Page 101 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions

Principal Hagley? No, it wasn’t possible. The weasel had run. Jason had tracked him to a motel in the lower forty-eight. He’d declined police protection after we’d abducted the last four on my list from the FBI safe house. Let the little mouse run; he would not get far. I had a tracking device on his rental car as well as his suitcase.

Sheriff Renfrew was in no condition to leave hospice. And even if he did, neither he nor Hagley would know where to find me. No one knew I was alive.

The cold, wet blacktop under me helped to bring me around. I didn’t make a sound. I didn’t cry out in pain or moan. Jason had trained that instinct out of me.“Silence is your best weapon until you know all the facts, Hols.”

I opened my eyes, hoping the blurriness had passed. My vision was fuzzy, but I was able to make out and understand the shocking scene above me.

Master Mal was standing to my left with his hands raised. His stance was defensive and his expression stern. In front of him, in high heels and a long trench coat, was Dominique. The gun in her hands explained the large, throbbing bump on the back of my head, as well as why Master Mal was not at my side caring for me.

The two seemed to be in a standoff of sorts. My ears were not clearing as quickly as my eyes. I held still, resisting the urge to work my jaw. I knew how to read lips, but my current angle was wrong. I was getting maybe every other word.

Despite not being able to hear the entirety of the conversation, I could see how upset Dominique was and how in control Master Mal was. From the untrained eye, one might think Master Mal had the disadvantage. He was unarmed and held at gunpoint. And while I did not deny that Dominique posed an immediate threat, Master Mal had obvious influence over her.

He was stepping ever so slowly to his left, away from my prone form. Dominique, likely on instinct, followed him. Master Mal was not looking at me. His entire focus was on Dominique, so there was a good chance he did not even know I was still conscious.

I took a deep breath. Two more steps and I would be out of Dominique’s peripheral vision. My ears were starting to clear up, the ringing lessening. Dominique was saying something about needing ‘it’ from Master Mal.

I didn’t know what ‘it’ was, and I didn’t give a flying fuck. The woman was holding a gun to the man I loved, and he was currently drawing her attention away from me in a stupid desire to protect me. My head hurt, my ears were ringing, and my stomach was currently contemplating having my dinner make a second appearance.

The moment Dominique was turned enough where I knew she couldn’t see me out of the corner of her eye, I moved. Master Mal hadn’t just turned her away from me, but had also gotten her to step away from me. Silly, overprotective man.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, lending me strength. Jason did not train me in traditional martial arts. He trained me insurvival. Take every advantage, every opportunity. There were no fancy moves or rules to be followed. It was kill or be killed, and I’d already escaped death once.

It was quick and instinctual, but some subconscious part of me still understood that my priority needed to be to get the gun away from Master Mal. I rose, trying to hold myself steady on my heels. Though I loved my boots, right now I was wishing I’d worn practical sneakers on my first date with Master Mal.

A quick kick to the side of her knee caught her by surprise. The barrel of the gun went up as her leg gave out. I registered the shock on Master Mal’s face as well, and his recovery was faster than Dominique’s. He rushed forward. His focus was getting her gun, but before he even reached it, I’d already snapped Dominique’s neck.

She fell lifeless at my feet.

It had barely been ten seconds since I stood up.

Master Mal halted in front of me. The haze in my head finally cleared up. My vision was back to normal and my ears stopped ringing the longer I was vertical.

I looked down at Dominique’s body on the pavement at my feet. I honestly didn’t care that she was dead. I didn’t particularly like her, but I also hadn’t hated her. She wasn’t anyone to me. She died for pointing a gun at my Master.

I stood by that decision and did not regret her death—until I looked up to see the expression on Master Mal’s face. He was clearly horrified, but I could also see fear. The threat was gone, so the only logical conclusion I could come up with was that he fearedme.

Time seemed to unfold, going too fast and entirely too slow at the same time. My heart pounded in my chest, increasing the throbbing in my head. I knew in that moment how royally I’d fucked up.

It had been instinct. I had seen a threat and exterminated it. I didn’t care why Dominique had hit me or why she’d held a gun on my Master. It hadn’t mattered then, and it didn’t matter now. She was dead and could no longer hurt him or me.

But seeing the fear on Master Mal’s face? The horror, the uncertainty? I realized my error. I’d killed quickly and proficiently. He now knew who I was—or rather,whatI was. A killer. He wouldn’t know me as Holly Marteen. He believed her, me, to be dead. But he didn’t need to know my name to now know who I truly was.

I took a step back. How had my world come crashing down so quickly? It was supposed to be over this week. I was supposed to be finally free. To put my past behind me andmove on. But now Master Mal knew. He was a cop. He might be suspended, but he was still a cop at heart. Jason was right: he’d never accept me for who I am,whatI am.

“I’m so sorry,” I managed to say. “I never meant for you to find out like this.” And then I did the only thing I could think to do: I ran.

My heart shattering into a thousand pieces, I turned my back on my Master, the man I loved, and I ran. Tears streamed down my face. Not for the life I’d just taken, but for the life I could have had and wanted beyond comprehension.

A life I would never have. I’d been a fool to think I could.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Mal

I failed.I failed my little owl in so many ways, but two stood out higher than the rest. I’d failed to protect her, and I’d failed to stop her. I was so entirely enamored by her as we left the pizza restaurant that I failed to see the danger literally lurking around the corner. My thoughts were entirely about fucking her in the backseat of my car. I hadn’t seen Dominique until she’d already struck.

And my little owl went down. Hard.

---