As Haden spoke his cryptic warning, Liam tried to take an emotional step back and objectively see the Nephilim for how others of his race might view the male. The Neph was tall, definably muscled, and over-all constructed in angelic fashon. He lacked wings, but then, so did Liam as of late, and after today, he doubted he’d be getting them back—but wings didn’t make an angel thus. Continuing his observation, he noted the fluidity of Haden’s steps, powerful and controlled. He supposed his face would be considered handsome. His features were crisply defined, sharp cheek bones and a square, rigid jaw...all angelic characteristics, so why then was he seen for the outsider he was?
The answers came to him in the instant Haden cast him an impatient glare. It was the eyes. Not only did they lack the angelic dark violet color, but they truly were the window to the soul and Haden’s was indeed very dark—that was the difference. He lacked light, love and goodness. Instead, his pale green eyes marked his human origins, and the anger, hatred and mistrust reflecting in their souless depths, proclaimed him not one of them.
“You staring at me as if I were a pet science project is only making my point,” he grumbled, seeming somewhat distracted.
Liam supposed that seen for the first time, heaven would be a bit...overwhelming. Streets of gold paved the main roads running through the city, all converging into one large roundabout, and in the center of that focal point stood the Tree of Life. Towering larger than the mighty Red Oak, the Tree of Life was in continual bloom. Multi-colored flowers decorated the verdant leaves, every branch hanging heavy with deep red fruit. There was more than enough for all who desired to imbibe this gift—no one was ever denied.
In a rare moment of charity, he asked Haden if he’d like to see the park before they announced their arrival to the court. To which he responded, “Sure, whatever.” His head was craned around, watching a woman who’d passed them. She was slight of frame, her hair black as a raven’s wing, cascading down her back in a fall of waist-length curls.
As they stepped into the street, Liam murmured, “You do know it’s politically incorrect to ogle women here, right?”
Haden’s head snapped around and he shot Liam, a surly scowl. “I’m not ogling anyone.”
“Fine, then it’s rude to stare at a woman for a length of time that exceeds the bounds of socially acceptable, whereas one or more parties become uncomfortable—i.e. ogling.”
If Haden heard him, he gave no indication of it. His attention was fixed back on the female until she turned around. The Neph muttered a curse under his breath and roughly dragged a hand through his hair. A frustrated gesture Liam himself was more than familiar with. As they entered the park and made their way toward the heavenly icon, the majesty of it all was seemingly lost on Haden.
Reaching up, Liam plucked a ripe fruit from a low-hanging limb and settled on a patch of shade, resting his back against the spine of the tree. “Go ahead, help yourself,” he told Haden, biting into the sweet fruit.
Haden eyed him skeptically for a moment before plucking his own from a branch and then sat a fair distance away. Planting his feet in the grass, he rested his elbows against his bent knees and watched the people passing by. His keen gaze searched the crowds in the park, across the street, on the sidewalks. He didn’t speak, not that Liam would complain. He preferred Haden silent. The noxious male took great pleasure in goading him, and he’d prefer to enjoy these few moments in peace rather than verbally sparring with the cantankerous Neph.
Yet uncharacteristically, Haden seemed to draw into himself. Gone was the cocky arrogance, the self-assured defiance that made Liam want to punch him in the face. This was a side of the male he’d never seen before—aside, no doubt, Olivia had been privileged to witness for surely this was where her empathy stemmed. When Haden’s walls were down, he wore his pain like a cloak, his defeat a brand upon his chest. It was harder to hate him like this. Right now, the male almost seemed…human.
“Who are you looking for?”
Haden shrugged, not bothering to glance his way. “No one.”
It was a lie. He suspected the Neph was searching for his wife. The female had been killed over a century ago, her death ordered by Gahn, the second in command of the Dark Court and the only father Haden had ever known. Since then, the Nephilim had been searching for a way to kill the demon, and his hunt for justice had put him on a collision course with Olivia.
Not a day went by that Liam didn’t blame himself for that. Though, how could he have known that by giving her Immanuel’s Stone, he’d be placing her in danger? The Nephilim was believed to be extinct. Haden was the last of his kind, and good riddance as far as Liam was concerned—angelic half-breeds were pure evil, the whole lot of them. He’d never met one he didn’t want to kill.
He glanced over at Haden and found the male studying the heart-shaped scar in the center of his hand. He would forever bear the mark of the night he’d attempted to kill Olivia and steal the stone. What was he thinking as he stared at his palm? Had his mind turned to Olivia? Was she the less painful avenue of thought?
If Olivia didn’t belong to him, and if he didn’t loathe Haden so fiercely, he’d pity the poor bastard. He could only imagine the pain and frustration of falling in love with your prey—to love someone who didn’t love you back. Liam had no doubt that given the choice, Haden would rather not have ever met the female—a notion he most definitely seconded.
“You won’t find her here,” Liam volunteered, aiming to turn Haden’s thoughts from Olivia.
“Find who here?”
“Your wife.” From the corner of his eye, Haden visibly tensed, the muscle in his tightly clenched jaw twitching. “Heaven is vast. You could search millennia and you still may never find her. There is only one way to know if she’s here.”
Haden’s scarred hand balled into a fist, but he made no other movement. Even his breath seemed to stall in his lungs. “And how’s that?”
Liam took a final bite of the fruit and tossed the core to a waiting raven. The bird swooped down and grabbed it without even touching the ground. “Her name would be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. No one may enter without it.”
“Where is this book? How can I see it?”
To this Liam chuckled. “As to where, it is a place you cannot go. And even if you could, you would not be able to open it. Only the Son can crack that cover, for it is in his blood that the names are written.”
“Then what good does this do me?”
“I could make a query,” Liam offered blithely, but Haden was no idiot.
He turned the full heat of his skeptical glower on Liam and asked, “Now, why would you possibly do something like that for me?”
Liam had many reasons, but he’d confess only the obvious. “Because I want something from you in exchange, of course.”
Haden’s top lip tugged up in a sardonic grin. “Of course. Shall I guess the conditions of your offer?”
“No, I’ll spell it out nice and clear for you. I want to you stay away from Olivia—for good. And I want you to give up this vendetta you have against Gahn—.”
“Forget it. I will not live the rest of my life wondering if I’ll someday see my dead wife and have to face her, a failure in death that I was in her life.” Haden shoved to his feet and turned that familiar vicious glare on him. “Anya is dead—wherever she is—and knowing her fate will not change the course of mine. I will not rest until Gahn experiences the same brutal demise he visited upon my wife and child. Pray you that he does not succeed in meting out a similar injustice upon Olivia.”
Chapter Four
Olivia’s mind raced until numbness seeped into her bones. For days, Haden’s parting words haunted her mercilessly. You’re pregnant… Was she truly? The tests she’d taken yesterday, and the day before that didn’t seem to think so. She was only three days late, and that was nothing considering the irregularity of her cycles.
I think it’s utterly stupid that you’d be so selfish, so careless as to get yourself knoc
ked 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 have no idea what you’ve done or how much danger you’ll be in if they discover you’re pregnant.
If what Haden said was true and she really was pregnant, then this baby was in terrible danger. Olivia’s hand subconsciously lifted to the flat of her stomach. Could it possibly be true? Was she pregnant? How could Haden possibly know such a thing?
True, she and Liam had taken no precautions. Honestly, she wasn’t certain he even believed in contraception. He’d known better than anyone the chance they were taking each time he’d bedded her, yet he’d never spoken of the possible consequences. Would he be pleased if she were pregnant? How would they keep their child safe from the Dark Court? These were all questions to which she had no answers, and more than anything, she wished Liam was here right now to discuss how this could possibly affect their future.
She feared if she was pregnant, Gahn already knew what she had yet to confirm herself. His cryptic words indicated as much. It seems, you’ve just become more valuable to me alive than dead. At the time, she hadn’t understood what he was talking about, not that she’d cared. She’d just been relieved the monster hadn’t raped her, which had originally been his intent. Staked to the floor, she’d been helpless to stop him. She still bore the faint healing scar running up the inside of her thigh from where he’d cut through her clothing.
A shiver of revulsion ran up her spine at the memory of that horrid night. Olivia swore as long as she lived, she’d never forget the sulfurous stench of Gahn’s breath scalding her cheek, or the evil mirrored in those soulless black eyes. Her pulse leapt into her throat, choking off her air. Ever since the attack, she’d been plagued by these episodes—heart racing, the invisible band of dread tightening around her chest until she couldn’t breathe. The feeling of impending doom washed over her like a rushing tide crashing into the rocks. She feared her mounting panic was a premonition of things yet to come.
This was one of those rare moments she was relieved Liam couldn’t feel her emotions. She didn’t want him to know she was struggling with anxiety and knew he would blame himself for her fears if he did. For some reason, he took responsibility for everything in her life that wasn’t perfect. The bottom line was, shit happens—they live in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people all the time. She didn’t blame Liam for what happened to her, but knew he counted her abduction as his failure. That he needed to enlist Haden’s help to find her, because they were no longer bonded, ate at him like a cancer invading his soul.
She knew he wanted things back to the way they used to be. He yearned to be bonded to her again and cursed the circumstances that brought them to this point. Olivia had no doubt his hatred of Haden was genuine. In part, he blamed the Nephilim for losing his bond to her, for it had been his desire to protect her from him, motivating his decision to violate her free will and take her memories in the first place.
She understood why Liam had done it, and she’d truly forgiven him, but during those months of his absence, that time where he’d become nothing more than a ghost of an unattainable memory, Haden had somehow managed to create a fissure in the wall around her heart. At the thought of him, a pang of remorse tightened the knot in her gut. She regretted the way things were left between them. But then again, there wasn’t any scenario in which she could see them ending well. Perhaps she should just be relieved it was over. She and Liam could finally focus on starting their life together. They’d been through so much, come so far. Haden was a continual source of contention between them and as long as he was in her life, he always would be.
She told herself it was better this way. She’d been telling herself this for the last two days, eventually she might even believe it. Knowing it was for the best didn’t make it any easier to watch him walk out that door with a profession of love on his lips and a scowl of contempt on his handsome face.
He’d turned himself into the High Court for her. Haden might not realize it now, but this was his only shot at redemption. What he did for her would ultimately save his life. And since he’d saved hers more than once, she was happily obliged to return the favor.
“Why so sad, Dove?”
Olivia startled at the deep, husky voice. She hadn’t heard Tate come in. He’d been staying with her in lieu of Liam’s absence, but living with this guy was like sharing space with a ghost. He wasn’t seen or heard unless he wanted to be, and although his reclusiveness was, in part, respect for her privacy, she didn’t like that he could block her sight and had made him promise that as long as he stayed with her, he’d remain in corporeal form.
The reluctant guardian entered the kitchen where she sat picking at the breakfast he’d cooked for her. He was holding a cup of Starbucks in each hand. She hadn’t realized he’d gone out. Then again, she should have guessed he’d be making his morning coffee run. The angel loved the stuff—the darker the better. Daily, he told her this was the only thing in her world that held any appeal to him.
“I don’t suppose one of those is for me?”
Arching a midnight brow, he cast her a sideways glance, looking abhorred at the very thought as he held the cup protectively to his chest. A moment later, he flashed her a dazzling smile, his dimples softening the harsh lines of his angelically handsome face.
“Just kidding.” He handed her the venti and when she took the cup, he bent down and placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head before ruffling her hair playfully. “Of course it’s for you.”
He took the seat beside her and stretched out in a negligent sprawl, sipping his dark roast as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Must be nice…
“You hardly touched your breakfast.”
“You know I don’t eat breakfast, Tate.” They went through this every morning.
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. It’s the—.”
“I know, I know...the most important meal of the day. I swear, you sound just like my mother,” she grumbled, slipping into their easy banter. She enjoyed Tate’s company, more than she’d ever admit to him.
In the beginning, they’d gotten off to a rocky start. Then again, getting cornered in an elevator of a psychiatrist’s office by a two-hundred fifty-pound wall of muscle who announced he was your new guardian was not the makings of a trusting relationship. Without her memory, she had no recollection of Liam, her first guardian, or the knowledge that she was gifted with the Sight. She’d thought she was crazy, seeing people no one else could see.
After Tate had convinced her he wasn’t some wacked out serial killer, intent on turning her into a skin suit, they’d moved into a tenuous sort of truce. But as time passed and he was still unable to bond to her as guardians should, he feared for her safety and pushed for her to accept him. Honestly, she’d tried, but she couldn’t make herself bond to another as long as her heart belonged to Liam.
“I like this woman, your mother,” he teased with a crooked grin. “I should meet her sometime.”
Olivia shook her head. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I already dropped one A-bomb on them a few weeks ago. I won’t be doing that again for a while.”
“A-bomb?”
“Angel…”
Tate chuckled. “I see…that’s cute—.”
“Speaking of A-bombs, Ashley’s coming over soon.”
Tate groaned, sounding like a little kid who’d learned he was getting lima beans for supper.
“Yes, she is. So it would probably be best if you were gone when she got here.”
“Gone? Or gone-gone?”
“Not here gone.” She wanted to talk to her best friend in private, but couldn’t take the risk of Tate overhearing. It might be a little manipulative, but if she had to throw her friend under the bus for a little privacy, then she was prepared to do it. “But hey, it’s up to you. I’m only thinking of your comfort. She isn’t handling this separation with Balen very well. After spending the afternoon listening to two women be
moaning their problems, I’m pretty sure you’re going to think you’ve descended into the pits of Hell.”
Tate laughed, “True, that. Can I trust you not to leave the house without me?”
She smiled innocently and pressed her hand to her heart. “Moi?”
“Yes, moi.” He eyed her suspiciously. “I mean it, poppet. You remember what happened the last time you took off.”
She remembered all too well, thank you very much. It was pretty hard to forget getting clubbed over the head and abducted. “Haden isn’t here,” she reminded him sweetly.
“You have far worse enemies than that half-breed,” he reminded her.
She scowled at the derogatory name.
Exhaling a sigh of tried patience, he said, “Look, I’m not here to make you feel like a prisoner, I just want to keep you safe until Liam gets back.”
“I know. I know…” Olivia stood from the table and grabbed the plate of barely touched French toast and bacon. After scraping it into the garbage and setting her dishes in the sink, she walked back over to a scowling Tate and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for the breakfast.” She patronizingly ruffled his inky-black hair. “I appreciate the gesture, truly I do. And I’ll make sure to tell Liam what a great job you’ve done taking care of me while he’s been gone.” She started to leave and then abruptly stopped. “I tell you what, how about I let you take me out for supper tonight. That way neither of us will have to cook.” Without waiting for a response, she headed for the stairs.
“You’re incorrigible, you know that?” he called after her.
Chapter Five
Considering the circumstances, the beauty and majesty of the High Court was lost on Haden. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to get this over with and face his judgment—whatever that may be. If they damned him, then so be it. If they planned to release him, then get on with it already. Having been so close to killing Gahn and then nearly losing his life in the process, added further insult to injury, refueling his burning need for vengeance. He was anxious to finish what he’d started, and couldn’t much less give a shit what happened to him after that.
The Redemption Series Page 105
