“So, what now?” she asked when she could bear his silence no longer.
“Now you find the stone.”
“I already told you, I don’t know where it is.”
“Unless Liam rescinded it when he took it from you, which I doubt he did because then anyone who found it could possess it, you my little bloodhound, can most assuredly locate it.”
Was that what she was feeling?—the pull that even now stirred her soul, compelling her to leap from the car and race into the grotto? At least now she understood why he’d insisted on bringing her here despite her claims she didn’t know where it was—why he’d been so confident she could help him. And then, if all that failed, he still had Liam to blackmail. Bastard…
“The power in the stone is bonded to your life force. You can’t lose something you’re inherently connected to, Olivia. Even though Liam took your memory, if he didn’t rescind it, your soul-ties will lead you to the stone.”
“How do you know this?”
Haden lifted his hand, revealing a small heart-shaped scar in the center of his palm. “I tried to take it from you once. After you find it, you’ll relinquish the stone to me.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Do you really want to go there?” The malice in his low baritone voice left no margin for misinterpretation. “Make no mistake, your tie to the stone can be broken.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t kill me.”
“I thought you said you’d help me find the stone.”
Yeah, well, that was when she thought there wasn’t a chance she could actually locate it. Did she really want to aid and abet this madman hell-bent on revenge? If Liam had gone through all this trouble to keep the stone out of Haden’s hands, should she truly be undermining his efforts by helping his enemy? Surely, he’d been wise enough to rescind the stone before taking it from her. But the wild thrumming of her pulse, the stirring in her soul, told her otherwise.
“And what if he did rescind it? What then?”
“Then you won’t be able to find it. And we wait.”
“For what?”
“Liam to come. He’ll trade your life for the stone.”
“Again, I thought you said you weren’t going to kill me.”
“Ahhh…” Haden corrected as he reached over and patronizingly knuckle-bumped her under the chin as if she were simple, “but he doesn’t know that.” He leaned across the center console and whispered, “He thinks I’m a ruthless bastard.”
“He’s right,” she replied in her next breath. As the pieces of the puzzle, otherwise known as Haden, began clicking into place, the realization dawned on her that this angelic half-breed knew a hell of a lot more about her than he’d ever let on. And she really knew nothing about him, except that he was ruthless and couldn’t be trusted. The little slivers of details he’d fed her, buying her compliance, had been masterfully and manipulatively dealt out.
Well, Haden didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. And if what he said was true and the stone did have power, then perhaps she could use it against him. The scar on his palm was proof enough that he was not infallible to Immanuel’s Stone any more than his enemies were. She’d long given up hope that Liam would save her. It was clear her only way out of this was to find that stone and use it to gain her own freedom.
At her quipped remark, he chuckled and leaned back in his seat. Placing his hand dramatically over his heart, he drawled, “Olivia…your words…they wound me deeply.”
“I highly doubt that,” she grumbled, opening the door and climbing out.
Before her feet could touch the pavement, Haden’s hand was on her arm, his grip firm and unrelenting. It was difficult to imagine his touch being otherwise, yet only a score of hours ago, he’d held her with a gentleness she’d thought him incapable of.
Looking at him now, wearing that standard-issued scowl, the impassive arrogant glint in his eyes, she’d swear this wasn’t the same man at all. And therein lies the problem… She thought of him as such when the truth was, Haden wasn’t a man. Sure, he shared some of the same Homo sapien genetics, but he was so much more than that. And the minute she let her guard down and forgot it, was the moment she’d surely die.
She could see it in his eyes as he watched her with that calculating glint. It was as if he could turn off his humanity with the flip of a switch and become something else…something…other—something dark and terrifying. Sitting there watching him, she came to the sad realization that Haden was truly irreparably damaged. And unless he was stopped, she had no doubt that his actions here today would inevitably result in a catastrophic butterfly effect.
“Going somewhere?” he asked, suspicion lacing his voice, his arched brow belaying that arrogant confidence that made her want to knee him in the groin again.
“Do I need permission to move now? Yes, I’m going somewhere, to the bathroom. If that’s all right with you.” She pointed to the brick building just outside the entrance. “Give me a minute of privacy, will ya? It’s not like there’s anywhere for me to go.” She tugged her arm free from his grasp and exited the car.
The heat of Haden’s watchful gaze bore into her back. Seconds later, a car door shut behind her, and she knew without looking that he was following her. The staccato rap of his booted steps moved at a quickened pace that wouldn’t allow her much leeway. She hastened her own steps to a slow jog. Ducking into the women’s bathroom, she quickly closed the door and slid the flimsy bolt-lock into place. It wouldn’t stop him from getting in, not if he really wanted to, but it would at least alert her when time had run out.
Rushing to the window, she slid the glass frame up and was greeted by a blast of biting winter air. Olivia ducked into the stall and flushed the toilet, using the whoosh to cover the noise as she slid the garbage can beneath the window sill. Before stepping onto the metal lid, she turned the faucet to full blast and climbed on top of the can. Considering the epic fail of her last escape attempt, and her current risk to life and limb, she shot up a quick prayer and launched herself through the small opening.
She landed in the snow with a dull thud and winced, hoping the running water would cover the noise. Scrambling to her feet, Olivia raced toward the entrance. As she passed the statue of an angel driving his sword into the ground, the feeling of déjà vu echoed through her mind. She entered the arched stone vestibule and exited into a rectangular courtyard, the main centrifuge for the grottos. On impulse, she turned right and followed the indescribable tugging at her soul—the pull of what could only be Immanuel’s Stone.
The cold winter air burned her lungs as she raced toward Paradise Lost. Daylight was fading by the second, and in the next ten minutes they’d all be swallowed by the darkness. Hopefully, the cover of night would shelter her long enough to find the stone and escape Haden’s wrath. The moment she darted into the grotto’s cave, the sound of her name fractured the still air.
“Olivia!”
She halted, temporarily frozen in the snow as Haden’s bellow resonated through the grotto like a gun blast, echoing off the walls around her. Adrenaline flooded her veins, her tell-tale heart hammering so loudly in her chest, surely it would lead him right to her.
“You can’t hide from me, Olivia! I can smell your fear!”
Plastering herself against the wall like a jumper, she closed her eyes and forced her breathing to slow as she struggled to tamp the surge of panic. Focus on the stone… The hum of energy was stronger now, she was close—she could feel it. Pressing on, she skirted past the exhibit depicting an angel of war holding a spear, driving Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
Moving on instinct, she strained to make out the looming shadows as she ran deeper into the grotto. As she passed another towering statue, she caught a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye. It was too late. A hand clamped firmly over her mouth, muffling the startled scream before it could tear from her throat. An arm cinched around her waist, jerking her tight against a wall of hard muscle. She fou
ght against the steel grip banded beneath her breasts, crushing her ribs. How had Haden found her so fast?
“Shh…”
The hushed command hissed beside her ear. The hand clamped over her mouth held tight. A muffled squeal escaped her throat as she fought against Haden’s grasp, trying in vain to pry his arm free from her chest. Her heel connected with his shin and his hissed curse stopped her cold. That snarled whisper wasn’t Haden. That whiskey smooth baritone sounded nothing like the Nephilim’s sandpaper growl. Suddenly, her senses prickled with an awareness her mind refused to consider, her heart begged to be true, and her body couldn’t deny.
Liam?
She gasped at the mere idea. Her inhaled breath brought the scent of spiced sandalwood deep into her lungs. Even as her body melted into the powerful refuge of his embrace, her mind rejected him as an unsettling revelation quickly dawned on her. If Liam knew she was here, then he’d known she was with Haden—all this time. Awash in a sea of betrayal and confusion, her struggles resumed to be free of her new captor.
“Olivia, stop. I won’t hurt you.”
She shook her head side to side, trying to knock his hand free of her mouth. He lifted it a measure so she could speak, but remained close enough to clamp back over her mouth were she to scream again. “Let me go, Liam.”
The wall of muscle behind her turned to stone. She could feel his heartbeat crashing into her back as his breaths ceased to draw air. His hold shifted and he spun her around faster than she could have moved on her own. The rapid movement made her dizzy and she stumbled toward him. His firm grip on her arms held her steady and he placed her at arm’s length. In the darkness, it was difficult to make out his features—would he look like he had in her dreams?—the intensity of his gaze was unmistakable.
“You remember me?”
Was that a note of hope in his surprised demand? Did he want her to remember him? Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part—anything to balm the sting of his betrayal. She wanted him to regret what he’d done to her, the mess he’d left her in—to regret ever leaving her in the first place. She was a fool.
“No, I don’t remember you. But I know who you are and I know what you did to me. Now, let go.” She’d be damned if she’d fall at his feet now. Her heart may still love him, but that didn’t buy him a pardon for his actions. For all she knew, he hadn’t even come back here for her. He could have come for the stone and just beaten her to the prize. If he’d intended to save her, he certainly wouldn’t have left her with Haden for three effing days.
When he didn’t release her, she took a step back and tried to wrench free of his grasp. “I said, let me go!”
He hissed a curse under his breath and took his hands off her. His compliance seemed forced, almost as if he didn’t want to obey her command—didn’t want the separation between them. Then again, it was probably wishful thinking on her part. Although she wasn’t proud to admit it, there was a part of her that wanted him to suffer just as much as she did for his betrayal. Olivia took another step back.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m getting out of here. Perhaps you’ve been too busy playing that golden harp in the sky to realize that I’ve been abducted by your half-breed kin!” The amethyst sparks glinting in Liam’s eyes cast him in an otherworldly glow that nearly brought her to her knees in awe and trepidation. Oh Lord, he was even more breathtaking than in her dreams. But there was an air about him she never expected to find in the angel. An undercurrent of malevolence seethed beneath his carefully composed demeanor.
“That murderous bastard is no kin of mine,” Liam growled. “He’s alive on a technicality, and one I will not rest until I see rectified. I don’t know what he’s told you, or where you think I’ve been, but I assure you harp-playing has not been on my to-do list. I get that you’re pissed, Olivia, and I don’t blame you, but now is not the time for me to try to explain myself.”
He stepped from the shadows and held out his hand. Tension sharpened the hard angles of his handsome face, dark brows pulled tight over amethyst eyes that marbled amber. No dream world could compare with the powerful angelic male standing before her.
She wanted to take his hand. Hell, she wanted to throw herself into his arms, despite the storm of emotions raging inside her—self-respect be damned. Yet, the intellectual part of her held back. This was all so surreal, as if a storybook character had come to life and stepped from the pages of her journal. What she’d read in her book was all she knew of this angel standing before her. It was as if she were living someone else’s fairy-tale. The disconnection between her head and her heart left her fractured and emotionally bleeding.
The crunch of footsteps on pebbled gravel announced they were no longer alone. “I told her you’d come. She didn’t believe me, but I had faith in you.”
Liam grabbed her wrist and yanked her behind him, his movements too fast for her to track. The low warning growl rumbling in his chest echoed off the grotto’s walls in a chortle of pure male aggression, sending a shiver of goose bumps racing up her arms. She wasn’t sure what Pollyanna angel she’d contrived in her feeble mind, but this was not him. The male standing in front of her was massive, powerful, and one-hundred percent lethal warrior.
Aggregate crunched beneath Haden’s arrogant steps—each one ratcheting the energy around them until it seemed all the oxygen had been sucked from the air. She couldn’t breathe. Mounting panic sent her heart racing with dread.
Haden’s eyes fell on her with dispassionate negligence. “You disappoint me, Olivia. I thought we’d come to an understanding. What part of our little arrangement included you bailing on me and stealing the stone for yourself? It’s hardly fair to expect me to uphold my end when you’ve clearly reneged on yours. That being said, you, my traitorous little bitch, are now open season.”
A snarl of pure fury tore from Liam’s throat. That was the only warning Haden was going to get. Liam leapt for him in a blur of movement, and then all she saw were flashes of swinging fists lit by an otherworldly amethyst glow. A solid blow landed against Haden’s jaw with a bone-crunching crack, and a second would have followed if he hadn’t jerked his head out of the way at the last second. Haden rolled to the side and swept his leg, taking Liam down as he leapt to his feet. In one fluid motion, a well-placed kick landed into Liam’s ribs. The rush of air exploded from him on a foul curse.
“You didn’t think I was going to make this easy for you, did you?” Haden growled, the cut on his top lip staining his wicked grin crimson.
As he shifted his weight to send another kick aimed solidly at Liam’s face, Liam grabbed Haden’s ankle and twisted. The bone-breaking snap preceded a mid-air spin that landed Haden on his back, Liam grappled to full-guard. Haden’s grunt of pain was his only indication of the certain agony he must be feeling as his foot lay at an unnatural angle.
“You didn’t think I’d let you live after taking my female, did you?” Liam’s snarl was one of pure lethal intent.
His fist connected with Haden’s face, this time tearing the skin below his left eye. Back and forth they exchanged blows, both breathing hard from the exertion. The scent of black licorice and spiced sandalwood permeated the air. Both males were bleeding from where the other got in a lucky hit, more damage averted than actually dealt, as they faced off. The two were more evenly matched than she’d ever expected. Neither gave the other mercy, nor, she quickly realized, would they ever ask for such. Although at times, Olivia found herself wanting to cry for mercy on both their behalves.
At some point during this brawl, Haden pulled a knife. As he lunged for Liam, Olivia gasped, her hands flying up to cover her scream. Liam fluidly side-stepped the parlay and grabbed Haden’s arm. With a twisting motion too fast to track, the explosive fight came to a sudden halt. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but Liam stood behind Haden, gripping him in a chokehold, the blade pressed tight against his neck.
Any movement from Haden would slit his throat. A flick of Liam’s w
rist and Haden would be dead. What truly must have been seconds felt like a lifetime as Haden’s amethyst-hued, sea-green eyes locked on hers and she saw the knowledge of defeat flicker in his stare, a moment before his gaze hardened to stone cold acceptance. He asked for no mercy. In fact, his warrior’s glare warned her not to intervene. He froze as the blade bit into his throat. She saw the intent in Liam’s eyes a second before he’d drag the dagger across Haden’s neck.
“Liam, stop!”
His otherworldly eyes locked on hers and Olivia’s breath caught in a surprised gasp. His determined gaze was flat and cold. So unlike the angel in her dreams, she thought sadly—the angel that had looked at her with love and a passion that set her blood to boil. Then again, dreams were called just that for a reason. They were often so much better than reality. They were sure as hell better than the reality she faced right now, because the male staring at her was most assuredly a cold-blooded killer. Holy shit, Haden had nothing on this deadly fighter. Speaking of Haden, why the hell did she care what happened to him, anyway? And by the possessive flash of jade in Liam’s eyes, most likely he was thinking the same thing right about now—nothing like painting a larger target on the asshole. Way to go, Olivia.
“Don’t kill him. He saved my life,” she rushed in defense, a no-doubt failed attempt to explain her asinine move.
“A life he’ll surely take if given the chance.” Liam’s snarled response offered no quarter.
“He won’t hurt me.” I don’t think he’ll hurt me. “He’s just angry I deceived him.” He’s furious that I’ve deceived him. “If you end his life now, you’ll be sentencing him to hell and he’ll never have a chance at redemption.”
“Trust me, he’s had more than his share of chances.”
“Maybe this is the one that would make the difference. And if it is, can you live with that? Because the Liam I read about in my journal couldn’t. He’d never take away another’s salvation.”
Courting Darkness Page 15