Healing Rain (11 page)

“Can you translate for Lawson in about an hour, he has a young girl he’s bringing in who only speaks Mandarin?”

“Sure,” she replies, inwardly cringing at the thought of working with Lawson again. The last time didn’t end up so pleasantly.

The hour passes quickly as she begins recovering data from the battered hard drive, leaving Erik impressed again. She glances at the clock and grimaces. Erik laughs, knowing that Lawson is not an easy agent to work with. “Suck it up, buttercup. The quicker you get down there, the quicker you get it over with.”

Raina smirks at him and heads downstairs to the first meeting room, knocking on the wooden door. Lawson opens the door wordlessly, and Raina smiles kindly at the scared, Asian girl sitting at the far end of the table. Seeing her tender age, sorrow and rage fill her. She takes a seat next to the child, briefly closing her eyes at the sight of the bruises on her arm.

“Ni hao,” Raina greets her gently, then introduces herself before asking the girl’s name. Raina spends the next half-hour talking with Jiao, tremendously relieved to find out that this sweet child wasn’t subjected to hell, at least not the kind of hell from someone’s unwanted touch. It’s clear she is traumatized, and Raina is taking it slow, Lawson being slightly more patient this time. When she hears the child whisper the word “Prizrak,” she freezes, slowly asking her to repeat what she just said. Raina’s eyes dart to Lawson, who is already on the phone calling Dexter.

A little later, Raina squeezes the child’s hand, telling her how brave she is to have run, knowing the atrocious alternative if she hadn’t escaped. “Zai jian,” Raina waves bye to the girl, who is shyly smiling, lifting Raina’s heart. Speaking briefly with the social worker appointed to Jiao on the way out, she can’t stop the pounding in her chest. Disappointed that Jiao didn’t know any further details about the elusive Ghost, she asks Lawson the progress of the agent’s planned raid of the warehouse Jiao described.

“They are going in tonight. We have agents watching the location until then. We will be sure to bring any electronics found to you and the geek sheiks.”

Raina nods her head, thanking Lawson before heading back towards Erik to check on the recovery process on the hard drive. She smiles politely at two men, dressed impeccably, almost identically, as they walk past her, towards Dexter’s office.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“What the hell do you think you are doing walking into my office with a load of crap like this?” Dexter growls, throwing the offensive file angrily on his desk, his expression causing the two agents from Internal Affairs to blanch.

Agent Smathers, the shorter man with the gelled-back hair, steps forward trying to veil his intimidated state at the large, imposing man in front of him who looks like he might actually strike him. “As the file indicates, sir, there has been a report against Agent Pierce alleging he took a bribe to look the other way on more than one occasion.”

“You need to be rechecking your sources because Pierce is one of my best agents, he has never and will never accept a bribe,” Dexter yells, using a very colorful expletive to describe exactly what he thinks of the report.

“We are looking into all aspects of the allegation, sir, which is why Agent Johnson and I are here.” Agent Smathers hesitates before continuing, taking a precautionary step backwards, “Agent Pierce needs to be suspended from all duties until this investigation is concluded.”

Dexter storms towards the two men, “You will not just barge into my office and tell me to suspend one of my agents without just cause,” he grabs the file, forcefully pushing it against Agent Smather’s chest, causing him to stumble backwards, “and this pile of crap isn’t just cause.” Dexter glares at the agents, wanting to physically kick them out of his building, but knowing they legally have to investigate allegations, even if they are a load of lies. “I will pull his gun and his badge, but I will not suspend him. I will place him on desk duty until you can sort your crap out, and you better be sorting it quickly!”

Opening his door, he uses his hand to indicate it would be wise for them to leave before he throws them out. The vein on his forehead is furiously pulsating as he grabs the phone. “Pierce, get in here,” he barks before slamming down the phone, having a pretty good idea of what might have brought this on.

Kas knocks on Dexter’s door before entering at his gruff command. “Yes, sir?

Dexter walks around the front his desk, unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt and rolling up his sleeves over his toned, but aging, mahogany skin before sitting on the desk’s edge. “There have been some allegations made against you, Pierce.”

Kas’ eyes darken, “What kind of allegations?”

“You’ve been accused of accepting bribes from an individual.”

“I haven’t accepted any bribes, Dexter, I would never do something like that,” he states firmly, knowing who’s behind this.

“I know you wouldn’t, Pierce.” Dexter stands, placing a hand on his shoulder, “You paid William Waterford a visit didn’t you, son?”

Kas nods his affirmation, raking his hands through his hair.

“What the hell did you do to him, Pierce?”

“Not anything close to what I wanted to,” he admits angrily. “He threatened to ruin my career, that’s why Raina wouldn’t report him. I punched him, once, in the stomach, and told him to stay away from her, letting him know what I will do to him if he doesn’t. I couldn’t just let him get away with hurting her, Dex, not again.”

Dexter sighs, leaning back against the desk. He had contacted Judge Whitaker after Kas told him about Raina’s father. The images showing how savagely her father had beaten her were hard to digest. He understands why Kas did what he did. “Personally, I fully agree with your actions, but men like Waterford thrive on control. He’s a powerful man, Pierce, he has the means to back up his threat if he greases the right wheels. I will fight this tooth and nail, you know I will, but I have to take your badge and gun for now.”

Kas stares at Dexter incredulously, “You’re suspending me?”

“Hell no, I told them that isn’t happening. You will keep working, but in your office, absolutely no field work. You stay glued to paperwork, do what I say, and we will get through this.”

Kas knows Dexter has no choice in the matter. Dexter had wanted to bring Waterford down almost as much as he did when he found out he hurt Raina. He removes his gun and badge, handing them over, “Raina doesn’t know I saw her father. I don’t want her to know he’s behind this investigation, Dex.”

“She won’t hear it from me.”

Kas nods his head in appreciation.

“We will clear you from this, Kas,” Dexter assures him, “you are a good agent, a good man, I’ll make sure the truth comes out about you.”

Raina stands up, stretching her tired muscles. Most of the data from the hard drive was able to be restored, and Derrick’s team is currently going over the information found. She and Erik have been working on the computers brought in from the raid at the warehouse Jiao told them about since 8:00 p.m. She briefly saw Kas earlier, but he had told her he was busy, that he was going to work through lunch, but insisted she go out with Erik and the rest of the geek sheiks. She chews on her lip as she thinks of his demeanor when she brought him a sandwich back from the deli. He barely looked at her, mumbling thanks, before rushing her out of his office.

She replays the morning in her head, trying to remember if there’s anything she said or did to upset him. She comes up blank, the morning had been good, wonderful actually. A blush spreads across her cheeks as she thinks of what they did that morning, heat burning low in her belly.

“Get your head out of the clouds, or should I say gutter?” Erik teases, noticing the flush on her cheeks.

Her flush deepens. “Sorry,” she pulls herself back to the present, sitting in front of the computer again.

Erik chuckles knowingly. “I think we should call it a night. We’ve been here fourteen hours, and I personally can’t see straight anymore.”

Raina wants so badly to find more information about Prizrak on these computers, but Erik’s right, looking at it freshly in the morning is probably the best idea. She gives him a quick hug as she grabs her jacket, heading towards the door.

“Get some
sleep
tonight,” he calls after her, and her face blushes when she hears his implicating laughter.

Kas’ office door is shut, so she knocks, slipping inside when he tells her to come in. He looks stressed, tense, and she again wonders if she has done something wrong. “Can I help you with some of these files?” she asks, pointing to the numerous manila folders spread out on his desk.

“Just doing some paperwork. Are you ready?”

Raina bites her bottom lip, and Kas sees her worried expression, “What’s wrong?” He hopes she hasn’t heard about the investigation yet, he wanted to be the one to tell her, making sure to minimize it as much as possible.

“Are you angry with me?”

Kas pulls her into his arms, “No, baby, I’m not mad at you.”

“You’ve been so...distant today.”

Kas sighs, releasing her and walking across the room, staring out the window at the bright city lights against the dark night sky. He turns back around, the insecurity in her eyes eating at him. “Sweetheart, I’m not upset with you. This has nothing to do with you,” he lies, feeling like an ass. “Some accusations were made, and I’m doing office work until they are cleared up.”

Raina grabs his hand, “Accusations against you?”

Kas makes sure to keep his tone light, reassuring, “Yes, but they’re false. It’s not a major issue, they’ll be cleared up soon.”

“I know they’re false,” she proclaims, warming Kas’ heart at her trust in him, stating his innocence even before she knows what he’s been accused of. “How long does an investigation take? Who accused you, and what did he or she, or whoever, claim you did?”

Kas tilts her chin with his finger, smiling at her obvious indignation of someone accusing him of some wrong doing. “Someone said I took a bribe. It’s being looked into, they’ll get to the bottom of it soon, Rain. Please don’t worry.”

Raina wraps her arms around him, leaning into his chest. Kas kisses the top of her head, pulling her tighter into his embrace, the feel of her against him soothing him and provoking him at the same time. “It’s been a really long day, let’s go home and get some rest.” He hears her stomach growl as she slips out of his arms, and he gives her a stern look, “Please tell me you didn’t skip dinner.”

She bites her lip again, and he sighs, “You have got to take better care of yourself, Raina. We’ll stop and grab something on the way home.”

Raina mindlessly chews a bite of her grilled chicken sandwich as she glances at Kas, seeing the evidence of his tension as he drives them home. Her thoughts stray to her father and his threat. She takes a sip of her drink before turning towards Kas, “You don’t think my father has anything to do with the allegations do you?”

Kas hears the guilt in her voice, and he shakes his head, keeping his tone neutral, “No, darlin’.”

Raina sits back, not convinced. Her appetite is gone as she thinks of her father’s words the last time she saw him. He has no way of knowing that Kas knows he hurt her again, not unless he was told. Raina studies her husband, worry and suspicion starting to creep up her spine. She thinks back to a few days ago and how he had come home so late after her not being able to reach him all day. Pursing her lips, she turns her head to look out the window so Kas can’t play mind doctor on her again, reading her emotions. She certainly doesn’t want to accuse him of doing something until she knows he did it, especially due to the current allegations against him. She keeps her mouth shut, deciding she will find out tomorrow if he really did go to work that day before saying anything.

“Rain, you barely touched your food.”

She takes another bite of her sandwich as she tries not to think of what he may have done.

Raina waits on Frank next to the elevators, feeling ambivalent about asking one of Kas’ men about his whereabouts a few days ago. Frank steps out of the elevator, his slight limp tugging at Raina’s heart. The tan, dark haired agent takes a sip of his coffee as he smiles and winks at her, “Good morning, Rain.”

Raina returns his smile, “Hey, Frank.” She pauses, wondering if she is doing the right thing. “I have a strange question to ask you. Last Friday, did Kas swing by here?”

Frank gives her a quizzical look, “I didn’t see Kas on Friday.” The look on Raina’s face concerns him, “Everything okay, Rain?”

Raina curtly nods, her lips pressed tightly together as she spins around, heading directly to Kas’ office. She doesn’t bother to knock this time as she bursts through the door. Kas stands up, taken aback by Raina’s unusual behavior. “Where were you on Friday?”

Kas lets out a slow breath, wishing she hadn’t figured this out so quickly. “Raina, sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit, Kas, I want you to tell me where you really were!” she demands, anger apparent in her voice.

Kas crosses his office and closes his door before turning back to her. “Fine, Raina,” he begins, “I went to see your father.”

Raina does sit now, sinking into the chair as she processes this information. Kas watches her carefully, trying to read the myriad of emotions feuding in her eyes. He fully expects her to go off on him instead of doing what she does. Raina drops her head in her hands, her shoulders slumping dejectedly. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers, the anger in her voice completely gone.

Kas kneels in front of her, “Why are you apologizing to me?”

“This is all my fault.”

Kas grabs her arms, forcing her to look at him, “This is not your fault, Raina.”