Page 42 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

Edgar shrugged. "He checked up on you for security reasons and reported his findings to Kian. My clearance is high, but I'd need a legitimate reason to access that information."

"If Roni calls, I'll give permission. But I want to know everything he finds out."

"Of course." Edgar nodded solemnly.

The possibility of uncovering the truth about her mother both thrilled and terrified Jasmine. For years she had pushed those questions to the back of her mind, but now, with the clan's resources potentially at her disposal, she had a real chance at finally getting answers.

30

PETER

The setting sun cast long shadows across the neatly manicured lawn as Peter headed home. He was looking forward to a couple of hours with Marina before leaving on tonight's mission.

It was not the usual personnel, and they were raiding a large cell that was supposed to receive a new delivery of trafficked people from south of the border. They had to get to the victims before the monsters had a chance to violate them and then distribute them down the chain.

Lately, it seemed like the number of victims had been steadily increasing, and they were also getting younger. In the last raid Peter had taken part in, there had been two girls under ten years old and three boys even younger than that.

It was a disturbing trend that made Peter sick to his stomach.

What kind of monsters did that to children? It was so revolting, so evil, that the only way he could deal with it was to keep the information locked in a small compartment in his head that was dedicated to all the atrocities he'd witnessed over the years.

It wasn't the kind of stuff he could share with Marina or anyone else who wasn't on the force and exposed to the same cesspool of the so-called humanity.

Having another Guardian as a roommate was helpful because he could at least unload some of that crap on Alfie and vice versa.

Not that talking about it did either of them any good—they just got themselves more worked up—but according to the clan's therapist, it wasn't healthy to keep things bottled up.

Her advice was to find someone who could deal with what they needed to unburden, and if they didn't have someone they felt comfortable doing that with, she encouraged them to talk to her.

Whatever. Talking or not talking about it didn't really make a difference to him.

The only light in the gloomy state of affairs was that more Kra-ell were joining the force each day, and they didn't need a lot of training to become mission-ready. They had trained in hand-to-hand combat for most of their lives and just needed to be taught the handling of guns and explosives.

The hardest part for them was learning English, and that was still a work in progress, probably because they kept to themselves and watched television with Russian subtitles.

But even that shouldn't keep them from missions.

With William's latest improvement to the translating earpieces, the language barrier was not a problem.

Stepping through the front door, Peter let the familiar scent of home wash over him, instantly soothing his irritation and pre-mission jitters.

"Marina?" he called out as he closed the door behind him.

"In the kitchen!" her voice rang out, warm and excited.

Coming home now that Marina was waiting for him was so much more pleasant than it had been when it was only him and Alfie.

He found Marina at the kitchen island chopping vegetables for dinner, and the sight of her, so domestic and contented, made his heart swell.

She looked up as he entered, her face lighting up with a smile that never failed to take his breath away. "Hey, you," she said, setting down her knife and wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "How was the prep?"

He crossed the room in a few quick strides, wrapped his arms around her, and planted a kiss on her forehead. "The usual. I'm glad it's done and that I have a couple of hours I can spend with you before heading out."

The smile slid off her face. "You look tense. Is the mission dangerous?"

It was hard to hide things from Marina. She was too attuned to him to miss the slightest change in mood.

"No more than the others. It's a bit of a larger operation than what we usually do, but we are also going in with a larger force, so it's going to be alright. You have nothing to worry about."