Page 59 of Malachai
He tilted his head, the glass pausing at his lips.
"Knowing she ran back to you pisses me off, and for that, I'm going to kill you. Not today. Not tomorrow. But I'm going to. I'm going to stick around and find the perfect moment—when she's starting to doubt you again." He took a slow sip. "I'll put a bullet in your skull and make sure she never knows I did it. Then I'll be right there to comfort her. To pick up the pieces. To give her the life you never could."
He took a step closer. His bare feet were silent on the marble.
"Don't bother with the threats. Caine leashed you. There's nothing you can do to me." He smiled, wide and white. He usually had gold teeth in his mouth, making him look less serious, like a rapper flexing his wealth. "I'm not scared of you."
He set his glass down on the bar behind him and crossed his arms.
"Proof is in the fact that I knew who Indigo Gao was the first night she walked into my club. I knew she was your runaway little ballerina wife." He tapped his temple. "I knew you were tearing the country apart looking for her. You were losing your mind while..." He paused, letting the silence stretch. "We spent nights together. Just her and me. Talking all night. She cried on my shoulder about the baby you couldn't protect. She told me how much she hated you. How free she felt without your hands around her throat."
I didn't believe him. Indigo wasn't the pillow-talk-with-strangers type. But still, my blood turned to ice and fire at the same time. My fingers twitched at my side.
Cooly smiled wider, like he could smell the rage on me.
"What's funny is, Hand of God..." He uncrossed his arms, showing me his empty palms. Mocking. "You can run and tell her everything I just said. Go ahead. Tell your Indigo that I plan to murder you." He tapped his chest. "She won't believe you. Not after all the lies you've already fed her. She'll think it's just you being jealous. Possessive. Crazy. And every time you accuse me, you'll push her closer to me. Then one day she's going to look at you and realize loving you is exhausting."
My fingers twitched once at my side. Cooly smiled when he noticed.
"There it is—reaction," he chuckled. "Thought maybe you didn't actually love her for a second."
I said nothing. I didn't react. I didn't reach for my gun. I held perfectly still.
"You're emotional," I said quietly, watching his eyes. "That's why you're going to lose." I let the pause stretch. "And pathetic, really."
He didn't move. Neither did I.
"Even if she fucks you in her head for a little while, she'll never fuck you. She didn't in the three years you played her best girlfriend, and she won't ever." I said it like I was reading a weather report. "She'll always come home. Because she knows I'm the only one who can handle everything she is. The rage. The violence." I leaned in, just slightly. "You want the version of her that smiles and laughs. I want all of her. The broken, vicious, beautiful parts too." I pulled back, straightening my spine. "And she knows it."
Cooly's smirk faltered for half a second. A muscle in his jaw ticked.
"You frolicked around the beach with her just a day ago." I adjusted my cuff. "She came home and fucked me."
His fingers curled into a fist at his side. I continued, my voice dropping lower.
"I don't need Indigo to believe me. I don't need permission from Caine to kill you. I don't need understanding. I just need you to make the mistake of continuing to push me." I let my hand rest on my belt. "Then I'll decide what organ I want to ship to your father first."
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
I didn't look away from Cooly. I reached in, pulled it out, and glanced at the screen.
I finished early at the studio. Can you come pick me up for lunch?
I typed back with one thumb, my eyes still on him.
I'm on my way.
I slid the phone back into my pocket. Cooly's smile stayed on his face, but it had hardened at the edges.
I stepped closer. Close enough that he had to tilt his chin up slightly to hold my gaze.
"When I kill you," I said quietly, "I'm not going to make it quick. I'm going to make sure you feel every second. I've got this room. I'm going to put you in it. And when you're bleeding out, the last thing you'll hear will be me fucking her in the next room as you die."
His smile didn't move, but his throat moved when he swallowed.
Caine hadn't protected Cooly. He'd only delayed me. I was going to kill him, but I was going to wait.
I smoothed my jacket and buttoned it.
