Courting Darkness (10 page)

When she gasped in surprise, he took the opportunity to slip his tongue past her teeth, stunning her into immobility. He took full advantage, his mouth moving expertly against hers. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t pull away. She should have. Had her reflexes not been dulled by four shots of tequila, most certainly she would have. Before she could gather her wits to rebel against his oral assault, Haden broke their kiss and took a step back. “I’ve always wondered what you’d taste like. Never dreamed it would be tequila and lime.”

The nerve!
Olivia cranked back her hand to slap him across the face, but he caught her wrist mid-swing, blocking the self-satisfying strike, robbing her of the chance to redeem her honor.

Haden’s top lip curled up, revealing a set of perfect white teeth. Looking satisfied with himself, he growled a warning. “My services aren’t free, Olivia. You’ll do well to remember that. Your debts are starting to pile up.”

What debts?
“I take it this is how you plan to collect?” she challenged, notching her chin defiantly. “You’d take advantage of a young woman?”

He gave a couldn’t-care-less shrug. “Believe me, I’ve done far worse.”

She didn’t doubt he had. Not for one minute. Where reason told her to flee, her stubborn streak, supported by her tequila courage, held her firm. Haden had answers to questions she needed if she ever hoped to get her memory, and her life back.

“Why did Mitch call you that name?”

His brow cocked in mild amusement. “People call me a lot of things, Olivia.”

She wasn’t buying his brush-off. “What’s a Nephilim?”

He paused before answering, as if considering for a moment whether or not he should. “A Nephilim is what I am…half-angel, half-mortal.”

“You said you were a demon,” she accused.

“No,
you
said I was a demon. I just didn’t deny it. Some would say we’re one in the same.”

“Are you?”

He shrugged. “Depends on the day, I guess.”

Before she lost her nerve, Olivia forced the petition from her kiss-swollen lips. “I need your help.”

Surprise flickered in his sea-green eyes a moment before it was replaced by apathy. He chuckled. “My help? You’re asking
me
for
my
help when I’ve already warned you your debts are racking up. Sweetheart, you only have one thing I want, and you can’t give it to me, remember?”

By the heated sweep of his gaze that lingered overlong on her breasts, Olivia wasn’t so sure it was the only thing Haden wanted. But she wasn’t willing to offer him that, not even if, by some miracle, he could give her all her memories back. Some things just weren’t worth it. “If I had my memory back, I might know where the stone was.”

His tawny brow arched in amusement. “Am I to believe you’d tell me if you did? Don’t insult my intelligence, Olivia. I may be a half-breed, but I’m not retarded. If you intended to give me that stone, you’d have conceded it to me when my hand was on your throat, choking the life out of you.”

Startled by his confession, she took a wary step back, her hand subconsciously rising to her throat.

“Please…” he scoffed, “we’re well past that by now. I already told you I won’t hurt you unless I have to.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

He shrugged as if to say he didn’t care either way about her comfort, but there was something in his eyes that contradicted his ambivalence. Giving her no explanation, Haden took her hand in a firm but gentle grip, and began leading her through the crowd. “Come on, I’m taking you home before you get into any more trouble.”

She resisted his high-handed hold, digging her heels into the floor that held no traction against the leather soles of her sandals. “I’m not going anywhere, except back to that bar for another drink,” she protested. “I’m here with someone.”

He spun on her so fast it startled her, his gaze darkening with the unexpected flare of his temper. “Who are you here with?” he demanded.

His scowl too menacing to refuse, she heard the answer tumble from her lips. “My friend, Ashley. Not that it’s any of your business,” she quickly recovered. “Besides, what do you care about my safety?”

“I already told you. You’re no good to me dead. I can’t leverage a corpse.”

“And I already told you, Liam isn’t coming back!”

Haden’s grip on her arm tightened to one degree below painful, and he jerked her close, growling beside her ear, “And I already told you, he will. He just needs the proper motivation, is all.”

Olivia didn’t want to know by what means he intended to motivate. Whatever it was, she was fairly certain it wouldn’t bode well for her.

“Now, let’s go,” he growled impatiently, tugging her along.

There was no use in fighting him. Short of making a scene, she was helpless but to follow along. He cut a path through the crowd like Moses parting the Red Sea. But she was pretty sure the prophet hadn’t done it barking, “Move” and “Get the fuck out of my way!”

Steps from the exit, Olivia heard her name shouted over the thrumming bass of the music. “Wait a minute,” she snapped, tugging counterpoint to Haden’s persistent pull. She glanced over her shoulder to see Ashley weaving toward her.

“Were you going to leave without telling me? Wait, did you...” A saucy grin spread across her friend’s face as she tipped her head to the side, trying to see past Olivia. “Did you pick up a guy? Well, it’s about time—” Her smile fell with anvil force. “Oh, hell no! Haden! What are
you
doing here?”

His head slowly turned, brows furrowed as his cold, hard glare locked on her friend, displeasure radiating from every fiber of his being. “Keeping your BFF out of trouble,” he growled. “I should have known you’d be in the middle of it. You’re a damn shit magnet.” He turned back, pursuing his forward push through the crowd.

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault!”

Haden whipped back around with startling speed. “Oh, right, I forgot. Always the victim. Isn’t that right, Ash?”

“Fuck you!”

“Not even if you paid me. But classy…”

Haden’s grip on Olivia’s wrist tightened almost imperceptibly and she watched the two volley insults. How did they know each other? The tension between them was tactile. What had happened to cause this much bad blood between Haden and her best friend?

Exhaling a low snarl, he shot Ashley one last contemptuous glare before turning back and ushering her toward the door.

“Where in the hell do you think you’re going?” The staccato rap of high heels clicked after them. Ashley grabbed Olivia’s other wrist with a surprising amount of strength and yanked—hard. “She’s not going anywhere with you! I’ll take her home.”

Olivia felt like the rope in a tug-of-war contest, each contestant determined not to give a quarter. Her head was starting to spin from the tequila shots, and the jerking back and forth was giving her motion sickness. Her opportunity to press Haden for more answers was rapidly dwindling. By the stubborn set of her best friend’s jaw and the squinty-eyed glare she arrowed on him, Ashley wasn’t going to back down.

“Ashley can bring me home,” she told Haden. “Besides, you said it yourself, you’re not my babysitter. And I’m not your responsibility.”

He scowled. She could sense his hesitation to let go of her wrist. Casting that surly glare toward the bar, it then swung to her, back toward the bar, then to her again. As if he decided on something, Haden dropped her wrist and, without another word, marched past her. Halting beside Ashley, she heard him growl, “I hope you drive more responsibly than you drink.” Then, without breaking stride, he headed toward the bar. She could just imagine the curses flying out of his mouth as the crowd, once again, parted before him.

“Come on,” Ashley snapped, storming out the door. “Let’s go before that maniac comes back. What were you thinking, leaving with him?”

She was thinking she’d finally get some answers. That’s what she was thinking.

Chapter Eight

Haden approached a booth that gave him full view of the bar and a piss-ass drunken Mitch. He sat half-cocked atop a stool, elbows leaning heavily on the counter.
Pathetic piece of shit…
Haden knew he should have drowned that bastard in Lake Superior back when he had the chance. He’d kept the bastard alive only to be a bane in Liam’s side, but now it seemed he was just one in Olivia’s.

Haden gave a commanding “Move” to the couple occupying the space he wanted. They couldn’t beat feet outta there fast enough. When the waitress came around to take his order, he requested tequila. He’d never been a fan of the wormy drink, but after tasting it on Olivia’s mouth tonight, it held a hell of a lot more appeal.

Just the thought of their kiss made his mouth water, his pulse pounding the blood in his veins directly south. With a muttered oath, he readjusted himself in his jeans, which suddenly fit way too tight, and cursed himself for kissing that female. He knew better. And thinking back on it, he was more than a little remiss to admit that Mitch’s treatment of her had, and not for the first time, triggered protective instincts he’d thought long dead.

More concerning was that he felt any such emotion toward Liam’s female in the first place. She was nothing more than a means to an end—the key to his revenge. The vindication his Anya deserved… How many years would her whitewashed bones have to lie in that shallow unmarked grave, waiting for justice only he could serve? Now that he was so close, he’d not allow himself to become distracted by unwanted passions and unnecessary desires.

It was her sight that drew him, his instinct to hunt consuming his thoughts of the female. After all those years of tracking and killing the Sighted, it only stood to reason he’d be drawn to Olivia. It had nothing to do with her delicious vanilla-jasmine scent, or her breathtaking beauty, or her keen intelligence…

No, she was the key to forcing Liam’s hand into submission—nothing more and nothing less. Immanuel’s Stone would give him the power he needed to return to Sheol and kill Gahn—the father who’d raised him—the bastard who’d betrayed him—the killer who’d taken everything from him.

He’d waited long enough. He was running out of patience and time. The Dark Court was expecting him to return, and with Olivia dead, no less. If they became suspicious of his true intentions, then all would be lost. Clearly, the warrior wasn’t returning without the proper motivation. At first, he believed Olivia was lying about her amnesia. Now…not so much.

In Duluth, she’d told Mitch the stone was hidden at the Grotto of the Redemption, but where at the grotto? That place was a bejeweled landmine. Maybe Mitch knew which of the nine grottos it was in. At least then he’d have a starting point. Perhaps a little road trip would precipitate the return of Olivia’s memories.

Tipping his head back, he downed the tequila shot and popped the lime into his mouth. He sucked the juice from the rind and spit it back into the shot glass before slipping out of the booth and swaggering up to the empty seat beside Mitch.

“What do you want?” Mitch growled, casting him a surly scowl.

What did he want? He wanted to nail that bastard in the jaw again. “You should take a good, hard look at yourself, Mitch. You’re a pathetic piece of shit. If you ask me, Olivia dodged a bullet when she dumped your sorry ass.”

“I hate you.”

“Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual, I assure you. Anyway, I didn’t come here to discuss your affection for me. You called me a Nephilim tonight and I’d like to know how in the hell you know anything about me.”

“Are you fucking her?”

Haden raised his hand, barely resisting the urge to bust Mitch in the lip. Instead, he snapped his fingers beside the guy’s ear. “Come on, Mitch, focus! How do you know what I am?”

“I know lots of things…” his drunken slur was proof positive the alcohol had eaten away the filter between Mitch’s brain and his mouth. Either that or he had a death wish—one Haden was more than willing to grant.

“Such as…?”

Mitch’s cocky arrogance grated on Haden’s last nerve. Eyeing the worthless mortal, the thought was quickly dawning on him that this guy might actually know enough to be a threat. What had Rhen and Cale told him? Did Mitch suspect he’d been instrumental in the destruction of Rowen’s legion? In the wrong hands, that kind of knowledge could destroy Haden.

“I know why you keep sniffing around Olivia’s skirt.”

Arching a brow in feigned apathetic boredom, he drawled, “Oh yeah? And why’s that?”

“You keep hoping she’ll get her memory back and tell you where that stone is. Maybe she’s using you, Haden. Have you ever thought about that?”

Haden nearly laughed. Something he rarely did. “Do you honestly think that Olivia and I are a couple? That she has feelings for me?” It bothered Haden that the idea didn’t sit as ill with him as he wanted it to.

“So you’re not together?” Mitch challenged.

Had Mitch not already sealed his fate the moment he’d called him a Neph, Haden might have tried to put forth a more convincing argument to the contrary. “I have no interest in Olivia. Not like that, anyway.” Even as he denied it, the taste of her kiss came to memory, stirring an unsettling ache in his groin.

“You’re lying,” Mitch accused. “I saw the way you looked at her. You wouldn’t defend someone who meant nothing to you.”

“I would if it meant I’d get the chance to punch you in the face.” That comment earned him another surly scowl.

“Sucks to want what you can’t have, doesn’t it,” the prick taunted.

What the fuck? Did this asshole really think he was going to sit here and bond with him over that female? “Who have you told about me?” Haden asked, preparing to make a mental hit list.

“She tastes good, doesn’t she? Man, I miss that.”

She tasted fantastic, but that wasn’t the point. And the more Mitch sat there talking about that female, the shorter Haden’s fuse grew. That green-eyed monster lashing at its tether was just begging to reach out and snap Mitch’s neck.

“—those lush lips and that sweet little tongue…”

Snap!

With blinding speed, Haden reached out, grabbed the back of Mitch’s neck, and slammed his face into the bar. The bartender paid little notice to the thump, probably figuring the guy just passed out and face planted into the wooden countertop.