“Markem’s gone,” Dom continued. “Took a transfer to the new unit in Australia. The rest of the field team is decent.” He rubbed his chest, trying to ignore the persistent ache lodged deep inside. It was the opportunity he’d been waiting for, wasn’t it?
“It’s about time the Council pulled its head out of its ass and put some Agency personnel down there. I’ve been telling them for years we needed to open up a field office somewhere in the Carpentaria Region. With their UV indexes off the charts, it was only a matter of time before the Darkbloods set up shop. I’ll bet those bastards have a hey day with the high levels of energy in the indigenous population. So what happened to make the Council put an office down there? A bunch of humans go missing? Bodies found mysteriously drained of blood?”
Dom shrugged. “No idea.”
“When are you leaving for San Diego? I haven’t told Shirl yet. She’ll be devastated, you know. Thinks of you as the son she never had and was thrilled when you came up here.” He cleared his throat as he examined his pruned fingers. “So why in the hell are you going? What’s so goddamn appealing about California?”
Dom kept his eyes down. “I don’t have a start date yet.” He balanced his hand loosely on the surface of the water and watched the bubbles rise between his fingers and float his arm outward. He moved it back and it started all over again. “But I’ve got to go, Chuck. You know I do. Our latest intel shows he is somewhere in Southern California.”
“Son, what happened that night in Madrid?”
When Dom didn’t answer, Chuck sighed. “Keep it locked inside and it’ll continue to fester like a shard from a silvie. You can’t keep doing this, you know. At some point, you’ve got to forget about the past and start living for yourself.”
“I will never forget.” Dom twisted the twin rings on his thumbs, studied the intricate pattern of the filigree. His recollection of that night was as fresh as if it happened yesterday. “I saw my parents’ ashed remains.” The windows had been left open; the draperies flapped like untethered sails in the evening breeze, no longer gathered neatly against the wall with his mother’s fussy golden tassels. “I sifted through what was left of them and retrieved their matching wedding bands—these.” He had them resized so they’d be with him always. Constant reminders of what Pavlos had done and the vow Dom had made to kill him. “So, no, I can never forget.”
The Jacuzzi jet timer stopped with a click, the bubbles faded into nothingness, and he stared into the water again.
“I guess what I’m saying is not to forget them,” Chuck said, “but that it’s about goddamn time you moved on. It wasn’t your fault. Your father would be proud of what you’re doing now. Don’t scoff at me, young man. You’re doing good work here in the Northwest. The cities are as safe as they’ve ever been thanks to your tenacity and dedication. Bringing Pavlos to justice is the Agency’s number one priority. We’ll catch him, son. It doesn’t have to be you.”
Dom slid under the water, resurfaced and pushed the dripping hair off his forehead. Chuck just didn’t understand. “It was my fault. My mother sent word to me that Pavlos was threatening my father. She feared for their lives and needed my help. Even though I was on duty that night and should’ve been easy to locate, no one knew where I was at first. I was at an inn with a lady friend and otherwise engaged. Not really what you call dedication to my work.”
“Well, you’re a damned fool to blame yourself. Your father knew he faced risks. None of us predicted Pavlos would take it as far as he did.”
“My father wasn’t a Guardian, either. He was an optimist who failed to fully grasp that a powerful evil resides inside many of us, too strong to be swayed by reason and logic. But me? I knew better. After Alfonso fell into the Darkblood ranks, I should’ve realized my parents were a target. Did you know he tortured them, Chuck? That Pavlos— My mother—”
He balled his hands into fists and forced himself to say the words. “From the position of their ashes—my mother’s on the bed and my father’s on a chair—it’s clear that he raped her and forced my father to watch. He’s done that kind