze.”
“No more. You are mine.”
And with those three words, it was like a switch was flipped in my brain, and I reverted to my old quick-witted self.
“I’ll be your obedient girl from now on, Daddy.”
Stasia snorted and choked behind her hand.
A deep, dark chuckle swept through the cell. “It seems like my doll is back to herself.”
Straightening, I rolled my shoulders. “I guess I am.”
He didn’t need to know I was more unsettled by how fiercely he’d reacted to losing my skills—ordering his men to kill bad people as a safeguard in case his hacker ever found herself in trouble.
What would he do now that he controlled whatever the Murphys had been tangled up in? Malice wasn’t clean in his dealings, but the Murphy brothers had been worse.
Would he take that into account now?
“I can hear your mind ticking, doll. Stop thinking.”
“But this isn’t going to cause you trouble, right?”
“It won’t.”
“Promise? I don’t want to be the person who fucked things up for you.”
There was a pause before he said, “You have my word.”
Okay.
That was good to know.
But was he telling me the truth?
There was a drawn-out sigh. “Gwen, your heart is too big. You don’t need to worry. I have control of the situation in Ireland, and nothing is causing me any trouble. So be a good girl for me.”
Ah hell.
My pussy pulsed.
I cleared my throat. “Sure. Yep. Okay.”
His chuckle rang through the line before he ended the call.
“Bitch.” Stasia slapped my arm.
“Ow. What was that for?”
“You did not tell me he sounded like sin, or how you guys talked with all your panty-melting banter.”
I gaped before stating, “I so fucking did.”
“Okay, you might have, but I didn’t think it was like that. Hearing it instead of you telling me is totally different from how I imagined. Jesus, Gwen, you two are totally flirting. He called you his. You called him Daddy.”
I snorted. “I was there. But even knowing all that, I can’t think of it being more than him being my boss.” I shrugged. “He just has this charm about him. I’m sure he uses it on everyone he comes in contact with.”
Her lips thinned as she hummed. “Yeah, okay.”
She didn’t believe a word I said, and I was scared that I was also doubting myself. That or hoping that I was wrong.
Goddamn it, I couldn’t get feelings for the Devil.