Until Darkness Comes (5 page)

“I’ll see ya in the locker room. I could use a shower.”

“Better make it a cold one,” Balen taunted under his breath.
Liam barely resisted the urge to jab his elbow into his friend’s ribs for a little payback. Instead, he excused himself, thanking Clay for his time, while Balen finished the paperwork. He was getting dressed when Balen walked in the locker room.
“You gonna go talk to her?” he asked, sliding into a pair of jeans.
“Not today, she’s still pretty pissed at me for hitting her boyfriend last night.”
“You think she really likes that piece of shit?” Balen asked doubtfully, pulling a short-sleeved polo over his head.
“Seems to…” Liam stuffed his sweats and t-shirt into his bag with unnecessary force and zipped it shut.
“You know he’s going to fight hard for her. I would.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not going to have her,” Liam growled, yanking open the locker room door. It swung out of his hand and crashed into the wall with a loud bang. He looked back and saw the door stuck open, the handle buried in the sheet rock.
“Nice…” Balen said sarcastically as he walked through the doorway.
Liam scowled, muttering a curse as he reached out and pulled the door closed. He glanced at the aerobics room one last time as they walked down the hall, disappointed to find it empty.
He looked back as they turned the corner to leave, and something small and fragile crashed into his chest. The scent of vanilla and jasmine immediately surrounded him. He reached out to steady the young woman before she fell backward, and was surprised to see Olivia staring up at him with a stricken look on her face. A wave of heat tore through his chest, setting the blood rushing through his veins on fire. His heart slammed inside his chest. He hadn’t meant to touch her. Holy shit, this was a mistake!
He’d startled her too. He could feel her emotions bouncing all over the place, but what he didn’t expect to see in those beautiful emerald green eyes, were tears.
“Are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right.” She reached up and hastily brushed a tear off her cheek.
“Are you hurt?” His eyes roved over her, searching for any sign of injury—she looked fine. He still held onto her, his hands firmly gripping her shoulders. The physical contact made it difficult to think clearly, yet he couldn’t seem to let her go. His heartbeat drummed in his ears, or maybe it was hers—he couldn’t really tell for sure.
“I’m fine,” she said dismissively. “I just wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”
He struggled to keep the intensity out of his voice. “You’re upset.”
“That’s because you won’t let go of me!”
Abruptly, he released her and stepped back. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, you should be. I think I have whiplash,” she complained, reaching up to rub the back of her neck. “I feel like I just hit a brick wall.”
The corner of his lip twitched, he tried not to smile. “You’ll survive—trust me.” He brushed past her to catch up with Balen.
Olivia gasped, whether from surprise or indignation, he couldn’t be sure. But one thing was for certain, this encounter hadn’t gone any better than the last, and touching her had been a monumental error.

It was early afternoon when Max pulled back into the parking lot of Karen’s Bagels. He parked in the back this time, out of the eyes of passing traffic, while he waited for that pretty little thing who’d been so helpful this morning. No more than fifteen minutes passed before the longhaired blonde with the hot pink highlights and a matching balled eyebrow ring came walking out the door. She waved good-bye to her friends, promising she’d see them tomorrow.

That’s what she thinks.
Max tipped his sunglasses down, looking over the lenses as she walked by. “Hey,” he crooned. “You look like you’re in a hurry.”

The female spun around, and her surprised frown broke into a broad smile when she saw him sitting there, straddling his Harley. “Hey, twelve grain, right?”

“Max.”
“Amanda,” she said, introducing herself.
Whatever.
“So, I uh, thought you might want to take a

ride with me?” He gave her a seductive smile, one she couldn’t resist. It was too easy, really—hardly even fair, the naivety of these females. She hesitated only a moment before accepting his invitation—amazing, just another sucker for a handsome face.

“Sure.”

If he had a conscious, her trusting smile would have convicted his black heart, and he might have let the female go. Lucky for him, and unfortunate for her, he didn’t. She walked over to him, put her hands on his shoulders, and swung her leg over the back of the bike.

“Where are we going?” she asked as they sped out of the parking lot.
“You’ll have to just wait and see. But I promise you’re going to have a great time.”
Thirty miles down the long stretch of highway, Max began to sense his passenger’s increasing apprehension. They’d been driving for over a half-hour, and unfortunately, that gave her thirty minutes to think about how stupid it was to just hop on the back of some stranger’s bike and taking off to who knew where. The trails were just up ahead, it wouldn’t be much farther now.
“We’re almost there,” he told her, a reassuring gesture to calm her nerves. “Trust me, you’re going to love the view up here.”
They pulled into the park a few minutes later. He parked the bike near the entrance of the hiking trails. “There’s some pretty sweet trails up here, want to walk with me?” His disarming smile visibly eased her tension. He held out his hand, an invitation she could hardly refuse.
She glanced up at him, smiled back, and took his hand. He made small talk with the girl in attempt to keep her distracted as they walked up the ridge. She was easy on the eyes, but not too incredibly bright. It was moments like this that he considered the possibility of Darwin’s Theory. Maybe the old geezer had something after all, survival of the fittest and all that crap. Well, he was weeding out the dumb cuz this girl had about as much survival instinct as a toad. Who takes off with a guy they don’t even know?— come on. Did she honestly think, even for a moment, that this was going to end well?
Max led her into a clearing about a half-mile up the trail. They hadn’t passed anyone along the way—a good sign—no one to hear her scream. “Have a seat,” he offered, sitting down on a fallen log and patting the place beside him. He leaned back and reached into his front pocket, pulling out a baggie. Amanda sat down beside him. She looked a little nervous. Maybe common sense was finally needling at her.
“You smoke?” he asked, glancing over at her as he sprinkled some weed into a paper and rolled it up.
“Sometimes.” She looked a little surprised when he held the joint up to his lips and slowly licked the edge of the paper, sealing it closed. He gently twisted the ends and handed her the joint and lighter.
“Ladies first.”
She smiled and hesitantly took it from him. Lighting the tip, she drew in a long slow drag. She tipped her head back, exhaled just as slowly, and handed it back to him. He held his hand up to stop her. “You go ahead.”
Amanda took a few more drags. He could tell the moment the dizzying euphoria hit her. Her posture relaxed and her pupils began to dilate. “Hey, this is good shit. What is it?”
“Just something a buddy gave me,” he replied offhandedly.
By now, the girl looked effectively baked. He leaned over and pulled the joint from her hand. “Hey,” she protested, reaching for Max’s arm, trying to get it back.
He took a slow, deep drag and flicked the joint into the gravel. He caught her outstretched arm and pulled her onto his lap, pressing his mouth against hers as he exhaled. Her protests quickly turned into sighs as she inhaled deeply, returning his kiss. Too bad this would have to end so badly for her, but he couldn’t risk her showing up later and ruining everything.

***

Olivia was physically and mentally exhausted by the time her last class ended. She went straight home despite Ashley’s several calls trying to persuade her to go to Morgan’s party. Morgan and Olivia hung in the same circles, but she was really more Ashley’s friend than hers. She wasn’t particularly fond of Morgan, and honestly, she felt too exhausted to fake it tonight. Olivia bowed out, promising Ashley a girls’ night in return for her understanding.

She hoped Max would come by tonight. He’d have some explaining to do if he did. Olivia glared at the paper bag with the incriminating napkin inside. She rehearsed what she planned to say to him as she drove home, and was still working on a good ass chewing when she pulled into the driveway.

Max’s Harley was parked beside her dad’s car. Her stomach tightened in a knot. He sat on the wooden swing in her front yard, watching her as she approached. He looked…almost happy. She’d never seen him quite so cheerful before. Broody and melancholy always seemed to be his emotions of choice. Seeing him like this almost made her want to wait to bring up the napkin—almost.

He scooted over and patted the seat beside him, “Hey, babe.”
“Hey.”
Max slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into the side of his chest. His fingers casually traced the bare skin of her arm. His eyebrow arched curiously. “What’s the matter, Liv? You look upset.”
“What did you do today, Max?”
He stiffened against her. The knot in her stomach suddenly became a sharp, stabbing pain of betrayal.
He’s guilty of something.
“Why do you ask?” His tone sounded suspiciously guarded.
Olivia swallowed past the lump in her throat, trying to keep her voice from cracking, “Oh, I don’t know, I was just wondering if maybe you called Amanda for a good time?” She grabbed the crinkled up napkin out of the bag and tossed it in Max’s lap.
“What are you talking about?” He picked it up and unwrapped the incriminating evidence. She watched his reaction as he read the note, and the corner of his lip quirked up in a smile that could possibly have been a sneer. Certainly not the reaction she’d been expecting. He took a deep breath and let out an exasperated sigh. Her heart pounded in her ears, her body tensed, waiting for Max’s confession of guilt.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Liv. I don’t know anyone named Amanda.” His tone implied boredom. He handed the napkin back to her. “Besides, the only good time I want to have is with you,” he murmured softly, nuzzling the side of her neck. “I think it’s kind of sexy that you’re jealous though. It shows me how much you care.” He kissed her cheek, and she leaned away, pulling out of his embrace, not yet convinced of his innocence.
He sighed again, this time impatience edged into his huff. “Seriously, Liv? Think about it. If I was cheating on you, do you really think I’d leave the girl’s name and number on a napkin for you to find? Give me a little credit will ya? I’m not that stupid.”
That was a good point, and she didn’t have any other evidence that he’d been unfaithful. Maybe she’d jumped to conclusions? He obviously didn’t know the napkin was in there or he would have taken it out.
“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you, Max. It’s just…I know you want more from this relationship than I’m physically willing to give right now. So when other girls put themselves out there like that, it makes me wonder if maybe they’re more of what you’re looking for.”
“
You’re
what I’m looking for, Liv. That’s why I’m here. Hey, why don’t we do something tomorrow? Whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want, huh? How about you come to church with me tomorrow morning?”
“Except that.”
“You know you might actually like it if you’d just give it a chance.”
“I’m pretty sure not. Been there, done that once. It’s not for me. But I can think of something you might actually like if you’d just give it a chance…” He pulled her closer. The moist heat of his tongue slowly traced up the side of her neck, sending her pulse kicking inside her chest. If she didn’t do something to stop him now, she might not have the willpower later.
Olivia bolted out of the swing. “I need to get inside. Let’s do something tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call you when I get home from church.”
“I actually gotta get going too. I just wanted to stop by and see how your day went.” He stood up and brushed a kiss against her lips. “See ya later.”
“Goodnight.” She stood there watching him as he walked away. The muscles of his broad back outlined through the thin fabric of his t-shirt, and his jeans sat low on his narrow tapered waste. He tipped his bike upright and threw his leg over the seat. With the downward thrust of his booted heel, the bike roared to life, and he walked it backward down her driveway. The engine revved as he goosed the throttle, sending the bike lurching forward. In less than a second, he was out of her sight.
Olivia sighed heavily and sat back down on the swing, not yet ready to go inside. Why did the thought of having sex with Max make her so nervous? She loved him—right? And wasn’t that the normal progression of a relationship? Maybe the problem wasn’t him as much as it was her. Why was she so resistant to him?
As she sat there amid the serenade of bullfrogs and crickets, pondering issues of intimacy with Max, her thoughts unexpectedly turned to Liam. She replayed their brief conversation at the gym today. Guilt edged into her conscience, making her feel bad she’d been so rude to him. It wasn’t like her to be so nasty. None of it had been his fault.
She
ran into
him
, too upset over Max to pay any attention to where she’d been going. He expressed genuine concern for her, and his touch…Wow. It affected her more strongly than she cared to admit. Maybe that explained why she’d snapped at him. She’d been emotional and overwhelmed by his touch, letting the first thing that came to mind fly out of her mouth, desperate to put some distance between them. Unfortunately, she’d been a real bitch in doing so. The weight of regret pressed down on her. She decided to apologize the next time she saw him, if she ever saw him again.
She stood up from the swing and crept inside the house, careful not to wake her parents.
The floorboards creaked under foot as she tiptoed into her bedroom. She silently closed her door and walked over to her dresser, pulling out a red thigh-length spaghettistrapped nightgown. She undressed and climbed into bed, but sleep eluded her. She couldn’t get Max or Liam out of her thoughts. Sometime in the middle of the night, she finally drifted off into a restless, dream-filled slumber.
Morning came much too early. She awoke to the
thwack
of a bird slamming into her bedroom window. Olivia bolted upright, her heart slamming in her chest. She glanced over at the alarm clock and muttered a curse. It was nine o’clock—she’d overslept, and church started in less than thirty minutes.
Olivia scrambled out of bed and ran over to her closet. She grabbed a pair of black low-rise dress pants and a teal blue chiffon short-sleeve top. She hurried into the bathroom, jumped in and out of the shower in record time, and threw on her clothes, grabbing a blue hair clip out of the drawer on her way out.
She fastened her hair in a twist as she ran down the stairs, pausing at the closet to slip on a pair of black sandals. She grabbed her keys off the hook by the front door and jumped into the Jeep. With less than two minutes to spare, she slid into the back pew.
The hour flew by. Anxious to avoid the crowd of people coming and going, she slipped out the side door. She glanced to her left before stepping into the parking lot and saw Liam walking toward the building, the friend he’d been at the gym with yesterday by his side. She stepped back into the shadows and plastered back against the brick wall. She peeked around the corner and watched them as they walked up to the front doors. They were deep in conversation, laughing and smiling about something. Her pulse unexpectedly quickened. His beautiful smile was disarming—captivating.
He’s so beautiful.
She mentally shook herself.
Stop it!
This was the third time in three days she’d seen this stranger. Wasn’t that a little odd? Evercrest wasn’t a small town by any means, and wasn’t it peculiar that a guy she met in Clearwater kept showing up here in a town thirty minutes away? He didn’t see her now, or so she thought, so he must not be stalking her, which was a relief. After he’d shown up at the gym yesterday, she’d started to wonder. The fact that he came to church on his own accord was another good sign she wouldn’t end up on the ten o’clock news any time soon. Olivia waited for them to enter the building before stepping into the parking lot.
She stopped at the grocery store on her way home to pick up the fixings for manicotti—one of her parents’ favorite meals. They were visiting Grandma today, and that didn’t always go well. She wanted to surprise them with a nice supper when they got home. Olivia quickly grabbed the items she needed and stood in the shortest line she could find.
“It’s just so frightening,” the lady standing in front of her said to the cashier. “Her car is still at Karen’s Bagel Shop where she works. Her parents called the police when she didn’t come home last night.”
Olivia’s ears perked up.
Is someone missing?
“Who would think that here, in Evercrest, you wouldn’t be safe? I know I’m not walking out to my car alone anymore,” the cashier said with a worried frown on her face. “Karen’s is just a mile up the road.”
“The police can’t find any sign of a struggle, but she hasn’t called or spoken to any of her friends. It’s like the poor girl just vanished.”
A chill shot up her spine. The thought of someone being abducted in this town—her home—terrified her.
The gossiping lady grabbed her grocery bags and waved good-bye to the cashier. Olivia put her basket up on the conveyer belt, and the cashier smiled warmly at her.
“Good morning,” she greeted, running the items over the scanner, placing them in a bag.
Olivia replied in kind to the woman as she paid her, and quickly grabbed her bag of groceries. She drove home, still troubled over the disturbing news about the missing girl. How could someone do something so horrible to another person? She pulled into the driveway, grabbed the bag out of the back seat, carried the groceries into the kitchen, and began putting them away.
She thought about calling Max and inviting him over for supper, but she still hadn’t started on her Spanish assignment that was due tomorrow. He probably wouldn’t let her get any work done if he came over.
Olivia stood on her tiptoes, reaching up to the top shelf of the cupboard, struggling to put a box of shells away, when she felt a hand suddenly reach around, pressing flat against her stomach while the other took the box from her, sliding it on the top shelf.
A rush of adrenaline flooded her veins and she let out a terrified scream, spinning around to face the person behind her. She didn’t have time to see who grabbed her, because a pair of lips came crashing down on hers. She struggled against her assailant, when his smoky scent suddenly hit her.
“Max!” she yelled, hitting him in the shoulder. “What the hell are you doing? You scared the crap out of me! Don’t you ever knock?”
“Your door was open. You must not have shut it all the way.”
“Still, sneaking up on me like that? I almost had a heart attack!”
Max gave her a devilish smile, “Come on now, Liv. I think you’re being a bit dramatic.”
“Oh, am I? Maybe that’s because there’s a girl missing, and that has me a bit freaked out. Not to mention you just crept up and attacked me!”
“There’s a girl missing?”
“Yeah, can you believe it? Everyone in town is talking about it. I guess she worked at Karen’s Bagel Shop or something.”
“That’s terrible. When did that happen?”
“Yesterday, I guess. She didn’t come home last night. Her car is still parked at the bagel shop.”
“Geeze, how awful. Do the police have any idea what happened?”
“I don’t know. I only heard part of the story when I was standing in line at the grocery store.”
“Wow, that’s a shame. I guess no place is safe anymore.”
“No, it isn’t. So no more sneak attacks, okay?”
A roguish smile spread across his face as he pulled her into his arms, sliding his hands up the back of her shirt. “Well, how about a full-frontal assault then?”
“How about helping me study for Spanish?” she countered, gently pushing against his arms. “Just because you’re fluent, it doesn’t mean the rest of us are,” she teased, grabbing his hand and leading him upstairs.
“Max,” Olivia complained, pushing him away for the fourth time. “I have to study. Now, are you going to help me or not?” She gave him a pleading smile.
He sighed heavily in surrender and grabbed her Spanish book, turning it around to face him. “Write this down. Mi novio es una bestia sexy.”
Olivia gasped. “That’s not funny, Max! What if I actually said that?”
Max laughed, something he rarely did.
“Senora would fail me for sure!” She cringed just picturing the look on Senora’s face when she told the class her boyfriend was a sexy beast.
“You’d be telling the truth,” he whispered huskily, leaning in to kiss her.
She resisted the temptation to give in. His lips felt so good against hers, he obviously had a lot of experience in the kissing department. Unfortunately, that probably wasn’t where his skills ended, and it was getting harder and harder to resist the temptation.
The front door slammed shut, and Olivia jumped. She scrambled off her bed, grateful for the interruption. “Mom, Dad, is that you?”
“Yeah, honey, we’re home early.”
“I picked up some manicotti fixings for supper tonight.”
“That sounds great. You want some help putting it together?”
“Sure, I’ll be down in a minute.”
He climbed off her bed, “I’m going to take off, Liv.”
“You sure? I was hoping you’d stay for supper.”
“Yeah, I got some stuff I gotta get done before tomorrow. I’ll see you in the morning.” Max pulled her in for one last soft lingering kiss that left her with a subtle ache in the pit of her stomach. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. His breath brushed against the side of her neck, sending goose bumps shivering down her arms.