Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) - By Unknown Page 0,55
Her eyebrows snapped together in confusion.
“Your upstairs neighbor.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What does Jonathan have to do with any of this?”
“He planted the incendiary device.”
“That’s impossible. He would never . . . he’s a nice guy.”
Aiden shook his head. Humans could so easily be fooled by a friendly face. “He gave you a present for your birthday. The bomb must have been in there.”
In disbelief, Leila moved her head from side to side. “But . . . but I don’t believe that.”
Why was she so vehemently denying the obvious? Did she have any feelings for this guy?
“He even told you not to open it before today.”
“How . . . ?” She broke off, realization flooding her intelligent eyes. “You were watching even then.”
There was no need to deny it.
“It still doesn’t mean it was him. I’ve known him for over a year. Why would he suddenly try to kill me?”
Manus drummed his fingers on the table, drawing his attention away from Leila. “Can we cut to the chase here?” When Leila looked at him, he continued, “According to the Fire Department, the fire started in the kitchen. Did you by any chance place the birthday present he gave you on the kitchen counter?”
Leila’s blue eyes widened at the same time as her mouth fell open. Finally she accepted their suspicion. After a long pause, she closed her eyes, then looked back at them. “Why would he do that? He seemed so nice.”
Manus shrugged. “We’ll find out. Somebody must have gotten to him.”
“Unless he didn’t know what he was handing you,” Aiden added. “He’s human, I know that for sure. And if the demons didn’t influence him, which I don’t believe they did, somebody else could have used him, either with Jonathan’s knowledge or covertly.”
“And Patten? He couldn’t have killed Patten too.”
Aiden contemplated the idea for a moment. “Unlikely. To get into Inter Pharma’s building without being stopped by the Security Guard takes some skill. Somehow I doubt he’s capable of this. However—” He glanced at Manus. “—he needs to be checked out. Manus, find out all you can about him: what he does, where he works, who he knows, who visited him in the last few days, who he’s met with—”
“I know the drill,” Manus interrupted.
“We need to find out who is behind this.”
Manus rose. “I’m on it.”
“And what about the police?” Leila gave him a questioning look.
“What about them?” Aiden asked.
“How are we going to tell them that I’m not involved? They have to know that I’m innocent.”
He took a step toward her, cupping her shoulders with his hands. “They can’t find out where you are. Nobody can. We’ll arrange for our people to make it look like you died. You’ll be safest then.”
“Died?” she croaked. “You can’t do that. My . . . my—”
“It’s the best solution,” Manus piped behind him. “I’ll arrange it. We’ll get a body from the morgue that fits your description.”
“Don’t forget the teeth,” Aiden cautioned.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get a cast from her dentist and get our crew to work on the teeth of the body so they’ll match.”
“What?” Leila gasped.
Aiden looked back at her and found her staring at them in disbelief.
“Yeah, you know,” Manus continued, “they’ll file down the teeth, make fillings where yours are. They’re experts in that. They can create a perfect match . . . ”
“You can’t just . . . that’s not . . . but . . . ” Tears brimmed in her eyes, ready to burst to the surface once more.
“Do it,” Aiden commanded his friend without taking his eyes off Leila.
A panicked look suddenly crossed her face when his second headed for the door. Was she worried about being alone with him again? Or simply worried about what Manus was going to do? Whatever it was, she pushed away from him, making him drop his hold on her shoulders.
“Oh, almost forgot.” Manus turned back to face him. “I brought you a less conspicuous car. I’m afraid your sports car will stick out like a sore thumb if you’re trying to make a fast getaway.”
Aiden nodded. He was aware of that, which meant he rarely ever got to drive his fancy ride. It barely had five thousand miles on it, and he’d owned it for two years already. He patted his jeans pockets for the key, and realized that they were empty.
“My keys are in the room.” He looked at Leila. “I’ll be back in a minute.”