Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) - By Unknown Page 0,83
much fury and anger coursed through his cells, too much pain settled in his heart.
Transporting through the portal took mere seconds. As they stepped out of it, Aiden smelled the familiar smells of home. Without waiting for Hamish or Leila, he headed for the door and charged upstairs, leaving the basement behind. Their footsteps followed him, but he didn’t turn. From now on, she was simply a charge. He should have never wished for more. It was a mistake to allow his emotions to get the better of him. All it had led to was pain. The sooner this assignment was over, the better.
When he barreled into the kitchen, he instantly spotted Manus and Enya, who sat at the kitchen counter, eating. His second dropped his sandwich when he saw him and slid off the barstool. Enya had her mouth full and swallowed quickly.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Manus glared at him. “Did it occur to you that we might all be looking for you?”
“There was a raid—”
“I know there was a fucking raid. Why do you think I was leaving you messages? And you couldn’t even be bothered to send word back that you’re fine. Fucking asshole!”
Aiden hadn’t seen any messages on his cell. “What are you talking about? You never left a message!”
Enya’s eyes widened. “Hamish?” She jumped off her chair and ran toward the door. “Hamish!”
Aiden turned to see how Enya flew right into Hamish’s outstretched arms. “Hey little one.”
“I’m not little,” she protested and squeezed him before pulling back from his embrace.
Her expression instantly changed when she saw Leila, who stood a few steps back, clearly uncomfortable.
“What the fuck?” Enya hissed, tossing glares between Aiden and Hamish. “You brought a human here?”
“Are you fucking nuts?” Manus added. “Your charge, you brought your charge to the compound? Have you lost it?”
“Believe me, we had no choice,” Aiden replied. He knew this would happen. Still, he didn’t like the hostile looks with which both Stealth Guardians sized Leila up. The urge to protect her welled up in him out of nowhere. Nobody had the right to hurt her.
“There’s always a choice.” Enya scowled at him. “You’ve compromised us all.”
“But first things first,” Manus said calmly and pointed at Hamish. “What happened to you? No offense, but some of us here assumed you’d gone over to the dark side. Some even set the council on you.”
Hamish grinned and cast a sideways glance at Aiden, who could but cringe. He should have had more faith in his best friend.
“So I heard. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but you’ll have to continue putting up with me. I ain’t going nowhere, particularly not to the dark side; never quite liked that look.”
“Then why did you disappear?” Enya asked, her eyebrows snapping together, her lips pursing.
Hamish ruffled her hair, earning himself an impatient grunt from her. He’d always treated her like a younger sister, and she normally played along; but apparently she was at the end of her nerves, and told him so. “Hamish!”
“Well, it’s a long story, and it’s got a lot to do with why we’re all here. And why we had to bring Aiden’s charge.”
“I’m listening,” Manus announced and crossed his arms over his chest.
“There’s a traitor on the council, working for the demons.”
Both of their fellow Stealth Guardians gasped.
Aiden held up his hand. He wasn’t finished with the bad news yet. “And the demons now have the blueprint for the drug.”
“You’re fucking shitting me!” Manus stared at them in disbelief.
Enya’s protest followed. “That can’t be true! Tell us that’s not true!”
Aiden interrupted. “It’s true, but before we tell that story twice, where is everybody?”
“Pearce is in the command room, Logan is in his quarters. Sean and Jay are out on assignment.”
“I’ll get Pearce and Logan,” Enya offered. As she walked to the door, Leila took a step toward her.
“Excuse me, could you please show me the bathroom?”
Enya scowled, but then relented. “Come with me. And you’d better not be going anywhere else but the bathroom, or I’m on you like a bee on honey.” To underscore her threat, she put her hand on the handle of her dagger.
Leila nodded quickly and followed her out of the room. Aiden watched her disappear, then looked back at Manus.
“You said you left messages. I didn’t get any.”
“That’s not possible,” Manus protested. “Just admit that you didn’t want to let me know where you were, because you were too busy shacking up with your charge.”