Healing Rain (27 page)

“I’m never too tired for you,” she answers honestly, loving the grin her words cause to spread across his handsome face.

“Good, because I plan on keeping you up for a few hours, at least,” he tells her, zipping their tent for privacy. Molten dark eyes meet her when he turns around, “Now, where were we?”

Raina slowly unbuttons her shirt, watching his eyes growing darker with need with every button that is undone. She runs her tongue across her lips, leaving a wet sheen that Kas can’t resist. He rubs his thumb across her bottom lip as she continues to slowly undress for him. She slips out of her jeans, and her eyes are misty when she looks at him again.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she quickly assures him, “thank you for tonight.” She looks at him, her eyes so full of love, “Thank you for being you.”

He wraps her in his arms, “Right back atcha, darlin’.”

The birds are chirping when Raina opens her eyes, smiling when she feels Kas’ naked body wrapped over hers. She is filled with desire again when she leisurely takes in the toned muscles on his pure masculine frame, and she wonders if she will ever get used to the heady emotions that surge through her when she thinks of, or is around her husband. She snuggles closer to him, and he stirs.

“You keep wiggling like that and we’re going to have a repeat of last night,” he groans, his voice husky from sleep and need.

“Is that a promise or a threat?” she giggles, “never mind, it doesn’t matter, I like it either way you meant it.”

“You’re incorrigible, I’ve created a sex-crazed beast,” he laughs, brushing his lips across her forehead.

“Yes...yes, you have,” she admits unashamedly, winking salaciously at him. “I’m going to take a shower. Where are they?”

“It’s much safer to have Maya or one of the other girls show you because if I take you, we’re going to get kicked out of the park, or arrested.”

She giggles as she dresses before grabbing everything she needs. “I’ll be back in a few.”

He sits up, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her on top of him, kissing her neck and popping her on her backside playfully, “Hurry and get your cute butt in the shower before I take you hostage in here all day.”

Raina’s happily surprised to find that the showers are warm, but she doesn’t press her luck with the hot water running out and takes a fast shower. She pulls her hair back in a loose ponytail with a few auburn, wet tendrils slipping out, framing her ivory face and throws on a pair of brown hiking shorts with a violet cotton tank top. Most everyone is awake by the time she and Maya make it back to the campsite. Jake smiles when he sees Maya, and Raina is content watching them falling in love.

Raina grabs the eggs out of the cooler and starts cooking breakfast over the fire Kas started. The smell of omelets rouse Austin, and Mandy laughs when his stomach growls. “You’re always hungry.”

Kas grabs another skillet and throws bacon in it as everyone else chips in with pouring juice and grabbing the bagels and cream cheese. The girls stay behind and talk while the guys shower before they explore the hiking trails and the seventy-eight-foot waterfall.

Kas sees how much Raina loves being in the woods, and he decides that they need to stay at the cabin more. He almost tells her ‘no’ when she tells him that she wants to climb the rocks on the side of the waterfall, but makes himself keep his mouth shut when he sees that the rocks are dry and how much she wants to see the falls from the advantageous view at the top. Giving in, he climbs behind her, making sure she doesn’t lose her footing.

He wraps her hand in his once they reach the top, causing her to laugh, “I promise I won’t get too close.”

He eases his grip on her a little, “Okay, fine, but stay clear of the edge.”

“Yes, sir,” she teases, biting her lip when he gives her a mild warning look. “You get so bossy when you think I’m in a possible dangerous situation.”

“I just want you safe, darlin’, that’s all.”

“I know.” She backs farther away from the edge, having mercy on him. “Feel better now?” she winks, kissing him on the cheek.

“Much, now let’s get you down from here.”

She giggles at his obvious distress over her safety. “People climb this all the time. Jake and Maya climbed it.”

“You climbed it too, and now, you’re going to climb back down.”

She suppresses a smile at the finality in his tone, still confounded at how he can be so sexy when he is being all authoritative. When she is safely on level ground, she can’t resist giving him a little, playful smirk. He gives her a smirk of his own, biting back a laugh at her tenaciousness.

They head back to the campsite for lunch and decide to play a game of volleyball before going for a swim. Raina beams when Kas gives her a high five after she spikes the ball to the ground in front of Frank. Mandy suggests they play boys against girls, and the boys don’t whine too much when they lose, thanks to the girl’s secret weapon, Josie, who got her college education on a volleyball scholarship.

Raina is a little nervous when everyone gets in the lake. She feels fairly comfortable swimming now, but she can see how deep the water is in a pool, something she can’t gauge in the lake’s murky water.

Kas takes her hand, “I’ll be next to you the whole time.”

She relaxes, knowing he won’t let anything happen to her. They spend the rest of the afternoon in the cool water, and Raina is worn out by dinner time. The guys make hamburgers and Raina is ravenous, surprised at how hungry swimming makes her. Kas decides to take advantage of their last night on the lake and takes Raina out on a canoe ride under the moonlight. He hands her a flannel shirt, “The air is much cooler on the water.”

“It’s like there’s no one else on earth out here,” she ponders, leaning against Kas as she stares out on the water, watching the reflection of the moonlight ripple on the water’s edge. The sound of the water gently lapping against the canoe is relaxing, and Raina closes her eyes.

He looks down at her, the moonlight kissing her creamy ivory skin, and he brushes his knuckles across her cheek, wishing he could freeze time for a while, wanting to spend more time with her in this peaceful moment. He savors every second he has with her, “It’s just you and me right now, Rain, just you and me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The past week has been grueling, the summer sun has faded into the beginning of fall, and they have come so close to closing in on the Ghost, but don’t have enough leverage to bring in the elusive ring leader. Chase is riding with Kas to visit the old roommate of one of Prizrak’s victims who ended up face down next to a river. Small metal shavings found in her clothing and on the bottom of her shoes tie the girl to the other dead bodies believed to have been part of the Ghost’s trafficking victims. Forensics has narrowed the shavings to small flakes of painted metal. They are working on trying to locate the source.

Sophie doesn’t want to talk with Kas or Chase, not surprising them in the least. They can see the terror in her eyes when they mention the name, Prizrak. Kas backs off, sensing the call girl’s rapidly increasing level of stress the longer they talk with her. Her fear of the Ghost is too great for her to give any information about him and risk her ending up like her late roommate.

As they walk away from Sophie’s appointed work destination Kas spots a black SUV gaining speed as an almost identical vehicle turns onto the other side of the street, barreling towards them. He knows what’s happening before he sees the barrel of a gun protruding from the window. He yells for everyone to get down as he pushes Sophie to safety inside the building behind her. Chase grabs the woman in front of him, pulling her behind a car, and in the split second that seems to pass in slow motion, Kas spots the gun aiming at Chase from the SUV closest to him. He dives into Chase, the gun shot splitting the air, grazing Kas’ shoulder before they crash onto the sidewalk. Not taking a second to hesitate, Kas drags Chase behind a large, old Buick as the shots continue to blast at them. They keep their heads low as the loud popping continues.

He grabs his weapon, shoving his back-up gun into Chase’s stunned hand. Whispering a quick prayer, he returns fire, being sure to keep his head behind the safety of the car. More shots ring out, the noise is deafening as the bullets strike the metal of the car. Kas rolls under the Buick for a better shot, yelling at Chase to keep his head down and to call for back-up. He shoots at the tires, blowing one out as the SUV swerves, but doesn’t stop. The other vehicle is rounding the corner, and Kas calls out the tag number to Chase.

Rolling the rest of the way under the car, he quickly crosses the street, taking cover behind the line of parked cars as he races after the skidding SUV. He swears as the driver turns up another road. Pushing himself faster, his legs burn as he rounds the corner, jumping back as a shot barely misses him. Like second nature, his brain takes in his surroundings, paying attention to every detail as he fires two rounds before turning the corner, continuing his pursuit. The shooters have abandoned the damaged SUV and are on foot. He ignores the pain of his wounded shoulder as he tackles a masked man, quickly raising his gun and firing at the second assailant who has turned towards him, aiming his weapon at Kas. The shot pierces the man’s right upper arm while Kas commands him to drop his weapon as he presses his knee, hard, into the man he has tackled on the ground.

“Don’t be stupid,” he gives one final warning, pointing his gun for a kill shot if the assailant doesn’t drop his weapon. Kas is thankful the man gives into reason, holding his hands out as his gun falls to the ground. “Keep your hands in the air, and kick your weapon to me,” he demands, keeping his gun pointed at the assailant while his knee digs deeper into the man’s back. He quickly cuffs the man underneath him, removing the mask to see a dark-haired man of Asian descent while barking orders for the standing assailant to thread his fingers together and place them on the back of his head while getting down on his knees. He cuffs him before taking off his mask, revealing blonde hair and blue eyes, an American.

The adrenaline pumping through his veins starts to fade as the men are being placed into the back of a squad car. The burn in his shoulder intensifies as he makes his way back to Chase. He quickly examines his shoulder and is grateful that it’s just a flesh wound, even though it’s fairly deep.

Chase doesn’t look so good when Kas reaches him, but he appears to be holding himself together, effectively calming the women from the drama they just experienced. His face is pale, and he is unusually quiet as they slide into the vehicle. He glances at Kas’ shoulder, “Maybe I should be driving.”

“I think I’m in better shape than you right now,” Kas jokes. He turns serious, realizing that this is Chase’s first time experiencing something like this, “You alright, man?”

“You were the one shot, and you’re asking if I’m okay.”

“It’s just a scratch.”

Chase inspects the wound closer, seeing the depth. “You need stitches.”

“Nah,” Kas laughs, trying to reassure his friend, seeing his distress and about ten shades of white.

Chase is quiet for several seconds before he divulges what’s really bothering him, “You saw the shot coming, and you put yourself in front of it to push me out of the way.” He looks straight at Kas, his eyes dark, “You could’ve been killed.”

“You’re like a brother to me, I’m not going to let you die, not if I can help it.” He decides to change the subject, not used to Chase being the one losing it. “At least we now know that we definitely have the correct Evan Parker. Derrick’s waiting for the shooters in interrogation, maybe they’ll give us more than the girls on the street.”

Raina
has
just
finished translating for Lawson when she spots Kas and Chase stepping out of the elevator, the color draining from her face when she sees the blood on Kas’ shirt. She rushes to him, gingerly touching his arm, “Is that a gunshot wound?” Her jade eyes are swimming with worry as her panic heightens, “What happened?”

Kas gives her his best knockout grin, “It’s just a scratch, darlin’.”

Raina tenses when she inspects the wound closer, “That’s no scratch, Pierce. You need to have a doctor look at that.”

He nudges Chase, “Already did.”

Chase and Raina answer in united exasperation, “Not that kind of doctor.”

Chase steps beside Raina, tag teaming his stubborn friend. “I’m with Raina on this. You need to be seen.”

“And have it cleaned,” Raina exclaims, taking in the filth on his shirt, “it looks like you’ve been rolling around in oil.” Her worried eyes meet his, “Are you, okay?”

He wraps his good arm around her, “I’m fine, sweetheart.”

“Now, look, who’s using the word you fuss at me so much about,” Raina softly admonishes, wrapping her arms around his waist. Once she’s sure the rest of him is in one piece, she pulls away, “I’m driving you to the hospital.”

“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” he fusses, closing his mouth when he sees her unrelenting glare. He gives in, knowing this is the only way to ease her mind.

Kas
takes
a
shower when they get home, being careful not to let the water hit the bandage covering his seven stitches too much, or Raina will have his head. He smiles at the concern that brimmed her eyes when the doctor told him he required stitches. He hates to cause her worry, but it was nice to see how much she cares about him, especially when she insisted on making his favorite dinner, spinach and Italian sausage lasagna with peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream.

His dad is sitting at the island in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of coffee when he walks out of the bedroom. “Hey, Dad, what are you doing here?”

“Thankfully, it’s not every day that my son gets shot, but I thought I should drop by anyway and see how you are,” Cliff states, giving his son a disapproving glare that he didn’t call him.

“I wasn’t shot, Dad, I was—grazed.”

His father’s chastising glare remains, and Kas feels like he’s five again, getting ready to be lectured by his dad. Cliff carefully removes the bandage, inspecting the doctor’s handiwork. “I wouldn’t call seven stitches ‘grazed’.” His eyes meet his son’s, worry wrinkling the corners, “You, okay, Kas?”

“Dad, you’ve been in Afghanistan three times, not to mention everywhere else you’ve been, and you’ve seen much worse.”

“Yeah, but not on my son.”

Raina smiles, her heart warming, seeing how much Kas’ father loves him. “Will you stay for dinner?”

Cliff takes a whiff of the delicious aroma coming from the oven, “You couldn’t kick me out of here until I had some of your lasagna, honey.”

Raina sends the duo out of the kitchen after dinner, finishing the dishes as they walk out back.

“How’s she doing?” Cliff asks, concerned about what Kas told him had happened after the misunderstanding when she came back from New Jersey.

“Good, Dad. Really good, actually. This is going to sound crazy, but, in a way, I’m kinda glad it happened. Not the part where she was hurting, but her seeing that I came back to her before I knew the truth broke through to her, letting her know that she is worth something. That’s she’s worth everything to me.” Kas grins happily, “She’s finally overcoming the lies her father told her.”

“You have a good wife. You are very blessed to have a woman who loves you so much.” Cliff grabs his son’s shoulders, “And, she’s very blessed to have you. I know it hasn’t been easy for you watching her having to suffer through everything, but you stood by her. I’m proud of you, son.”

Raina walks out onto the deck, calling to them in the yard, “Do you want the peach cobbler now, or later?”

Cliff pats Kas on the back as he quickens his pace towards the house, “And, the girl can cook.”

Kas lets out a hearty laugh as he catches up with his dad. Feeling every bit the blessing Raina is to him, thanking God for her.

The window pane is covered with rain drops, mother nature finally providing some relief to the sweltering heat and the drought advisory. Kas pulls Raina closer to him as they watch a movie. October is only two days away, and Kas’ uneasiness about Chris’ release from jail being in a couple of weeks darkens his mood, although he’s trying not to show it. Pete has gone to bat and has pushed for an ankle monitor for at least the first few months Chris is out of jail and on probation. Much to Kas’ relief, the judge granted the request, despite Dr. Ross praising Chris’ exemplar progress. Chase went ballistic when he read the report Dr. Ross submitted, calling him very ingenious names, even going as far as asking the doctor himself if he received his doctorate from a cereal box. Kas chuckles at the memory of Chase losing his impeccable calm shrink persona and going off on the shrinking doctor in the middle of the courthouse lobby.

Raina hasn’t mentioned Chris, but Kas hasn’t expected her to. She has gone on with their normal routines, acting like everything is fine, but Kas can see her stress. “Why don’t we ditch the movie and go out to eat?” he asks, needing to provide a distraction for both of them.

“But, you have been waiting for this movie to come out for weeks.”

“It will be here when we get back.” Kas grabs her hand, “C’mon, I’ll take you to the new German restaurant.”

Raina smiles and grabs her purse. Kas holds her hand as they race through the rain to get to the jeep. Raina is still smiling, excited about trying German cuisine, and Kas pulls her into his arms, loving how easy it is to please her. He lowers his mouth to hers, delivering a heated, passionate kiss.

“What was that for?”

“Just because, darlin’.”

The restaurant is crowded, but they manage to get a corner booth. Raina immediately loves the romantic feel of the place with the light from the candles flickering against the slate blue walls and the tables covered in crisp, white table clothes. Kas reaches across the table and grabs her hand, lightly rubbing his thumb across her knuckles when the waitress appears.

Raina notices how the waitress immediately zones in on Kas. Her brow arches as she watches how the gorgeous waitress unabashedly drinks in Kas’ toned, masculine frame. Kas feels Raina’s hand stiffen in his when he gives his order. He ignores the woman’s roaming eyes, biting back a chuckle when Raina watches how her baby blues melt when they gaze at Kas’ breathtaking face, his handsome, strong angular features, full lips, and chocolate eyes. When the waitress stumbles over her words and has to tear herself away from Kas to get her order, Raina stiffens again.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, finding Raina’s obvious struggle with feeling jealous amusing.

Raina’s gaze drops, and her cheek’s flush a light pink as she raises her shoulder. Refusing to let her simple shrug be an answer, he squeezes her hand. “Huh uh, darlin’, spill.”