Shades of Darkness (Redemption Series) (5 page)

Mitch glanced at her as they stood in the doorway. “Has she called you?” he slurred.

“No,” Ashley replied, shaking her head. “No one’s heard from her since she called you. Not even her parents.”

Mitch jacked his hands through his hair, making it stand on end in little blond spikes. “I don’t know what to do. I just feel so damn helpless!” he yelled, slamming his fist down on the kitchen table. Ashley jumped, startled by his outburst. Nate stepped closer and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Kim and Roger spoke with the police, like you suggested,” Ashley said. “They were told that since she contacted you and said she was okay, that technically she isn’t missing, and they won’t help find her. They think she got cold feet.”

“That’s ridiculous!” he growled, grabbing his glass and taking another swig. “She didn’t get cold feet. Someone took her! I know it! The necklace I bought her was broken. Pearls were scattered all over the floor, for crissake! And she left her cell phone behind. She would never have left her phone behind if she’d intended to run.”

“He has a point,” Nate volunteered. “Maybe someone forced her to make the call. Can’t the phone company trace the call that came in or something?”

“No. I already checked. The number was blocked, and they have no registration information to track it.”

Ashley wasn’t as frightened as everyone else. She suspected she knew who Olivia was with, and even if she wasn’t
with
Liam, then as her guardian, he was still most certainly with her. He would keep her safe, wherever she was. “I know you’re worried, Mitch. But you have to believe she’ll be all right,” she encouraged, trying to alleviate his fears. “Her guardian angel is watching out for her.”

Mitch turned to look at her. With a slow, purposeful bend of his head, he shot her a glare that sent goose bumps prickling up her arms. “You don’t actually believe in that shit, do you?”

She stared back at him in shock, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. Surprise, then anger, spiked a rush of adrenaline flooding through her veins. She knew Balen, her guardian, was here. He was always close by. Even though she couldn’t see him, she could feel him. She wished he’d walk over to Mitch right now and knock some sense into that ignorant jackass. Maybe he’d believe in that! She was starting to feel less and less sorry for him with each passing minute. If Liam
had
taken Olivia, then maybe he’d done her a favor. Mitch was showing a side of himself Ashley had never seen before—and frankly, it was less than attractive.

“Yes, I actually do believe in this shit!” Ashley snapped indignantly. “And you should, too, if you know what’s good for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he challenged, shoving his chair back to stand, towering over Ashley. Anger raged in his watery, drunken-glazed eyes. Clearly, he was looking for a scapegoat and he’d just found one.

***

A low, warning growl curled in the back of Balen’s throat as he stepped into the kitchen, tensing to knock Mitch on his ass if he took another step closer to Ashley. His energy surged, along with his temper, casting an iridescent glow around his non-corporeal form. Balen seriously doubted Olivia knew what she was getting herself into with this POS.

He’d been hounding Liam to go after her for months, warning his friend she was making a terrible mistake, but he stubbornly refused to intervene. He kept arguing that it was her choice, her free will to choose whomever she wanted. Balen disagreed. Truthfully, he’d been relieved when this all finally came to a head with Rowen’s legion, and not a moment too soon.

Liam’s absence from Olivia had changed him. His heartache had been so severe, one could physically feel his agony just standing beside him. It was uncomfortable and damn depressing if anyone asked him—which no one did. And then Olivia had met Mitch, and that unlocked a whole new level of hell for his best friend.

Right now, Ashley’s emotional grid was throwing off a lot of pissed off. For being a petite little thing, she sure did have a lot of moxie. Of course, knowing you had an ultra-protective six-foot-four-inch two-hundred-forty pound guardian angel at your back probably didn’t hurt. She took another step toward Mitch and got right up in his face. If he’d been corporeal, he’d have grabbed that female around the waist and carted her away before someone got hurt—i.e. Mitch, because if that bastard didn’t stand down in the next two seconds, Balen was going to take him down.

 “It means that Olivia believes, and maybe you should start believing, too, because you’ve got some competition, buddy!”

Nice move, Ash. Out your best friend and taunt an already angry drunk
. Sometimes he wondered if she didn’t pull this shit just to get him to come back. It wasn’t that easy, though. They had laws to abide by, rules to follow.

Damn, he wished Nate would grow a pair and bust Mitch one right in the mouth. The prick was a loose cannon, and Ashley had just lit his fuse.

“What do you know?” Mitch demanded, grabbing his glass and taking another huge gulp before slamming it back down on the table. She flinched, the first hint of her fear needling Balen’s veins.

“Dammit, Ashley!” Mitch yelled, hurtling the glass across the room. It shattered against the wall, the dark amber liquid streaking down the white paint. “I said, ‘What do you know?’”

That’s it! Balen headed for Mitch, intent on driving his elbow right into that bastard’s jaw. He was confident he could cross over and back fast enough he wouldn’t be seen. This guy was a drunken time bomb and he needed to be knocked the hell out.

“Hey, Mitch, calm down,” Nate said, stepping in front of Ashley and intercepting Balen.

One more second and Nate would have been too late.

“She doesn’t know anything, all right? We were all at the wedding together, and Olivia hasn’t called anyone but you. Just take it easy, man. We’ll get it all figured out.” He took another step closer and put his arm around Mitch’s neck like they were old friends, steering him away from Ashley and effectively saving the asshole from a royal beat-down.

“It’s getting late. Why don’t you go up to bed, and we’ll clean up down here, okay?”

Nodding his head, Mitch stumbled out of the kitchen with Nate at his side. As they entered the hall, he stopped abruptly and glanced back at Ashley. “I’m sorry, Ash,” Mitch murmured.

“Don’t worry about it,” she grumbled. Turning away, she knelt before the mess of broken glass and started piling the small pieces into the larger ones. When she stood up to carry it to the garbage, the pile began to slip. Instinctively, Ashley’s hand shot out to catch the falling glass, and a jagged piece sliced her palm before it landed on the floor, shattering into little pieces.

“Ouch! Dammit!” she cursed, grabbing a towel off the counter and wrapping it around her bloody hand. Ashley sighed, grabbing the broom and dust pan out of the closet, and bent down to sweep up the wet, broken mess.

Balen stood over her, watching as she cleaned the floor—hovering so close, if she moved too fast she’d pass right through him. The temptation to take corporeal form was so strong he physically had to force himself to remain still. He wanted to see the cut on her hand, wondering how bad it was. Just one kiss and he could heal it. He missed her so much his heart literally ached for her. What he’d give to be able to touch her again, just once…

Chapter Four

Olivia tossed and turned on the hard mattress. The stiff bodice of her gown rustled loudly as she moved, yanking her from a fitful sleep. She opened her eyes to see the dark room lit with early rays of sunlight. For a moment, she let herself indulge in the possibility that yesterday had been nothing more than a dream. But then, that would mean Liam hadn’t really come back for her. The thought sent a jolt of alarm tearing through her and she bolted upright, disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Liam?” she called out, searching the darkness, desperate to see him—desperate for the confirmation he was still with her and scared to death she’d discover he’d left her again. He didn’t answer, and panic climbed up her throat as she squinted to make out the shadows across the room. Her eyes fell on Liam sitting statue still in a chair and relief flooded through her so powerfully, it took all her self-restraint not to leap out of bed and throw herself into his arms. “What are you doing sitting over there?”

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see his foot tapping restlessly against the carpeted floor. Tension radiated from his large muscular body like heat waves. He looked terribly uncomfortable with all six-four, two-hundred-twenty-five pounds crammed into that small chair. “How can you possibly rest like that?” she asked, frowning.

The distance at which he sat from her served as a painful metaphor of the distance that now truly separated them. There had been a time when Liam wouldn’t have thought twice about climbing into bed with her, holding her safely in his arms while she slept through the night—her heart beating against his…

“I don’t need to rest, remember?”

His eyes ran over her, giving away nothing as to the thoughts running through his head. His emotions were locked down so tight it was like staring at a stranger—a very gorgeous, very powerful stranger.

She sighed, her exhale heavy with regret. How had they come to this? “I know,” Olivia whispered. “I haven’t forgotten.” The insinuation that she could stung more than she cared to admit. “But you certainly can’t be comfortable, all crunched up in a chair like that.”

“I’ve experienced worse.” Liam unfolded himself from the stiff-backed poor excuse of a chair and stretched what could only be sore and aching muscles. She didn’t miss the hint of snark in his voice and wondered how long this white elephant would remain in the room with them.

With each passing minute, dawn continued to break, lightening the room as she sat there—watching—unable to take her eyes off him. She’d forgotten he was so tall, forgotten how chiseled and hard his muscular body was… The short-sleeved button up shirt he wore did nothing to hide his sinuous arms, or the well-defined muscles of his chest and washboard abs. His shirt hung loosely over dark washed-out jeans that sat low on his hips.

As her eyes slowly ran back up the length of him and came to rest on his face, she didn’t miss the stubborn glint of his strong, square jaw, that aquiline proud nose—those breathtaking eyes… His dark burgundy hair shone almost black in the low light, but she knew the moment he stepped into the sun, the beautiful deep wine color would shine through. He looked exactly the same, yet seemed so completely different.

His violet eyes locked on hers, catching her staring. Olivia’s breath hitched in her throat. “You’re just as beautiful as I remember,” she whispered, “but there’s something different about you.”

The sigh he exhaled carried an undeniable note of frustration as he roughly dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m not so different, Olivia. I’m just trying to respect your decision to move on, and give you your space. This is anything but easy for me… And I’m not sure either one of us could survive going down that road again. I have to be fair to Mitch, whether I like it or not.”

His stoic mask of indifference couldn’t disguise the pain in his voice. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, realizing his distance wasn’t because he was angry with her as she’d suspected yesterday. He was keeping his distance because she was engaged to marry another man. Tears of regret spilled down her cheeks, and just as quickly, her pain flashed in Liam’s eyes, confirming their bond was still strong as ever.

“Olivia…” Her name left his mouth in a groan of sorrow and he took a hesitant step toward her.

Overwhelmed, she held up her hand, and he stopped. She knew the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. She also knew full well that her actions had indeed hurt him. “I’ve got to get out of this dress!” Olivia cried, leaping off the bed and grabbing one of her bags as she ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

No longer able to contain her composure, she finally broke down, her breath hitching into sobs. She dropped her bag on the floor and reached behind her back, trying to unfasten the tiny pearl buttons that ran from her waist over her buttocks. Her hands shook, her fingers refusing to cooperate. A wave of dizziness washed over her as she stood there hyperventilating. After minutes of struggling to unfasten the stubborn dress, she dropped to the floor in defeat, swallowed up by yards of satin and sequins.

“Dammit!” she cried, burying her face in her hands, giving herself over to self-pity. It just wasn’t fair! None of it! How could she have been so stupid as to try to convince herself that she could be with another man—love another man? Her heart would forever belong to the angel outside this door, and he would forever belong to his creator.

In the last three years, she’d managed to do nothing except delude herself into believing she could learn to live without him. And now she’d pulled an innocent guy into all this mess, a guy whose only mistake was being foolish enough to love her.

“Olivia?” The soft knock sounding at the door interrupted her “pity party for one.” Concern echoed in Liam’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

She blew her nose and sniffled to clear her throat of unshed tears. “It’s this damn dress!” she cried. “I can’t get it off!”

“Let me help you.”

“No!” She did
not
want him coming in here and finding her crumpled on the floor, looking like a teary-eyed mess. She should have known he wouldn’t listen.

“I’m coming in…” he announced a second before the lock disengaged. He took one step inside and stopped, looking down at her with zero judgment and nothing but love and compassion in those beautiful violet eyes. From the floor, he towered over her, making her feel so incredibly small and fragile. She wondered if she looked as pathetic as she felt—probably worse.

“Stand up,” he said, reaching out to her. Olivia placed her hand in his sure, strong grasp, and he effortlessly pulled her to her feet. “Now turn around. Let me see what the problem is.”