Max, Olivia’s crazy ex-boyfriend, and unbenounced to her, a fallen angel, had ‘saved’ her that night—saved her from Cale, but not from himself. That was the last day she remembered her life ever being normal. And she had Cale to thank for that. If that bastard wouldn’t have attacked her, she never would have left with Max that night—never would have gone back to his place for a “pit stop”—and never would have gotten roofied. She never would have woken up the next morning with pain between her legs, bruises and bite marks all over her body, and zero recollection of how they got there.
Bile stung the back of her throat as she fought against a wave of nausea. No doubt, that bastard had recognized her, too, given how he’d turned tail and run at the sight of her. Did he feel bad for what he’d done to her? Doubtful. It was more likely he hoped she wouldn’t remember who the hell he was and rat him out to Mitch. If she thought, for one second, that telling him would make a difference in whether or not he left with those assholes, she’d have spilt her guts in a heartbeat.
The one with the black hair cocked his head, watching her over the hood of the cherry red convertible. Boldly, Ashley returned his stare. After a brief moment, he looked away and whispered something to Cale. She’d never seen him before, but by the way he looked at her, she’d be willing to bet he knew who she was. Had Cale told him what he’d done to her?
The front door slammed shut, and Ashley looked up to see Mitch jogging toward them, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. She rolled down her window and called to him before he could veer left. “Hey, Mitch, I hope you all don’t mind, but I’m going to drive myself. I get terrible car sickness. You wanna ride shotgun?”
“Sure. Looks like we’ll follow you,” he called to Cale and his friend as he walked over to the rear passenger door, opened it, and tossed his bag in the back before climbing into the passenger seat. “Look,” he said, turning toward her as she fired up the engine, “I know I told you not to come, but I want you to know I really am glad you’re here. I’m not an idiot. I know these guys are dangerous, but right now they’re my only chance at getting Olivia back.”
She pulled out of his driveway and waited for Cale to do the same.
“So…uh…does Balen know you’re here?”
“Of course he does, and he isn’t very happy about it, either.”
“‘S’pose he isn’t. So, why are you doing it?”
“Because where I go, he goes, and right now he’s your only chance of coming out of this alive.”
“I’m sure he’s real thrilled about that,” Mitch replied sarcastically, glancing over at her.
“Less than… But you’re my friend, and even though you’re making an incredibly stupid mistake, I don’t want to see you die because of it. And Olivia is my best friend, and Liam needs Balen’s help. He won’t leave me, so if I don’t come with you, Liam is on his own and I don’t want to see him or Olivia getting killed.”
“Can they do that?” Mitch asked, sounding a little too intrigued by the idea, if you asked her. “Do you think they could kill Liam?”
“I don’t really know. I think under the right circumstances that maybe they could, but some things are worse than death, Mitch, and it’s Olivia they’re after. If she died, it would crush him. He’d spend eternity knowing that he failed her.”
***
Cale glanced into the rearview mirror. His face naturally tightened into a scowl at the yellow Mustang trailing behind them. His mood only grew increasingly foul when he glanced over and saw Rhen watching him, his shrewd gaze assessing him with blatant scrutiny.
“You want to tell me what’s gotten into your craw?”
“Not really,” Cale grumbled.
“I don’t know what you’re getting so bent about. It really doesn’t matter how they get to Vegas as long as we get him there, right? Besides, those two spending hour after hour alone in the car together has got to be driving Balen bat shit. Mitch may say he loves Olivia, but I saw the way he looked at Ashley when she asked him to ride with her.”
“Have you called Rowen yet?” Cale asked, having no interest in discussing any of this with him.
Rhen shook his head, dug the cell out of his pocket, and tossed it into Cale’s lap. He flinched when the phone connected with his nut sack, sending a dull, nauseating ache burrowing into his gut. “Watch it, dammit!”
Rhen chuckled. He was tempted to bust the bastard right in the lip. Then they’d see who was laughing.
“Quit being such a bitch and call him. Let him know we’re on our way with Mitch…and Balen’s ward. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to take credit for that fuck up. ‘The more the merrier’,” he scoffed. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I’m thinking I’d like to introduce my fist to your face, asshole.”
Rhen’s grating laughter had him clutching the steering wheel with barely controlled restraint.
“Jeez, aren’t we testy. You know, that female’s the key to this working out now. Mitch will follow her lead. You’re going to have to work a bit harder to gain her trust.”
Now Cale laughed, a sarcastic bark that sent Rhen’s brow arching in surprise. “Yeah… I’m pretty sure I’ve already burned that bridge.”
“What?” Rhen snapped.
Cale sighed. “Because I, uh, kinda gave her a hard time a few years ago. And I have a suspicion that she remembers me.”
Rhen’s scowl jacked tighter. “What do you mean by a ‘hard time,’ Cale? What did you do?”
“I might have assaulted her.”
A snarl tore from his lips in a foul curse. “You’re shitting me, right?” It was a damn good thing looks couldn’t kill, because Rhen was hate-vibing the hell out of him right now.
Cale shook his head. “I wish I was—”
“Does Balen know?” Rhen demanded.
“How the hell should I know?” he snapped defensively. “He’s never said anything to me about it.”
“Well, I’m sure he will after today.”
Cale shot Rhen a glare and snarked, “You know, you’re going to have to stop acting like such a dick if you expect to get close enough to Ashley to gain her trust.” It felt good to push Rhen’s buttons for a change.
Chapter Twenty
Liam was torn between returning to Olivia and finding Rowen. After talking to Haden, there was no doubt the demon had to die. Hearing about the sick shit that bastard planned to do to her, if given the chance, had lit off his primal instincts that were already running hot since he’d indulged in the forbidden fruit of Olivia’s flesh.
And Haden had taken distinct pleasure in filling him in, watching him like a bug under glass. Those pale green eyes took in every tensing muscle of Liam’s rigid body. He even had the balls to smirk when Liam’s jaw clenched in barely controlled rage.
The question that kept plaguing him was why did Haden want to throw his Dark Court buddy under the bus? He had to know after the shit he’d said, Liam would kill him. And there was no better time than the present. Picking them off one by one was preferable to taking them all on at once, not that he wouldn’t do it if that’s what he needed to do to keep Olivia safe.
He had no intention of resting until Rowen and his legion were eliminated. Where it got tricky was figuring out what in the hell he was going to do about Haden. It’d been a hell of a shock to discover that after all these years, the rumors had been true—a Nephilim did exist. And that was just damn unfortunate news, because Haden, like all Nephilim, possessed a seventh sense that made them excellent hunters. They stalked their prey with an unrelenting tenacity, and Liam knew that as long as Haden had Olivia on his radar, there wasn’t anywhere he couldn’t find her.
And because of his maternal heritage, Haden possessed enough humanity that the lucky bastard fell under the blood covering of Christ, which meant he couldn’t just kill him. No doubt, the piece of shit had known it, too, which was probably why he’d been so forthcoming on the deets about his bloodline.
He didn’t need Haden to tell h
im where to find Rowen. Clearly, the Nephilim underestimated Liam and his own hunting abilities. But this wasn’t about his pride, so he’d let the half-breed talk. When dealing with an unknown enemy, such as a Nephilim, the less he knew about Liam, the better.
For example, Liam could transcend, which meant he could shift into another dimension and reappear in different places at will, which was the only reason he’d even considered going after Rowen in the first place. If Olivia was in danger, he’d feel her fear through their connection and could be at her side in seconds. Angels were the only beings who could transcend. The fallen could shift, but they couldn’t disappear unless it was to go back to Sheol. Liam supposed the same rules applied to the Nephilim.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t transcend with Olivia, which would have made this whole running with her thing a hell of a lot easier. But mortal bodies were stuck here on Earth. If he transcended her, her soul would go and her body would stay, instantly killing her.
Angelic could also command stationary objects with their minds. It was a talent this Neph wouldn’t have, so as long as Olivia stayed put this time, she’d remain relatively safe in their room.
Liam flashed into the back ally of Parker’s Paradise and stepped across dimensions. He entered the club through the back entrance. The moment he stepped inside, the tang of smoke and sex permeated the air. It didn’t take more than a minute to locate the object of his loathing, and with the stealth of a true predator, Liam approached.
Rowen didn’t see him standing there at first—probably because a woman with ratted pale blonde hair, wearing nothing but a thong, sat straddling him. Her breasts were shoved in his face as her hips moved to the bump and grind of the music. It’d be so easy to kill him right now. The only thought that stayed his hand was the trauma it’d cause this woman to witness it. As her head tipped back into a practiced seductive swing, she cleared Rowen’s line of sight and his dark brown eyes locked on Liam.
Rowen quickly masked his initial shock. If he thought hiding out in a strip club filled with cigarette smoke, the bitter stench of crack, and musky headiness of sex would cover his own distinctly pungent, sulfurous odor, then he thought wrong. If he thought that surrounding himself in sin and skin would buffer him from Liam’s wrath, then he thought wrong again.
He didn’t buy the arrogant grin slowly spreading across Rowen’s hawkish face for one second. Rowen was surprised to see him standing here and was scared shitless.
“Liam—” Rowen greeted him like they were old friends, yet his grip on the woman’s waist tightened almost imperceptibly as if preparing to use the female as a shield if need be. “Never thought I’d see you on the dark side. Please, sit. Your hovering is making me nervous.”
Liam slid into the booth across from him, mainly because he wanted some answers about the Neph before he killed him, and thought he’d have a better chance of getting them if the bastard wasn’t on guard. “I think you know why I’m here.”
“Indeed I do. But don’t worry,” he sneered, “your secret is safe with me. I gotta warn you, though, yesterday it was whores and today its strip clubs and whores. You’re heading down a slippery slope here.” Rowen waved a waitress over, or at least Liam thought it was a waitress until a woman smelling of sickly sweet perfume stepped up from behind him, put her hands on his shoulders, and swung her leg over his lap, straddling him.
The shock of having a thong-clad, topless woman grinding on him momentarily stuttered his reflexes. Before he could stop her, her arms circled his neck as she leaned forward, pressing her breasts into his chest.
“Oh my… You are gorgeous,” she purred next to his ear. “Let’s go in the back and I’ll turn that frown upside down. What do you say, baby?” She licked the side of his neck, and the moist swipe of her tongue jolted him into action.
The touch of another woman…just the thought of any female other than Olivia having this intimate of contact with him made him cringe. In one fluid motion, Liam grabbed her waist and lifted her off his lap. He pulled the reluctant female loose from his neck and set her feet back on the ground.
“Sorry, that’s not why I’m here,” he told her, glaring at Rowen, who chuckled in amusement.
“Well, that’s a pity,” she pouted, reaching out to coil a strand of his hair around her finger.
He reached up and caught the woman’s wrist, untangling her fingers from his overgrown locks, and said, “Jessica, stop.” He looked up, meeting her startled dark blue gaze.
“How do you know my name?” she gasped, taking a cautious step back.
“Go home to your family. They love you and they’re worried about you.”
The young woman looked like she’d seen a ghost. Her hands flew up to cover her breasts, suddenly self-conscious of her nakedness. “Do… Do I know you? How did you find me?” she demanded. Stumbling another step back, tears filled her eyes.
The woman on Rowen’s lap had stopped dancing and looked from Liam to her co-worker, then back to him. “Jessica?” She was concerned for her friend—and she should be. The young woman would soon be reaping heavy consequences if she didn’t go back home to her family.
Suddenly, the stripper turned and ran toward the back of the club. The woman straddling Rowen scrambled off his lap and raced after her. “Jessica, wait! Are you all right?”
“Seriously?” Rowen growled, glaring over at him. “You are one damn killjoy, you know that? Now, that was a perfectly sweet piece of ass you just sent packing. Maybe if you got laid once, you’d lighten the hell up.”
Liam seriously doubted it. Since being with Olivia, he was temperamental and surly as hell. He’d hate to imagine how territorial he’d be right now if he’d fully made love to her. Not that it was a possibility and just maybe that little detail added to his crankiness. It was torture wanting something he could never have.
“Tell me about the Neph,” Liam said, focusing on the task at hand.
Rowen’s brow shot up curiously. “Not much to tell, really. He’s tight with Gahn, does most of his bidding, cranky bastard. Dangerous, too—”
“Are there others like him? Other Nephilim...?”
Rowen shrugged. “Not that I know of. Jeez, Liam, don’t you ever get tired of always being the good son?—always towing the line? Don’t you ever want a taste of what you’re missing?”
The unwelcomed reminder sent a rush of adrenaline flooding Liam’s veins at the mere thought of where he’d been last night, what he’d done. His energy stirred in response to the involuntary impulse, sparking his craving for Olivia that was now stronger than ever. Before he could tamp down the reaction that, no doubt, triggered his eyes to fire dark sapphire, Rowen chuckled softly.
“Ahhh… So I see you do. Perhaps your tastes are just a bit more selective than whores. I’ll bet long black hair and verdant green eyes, is what turns your crank these days.” Rowen stretched back in his seat, laced his fingers behind his head, and kicked the hornet’s nest for the last time. “So, tell me…does she taste as delicious as she smells? No, wait, don’t tell me… I want to find out for myself—”
A feral growl tore from Liam’s throat as he leapt across the table and barreled into Rowen, ripping the booth away from the wall and toppling the high-back seat to the floor. Rowen tried to shove Liam away as he lunged for his throat, but that would have been about as successful as stopping a hurricane. He easily dodged the wild punch and dealt his own punishing blow to Rowen’s jaw. It connected with a satisfying crack. With his other hand, he grabbed the demon by the throat, catching him before he could shift dimensions and escape. As long as he had ahold of the demon, Liam controlled his corporeal form.
“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Liam snarled, transporting them to the top of the Stratosphere.
***
Olivia didn’t know whether to scream or cry. After getting over the initial shock of discovering that Liam thought she and Mitch had slept together, a knot of guilt had taken root in the pit of her stomach. She shouldn’t have called h
im an asshole. He wasn’t. In fact, she’d never met a more perfect, selfless guy. And maybe that’s why she’d reacted so badly to this revelation.
But then, why wouldn’t he think she’d had sex with Mitch? Women this day and age didn’t wait for marriage, and she’d certainly behaved wantonly enough with him last night. There’d been no hesitation in her. She’d practically thrown herself at him and would have willingly given him the one thing she’d never considered giving another guy—if he’d let things go that far, which he never would. And that issue carried its own set of heartaches, because she’d never wanted anything more in her entire life.
In her heart, she belonged to Liam, and as much as she knew he’d crossed a line with her last night, she was having a hard time regretting it. And it broke her heart to know that he clearly did. Something was different about him now. Something had changed, though she couldn’t quite say what.
It was in the way he looked at her. There had been an edge of possessiveness in his marble-colored gaze, not that she minded seeing it, but he also seemed...more conflicted, more at war with himself—with his emotions, and that troubled her. His naturally calm, methodical persona was absent. Essentially, he seemed moody this morning and almost a little irate, which wasn’t like him at all. If she didn’t know better, she almost ventured to say he seemed more...human, which was a completely unnerving and asinine thought all together.
He didn’t sleep—ever—so she could only guess at the thoughts that had filtered through his mind last night while she slept obliviously in his arms. Had he thought of Mitch?—probably, given his line of questioning when she’d woken up this morning. Was he still angry with her for disobeying him last night?—probably, she’d nearly gotten herself killed. Was he worried about Rowen and his legion finding her?—probably, considering how quickly Haden had swooped in and found her. Was he worried about falling after what had happened between them last night?—probably, he’d fallen once and it’d been a miracle he’d gotten his wings back the last time. Did he regret her?—no doubt about it. How could he not? In the last three years, it seemed as though she’d become his own personal brand of hell.
The Redemption Series Page 50