The Redemption Series

by Melynda Price

  She didn’t take the hint. Instead, she stuck to his side like a leech. With the last bit of his energy spent on the whore, exhaustion outweighed his desire to push her away. He thought about telling her to leave, but that, too, required precious energy he didn’t have. As sleep quickly overtook him, he was back to the only place he’d ever truly wanted to be…

  “Haden, stop it,” Anya giggled, reaching up to pull another flower head out of her long black hair. She missed it, just as she’d missed the last dozen or so wildflowers he’d tossed into her ebony tangles as he lay in the grass a few feet away. He watched her as she picked herbs and placed them in the basket looped over her arm.

  His predatory gaze didn’t miss a single movement, nor did he fail to notice the elegant grace in which she sifted through the flowers and the grasses, searching for whatever had brought them so far away from her village. The swoop of her slender back and the flare of her hips didn’t hide the subtle change in her not quite so narrow waist. The change was barely perceptible, but he’d noticed.

  He noticed everything about Anya. He knew how many times a minute she breathed while she slept. He knew what she wanted when she arched her delicately shaped brow and smiled at him just so. He knew the scent of her hair, the velvety soft feel of her skin…and he knew she was pregnant. What he didn’t know was if she knew it, too. She’d yet to tell him, and he didn’t want to deny her the pleasure. So patiently, which was not one of his virtues, he waited for her to tell him the wonderful news. At least he hoped she’d find it as fantastic as he did.

  The woman…this amazing woman, was his one chance to finally find true happiness and have a life he never dreamed possible. Unfortunately, to have the fairy tale, he’d need to slay the evil dragon. For months he’d been off-grid, ignoring his repeated summons by the Dark Court. Each day he delayed, he played with fire. If he didn’t report back soon, others would come—for him…for Anya. But damn if the thought of leaving her, even for a little while, didn’t just about tear his heart out.

  He needed to go back, to see Gahn, the closest thing he’d ever had to a father, to petition his freedom and Anya’s immunity. But before he left, he’d have to tell her the truth about who and what he really was. Perhaps that had been the cause for his delay.

  Pushing the unpleasant thought aside, Haden pulled the top off another wildflower and playfully tossed it into her hair. A rainbow of flowers decorated her locks. She sighed and turned to give him a look of mock annoyance. She couldn’t hold the glower for long before her lush mouth curved up into a radiant smile, and when her dark brow arched seductively, his preternatural instincts lit up like a bolt of lightning.

  Without a word, she went back to her search for herbs, and meandered several more feet away. Like a lion stalking its prey, Haden stood, rising out of the grass, no doubt looking every bit the predator he was. Silently, he approached, moving in closer, waiting for the right time…

  Anya, focused on her new find, paid him no mind. As she sat her basket on the ground and bent to pick another herb, Haden unleashed his predator instincts and let out a playful growl as he leapt for her. He caught her around the waist, being mindful to handle her with care, and pulled her to the ground.

  A surprised squeal tore from her throat, followed by laughter, as she fell down on top of him. Her hair flew forward, surrounding them in a veil of midnight silk and wildflowers. Staring up into her dark mocha eyes, he raised his hand to tuck some of her hair behind her ear and said the words he never thought he’d ever say in his entire life. “I love you.” The whispered confession brought a startled gasp from her lips and tears to her eyes.

  “I love you, too…” She hesitated, looking as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if she should. Decided, she took a breath and rushed out the words, “Haden, I’m with child.”

  So, she did know… He didn’t miss the hesitation in her voice, or the uncertainty wrinkling her brows. Was she worried he wouldn’t be happy?

  “We’re going to have a baby,” she added when he didn’t say anything.

  Like an idiot, he just stared up at her. Even though he already knew it, hearing her say those words still rendered him speechless.

  She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down anxiously. “Haden, say something…”

  He tried. He failed. The dry click of his throat as he swallowed was the only thing that broke the growing silence between them. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Will… Will you marry me, Anya?”

  Now she was the one speechless. Tears formed on the tips of her lashes and rolled down her cheeks as she stared down at him in open-mouth shock. The brackish rain fell to his chest in giant teardrops. The radiant smile that lit up her beautiful face made his heart stutter inside his chest. Truly, this is what it must be like to look into the face of an angel. Perhaps God had not forsaken him, after all, because everything he’d endured, all those miserable years, had brought him to this point—to this woman.

  For the first time in his life, he knew the true meaning of happiness. Anya had taught him to love. He reached up and brushed his thumb across her cheek, collecting her tears and rubbing the moisture between his fingers, savoring her joy. He could always sense her, was always aware of her through the power of his gift, but when he touched her…her emotions flowed into him like an electric current, raw and unfiltered.

  “Yes,” she finally answered, bending down to kiss him. “Yes, I’ll marry you!” she cried, crushing her lush mouth against his.

  He swept his tongue past her lips to drink in her briny kiss, and a carnal growl rumbled in his throat as she ardently met his hungry demands. She let out a startled squeak when he rolled them, pinning Anya beneath him, her lush body pressed against the floral bed of grass. Haden didn’t know how long they lay there, kissing, touching, letting the sun blanket their now bare flesh—time seemed to stand still.

  Looking back, that was the single best moment of Haden’s life. And for a few brief minutes, his life was perfect. Anya loved him, she’d agreed to marry him, and they were going to have a baby… What more could a male hope for?

  Perhaps that was why his subconscious kept bringing him back here to this moment. Or perhaps it was to punish him with memories of what he’d had, what he’d lost—because if he’d known that moment was the beginning of the end, he would have done things very differently.

  “Haden,” Anya whispered breathlessly as he kissed her throat, tasting the rapid tick of her pulse.

  He didn’t want to acknowledge the spike of fear breaking in through her desire, or the needle of dark energy prickling up his spine. It was easy to cling to denial that this world was not about to come crashing in around him when his female was held so safely beneath him, every part of her consuming his senses.

  “Haden, do you smell that?” she asked, her voice edging with fear.

  It hit him the instant she spoke, every one of his preternatural senses coming online. He froze, every muscle in his body drawing tight. Haden pulled his mouth away from her throat and drew in a deep breath through flared nostrils, parted lips, taking it in through clenched teeth, past his tongue and into his lungs. Dread instantly filled every cell in his body. “It’s smoke…” he growled, leaping off Anya. Bending down, he pulled her up so quickly, she stumbled a step before gaining her balance. His hand shot out to steady her. “Quick, get dressed,” he commanded, tossing her dress at her and jerking on his pants.

  She cast him a fearful glace and quickly pulled her dress on. Her fear rent the air. The tang of bitter almonds was muted by the heady, sulfurous burn of Hell’s fire and damnation. Spinning around to face her, he grabbed her arms and gave her a small shake to make sure he had her attention. “Anya, listen to me. You have to run. Now. Just go as far as you can, as fast as you can, just run!”

  “I don’t understand! What’s happening?”

  “They’re coming for you! I thought I’d have more time! God, I’m so sorry— I’ve gotta try to stop them. Just run! Don�
��t worry, I’ll find you!”

  “Haden, who are they? What’s coming?”

  The raw fear in her eyes sucker punched him in the gut. “Hell is coming! Just run, Anya!”

  As soon as he let her go, she took off, dashing into the fields, those colorful wildflowers falling to the ground in a trail behind her. He stood there a few more seconds, watching her go, praying to a God who must truly despise him, that this would not be the last time he saw his woman and unborn child. Then, with a feral snarl, he took off toward the smoke now billowing high into the gray-hazed sky.

  That was his first mistake—going back. He should have just run with her right then and there. But running was not in his nature. As he neared the village, distant screams echoed above the snapping crackle of a raging fire. When he broke through the brush, he stumbled to an abrupt halt and snarled, “That son of a bitch!”

  Standing there, he vowed Gahn would surely pay for this. The entire village was ablaze as the demons of Hell dragged people from their homes, executing them one right after another. Through the smoky haze, he could see a pile of dead lying heaped in the center of the village—the fuel for the blazing inferno. Oh fuuuck!

  A scream ripped through the air behind him that stopped his heart cold. Helpless, Haden watched the horrific chain of events unravel in slow motion—there was nothing he could do to stop them. Haden spun around to find Anya falling to her knees, her hands fisting into her hair in utter terror. He should have known she’d follow him, her fear for him, for her people, outweighing her sense of self-preservation.

  He wasn’t the only one who heard her scream. Whipping his head back around, he saw a demon lift its head from its victim’s throat, blood dripped from its chin, stringing onto its chest as it locked those coal black eyes on Anya. A sardonic grin spread across its face to reveal a set of crimson coated fangs. Rising to its feet, it bolted toward her, those evil eyes never straying from its target.

  A feral roar ripped from Haden’s chest as he ran toward the demon. He intercepted the vicious beast ten yards from reaching her. Leaping into the air, he tackled the demon, catching it around the waist and throwing it to the ground. He drove his fist into its disfigured face and pulled back his arm to strike it again when the demon threw up its knee, knocking him off of it.

  Haden leapt to his feet as fast as he’d fallen, sparing Anya only the briefest glance to yell, “Run, dammit!” He dove for the demon again, catching it in the ribs with his shoulder as they both fell back to the ground. Throwing his leg over the beast, he moved into full-guard, circled his hands around its throat, and squeezed. The demon clawed at his arms, trying to break Haden’s steel-tight grip. Its claws tore into his flesh, ripping and burning as it scored muscle and tendon.

  The burning pain pulled Haden to consciousness and he opened his eyes to see the look of sheer terror as he straddled the whore beneath him, his hands gripping her throat, choking the life out of her. Her fingernails were buried deep into his arms as she struggled to break his grasp.

  Immediately, his mind cleared and he released his hold on her. Coughing and choking, she rolled away from him, grasping at her throat. She scrambled to the edge of the bed and bent forward trying to pull breath into her air-starved lungs.

  “You shouldn’t have stayed,” he growled as if to tell the whore it was her own damn fault she hadn’t left when the getting was good. If he was capable of remorse, he might have apologized for almost killing her, but the only emotion he was capable of anymore was hatred and rage. “Get out!” he snarled at the woman still struggling to breathe. When she didn’t move, he looked over his shoulder and yelled, “I said ‘get out!’”

  The woman shot off the bed and stumbled across the room. Jerking the door open, she slammed it shut behind her. Goddammit! Adrenaline surged through his veins, the biting tang of sulfur still stinging his nostrils as he lay back down, trying to will the jackhammer in his chest to stop. He already knew how this dream was going to end and he had no desire to relive it again. So there he lay, staring up at the paint-chipped ceiling, waiting for dawn to rise.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You think her roommate’s home?” Cale asked as they pulled a slow drive-by past Olivia and Ashley’s apartment. The low rumble of the hemi engine wasn’t very inconspicuous, but their question was quickly answered when the curtains brushed aside and Ashley’s reflection peered out the picture window.

  “She’s home,” Rhen grumbled, stating the obvious.

  “Then he’s here, too.” It wasn’t the female they were interested in avoiding. In fact, they both could have a rather enjoyable and creative time with her. It was her guardian that kept them moving down the block. Tangling with Balen was about as risky as loading a bullet in a revolver and spinning the cylinder, right before sticking the barrel in your mouth and pulling the trigger. It just wasn’t a good idea.

  “Want to go to The Wrath?” Cale suggested. “We can come back when she’s gone.”

  “Rowen’s going to be pissed if we don’t get back right away. He already called, breathin’ down my neck. He wants us in Vegas, like yesterday. ”

  “Yeah, well, he’s probably going to be even more pissed if we don’t come back at all ‘cause we’re dead. I say we wait ‘til she leaves in the morning and then hit the place.”

  “All right, but let’s just stop at a bar in town. I don’t want to go all the way into Clear Water. I could use a drink right now.”

  “Fine with me.”

  Cale drove their purloined cherry red convertible into town and headed right for Waterworks. The bar was always hoppin’ with honeys and if they were lucky, maybe they could pick up a sweet piece of ass to whittle away the midnight hours. They walked into Waterworks and sat down at the bar, each ordering a couple of beers. Halfway through their second, Cale glanced to his left and spotted a guy sitting at the end of the bar that looked a lot like a fucked-up version of Olivia’s fiancé. He nudged Rhen with his elbow, and the cranky bastard shot him a scowl that looked fifty shades of lethal. “Hey,” Cale nodded his head to the left. “Isn’t that Mitch over there?”

  Rhen peered around Cale to get a better look at the guy, and then turned back to his beer, lifting it to his lips. After swallowing down the amber ale, he answered, “Yeah, that’s him.”

  “You know what?” Cale said with a wicked grin. “I just thought of something that would totally fuck with Liam’s head.”

  Rhen chuckled, clearly liking the idea. “What’s that?”

  “What do you say we tell Mitch where Olivia is? Hell, we could even offer to bring him to her. Can you imagine the drama it will cause when Mitch shows up in Vegas? The distraction will give us a sure advantage. We’ll take out Liam, then the ‘seer,’ and then we can do Mitch—just for fun.”

  “You know what?” Rhen said, smiling wickedly. “I like it.”

  “Thought you would.” Cale grabbed the two beers and slid off the stool. “Come on,” he said, walking over to Mitch.

  The guy was half in the bag and a third of a bottle into his new best friend, Jack Daniel’s, when Cale and Rhen approached. Each of them slid onto an empty stool on either side of the guy. Jeez, he looked like shit—nothing at all like the clean-shaven, arrogant prick they’d seen at the church. Oh, he still looked like an asshole, but an unkept, self-pitting one now. “Hey, Mitch, isn’t it?” Cale asked. “You mind if we sit?”

  “Kinda late to ask, considering you’re already here. Do I know you?” he slurred, looking from Cale to Rhen. “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t exactly look like my people.”

  “We were at your almost wedding.”

  “Friends of the bride,” Rhen interjected with a sardonic chuckle.

  “You might recognize us from there,” Cale finished.

  “No offense and all, but you don’t strike me as friends of Olivia’s, and I know I didn’t invite you. Care to try again?”

  Okay… The guy may be trashed, but apparently, he still had a few brain cells working.
“Okay, we aren’t friends—exactly. But we have a mutual acquaintance, one you may be interested in meeting.” Cale let the hook hang in the air, knowing it was only a matter of time before Mitch would bite.

  “Oh yeah? And who might this ‘acquaintance’ be?” Mitch asked, draining his glass and setting it on the table with a loud clunk.

  “Does the name ‘Liam’ ring any bells to you?” Rhen asked.

  Mitch dropped all pretenses of civility and glowered at Cale. “What about him?” he growled.

  “Whoa, well, I can see you’re no fan,” Cale laughed, sending Rhen a triumphant grin. This was going to be too easy.

  “He has my wife!” Mitch snapped.

  “Fiancée,” Rhen corrected. “If you had actually married, he never would have been able to take her. What if we told you that we knew where Olivia was?”

  “Then I’d ask you where that would be.”

  “And if we offered to bring you to her?” Cale was nearly giddy, imaging the look on Liam’s face when Mitch showed up on their doorstep.

  “I’d say when do we leave?”

  “Bright and early tomorrow morning. We’ll pick you up at your place,” he answered, giving Mitch a friendly slap on the back as he slid off the stool and walked away with Rhen.

  “How you gonna do that? I haven’t told you where I live,” Mitch called after them.

  “I’ll Google you. Just be ready to go.”

  ***

  The phone was ringing when Ashley stepped out of the shower. She quickly grabbed a towel and dashed into the bedroom, leaving a trail of soggy footprints behind. Each time the phone rang, her heart leapt inside her chest, hoping it was Olivia calling to clue her in on what the hell was happening.