Page 66 of Immortal Unveiled

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All businesses in the strip mall were closed now, except for the Chinese takeout two doors down from the dry cleaners. There was steady traffic there despite the late hour, but Manus wasn’t concerned about being detected. He and Kim had arrived cloaked, even though he doubted that the customers frequenting the Chinese restaurant would take any notice of them. However, since he had to break into the translator’s office, Manus thought it best to be as inconspicuous as possible. And what was more inconspicuous than being invisible?

As expected, the glass door to the lobby, which was lit, was locked. Manus motioned to Kim—the only person who could see him—to wait for him while he passed through the door to get inside. He knew from his earlier visit that there was no alarm system. It was child’s play to unlock the door from inside and open it.

He ushered Kim inside, then closed the door behind her, making sure nobody was watching and seeing a door open and close by itself.

“Just as well that you and your people aren’t burglars,” Kim said. “You’d be robbing us all blind, and we would never catch you.”

Manus winked at her. “If this gig doesn’t pan out for me, I might consider it as my second career choice.” He put his foot on the first step. “I hear the pay is good.”

Kim laughed softly. “Don’t tell me they don’t compensate you well enough for what you do.”

He shook his head. “Money has no real meaning in our society. None of us gets paid.”

He started walking up the stairs, and Kim caught up with him. “What? Then how do you live without money?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. There’s money. The compound has a budget, and everything a warrior needs comes out of that budget. But there’s no personal property other than the furnishings in our private quarters. And even those were paid for by the compound.”

“I didn’t expect that. So, you’re doing this job why?”

Manus smirked. “Being a warrior is a babe magnet.” He met her eyes to make sure she knew he wasn’t being serious. He didn’t want to talk about the real reason why he’d become a warrior. Not just because he wanted to avenge his parents, but because being a warrior meant the chances of him ever loving somebody again were slim. Warriors in their society were in many cases foregoing having a family. Of course, his own compound mates were different in that aspect. Most of them had somehow managed to find a mate who hadn’t asked them to give up their work. It was unusual to say the least.

A hand on his butt pulled him from his thoughts. “I guess it’s not working for every warrior, is it?” Kim didn’t quite manage to suppress her chuckle. The little minx was making fun of him.

“You’ll pay for that later,” he murmured back. “A warrior doesn’t tolerate insolence.”

Arrived at the landing, Manus turned to his left and marched toward Kilgore’s office. In the upper corridor, the light was burning too. It wasn’t unusual. Most businesses left the main lights on to deter burglars. At the door to Kilgore’s office, Manus stopped and looked over his shoulder to Kim, who’d followed close behind.

“I’ll open up from inside,” he said, then turned back to the door. He took a step closer when he noticed that the door wasn’t closed. “Shit!” he hissed under his breath.

“What?”

He whirled his head to Kim and put a finger over his lips to silence her. Then he pointed to the ajar door. Kim followed his direction. Her eyes widened. He motioned her to remain where she was, then walked through the door without opening it any wider. If somebody was inside Kilgore’s office, he had to surprise them.

Inside the office, it was dark. The blinds were open, allowing the faint lights from the parking lot to penetrate, throwing long shadows into the room. Manus allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness and scanned the area. At first glance, nothing appeared out of order and the office was just as messy as earlier in the day. He listened for any sounds and held his breath to be able to detect if anybody else was breathing. But complete silence surrounded him. He was alone. Whoever had left the door open, and he didn’t think Kilgore had been so careless, was long gone.

He walked back to the door and opened it. “Nobody here. You can come in,” he announced to Kim.

Hesitantly, she entered the office and pulled the door shut behind her.

“I’ll close the blinds, so we can use some light to do our search,” he said and walked to the window. He passed the desk. Suddenly, his foot caught on something, and he would have stumbled had he not gripped the edge of the desk to brace himself. His gaze flew to the floor. “Fuck!”

“What? What is it?” Kim asked in panic, the sound of her footfalls indicating that she was coming closer.

“Don’t!” he warned her. But it was too late. She was already shoulder to shoulder with him.

She gasped. “Oh my God!”

At Manus’s feet, Kilgore’s body lay frozen in death. He’d been stabbed in the heart. Manus crouched down to examine the wound. It was the one that had killed him in the end, but it wasn’t the only one. Kilgore bore defensive wounds on his arms and torso.

“He fought with his attacker.”

“Who would do such a thing?” Kim mused.

He looked up at her. “Would you close the blinds, please?”

Kim sprang into action and closed the blinds of the large window, allowing almost complete darkness to descend on the office. “Done.”