Mastered by Malone (Haven, Texas 6)

But that feeling of walking to her doom increased as she stepped further into the room.

“You’re three minutes late,” was all he said, not even bothering to look up at her.

She resisted the urge to fidget like a naughty schoolgirl brought in front of the principal. What was the worst he could do? Kick her out? Order her to bend over his desk, pull down her panties, and smack her bottom with one of those paddles?

Okay, get your act together, Mia. You are losing your mind.

“Sorry, I knocked on your door but there was no answer.”

“Knock harder next time,” was all he said in reply.

She waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t even look up. Jesus, was he the rudest man on the planet? Well, she’d met a few in her time. She’d worked for plenty of them. She could put up with his attitude for a few months until the trial.

And then she had a whole new set of things to worry about.

Finally, he looked up at her. Studied her.

“Let’s get a few things straight, shall we? Rule number one, I am in charge. My word is law.”

She nodded shakily, though he didn’t seem to require an answer from her.

“Two, you don’t go anywhere without my permission. You don’t call anyone without my permission. Do you have a phone?”

“Mike got me a burner phone.”

“I’ll take it. Credit cards?”

“No, I got rid of those when-when it first happened. Mike said it was a good idea not to have anything that could be traced back to me.”

“So he does have a brain,” he said dryly.

“Mike is a good guy. He takes care of me. He’s the only family I have. He loves me.”

“You cannot contact him without my permission,” was all he said.

She longed to ask him if he was this cold with everyone or if it was just her. But she wasn’t ready to die today.

“All right,” she agreed. She dug the phone out of her bag and handed it over. He didn’t reach for it, so she just put it on the desk.

“Hand over the handbag too,” he told her.

All right, the phone she kind of understood even though it was a burner phone so she didn’t see how it could be traced. But why would he need her handbag?

“Why do you need my handbag?”

“Because I said so.”

“Look, I really appreciate you letting me stay here and everything—”

“I’m not letting you stay here,” he interrupted her. “You are here because you need protection from some mob boss who’s trying to kill you. I’m offering that protection in return for a favor owed. You are my responsibility. We’re not friends. This isn’t some polite arrangement. You are under my protection. You are under my rule. Now, give me your bag.”

Fingers trembling with a mixture of fear and anger, she passed over the bag putting it on his desk again as he didn’t reach for it.

“Fine. You want my tampons and twenty bucks in change, it’s all yours. Gonna need the lip-gloss back though. Chapped lips, you know.”

Holy sugar balls. She needed to get away from him. Before she completely lost her mind. She wasn’t going to have to worry about an assassin and taking her out, because she wasn’t leaving this room alive.

Malone just stared at her for a long moment. Then he went through her purse. He pulled out her wallet, opened it and rifled through everything. Then he pulled out her lip gloss, inspected it. Next came the tampons. Jesus he even opened up the box and looked inside. Then he went through every inch of her bag, searching.