Into the Blackness (Blackness Series Book 4)

by Norma Jeanne Karlsson

  “I silenced my phone for the meeting and forgot. I came as soon as I figured out what was goin’ on. Think I broke about twenty laws gettin’ to you guys.”

  “Thanks for comin’. Never had anybody stick up for me like that. Today I had the boys, Kat and you. I kinda dig bein’ fifteen again.”

  “I’ll always fuckin’ stick up for you whether you’re fifteen or fifty. Get me?”

  “Yeah,” he whispers with a glint of satisfaction. He gets me.

  “This shit about homecoming?” I ask as we legally wind and weave through picturesque Maybelle, which I’m finding houses the scum of the Earth behind its towering hills currently covered in shades of gold, copper and emerald. Nothing is ever what it appears.

  “Yeah,” he scoffs. “I’ve stayed the fuck away from Regan and her girls. Today at lunch, she saunters up to our table and asks me to go to the dance with her. Will was two tables away and lost his shit. I couldn’t turn her down in front of the whole school, Nick. That woulda caused a whole new level of drama. Before I could say anything he came at me from the side and caught my jaw while I was tryin’ to get Regan outta the way. I launched at his ass, took him down fuckin’ his knee up and pounded his face until he wasn’t movin’ anymore.”

  “Hands hurt?” I ask 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 Hollander please.”

  “One moment.”

  The DCA could work on their hold music. Kenny G doesn’t really fit the scene.

  “Cooper, you’re not due for a brief for two weeks. Tell me you’ve got somethin’,” Shane insists excitedly.

  “Nothing. We had an issue at the high school today,” I explain annoyed at him and his constant pressure to end an op that he fucking knows is going to take months to even begin to dig into.

  “Local authorities involved?” he asks professionally, thank fuck.

  “Not yet, but I may need to involve ’em. William Burke, a kid at the high school, has been fuckin’ with Jake since day one. Got physical the first day but has laid off to just verbal shit since then. Today he attacked Jake in the lunch room in front of the whole school. Jake fucked him up good, put him in the hospital. I gave the order if this kid touched Jake again that Jake had clearance to retaliate with force. He did.”

  “Fuck! High school is such a pain in the ass. That shit doesn’t change. Jake good?”

  “Yeah, nothing a Band-Aid and a hug won’t fix.”

  “Didn’t know you gave out hugs, Cooper. I’ll put that in your file for future reference,” he snarks.

  I snort but don’t respond because he’s getting on my nerves.

  “Burke’s father is the assistant principal. He was in Kat’s face when I got on scene. Shit got physical and I told him that his current career was done and he had until tonight to vacate Maybelle.”

  “I’ll deal with this from here. Shouldn’t be an issue to remove the family. Send the details to me through the network and I’ll get it done before end of business. Jake doesn’t need any more shit to deal with, that’s for fuckin’ sure. I worried about sendin’ him in with his history. Kid’s unreal with a rifle, but with people things can get bad.”

  “He was followin’ orders, Shane. He didn’t go off half cocked. Jake’s fine here with me…doin’ really good in fact. I’ve got the op under control. But if local authorities get involved I need you to squash it to keep us where we’ve settled in Maybelle. Had a meeting with some of the poker group today at their law firm and got the contract for full security upgrades. Should have eyes and ears in two weeks. It’s the biggest move we’ve been able to make so far.”

  “You think it’ll flush anything out?”

  “No clue. But it’s somethin’.”

  I see movement on my surveillance monitors at the front of the house as two Maybelle Police cruisers pull into our driveway.

  “Shit! Shane, I’ve got local PD pullin’ up in the driveway. Start makin’ moves,” I bark.

  “On it. Call you once it’s settled.”

  He hangs up without a word. Shane’s a piece of work, but this type of shit is his bread and butter.

  I grunt my way out of the office and thud down the stairs, pulling the big black door open as a cop has his hand
at the ready to knock.

  “Mister Johnson?” the officer whose name badge identifies him as Burke asks. I’m guessing he’s related to the pussy and his son. Fuck me.

  “I’m Nick Johnson. How may I help you, Officer Burke?” I ask clinically.

  “We’d like to ask you and your nephew a few questions about an incident at Maybelle High this afternoon. Can we come in?” he asks blankly, but his blue eyes are fiery, itching for a fight.

  “Please,” I offer, opening the door wide and extending an arm for them to pass.

  The four men stride past me with confidence, none of them making eye contact as they do. Pussies.

  “This way officers,” I direct and lead them to the kitchen where I can hear my big weird family talking.

  “Kat, we have visitors,” I announce as I hit the room finding all four boys at the breakfast bar and Kat pulling something out of the oven. The boys are going to eat us out of house and home.

  “Hello officers,” Kat beams vibrantly, walking a tray of homemade Hot Pocket looking pastries over to the counter in front of the boys.

  “Ma’am,” Officer Burke greets for the group.

  “Would you boys care for a snack?”

  She’s good at her job. No…she’s fucking amazing at her job. Kat can play any role at anytime and no one knows what’s actually going on behind her eyes. She appears calm and cool right now, when I know she’s boiling to the hilt.

  “Yes,” one of the officers spouts as Burke declines.

  Kat offers Burke a warm smile before loading up a snack pocket into a napkin and walking it over to the officer that requested one.

  “How can we help you officers?” Kat asks as I pull her under my arm, hers going around my waist.

  “We’ve been informed there were a couple incidents involving your husband and your nephew at Maybelle High this afternoon. We’d like to ask them some questions,” Burke explains.

  The boys are dutifully attentive while they eat their snacks. I offer Jake a brief look to let him know we’ve got this and he returns an imperceptive nod.

  “Please come in and have a seat. We’d be happy to answer your questions,” Kat says with an arm held out toward the breakfast table.

  “We only need to speak with Mister Johnson and Jake, Missus Johnson,” Burke responds coolly.

  “I’m sorry. I thought you were here to get statements about Jake and I being assaulted on school grounds this afternoon. Is there something else you’re here to discuss?”

  The three officers standing around Burke turn questioning eyes his way before schooling their features back at us.

  “William Burke has been hospitalized and Hoyt Burke is currently being attended to in the emergency room from injuries he claims Mister Johnson inflicted upon him,” Burke says his eyes flaring at me as he does.

  “Well, I’m sorry that Will is in the hospital after he attacked Jake. But as all the witnesses in the lunch room will tell you, Jake was defending himself. This was the second time Will attacked Jake without provocation on school grounds. Hoyt Burke then kept Jake and me against our will in a conference room before repeatedly shoving me in the chest for half an hour. My husband entered the room and found Mister Burke assaulting me. Nick defended me as I’m a woman and Hoyt Burke is much larger than me. If you’d like to ask questions about those assaults, we’d be happy to answer them. If you’re here to ask questions about anything else, I believe we should contact our attorney and join you at the police station,” Kat finishes emphatically.

  Suck on that motherfucker!

  Burke is stunned stupid and has no response so the officer that’s just finished eating Kat’s incredible cooking takes the lead.

  “Why don’t we just take statements from you for now and we’ll progress with our investigation,” he says kindly offering Kat a small smile.

  “I think that’s best. It is a felony in Connecticut for an adult to assault a child under the age of sixteen isn’t it?” Kat asks knowingly.

  “Yes, ma’am, it is,” the hungry officer replies.

  “Well, Jake is fifteen and I’m aware Will Burke is eighteen. I believe we should press charges at this stage.”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’ll gather more statements, interview witnesses and if you’d like to press charges we’ll move forward with arrest warrants.”

  “I’d also like Officer Burke removed from this case. He’s obviously related to our perpetrators and I feel this is a conflict of interest,” Kat lowers the boom.

  “Yes ma’am. Junior, why don’t you head back to the station? We’ll finish up here,” the officer directs. He moves around Burke so I can see his name on his chest. Harrison.

  “Sure,” Burke, I’m guessing Hoyt Junior based on what Harrison just called him, responds glaring at me.

  “I’ll show you out,” I say devoid of any emotion, indicating he goes ahead of me with a nod. When he moves I kiss Kat’s hair and then follow behind.

  “You touch my father or my brother again and I’ll make you sorry,” he growls leaning into my face at the threshold of the front door. I chuckle.

  “You go ahead and try that.”

  “I don’t make idle threats,” he seethes.

  I move into him so that my chest is touching his before the monster that lives within me unleashes his threat, “Neither do I. You tell your pussy father that. Get the fuck outta my house.”

  The fury in his eyes changes to fear at my tone and force. Then he gets the fuck out of my house. Pussy. I slam the door and head back to my family.

  Kat

  “I went at it too hard,” I groan, rolling to my stomach on my side of the bed. My body hurts from head to toe from the violence I unleashed on the heavy bag tonight. If only I had sweats to wear, I’d lounge around all day tomorrow and let the ache take me over. Jake and the boys have sweats, maybe I’ll steal some of theirs.

  “You feel better though, don’t you?” Nick asks rolling to his side to face me.

  I snort. I feel exhausted enough that I don’t feel anything else, so that’s something.

  “Shane leaked the video of the fight in the lunch room and some possibly Photoshopped images of Hoyt pushing you in the conference room. Of course, my action is magically missing from the footage. I think this’ll all go away by tomorrow,” Nick explains, ending with a yawn.

  “Jess is a magician with a computer. I’m sure she did all that in an hour flat,” I say with pride at my best friend’s super powers.

  “Jake said you were waitin’ for me,” he says softly.

  “You run shit. I was pretty certain protocol in that situation was to await your arrival. I also didn’t think me unmanning the assistant principal would’ve done a lot to maintain our cover,” I finish with a shrug. Well, an attempt at a shrug with my aching muscles.

  “I appreciate your thoughtfulness,” he drones in a sarcastic tone.

  “What? Did you want me to unman him?” I ask disbelieving.

  “No. You did good. Thanks.”

  That was a brush off if I’ve ever received one. Have I mentioned this man is a mindfuck?

  “Nicky, I’m worn the fuck out. If you’ve got somethin’ to say, say it. We can fight for a while, but I need some sleep,” I order.

  “Nothin’ to say. Get some sleep, Sunshine.”

  “Mindfuck,” I murmur into my pillow and fall asleep five seconds later.

  I wake up to shrieking screams and fly out of bed. I know it’s Jake. Nick beats me up the stairs this time.

  “Get back boys,” Nick directs as we barrel into the room to find all three of them huddled around Jake’s shaking frame on the floor.

  I collapse next to him and gather as much of his body as I can into my lap.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Cole asks with terror in his voice. These boys have shitty home lives, but nothing compared to where Jake’s come from.

  “It’s just a nightmare, guys. Why don’t you three head back to bed? We’ve got him from here,” Nick instructs kindly,
offering the softness he didn’t a month and a half ago.

  I nod, smiling encouragingly at them and they all move back to their rooms slowly, watching Jake as they go. I keep rocking and shushing Jake, rubbing my hand across his shaggy hair.

  “Come on, bud,” Nick says reaching down and heaving Jake off the floor, cradling him to his chest.

  Jake remains tense as Nick carries him, but eases a bit under his touch. Nick pads down the stairs back to our room still carrying Jake. I follow behind quickly as the boys peek their heads out of their rooms.

  “Can we come too?” Sawyer asks sheepishly.

  “Come on,” I whisper, realizing they won’t sleep if they don’t know everyone is okay.

  They all run into their rooms and come back out with blankets and pillows. When we make it to our room, Nick is laying Jake down in the bed. Nick eyes the boys standing behind me for a second and then nods his head for them to come in. They quickly make pallets on the floor before snuggling in.

  I slide into the sheets and Jake wraps his arms excruciatingly tightly around my middle. I take the pain. This I can do for him. I’ll take the tiniest amount of his hurt if it gives him even the slightest relief. I still don’t know Jake’s story and I really don’t need to. He comes from fucked up and it still lingers. I don’t need a road map to figure that shit out. Jake can tell me when he’s ready. I’m not a pusher.

  I feel Nick’s body come flush with my back before reaching across me, placing a hand on Jake’s shoulder.

  “Easy, Jake,” he soothes and Jake responds, letting up on his pressure.

  None of us move from this position for the rest of the night. Nick is vigilant in keeping Jake calm and relaxed with a hand on his shoulder and gentle reminders that he’s okay, while I cradle and hold Jake to my chest. It’s not a restful night’s sleep, but it’s a safe one for Jake.

  I wake to the sound of the doorbell. I lean up on my elbow and the clock reads 9:27 a.m. We slept in…I don’t give a shit. I wiggle free from Jake and Nick before grabbing my robe and hurrying down the stairs.

  Through the peephole, I see Trish Booker standing patiently looking like perfection in a pair of light colored chinos and a thin maroon sweater covered with a deep gold jacket. Her platinum hair is swept away from her face, which is bright and sparkly. She looks like autumn personified. Game face on Kat.