Saving Rain

by Karen-Anne Stewart

  Kas had ached to take Raina in his arms and show her that the shame doesn’t belong to her, that she should never feel ashamed by what someone else did to her. He was so relieved when she told him that Chris had never physically harmed her before that previous night. He couldn’t handle the thought of her being subjected to repeated abuse. Now, the relief he had felt less than twenty-four hours ago has vanished.

  He finally allows the tears to come as he looks at her battered body and remembers the doctor’s words of how she has spent years suffering from abuse...abuse from the man that was supposed to protect and love her the most. Kas doesn’t know who Raina’s father is, or where he is for that matter, but he makes a vow to himself that he will find out and pay him a visit, making it crystal clear that he is to never come near her again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kas raises his head from his makeshift pillow on the arm of the hospital bed when he hears a small whimper. The soft light of the moon seeps through the blinds, and his sleepy gaze becomes wide awake as he sees Raina’s eyelids rapidly fluttering. Another whimper escapes her pursed lips as she thrashes her head to the side, the word “Stop” is barely audible as she groans and thrashes her head again.

  Kas runs his hand over Raina’s hair, wanting to ease her nightmare, but the contact makes her jump, and she knocks his hand away, trying to protect herself even in her unconscious state. The beeping on the monitor shows the rapidly increasing speed of her heartbeat, and he whispers in her ear, “You’re safe, Rain, I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you anymore.” The beeping begins to recede, and he strokes her hair again while continuing to whisper that she’s safe now. In a few seconds, her eyelids stop fluttering, and her breathing becomes calmer. He continues to stroke her soft auburn hair, even after she has eased peacefully back into her deep, medicated oblivion.

  Kas shakes his head as he thinks about how it feels like he has known her for years, not just four short weeks. Guilt spreads through him as he thinks of how he may have caused the argument that left Raina being slapped so hard it bruised her cheek and split her lip. She told him that she and Chris had argued, and she had ended their relationship, which had infuriated Chris to the point of violence.

  When Kas questioned the reason of the argument, she had given a vague reason and quickly changed the subject. He had a sinking feeling that he had something to do with it by the way Chris had glared at him when he walked in on them working on a case, well, taking a break from working on a case, anyway. They had been up for twenty hours and were getting a little giddy when Kas had stuck his foot in his mouth. “You’re deceptively intelligent,” Kas stated with a hint of amused bewilderment.

  Raina glanced upwards from her work, and her brows creased together as she tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

  “Oh, I didn’t...I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Kas stammered as he glimpsed the hooded hurt in her eyes.

  Raina’s disquietude diminished as she witnessed his cheeks flare from his obvious embarrassment. “So, you didn’t mean to say that I appear to be a twit?” she mockingly chastised, unable to suppress the mischievous jab.

  “No...of course not,” he continued to flounder.

  Raina arched her eyebrow, and the hint of a smile curved the edges of her lips as her expression elicited his meaning. Kas studied her, and for the millionth time that morning, he had wanted to lean in and claim those tempting, sprightly lips.

  “You just seem too innocent to know about these things,” he stated, designedly pulling away from her before he was unable to curb his rapidly brewing desire to run his thumb slowly across her alluring bottom lip and graze it between his teeth, tasting every inch of its sweetness.

  Raina’s gaze dropped as her face blanched momentarily before she was able to regain her neutral composure. “I studied psychology,” she offered quickly as an excuse of her familiarity of the depraving subject. It wasn’t a complete deception, her psychology professor did use human trafficking as a topic of discussion in one of her classes, and she never has been subjected to the kind of hell where her body is bought and sold by some sadist’s whim. Despite the other suffered offenses, she’s endured only one man’s uninvited intimate assault.

  Kas had caught the brief change in Raina’s demeanor and again felt the alarming suspicion that something dark has impinged her life. “I don’t know how these girls get over the horror of what they have been put through,” he said dismally, shaking his head solemnly, studying her reaction.

  “The only way they can get through something as horrific as that is with God’s help,” Raina whispered soberly.

  Kas’ eyes shot to Raina in wonderment. “You believe in God?” he asked, failing miserably at hiding his surprise.

  “Absolutely,” she replied fervently, a little taken aback by his unadulterated shock.

  “That surprises me,” he confessed.

  “Why...don’t you?” she replied, sounding a bit more defensive then intended.

  Kas smiled and nodded his head affirmatively, “Yes, I do. It’s just that most of the people I’ve met like you are atheists.”

  “Like me?” she asked indignantly, raising her brow and pouting slightly.

  “Apparently, I can’t seem to get the taste of leather out of my mouth today,” he stated dryly, running his hand through his thick hair while forcefully dragging his gaze away from her tantalizingly puffed out bottom lip. “I mean geniuses, scientists, astrologists, people who try to find absolute truth by tangible means.”

  Her sinfully sexy pout disappeared, replaced by determination. “God is the absolute truth, and it has always baffled me how some of the most intelligent people in the world go to extremes to try to disprove His existence, despite all the evidence. I don’t know if it’s out of pride or fear, but they can’t seem to handle what they can’t manually experiment, so they come up with alternatives like evolution or the god particular to try to ease their minds, but it’s theories, not proof, that they are trying to rationalize. They have never been able to prove that God doesn’t exist, they can’t. They call things that they can’t explain with science, anomalies, refusing the truth that there are things beyond the reach of our weak comprehension, miracles that we will never be able to dissect because they are transcendental!” she finished passionately before adding, “and I’m not a genius.”

  Kas had never seen Raina let her defenses down enough to show much of any kind of emotion before. He loved that she had dropped her defenses long enough to share a little of her feelings and beliefs. The only emotion she has shared freely is kindness. He loves how she is so kind to everyone.

  “Okay, so maybe you’re not such a twit,” he joked, impressed and relieved at her beliefs and not yet ready to see her wall go back up.

  Raina tried to look hurt but was reduced to giggles instead, which turned into a hearty, cathartic laughter so contagious that they were both laughing so hard, tears were streaming down their faces. Exhaustion, and the overwhelming need to release some of the tension from the depression case they had been working on relentlessly, had just started to ease when Chris walked into the room. Her beautiful giggles stopped when she saw the expression on his face.

  Renewed anger fires through Kas’ veins at the memory, shaking off any residual fatigue. Raina hadn’t done anything to warrant the jealousy that was obviously radiating from Chris as she gathered her things, and they left. Kas is furious as he berates himself, knowing he should have sensed that Chris was dangerous, but he hadn’t even met him before that night, and the truth is that Kas was just as jealous. He desperately wanted to be the one leaving with Raina instead of Chris. As much as Kas feels for Raina, he had never, would never, do anything as underhanded as stealing someone’s girlfriend, and Raina had never done anything that was even remotely traitorous to Chris.

  My father is screaming at me again, telling me I’m worthless. Everything seems hazy, and the sound of his voice sounds a little strange as I hear him yelling, calling me pathetic. He unbuck
les his belt and takes it off, but it sounds different, distant, and a little surreal. Then I feel the belt against my back, over and over again ... the pain is unbelievable! All of the sudden it is Chris that is standing in front of me. I-I don’t understand...where did my father go? AHHH, Why is everything so fuzzy? Chris is screaming at me, too, accusing me of sleeping with Kas. My head feels like cotton candy, and I try so hard to focus, but I can’t. Chris slaps me, and I hear my father laugh. What is going on?

  Raina is pulled from her fog when she hears voices, voices that comfort her.

  Chase walks into the hospital room and hands Kas a grande coffee, a real coffee, not that putrid decaffeinated dishwater in the hospital waiting room. Kas takes a sip of his favorite blend and gives a grateful nod to Chase while he stands up and stretches his back.

  “Any change?” Chase asks as he checks the stats on her vital signs.

  “No,” Kas answers regretfully, “but she had a nightmare last night, a pretty bad one.”

  Kas is here! A nightmare? Am I dreaming? Raina hears another voice, one she doesn’t recognize.

  “Agent Pierce, if you would like to follow me, I need some additional information please.”

  NO! Don’t go. Don’t leave me here with them! Raina tries to scream for Kas to stay, but her voice sounds so far away, like a faint echo, as she manages to scratch out the word, “Don’t.”

  Kas immediately stops and spins around, “Raina’s awake. I just heard her say something!” He rushes back to her side and looks at her hopefully while he runs his hand over her hair.

  “Don’t go,” Raina manages to form the words and push them out through the fog, even though her mouth is dry and so hard to open.

  “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart,” Kas reassures her, smiling as relief rushes through him.

  Sweetheart...Raina feels herself blush when she realizes that’s the second time Kas has called her sweetheart. No one, other than Judge, has ever called her that, and she likes how it sounds rolling off his tongue. She likes it too much.

  Raina realizes that everything is dark, and her eyelids feel heavy. She tries to open her eyes, but the light is too bright, it’s so blinding that it hurts, so she closes them again. She doesn’t feel the burning pain of her father’s belt on her back anymore from the dream or memory she had. Shivering at the realization of how it had felt so real, she feels pain everywhere else now, real pain, she hurts so much. Raina tries to move, but the wires attached to various parts of her body stop her, as well as the aches and sharp stabs with her every movement. She focuses on the IVs and the machines, mentally pushing past the pain. She is adept at pushing past the pain.

  “May I have some water, please?” Raina asks, her voice small and weak, infuriating her. She doesn’t want to ever be weak again.

  Kas smiles even wider at her, and she feels a tingling warmth spread through her. It’s a welcome change from the pain, but it terrifies her at how strongly her body reacts to him, how it reacts in ways that she has never felt before. It’s like there’s an awakening deep inside, stirring feelings to life that she never knew existed before she met him. Raina feels the heat spread to her cheeks and to other parts of her. She tears her gaze away from his captivating smile before he can see what he does to her.

  Thankfully, Kas also turns to pour her some water, and she fights to regain her composure before he turns back. “Here you go,” Kas whispers to her soothingly as he hands her the glass.

  “Thank you.” Raina tries to take a sip, but a pain shoots through her arm, and she almost spills the water before Kas wraps his hand around hers, taking the glass and slowly lifting it to her lips, so she can take a sip. She is embarrassed that Kas has to help her do something that should be so simple, but the kindness in his action sends a jolt to her battered heart.

  “Are you okay?” Kas asks, concern edging his words at the sight of her cringe in pain. It doesn’t go unnoticed to him how Raina quickly recovers, composing herself, so she isn’t showing what she feels.

  Raina nods her head slowly, focusing again on pushing back the pain, “I’m fine.”

  Kas stares at her incredulously before running his finger gently down the side of her face, “Fine is not a word I would use to describe how you are at the moment, darlin’.”

  Raina looks at Kas, overwhelmed by the kindness in his voice and the endearments he keeps bestowing on her while he touches her so gently. She sees something in his eyes, something vaguely familiar but so foreign at the same time. She can’t put her finger on it, but her thoughts are interrupted before she can investigate further.

  Dr. Merrick enters the room and quickly checks her vitals before moving over to her bed and placing his hand lightly on her arm. “How are you feeling?” he asks in a voice that Raina assumes sounds like what a caring grandfather would sound like.

  “I’m fine,” Raina states simply, too quickly for both Kas’ and Dr. Merrick’s liking.

  Dr. Merrick pulls up her eyelids and asks her to follow the light as he checks her responses. “Are you in pain?” he asks, studying her eyes.

  Raina doesn’t want to admit anymore weakness, but she’s no idiot either. “Some,” she regretfully admits.

  “We can up your morphine again to help with the pain,” Dr. Merrick begins, but Raina shakes her head.

  “Can I just have some aspirin, please?” The thought of heavy medication scares her. She has seen firsthand how a mind altering drug, or in her father’s case, alcohol, can change a person.

  Dr. Merrick studies Raina, not convinced that she’s being totally honest about her level of pain but decides to follow her request for the time being and asks a nurse who just entered to get her some aspirin. “You took quite a beating, Miss Kapture, and you suffered some serious injuries. Thankfully, you were brought here in time to prevent further damage. You have some cranial swelling, and you had some internal bleeding, which we stopped, but I want to check on both. We need to run a few tests if you think you are up to it.”

  Raina nods, and Kas gives her hand a gentle squeeze.

  “I’ll wait a few minutes, so you can take your medicine, and then I will be back to run the tests. Once we get the results, we will see where to go from there,” Dr. Merrick explains, smiling kindly at her.

  Raina returns Dr. Merrick’s smile and thanks him politely. Kas’ heart melts as he watches this beautiful woman, who has just been through hell on earth, smile despite all she has just been through.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The next day brings more sunshine and unnaturally warm weather for this time of year. Raina awakens as the morning sunlight slowly creeps up over her face and into her eyes. She stretches gingerly, testing her body’s reaction to the pain, and she finds that it’s a bit more bearable than yesterday. Slowly rolling over, she winces as pain slices through her ribs. She continues to roll over, refusing to let the pain hinder her in any way.

  A soft groan distracts her, and she notices Kas is asleep in the chair next to her. A warm feeling spreads through her when she realizes that he stayed the night with her again. She takes in the two days’ worth of stubble on his chin, and heat rushes through her at his rugged good looks. Even with the dark circles under his eyes, from his lack of sleep, he is the most breathtaking man she has ever seen, and the simmering heat spreads to places that frighten and intimidate her.

  Raina greedily seizes the chance to gaze at Kas leisurely while he is asleep. She admires his symmetry, his masculine angular features. She notices how his nose has just the slightest of a crook, like it has been broken before, but it does nothing to diminish his ruggedly handsome good looks, if anything, it enhances them, she muses. Her breath hitches as her gaze lowers to his full lips, slightly parted in his sleep. Every ounce of her wants to lean over and press her lips to his, testing to see if they could possibly feel as good as she imagines they would. Raina inwardly scolds herself for entertaining such thoughts, the last thing she needs right now is to drool over some man.

  She wan
ts to keep her feelings, her emotions, far away from men. Raina knows all too well how lethally they can be twisted and broken and how she can be severely punished for showing them. Despite being in a hospital bed from the last reminder she was cruelly given about how she can’t trust to let her guard down, she can’t seem to pull herself away from admiring the manly specimen in front of her.

  Raina’s gaze drifts to Kas’ strong jaw and down his reclined neck. A nagging guilt stabs at her, if she had just listened to him he wouldn’t be here, sleeping uncomfortably in a chair, and she wouldn’t be lying on a hospital bed. She chastises herself for not taking his and the dean’s advice to stay at the dean’s home for a few days while he was away.

  Looking back, Raina can see the warning signs that she couldn’t or maybe even refused to let herself see before. With a strong wave of anger, she recalls the last month that she and Chris were together and how his possessiveness grew increasingly more threatening. It’s not as if she denied the warning signs because she loved Chris, no, there was no love there.

  Raina thinks of how she had liked him, admired his intelligence, and what she had originally mistook as confidence. Chris’ charm is what got her to go out with him in the first place. He made her laugh, and she hadn’t laughed in so long. He was so persistent, and she had thought that sweet, never seeing the dangerous undertones of his persistence in the beginning. She regrets that she had finally relented, agreeing to go out with him one night after they had stayed late working in the computer lab.

  Raina remembers how he had told her that he would ask her out every day, until she finally gave in to his witty ways, and he had done just that, for nearly a week. He started out with small gestures of asking her to grab a coffee with him, to finally going all out and offering to take her to Italy, knowing that is the place she wants to visit most in the world. That’s when she had broken down in laughter at his charming outrageousness and agreed to go out with him, but only for coffee.