Shades of Darkness (Redemption Series) (7 page)

“I know,” he moaned, lying flat on his back, arms stretched out beside him. “Hence the puke bucket,” he said, pointing toward the trash can beside his bed.

“Come on, Mitch. Olivia would be so pissed off if she saw you right now. Does she know you drink like this?”

Ignoring her question, he squinted up at her and grumbled, “Have you been here all night?”

Ashley nodded. “Nate left a couple hours ago. He had to get to work. I’d already taken the day off, ‘cause I figured I’d be the one puking my guts out this morning.”

When Ashley walked past his bed, he caught her wrist. “Ash?”

She visibly tensed, her beautiful face pinched into a scowl. Softening his grip, he gently pulled her toward him. She took a reluctant step back and plopped down beside him on the edge of the bed.

 “I’m really sorry about last night. I was profoundly drunk, but not so drunk that I don’t remember being a total ass to you. You didn’t deserve that, and I’m really, truly sorry. You know I’d never hurt you, right?”

Sighing, she turned to look at him. The sun shining in through his open window lit up her golden curls like a halo. Wow… She really was gorgeous. Nate was one stupid bastard for letting her go.

“I know you wouldn’t,” Ashley replied.

He wasn’t sure if she really meant it, or if she was just appeasing him. Tension radiated from the stiff set of her shoulders and the tight set of her mouth that was usually smiling—but not this morning.

Ashamed of himself, he looked down and noticed the bandage on her palm. “What happened to your hand?” He turned her wrist to look more closely at the crimson-stained gauze.

“It’s nothing…” She made a move to stand, but Mitch tugged her back down, refusing to release her wrist.

“It’s not ‘nothing,’ Ash. You cut your hand. Let me see it,” he said, scooting up in bed to get a better look.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine now.” Impatience clipped her tone as she pulled her hand back, yanking harder this time. Reluctantly, he released her. She was pissed—not that he blamed her. He’d acted like a real ass. “You cut yourself on that glass I broke last night, didn’t you?”

Ashley didn’t answer.

“I’m sorry…” Before Ashley could move away, he caught her wrist again and dipped his head, gently placing a kiss near the bandage.

 Her frown deepened. Mitch wasn’t sure why he kissed her. He knew he was only making a bad situation worse.

 Ashley jumped up from the bed as if her ass was on fire. “I’ll go turn on the shower for you. You stink,” she grumbled, walking into his bathroom.

Aw hell…
Mitch lay there a few more minutes, fighting back another wave of nausea. The hiss of the shower started with a blast. He lifted his head, trying to get up, but the moment he moved... Throwing back the covers, he rolled over the edge of the bed and hurled into the waste basket again.

***

Ashley was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee when Mitch dragged himself into the kitchen. His dark blond hair was wet and tousled. He wore a day’s growth of beard on his square jaw, which would have looked sexy if it weren’t for his bloodshot eyes.

He looked like a hung-over surfer, she decided—one who hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt. “You look like hell,” she said, getting up from her chair to pour him a cup of coffee.

Mitch plopped down at the table and grumbled, “I feel worse than that. Thanks, though,” he added dryly, taking the cup from her and bringing it up to his lips. “You really know how to make a guy feel better.”

“It’s a gift...” she replied off-handedly.

“I’m glad my pain is a source of amusement for you,” he grouched, casting her a sideways glance. “But seriously, Ash, thanks for staying last night. I didn’t deserve it after the way I acted.”

“You remember, huh?”

“Not all of it, but enough…”

“Well, stop beating yourself up. Are you always so hard on yourself?” She and Mitch had been friends for a long time, not nearly as long as her and Olivia, but friends nonetheless. She thought she knew the guy. Then again, he’d just been jilted at the altar, so she should probably cut him some slack.

“Only when I yell at my friends and throw things like a little kid.”

Ashley burst into a laugh. She hadn’t expected him to say that.

He chuckled. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure—” She got up and poured herself another cup of coffee, a little uneasy at the sudden seriousness of his tone, “—after you go get dressed.” The last thing she needed was for someone to stop by and find her and Mitch here alone like this. At this, he cocked a grin, leaving her reeling as his emotions seemed to swing from one extreme to the next.

“Why? Do I distract you?”

Mitch had always been a flirt. She just wasn’t expecting it on the dawn of his being jilted at the altar. “If by ‘distract’ you mean inappropriately half-dressed, then ‘yes.’ It doesn’t look good with me here and you running around nearly naked.”

“Fine,” he conceded. “I’ll be right back.” Mitch scooted his chair back and shuffled up the stairs.

As he dressed, Ashley continued to replay yesterday’s events over and over in her head. At some time during the night, she’d come to the conclusion that Liam must have taken Olivia. It was the only possible explanation she could think of that would make Olivia want to bail on her own wedding. She felt bad for Mitch and wasn’t sure how much she should tell him about Olivia’s past. She wasn’t too pleased with her friend for the way she left things. Didn’t Olivia realize what she was putting him through?—putting her parents through? It all just felt wrong, and incredibly selfish.

Mitch came back into the kitchen wearing a black performance t-shirt. “Better…?”

“Yeah, thanks. Now at least if someone stops by, they won’t think I’m here as your rebound lay.”

Mitch laughed. “My what?”

“Rebound lay,” Ashley repeated.

“Ash, I seriously doubt that you’d ever be anybody’s rebound
anything
.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t, but people still talk. So, what was it you wanted to ask me?” She waited patiently as Mitch took another sip of his coffee.

“Will you please tell me what you know about Olivia? I know you know something, because you’re not nearly as freaked out as the rest of us, and honestly, you’re not acting very surprised, either. There’s someone else, isn’t there?”

Ashley wasn’t sure what to say to Mitch. She honestly believed he deserved to know the truth. She exhaled a big sigh, hoping she wouldn’t regret what she was about to do, but after three years, it was time someone told him the truth.

“What has Olivia told you about her past, Mitch?” Hopefully, he knew something that could give her a starting point.

“Nothing. She’s always been extremely private. As far as I know, I’m the first boyfriend she’s had. But I know that can’t be true. Look at her, she’s gorgeous.”

Well…shit. This was going to be about as fun as a trip to the dentist without Novocain. Maybe Olivia would be pissed as hell at her for this, but dammit, she should have told Mitch the truth—like two years ago. They were getting married, for crissake! ‘Till death do us part’ and all that crap. “This is very complicated, Mitch, and at first, I’m sure you’re going to have difficulty believing me, but what I’m going to tell you is the absolute truth.”

Mitch stiffened, his back grew rigid. His brows pulled tight as a concerned frown etched onto his face. “Just say it, Ash.”

Okay, here goes…
She took a deep breath and blurted, “Olivia was in love with someone else before she met you.” There it was. No take backs. The truth was finally out.

At first, Mitch didn’t say anything. Then again, he probably couldn’t speak very well with his jaw clamped shut. It was a wonder his teeth didn’t shatter.

“Was
he
…in love with
her
?” His words rasped out as if he’d been chewing glass.

She nodded. “Very much. They wanted to get married.”

Something akin to rage flashed through Mitch’s eyes. For a moment, she thought twice about continuing. Damn Olivia for putting her in this position. She shouldn’t be the one having this conversation with him. Painfully, she forced herself to continue, giving him the
Reader’s Digest
condensed version. “He…uh… He had to leave, and it broke her heart. I introduced you to her almost a year later.”

 “Why did he have to leave? If he really loved her, he wouldn’t have left. Surely she sees that,” Mitch rationalized, glancing at her over the rim of his cup, taking another sip.

 “It’s not that simple.” She couldn’t help thinking about Balen, about her own loss, and had to fight back a swell of tears. “Mitch, Olivia fell in love with an angel.”

He let out a sarcastic snort. “Well, it’s nice to know you thought so highly of him—”

“No, Mitch. I mean a real angel, as in heavenly being.”

Mitch choked on his coffee, staring at her in disbelief. “What?”

“Olivia fell in love with her guardian angel,” Ashley repeated. “I know you don’t believe in this stuff, but just hear me out. Before she met Liam, Olivia was in a really bad relationship. She was dating a guy named Max, and he was a total maniac—like boil your bunny on a stove crazy. What she didn’t know was that he was a fallen angel sent here to kill her.”

A shiver racked her spine at the memory of the hell Max had put them all through, but she wasn’t going to get into that—not now. Some things were just too painful to talk about. “Liam came here to win Olivia’s heart away from Max. He knew she was in danger, but there was only so much he could do to help her because of her free will. She thought she loved Max…”

Mitch stared at her in utter disbelief. His coffee cup suspended in the air as he sat, frozen in shock. Shit, this sucked. For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, the rug had been jerked out from under the poor guy. Obviously, he was hurt that Olivia hadn’t told him about all of this herself. Right about now, he was probably wondering if he ever really knew her at all.

“And…?” Mitch finally said, encouraging Ashley to continue with the “Come on, spit it out” roll of his hand.

“And when Liam showed up, Max went ballistic. If it wasn’t for Liam, he would have killed her—he almost did.”

Mitch stared at her, looking a bit dumbstruck. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He tried again. “You’re shitting me, right? I mean, with all this angel and demon stuff—”

“I’m sorry, Mitch. It’s the truth.”

He paused for a moment, seeming to consider what she was telling him. “Okay, so let’s say what you’re telling me is really true, why would this Max possibly want to do that?”

“Because that’s what he was sent here to do. Liam loved her so much, he was willing to give up his wings to stay with her, but Olivia wouldn’t let him. She knew she had to let him go, even though it broke her heart to do it.” Ashley paused, giving him a chance to digest it all. “Mitch, whether you believe it or not, there’s a whole other world around us that is infinitely more complicated than what you or I can possibly imagine. And, Olivia is special… She can actually see into that dimension. That’s why Max was sent to kill her.”

“All right, Ashley, I’m trying to follow you here, I really am. But you lost me back on ‘Olivia fell in love with an angel.’ I’m sorry, but this is just a lot to take in.” Mitch was gripping his coffee cup so tightly, his knuckles blanched white.

Fearing he’d shatter the cup, she reached over and took it from his reluctant grasp. “I’m telling you that Olivia can see angels and demons,” Ashley said bluntly, watching Mitch for a sign that any of this was sinking in. “I know your first reaction is to think I’m crazy. At first, I didn’t even believe it myself, but it’s true.”

“So…what happened after Liam left? Is she still seeing him or what?” Jealousy sharpened the edge of his voice. She supposed it was a normal reaction, considering the circumstances. It couldn’t be easy, finding out your fiancée was in love with an angel—kinda hard to compete with that.

“No. Not that I know of. He’s still her guardian, but she can’t see him. He’s blocked her sight. It would have been too hard on her otherwise. The angelic can do that—block her, I mean—but demons can’t. That’s why Max tried to kill her, because she’s a threat to them. They can’t hide from her.”

“What do you mean she’s a threat to them? Do you think they took her?”

Ashley shook her head. “Liam wouldn’t allow it. But I do think he came back. I can’t figure out any other reason she’d leave on her wedding day, but I don’t think he took her. He’s always been very respectful of her free will. Unless—”

“Unless what?” Mitch demanded.

“Unless others like Max are after her. Then he’d take her. He’d take her to save her life.”

Chapter Six

Olivia and Liam were the only two in the diner. She sat across from him in a high-backed booth at a quaint little truck stop in... Huh…where in the hell were they? It didn’t really matter. Truth be told, she’d follow Liam anywhere. And didn’t that reality just riddle her with ten shades of guilt? She was a horrible fiancée—a terrible person. Who leaves their guy standing at the altar like that? The fact that Liam hadn’t given her a choice in the matter wasn’t much comfort. In her heart, she knew she would have left with him if he’d asked. The only reason she’d put up such a stink was because he hadn’t. Olivia had always been fiercely independent. The one thing she hated more than anything was losing her free will.

Liam looked over her shoulder, his eyes following as someone approached. She turned around to find a beautiful, young blonde standing behind her with a pen and pad in hand. She didn’t look a day over sixteen. The waitress watched Liam with obvious interest, making no attempt to hide her attraction to him. Olivia’s temper flared. She probably should have been used to this by now, guess some things never change. Her tone was clipped when she gave the girl her order. Not that the waitress noticed, she was too busy making eyes at her boyfriend—correction…her…Liam.

The waitress tucked her notepad into her apron and walked away, promising him she’d be right back—oh joy. Olivia watched her go, craning her neck around until it cramped. When she turned back to say something to Liam, she caught him watching the girl. Jealousy rose up in her like a green-eyed monster and she leveled an accusing glare at him. “See something you like?” she snapped, not even bothering to disguise her irritation.