Until Darkness Comes (11 page)

Oh, gag.
If he poured it on any thicker, she might possibly throw up. Hey, that wasn’t such a bad idea, at least then he’d have to let go of her. Her skin crawled in the weight of his embrace, and her stomach turned.

Out of nowhere, Olivia thought of Liam and suddenly wished he was here with her. The sincerity she’d seen in his eyes last night had been genuine. What she saw in Max right now…this was something else, and it left her with an overwhelming sense of dread. Liam’s warning played over and over through her mind. She needed to get Max out of here—now.

“Max,” she wiggled out of his embrace. Thank God, he let her go. She jumped up from the couch to put some distance between them. “I hear what you’re saying, but I just need some time to think.”

Anger flashed in his dark brown eyes, making the little hairs on the back of her neck tingle. “Is this about Liam?” he demanded. His voice stretched tight with barely controlled rage. “What were you doing with him last night?”

“Nothing,” Olivia replied defensively. “What were
you
doing following me?”
Max leapt up and charged toward her. She dug her feet into the carpet, standing her ground. “I was keeping you safe! You shouldn’t be alone with him, Olivia. You don’t know the first thing about him. He’s dangerous!”
“Huh, that’s funny. He said the same thing about you,” she shot back defensively, ignoring the little voice inside her head screaming at her to shut up before she made things worse.
“Oh, and now you believe a stranger over me. Is that it? You’d take the word of someone you’ve only known for a whole, let’s see, six days, over mine?” Seething rage burned brightly in his coal black eyes.
Olivia’s cat brushed up against her leg. She reached down to pick him up, anxious to put something, anything, between her and Max. The cat leveled a glare at him and emitted a low warning growl. He returned the cat’s glare, and it hissed before jumping out of her arms.
“Continuing to make friends, I see. Animals can’t even stand to be around you when you’re like this.”
“Has
he
been in this house? Are you sleeping with him, Olivia?”
“What?” she yelled indignantly. “Are you completely out of your mind? Why would you possibly even think that? I’m not even sleeping with you!”
“Because I can smell him, Olivia! He’s been in your room!” Max snarled.
Raw terror left her momentarily speechless. How could Max possibly know Liam’s scent? Fury and contempt rolled off him in tangible waves. He looked like he wanted to lunge forward and strangle her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered calmly, trying to diffuse his temper before the situation got any worse. “Liam has never been in this house, and I can’t believe that you think so little of me as to cheat on you.” Tears of his betrayal filled her eyes. It wasn’t difficult to work up a good cry. Maybe he’d realize yelling at her was the wrong approach. She was desperate to diffuse his anger, and would give just about anything a shot right about now.
The tears worked. Max sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, Liv. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you again. Please, forgive me?”
Olivia nodded her head, anything to get this over and get him the hell out of here. “I’m not sure where this relationship is going anymore, Max. Honestly, it shouldn’t be this hard. I think maybe we should just give each other some space for a little while.”
He looked wounded—heartbroken. Guilt crept in, needling her conscience. Was this genuine? Had Max finally let his emotional walls down? It was hard to tell, he ran from hot to cold so fast her head was starting to spin.
“Liv, the only reason I got so upset with you a minute ago was because I love you so much. Just the thought of you being with another guy…it makes me crazy. I’m just so afraid of losing you, that’s all.”
All right, this conversation needed to end. She was in so far over her head she needed a shovel to dig out of Max’s shit. Olivia made a show of looking down at her watch. “I have to go, Max. I still need to get ready for school.”
“Can I give you a ride?”
“No, thank you. Ashley’s picking me up. I’ll talk to you later.” She walked over to the door, holding it open for him.
Please leave…please leave…please leave…
She forgot to call Ashley to ask her for a ride because her Jeep still wasn’t running. Hopefully it wasn’t too late to catch her.
Max stood up and walked over to the door. He bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek. “I hope you have a good day, Liv. I’ll see you later.” He sounded so sad and dejected. It was obvious he was trying to play on her sympathy. She wasn’t falling for it. “Bye, Max.” She closed the door behind him and flipped the deadbolt.

***

“You actually think that’s going to keep me out?” Max sneered, stepping off her front porch. “Sweetheart, you don’t have a fucking clue.”

He resisted the temptation to prove to her just how vulnerable she was. Operation “Get Back into Olivia’s Good Graces” hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped. Manipulating her free will was becoming increasingly difficult, thanks to that damn warrior’s interference. Time was running out, and things were about to go from bad to worse in a mighty damn hurry if that little bitch didn’t have a change of heart soon.

Max walked his bike out of her driveway and pushed it over to the vacant yellow house across the street with the red and blue Re-Max sign hanging in the front yard. He parked the Harley in the back, keeping it out of sight from the street, and walked up to the deck attached to the back of the house.

From this angle, he had a pretty good view of Olivia’s front yard and an even better view of her bedroom. He grabbed a piece of weathered patio furniture and sat down for a little recon. Less than five minutes later, a black Camaro pulled into her driveway.

“That lying little bitch!” he growled, leaping to his feet. “No wonder she was in such a hurry for me to leave. ‘Ashley’s coming to pick me up,’ my ass!”

Max watched as the warrior climbed out of the car and walk toward the house. A breeze suddenly picked up from the west, and the warrior froze mid-step, spinning around with surprising speed. His deep violet eyes searched the neighborhood, flashing bright amethyst when they locked on Max.
Unbelievable…

A soft warning growl rumbled in the back of his throat as he returned the warrior’s menacing glare, silently challenging him to come on over.

“Andre!” Olivia called.

Liam turned back around to see a white, fluffy cat running toward him and an anxious-looking Olivia running after him. When he bent down to catch the feline, it leapt into his arms.

“My, you sure are a friendly beast.” He ruffled the cat’s fur, and it began to purr. Liam carried Andre over to Olivia. She smiled up at him, taking the cat from his arms.

“You know, he really isn’t—friendly with people he doesn’t know, I mean. I can’t believe he just ran over to you like that. He acts like you’re his long lost friend or something.”

“I just have a way with animals, that’s all.”

“He hates Max,” she murmured, turning to walk back inside the house.
“Well, animals are a good judge of character.”
“Stop it,” she chided, laughing. “What are you doing here?”
“I just came by to make sure you were all right after last night, and to see if maybe you’d like a ride to school. I assume your car isn’t running yet.”
“No, it isn’t. My dad said he should have it fixed by tonight. I hope so anyway, because I teach yoga class at four thirty.”
Liam followed Olivia inside. Max’s lingering scent struck him the moment he stepped foot inside. His attempt to make amends obviously hadn’t gone well, otherwise he wouldn’t be casing her place right now.
“I just need to run upstairs for a minute to finish getting ready. Do you mind waiting?”
“No, take your time.” Something brushed against his leg, and he looked down at the purring cat weaving himself in and out of his legs. “So, how did things go with Max this morning?” he called casually, bending down to run his hand over the cat’s back.
“What?” Olivia called down from the top of the stairs. “How do you know he was here?” she mumbled past her toothbrush as she scrubbed her teeth vigorously.
Liam chuckled softly. She looked adorable standing there with white toothpaste foaming out all over. “Just a lucky guess. It’s what I would have done, and there’s a red rose lying on your coffee table. You might want to get it in some water before it dies.”
Olivia let out a humph, spun around, and walked back into the bathroom. Apparently that wasn’t very high on her list of priorities. She came back down a few minutes later with her arms full of books, looking radiant as ever.
“Here, let me take those for you,” he offered, sliding his hands along her bare arms to grab the books. Even the slightest contact with her sent his pulse racing. Silence hung in the air as neither of them moved. He stood so close her light vanilla-jasmine scent seemed to envelop him, dizzying his senses. Olivia looked up at him nervously and caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
She was so beautiful. His grip tightened on her books as he fought the urge to reach out and pull her into his arms. “You’re going to be late if we don’t get going,” he whispered huskily, unable and unwilling to be the one who walked away first.
“What?” she whispered dreamily. “Oh, right.” She walked over to the closet, slid into a pair of silver sandals, and preceded into the living room where she grabbed the rose off the table. “Ouch!” she exclaimed, scowling at her finger.
Olivia walked over to the garbage and dropped the rose inside. She grabbed a napkin off the table and held it up to her bleeding finger. Her beautiful face was still pinched into a frown as she walked back over to him.
“Here.” Liam set her books down on the table beside the door. “Let me see it,” he instructed, holding out his hand.
“It’s fine,” she grumbled, wiping the blood from her finger.
“Olivia, let me see it,” he insisted, gently taking a hold of her wrist. He pulled the napkin away and looked down at the small cut on the tip of her finger. The bleeding already stopped. Impulsively, he bent down and brushed his lips against her fingertip, allowing only the slightest amount of energy to touch her.
“There,” he smiled up at her, letting his lips linger against her skin for just a moment longer. “It’s all better. Come on, let’s go.” He grabbed her hand, scooped up her books with the other, and they walked out the door together.

***

Olivia could barely hear a word Liam said over the pounding of her heart. She didn’t expect him to kiss her finger, and she certainly hadn’t expected something so minor to feel so amazing. It was just a simple kiss.

But it wasn’t… As soon as his lips touched her skin, liquid heat spread through her fingers, taking away the stinging pain of the thorn’s assault. This is ridiculous, she isn’t
Sleeping Beauty
and this isn’t a fairy tale, but she couldn’t deny that his touch felt magical.

Even now, as he held her hand, there was something about their connection that made her knees go weak and her heart beat faster. Maybe it was just the adrenaline racing through her veins that released her endorphins and took away the pain in her finger. There was no other logical explanation.

The moment they stepped outside, Olivia felt a sudden change in him. It wasn’t anything she could describe. It was more like…a knowing—something she felt through his touch. Impossible, of course, but when she looked up at him and saw the hard square set of his jaw and the glint of amethyst in those dark violet eyes, it confirmed she wasn’t imagining this. His grip on her hand tightened protectively.

“Is something wrong?” She glanced up at him to see his eyes searching the neighborhood. He was looking for something, for someone…Olivia fought against the sudden surge of panic rising up inside her. What if Max was out there? What if he was watching her right now? If he caught her with Liam…

As if he read her mind, Liam let go of her hand and wrapped his strong arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly into the side of his chest as he walked her over to the car. “Don’t be afraid,” he said softly. “Everything’s going to be fine.” He opened the car door and she climbed inside. He handed her the books and gave her a much needed reassuring smile, and in that moment, she could almost believe that everything was going to be all right.

By the time they pulled into the school parking lot, she was seriously second guessing her decision to let Liam bring her to school. It was as if the low rumble of the Camaro called out “look at me.” And they all did. The tinted windows were down, and by the time the car stopped beside the curb, every eye was trained on her. She could already hear the gossip now, and Max was bound to get an ear full.

“They’re staring…” she said, glancing over at him nervously. She could feel the hate vibes of more than a few jealous girls.

Liam chuckled and cocked an eyebrow flirtatiously. “You want me to give them something to talk about?”
Heat flooded her cheeks as she imagined what he might do to her.
Yes.
“No,” she blurted. “Thanks, anyway. Max is already going to kill me when he hears about this.”
“You don’t have to worry about Max. I won’t let him hurt you.” There was no mistaking the possessiveness in his voice.
“I was speaking figuratively.” Then again, after today, maybe she wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Do you need a ride home from school? I could bring you.”
“No. Thank you. I’ll catch a ride home from Ashley. It might look a bit too ‘couplish’ if you’re waiting for me after school.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?” he asked huskily, brushing his thumb over the top of her hand.
Butterflies erupted inside her chest. “Until I deal with Max, yes. There’s no need to slap the bull.”
“Sure, I get it. Just let me know if you change your mind about the ride. You know, Olivia, you don’t have to deal with Max. I’ll take care of this for you, you only have to say the word, but until you do, my hands are tied. ” She could hear the frustration in his voice. A part of her wanted to say yes. It would be so easy just to let Liam deal with her mess. But that wouldn’t be fair to him. Max wasn’t his problem.
“Thanks for the ride, Liam.” She climbed out of the car and looked up to see Ashley running toward her.
Oh great.
She quickly shut the door and hurried away from the Camaro before her friend could draw any more attention to them.
“Olivia! Is that who I think it is?” Ashley cried, cranking her neck to peer over Olivia’s shoulder. She grabbed Ashley’s sleeve and pulled her along beside her. The rumble of the Camaro’s engine slowly began to fade, and she resisted the urge to turn around and watch him leave.
“It doesn’t mean anything, Ash. He just came by to check on me this morning after that blow-up with Max last night. My Jeep wouldn’t start, so he offered me a ride. Hey, why didn’t you call me when you got in last night?”
“Who said I got in?” Ashley giggled.
Olivia gasped. “You’re terrible, Ash. I’m tellin’ ya, you better be careful. There’s a lot of creeps out there and someday you just may go home with the wrong guy.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
Olivia tried to ignore the glares and questioning glances she passed in the hall. Halfway through the day, she’d already lost count of how many times someone approached her to ask if she and Max had broken up. It was beyond her why people cared so much about her love life anyway. “Pathetic,” she grumbled, walking past a group of girls blatantly giving her the stink eye.
The seventh-hour bell rang not a moment too soon. By far, this had definitely been one of the longest days of her life. She’d asked Ashley for a ride home as they were walking out the front door together when Olivia abruptly stopped. “Oh shit!” she groaned. Adrenaline flooded her veins and her heart began to hammer in her chest when she saw Max sitting in his old parking spot casually straddling his Harley, waiting expectantly for her to join him.
“I’ll still take you home if you want, Liv. You don’t have to go with him. It might do him some good if he had to chase you for a change, especially after being such a dick yesterday.”
“I don’t think I want him to chase me,” Olivia said softly. “I don’t think I want him around me at all anymore.”
“You know that guy he hit is in the hospital, right? I heard some of the staff talking about it last night. I don’t want to scare you or anything, Liv, but Max kinda gives me the creeps.”
“Me too,” Olivia sighed. Obviously that this morning’s conversation hadn’t sunk in.
“You don’t have to go, Liv,” Ashley called after her.
“Yes, I do. It would just give these vultures around here even more to talk about if I didn’t. Besides, I don’t want Max making a scene or anything.”
“I hope you just decide to cut him loose, Liv. Liam seems like he’s really into you, and I think he’s a much better guy, if you ask me, and way hotter.”
Olivia didn’t reply. She was too busy thinking about what she was going to say to Max.
“Hey, Liv.”
Olivia didn’t answer him right away. She stood there, studying him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was in denial or just that dense. She looked down at his hand, noticing his knuckles were torn and bloody. Oh shit, maybe Liam hadn’t kept his distance after all. “What happened to your hand?”
“It’s nothing,” he denied, flexing it to prove he was fine. I just had a little accident in my garage this afternoon.”
“Uh-huh…It doesn’t look like nothing. Maybe you should have it checked out?”
“Why is everyone staring at us?” Max growled irritably.
“Because people are sad and boring, and have no lives of their own.”
“Whatever. So, what are you waiting for? Get on.” Max kick-started the Harley and revved the engine impatiently.
Olivia reluctantly climbed on. “I need to go home, Max. I have yoga class in an hour.”
Max didn’t reply. Either he didn’t hear her over the rattle or he chose not to—probably the latter. They pulled out of the school parking lot, and he turned the opposite direction of where she lived. Olivia’s chest tightened— panic choked her.
“Max…” She fought to keep the fear out of her voice. “I don’t think you heard me. I want to go home. I have yoga class.”
“No, you don’t. I stopped by and told them you weren’t feeling well today. I told them you wouldn’t be in for class.”
“You did what? Why would you possibly think it was okay for you to do something like that?”
He pulled into a nearby parking lot and laid on the brakes. “You’ve been so stressed out lately. I thought you’d appreciate the night off.”
He sounded as if he were actually concerned about her, too bad she knew better. “I’m not stressed out about work, Max. I’m stressed out because of you! Do you realize that little stunt you pulled last night put a man in the hospital? Do you even care? And you shouldn’t have been following me either. This is crossing the line, and you’re starting to scare me.”
“You’re overreacting, Liv. I just thought it would be nice to spend the evening together.”
“How is this giving each other a little time apart, Max? Were you not listening to the conversation we had this morning?” Olivia was beyond trying to spare his feelings, not that he had any to spare.
“What do you want from me, Olivia? Can’t you see I’m trying here?”
She felt a momentary pang of guilt for being so harsh, but she was angry and scared. “I just want you to take me home,” she said quietly, struggling to keep her voice calm.
Max’s coal black eyes bore into hers with barely restrained fury. “Olivia, I believe we’re reaching a precipice in our relationship. I’ll caution you to consider your actions carefully, because once that line is crossed, there’s no going back.”
Olivia stared at him in shock and realized she was looking into the eyes of a stranger. All she could think about was how to get him to take her home. “Max, I don’t want either of us to say something we might regret. I’d really appreciate it if you’d please take me home. I do not want to miss my yoga class. A lot of people are counting on me, and there isn’t anyone else who can fill in. Maybe we can schedule a time that works for both of us to get together and talk?”
Wordlessly, Max turned around and pulled the bike onto the street. Thankfully, they were headed in the right direction this time. Things between them were heading south—fast. As he pulled into her driveway, she was climbing off the back of the motorcycle before it’d even come to a complete stop. “Thanks for understanding, Max. I’ll give you a call tomorrow and we can talk, okay?” Maybe the offer to call him would keep him from going over the deep end and taking her with him? Something wasn’t right about him, and it was becoming more and more obvious every day.
She ran into the house to get changed for class, then ran back out, kissing her dad on the cheek as she blew by. She thanked him for fixing her car and jumped into her Jeep, glad to have her own wheels again.
Olivia got to the gym with a few minutes to spare. She checked her reflection in the rear view mirror and wiped away the make-up smudge beneath her eyes before climbing out. With great effort, she painted a carefree smile on her face and walked into the gym, acting as if her world hadn’t just taken an unexpected turn down Shit Avenue.
The night flew by. She was thankful for the large class, it helped keep her busy and her mind preoccupied. It was after nine when the last person left. She stayed a few minutes late to help Clay lock up. He always helped her out, so she’d feel like a jerk if she bailed on him now. Besides, she didn’t want to walk out to her car alone, not with two women still missing, and Max acting so creepy.
Olivia hadn’t driven farther than a few blocks when her headlights started to dim. She turned them off and on, off and on, testing their brightness. The radio faded, followed by the lights. Within seconds, the Jeep stalled.
“Shit! You’ve got to be kidding me!” She grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and called her dad. The phone beeped in her ear. She looked down at the receiver to see it flashing “no signal.”
“Shit, shit, shit!” Olivia crammed her phone into her purse and climbed out of the car, slamming the door as she stormed away. The grocery store was three blocks away and, unfortunately, there wasn’t anything else open in between.
As soon as her sandals hit the pavement, she felt the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Maybe it was just nerves, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Olivia cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Two guys stood in the shadows no more than a block behind her. It was too dark to make out their details, but she knew one thing for certain, they were big, and they were following her.
She picked up the pace, her shoes clapping briskly against the sidewalk. She saw a couple walking up ahead and ran to catch up with them. “Excuse me,” she panted, breathless from fear. “Do you mind if I walked with you? My car broke down and there are two guys back there. I think they’re following me.”
“Sure,” the guy answered, turning around to look behind him. “But I don’t see anyone. They must have left.”
Olivia glanced back, the two guys were a little farther away but they were still there.
How can this guy not see them? Is he blind?
She broke away from the couple as soon as she reached the grocery store parking lot. She checked her phone as she jogged up to the building—still no signal. Olivia looked over her shoulder as she rushed through the sliding glass doors. They were still out there, standing off to the corner of the parking lot. The tall one lit a cigarette as he leaned against a car. His dark eyes followed her boldly, making no attempt to hide the fact they were following her.
She cowered behind the glass, staring at the two men. There was something familiar about them, especially the tall one who wore a splint on his wrist. He took a drag of his cigarette, and gave her a taunting, finger fluttering wave as a slow sardonic grin spread across his face. Her body erupted in a cold, clammy sweat. Perspiration ran down her neck, pooling in the cleavage between her breasts.
She spun away from the window and hid behind the corner of the wall, plastering her back against the white painted brick. She hugged it so close she probably looked like a jumper standing on a ledge fifty feet in the air. A middle-aged woman stood behind the courtesy counter, watching her with bored interest.
Olivia pushed herself away from the wall and ran up to the short woman with a salt and pepper bob. “Where’s your pay phone?”
The woman didn’t speak. She just pointed at the wall beside the window.
Oh great!
Olivia turned back around and rushed over to the phone. She could feel the eyes of her stalkers watching her every move. She called home—no one answered. She tried calling Ashley and only got her voicemail. The pay phone ate her quarters when the answering machine picked up. Olivia cursed, shoved her hand into her pockets, and grabbed out more change. When she opened her palm, a crumpled piece of paper lay in her hand amongst the change.
Liam…
Olivia tossed the extra quarters into the coin slot and dialed the number, praying he would answer. The phone picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”
Oh, thank God!
“Liam?” She tried unsuccessfully to keep the panic out of her voice.
“No, this is Balen. Who’s this?”
“Umm, Olivia. Is Liam there?”
Please be there. Please be there.
“Yeah, he’s in the shower right now. Can I have him call you back or something?”
“Actually, no. I’m calling from a pay phone, and my cell won’t work.”
“Just a sec.”
There was a brief pause, then Olivia heard a knock and the shower spray echo in the background. “Hey, Liam, Olivia’s on the phone for you.” The shower shut off. “What?”
“Olivia’s on the phone for you.” The shower curtain raked across the metal pole. She could imagine it being pushed aside, and Liam standing there wet, naked, with water dripping off his body. Heat rose to her cheeks as her mind played out the scene she was hearing.
“Can you hand me a towel? Thanks.” Another pause. “Hello?”
“Liam?”
“Olivia? What’s wrong?” Tension instantly filled his voice.
“Umm, my car broke down again, and my cell isn’t working. I’m sorry to bother you, but I think two guys are following me and I’m kinda freaked out right now. Is there any way you can come get me?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m at Frank’s Market. Do you know where it is?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there.” The line disconnected. She replaced the phone in the receiver and glanced anxiously out the window. The cherry of the man’s cigarette glowed in the darkness.
Less than five minutes passed before she heard squealing tires and saw a flash of headlights as the black Camaro tore into the parking lot. Liam flew out of the car like an enraged animal. His menacing scowl accentuated his dark violet eyes which held a bright amethyst glow. He moved with a predatory grace as he stalked up to the store.
Olivia glanced over at the corner of the lot where the two men stood only a moment ago—they were gone. The sliding glass door didn’t open quickly enough, and Liam impatiently turned to the side, slipping in between the opening doors. His fierce gaze softened when they locked on her, but he didn’t look any less menacing as he approached.
Liam brought his hands up and gently cupped the sides of her face. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that nearly stole her breath. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Did you see them? They were there one minute and then gone the next.”