The performer slapped him playfully on the hand and simply laughed, eliciting raucous laughter from the audience.
Aiden had seen enough. He pulled on Leila’s hand and dragged her across the stage, evading the dancers as best he could. None too gently, he tugged on her hand, finally getting Leila to focus her attention on him and not on the semi-nude dancers.
As they reached the other side of the stage, Hamish was waiting impatiently.
“What took you so long?”
Aiden aimed an annoyed look at Leila. “Somebody was a little too fascinated with the show.”
Leila huffed and eased her hand from his grip. “That is not true!”
Hamish rolled his eyes. “Sorry to cut the party short.”
“Where to from here?” Aiden asked.
“There’s a portal.”
“What?” This time he was sure he hadn’t misheard. “Here?”
Hamish nodded.
“That’s not possible. There are no portals outside the compounds.” Every Stealth Guardian knew that.
“Well, then be prepared for a surprise.” He waved him to a staircase that led down.
Reluctantly, Aiden followed, Leila by his side. Hamish had to be crazy if he thought that he’d found a portal outside of the compounds. Something was fishy. His hand slid to the dagger he’d tugged into the waistband of his pants after nearly attacking Hamish with it in the Thai massage parlor. If he needed to use it now, he wouldn’t hesitate.
In the dimly lit basement that was filled with old costumes, stage furniture and boxes upon boxes, his fellow Stealth Guardian navigated them to the back of the building before turning to a barely-visible indentation in the dust covered stone wall.
Hamish laid his palm flat against the indentation that looked as if it could be simply an imperfection in the stone. However, on closer inspection, as his friend brushed the dust off it, Aiden recognized it as their secret symbol: an ancient blade.
“Oh, my God! How can there be a portal outside of the compounds?”
Aiden brushed his hands over the symbol, then pressed his palm against it. As the warmth of his skin flooded the symbol, it began to glow beneath his hand. A moment later, the wall disintegrated and a dark tunnel appeared before them.
The portal was open.
TWENTY-TWO
Leila stared at the hole in the wall. This couldn’t be happening. Some sort of portal had opened up right in front of them, just by Aiden putting his hand on the wall. She instantly remembered what he’d told her earlier about portals.
“I thought only demons had portals.”
It confused her. Why hadn’t he told her about his?
“Stealth Guardians do too. However—” Aiden looked at Hamish. “—I thought that they didn’t exist outside the compounds.”
“We all thought that. I’ll explain that later. Now, we’d better go.”
He stepped inside the dark tunnel. Aiden reached for her hand and pulled her with him. She had no choice. Even if she’d wanted to, she couldn’t have stayed where she was. Eventually the people who were following them would find her here.
“I’m claustrophobic,” she admitted.
“It won’t take long,” Aiden promised, pulling her close to him.
A moment later, the dim light from the basement disappeared as if the door to the tunnel had been closed.
“Where to?” Aiden asked.
“Take my hand,” Hamish’s voice commanded.
She felt how Aiden pulled her close to him with one arm around her waist, his other hand presumably clutching Hamish’s. Then the air stirred up around them as if a fierce storm was approaching.
Fear gripped her, and she began to shiver. She felt as if her body were lifted in the air, floating weightlessly and without direction. Both her arms went around Aiden, holding on for dear life. She was afraid of being dropped, of falling into a bottomless pit, eternal darkness around her.
“Shh,” Aiden cooed, his mouth at her ear.
Then he shifted, and his lips brushed over her cheek, then slowly and carefully approached her lips. She could have moved away from him, turned her head so he couldn’t kiss her, but she didn’t. Instead, she allowed his lips to press against hers, his tongue to gently glide over them, to part them and sweep inside.
In the dark she felt strangely safe with him. With a sigh, she angled her head, urging him for a deeper kiss. He obliged her. When his tongue stroked against hers and his lips moved firmly over her mouth, the storm around her moved into the distance. All she felt were his firm strokes, his earthy taste, and his hard body that pressed against her, holding her firmly and securely in his arms. Forgotten was the fact that he’d lied