Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) - By Unknown Page 0,7

cloaked their charges from detection by demons.

Weapons long forgotten were stored in the vast underground vaults, weapons that could kill even an immortal Stealth Guardian. While no human weapon such as a gun or a knife could permanently injure Aiden or his brothers and sisters, any weapon forged during the Dark Days had the power to kill Stealth Guardians and Demons of Fear alike.

As Aiden rushed into the large kitchen that was the center and indeed the hearth of the house he called home, his eyes scanned the assembled quickly. Manus was busy raiding the fridge, clad only in a pair of tightly fitting leather pants, his scarred chest bare, while Logan poured himself a drink. His dark hair hung loose over his shoulders and it looked as if he’d just only risen.

Enya, the only female in their compound, lounged in one corner of the large couch in the adjacent great room. Her long blond hair was braided and pinned up in circles on the back of her head. She rarely wore it open, and Aiden could only suspect that it had grown down to her waist by now. Instead of watching the football game that blared from the giant TV mounted on the wall, she had her nose stuck in a book.

Aiden cursed. “Where the fuck is he?”

Heads turned toward him. Manus slammed the fridge door shut and placed a bunch of plastic packages of cold cuts on the kitchen counter.

“I’m afraid that my mind reading capacity isn’t worth shit, so toss us a name, will you?” Manus exchanged a look with Logan who kicked back his drink in one gulp.

“Somebody’s in a pissy mood today,” Logan added as if wanting to provoke him.

Aiden felt his temper flare and squared his stance.

“Manus kinda has a point,” Enya suddenly interjected not even looking up from her book.

“I’m talking about fucking Hamish!” Aiden felt the air rush out of his lungs, the anger about his second’s failure to back him up growing with each moment.

Logan grinned and lifted the whiskey bottle once more. “Had no idea you guys were that close! But hey, if you wanna fuck Hamish, go—”

Aiden had Logan by the throat before he could finish his sentence and slammed him against the oven door. “I’m not in the mood for your fucking jokes. I’m asking again: where the fuck is Hamish?”

His captive pushed against him, shaking off his hands with more grace than a man of his massive build seemed capable of. As Logan carefully straightened his T-shirt and rolled his shoulders, he lashed an angry glare at him.

“I haven’t seen Hamish in two days. He was supposed to be with you. So piss off, and let me enjoy my game.”

Logan turned and walked to the couch, plopping down in the corner opposite to Enya. When the weight with which he’d let himself fall jolted her and almost made her lose her grip on her book, she only raised an eyebrow.

“Testosterone,” she mumbled under her breath.

Logan narrowed his eyes. “And you know exactly what to do about that, don’t you? But no, you’re not gonna spread your legs for any of us, are you?”

“Shut it!” Manus’s response came before Enya could even reach for the dagger that always sat at her hip, even when she was relaxing.

“Asshole,” she hissed.

Manus glanced at Aiden. “As for Hamish. If he isn’t with you, maybe he got ambushed.”

“Then we should trace his cell and find him,” a voice from the door added to Manus’s sentence.

Aiden whirled his head to the new arrival: Pearce.

“It’s not like him to neglect his duties,” Pearce continued as he stepped fully into the room.

Aiden nodded. Pearce was right.

“I was outnumbered.”

A soft hand touched his arm. His head snapped to the right. Enya had approached him without him noticing. “What happened today?”

Aiden braced one hand against the kitchen counter. He squeezed his eyes shut. “I called Hamish, but he didn’t show. I couldn’t hold them off any longer. I killed two of them, but the third stayed within the protection of the vortex. He was too strong. He had complete power over her.” So much so that she’d tried to kill him, and instead . . . “My charge killed an innocent child. I had to terminate her.”

“Fuck!” Manus cursed.

“Not another one!” Logan added.

“Damn it, what the fuck did you do, Aiden, sleep on the job? Why wasn’t she cloaked?” Manus ground out between clenched teeth.

Aiden allowed the fury to blaze from his eyes as he faced Manus.