Page 27 of Irish

“Yes, of course,” Jay said and watched her walk away. “Let's see what we're dealing with," he said.

Makenzie pulled out her phone, the offending object feeling heavier than usual. With a few swipes, she opened the messaging app, exposing the last text message. Jay took the phone, his fingers dancing across the touchscreen with precision.

“Any idea who's doing this?” Jay asked, eyes not leaving the screen.

“Irish had me make a list,” Makenzie said. “There’s only three people I could think of who might do something like this.”

“Right,” Jay murmured, already lost in his digital hunt.

Irish's squeezed Makenzie’s shoulder in support. She leaned into his touch, drawing strength from his strong arms.

“These are Google numbers.”

“Google numbers?”

“Google voice. You can change the number as much as you want and with free email addresses, there are unlimited options. Tracing the source won't be easy,” Jay's voice cut through the tension. “But give me time and I'll find it. In the meantime, the best thing to do is change your number so they can’t keep texting you from spoof accounts.”

“Change my number? I use it for everything. I mean, my number is attached to all my banking accounts, social media platforms, everything. It’s used to send confirmation codes and to authenticate my entire digital footprint.”

“I get it,” Jay said. “Truly. But as long as they have your number, they have access to you. The best thing to do in this situation is to go through the hassle and change everything. Honestly, I recommend an authenticator app instead of using your phone. I can set it all up for you.”

“We appreciate it,” Irish spoke up. “If Jay says the best thing to do is to change your number, I think you should consider it.”

She’d had the same number since she was sixteen. Fourteen years. “It feels wrong, like the bad guy is going to win,” she said, defeated.

“Don’t think about it that way. Think about it as a fresh start. That’s what you were wanting, right? It’s another step in the direction of a clean slate,” Irish said.

She nodded slowly. “I guess. I’ve never changed my number before, how do we do it?”

“I’m proud of you, sweetheart.” Makenzie squeezed Irish's hand, her own resolve hardening.

After thanking Jay again and leaving her phone with him to change her number, she followed Irish upstairs.

“Where are we going?”

“To my room,” Irish said softly.

“Your room?”

“Yes. Upstairs is a conference room, but also each officer has their own bedroom here, and we have a couple spare rooms for members to use. Sometimes, people are working late or standing security and need to take a rest. Other times they use them for other reasons. The bedrooms have their own bathrooms and are equipped with soundproof walls.”

“Soundproof walls?”

“Yes, in case someone wants to have sex or discipline their partner.”

“Oh,” Makenzie said. “Why are we going upstairs?”

“Because, little girl, we are about to have a talk about you keeping things from your Daddy.”

Makenzie’s heart flip-flopped in her chest as she followed him up the stairs and down the hall. Irish held his badge up to the keypad and the door unlocked. The room was much larger than she thought it would be. The space was warm and inviting. A large king bed sat in the middle of it, and a big desk was off to the side with a comfy looking chair.

Makenzie took in her surroundings with wide eyes, the realization sinking in that she was about to have a serious conversation with Irish, her new Daddy.

“Sit down, Makenzie,” Irish said, gesturing toward the edge of the bed. His tone was firm but gentle, a subtle reminder of the authority he held over her.

Makenzie obeyed, perching nervously on the edge of the mattress as Irish took a seat beside her. He reached out, taking her hand in his, his touch grounding her in the present moment.

“I'm disappointed in you,” he said softly, his gaze steady. “You should have told me about those texts when you got the first one, even if you weren’t my Little then. If you told me that was why you looked at your text when driving, we could have started investigating yesterday. I can overlook you not telling me before we agreed to give this relationship a go, but you absolutely should have told me the second you agreed to be mine and another text came in. I saw the time stamps on the messages, Makenzie. Including one that came in while you were lying in my arms after you agreed to be mine.”

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