Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) (30 page)

She shuddered at the recollection of Zoltan’s face so close to hers, of his green eyes boring into her, his hands on her throat, and his thoughts in her head. Instinctively, her hand went to her neck, rubbing it, trying to wipe away the gruesome memory.

Not wanting to remain alone any longer, she made for the exit and rushed back along the corridor. As she turned a corner, she spotted the door to the command room. It was ajar.

Then everything went dark.

“Fuck!” she heard Pearce curse.

Fear gave her wings, propelling her toward the room. “Pearce!” she screamed.

“Power failure. Leila! Get in here, now!”

She ran, then stumbled, her hands flailing, gripping something.

***

Enya peered through the drapes, watching the street below where the hookers plied their trade. Behind her in the dark room, Logan slouched in one of the comfy chairs, his long legs resting on the coffee table.

“Anything?” he asked, bored.

“All clear so far. Not that I think that our suspect will arrive uncloaked.” She turned to him. “I could have bet that by now one of the council members would be on the move. Are you sure your cell phone has reception?”

He glanced at the phone in his hands, then waved it at her. “Yep. Still no message from Pearce.”

It bothered her. Her instincts were never wrong. And she knew that Aiden’s plan was solid. The council member who had tried to kill Leila would assume that their last hiding place was the Thai massage parlor—unaware of the farmhouse in California—and therefore return to it to finish Leila off.

Turning away from the window, she crouched down and stroked the head of the dog who lay next to Logan’s chair. The German shepherd looked up at her. “Good dog,” she murmured.

The room was shrouded in darkness. On the nightstand next to the bed lay Leila’s cell phone. Enya had taken it from her bag, figuring if their suspect had a way of tracing it, it would be best to bring it to the massage parlor. Pearce had pronounced the phone clear of any bugs, but she’d brought it nevertheless and even switched it on.

“What do you think of her?” Logan suddenly asked.

“Of who?”

“The human, of course. Don’t tell me you haven’t formed an opinion about her yet.”

In the dark, she noticed how one side of Logan’s mouth curled up in a mocking grin.

“What do
you
care?”

“Just asking. Does it bother you that you’re not the only female at the compound anymore?” he needled her.

“She won’t be staying.” She was a mere interloper, a human. She didn’t belong there.

“Are you so sure about that?”

“I know Aiden. Do you really think he can be with a human after what happened to his sister?” Aiden wasn’t the forgiving sort. He could hold a grudge longer than anybody she knew.

“His little friend doesn’t seem to think so,” Logan chuckled.

“His little what?” Then she suddenly realized what he meant. “Oh, you’re so gross, Logan!”

“Nothing gross about sex.” He seemed to enjoy her discomfort.

But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of backing down now. “Just because he’s stuck his dick in her, doesn’t mean he’s keeping her. I know how you guys work. Or why do you think I have no intention of ever spreading my legs for any of you?” There, he could chew on that.

“Spoken like a truly unsatisfied woman.”

“Am not!” Enya snapped.

“Trust me, you
so
need to get laid.”

“Oh, please, as if everything can be—”

The soft growling of the dog interrupted her. The animal got onto its feet, its ears standing up, its snout trained in the direction of the door.

Jumping up, Logan stared down at his phone, then shook his head ‘no,’ indicating that he hadn’t received any message from Pearce.

Enya held her breath and cloaked herself, noticing Logan doing the same. She waited, watching the dog. It was trained to keep quiet, but his body language indicated that somebody had just entered the room.

The soft rustling of a dress or a coat disturbed the silence.

“Attack!” Enya ordered the dog.

A loud shriek came from the intruder as the dog’s teeth dug into the invisible person, who fell to the floor in a reverberating thump. In the same instant, Enya launched herself onto the intruder, uncloaking herself in mid-movement. Logan simultaneously appeared to her left.

Her hand connected with an arm. She grabbed it and wrenched it. Enya could see that the dog was still tugging at something, digging its teeth deeper into the suspect.

Another scream filled the room.

“Uncloak yourself, or I’ll have the dog bite your fucking leg off.”

An instant later, a figure dressed in a long cloak, a hood over the head, showed itself.

“Tell the dog to stop,” she yelped. A woman’s voice!

Logan grabbed the woman and pulled her up.

“Rex, release.” The dog let go of the woman’s leg. “Good dog,” Enya praised and patted its head.

“And who have we here?” Logan asked calmly.

Enya snatched the hood and pulled it off the woman’s face. Blond curls tumbled down.

“Deirdre!” She knew the headstrong council member. She’d looked up to her. “How disappointing.”

Deirdre knew she was caught. Her facial expression said as much. “It had be to done. The council was foolish to let her live.”

“They voted,” Logan said. “It’s not for you to change the outcome.”

“I tried to do what’s best for our society.”

Enya shook her head. “You can’t change the rules just because they don’t suit you.”

“Don’t think you’re any better than I! If you were privy to the information the council got, you would have done the same,” Deirdre hissed.

“Everyone on the council had the same information you did; you were outvoted.” Enya replied.

“Let’s go. I’m sure the council is interested in knowing who’s been going against their orders,” Logan remarked. Then he grinned. “I think the council might soon have a vacancy to fill.”

Deirdre stared at them with wide eyes. “They can’t do that!”

Enya bent closer to her, moving her mouth to the woman’s ear. “They can, and they will. Hope you’ll enjoy your lead prison.”

She took a step when her foot hit something on the floor. She bent down and picked it up. It was a cell phone. “Yours?” she asked Deirdre curiously.

“Yes.”

She exchanged a quick look with Logan. “If she had her phone with her, why didn’t Pearce warn us?”

“Call him. Now.” Logan’s voice sounded tense.

Enya dialed the compound’s number and let it ring. There was no reply. Panicked, she disconnected.

“His cell,” Logan urged.

She speed dialed Pearce’s cell phone, but after three rings it went to his voicemail. She pressed the disconnect button.

Her pulse raced. “We have to get to the compound.”

“We have to deliver Deirdre to the council first. Call Aiden,” Logan ordered and for once, Enya didn’t mind his commanding tone.

THIRTY-FOUR

Leila couldn’t see the face of the man who was holding a dagger to her throat, his other arm holding her in a vice-like grip. The cold blade pressing against her skin was disincentive enough to turning her head.

“Now listen very carefully, or I’ll carve up your pretty neck,” he hissed into her ear.

Her vocal cords clamped down, and she didn’t dare nod; however, her attacker seemed to take her silence as an agreement.

“Good. Into the command room, now. Move.”

He pushed against her back, making her move forward with tentative steps, always aware of the knife that remained at her throat as he held her arms behind her back with his free hand.

“Leila? Where are you?” Pearce’s voice came from the dark room.

Her captor catapulted them inside, just as lights flickered above and suddenly illuminated the room.

“Finally, the backup generator kicked in,” Pearce acknowledged with relief in his voice and turned on his chair.

His expression turned to horror as he saw her.

“Fuck!” Pearce cursed.

“Couldn’t have said it any better,” the men behind her drawled.

“Council member Finlay,” Pearce greeted him with an icy voice, his eyes darting about the room as if looking for something.

Would he help her? Would he be able to defeat her attacker?

“So it’s you.”

“Indeed,” Finlay acknowledged. “But you green boys thought I was stupid and would fall for your little tricks. I’ve been around longer than you, and you think you could put a simple trace on my cell?”

“You found it then.” Pearce seemed calm now.

Was he not going to do anything to help her? Leila gave him a pleading look, but he concentrated on Finlay instead.

“Of course I did. That’s why my cell phone is still at the council building.”

Pearce tipped up his chin. “What do you want?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” He laughed, the cold sound making her shiver despite the jacket she wore. “I want Dr. Cruickshank.”

“To kill her?”

“To trade her. But enough of it. We don’t have much time. Your friends will call in soon and realize you’re not answering. And I want to be far away from here by then.”

“You’ll never get away with it. The council will hear of this.”

Finlay chuckled. “The council? I don’t give a fuck about the council! They have no power.”

Pearce’s mouth dropped open. “They’ll know it’s you.”

“So what? They can’t stop me now. Neither can you. The real power is with the demons.”

“How can you betray us like that? They’re evil.”

“Evil? That’s just a matter of perception. You think you’re so much better than the demons? We all have our agendas. And the Stealth Guardians’ doesn’t suit me anymore. They’re stifling my ambitions.”

He tugged on Leila’s arms, pulling her backwards.

Pearce took a step forward.

“No farther!” Finlay warned. “Or I’ll kill her.”

As if to prove his intent, he pressed the knife harder to her skin. She gasped.

“You won’t kill her. The demons want her,” Pearce guessed. “A corpse won’t do them any good.”

Finlay grunted. “A little cut won’t kill her, but I’m sure it’ll hurt.” He moved his mouth to her ear. “Won’t it, dear?”

“I’ll never help the demons,” she professed. She would never betray Aiden like that. She’d promised him that.

“Oh, trust me. You will. They have ways of making you submit.”

As he slowly moved the knife downward, fear and pain collided. She felt a burning sensation, then liquid trickling down her skin. He’d cut her.

“No!” she begged.

“Stop!” Pearce ordered.

“Well, then we’re all in agreement, aren’t we?”

Finlay’s nonchalant tone seemed to infuriate Pearce.

“No, we’re not in agreement, council member. You’re a traitor, and you
will
pay for this.”

Her attacker simply laughed at Pearce’s warning. “Get real.”

Clearly scrambling to buy more time, Pearce made another attempt at engaging Finlay. “What are the demons promising? What is it that you don’t already have as a council member?”

“Power.”

Leila couldn’t see Finlay’s eyes, but she imagined how they lit up now.

“Yes, power. Real power. The council has no true power. All they do is talk and vote and discuss everything ad nauseam. I’m sick of nobody ever taking real action. We could have taken over the world long ago, made the humans work for us instead of the other way around. What are we? Servants? Why should we devote our lives to this ungrateful race?”

Leila swallowed hard, almost choking on the lump in her throat. She felt the hatred rolling off him in waves, the frustration that must have built up over years if not centuries. And now she was at his mercy.

“Why me?” she whispered, careful not to move her neck to avoid being cut again.

He pulled on her arms, making her bend her head back.

“Because you’re the key to world domination. When I deliver you, I’ll become their leader. Nobody will be more powerful than I!”

An ice-cold shudder ran down her spine, chilling her to the core. He was crazy. Consumed by delusions of grandeur.

“Finlay, don’t do this,” Pearce warned.

“We’ve wasted enough time,” he suddenly said and motioned toward Pearce. “It’s the lead cell for you.”

Pearce’s eyes flashed in panic.

A chuckle was Finlay’s response. “You didn’t think I’d leave you here so you could alert your friends, did you now?” Then he moved the knife in an unmistakable gesture. “Now, lead, or I’ll carve her up.”

“What’s a lead cell?” Leila asked.

“Shall I explain it to her, or would you?” Finlay answered.

Pearce gave her a resigned look. “It’s a room lined with lead. If a Stealth Guardian is locked up there, it drains all his powers, making it impossible for him to walk through walls or make himself invisible. If left there for too long, the loss of power is irreversible.”

Her breath hitched. People were being hurt because of her. She couldn’t allow this.

“Don’t do it, Pearce. Let him kill me.”

“So heroic all of a sudden?” Finlay hissed at her ear. “And here I had you pegged for a coward. Or maybe you’re just bluffing. I know a thing or two about that. Trust me, once you’re in the demons’ hands, you won’t be that brave anymore. Once you stare death in the face, you—”

Finlay’s voice died as Pearce unexpectedly charged him. In the same instant, Leila felt Finlay’s arm push her away from him with such force that she lost her balance and slammed against the wall. As she scrambled to get up, pain radiating up her side, Pearce and Finlay were already engaged in a fight. An uneven one, she realized with horror, because Pearce had no weapon.

Yet that didn’t seem to stop the younger Stealth Guardian from fighting as ferociously as if he were armed to the teeth. With cunning Karate kicks and blows, he kept Finlay’s dagger at bay. But the traitor was strong and agile. Evading yet another kick, he whirled sideways, managing to slice Pearce’s bicep open with his dagger.

Leila witnessed as blood gushed from the wound, but Pearce didn’t even stop for a split-second and launched another blow at his opponent. Angry grunts and groans accompanied every blow and kick, every punch and strike.