Healing Rain (12 page)

“No? You wouldn’t be under investigation if it weren’t for me.”

His grip tightens, being sure to not hurt her, but enough to get her attention, “Listen to me. This is not your fault.
If
your father did this, then it’s his fault, Raina, not yours! I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself again!”

“He’s so powerful and connected, Kas. I know what he is capable of, he can make sure this doesn’t go away.” Raina looks up at him, the feuding emotions returning, darkening her jade eyes. “Is my father okay?” she asks tentatively, not sure she wants to know the answer.

“Your father is fine,” he assures her, amazed by her concern for him after all the hell he has put her through, “but I made it clear that he is to stay away from you. If he stays away, never hurting you again, then all of this is worth it.” Kas sees the discordance in her eyes. “We don’t know for sure that it’s him, darlin’, I’ll find out. Regardless of who it is, the allegations aren’t true, and that will come out, so please don’t worry.”

“I’ll try...I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Kas is becoming increasingly frustrated as the agents with Internal Affairs take their sweet time with the investigation, dogging him with questions, harassing him, having him pull past cases, demanding proof of every little detail in every case, keeping him tied to his desk for over a week now. His team is currently under Derrick’s supervision, and Austin has just gone undercover, alone, for the first time. Kas knows his team, they are well trained, he’s not worried about that, and he knows Derrick is a good agent, he won’t steer them wrong, but not being able to help is killing him. His team is keeping him well informed, and he can see they are having just as much difficulty with him being left behind as he is.

Raina stops by his office at lunch time. They are getting ready to grab a bite when Kas’ phone rings. “Pierce.”

“Hey, boss, Austin’s experiencing technical difficulties, can we borrow your girl for a while? Erik can bring her, Jake just got off the phone with him.”

“Hold on.” Kas looks at Raina, “Franks says that Austin has some technical issues, they need you to go with Erik to the hotel.” Raina nods as he puts the phone back to his ear, “She’s on her way.”

Raina closes the door, giving her husband a long kiss, leaving him hungry for so much more than just lunch as she slips out the door, meeting Erik at the elevator.

Erik parks his vintage corvette into the side lot at the ritzy hotel. They take the elevator to the ninth floor, walking up the stairs the next three floors. Raina scans the hallway before they knock on room 1202.

“Welcome to my penthouse suite, would you like a chocolate truffle?” Austin jokes as he pops one in his mouth, “seriously, I could get used to this.”

Raina grabs a truffle, savoring the decadent dark and white chocolate treat as Erik goes straight for the lunch Austin was enjoying.

“What’s the issue?” Erik asks between bites.

Austin swats his hand, grabbing his plate back, “The transmitter’s over there. Derrick said the feed is garbled. I’m meeting with one of the traffickers again tonight and need it working by then.”

Raina picks up the watch, carefully removing the back so they can see what might be causing the problem. Erik grabs one more fry from Austin’s plate before joining her. They have just located the issue when there’s a knock on the door. Austin glances at Erik and Raina, putting his finger to his lips and motioning for them to hide in the bathroom. Once the bathroom door is shut, Austin answers the door, biting back an expletive and plastering a fake smile on his face when he sees the trafficker he met with earlier this morning. “Mike, come on in.”

Erik quietly opens the shower curtain, ushering Raina inside as he steps in behind her. They listen to the muffled voices in the other room, wishing the uninvited guest will hurry up and go. Erik shifts positions, the shower being very small for the large size of the bathroom. His elbow accidentally hits the knob, and water sprays Raina. They both freeze, knowing that had to be heard in the other room. Erik curses under his breath, before quickly stating, “Strip, Raina.”

Raina shoots him an exasperated look before twirling her finger, silently ordering Erik to turn around, ignoring the smirk that has spread across his face. She does as she was told, knowing what Erik’s thinking and realizing how rapidly this can turn deadly. She quickly wraps herself in a towel and whispers for Erik to turn off the water, stepping out of the shower just as the bathroom door swings open. She sees Austin withdraw his gun, ready to take the trafficker down if necessary, but Raina gives a slight shake of her head before turning her attention back the trafficker, noticing how his anger has turned to something more carnal as his eyes roam over her wet, towel-covered body. Her grip tightens on the short piece of cotton, “I didn’t know we had company.”

Austin slips the gun in the back of his jeans, quickly pulling his shirt over it before stepping into the bathroom, wrapping his arm around Raina. “This is my girlfriend, Samantha,” he explains to Mike, not liking his lustful expression. He steps between Mike and Raina, turning towards her, “Why don’t you finish getting ready while Mike and I talk, babe?” Austin leads the lust filled trafficker out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

“Why don’t you bring Samantha with you tonight? John’s wife will be there, that will give her someone to talk with while we discuss business.”

Austin reluctantly agrees, knowing Pierce is going to kill him for this. He closes the door behind Mike, securing the lock before heading back to the bathroom, breaking the news to Raina that she is now undercover with him and is expected at dinner.

“I don’t have anything to wear,” she exclaims through gritted teeth, shooting Erik a pointed look as he fails miserably at hiding his amusement.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Much to Austin’s relief, Kas didn’t completely explode when he called him, breaking the news to him that his wife is now
his
girlfriend. He skirted around the whole stripping and being in only a towel part, deciding he will let Raina break that piece of information to him. He figures he can always point out that it’s really Erik’s fault if Kas threatens bodily harm. He assured his boss that he will take care of Raina and told him that Erik is going to tweak his PC so he will hear everything said at the meet tonight from his desk. Everyone knows that Kas will shirk the rules when it involves Raina if they didn’t work out a way to get him ears on the meet. This way they are keeping him out of the field work, technically at least.

Raina finishes getting ready, slipping into the designer dress Derrick had delivered for her. She styles her long, auburn hair in a classic French twist, before running her finger across the necklace Kas bought her in Italy, hating how he is struggling with having to sit out on everything. She stares at her reflection, determined to make this right.

Austin helps Raina with her coat as they get ready to leave, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“This meet will be very different than when you were undercover with Kas. John, the trafficker we are meeting tonight, is bringing his wife. From what I understand, she’s not the submissive type and is involved in the business.”

Raina’s eyes widen in horrified shock, “You mean she knows what they do, and she condones it?”

“It’s all about the money, honey,” Austin quips. He sees the disgust in Raina’s eyes. “You’re going to have to play nice with her tonight,” he warns.

“I will, I just can’t believe a woman can be so callous with the monstrosities committed against her own gender.”

Austin wraps his arm around her, having difficulty understanding that himself.

The restaurant is exquisitely decorated with a red and gold ceiling and an oversized crystal chandelier hanging prominently in the middle of the dining area. Raina slides into the plush chair, trying to tame her nerves as Austin takes the seat beside her, sitting across from John and his wife, Julia. Raina tries not to stare at the attractive woman across the table from her, trying to figure out how the seemingly friendly person can be such a horrible traitor to womankind.

The rest of the evening is spent with Raina having to act like she is actually enjoying herself as Austin, Mike, and John discuss the upcoming bid, and Julia chats with her about everything from current affairs to her time spent traveling abroad. Raina is beyond ready for the evening to end by the time it actually does. She is fuming when she plops on the couch in the hotel room, ripping the high heel shoes off, tossing them on the floor.

“You handled yourself very well tonight, Rain,” Austin compliments her, sincerely impressed, “you’re getting really good at undercover ops, maybe you should give Erik some pointers.”

Raina laughs, feeling good to release some of the tension from tonight.

“You take the bed, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Raina looks at Austin blankly, “I have to stay the night?”

“We can’t risk another impromptu visit and you not be here.”

Raina sinks against the couch, needing to be in Kas’ arms right now. “I don’t mind the couch, I’m shorter anyways,” she states resignedly.

“If Kas finds out you slept on the couch while I took the bed, he’ll kill me, besides, I wasn’t raised that way.”

Raina stands, “Okay, thank you. I wasn’t prepared to stay, you wouldn’t happen to have an extra toothbrush would you?”

Austin points to a small suitcase in the corner as he throws another blanket on the bed for her, “Erik dropped it off while we were at dinner. Everything you need should be in there.”

Raina calls Kas, cringing at what he might say to her when she breaks the news that she isn’t coming home tonight.

“Hey, baby, you did great.”

Raina wants nothing more than to be tangled up in Kas, parts of him engulfed in parts of her, when she hears his voice, “Thanks. I have to . . . um . . . stay the night with Austin.”

Kas laughs at the obvious worried hesitance in her voice. “I know. Don’t worry, darlin’, despite his reputation, he can be a perfect gentleman, and he knows that I will rip him in half if he gets out of line,” he teases.

“I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, but this is wrapping up tomorrow, and you will be back in our bed, with me, tomorrow night.”

“She
wants
to
take me shopping?” Raina’s tone rings with obvious distaste.

“It’s for the bid tonight,” Austin cringes as the words leave his mouth, knowing how well this is not going to go over.

Raina jumps off the bed, exploding, “She wants me to help her pick out the clothes to dress up the girls they plan on selling to the highest bidder? Hell, no!” She begins to pace, trying to calm down.

Austin manages to mostly suppress his amused smile at her reaction, never personally experiencing Raina’s temper flaring or hearing a curse word leave her lips. “You can keep tabs on her while we take down the traffickers. You will be tailed the entire time by Russo and Mack.”

Raina stands next to the large window, starring out at the picturesque view as she tries to put her fuming feelings aside so she can get the job done. “Fine,” she turns around to face Austin, “I’ll do it.”

Raina
is
using
every last bit of her reserve of self-control to smile and chat with Julia as she picks out clothes for the girls being held prisoner like caged animals until they are made into sex slaves, or would be, if it weren’t for the team getting ready to step in. She wants to wrap the slinky, shiny dress Julia is currently admiring around her slender, dehumanizing neck.

They take a break for lunch, Raina’s head is pounding, and her stomach is churning while Julia continues to excitedly chatter on like they are shopping for an everyday, normal event. Raina forces herself to eat at least some of her lunch to appear normal, or at least a degree of the normalcy for the apathetic sociopath smiling and enjoying her ridiculously overpriced salad in front of her.

They make it through lunch without Raina spewing the contents, or dousing them on Julia. Raina’s cell rings as they are stashing the wretched purchases in the car. Relief fills her as Austin tells her they have secured the girls. She spots Russo and Mack advance towards them as she hangs up the phone.

Julia closes the trunk and smiles at Raina, “Are you ready, Samantha?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m ready,” she retorts, thoroughly enjoying the blanched expression wash over Julia’s face as Russo flashes his badge and Mack grabs his cuffs.

Julia proves that she, indeed, isn’t the submissive type by elbowing Russo in the nose. Mack grabs at her as she struggles, being kneed in the process. Raina can tell that Mack and Russo have issues striking a woman, even when the woman has no problem pummeling them, so, she does it for them, punching Julia straight in her high-priced nose. Julia cries out, and Mack restrains her with the handcuffs as Russo nods his appreciation. Mack walks the restrained, bleeding Julia to the waiting vehicle as she spits out colorful obscenities the entire way.

“How’s your hand there, slugger?” Russo asks, taking Raina’s hand to examine it.

“It’s fine. How’s your nose?”

“Better than my pride,” he laughs.

Kas
wraps
Raina
in his arms as soon as she is in his office, behind closed doors. “I’m so proud of you, darlin’.” He kisses the top of her head before releasing her, sitting on the edge of his desk, “So, you slugged her, huh?”

“She had it coming,” Raina mumbles, flexing her sore hand.

Kas laughs, “Russo said you popped her good, remind me not to ever piss you off.”

“How are the girls?”

Kas’ laughter ceases, “They’re as good as can be expected.”

“Do I need to translate for anyone?”

“No, they’re all Americans.” Kas rakes his hand through his hair, “The guys are talking with them now.”

Raina softly nods her head, knowing it’s taking a toll on him not being able to assist. She walks towards his desk, running her fingers across the various stacks of files, “Anymore news on the investigation?”

Kas stands, trying to tame his emotions, “Not yet.”

Raina glances at him, not quite believing him, “So, you don’t know if my father is behind it yet?”

Kas turns his back to her, shuffling some files around, “We’re still looking into it.”

Raina chews on her bottom lip pensively, deciding to change the subject for now. “I’m going to work some more on the PC recovered the other day while you finish up. I really hope there’s something on there that leads to Prizrak.” She wraps her arms around Kas, who is still busying himself with the files, “What do you want for dinner tonight, I’ll make whatever you want.”

Kas slips his hands over hers, turning to face her, “I’m taking you out to dinner, to the Silver Orchid, I’ve already made reservations.”

Raina rewards him with a huge grin, excited on finally going to the popular restaurant, knowing how hard it is to get in, “What’s the occasion?”

“My wife spent the night with another man, I thought I better do something to win her back.”

Raina laughs, smacking him on the arm before he pulls her in for a toe-curling kiss.

Another week goes by, and the investigation isn’t showing any signs of wrapping up, but Kas is showing signs of stress, even though he’s doing his best to hide it. Raina studies him through her lashes as she sips on her orange juice at breakfast. She hates seeing the dark circles under his eyes. She’s awakened more than once the past few days, discovering that he’s no longer in bed with her. He has usually been found at the kitchen table, going over the little information they have on Prizrak. He would always smile at her, slip his arms around her waist, and pull her onto his lap when she found him, but she felt the difference, the stress in his touch. She knows he’s indicated that her father isn’t involved, but she’s not buying it.

She can’t stand his pain, and she has seen the detrimental effect it’s had on the whole team. They are doing their jobs, but it’s obvious where their loyalty lies, and they are finding it more difficult with each passing day to leave their boss behind. They keep him updated on everything going on, keeping him in the loop, and Raina loves them for that. She knows that if it is her father, he won’t allow it to end until he wants it to, which won’t be until they have suffered significantly. She has to know the truth.

Raina places her plate in the sink, seeing that Kas has barely touched his food. Classes have resumed, and she’s back to splitting her time between finishing up the last semester before she achieves her doctorate and working at the FBI. Walking behind his chair, she leans down, wrapping her arms around him as she kisses his neck. He stands up, giving her a kiss on her forehead before he rakes his barely touched breakfast in the trash, “I’ve got to get going, Rain.”

She decides now’s as good a time as ever to just ask him directly about her father’s involvement. “Kas, I need to ask you a question, and I need you to tell me the truth,” she states quickly as she follows him to the door.

Kas stiffens slightly before facing her. “Yes, I really do like that thing you did to me last night,” he winks, grabbing his keys.

“Well, that wasn’t hard to figure out on my own, smarty pants, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”

Kas looks at her nonchalantly, keeping his face emotionless, even though he knows the words before she says them.

“Does my father have anything to do with the allegations against you? Anything at all?”

“Raina, these investigations just happen sometimes, it has nothing to do with your father. Don’t worry, it will be over soon.”

She has picked up on some of Kas’ ability to detect lies, and she knows that Kas is flat-out lying to her right now, but she decides to not call him on it, realizing that it won’t do any good anyway. Knowing what she has to do, her chest tightens. “I love you,” the truth behind her words burns brightly in her eyes. She adamantly hopes he will remember that when he finds out about what she is getting ready to do.