Page 16 of Omega’s Oath

Chapter 6

Omega walked into the office whistling. He stopped off at the coffee pot and filled his mug. The talk with Rose last night eased some of the tension from his body that had been brought on when he’d slipped on the oil. He knew for a fact that the oil from the shopping hadn’t leaked but when he checked it the seal was broken and half of it was missing.

He still hadn’t told Rose about the paint and he didn’t want to add to her worry by telling her about the oil spill either. He fingered the back of his head, worried he’d hit the wooden steps of her stairs after his slip and shuddered at the thought that it could have been her. A fall like that could have done damage to both her and the baby.

Looking around, he saw Lyric and Condor at their desks, but the rest of the office was empty. The desk opposite where Rose normally sat was tidy but devoid of her happy spirit that seemed to light the office.

Condor beckoned with a wave of his arm. “Omega, come over here.”

Omega strolled over and looked over Lyric’s shoulder. “What have we got here?”

He could see CCTV footage of a hotel and recognized it as the one where Harlan was staying.

Lyric glanced behind him, his fingers moving over the keys. “This is from yesterday when you were at the hospital with Rose. Harlan is at his hotel and doesn’t leave for most of the day.”

“What about visitors?” Omega asked.

Condor shook his head. “Nothing. In fact, the only time he leaves his room is to get some food.”

Omega took a sip of his coffee and winced when he realized he’d forgotten the sugar, distracted with thoughts of Rose.

“So, it couldn’t have been him that dumped paint on the Texas sage.”

Condor shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t rule him out. He could still be involved and it’s strange how all of a sudden these things started to happen when he came on the scene.”

Omega debated not saying anything about the fall or the oil but knew in a case like this every detail mattered and he owed it to his team and his friends to make sure they had all the facts. “Something happened last night.”

Lyric spun in his chair to face him and Condor leaned back against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest, both men waiting for him to speak.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He hadn’t slept much last night, waking at the tiniest sound. He took another sip of the bitter coffee and placed it on the table beside him. “Before I picked Rose up yesterday from the hospital, I did some shopping for her and put it away in her cabinets. Among it all was some cooking oil.”

He could see the two men looking at him like he’d finally lost his mind, which he was beginning to wonder if he had. Thoughts of Rose and how she’d felt in his arms last night and the intimate moment they’d shared kept pushing their way front and center.

“When I brought Rose home, I helped her upstairs and settled her in her room. When I went back downstairs, I slipped at the bottom under some oil and hit my head and blacked out for a couple of seconds.”

Lyric sat forward, tension emanating from his body and he could see Condor was equally angry as he followed the logical steps in his head. Both of these men had been in this job long enough to see where he was going with this.

“I checked the cupboard and the oil I bought had a broken seal and half of it was missing.”

“I’m guessing the house was clear though, or you would’ve called us.”

Omega nodded at Condor. “Yes, the house was secure so whoever did it was either in the house when we got back or has a key and the code to the alarm.”

“We should get forensics over there and see if they can find some prints.” Lyric bolted from his seat and began to pace. It was telling for the man who was normally so still that you hardly realized he was in the room but since his shooting, he’d been even more on edge.

Omega shook his head. “If we do that, we’re going to freak Rose out and the last thing she needs right now is to worry about that. But I dropped the bottle off with them this morning to see if they can find anything.”

Lyric glanced toward him with an unreadable look on his face. “We have to tell her. It’s not fair and she’d hate us for it.”

Omega paced away to his desk. “Do you think I don’t know that? It’s killing me not telling her but I’m trying to keep her safe.”

Condor turned as the door opened and Dax and Sandstorm walked in, both laughing. As if they’d sensed the tension in the room, they looked toward the three of them and stilled.

“What’s going on?” Dax moved around his desk and sat back watching them intently as Sandstorm made coffee for them both.

“It looks like somebody got into Rose’s place last night and Omega nearly broke his neck on some oil.”

Dax was in the middle turning on his computer. “Fuck. Is she okay?”