Malice's Possession(23)

“You fucking get up in my damn face at the bar for no apparent reason, and now you’re following me?” Phillip breathed hard, and his chest rose up and down harshly. He wasn’t a small guy, but compared to Malice’s six-foot-three height and beefy frame he looked like an annoying gnat.

“You and I have some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of.”

Phillip looked confused for a moment and then shook his head. “I don’t even know who the hell you are, so you and me have no fucking unfinished business.” Phillip wiped his nose, and Malice could see the guy was tweaking. His eyes were glossy, his nose red from probably doing some bumps of coke in the car, and he was twitching off and on.

“No, that is where you are wrong. We do have some shit that needs to be taken care of.”

“I run this goddamn town, and if I had a beef with you I think I’d fucking know about it.”

“It doesn’t matter who you are in this town, or what you run.” Malice ground out and took a step closer. “You did something disgusting, hurt someone that shouldn’t have been touched, and now it’s time you feel what it’s like to get the shit kicked out of you. Maybe next time you’ll think about putting your hands on a woman, especially Adrianna.” Others would definitely say this was a crazy thing for Malice to do, and that taking retaliation for a woman he just met yesterday was out of left field. But the truth was he would have defended any woman that was hurt the way Adrianna was. But there was also something very delicate and innocent about her, something that had this very fierce side of him wanting to destroy anyone that thought about even coming close to her.

Phillip didn’t answer, but the dark look that covered his face was confirmation enough that things were about to get dirty. “That fucking bitch had what was coming to her.” He pointed to his bandaged neck. “And this shit isn’t going to be forgotten, not until I show her that she needs to learn her place.” Phillip reached behind him, but Malice was on him before he could get the gun that was most likely tucked in the waistband at the small of his back.

He tackled Phillip to the ground and slammed his fist into the side of his head. The sight of blood that started to pour out of his nose had Malice grinning in sick satisfaction. Before Malice could deliver another punch Phillip surprised him by head-butting him and successfully knocking him back and off of Phillip. The tangy and metallic flavor of blood filled Malice’s mouth, and he turned his head and spit the shit out. He had felt his lip split, but he liked the pain. He quickly stood and saw Phillip struggling to stand. He could have easily gone after this little douche while he was out of it, but Malice wanted him to be on his feet. Once Phillip was standing, Malice charged forward. He felt all this raw energy move through him, and the image at the forefront of his mind was Adrianna, and how she had looked last night when he held her in his arms in the rain.

“You motherfucker—”

Malice stopped him from saying anything else with another land of his fist into the side of Phillip’s head. The other guy stumbled back, but righted himself before he fell to the ground. The gun that he had hidden in the small of his back had fallen to the ground when Malice had first gone after him, and now he moved toward it.

No fucking way.

Malice was on him in the next second, and kicked the gun well out of reach. He wrapped his hand around Phillip’s neck and lifted him easily off the ground. Moving forward with the other man struggling to breathe and scratching and clawing at Malice’s hand, he slammed him up against a trunk of a nearby tree. He leaned in close, swore he could smell the fear that came off of Phillip, and grinned. “It’s not so much fun when you’re the one getting your ass kicked, is it?” He loosened his hold on his neck just slightly, and heard Phillip suck in air.

“She’s just some trailer trash cunt—”

Malice cut him off by tightening his hand again. “You are one dumb fucker.” He stared into the dark, beady eyes of this man that had hurt the woman Malice felt very protective over. “I’m only going to tell you this once, and believe me when I say if I ever have to repeat myself that will be the last time you are around.” He leaned in another inch so they were nose-to-nose now. “You’ll forget all about Adrianna if you value your life and anything you hold dear. You won’t come looking for her, won’t touch her, and really won’t fucking think about her ever again. Understand?” He could have loosened his hold, but he didn’t. It took a second for Phillip to nod, but when he did Malice reared his arm back and slammed his fist into his side. Phillip grunted, and tears formed in his eyes. “I fucking love it when grown ass men that think they are tough shit cry.” Malice let him go then, and Phillip immediately dropped to the ground. “Tell me you understand what I’m saying and I may not ram my boot up your ass.” Malice crouched to his haunches, and took hold of Phillip’s collar, hoisting him up slightly. “Because if I have to come back here,” he shook his head, “I’ll bury you so damn deep no one can find you, and if they somehow did by some miracle, you wouldn’t be recognizable.” He hit him in the face again, this time feeling Phillip’s nose break under his knuckle. Blood immediately gushed down Phillip’s face, and his howl of pain and the way he curled into the fetal position had the sadistic side of Malice roaring out.