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

the doorbell. I don’t want to be caught red-handed breaking in. Better to know if anyone was home. From the subject’s social media, he did not appear to be in a relationship, or have children or dogs, thank God.

No answer. I look to Topher to confirm we are all good to go, and he nods in response. I use two thin silver pins to unlock the door, but stop and look up at Topher.

“Hey, wait,” I whisper.

He ducks and looks around the perimeter before settling his panicked eyes on me. “What? What?”

“I think I should take this off and read your mind.” I hold up my necklace. “It would be so much easier to communicate,” I say like it’s an epiphany.

“Oh. My. God!” He bends down closer to my hunched level and hisses, “Are you serious?” He looks aghast. “I thought that someone was here.”

“What?” I screw up my face then shake my head, getting back on the job. “Of course not. Bloody hell McGee, our code word is Lannister, remember? You picked it,” I whisper back.

“Well, I don’t know.” He stands and looks around. “Shit has been pretty weird lately.” Well, I can’t argue there. “And no, you in my head right now. No way, Jose.” Well, I can’t argue with him there, either.

I return to business and hear the familiar click as I manage to get the door open. I would always be grateful to Mark, our old locksmith, for teaching me this trick. Thank you, PI Bootcamp.

Topher lets out a quiet whistle and whispers, “Not bad for a software programmer,” as we step into the entrance of the house. Dark wooden floorboards line the hall with abstract paintings lit up. “I’m in the wrong job.”

“I told you so,” I say.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. We’ve been over it hundreds of times.” Topher is brilliant and I am always trying to push him to go further, but he loves this job, so he says.

“Ok, let’s get this going.” I can see doors along the hallway. “He must have an office.”

We don’t have to go far, the third door we come to is a small office. It’s small and, for a computer programmer, uncharacteristically clean. Topher’s room at the warehouse was a nightmare. There were computers, monitors, spare parts, empty energy drinks, crap everywhere. This room is pristine, with artwork hanging from the wall in front of a large, solid pine desk with only one monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Topher sits down in the leather chair. “Here goes,” he says and boots the hard drive which he finds in a partition under the desk and the monitor comes to life. “Of course, there’s a password.” He smiles as he cracks his knuckles, then reaches into his satchel for a USB and plugs it in. “Won’t be long.” Who knows what he’s actually doing, but I know he will get it done.

There’s still an uneasy feeling about this whole room. It feels way too easy and so bare. Our mission is to just get the data off the computer, but I still feel like there is more to the story here.

“I’m in,” Topher announces.

“Really?” I ask, surprised. “That was easy.”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “I’m downloading now.”

I walk towards the window and look through, checking the surroundings. Then move my attention back inside. That’s when I and notice cables running from the computer into a small wooden box on the floor behind the desk. Bending down, I open the lid and see the green lights flashing brightly on the router.

“There are two lights,” I announce.

“Huh?” He leans back in the chair and tilts his head to see. “Oh, good work E. There is another computer on the network somewhere.”

“Finish up here and I will look around.”

"We have a problem," Broderick announces with his usual grim tone.

"We always have a problem," I say as I lift my Masamune sword from its holder.

My life is a series of problems. Every day, all day. I have been restless ever since I saw her, anxiously waiting for what's coming next. Hence why I am in my war room, polishing my collection of swords and weapons. Each artifact taking me back to the battlefield. This calms me, soothes my soul, if I still even have one.

"It's Elita," he says. I pause, my white cloth mid-length of this magnificent creation.

"Yes?" I say, giving him my full attention.

He clears his throat. "We have word. Her firm has been hired to look into the disappearance of the programmer."

"What?" My jaw clenches and my shoulders tense.

"Yes. That is what I have been told." Broderick can sense my mood. "Do you want me to go out and monitor her?" He knows me too well.

"Just you. Keep me informed." We had gathered intelligence on her and learned she was a private investigator, the earpiece making sense, along with her behaviour. To a point. But this assignment is too dangerous for her. And who is behind it?

"I will head out once the sun sets," he says, and I nod in response. Then disappears through the steel doors.

I place the sword back on its holder, knowing I won't be able to commit to the polishing it deserves when all I can think of is her.

There are mountains of work I need to attend to. The Uprising and tensions in Europe most present, but there is nothing more important than the woman who escaped my watch.

It must be because I'm thrown. I brought this team together for what I had believed to be a base for another fruitless Venus Eclipse coming and going. Waiting for my mate to present itself so finally I can produce an heir. This is the time we usually spend training. And I contemplate how it's still possible for me to feel disappointment every time I leave alone. And once the eclipse is over and my opportunity crushed just like it had previously in the two thousand years, I go back to my lonely existence. Just that bit more bitter.

Until now.

Real