CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER FORTY TWO

Chapter Forty-Two

Malachi’s POV

I woke before Alicia. Beside Alicia. Where I’d dreamed of being for weeks.

She was beautiful in sleep. Peaceful in a way she never was awake. Her hair spread across my pillow like dark silk. Her lips slightly parted. The curve of her bare shoulder visible above the sheets.

Mine. Finally mine.

Every possessive instinct in me wanted to pull her closer. To wrap my arms around her and hold her so tight she’d never want to leave. To wake her with kisses and make her understand that last night changed everything.

That she was mine now. Completely. Irrevocably.

I’d done terrible things to make this moment possible. Kept Travis unconscious for weeks. Manipulated situations. Removed obstacles. All so I could have her without interference.

And I’d do it all again without hesitation.

The corners of my lips lifted as I imagined our future. Somewhere far from this city. A small house if she wanted. A garden full of flowers where she could finally breathe. Where no one would hurt her again.

I’d give her everything. The world if she asked for it.

Then her eyes opened.

They locked with mine. For a heartbeat, I saw confusion. Then awareness. Then something that made my chest tighten.

Devastation.

Tears filled her eyes. Spilled over before she could stop them.

No. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.

"Alicia." I reached for her.

She jerked away like my touch burned. Threw off the covers and swung her legs over the bed.

"What’s wrong?" I sat up, watching her scramble for her clothes. "Talk to me."

She didn’t answer. Just kept moving. Putting distance between us.

Panic edged into my chest. "Alicia, please."

She headed for the door. I moved faster, blocking her path with my body.

"Are you really going to leave?" My voice dropped. "After everything we just shared?"

"Move." She tried to step around me.

I caught her wrist gently. "Alicia, please. Just talk to me."

I searched her eyes. Finding nothing but hurt and anger.

Her hand flew up. The slap connected with my cheek before I could react. Hard enough to snap my head to the side. Hard enough to sting.

I stood there, frozen. Shocked not by the pain but by the look in her eyes.

Rage. Shame. Self-hatred so deep it made me ache.

"I won’t be a toy for the Blackwoods," she said, her voice shaking. "I won’t be another thing you people break and throw away."

She pushed past me and ran.

I let her go. Because chasing her now would only make it worse. Would only prove I was exactly the monster she thought I was.

The door slammed. The sound echoed in the empty suite.

I stood there for a long moment. Then my fist met the wall. Once. Twice. Three times until my knuckles split and bled.

Pain bloomed across my hand. Good. Physical pain I could handle. This other thing tearing through my chest was unbearable.

She regretted it. Regretted me. Regretted everything we’d shared.

And I had no idea how to fix it.

I showered, letting scalding water beat down on me. Trying to wash away the feeling of her skin. Her taste. The sounds she’d made when I touched her.

It didn’t work. She was branded into my memory. Into my very bones.

When I finally got out, I called Dante. "Headquarters. Now."

"Everything okay?"

"Just meet me there."

I dressed up. Black shirt. Black pants. Everything dark to match the mood consuming me.

Mavis and Dante were already waiting when I arrived at the gym section of the headquarters. They took one look at my face and wisely said nothing.

I went straight to the punching bag.

My fists connected with brutal force. Over and over. Releasing the rage and hurt and frustration I couldn’t voice.

The bag swung wildly. I hit harder. Faster. Until my knuckles were bloody and the bag started tearing.

"Malachi." Dante’s voice came from behind me. "Maybe you should—"

I hit the bag one final time. It ripped open, sand pouring out.

"Feel better?" Mavis asked carefully.

"No."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No."

They exchanged glances but didn’t push. Smart men.

I grabbed water and drank half the bottle. My hands shook slightly. From exertion or emotion, I couldn’t tell.

Tonight. Tonight I’d save Sophie. I’d give Alicia what she needed most. Proof that I was different. That I could protect the people she loved.

Maybe then she’d look at me without that devastation in her eyes.

Maybe then she’d understand that everything I’d done was for her.

All I wanted was to see her smile. To see joy on her face instead of pain. Instead, I’d made her cry.

The thought made me want to destroy something. Preferably myself.

But I couldn’t. Because Sophie still needed saving. And Alicia still needed me, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

Hours passed in brutal training. Preparing for the extraction. Going over plans with Violet and Rose. Making sure every detail was perfect.

By evening, we were ready to move.

Maurice drove. I sat in the passenger seat, staring out at the darkening city.

"Sir." Maurice’s voice was cautious. "Are you certain you want to handle this personally? Violet and Rose could—"

"I’m certain."

He fell silent.

We approached the location. The rundown area near the docks where Robert Hayes had been hiding.

But something was wrong.

Police cars lined the street. Lights flashing. Officers gathered outside a grimy restaurant.

"What the hell?" I was out of the car before Maurice fully stopped.

I approached the nearest officer. "What’s going on?"

"Criminal activity report. Someone called in a tip about human trafficking."

My blood went cold. "Who called it in?"

"Some guy named Lucas. Said there was a man inside trying to sell his daughter."

Lucas. That bastard from the parking lot.

Which meant Alicia was here. Had come here without telling me. Had trusted him instead of me.

The realization burned like acid.

"Sir." Maurice appeared beside me. "Perhaps Mrs. Blackwood has this under control—"

"Move." I pushed past him and headed for the restaurant entrance.

I didn’t care about control. Didn’t care about plans. The woman I’d claimed last night was in there with a man who thought he could touch her. Who thought he had any right to help her.

The door opened before I reached it. I stepped inside.

The scene registered in pieces.

Lucas near the entrance. Looking at me with recognition and fear.

Robert Hayes at a corner table. Smiling like this was all entertainment.

A young girl beside him. Sophie. Terrified eyes in a face that looked too much like Alicia’s.

And Alicia. Standing in the middle of it all. Staring at me with shock and anger.

"Malachi." Her voice cut through the noise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Lucas stepped forward. "You need to leave. Alicia doesn’t need you here."

I turned slowly to look at him. This boy who thought he knew what Alicia needed.

"Is that right?" My voice came out cold. Dangerous.

"Yes." Lucas’s fear was obvious, but he stood his ground. "You’re the one who attacked me yesterday. You’re just like her husband. A monster. She doesn’t deserve someone like you."

Monster. The word echoed in my head.

She’d called me that too. Just this morning.

Something inside me snapped.

I moved fast. My fist connected with Lucas’s face before he could react. He stumbled back. I kicked him against the wall.

"Malachi, stop!" Alicia rushed forward, trying to separate us.

But I couldn’t stop. Because Lucas was right. I was a monster. And monsters destroyed things.

"You’re becoming exactly what I said!" Alicia’s voice broke through the red haze. "Stop it!"

I froze. Her words cutting deeper than any blow.

Sophie was staring at me with pure terror. The same look Alicia had given me this morning.

Robert laughed. Actually laughed. "Well, this is entertaining. The Blackwood boys always did have tempers."

I wanted to kill him. Wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until he stopped breathing. Until he could never threaten Sophie or Alicia again.

But before I could move, Maurice burst through the door.

"Sir." His face was grave. "We have a problem."

"Not now, Maurice."

"Travis is awake. He’s already at the mansion. Your grandfather called. He wants everyone back immediately."

The words hit like a physical blow.

Travis. Awake.

No. Not now. Not yet.

I’d kept him unconscious for weeks. Since the day Alicia punched him and he collapsed. She probably thought her soft hit had actually knocked him out for that long.

It hadn’t.

I’d slipped sedatives into his IV that first night I met her. Paid Dr. Chen to keep him under when he woke up again. Done everything necessary to buy time. To give Alicia space to heal. To give us a chance.

And now he was awake.

The timing couldn’t be worse.

I looked at Alicia. She was staring at me with something in her eyes. Confusion. Suspicion. Like pieces were clicking together in her mind.

"How long?" Her voice was quiet. Deadly. "How long have you been keeping him unconscious?"

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t find words that would make this better.

"Since the beginning," she said slowly. Realization dawning. "Since I hit him that night. It wasn’t my punch that knocked him out. It was you."

"Alicia—"

"You’ve been drugging him. Keeping him in a coma. All this time."

"I did it to protect you," I said. "He was going to hurt you the next day."

"You made sure..." She laughed. But there was no humor in it. "You manipulated everything. Controlled everything. And you never once thought to tell me?"

"I was trying to help—"

"Help?" Her voice rose. "You think controlling my life without my knowledge is helping? You think lying to me is protecting me?"

I had no answer. Because from her perspective, she was right.

I’d done exactly what she accused me of.

"I trusted you," she whispered. And that hurt more than anything else she could have said. "Last night, I trusted you. And this whole time you’ve been playing puppet master with my life."

"It wasn’t like that."

"Then what was it like, Malachi? Explain it to me. Explain how drugging your brother for weeks is anything other than exactly what it looks like."

Sophie was crying now. Robert was watching with cruel amusement. Lucas was struggling to stand. The police were outside waiting.

And Alicia was looking at me with the same devastation she’d worn this morning.

Only this time, it was worse.

Because now she knew. Knew what I was capable of. Knew the lengths I’d go to. Knew that the monster she’d called me was exactly what I was.

I’d lost her.

The realization settled in my chest like a stone. Heavy. Final.

"Alicia." I took a step toward her.

She took a step back. "Don’t. Just... don’t."

"Let me explain—"

"There’s nothing to explain." Tears streamed down her face. "You’re exactly what I thought you were. A Blackwood. A monster. Someone who thinks they have the right to control other people’s lives."

"I love you." The words ripped out of me. Desperate. "Everything I did was because I love you."

She flinched like I’d struck her.

"That’s not love," she said quietly. "That’s possession. And I won’t be owned. Not by you. Not by anyone."

She turned away. Grabbed Sophie’s hand. "Come on. We’re leaving."

Sophie stood, still terrified but following Alicia’s lead.

"You can’t just walk away," Robert said. "She’s my daughter. And you still owe me money."

"She doesn’t owe you anything," I said, my voice cold. "And if you come near either of them again, you won’t live to regret it."

For once, Robert’s smile faltered.

Alicia pulled Sophie toward the door. Past Lucas. Past me.

She didn’t look back.

I stood there, watching her leave. Watching her take the last piece of my humanity with her.

Maurice appeared at my elbow. "Sir. What do you want to do?"

What did I want to do? I wanted to chase after her. To make her understand. To force her to see that everything I’d done was out of love, not control.

But that would only prove her point.

"Let her go," I said finally. "Make sure she and Sophie get back to the hotel safely. Then arrange transportation back to Silver Lake City."

"And Mr. Hayes?"

I looked at Robert. He met my eyes and quickly looked away.

"The police can have him. He’s not worth my time."

Lies. He was absolutely worth my time. But not now. Not when Alicia might still be close enough to witness what I’d do to him.

Later. I’d deal with Robert Hayes later.

"And you, sir?"

I pulled out my phone. Multiple missed calls from Grandfather. From my father. From Layla.

Travis was awake. The family would be in chaos. And I needed to face it.

"I’m going home," I said. "To deal with my brother."

And to figure out how to win back the woman I’d just lost.