Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) - By Unknown Page 0,65

an encoded access signature in each of those incidences. It leads to the council.”

“That doesn’t have to mean anything. The council has a right to access those files whenever they want to. That’s how they can find out where we are.”

“What does that mean?” Leila asked from the back seat. “Do they know where we are now?”

Aiden turned his head to her. “No. I would have to sign into the system to announce my location.”

“Which you’re not going to do,” Hamish added quickly. “Nobody can know where we are right now. Not as long as we don’t know who on the council is a traitor.”

Aiden hated the thought of that. “You must be wrong. The council is above reproach.”

“Don’t be so naïve. They’re just like us. They have desires. But that aside, as I started digging and trying to get past the encryption, I had the strange feeling of being followed. Several times. I can’t be sure, but I knew something was wrong. During our last assignment, I ran into a problem.”

Aiden felt his gut constrict at the thought of how that last assignment had ended.

“I received a message, which looked like it was coming from command central. It sent me to a place, which I thought was your location. It wasn’t. Instead, I ended up in a trap. But whoever set it up underestimated me. They’d only sent two demons. I killed them, but I knew they wouldn’t be the last ones coming for me.”

Hamish gave him a sideways glance. “They didn’t want me to help you keep Sarah safe. They wanted her too badly, so whoever on the council was feeding the demons information, didn’t mind sacrificing one of their own for it.”

In disbelief, Aiden shook his head. “Someone on the council would get a Stealth Guardian killed to help the demons? But why?”

Hamish shrugged. “I don’t know. Not yet, anyway. That’s why I had to disappear. The only way to be sure that I had no tracking devices on me was to leave my clothes and my cell behind me. I couldn’t tell you. It would have put you in danger. You’re my best friend. I couldn’t do that.”

Aiden nodded. He understood, and he would have done the same had he been in that situation. “Brothers?”

“Always,” his best friend replied. They locked eyes for a moment, their trust restored.

“Now what?”

Hamish pulled the car to a stop in front of a small farmhouse. “Let’s get inside, then we can talk more.”

TWENTY-THREE

Aiden sank back into the comfortable couch as Leila excused herself to freshen up in the bathroom. Personally, he didn’t want to wash her smell off him. He could still taste her kiss, one she’d had every opportunity to deny him, yet had openly participated in. However, as much as he wanted to daydream about it, there were more important things to think about.

“How did you ever find that portal?”

Hamish, who sat opposite him, popped the lid off a beer bottle and gulped down half of it before answering. “By accident. On one of those occasions when I thought I was being followed, I ended up in that strip club. I thought I’d seen somebody disappear into the basement, so I followed. But nobody was there. Instead, I found the portal. The dust was disturbed where the symbol was; that’s why I even noticed it.”

“So you think it was a Stealth Guardian who followed you and then disappeared through the portal?”

“Most definitely. I would have known if it was a demon. There are way too many neon signs in that club not to notice the presence of a demon.”

Aiden had to agree. It would have been impossible for a demon to sneak past Hamish without destroying all the lights. But the thought that somebody on the council was aiding their enemies was still too disturbing a thought.

“Are you suspecting anybody in particular?” For a moment, he held his breath. When he met his friend’s gaze, he already knew the answer.

“Nobody is above suspicion.” Hamish paused. “Not even your father.”

Aiden jumped up and walked to the kitchen, pulling a beer from the fridge.

“I’m sorry to be so blunt, but it could be anybody. And just because he’s your father doesn’t make him immune to the influences of the demons.”

Aiden twisted the cap off the bottle and tossed it in the trash before turning back toward the open plan living area. “My father is a strong willed man. He would never allow the demons to influence him. Besides, he’s got