Shades of Darkness (Redemption Series) Read Online Free

Liam challenged, arching his brow. “That an angel abducted you in order to keep you safe from demons that are trying to kill you because you can see them?”
    She was taken aback by his bluntness. Funny, she didn’t remember him being this…crass. “Of course not!” she snapped, her own temper kicking up. “But I have to tell him something! I’m sure everyone’s panicked. So unless you want to see my face plastered across the ten o’clock news, you’d better let me use your damn phone!”
    Sighing, Liam reached into his pocket, dug out his cell, and handed it over to her.
    “Thank you,” she replied sarcastically, snatching it from his hand.
    “It will be safer for Mitch if you don’t tell him anything,” he advised. “Safer for your parents, too.”
    Olivia paused halfway through dialing Mitch’s number and pinned him with a hard glare. “Are they going to hurt him? Are my parents in danger, Liam?” She didn’t wait for him to respond. “What if they come here? Ashley lives here! God knows, she’s been hurt enough because of this!”
    Panic climbed up Olivia’s throat, choking off her air until all she could manage was to take guppy-sized breaths between fresh waves of tears. She couldn’t bear it if anyone else got hurt because of her—not again. Max, her fallen-angel ex-boyfriend, had nearly killed her, Ashley, and Nate three years ago. That they survived the living hell was nothing short of a miracle—literally.
    A shiver of dread ran through her as memories of Max came flooding back like it was yesterday. Sometimes in her sleep, she could still feel that vice-like grip latched on her ankle, pulling her beneath the water’s surface as her lungs screamed for air. It had literally taken years to bury the memories of Max and the torment he’d put her through, but apparently not deep enough, because just the thought of that evil bastard sent her heart racing.
    Liam stiffened in the seat beside her, shoulders rigid. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, the muscle at his jaw clenched as he ground his teeth together. Olivia suspected he was responding to her anxiety. As her guardian, they were bonded, which meant he felt her emotions. Every single last one of her betraying emotions was an open book to him. And didn’t that just suck ass.
    She wished he would reach over and take her hand, giving her that calming strength he so freely offered her three years ago. But he didn’t move—not even an inch. Things were different now, weren’t they? She was engaged to marry another man. For all intent and purposes, she no longer belonged to him, and just the thought of that sad reality left her with a giant-sized hole in her heart.
    She should thank him—really—for his distance, because the last thing she needed was to go down that road with him again. Why should she think, for even one minute, that things would end differently this time? What they shared three years ago had nearly destroyed them both. Obviously, they both still carried the scars of that forbidden love, and seeing him again, being this close to him, raked those wounds open and left her completely raw and bleeding.
    “Balen is with Ashley. She’ll be fine.” Liam’s tight, strained voice offered little comfort.
    Balen was Liam’s best friend and a fellow Ronnin warrior who’d had zero interest in serving as anyone’s guardian—until he met Ashley. Initially agreeing to guard her from Max as a favor to Liam, Balen had quickly formed an attachment to the young woman and had chosen to remain as her protector, even after the threat of Max had been neutralized.
    Casting Liam a sideways glance, she was tempted to inquire about his friend—her friend—oh, how she’d missed them. Sighing, she dialed Mitch’s number and waited silently for him to answer. Shit, she had no idea what she was going to say. She didn’t have long to figure it out, either, because he picked up after the first ring.
     “Hello?”
    Lord, she could