Until Darkness Comes (32 page)

***

Ashley slipped her arm around his waist as they walked down the path that would bring them back to the car. “What do you think happened up there?” she asked, trying to make sense of what she saw on the bluff. “Do you think Max will come back?”

“No,” Balen said, assuredly. “Max is gone. He won’t be back.”
“How do you know?” she asked, turning to look at him.
Balen stopped walking and turned to face her. He reached up and touched her cheek. Right or wrong, knowing the truth didn’t make her want him any less.
“Because I know Liam, and if he says it’s over, then it’s over.”
His confidence was reassuring, and she gave him a small smile as they started walking again. “I’m sorry about earlier,” she said after a few moments of silence.
“You are? Now what do you possibly have to be sorry about?”
“For what happened this morning. I kissed you. And now that I know, I can see how hard you tried to do the right thing, to keep from hurting me.”
“I’m not sorry, Ashley. I don’t regret one second that I’ve spent with you.”
“Neither do I.” A sad smile touched her lips. As they drove home, she couldn’t shake the sense they were running out of time and began to feel increasingly anxious about saying good-bye to him. “Say something…” She glanced over at him and thought she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. She wondered if it was going to be as difficult for him to leave her as it was for her to see him go.
“I’m not sure what to say,” he said. “You know I have to go back.”
“I know. I don’t want you to go,” she whispered.
“But I have to…” He pulled into her driveway and cut the engine. He stepped out of the car and walked around to the passenger door, holding his hand out to her. “Walk with me?” he asked.
She nodded, and they walked up to the same hill where she’d experienced the most amazing kiss of her life. Already it seemed like a lifetime ago, instead of just a few short hours. Balen turned to her and lifted his hand to touch the side of her face.
“Ashley, I want you to know that going back isn’t an easy thing for me to do. Before I go, I have to know that you believe, because eternity is too long to live with regrets.
Tears filled her eyes as she nodded her head. “I believe…” After everything that happened today, how could she possibly not? The tension left Balen’s face and he smiled down at her with relief, pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and clung tightly, not ready to say good-bye yet.
“Will I ever see you again?” Her voice cracked as she tried to hold herself together.
Balen nodded. “Someday we’ll see each other again, I promise.” He bent down and kissed her one last time. She closed her eyes as the feather-light touch grazed her lips. A warm gentle breeze blew past her, and she didn’t want to open her eyes because she knew she’d find herself alone when she did.

***

Ashley tapped softly on the hospital door before pushing it open with the side of her hip. Her hands were full of balloons and flowers as she walked into Nate’s hospital room. “Hey,” she said nervously, holding the gifts up as a peace offering.

“Hey, Ash,” Nate smiled, struggling to sit up in bed. “What are you doing here?” he asked, glancing up at the clock hanging on the wall across from his bed.

“I know it’s late,” she said quickly. “I won’t stay long, I promise. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” She set the balloons and flowers on the nightstand next to the bed and stood there anxiously looking down at him. Dark bruises marked his thick, muscular neck, another bruise traced his left cheekbone. She bit her bottom lip and tears filled her eyes.

Nate watched her silently. “Come here,” he said after a minute, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward him.
She let out a little cry of relief. Tears ran down her cheeks as she climbed in next to him and leaned against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she sobbed into his shoulder.
Nate hugged her tightly. “Shh…” he whispered, reaching up to stroke the back of her hair. “I’m going to be fine,” he consoled her.
“I was so scared when I heard.” Her voice was muffled as she spoke into his shoulder. She lifted her head and noticed his gown was soaked from her tears. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you—especially after how we left things between us.”
“It’s okay, Ashley. I’m not angry with you. I understand if you want to be with Balen.”
A pang of sadness pierced her heart at the mention of Balen’s name. She shook her head. “I’m not with him,” she whispered, hoping he wouldn’t ask her for details. She just wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. “What I need is simple and uncomplicated. I think what I need…is you.”

The western sky was filled with brilliant colors of orange and violet. Olivia sat in Liam’s arms overlooking the bluffs. Her back leaned against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder, as they stared into the setting sun’s breathtaking tapestry. “What’s it like…in Heaven?”

“Its beauty is beyond words,” he said softly, resting his cheek against the top of her head. “Imagine being surrounded by absolute perfection. His presence is…There are no words in your language to describe it.”

“Then, tell me in yours,” she said, wanting to hear the beautiful language one last time.
Liam pulled her more tightly into his embrace and began telling her about all the amazing wonders of his world. She couldn’t understand a word he said, but the cadence of his soft rich voice left her enthralled as she imagined what he might be saying.
The sun had fallen behind the hills, and the sky faded to black by the time he finished speaking. Stars decorated the midnight sky, and the soft chirp of crickets serenaded them. He whispered something into her ear. It sounded so beautiful.
“What did you say to me?” she asked, smiling as she turned in his arms to look up at him.
“I said I love you.” His eyes roved over her face as if he were trying to memorize every last detail.
“I love you too,” she whispered. “I wish tonight would never end. I’m not ready to say good-bye.”
“It’s only for a little while,” he whispered, bending down to kiss her softly. He lifted his face and gently kissed the bruised tender spot on her cheek.
She felt that warm liquid heat spread across her cheek and the pain quickly disappeared. “I want to remove every trace of him,” Liam whispered against her lips.
As he kissed her, that delicious warmth filled her mouth. It was different than the kisses they’d shared before. This time, his touch was cleansing—healing— renewing. Liam’s fingertips brush down the side of her neck, bathing her skin in a glow that felt as glorious as the sun. It was amazing how he seemed to know everywhere Max had touched her.
Once finished, he slowly lifted his head to carefully inspect his handiwork. “Perfect,” he whispered. “As if it never happened.”
Amazing—every ache and pain in her body from the last two days was gone. She felt strong, refreshed, alive…
“It’s time to go,” he whispered, bending down to kiss her lips one last time. “I love you, Olivia.”

***

Olivia opened her eyes as the gentle breeze blew against her bare legs. She squinted against the sun that shone in through her open bedroom window and groaned. Grabbing the covers, she pulled them over her head in a futile attempt to hide from the day. The familiar rumble of an engine stopped in front of her house and she heard a car door slam. A few seconds later, the patter of feet running up the stairs preceded a vigorous knock.

“Please, just go away,” she called from under the covers.
“Can’t,” Ashley said, poking her head inside her room. “Promised Liam I wouldn’t. Now get up,” she said, pulling Olivia’s blankets off her in one big dramatic sweep. “It’s

Until Darkness Comes

Sunday, and church starts in an hour,” Ashley said, digging through her closet.

She watched her friend from her bed, and wondered what happened to the real Ashley.
“Church, huh? I’ve been trying to get you to come to church with me for years—what gives?”
“Yeah, well, that was then, this is now,” she said, tossing clothes onto her bed. “Things are different. Get in the shower. I don’t want to be late. Plus, Nate’s getting released today, and I told him we’d pick him up afterwards.”
Olivia huffed and climbed out of bed, dragging ass into the bathroom. She had to admit, she did feel somewhat better after a hot shower. She stood in front of the mirror before getting dressed and looked closely in the mirror. Her skin looked flawless and radiant. She smiled sadly and sighed, pulling her clothes on, and wrapped her damp hair up into a twist.
“Done?” Ashley asked, putting down a magazine and smiling a little too cheerfully as she walked into her room.
“The new you is going to take some getting used to,” she said sourly.
“That’s all right. Liam warned me you’d be like this. You’re my best friend, Liv, and I love you, even when you are bitchy,” Ashley said, teasing her.
Olivia couldn’t help but return her friend’s smile. “Come on,” she said, grabbing her friend’s hand. “I don’t want to make you late for church.”
Ashley smiled and held her hand up, letting a set of car keys dangle from her finger. “I’ll drive.”
She stopped when they stepped out of the house. Balen’s yellow Mustang was parked in front of her house.
“He gave it to me,” she said, smiling sadly. She could tell Ashley missed him, but Balen had opened her eyes to the truth, and although he was gone, that loss couldn’t overshadow the joy of knowing there was an eternity waiting for her that she’d never believed existed before.
“What’s this?” Olivia asked, looking over at the black Camaro sitting in her driveway.
“Liam left it for you. Said he didn’t need it anymore and preferred it if you had something a little more reliable to get around in.”
“How do you know all this? Why didn’t he just tell me this stuff himself?” she asked, as tears began to well in her eyes.
“Because it was too hard for him to say good-bye. You fell asleep in his arms last night, and he said it was easier this way.”
She reached up to wipe away the tears running down her face. “Well, he’s wrong. There’s
nothing
easy about this.”
Ashley wrapped her arms around her. “I know. I’m sorry, Liv.”
Olivia walked over to the Camaro, climbed inside, and shut the door. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat, drawing in a slow deep breath. Liam’s spicy scent still hung in the air, and she imagined him sitting right here beside her. Maybe it was denial, but something told her he’d be back.
In the meantime, she’d try to take comfort in the knowledge that just because she couldn’t see him it didn’t mean he wasn’t here. He’d always been here, but his absence now left her with an intense ache in her chest, one that she could only hope would lessen with time. Her best friend and the love of her life was gone…

Three months later…

“Happy Birthday to you…” Olivia’s parents sang, busting into her room with a song and a tray full of French toast, bacon, orange juice, and coffee. A confetti-sprinkled cupcake adorned with a burning candle sat in the center of the tray.

She smiled, sitting up in bed as she looked over at her alarm clock. She knew what it would say—6:45 a.m., the exact time of her birth. Every year her parents would come in with a tray full of breakfast and sing to her.

“Thanks, Mom, Dad,” she said when they finished singing, taking the tray from them. A single rose sat in a tall slender vase next to her plate. “You guys are the best.”

“Happy Birthday, honey. We’ll see you down stairs.”

Olivia picked at her breakfast, which tasted great, but she didn’t have much of an appetite these last few months. She got up to carry her tray over to her desk, when her eyes fell on a small red box sitting next to her computer. An iridescent pearl white ribbon was wrapped perfectly around the package. Underneath it was an envelope; her name was written across the front. Olivia’s heart began to pound as she slid the envelope out from under the box. Her hands shook as she tore open the seal and unfolded the heavy piece of parchment paper. She looked down at the ancient script that appeared to be penned by ink and quill.

My Dearest Olivia,
Happy nineteenth birthday! Today, I celebrate nineteen of the most fabulous years of my existence because they have been with you. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t give thanks for you. You are eternally in my heart, and I wait for the day when I can hold you in my arms once again. I hope you understand why I left the way I did. I just couldn’t bear to make things harder on you. As I held you, sleeping in my arms, I had hoped to leave you with a glimpse of your forever. Until then, live your life fully and know that you are loved, cherished and protected.
All my love,
Liam

Tears filled her eyes as she folded the letter up and slid it back into the envelope. She wiped them away with the back of her hand and picked up the small red box. She gently lifted the corners of the paper, not wanting to tear the beautiful wrapping, and slid a small box out of the paper shell. She opened the lid and gasped. Inside the box lay a heart-shaped stone attached to a necklace. She lifted the delicate chain and held it up to the light, looking more closely at the most beautiful stone she’d ever seen. It reminded her of a black opal, but stones like that didn’t exist. A rainbow of color reflected in the sunlight. The heart-shape cut was exquisite—hundreds of angles contoured the stone.

Olivia unfastened the clasp and placed the necklace around her neck. She looked back down at the small box and noticed a folded slip of paper inside. She opened it and read.

A little piece of Heaven.

I hope you enjoyed reading Until Darkness Comes, book one in the Redemption Series. Here’s a sneak peak at Shades of Darkness, book two in the Redemption Series.

Three Years Later

“So, is it true?” Haden demanded, pulling Jace into the tiny room in the back of the bar. He closed the door behind him, leaning against the frame to prevent any untimely interruptions. “Did you see it?”

Jace looked around the room, as if to make sure they were truly alone. “Yeah, it’s true.”
“You saw it then? You saw the stone?”
Could it possibly be true? Was Immanuel’s Stone here, on earth?
“I saw the stone,” Jace repeated.
“Have you told anyone else about it?” Haden stepped closer to his friend and casually put his arm around the demon’s tattooed neck.
“No, only you, just like you said. Her warrior nearly killed me, though. I could hardly get close enough to her to see it. You know, for a minute there, I thought you’d sent me on a suicide mission.”
“I did…” Haden growled. With preternatural speed, he grabbed a hold of his arm circling the demon’s neck and jerked up. The crunch of his bones echoed through the small room. Haden released his old friend, watching as his lifeless body sagged to the floor. Shadows poured out beneath the demon, enveloping it in a thick black mist.
“Sorry about that,” he said, stepping over the crumpled heap. “But to rise to the top, soldiers must fall.”