CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Malachi’s POV

"Alicia."

"What?"

"Talk to me."

"About what?"

"Anything. Everything. Why you don’t want to go to Dark City."

She tensed. "I told you. I just don’t."

"That’s not a reason. That’s avoidance."

"Can we not do this? Can we just drive in silence?"

"No." I glanced at her. "We have three days together. You can’t avoid me the entire time."

"Watch me."

I smiled despite myself. She had fire. Even terrified, even dreading every mile that brought her closer to Dark City, she still had that spark.

That’s what I loved about her. That strength. That refusal to break completely, even after everything she’d endured.

"Fine," I said. "We’ll drive in silence. But tonight, at the hotel, we’re going to talk. Really talk. And you’re going to tell me what you’re so afraid of."

"I’m not afraid."

"Liar."

She finally turned to look at me. "You don’t know me, Malachi. You don’t know anything about me."

"Then tell me. Help me know you."

"Why? Why do you even care?"

Because I’m falling for you. Because every time I see you, I want to tear down every wall between us. Because the thought of you leaving after this divorce, of never seeing you again, makes me want to burn the world down.

But I couldn’t say any of that. Not yet.

"Because I do," I said simply. "Whether you believe it or not."

She turned back to the window. But I saw it. The slight softening around her eyes. The way her shoulders relaxed just a fraction.

Progress.

The rest of the drive passed in that same heavy silence. But it wasn’t hostile anymore. Just... loaded. Full of things neither of us were ready to say.

When the Dark City skyline finally appeared on the horizon, I felt her entire body tense.

"We’re here," I said unnecessarily.

"I can see that."

"Alicia."

"What?"

"Whatever happened here, whatever you’re afraid of, I won’t let it hurt you again. You’re safe with me."

She laughed bitterly. "Safe. With a Blackwood. That’s funny."

"I’m not Travis."

"No. You’re worse. You’re dangerous in ways he never was."

She was right. I was dangerous. But not in the way she thought.

I was dangerous because I’d already decided she was mine. And I always got what I wanted.

Always.

***

The hotel room felt empty without her in it. Wrong, somehow.

I stood by the window, looking out at Dark City spread below. This was my domain. My empire. I’d built half my fortune in this city’s shadows, made deals that would make legitimate businessmen’s blood run cold.

But none of it mattered as much as the woman in the room next door.

I checked my watch. Forty-five minutes until I’d told Alicia to meet me. Just enough time.

I grabbed my jacket and headed downstairs. Dante and Mavis were waiting in a private conference room the hotel had set aside for us. Mavis had arrived an hour earlier, and Dante had driven in yesterday to start his reconnaissance.

"Well?" I said, closing the door behind me. "What do we have?"

Dante spread photos across the table. Surveillance shots of Zhao Wei meeting with various people. Some I recognized. Others were new faces.

"He’s been busy," Dante said. "Meeting with everyone from local politicians to shipping company executives. He’s building something. A network."

"To do what?"

"Best guess? He’s planning to cut us out of the supply routes entirely. Establish his own distribution channels."

Mavis leaned forward. "If he succeeds, we lose thirty percent of our Dark City revenue. Maybe more."

I studied the photos, my mind working through possibilities. Zhao Wei was smart. Calculated. He wouldn’t make a move unless he was certain of success.

Which meant he had something we didn’t know about. Some advantage he thought would guarantee victory.

"What about Mario?" I asked. "Any more meetings between them?"

"Not yet," Dante said. "But our sources confirm they’ve been in contact. Phone calls. Encrypted messages."

"Mario’s playing both sides," Mavis said. "Probably promising the Zhao family inside information in exchange for help taking you down."

"Let him," I said coldly. "The deeper he digs himself in, the easier it’ll be to bury him."

"And when we do move against him?" Dante asked. "What about the old man? He’s not going to like you going after his son."

"Grandfather will understand when he sees the evidence. Mario’s been stealing from the family for years. Embezzling. Making side deals. All the proof is there. I’ve been collecting it."

I’d been patient. Methodical. Building a case against Mario that even Grandfather couldn’t ignore. The meeting with Zhao Wei was just the final piece.

"How long until you move?" Mavis asked.

"Soon. After this conference. After I’ve secured what matters most."

Both of them looked at me. They knew. Of course they knew. I’d never been good at hiding my obsessions.

"The girl," Dante said. It wasn’t a question.

"Her name is Alicia."

"Right. Alicia. Your brother’s wife."

"Soon to be ex-wife." I checked my watch again. Thirty minutes. "She filed for separation."

Mavis whistled low. "That’s good news. For you, anyway."

"It’s a start." I gathered the photos and handed them back to Dante. "Keep watching Zhao Wei. I want to know everywhere he goes. Everyone he talks to. If he sneezes, I want to know which direction the wind was blowing."

"And you?" Dante asked. "What are you doing?"

"Playing the perfect businessman. Attending conferences. Making deals. Being visible." I headed for the door. "While you two handle the dirty work."

"Must be nice," Mavis muttered.

"It has its perks."

I left them and took the elevator back up to the twelfth floor. Checked my watch. Fifty-eight minutes had passed. Almost exactly an hour.

I knocked on Alicia’s door.

"Ready?"

I heard movement inside. Then the door opened, and there she was. She’d changed into jeans and a soft sweater. Her hair was down. She looked nervous. Beautiful.

Mine.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You’ll see."

The sightseeing had been strategic. I wanted to show her that Dark City wasn’t all bad memories. That good things could happen here too. That she could be happy here.

With me.

I drove her through the renovated districts. Showed her the new theater. The museums. The restaurants that had sprung up in the last few years.

She nodded along, but I could tell she wasn’t really seeing any of it. Her mind was somewhere else. Somewhere darker.

Then I turned down Maple Street. One of the older neighborhoods that was being revitalized. Young families moving in. Fresh paint on old buildings.

I’d researched this street specifically. Knew she’d lived here as a child. Wanted to see her reaction.

"This is one of the older neighborhoods," I said, watching her from the corner of my eye. "Being renovated now. Lots of young families moving in."

Her entire body went rigid. Her breathing changed. Shallow. Quick.

She was staring at a specific building. Third floor. Second window.

"You okay?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"Fine." Her voice was strangled. A lie. "Can we keep moving?"

I wanted to stop. To pull over and demand she tell me everything. Every hurt. Every trauma. So I could hunt down everyone who’d ever made her feel this pain and make them suffer.

But I kept driving. Gave her space. Let her have her secrets.

For now.

The waterfront had been a better choice. She relaxed there. The newness of it helped. No old memories to haunt her.

During dinner, I got her to talk. To share pieces of herself. Her favorite memory. Her mother. Her sister.

Every word she spoke, I filed away. Building a picture of who Alicia had been before the Blackwoods broke her. Before Travis destroyed her trust in men.

I wanted to be different. Wanted to show her that not all men were monsters.

Even though I was one. Just a different kind.

The fireworks had been unplanned. Perfect timing. I watched her face light up as colors exploded overhead, and something in my chest tightened.

I could give her this. Moments of beauty. Of joy. Of peace.

If she’d let me.

Back at the hotel, I walked her to her door. Kept my distance. Didn’t push.

"Thank you," she said. "For tonight. For trying to distract me."

"Did it work?"

"A little."

Victory. Small, but real. "Then mission accomplished. Get some sleep, Alicia. Big day tomorrow."

She disappeared into her room, and I stood there for a moment. Staring at her closed door. Fighting the urge to knock again. To follow her inside. To not let her out of my sight.

In my own room, I felt the loss of my surveillance acutely. At the mansion, I had cameras. Could watch her whenever I wanted. Know she was safe.

Here, I had nothing. Just walls between us. And it was torture.

I pulled out my laptop and tried to work. Reviewed documents for tomorrow’s meetings. Checked in with my team back in Silver Lake City.

But my mind kept drifting to her. Was she sleeping? Thinking about me? About tonight?

I glanced at the wall separating our rooms. So close. Yet impossible to breach without her permission.

My phone buzzed. Dante.

Dante: Zhao Wei just left his hotel. Following him now.

Malachi:

Keep me updated.

Dante: You should be sleeping. Big conference tomorrow, remember?

Malachi: Can’t sleep.

Dante: Thinking about her?

I didn’t respond. Didn’t need to.

Dante: You’ve got it bad, friend. Real bad.

He wasn’t wrong.

I set the phone down and stood. Paced the room like a caged animal. This was ridiculous. I’d gone weeks without seeing Alicia before. Months, even, when I was building my empire in Dark City.

But that was before. Before I’d tasted her. Touched her. Heard her voice go soft when she talked about things that mattered.

Now, every minute without her felt like deprivation.

I walked to the wall and pressed my palm against it. On the other side, she was there. So close.

Tomorrow, I’d have her all day. The conference would keep us together. Working side by side. No escape.

The thought should have satisfied me. Should have been enough.

But it wasn’t.

Nothing would be enough until she understood what I’d known from the beginning.

That she was mine. That I’d burn this whole city down before I let her go. That loving me might be the most dangerous thing she’d ever do, but it would also be the most honest.

I pulled my hand back and returned to the window. Stared out at the glittering lights of Dark City.

Somewhere out there, Zhao Wei was making his moves. Mario was plotting his betrayals. The whole criminal underworld was shifting and realigning.

But none of it mattered as much as the woman sleeping next door.

She was my weakness. My obsession. The one thing that could destroy me if I wasn’t careful.

And I didn’t care.

Let them come. Let them all come. Anyone who tried to hurt her would learn what happens when you threaten something that belongs to me.

My phone buzzed again. But it wasn’t Dante this time.

Maurice.

Maurice: Sir, there’s been an incident at the mansion. Mario and Layla had an altercation. Security broke it up.

Malachi: Injuries?

Maurice: Minor. But the tension is escalating. Grandfather is concerned.

Malachi: Keep me informed. And make sure Grandfather’s security detail is doubled.

Maurice: Already done, sir.

Good. The family was tearing itself apart. Exactly as I’d predicted. Exactly as I’d planned.

When I finally moved against Mario, there’d be no one left to defend him. Not even his own wife.

I checked the time. Two in the morning. I should sleep. Tomorrow would be demanding. Conference sessions. Business meetings. Maintaining the facade of legitimate businessman while planning wars in the shadows.

But mostly, tomorrow meant Alicia. Watching her. Being near her. Slowly breaking down the walls she kept building between us.

I lay down on the bed fully clothed and stared at the ceiling.

Three days. That’s what I’d given myself. Three days to make her see.

Three days to make her mine.

And I always accomplished what I set out to do.

Always.