Free Aiden's Betrayal by C.T. Nicholson Page A

holding her close for the rest of the morning.
    ****
    An hour before sundown, Aiden woke to find Elle curled into his chest. He wanted to give her a good wake up call, but now wasn’t the time. He knew he'd failed getting out of bed without waking her when she spoke, her voice filled with sleep.
    “ Don’t go. It’s not time to get up is it?”
    He leaned down to kiss her. “It’s okay. The night before was long and eventful. This will be over soon.”
    She nodded and watched him dress. Damn it, he never realized having a woman watch him dress would be so damn erotic or maybe he was just that damn horny.
    “ I'll be back, I promise.” He walked out of the room wanting to kiss her but he knew he'd never leave if he did.
    In the training room, Aiden strapped himself with his two favorite daggers, a Smith and Wesson semi-automatic pistol, and a sword sheathed on his back. Going after his cousin would be no small feat and Aiden prepared accordingly.
    Collin and Lena left right at nightfall as ordered and Gregory followed suit shortly thereafter. The time had come for Aiden to leave and his feet turned into lead. His feelings toward Elle were too strong. Feeling protective of her, he didn’t want to leave Elle alone with anyone. Not even his prince.
    Aiden needed to check on Anya so Elle wouldn't worry about her friend. Aiden felt confident of her friend's safety because there hadn’t been a body found. Yet.
    The clubs would be the first place everyone would check, but Aiden knew better. Nicolas was way too smart. He’d know the clubs were off limit. The only choice Aiden had was turning to Nicolas’ favorite method of getting around. Rooftops made moving through the city easier as long as they kept humans from seeing them.
    On top of one of the largest structures, Aiden kept his gaze zoned to every movement around him. The smell of car fumes drifted into his nose, streetlights changed, and horns blew. But Aiden only cared about finding Nicolas.
    How did this happen? Carefree and full of life, Aiden never doubted his cousin would make it until he found his mate. Even if his cousin joked of never settling down, Aiden knew Nicolas truly wanted a mate of his own.
    Peer ing over the edge into the street proved to be pointless and netted nothing but punk kids smoking in alleys and homeless people sleeping or begging for money. Aiden ignored the humans walking on the streets below and moved to the edge on the backside of the building. He didn’t need a damn audience as he jumped across to the next roof.
    He couldn’t jump as far as Nicolas, but the buildings stood close enough for him to manage. After jumping the twelfth building, he grew tired . There was still no sign of Nicolas. Resting for only a moment, Aiden tried to think of anywhere else he could look.
    Loose pebbles crunched under heavy boots. Aiden jumped up and spun with his daggers exposed. Nicolas stood before him not looking his best with his clothes ripped in places, probably from where he fought with Gregory.  He had no weapons as he held his hands up.
    “ Hello, cousin,” Nicolas said.
    ****
    “Quit biting your nails, he’ll be fine.” Jodi spoke with confidence, but worry covered her face.
    Elle dropped her hand and glanced around at all of the computers. Ethan had surveillance everywhere both in and outside the home.
    “ I didn’t realize how much danger he was in. I remember my mom staying up late waiting on my dad to get home.” Elle missed them so much. Tears blurred her vision.
    “ What did your dad do?” Ethan asked as his fingers flew across keys without ceasing.
    “ He was a cop. He’d just gotten a promotion to detective when he was murdered.” She paused as she stopped herself from sobbing. Crying in front of strangers didn’t suit her. “They thought whomever killed my family was some criminal he put away, but they never found the killer. I always knew the truth, no matter how many doctors my grandparents sent me to. I kept up