Into the Blackness (Blackness Series Book 4) by Norma Jeanne Karlsson Page B

with a smirk on my face. Kid did good. There’s a piece of me that wishes I was there to watch it. Looking at Jake you wouldn’t think he could hurt a fly…he wouldn’t. Jake would never be aggressive unless necessary. He’s not like me. I like that he’s not like me.
    “It’s a good hurt. Split a couple open, but other than that I’m solid.” He shrugs it off. I glance over to his hands resting in his lap and they’re pretty torn up. That’ll piss Kat off even more.
    Finally, we pull in the garage next to Kat. The boys pile out looking exhausted, stressed and a little crazed. Kat stays in the SUV, not moving, her hands tight on the wheel. I climb out and gesture to Jake to go clean his hands up as I make my way to her door. I pull it open and brace my forearms at the top of the opening leaning into her.
    “I kill people for a living. I track ’em, work ’em, squeeze information from every pore and then I kill ’em…most of the time. There’s a need to kill at the end of most ops because the marks I’ve had have been demons preying on the innocent. There’s no loss in the world when they’re gone. I don’t wanna kill ’em…it’s my duty. I want to kill Will Burke. I want to poison his Gatorade and watch him struggle for his last breath, begging for his daddy to help him. What the fuck do I do, Nicky?” she asks turning her hazel eyes to me, pain and fury setting them alight.
    “You get outta this SUV and go inside to take care of those four kids. They need you right now more than you need blood. Let me handle this. I promise you I’ll make those motherfuckers pay. Then once the boys are calmed down you head to the basement and kick the shit outta the heavy bag and eat a pint of ice cream like you do when I piss you off.” I keep my tone light but intensely pointed so that she knows I’ve got this. I’ve got her.
    “I’m beyond ice cream,” she sneers. “My parents had me late in life. Really fuckin’ late and I only had them into my teenage years. It was a good life, but I was always unusual because of it. My perspective on life was different from the kids that had parents in their thirties. I lost them six months apart my senior year of high school. My father was a Korean and Vietnam War vet…he loved that he served his country. He wanted that for me. When the DCA came calling, I knew it was what he would want me to do. That he’d be proud of me. I kill people and my father would be proud of me. He would not be proud of me wanting to murder a child because he hurt someone I love.”
    “If your father was there today what would he have done?”
    “If my father came in a room and thought someone had hurt me when I was Jake’s age, he woulda done what you did. Without question.”
    “Then he was a good man. He was a loving father and a strong caretaker. And you’re just like him. You wanna take care of Jake, but you’ve learned a different way of dealin’ with shit. That doesn’t make you anything less than the hero your father was. You’re just more lethal. He’d be proud. Trust that, Sunshine,” I finish softly and peel her fingers from the steering wheel that’s at risk of being crushed under her grip.
    “Mindfuck,” she mumbles as I pull her from the SUV.
    I put my arm around her shoulders and place a firm kiss on her hair as we make our way into the house.
    “I’ve gotta call this in,” I whisper into her ear as we hit the kitchen where the boys are huddled around Jake who’s trying to clean his hands.
    “’Kay,” she says pulling away from me and heading to her boys. She immediately takes over cleaning Jake up while the others close in on her, trying to get a bit of comfort from her presence.
    I run up the stairs two at a time before locking myself in the sound proof office across from our bedroom.
    “Code in,” a male voice directs.
    “Alpha Bravo seven four six three,” I respond.
    “The line is secure Agent Cooper,” the voice notifies me.
    “Shane