Raine

by J.C. Valentine

  “Hey.” His deep, gravelly voice did funny things to her heart.

  Raine offered him a small smile. “Hi.”

  Stepping onto the first stair, it looked as if he were about to say something else, when Jarret glanced over her shoulder and paused. It was then Raine felt eyes on her, and she knew without having to look that one or both of her parents were standing watch through the screen door.

  “Do you want to go for a drive?” The words were out of her mouth before she could think. Relief washed over Jarret’s face and Raine turned around. “I’ll be back later,” she told her father, who wore a stern frown on his wrinkled face.

  Without a word, she walked down the steps and toward…her car? Jarret fell into step with her, his hand going to the small of her back to keep her moving. “I put some new belts and hoses in it, changed out some stuff that needed changing, and gave her a stern talking to. I don’t think she’ll be giving you any more trouble.” He laughed hesitantly.

  Raine didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing. Holding the keys up, Jarret gave her a lopsided smile. “Want to give her a spin?”

  She hadn’t driven a car in months, and to do it now, with him riding shotgun while her insides danced a nervous jig, made Raine self-conscious. She shook her head. “You know where we’re going, so you can drive this time.”

  “Suit yourself.” Opening the passenger door for her, Jarret held Raine’s elbow as he helped her safely into the seat.

  “So where are you taking me?” Raine asked after Jarret snapped his buckle into place and pulled away from the house.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Jarret admitted as he navigated the quiet streets. “I didn’t expect you to want to go anywhere. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure you’d agree to talk to me.”

  “It was kind of hard to ignore Peter Gabriel blasting through my bedroom window. How did you know that was my bedroom anyway?” she asked, shifting in her seat to look at him.

  The skin around Jarret’s eyes crinkled. “I didn’t. I just pressed play and aimed for the house. I figured you’d have to hear it if I turned it up loud enough.” Turning his head, he smiled, putting his slightly uneven white teeth on display. “Guess I was right.”

  “I think the whole neighborhood heard it. You’re lucky nobody called the cops.” She laughed, thinking of the kind of scene that would have caused. She didn’t think the upstanding Mosses would be too happy to deal with the fallout from that.

  “I’m lucky you decided to come out. If you hadn’t, I was prepared go Romeo and Juliet and start spouting sappy poetry.” He slanted a serious look at her. “I sucked ass at poetry in high school.”

  “I think we all sucked at poetry in high school.”

  “I’m pretty sure the teacher passed me just so she wouldn’t have to suffer through my attempts at prose another year.”

  “Should I even ask?” Raine lifted an eyebrow.

  “It’s safer for everyone if you didn’t. Trust me, it could get ugly fast.” His smile was contagious. Reaching over, Jarret lightly covered her hand with his, and when he was sure she wasn’t going to pull away, he wove their fingers together. “I’ve missed you.”

  Raine’s lungs constricted instantly. “Me too.”

  Her answer seemed to please him, and Jarret lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers. “I’m sorry for everything. I acted poorly. I let my emotions get the best of me and made a snap decision that ended up hurting the one person I’ve grown to care about most in this world.”

  She tried not to think too hard on what he just said. The road grew darker as Jarret turned into an empty parking lot. Raine recognized the park as the one her parents used to take her to as a kid. The spot he chose to park in overlooked a frozen stream that split the park in half, creating the picnic area and the trails. Jarret cut the engine, forcing them to rely on the dim light emanating from the dashboard to see each other.

  “I’ve learned a lot over the last few weeks, Raine. Hell,” Jarret said, running his fingers through his hair, “I’ve learned a lot in the last few hours.” Raine sensed his agitation and squeezed his hand in reassurance.

  “I’m not going to get into specifics right now. All you need to know is that I believe you. I believe every word you said about my brother, and I want you to know that I’m here.”

  “You believe me?” Raine’s words were meek, hesitant because she was afraid to believe her own ears. How long had she been waiting for someone to say that?

  Unclipping his belt, Jarret shifted to face her as best he could. Transferring her left hand into his left, he cupped her face with his right. “I didn’t want to,” Jarret admitted earnestly, “but something happened earlier and…let’s just say there’s no doubt anymore. It breaks my heart that my brother could do something like this, but it’s nothing compared to what I feel knowing that it’s you he did it to. Fuck, Raine. I’m so damn sorry I let you down.”

  His voice shook, and even though Raine couldn’t fully make out his face through the dark, she knew. Reaching out with her right hand, Raine carefully touched Jarret’s face. The familiar scrape of his stubbled jaw made her stomach flip, but when her fingers encountered the wetness on his cheeks, it felt as if her stomach took a nose dive straight down to her toes.

  “You’re here now,” she whispered. “That’s all that matters.”

  Sliding his hand around the back of her neck, Jarret pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair. “You don’t have to say yes, but I want you to come back. Nothing feels right there without you. I think you took all the light with you when you left.”

  Even though she’d been dying to hear those exact words, Raine hesitated. “What about Camron?”

  “What about him?” Jarret pulled back just enough so they could look each other in the eyes.

  “He’s your brother,” Raine reminded him. “How do you expect to know what you know, and still be friends with me?”

  “Let’s get one thing straight,” Jarret said, his voice dropping to a husky timbre as he moved her hair behind her ears. He brought his face so close, that Raine could feel his breath on her lips and see the subtle gleam of light reflecting off his eyes. “Our friendship ended the minute you let me inside you.”

  Instantly, Raine felt her face flush and her core grow moist, and she was grateful that it was too dark for him to see the way his words affected her.

  “As far as Camron is concerned, he’s lucky you’re my number one concern right now. Otherwise, he’d be tasting my fist.”

  Raine smiled inwardly at that, happy to know that he was willing to stick up for her. “I’m glad you didn’t do that. I doubt your parents would be very happy about bailing their son out of jail in the middle of the night.” The flat sound of Jarret’s laugh put Raine on alert. She frowned. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “Did you tell anyone what happened?” Jarret asked, changing the subject. Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it, so Raine backed off.

  “I tried to tell my parents, but they didn’t want to hear it. My dad already thought I was running wild, so when I turned up pregnant, he basically told me I reaped what I sowed.”

  “Fucking parents,” Jarret growled. “Did you report it to the police?”

  She was ashamed to say that she hadn’t, so Raine shook her head in response. “It’s my word against his. Even Camron said so.”

  Releasing her, Jarret muttered a series of low curses as he started the car and backed out of the space. Raine chewed her lip as she watched and waited for him to calm down. Passing street lights provided brief glimpses of Jarret’s angry expression, letting her know that he was still stewing over something she’d said, but she didn’t dare ask what it was.

  Until they pulled up in front of a large stone building surrounded by police cars. “Why are we at the police station?” she asked warily as she watched a couple in dark blue uniforms pass through a set of double glass doors and greet an armed security guard.

  “I thought i
t was obvious. We’re reporting a crime.”

  Fear lanced through Raine and she pressed deeper into her seat. How dare he do this without asking her first? Her fear turned to anger in an instant. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “This is not happening. Take me home. Right. Now.”

  “You’re mad at me?” Jarret’s eyes widened in bewilderment. “I thought this is what you would want, to finally get some closure. Camron should answer for what he did.”

  “I agree, but you and I both know that’s never going to happen.”

  “Why? Because you were dating each other? Because he was the most popular guy in school? Because he comes from an affluent family?”

  “See,” Raine said, throwing her hand out, “you already know all the reasons why.”

  “Come on, Raine.” Jarret tilted his head, disbelief written all over his face. “Everything I said was a cliché that movies and television scripts market for sensationalism.”

  “That may be,” Raine argued, “but that doesn’t make it any less true. If I go in there and report Camron, it won’t make any difference. He’ll walk away for all the reasons you listed and more. It’s pointless to even try.”

  “Listen to yourself. Spoken like a true defeatist.” Jarret shook his head and looked away. “Here I thought you were the type of person who fought for what was right.”

  “I am,” Raine snapped, “but I also know when to walk away. I’m telling you, Jarret, this is the time to walk away. Even if, by some miracle, they arrested Camron, you’d come to resent me. You’d see me as the person who tore apart your family. You still might, regardless of how you feel right now.”

  “Don’t make this about me,” Jarret growled at her. His blue eyes seemed to blaze. “This is about you and that baby and letting all the other women out there who will fall for Camron’s easy charm and find themselves stuck in the same boat know who they’re really dealing with. You owe it to yourself and them to go in there.”

  By the time he was done talking, Raine could see Jarret’s body vibrating with anger. Not knowing who it was for left her unsettled, but she knew in her heart he’d never lay an unkind finger on her. She considered his words and saw their merit, but that didn’t change her feelings. She knew she was right. No one would take the pregnant ex-girlfriend of the rich athlete seriously if she cried rape. They’d see her as the woman scorned, upset that her boyfriend had broken her heart and moved on to prettier girls while she stayed behind to become a single parent. But if Jarret needed to see the injustice with his own eyes, she’d march right into that building and show him how cold and callous the world really was.

  “All right,” she said, proud that she sounded more confident than she felt. “I’ll do it, but only if you promise me something first.”

  “Anything.” Jarret took her hand and met her gaze.

  “After this is over, you won’t hold it against me. No matter what happens, you won’t blame me.”

  “Peach, the only thing I plan to hold against you is my naked body.”

  His teasing words and naughty smile caused Raine to break out into a fit of giggles, lightening the heavy mood in the car. After her laughter subsided, she brushed the wrinkles from her clothes and inhaled deeply. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Jarret thought he’d be relieved. The officer who’d taken the report had asked a lot of questions. Questions Raine was reluctant to answer, but with a little urging from him, she’d offered up answers. What Jarret heard made him sick. He wanted to throw up almost as much as he wanted to storm out of the place and beat his brother to a bloody pulp.

  To think he’d been sitting in his room painting while his brother was off attacking her. The level of rage he was feeling couldn’t be measured. The only thing he could say was that Camron was lucky that Jarret was too busy watching over Raine to come after him.

  At least the officer had taken her seriously. He didn’t seem surprised that she had kept the rape a secret for so long. Said a lot of women did that, too ashamed of what had happened and afraid of what people might say if they came forward. As it turned out, Raine was partially right about how it would go. Even though the report was taken and the officer promised that someone would be around to question Camron, he warned that these things tended to go nowhere. Without any witnesses, it all came down to her word against his.

  Jarret hated hearing that. Even now, as he watched Raine curled up sleeping on the queen-sized bed, his hands formed fists. Remembering the officer’s words of advice made him want to punch something.

  “I’m sorry, but given your relationship with the assailant at the time, the delay in coming forward, and the pregnancy, the case is flimsy at best. I’ve been on the job long enough to see this kind of thing before, and I feel I should warn you. We can push ahead with this and if we’re lucky, we might even build enough of a case to bring it in front of a judge, but that’s only if we’re lucky.

  “The most likely scenario is an officer goes out to talk to him, lawyers are called, and the tables get turned. Suddenly you’ll be the one on trial. Everything in your past, no matter how innocent, will be questioned. By the time they’re through, he’ll walk away clean as a whistle and you’ll be the one wearing a scarlet letter. I’m not trying to scare you, but you need to be absolutely certain this is what you want to do.”

  So maybe all the movies and television dramas held more truth than he realized. Jarret still had a difficult time wrapping his head around everything. So much had changed in such a short amount of time, and soon, he expected his phone to go crazy or his door to be pounded down as his family learned of his involvement in raising charges against his brother.

  Yes, he’d pushed Raine to move forward. Whatever fallout occurred, he promised to be there to protect her, which was why the second they left the police station, he drove her straight to her parents’ house, helped load her bags into the car despite their urgings for her to stay, and drove them to a hotel. When things went south, as they inevitably would, he wanted her as far away from the blast zone as possible.

  He’d woken up that morning with a lot on his mind. Unable to take his eyes off her, he continued to watch over her, taking in her soft features, the gentle, womanly curves of her body beneath the sheets, remembering how it felt to touch her everywhere. She had the softest skin, smooth and creamy like melted ice cream, and just as sweet. They’d made love the minute they reached the room last night. Being separated had taken its toll, their hands and mouths frantically touching and tasting one another, desperate to be closer. It was trickier than the first time, with her stomach being so much larger now, but with a little creativity, they’d made it work. He could still feel the tight clench of her inner walls as he brought her to orgasm… three times. If all pregnant women were as sensitive as Raine, he could certainly see the appeal.

  His eyes lowered to her stomach where her unborn baby slept peacefully along with her, and he smiled at how funny life could be. He was protecting and caring for his brother’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child…from him. And it all happened because he’d looked into her watery eyes in the middle of a grocery store parking lot and couldn’t deny the need to make her life better.

  Jarret ran his fingers through his damp hair. He was a total sap who needed to get his shit together and his head in the game. As soon as the call came in, he’d needed to be prepared to defend them both. Without a doubt, his parents would be looking for Raine, wanting to make her pay for attempting to soil their good son’s name.

  Well, Jarret wasn’t going to make it easy for them. As far as he was concerned, they were as culpable as Camron, because they knew full well what happened, and they chose to sweep it under the proverbial rug. Camron may never see the inside of a jail cell like he deserved, but that didn’t mean he would walk away unscathed.

  The vibration of his phone in his pants’ pocket sliced through Jarret’s thoughts, disturbing the peaceful morning. As he pulled it out, he saw his mother’
s name light up the screen. It was already starting.

  Standing, Jarret tiptoed across the room and stepped into the hall, quietly closing the door behind him. He may never get another peaceful night’s sleep, but he intended for Raine to get every bit of hers. Answering the call, Jarret put the phone to his ear and said calmly, “Hello, mother.”

  ***

  Raine woke to an empty room. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she pressed her fists into the mattress and sat up. “Jarret?” she called out. Putting on her glasses, she searched every corner of the room. Nothing but silence met her. “Are you here?”

  The baby’s movement reminded her why she’d woken up in the first place. Easing her legs over the side of the bed, Raine shuffled into the bathroom. After she relieved herself and splashed some cool water onto her face, she peeked into the tiny living room to see if Jarret had returned.

  He hadn’t, but she spotted a piece of paper next to the phone that she hadn’t noticed before. A knot formed in her gut as she moved to retrieve it.

  My parents called. I’m going to talk to them. Hold down the fort while I’m gone. If you get hungry, order room service. Call if you need me.

  xoxo J

  Well, at least he’d left a note. It was a small relief to know Jarret hadn’t abandoned her and that he would be back. Stomach rumbling with hunger, Raine did as he said and ordered a large breakfast from room service. While she waited, she flipped on the television and scanned through the channels for something to watch.

  When she heard the knock on the door less than an hour later, Raine hurried to open it.

  “Room service,” a young guy with slicked back dark hair and coal black eyes set behind a pair of funky glasses said, as he pushed a cart piled with dome-covered plates inside.

  “Right there is fine.” She indicated an open area near the couch. Once she sat down to eat, she didn’t want to have to get up again. Yes, she took eating very seriously these days, and the size of her thighs proved it.