“Good morning, Haden.”
He said nothing to the falsetto welcome. The light pleasantry juxtaposed the anxious tick of her pulse fluttering at the base of her neck as she pretended to ignore the tension crackling in the air. Olivia moved aside, bidding him to enter. He’d rather not, but if she could pretend to want him here, then he figured he could play along.
She stepped into the hall, seeming anxious to put distance between them. “Would you like a cup of coffee? I was just about to make some. Liam’s in the shower. He should be down shortly.”
Haden closed the door and glanced up at the ceiling. “S’pose he is. He’s gotta get your scent off him before he walks into court.”
At the venom in his voice, she spun around and leveled him with a glare that probably would have cowed most men. As it was, her verdant glower gave him a proverbial kick in the balls.
“That’s quite enough!”
To mask the rusk of air that fled from his lungs, he gave her an arched glance of mocking amusement and tugged up his top lip in an arrogant grin that only seemed to incite her anger. Damn, she was hot. He loved her fiery temper and reveled in stoking the flame of her wrath. What he didn’t expect, however, was for her to storm over and lash him with that waspish tongue of hers.
Olivia stopped so close she had to look up to meet his eyes. Narrowing hers to emerald slits, she poked him in the chest with her finger, the blunt tip of her nail biting into his heavily-muscled pec.
“Just because you’re pissed at me doesn’t give you the right to behave like an ass. If you really want to know the truth, you’re absolutely right, Haden. I do have feelings for you.”
The amused grin fell from his face so fast he would have sworn he was having a stroke. At her confession, a rush of adrenaline swept through him with the force of a gale, nearly bringing him to his knees. And then it got worse…
“In fact, there’s a part of me that probably even loves you. But you’re broken, Haden, and I can’t fix you. Even if I weren't with Liam, even if my heart didn’t belong to him, I’d never give it to you because you’d only break it.”
Schooling his features with impassivity, his jaw locked tight. Tension bled into his veins like concrete, turning him to stone. He dare not move for fear of hurting her. The only muscle in his body that rebelled was the little tick near his jaw. His piercing gaze bore into her without apology. Still, the stupid female forged on—courting his wrath.
“How can you tell me you love me one minute and then treat me so callously the next? I can’t believe—.”
“You’re pregnant, Olivia.”
He spat the proclamation as if ridding his mouth of vile poison. She froze, looking akin to a deer in the headlights. If the gravity of his confession weren’t so dire, if he weren’t so furious with the damn chit, he would have laughed.
Breathless seconds passed as she stood there staring at him in utter shock. At this point, he didn’t even bother to mask his rage, and it was with sick satisfaction that he silenced her with that little bit of truth. Shooting another quick glance at the ceiling and listening for the shower’s continued hiss, he grabbed her arm and marched her farther down the hall.
“You want to know why I’m so pissed off at you? I think it’s utterly stupid that you’d be so selfish, so careless as to get yourself knocked up by an angel you have no business fucking with in the first place! As if the Dark Court needed another reason to target you. You don’t have any idea what it’s like to be a half-breed—what it’s like to not belong in either world, rejected by the angels, a misfit among the humans, and wanted by Hell only to be exploited and forced into slavery for your gifts. You have no idea what you’ve done or how much danger you’ll be in if they discover you’re pregnant.”
The blood drained from her face as he railed at her, leaving her deathly pale. Even those vibrant, lush lips of hers were framed in a blue hue. She had no idea the depth of pain and suffering he’d endured in his lifetime—or the sentence she’d just cast upon her young. For the first time since Anya had been taken from him, the cold fingers of fear had reached into his chest and ripped his heart out. It was an emotion he’d sworn to never let invade him again. Yet here they were, and he was helpless to stop it.
“Why in the hell do you think I’m returning to court with Liam? Because he said, I have to?” Haden gave a derisive snort of contempt. “Hardly. I’ve kept my presence hidden for thousands of years. You don’t think I could escape him? But I know that relentless bastard, and he’d search for me. He’d leave you here, vulnerable, to hunt me down…because just as I’ve said before, first and foremost, his loyalty is to his Creator.”
Olivia winced as Haden’s grip tightened on her arm and he yanked her close. Her soft breasts crushed against his chest, the heat of her supple body burning into his soul. “So don’t you dare ever accuse me of not loving you,” he growled. “I’m giving myself over to the High Court of a God who never wanted me—for you!”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Fuck! When had the shower stopped? Before Olivia could utter any form of response, Haden hissed a sharp curse and let her go. As he turned away, he could feel her startled stare boring into his back, following him as he marched toward the door. Shooting a withering glare at the stairwell, he growled at Liam with an annoyed disgust, “Hurry up. I’ll wait for you outside.”
Resisting the urge to cast her one final glance goodbye, Haden stormed out the front door and out of her life forever. Or so he thought.
Chapter One
“Olivia!”
The knot of unease tightened in Liam’s gut as he waited for her to answer. Muttering an oath under his breath, he stormed down the stairs and headed in the direction Haden had come. He should have known the bastard would be early, his only regret was agreeing to meet him here. The farther that bastard stayed from Olivia, the better. But unfortunately at the time, he’d been of no mind to argue location. He’d just been relieved Haden hadn’t decided to bolt, leading him on a merry chase that would take him away from Olivia.
As he entered the hall, he came to an abrupt halt at finding her standing by the kitchen, staring at—nothing. She looked utterly shell-shocked, as if her world had suddenly come crashing down on her.
“Olivia?”
When she didn’t respond, he took her face in his hands and bent down, breaking into her line of sight. She blinked a few times, as if coming out of a trance, and those beautiful emerald orbs slowly shifted into focus. Instinctively, he stretched his senses, searching for their connection, trying to take her emotional pulse. Encountering nothing, but that damn empty void, his jaw, clenched in frustration, biting back the snarled curse hovering so close to his lips. Any fool could see she was upset, but the why of it was what had him concerned.
Damn Haden! No doubt that bastard was to blame for this. What had he said to rattle her so soundly? Odds were she wouldn’t tell him if he asked. For some reason, she’d taken it upon herself to protect him. She claimed her concern was for his salvation—and maybe it was—but part of him wondered if there wasn’t more to it.
“Olivia, are you all right?” He tipped her face up to get a better look at her. “You’re pale.” Pale? She looked downright ghostly. Fucking Haden…this son of a bitch was quickly turning into the bane of his existence.
Her hand absently flittered to the flat of her stomach, looking as if she was about to be sick. “I’m…fine.”
Her airy, haunted voice told him she was anything but that. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he gently guided Olivia into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for her to sit down. She had that look she often wore right before her stomach rebelled.
Come to think of it, she’d been ill a lot since they’d left Rebecca’s. He knew she was prone to motion sickness and they’d spent a great deal of time traveling over the last few weeks, but they had been home now for several days and the nausea still plagued her. Were they still bonded, he’d sense if anything were amiss. His loss of connection to he
r continued to seethe like a slow, burning acid in his veins.
“Do you have any of Rebecca’s ginger tea left?” Grabbing a mug from the cupboard, he filled it with water and stuck it in the microwave.
“No, but I think there’s some holiday spice in the drawer by the stove. Liam…?”
He tensed at the uncertainty in her voice and glanced over his shoulder. She worried at her bottom lip, a nervous habit that gave away her unease. “Yeah?”
For a moment, she didn’t speak as if she wasn’t certain she should or could put her thoughts into words. “What do you think will happen to Haden once you get to court?”
So that’s what this was about? He ground his teeth together, biting back the snarled curse just begging to get out. The Neph—it was always the Neph. Schooling his features as to not giveaway the extent her concern for the half-breed galled him, Liam shrugged as if to say he cared not either way—which he truly didn’t. Were it not for Liam’s devotion to this female, and a hefty dose of guilt that made it neigh impossible to refuse her, Haden would have been dead thrice by now. “Hard to say... I suppose that will depend on him.”
The microwave stopped and the shrill beep stung his preternaturally acute hearing. He yanked the door open, cutting off the alarm, and pulled out the mug, dropping a tea bag inside the steaming water before carrying it over to her.
“Umm… Liam? There’s something I have to tell you.”
Well, this didn’t sound good. He took a seat beside her and pressed his palm against her forehead, checking for a fever. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
Despite her nod, he wasn’t the slightest bit convinced. Her hand held a notable tremor as she raised the cup to her lips. When she sat it down, he took both her hands and gently squeezed—a silent encouragement to proceed. “What do you have to tell me, Olivia?” Whatever she had to say couldn’t be good. The pulse in her wrist battered against his thumb as he lovingly caressed her silken flesh.
Liam hadn’t seen her this shaken since the night he and Haden rescued her from Gahn. That night still haunted him and would for some time to come, for too many reasons to name, and for others he refused to lay claim to. Still, the one unanswered question that continued to plague him, above all, the rest: Why didn’t Gahn kill Olivia in the Everglades? It was no secret he wanted her dead; he’d tried and failed for years. She was too great a threat to the Dark Court to keep alive, so why not finish it when he had the chance?
The way he’d staked her to the floor, the salt, the pentagram—all of it indicated he’d had every intention of ending her life that night. So what had changed his mind? Liam wasn’t fool enough to think the demon had been struck with a moment of conscience. Perhaps Haden would know the answer. He knew the demon better than anyone else, having been raised by him, and those two were cut from the same cloth—deceptive, ruthless and rotten as hell.
Olivia swallowed and the arid click in her throat broke the silence stretching between. “Liam, I’m—.”
Bang! Bang! Bang! The pounding against the kitchen window cut her off and Olivia jumped, letting out a startled yelp. Liam’s head snapped up and he leveled Haden with a murderous glare.
“Come on!” the half-breed barked impatiently, scowling through the glass. He lifted his wrist and tapped his finger where a watch should have been.
“Just a minute,” Liam snapped. Had he ever wanted to kill anyone more than this bastard right now? Well, perhaps Gahn, but that was beside the point. Turning his attention back to Olivia, he mumbled an apology for Haden’s rude interruption. “Go on, now what were you saying? You’re what?”
She hesitated, suddenly seeming unsure. Then, as if decided on something, she exhaled a breath she’d been holding and blurted, “I’m…I’m really going to miss you.”
Liam’s chest tightened as if an invisible hand had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart. Damn, he didn’t want to leave her again—even if only for a few days. “I’m going to miss you, too, sweetheart, but I won’t be gone long. I promise.”
“Will you do me a favor?”
He nodded. “Of course...” Did she even have to ask? There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.
“Please…tell Haden…thank you. And that I’m sorry.”
At the mention of Haden’s name, Liam tensed; his face tightening to a furrow of displeasure, his waning patience for the bloody male was well beyond its expiration date. “I feel as if you and I need to talk when I get back,” he grumbled, no longer trying to hide his ire.
She nodded, and once again he cursed his broken connection to her. In the week since they’d returned from the Everglades, Liam had intentionally given her space. What she’d gone through had been terrifying and traumatic. He’d hoped that with a little time she’d open up to him on her own and talk about what had happened between her and Haden that night out in the yard. Liam’s measure of grace only stretched so far, and it seemed this male was quickly becoming a sore subject between the two of them—one that was going to need to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
Resigned not to part from her with strife growing between them, he stood and kissed her goodbye. “I love you, Olivia, always and forever. You know that, right? Nothing will ever change that.”
She nodded, a pensive smile touching her beautiful lips. “I love you, too. Always and forever,” she returned the vow, her fists twisting in the collar of his shirt as she clung to him, seeming reluctant to let him go.
He sensed no hesitation in her words. No deceit or confusion as she confessed her heart to him. But, undeniably, her heart was troubled. About what, he intended to get to the bottom of as soon as he got back. With a final brush of his lips against her forehead, Liam turned and walked toward the door. The only thing that kept his feet moving was the knowledge he was coming back—alone.
As far as Liam was concerned, he couldn’t part ways with Haden fast enough. That Olivia felt the need to apologize to the bastard was proof enough that this manipulative shit was still trying to get his claws into her. More than once over the last week, he regretted his decision to go back into that burning building. Had Liam refused Olivia’s plea to save Haden’s life, his world would be a shit-load less complicated right now, and he wouldn’t be saying goodbye to Olivia so he could play chauffeur to this prick who was too arrogant to realize the opportunity set before him. Life or death—it was his to choose. The bastard was damn lucky the decision wasn’t up to Liam.
“It’s about damn time,” Haden growled as Liam stepped off the porch. The Neph stood beneath a palm, leaning casually against the tall, curved spine. His arms crossed defiantly over his chest, his tawny brows knitted in that perpetual scowl of annoyance. Bracing his shoulder against the tree, the male shoved off and lumbered toward him. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Gladly.”
When the Neph approached, Liam stuck out his hand. Haden stopped short and gave him an ached look. “I’m not sure what I’ve done to give you the wrong impression, but I don’t swing that way. Sorry to tell you. But truly, I’m flattered—.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Liam growled, grabbing Haden’s hand in a crushing grip. The tough bastard didn’t so much as flinch. “Were there any other way to get you into my world, believe me, I’d do it.”
“Then by all means, here’s my other hand if you want it.” Liam knocked the offending extremity out of his way and marched around the house to a more private place to disappear than the front yard on a Monday morning.
Chapter Two
At entering the heavenly realm, Haden was hard-pressed to contain his wonder at the sight before him. The sky was brightly lit by a white light as if the very essence of God Himself out-shone even the sun. White billowy clouds dotted the clear blue tapestry, rolling by in an ever-changing display of glorious art. Behind him in the far distance reaching up like giant fingers were white-capped mountains. Meadows of grassy fields stretched beneath his feet, and patches of wildflowers decorated the verdant earth.<
br />
A pang of regret gripped his heart as he passed through the floral fauna, reminding him of a time long ago that he’d lounged in fields similar to this with Anya. Stretched out in a lazy sprawl on the plush bed of grass, he’d tossed the colorful flower heads into her wild, unbound hair. She’d laughed and chided him to stop, unable to reach the beautiful bouquet tangled in her raven locks. He’d made love to her in those fields that day, and though he had many memories of her, this one was his favorite. So many memories…yet not nearly enough to fill a lifetime without her.
Perhaps he treasured this one so dearly, because it was the last time he could remember ever truly being happy. The times in his life he’d mastered such a feat was few and far between. But with Anya, it was the first and only time his soul had been at peace. And nothing else since then had ever come close to easing his tormented soul—until he met Olivia.
The thought of her was bittersweet. In so many ways, she reminded him of his dead wife, and perhaps that was how she’d stolen his heart—for stolen it was because he most certainly would not have ever given it away to another again, and to her of all people. She had been a means to an end—nothing more. She possessed the one thing he needed to claim his vengeance against Gahn—Immanuel’s Stone. With it, he would be powerful enough to kill his false father and give Anya, the long-awaited justice she deserved.
Thinking of Anya now brought Haden no comfort—only the bitter sting of regret. But being here, surrounded by all this beauty, he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps in death, she’d finally found the peace and eternal solace she and his unborn son deserved. Maybe…just maybe, Haden needed this vengeance more than she did.
“Where do the souls of the dead go?”
Liam glanced at him, looking surprised he’d ask such a question. “That depends. To which dead are you referring?”
“Humans.”
The Redemption Series Page 103