Into the Blackness (Blackness Series Book 4) (42 page)

“Cleaner’s here,” Nick announces from the doorway.

Shannon and I separate offering each other comforting squeezes as we do. She moves to Trish’s unrecognizable body before spitting on her corpse. That pretty much sums it up. So we leave the wine cellar together climbing the stairs feeling lighter, freer.

“I need a shower,” I declare when we hit the kitchen.

A slight man with grey hair and wire rimmed glasses nods at Nick before descending the stairs with a large black bag over his shoulder. He’ll wash Trish down the drain in the basement bathtub. It’s better than she deserves.

“Shanny, I need your clothes for the cleaner,” Nick says kindly.

He needs mine too. I should have changed out of my new favorite track suit the boys bought me. I’m irritated that I didn’t think about that. Luckily, they bought me five.

Nick follows Shannon and me up the stairs, leaving me at our room with a soft kiss before following Shannon up to the guest room to wait for her clothes. I quickly strip and bag my clothes for Nick before climbing into a excruciatingly searing hot shower. I scour every inch of my body twice, removing any trace of Trish or her death from my body and my mind. I’ll never think of her again after I get out of this shower.

She’s gone from the world and gone from my mind. Never to be considered again. I feel no guilt. No remorse. No regret. I feel avenged and peaceful as the last of the suds funnel down the drain. My soul is clean for the first time since I began this job. I feel whole and right in the world. Serene.

I cut off the water and dress in a heather grey track suit. I’m no longer
Stepford
. That’s a relief I don’t have words for. I can’t wait to get out of this house. The boys are mostly packed already. I want out tomorrow. I’m done. I’m done with this life. I’m done with the DCA. I’m ready for normal.

Hair piled on my head in a messy lump and make-up free I run into Shannon on the stairs. She looks much the same in a long sleeved pale yellow T-shirt and yoga pants. We’re a sexy pair. The doorbell rings and Shannon and I hurry down the stairs to find Phil Ganesly walking in shaking Nick’s hand as he does.

“Kat, meet Federal Agent Phil Ganesly,” Nick introduces as I hit the bottom stair.

I nod but make no move to greet him.

“Phil, this is my best friend Shannon Kelly.”

“Pleasure,” Phil says shaking Shannon’s hand professionally.

“It’s nice to meet you, Agent Ganesly,” Shannon returns.

“Phil has been undercover working to get Tony Booker on charity fraud,” Nick explains.

“I knew you were workin’ an angle here. Just wasn’t sure what it was. When your prints on your business card didn’t pull up any hits in our system, I figured you were lookin’ for an in on the charity fraud. When you hooked up with the rest of the poker group I was almost certain. With the surveillance you were able to collect on them, they’ll be goin’ away for a long time,” he says to Nick and then turns his attention to me. “I’m sorry for how rude I was to you, Agent Russell. I had no idea who you were. I’m glad you’re recovering well.”

“No offense taken. I know how the job works. Thank you for your help with Patricia Lancaster. I’m feeling much better,” I reply professionally. He’s a good agent because he had me convinced he was the classic Maybelle asshole.

Phil smiles kindly at me, not a hint of that jerk I met before in sight.

“If you wanna follow me, your mark’s up here,” Nick says to Phil, leading him up to the office.

I guess Tony didn’t have anything to do with this and gets to go to white collar prison. At least he’ll have his poker buddies with him. I just want him out of this house so I can get the boys here and packed to move. Shannon and I plod into the kitchen and then the family room where Dylan is laying on the couch watching ESPN with Johnny asleep on his chest. Those two are so laid back. Shannon climbs over her son and settles on her side draped over her man and baby.

“You want in on this?” Shannon asks sincerely.

“I’m good,” I respond through a smile, collapsing on the other couch. Exhaustion hits me quickly and I’m asleep in moments as basketball drones in the background.

“Mom,” Sawyer’s voice tickles my ear.

“Hmm.”

“We’re home,” Cole announces softly.

I peel my eyes open to see the three boys perched on the coffee table watching me.

“Hey,” I say through a large stretch.

“You were sawin’ logs,” Dane informs me with a teasing smirk on his lips.

“I was worn out. That’s when I do my best lumberjack impersonation.”

They all snicker at my joke as I stretch my aching body.

“We met Cara,” Sawyer says sympathetically.

I sit up and face my kids. They look happy and normal. None of this has touched them other than Sawyer and he’ll never know that. I’ll shelter him from this until the day I die.

“How’d that go?”

“Fine I guess. She’s stuck to Jake like glue, but she laughed at Dane so I think it went well,” Cole says with an easy grin.

“You guys hungry?”

“Nah, we ate.” I love it when they answer in unison like that.

“You have much more to pack?” I ask as I sit up to face them.

“You’re really makin’ us go,” Sawyer complains dejectedly.

“I’m really makin’ you go. And I’m comin’ with you.”

“What?”

“Really?”

“How?”

The three of them fire off in harmony.

“We wrapped the op this afternoon. I can’t tell you much more than that, but we’re done. I think we could all use a change of scenery. Kansas City seems like the best option for us at this point. Nick and I don’t have any family. The only people I have are Shane and Jess. I love them, but I don’t wanna raise you boys in the shadow of the DCA in Virginia. I’d like us to be in the Midwest where I’m from. With Shannon and her family in Kansas City I think we’ll be happy there. What do you boys think?”

“Sounds good to me,” Dane says with his typical laid back shrug.

“Me too,” Cole agrees.

“What about Jake?” Sawyer whispers.

“What about him?”

“You think he’ll go with us now? He doesn’t need to look out for us anymore. Maybe he’ll decide to stay in the DCA.”

“He’s going with us,” I state emphatically.

“Okay,” Sawyer says with a glint in his ebony eyes.

“Where’s everyone else?” I ask as I stand to go search.

“Aunt Shanny went up to nurse Johnny. Shane’s in the office. Dad and Uncle Dylan are down in the gym and Jake and Cara are in the game room,” Dane answers as we walk into the kitchen.

“All right, you three go up and finish packing. I’ll be up in a while to see where you’re at.”

I kiss them each on the cheek before padding down the stairs to the basement. I can hear the slap and crunch of the heavy bag being brutalized before I enter the gym. I stand in the doorway and watch Nick pummeling away as Dylan braces the bag. These two with their shirts off should be illegal.

“Hey,” I call out stopping Nick mid-swing.

“Hey,” they respond in unison.

Both men start unwrapping their hands as I stare at their god-like physiques. I think a little drool is pooling in the corner of my mouth.

“Should be fuckin’ illegal,” Shannon whispers in my ear.

I look over my shoulder catching her mischievous green eyes and we burst into laughter.

“What’s wrong with you two?” Dylan asks, striding his massive frame toward us. Two, four, six, eight…that’s an eight pack and a man V Batman would be jealous of.

“Pick your jaw up, Kat,” Nick admonishes me.

“You too,” Dylan chides Shannon who’s staring at Nick.

Her and I exchange looks again and fall into fits of laughter so deep that my sides hurt and tears are running down our cheeks.

“You two are trouble,” Dylan grumbles, sweeping Shannon into his arms.

“You like me bein’ trouble,” Shannon says through a sexy smile.

“Can we talk a second?” I ask Nick as he yanks me roughly to his front, rolling his eyes at Dylan.

“Yeah,” he says gruffly, still annoyed at me.

“I’m gonna hit the shower,” Dylan purrs into Shannon’s hair.

“You wanna hit this in the shower?” she replies with what would be a suggestive wiggle if her belly wasn’t the only thing moving.

His deep timbre chuckle reverberates in the hall as he drags her away.

“Good workout?” I ask, wrapping my arms around Nick’s sweaty neck.

“I’ve got other ways I’d like to work out,” he mumbles into my ear before nibbling the lobe.

Something about him being sweaty and warm mixed with his spicy musky scent has my hormones in overdrive. I drag my nails across his scalp as he moves his lips and teeth along my jaw before taking my mouth in an aggressive passionate kiss that steals my breath instantly. Our tongues mingle and massage as our bodies crush into each other.

I move my hands down his sculpted back, rubbing beads of sweat into his olive skin. His hands find my ass and he roughly grabs my cheeks causing a startled and turned-on squeak to break from my throat. Nick grins against my mouth before releasing me.

“Not fair,” I mutter, disappointed at his self-control.

“Sunshine, we’ve got a house full of teenage boys, a teenage girl, Shane and the Kellerman clan…not really the time to fuck you in the middle of a room with a glass wall.”

“Right,” I huff, untangling myself from his arms before flopping on the weight bench. “I’m gonna go to Kansas City with the boys.”

“What’s that?” Nick asks, sitting on the floor in front of me stretching.

“The op’s wrapped on our end. I don’t wanna stay here and I don’t wanna go back to Virginia with the boys. I have Shane and Jess there, but I wanna be away from the DCA. I’m ready for normal Midwestern life. I don’t expect you to go with us. I know you’ve got a job waiting for you in Virginia and we need to talk about what that means for all of us. So this is me talkin’ to you.”

“How do you want this to work?” he asks with a furrowed brow.

“However it’s best for everyone.”

“Why do I get the feeling this is an attempt at a break up?”

“Are you feeling okay?” I ask, looking at him like he’s nuts. “Did you just kiss me or were you havin’ an out of body experience? I’m pregnant, Nicky…with your baby. Why the fuck would I be breaking up with you? Did you let Dylan hit you with those giant mitts of his?”

“Uh.”

“Yeah,” I scoff. “You’ve got mushy dick brain. We’ll talk about this later when you can form actual coherent sentences. I’m gonna go help the boys pack.”

I move to stand up only to be pushed back down as Nick springs to his feet in front of me.

“Let’s do something about my mushy dick brain,” he purrs in my neck as he climbs on top of me, running his hand up my shirt. Sounds like a plan to me.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Jake says through a chuckle.

Nick groans and collapses in defeat. I pat his back in consolation before pushing him off. I sit up to find Jake grinning at us like the teenager he is. I’m surprised to find him alone. I don’t think he’s been away from Cara for more than a few seconds since he came out of the formal dining room earlier. Just as I complete the thought, she strolls up to his side where he immediately sweeps his arm around her shoulders.

There’s some tension in Jake’s face that I can’t quite place. Looking out for Cara all day is surely starting to weigh on him a bit. This day has been full of emotion and exhaustion and I don’t really know what’s gone on with Jake and Cara throughout the situation. She’s so comfortable at his side and he seems content to have her there. I knew their connection could be difficult for both of them. I hope we’re not hitting a rough patch already.

Nick

“What’s up, bud?” I ask as I watch Jake holding Cara with a level of comfort that looks like she’s been at his side his entire life. Yet, there’s a little concern etched in his features. It’s been a rough fucking day so I’m just feeling him out before I become worried.

“I need to talk to you about where I go from here,” he says sheepishly.

And now’s the time to worry.

“Go pack your stuff. We’re still going to Kansas City,” Kat chimes in.

“Who’s we?”

“Me and you boys.”

“What’re you doin’?” Jake asks me.