Chapter 72 - seventy two
Chapter Seventy-Two
Malachi’s POV
The whole party was going well, considering. Well enough that I hadn’t killed anyone yet, which felt like an achievement given the circumstances.
Lucas was there. Standing near the windows like he had every right to breathe the same air as Alicia. His hand was bandaged. Good. He’d remember what happened when he got too close to what was mine.
Every time I caught sight of him, my hands curled into fists. The urge to finish what I’d started in that warehouse pulsed through me like a second heartbeat. But I held back. Barely. This was Alicia’s night. I wouldn’t ruin it by breaking Lucas into smaller pieces.
Then there was Jason. The man who’d approached Alicia at the bar with that calculating smile. The one who’d looked at her like she was something to be acquired. Something he’d missed out on and now wanted back.
I wanted to strangle him. Wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until that smile disappeared permanently. Until he understood that looking at Alicia like that was a privilege he’d never have again.
But I controlled myself. Marked my territory in other ways. Made it clear to him and everyone watching that Alicia was off limits.
Mine.
Now I stood off to the side, a drink in my hand that I hadn’t touched, watching Alicia dance in the crowd.
She’d taken off her shoes. Just slipped them off and left them by the edge of the dance floor without a second thought. So typically her. Practical. Unconcerned with appearances when her comfort was at stake.
It made me smile. A real smile that felt foreign on my face.