The Redemption Series

by Melynda Price

  “Do you need a ride home from school? I could bring you.”

  “No. Thank you. I’ll catch a ride home from Ashley. It might look a bit too ‘couplish’ if you’re waiting for me after school.”

  “Would that be such a bad thing?” he asked huskily, brushing his thumb over the top of her hand.

  Butterflies erupted inside her chest. “Until I deal with Max, yes. There’s no need to slap the bull.”

  “Sure, I get it. Just let me know if you change your mind about the ride. You know, Olivia, you don’t have to deal with Max. I’ll take care of this for you, you only have to say the word, but until you do, my hands are tied. ” She could hear the frustration in his voice. A part of her wanted to say yes. It would be so easy just to let Liam deal with her mess. But that wouldn’t be fair to him. Max wasn’t his problem.

  “Thanks for the ride, Liam.” She climbed out of the car and looked up to see Ashley running toward her. Oh great. She quickly shut the door and hurried away from the Camaro before her friend could draw any more attention to them.

  “Olivia! Is that who I think it is?” Ashley cried, cranking her neck to peer over Olivia’s shoulder. She grabbed Ashley’s sleeve and pulled her along beside her. The rumble of the Camaro’s engine slowly began to fade, and she resisted the urge to turn around and watch him leave.

  “It doesn’t mean anything, Ash. He just came by to check on me this morning after that blow-up with Max last night. My Jeep wouldn’t start, so he offered me a ride. Hey, why didn’t you call me when you got in last night?”

  “Who said I got in?” Ashley giggled.

  Olivia gasped. “You’re terrible, Ash. I’m tellin’ ya, you better be careful. There’s a lot of creeps out there and someday you just may go home with the wrong guy.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

  Olivia tried to ignore the glares and questioning glances she passed in the hall. Halfway through the day, she’d already lost count of how many times someone approached her to ask if she and Max had broken up. It was beyond her why people cared so much about her love life anyway. “Pathetic,” she grumbled, walking past a group of girls blatantly giving her the stink eye.

  The seventh-hour bell rang not a moment too soon. By far, this had definitely been one of the longest days of her life. She’d asked Ashley for a ride home as they were walking out the front door together when Olivia abruptly stopped. “Oh shit!” she groaned. Adrenaline flooded her veins and her heart began to hammer in her chest when she saw Max sitting in his old parking spot casually straddling his Harley, waiting expectantly for her to join him.

  “I’ll still take you home if you want, Liv. You don’t have to go with him. It might do him some good if he had to chase you for a change, especially after being such a dick yesterday.”

  “I don’t think I want him to chase me,” Olivia said softly. “I don’t think I want him around me at all anymore.”

  “You know that guy he hit is in the hospital, right? I heard some of the staff talking about it last night. I don’t want to scare you or anything, Liv, but Max kinda gives me the creeps.”

  “Me too,” Olivia sighed. Obviously that this morning’s conversation hadn’t sunk in.

  “You don’t have to go, Liv,” Ashley called after her.

  “Yes, I do. It would just give these vultures around here even more to talk about if I didn’t. Besides, I don’t want Max making a scene or anything.”

  “I hope you just decide to cut him loose, Liv. Liam seems like he’s really into you, and I think he’s a much better guy, if you ask me, and way hotter.”

  Olivia didn’t reply. She was too busy thinking about what she was going to say to Max.

  “Hey, Liv.”

  Olivia didn’t answer him right away. She stood there, studying him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was in denial or just that dense. She looked down at his hand, noticing his knuckles were torn and bloody. Oh shit, maybe Liam hadn’t kept his distance after all. “What happened to your hand?”

  “It’s nothing,” he denied, flexing it to prove he was fine. I just had a little accident in my garage this afternoon.”

  “Uh-huh…It doesn’t look like nothing. Maybe you should have it checked out?”

  “Why is everyone staring at us?” Max growled irritably.

  “Because people are sad and boring, and have no lives of their own.”

  “Whatever. So, what are you waiting for? Get on.” Max kick-started the Harley and revved the engine impatiently.

  Olivia reluctantly climbed on. “I need to go home, Max. I have yoga class in an hour.”

  Max didn’t reply. Either he didn’t hear her over the rattle or he chose not to—probably the latter. They pulled out of the school parking lot, and he turned the opposite direction of where she lived. Olivia’s chest tightened—panic choked her.

  “Max…” She fought to keep the fear out of her voice. “I don’t think you heard me. I want to go home. I have yoga class.”

  “No, you don’t. I stopped by and told them you weren’t feeling well today. I told them you wouldn’t be in for class.”

  “You did what? Why would you possibly think it was okay for you to do something like that?”

  He pulled into a nearby parking lot and laid on the brakes. “You’ve been so stressed out lately. I thought you’d appreciate the night off.”

  He sounded as if he were actually concerned about her, too bad she knew better. “I’m not stressed out about work, Max. I’m stressed out because of you! Do you realize that little stunt you pulled last night put a man in the hospital? Do you even care? And you shouldn’t have been following me either. This is crossing the line, and you’re starting to scare me.”

  “You’re overreacting, Liv. I just thought it would be nice to spend the evening together.”

  “How is this giving each other a little time apart, Max? Were you not listening to the conversation we had this morning?” Olivia was beyond trying to spare his feelings, not that he had any to spare.

  “What do you want from me, Olivia? Can’t you see I’m trying here?”

  She felt a momentary pang of guilt for being so harsh, but she was angry and scared. “I just want you to take me home,” she said quietly, struggling to keep her voice calm.

  Max’s coal black eyes bore into hers with barely restrained fury. “Olivia, I believe we’re reaching a precipice in our relationship. I’ll caution you to consider your actions carefully, because once that line is crossed, there’s no going back.”

  Olivia stared at him in shock and realized she was looking into the eyes of a stranger. All she could think about was how to get him to take her home. “Max, I don’t want either of us to say something we might regret. I’d really appreciate it if you’d please take me home. I do not want to miss my yoga class. A lot of people are counting on me, and there isn’t anyone else who can fill in. Maybe we can schedule a time that works for both of us to get together and talk?”

  Wordlessly, Max turned around and pulled the bike onto the street. Thankfully, they were headed in the right direction this time. Things between them were heading south—fast. As he pulled into her driveway, she was climbing off the back of the motorcycle before it’d even come to a complete stop. “Thanks for understanding, Max. I’ll give you a call tomorrow and we can talk, okay?” Maybe the offer to call him would keep him from going over the deep end and taking her with him? Something wasn’t right about him, and it was becoming more and more obvious every day.

  She ran into the house to get changed for class, then ran back out, kissing her dad on the cheek as she blew by. She thanked him for fixing her car and jumped into her Jeep, glad to have her own wheels again.

  Olivia got to the gym with a few minutes to spare. She checked her reflection in the rear view mirror and wiped away the make-up smudge beneath her eyes before climbing out. With great effort, she painted a carefree smile on her face and walked into the gym, acting as if her world hadn’t just taken an unexpected turn
down Shit Avenue.

  The night flew by. She was thankful for the large class, it helped keep her busy and her mind preoccupied. It was after nine when the last person left. She stayed a few minutes late to help Clay lock up. He always helped her out, so she’d feel like a jerk if she bailed on him now. Besides, she didn’t want to walk out to her car alone, not with two women still missing, and Max acting so creepy.

  Olivia hadn’t driven farther than a few blocks when her headlights started to dim. She turned them off and on, off and on, testing their brightness. The radio faded, followed by the lights. Within seconds, the Jeep stalled.

  “Shit! You’ve got to be kidding me!” She grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and called her dad. The phone beeped in her ear. She looked down at the receiver to see it flashing “no signal.”

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Olivia crammed her phone into her purse and climbed out of the car, slamming the door as she stormed away. The grocery store was three blocks away and, unfortunately, there wasn’t anything else open in between.

  As soon as her sandals hit the pavement, she felt the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Maybe it was just nerves, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Olivia cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Two guys stood in the shadows no more than a block behind her. It was too dark to make out their details, but she knew one thing for certain, they were big, and they were following her.

  She picked up the pace, her shoes clapping briskly against the sidewalk. She saw a couple walking up ahead and ran to catch up with them. “Excuse me,” she panted, breathless from fear. “Do you mind if I walked with you? My car broke down and there are two guys back there. I think they’re following me.”

  “Sure,” the guy answered, turning around to look behind him. “But I don’t see anyone. They must have left.”

  Olivia glanced back, the two guys were a little farther away but they were still there. How can this guy not see them? Is he blind?

  She broke away from the couple as soon as she reached the grocery store parking lot. She checked her phone as she jogged up to the building—still no signal. Olivia looked over her shoulder as she rushed through the sliding glass doors. They were still out there, standing off to the corner of the parking lot. The tall one lit a cigarette as he leaned against a car. His dark eyes followed her boldly, making no attempt to hide the fact they were following her.

  She cowered behind the glass, staring at the two men. There was something familiar about them, especially the tall one who wore a splint on his wrist. He took a drag of his cigarette, and gave her a taunting, finger fluttering wave as a slow sardonic grin spread across his face. Her body erupted in a cold, clammy sweat. Perspiration ran down her neck, pooling in the cleavage between her breasts.

  She spun away from the window and hid behind the corner of the wall, plastering her back against the white painted brick. She hugged it so close she probably looked like a jumper standing on a ledge fifty feet in the air. A middle-aged woman stood behind the courtesy counter, watching her with bored interest.

  Olivia pushed herself away from the wall and ran up to the short woman with a salt and pepper bob. “Where’s your pay phone?”

  The woman didn’t speak. She just pointed at the wall beside the window. Oh great!

  Olivia turned back around and rushed over to the phone. She could feel the eyes of her stalkers watching her every move. She called home—no one answered. She tried calling Ashley and only got her voicemail. The pay phone ate her quarters when the answering machine picked up. Olivia cursed, shoved her hand into her pockets, and grabbed out more change. When she opened her palm, a crumpled piece of paper lay in her hand amongst the change. Liam…

  Olivia tossed the extra quarters into the coin slot and dialed the number, praying he would answer. The phone picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” Oh, thank God!

  “Liam?” She tried unsuccessfully to keep the panic out of her voice.

  “No, this is Balen. Who’s this?”

  “Umm, Olivia. Is Liam there?” Please be there. Please be there.

  “Yeah, he’s in the shower right now. Can I have him call you back or something?”

  “Actually, no. I’m calling from a pay phone, and my cell won’t work.”

  “Just a sec.”

  There was a brief pause, then Olivia heard a knock and the shower spray echo in the background. “Hey, Liam, Olivia’s on the phone for you.” The shower shut off. “What?”

  “Olivia’s on the phone for you.” The shower curtain raked across the metal pole. She could imagine it being pushed aside, and Liam standing there wet, naked, with water dripping off his body. Heat rose to her cheeks as her mind played out the scene she was hearing.

  “Can you hand me a towel? Thanks.” Another pause. “Hello?”

  “Liam?”

  “Olivia? What’s wrong?” Tension instantly filled his voice.

  “Umm, my car broke down again, and my cell isn’t working. I’m sorry to bother you, but I think two guys are following me and I’m kinda freaked out right now. Is there any way you can come get me?”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m at Frank’s Market. Do you know where it is?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be right there.” The line disconnected. She replaced the phone in the receiver and glanced anxiously out the window. The cherry of the man’s cigarette glowed in the darkness.

  Less than five minutes passed before she heard squealing tires and saw a flash of headlights as the black Camaro tore into the parking lot. Liam flew out of the car like an enraged animal. His menacing scowl accentuated his dark violet eyes which held a bright amethyst glow. He moved with a predatory grace as he stalked up to the store.

  Olivia glanced over at the corner of the lot where the two men stood only a moment ago—they were gone. The sliding glass door didn’t open quickly enough, and Liam impatiently turned to the side, slipping in between the opening doors. His fierce gaze softened when they locked on her, but he didn’t look any less menacing as he approached.

  Liam brought his hands up and gently cupped the sides of her face. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that nearly stole her breath. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Did you see them? They were there one minute and then gone the next.”

  “Yeah, I saw them. They took off as soon as I pulled up. It’s going to be okay, you’re safe now. I would never let anyone hurt you.”

  Olivia didn’t know what to say. She stared up at him, completely speechless. His wet, tousled hair hung in his face, giving him this sexy disheveled look. His maroon performance t-shirt clung to his damp skin, outlining every muscled plane and curve of his chest, all the way down to his rippling abs. Butterflies exploded in the pit of her stomach when she imagined what he might look like under those clothes.

  She reached up and touched a lock of his hair. It felt like liquid silk in between her fingers. “I’m sorry I interrupted your shower.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you called me. Should we go get your car?”

  “Sure. I don’t understand why my cell isn’t working.” Olivia pulled the phone out of her purse and flipped it open. She looked down to see full bars. “Huh, my phone has a signal now. That doesn’t make any sense.”

  It made perfect sense.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Liam pulled up behind Olivia’s car and parked. He held out his hand for her to give him the keys. “It’s not going to start. I told you, the battery’s dead.”

  He gave her a mischievous grin and took the keys from her. The heat from that beautiful emerald gaze of hers followed him as he climbed out of the Camaro and into her Jeep. She hadn’t taken her eyes off him since they left the store together. What he wouldn’t give to be able to read her mind.

  He stuck the key in the ignition, sent a pulse of energy into the battery, and the SUV fired right up. When he got back into the car, the look of astonishment on her face made him laugh. “What can I say, I’ve
got the magic touch,” he teased. “Come, on. I’ll follow you home.”

  “Thanks, Liam. You’re my hero,” she purred in a sultry southern accent. Her hands crossed dramatically over her heart, and he couldn’t help taking in the view of cleavage her sports bra failed to contain. He chuckled at her Scarlet O’Hara impression.

  She sat there, watching him from the passenger seat. The intensity in her dark green eyes sent his pulse racing. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. His fingers tingled with the ache to reach out and touch her, and every time he saw her, the need only grew stronger.

  He wanted to lean over and kiss her, but he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to contain the mounting energy surging through his veins. Even now, just the thought of tasting those soft perfect lips lit him up like the Fourth of July. If he touched her right now, she would feel everything he felt at this very moment—his love—his desire—his passion.

  She wanted him to kiss her. Her cheeks were flushed, and the jewel green glow in her eyes beckoned him to come closer. He wouldn’t be able to resist her much longer, and she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Damn, he hated keeping the truth from her.

  Olivia shifted in her seat, bringing herself several painful inches closer to him. The tension grew to a breaking point. The seconds ticked until Liam was certain time would surely stop. He could feel her growing frustration and warred with himself to do the right thing, when all he wanted right now was to take her in his arms and make her his—eternally and forever his. It took every ounce of strength to force the following words from his mouth.

  “I’m sorry, Olivia. I can’t do this.” He broke her stunning gaze and grabbed a hold of the steering wheel to keep himself from grabbing her.

  “I don’t understand,” she whispered softly. Her confusion brushed against his heated skin like sandpaper, making him cringe. Her brows pulled together in a questioning frown.

  “I know you don’t, and I’m sorry that I’m giving you mixed signals. It’s just…better this way—trust me.”