Pure Redemption (Tainted Legacy) by Amity Hope Read Free Book Online

places she wanted to be. They would not be happy with her if she canceled but that didn’t mean she was going to be in a rush to get there. She’d already decided she would get there late and leave early. At least then, she’d have done what she’d told them because she’d never agreed to any specific length of time.
    She pulled her knees to her chest, leaned her head against the railing and closed her eyes. This was the place where it had started. The beginning of the end. The scenes of that night flashed before her closed eyelids, far more vivid ly than any memory had the right to be.
    The recollection of learning that Gabe was Nephilim, that his father was a demon and that Grier was Grigori fl itted through her mind. The memory of being pulled into Gabe’s thoughts, of seeing inside of his head so intimately was almost suffocating tonight. This church held so many memories for her. Some of them were terrifying and some of them were comforting because it was here that she realized that Gabe was willing to do anything to protect her. She just hadn’t realized at the time j ust how far that sentiment would go.
    If only they could go back to that night and change things somehow. And yet, Ava couldn’t imagine what they could have done differently. They, or Gabe, rather, did the only thing that could be done to capture a demon. While she had just sat by and watched. A sob caught in her throat at the thought. She vowed she would never feel that helpless again.
    The church creaked and moaned around her, each sound disrupting the silence as if it were a presence that had more to say. She ignored it. She had spent far too much time chasing sounds and shadows into nothingness these past few weeks.
    The wind had picked up. She could hear it from inside. It rattled the windows in their panes. A branch tapped irritatingly against the side of the church somewhere. Amidst these sounds of nature was the unmistakable sound of something else.
    Despite her earlier resolve to stop imaging things that weren’t there, this sound piqued her interest. Held it tight.
    At first she thought it was footsteps but quickly realized that it was a ridiculous thought. She shook it from her head. She was alone. It had to be the wind. She closed her eyes again and leaned her head back once more as she tried to relax and clear her head.
    “Can you help me?” the voice, low and quiet on its own, echoed softly amongst the acoustics of the high ceiling.
    Her eyes flew open at the sound. She was on her feet before she realized she had even moved.
    The voice had struck her with a familiarity that cut like a dagger. But the person before her seemed almost foreign as he stepped through the doors and stood in the aisle at the opposite end.
    Yet he was heart-achingly familiar.
    He backed away timidly as Ava took a step toward him. The nearer Ava drew to him the more rigid his movements became. Like a small child wary of a dangerous animal drawing near.
    “I’m sorry,” he muttered, backing away. “I…I didn’t mean to disturb you.” His ey es, such a familiar shade of ice -blue, were cautious and mistrustful as they settled on her. His gaze bore into her as his feet edged back down the aisle. He jumped, panicked when he collided with the door at his back. Ava could see his Adam’s apple, prominent in his thin throat, bob as he swallowed down what looked like fear at the sight of her. He spun, his hand flat against the door, pressing it open. His thin body slid between the two as one creaked open.
    “Gabe!” Ava cried as he disappeared from the sanctuary. Her heart rattled painfully in her chest as she stumbled into a run down the long aisle. She darted through the double doors he’d just disappeared through. She expected him to be gone, to have vanished like he had the times before this but he was there. He was across the narthex now, grappling with the door handle that would lead him out of the church.
    “Stop! Please! Please !” she