Order of the Omni: A Supernatural Romantic Suspense Novel (The Immortalies Book 1) Penny Knight (100 best novels of all time TXT) 📖

“We,” he says.

“Huh?”

“There is no way we will not look for answers. You know I’m right here with you.”

“I know,” I say. “But, it’s just all so crazy. I don’t want you to have to deal with all this, too.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve always been crazy, sunshine. I haven’t run yet. And if I was going to, it would have been when Jake dumped me and you turned into a deranged, scorned woman.”

“Tsk, deranged. I was not that bad.” He has a flare for dramatics. His eyebrows shoot up in disbelief. “Fine, ok. But he deserved it. You know he did.”

He laughs and nods in agreement as the door swings open to our shared room.

“In my office,” Tony sticks his trimmed buzz cut head in and demands then storms.

“Well then,” Topher stands, “guess it’s time to work. That should get your mind off this for a bit while you get your bearings.”

Nodding, I follow him out. He’s right, this is what I need. Tony giving us a new assignment will help get my head straight, then I know I will figure out the way forward with my newfound ability.

I have sat in this office many times, so I know it well. The mess of papers and files that line the desk, gives me a higher level of anxiety just being surrounded by this chaos he calls his office. I have no idea how he can function with it.

He shuffles through the papers with intent, looking for what I would assume would be our assignment. See, this is why he should let me organise his damn desk and filing structure so we wouldn’t be sitting here waiting.

I bump Topher’s shoulder. “Stop biting your nails.”

He groans but moves his fingers from his mouth.

“Aha!” Tony pulls the right file and clears his throat. This is the sign the Lieutenant is about to come out. Which means Topher and I sit straighter.

“Missing Persons. Patrick Goodings. He is a computer programmer for CTI, Cyber Threat Intelligence-”

“So he’s a hacker,” Topher deduces and sits back like he has just cracked the case.

“He went missing three days ago,” Tony continues as if he was never interrupted. I catch Topher smiling from the corner of my eye. I know how much Topher loves to get at him. “He left work at five-thirty but never arrived home. This is just an information grab. We are only required to get into his home and copy the contents on his hard drive. Undetected,” he finishes, looking at Topher to drill it home.

“So, a little B&E and theft, okay,” I say. Sometimes there are things about this job that don’t sit right, but I guess it’s all part of the game.

“Listen, my sources say the house will fall under police investigation by tomorrow. They will have surveillance 24/7, so we only have one shot, tonight.” He looks back at Topher and continues, “I would assume he would have security in place to protect his data. Do and take what you need. This is a big commission if we get the information.”

He leans across the large mahogany desk, handing the file to me. I take the blue manila folder and open it. There is a picture of a heavy-set older male. It looks as though it’s from his security picture at work. Below is the usual information: name, date of birth, address, contact details, whatever was given to us by whoever has hired our service.

“Bring the data back to me when you get it.” I look up to see if there is anything more we need to know. “That’s it,” he grunts, nodding at the door. Straight to the point.

Tony is not the type for menial chit chat. He runs this business like a dictatorship. Sometimes it pisses me off, but it kind of reminds me of Franziska and how she raised me, so it’s more comforting and safe.

We jump out of our chairs and hustle to the door. There’s always a chance that he is going to chew our ear off about something. Just another habit we have formed trying to be the first one out the door and pretending to be out of earshot in case he remembers something.

Topher beats me this time.

“Wait, Elita,” Tony barks.

Shit. I drop my head before I turn in anticipation and hear Topher gloat while running down the hall, like a scared little mouse. I stick my tongue out at him. What can I say? He brings out the child in me.

With resignation, I slump my shoulders and turn, smiling sweetly at him. Sometimes this works.

“Listen, I want to make sure you were ok. Are you feeling better?” I can see the concern in his eyes, it touches a place in my heart very few can reach. He cares about me no matter how much he tries to hide it.

He was my trainer, after I spent weeks and weeks convincing him how much he needed me on his team, even though for him it was a one-man operation. I was a nineteen-year-old girl who didn’t take no for an answer. Eventually, I convinced him how dedicated I was, then he spent years training me. We may not have a relationship where we talked about our feelings, life or anything deep, but that wasn’t me and I’m so glad it wasn’t him, either. The bond was there, and I liked it.

“Yes, thanks, much better.” I answer with a smile.

“Good,” he says moving his attention to his computer screen. “Now, get out of my office.”

The house at Magill east of the city is surrounded by six-foot hedged fences. The single-story house was hidden from the street. Once we breach the gate, we will be hidden from view, perfect. We make it through the high fencing and walk down the paved driveway. It was a breeze, especially knowing Topher was jamming any electrical signals. Bye-bye surveillance cameras.

Once we get to the black front door, I give it a knock as I ring