After the Rain (25 page)

Repugnant fear spirals through her, and she forces herself to swallow her panic as she feels the cold steel of the blade against her skin. She holds her breath when he presses the tip to her flesh, biting the side of her neck. Max yanks her hair again, and she forces back a gasp from the pain. Raina locks her gaze to his menacing stare, not giving him the satisfaction of cowering before him.

“Erase the Ghost!” he growls, the glint in his eyes shining from dangerous intentions if she refuses.

Raina’s gaze doesn’t waver, her fiery jade glare adamantly denying his demand.

His afflicting grip on her hair never relents as he calls her a vile name before slicing the knife angrily across the top of her left arm. The intensity of the pain burns through Raina, and a pained gasp escapes. She feels the blood running down her arm, and she wants to cry, scream, do anything to release even a little of the trepidation erupting inside of her.

Max raises the knife, and Raina feels lightheaded when she sees her blood dripping off the blade. Fear almost paralyzes her as he again forcefully demands her cooperation. She can’t stop her body from trembling, nearly crippled with dread from knowing what is going to happen next. Terror seizes her as she slowly shakes her head, closing her good eye, unable to witness the horror from the knife cutting into her again. The pain rips through her; her arm feels as if it’s in flames. Raina cries out from the pain, no longer able to hold back the scream.

Max releases Raina’s hair, and her head falls forward. The sight of her blood rolling down her arm makes her nauseous, and she has to fight not to vomit. His blazing eyes search her again, and she knows she can’t take much more. She has to make them believe that she will cooperate. Another vile name is spit upon her, and she sees him raising the knife again, “NO . . . wait . . . I’ll do what you want.”

The cruel, satisfied smile on his lips makes her skin crawl. Raina quickly tries to think of the best plan as he lays the knife down on the counter, “I need my hands.”

She can see the hesitance in his dark eyes when he shakes his head. “Tell me what to do, and I will do it.”

Raina lets out a weak laugh, “That would take too long, even if you could follow the instructions. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m bleeding over here, and I’m starting to feel a little woozy.”

He only pauses a few seconds before grabbing the knife and cutting the plastic zip-tie from her bleeding, raw wrists. Raina slowly rolls her shoulders, trying to shake the painful tingles in her arms from the length of time spent in her bound position. She uses every second she can procrastinate to come up with a plan. Her time is cut short when Max jerks her off of the chair, pushing her towards the laptop on the counter. Her fingers are shaking as she begins typing, her mind furiously racing as she hacks into the FBI database.

Raina knows she will have to convince them that she is going to erase all of the evidence on Prizrak, so she opens his file, making sure they see how it’s labeled with his enigmatic codename. Simultaneously accessing a different file, Raina leaves Prizrak’s unchanged. Continuing to rapidly type in codes, knowing they can’t follow what she is doing, she quickly decides what she is going to do next.

Blood runs down her fingers, smearing on the keys on the keyboard, and Raina hesitates before managing to steel her faltering nerves. She presses delete and can’t breathe as she sees them engrossed in watching the line slowly move across the screen as the file begins to disappear. While they are distracted, she grabs the edges of the laptop and sends it crashing straight into the face of the trafficker who has delivered her excruciating pain over the past several hours. She elbows the other trafficker, following with a fierce front snap kick.

Hastily, Raina grabs the keys off of the counter and races out the door. Feeling weakened and dizzy, she forces herself to push faster. Fumbling with the keys, she screams in frustration when they fall from her hands onto the ground. She quickly grabs them again and flings herself into the Sierra. Seeing them coming after her, she tries to tame her fear and cranks the ignition to life. Another panicked scream escapes her as the glass on the back windshield flies through the air from a gunshot. She scans the vehicle for a cell phone, no longer fighting back the tears from falling when she doesn’t see one.

Stepping on the gas and pushing the pedal down as far as it will go, Raina wipes away the tears, focusing on navigating the curves of the road while driving down the mountain. She is flung against the steering wheel as the Sierra is struck by the vehicle of the beady-eyed trafficker. Gritting her teeth, she refuses to succumb to her panic. Her arms hurt from the exertion of jerking the steering wheel to keep the truck on the road as she frantically careens down the mountain.

Blood continues to run down Raina’s arm, leaving a wet, sticky trail. She takes the torn fabric between her teeth and rips her shirt, tearing off a long strip. Awkwardly, she scrambles to wrap the strip around the wounds, biting her lip from the pain. She secures it as well as possible as she continues to speed dangerously down the steep slope.

Another shot rings out, puncturing the edge of her seat, and she swerves, nearly running off the road. Taking a deep breath, she concentrates on remembering Kas’ instructions, his words when he told her how he pushes past the debilitating stress to keep focused. The back of the truck is rammed again, jarring her. This time, Raina decides to fight back. She quickly steers right, then slams on the brakes before ramming the truck into the front of the other vehicle, forcing it sideways. Roughly turning the wheel, she pushes down on the gas again, straightening the battered truck. She is gaining distance as she tries very hard to keep her nerves from exploding inside of her.

Another loud shot rings out and the truck violently jerks from the explosion of the rear tire. Running off the side of the road, Raina fruitlessly tries to regain control. The airbag pummels into her, knocking the breath out of her lungs as she crashes into a ditch. Not having the luxury of sparing any time, she struggles against the airbag, and pain lances all the way through her as she scrambles across the passenger seat and tumbles out the door, landing hard against the ground.

Raina’s breathing is shallow as she writhes in pain. Commanding herself to move, she crawls up the embankment. When she hears them behind her, she sprints towards the woods, racing through the dense forest. The branches whip viciously against her body as she runs further into the shelter of the trees, not daring to look back.

Chapter Twenty-One

Kas grinds his foot against the gas pedal as he wills the jeep to go faster up the mountain. He jerks the wheel, pulling off the side of the road when he sees the abandoned vehicles. He and Chase jump out, and Kas’ heart stops when he sees blood smeared against the deflated airbag and passenger seat. Quickly scanning the area, he looks for a path to follow.

Austin pulls his Tahoe next to Kas, and the rest of the team exits the vehicle as a gunshot splits the air. Kas pulls his glock, flying towards the woods. His mind is focused solely on Raina, getting to her, saving her, as he ignores the painful bite of the branches slashing his skin. He pushes himself faster as another shot sears his heart.

It’s hard to navigate through the density of the trees, even with the naked branches of winter, but Kas finally sees two men running ahead of him. With sheer determination, he forces his body faster, closing in on the gap between them. He catches a glimpse of Raina as she darts northwest, back out of sight. He doesn’t have a clear shot of the running targets, and he nearly cries out in frustration as he concentrates on getting closer. The seconds torturously drag by as he rapidly works on closing the remaining distance.

Raina’s body is screaming against the harsh exertion, her arm is on fire as she dodges through the trees. A shocked cry escapes as she grasps at branches to keep herself from tumbling over the edge of a cliff into the raging river far below. Her panic threatens to overtake her as her foots slips over the side, and she desperately hangs onto the branch. Hearing the sounds of the men rushing towards her, she wildly searches for another way to go. Controlling her fear, she says a rushed, silent prayer, then lets go of the branch and grabs onto the edge of the cliff, easing down the rocky side. Thinking of her trip with Kas, when he took her rappelling, Raina tries to remember everything he taught her. The roaring sound of the water below is deafening as she treacherously continues the steep downward climb, her arm rebelling against the heavy strain.

Kas witnesses the larger man quickly stop, aiming his gun over the side of the cliff. Raising his glock, he fires a kill shot before the man’s weapon can be discharged. The man goes down as another shot resounds loudly ahead to Kas’ left. Another shot is fired closely behind him by one of Kas’ own men, towards the direction of the previous one. He hears Raina scream as he races to the edge of the cliff, watching in sickening horror as her falling body plummets towards the river below. Without hesitation, Kas jumps over the edge as Chase frantically grabs at him, trying in vain to stop him from the suicidal free fall.

Raina feels the full impact of the piercing pain engulf her as her body crashes into the river. The white crested water swallows her, then she feels nothing else. Kas braces himself for the impact as his body breaks through the water, the force stripping the breath from his lungs, sending his senses reeling from the intensity of the pain. The water swirls angrily around him as he continues his downward spiral. Struggling against the watery prison, he fiercely fights as it rages around him. He gasps for breath when his head finally breaks through.

Frantically searching for Raina, Kas continues his battle to keep his head above water. Fear prickles through him like the sharpest slivers of broken glass when he sees Raina floating face down. Desperation is his strongest fuel as he fights the current, swimming towards his wife. Reaching her, he wraps his arm around her limp body and rolls her over as he pulls her towards the river’s edge.

Unbearable fear grips him as he drags her motionless frame onto solid ground. He presses his ear against her mouth and nose. A raw, dark agony slashes his heart as he realizes that she isn’t breathing. He stares down at her battered, bleeding body as he feverishly begins chest compressions, praying for her to start breathing again. Time ruthlessly tortures him as he counts to thirty before checking her. Kas rebukes the panic that attacks him, refusing to let her go even though she is still breathlessly lying below him.

Tilting her head back, he pinches her nose as he tries to breathe life back into her. He begins the chest compressions again, willing her to breathe, nearly going mad when she remains lifeless.

“Raina, breathe! Please, God, let her breathe!” Kas cries out, and tears spill from his eyes as he continues pumping his hands against her chest. He breathes into her two more times. “Breathe, baby,” he begs as he presses the heel of his hand against her breastbone. “Don’t you dare die on me, Raina!” he screams at her, commanding her cold, lifeless body to respond as the only movement from her is from the feverish pumping of his own hands. Kas covers her mouth with his, again breathing his own breath into her. Nothing. He is ready and willing to give his life in exchange for hers, to breathe his last breath into her, as he pumps his hands against her chest again, “Raina, dammit! BREATHE!”

A faint cough escapes Raina’s split, blue lips before garbled sounds indicate she is choking. Kas quickly turns her on her side as the water sputters from her mouth. She is dazed and still coughing as Kas pulls her into his arms, burying her head against his chest as he presses his head to the top of hers, weeping from relief. “You’re safe now, baby, you’re safe,” he assures her as he kneels on his knees, rocking her in his arms, thanking God for giving him more time with her.

Kas continues to rock Raina as she weakly wraps her arms around him, saying silent prayers of gratitude of her own. He feels her body trembling beneath him and, for the first time, he feels the bitter cold of winter start to seep into his own wet skin. Taking his shirt off, he rips hers open as he presses her body against his, trying to get her warm. He grabs his cell phone, thankful it’s waterproof as he starts to dial Chase’s number.

“No,” Raina limply grabs at the phone.

“Baby, you’re hurt and freezing, we have to get you out of here. We have to get you to the hospital.”

“I need to be dead,” Raina whispers.

Kas shakes his head, confused, thinking she is still dazed as he starts dialing again.

“They need to think I’m dead,” she begins again, her words forced and weak, “I know how to get Prizrak.”

Kas stares down at her, taking in her battered face, the various bruises and her eye swollen shut from the brutal beating. He takes the crude bandage off her arm and swallows back fear and rage as he sees the deep gashes, “We have to get you to a hospital, sweetheart.”

Raina shakes her head, “Call an ambulance, but have them bring a body bag. Evan has to believe that I died. He’s been watching from the cameras, he’ll check them. But first, call a team to find Carrie.”

“Carrie?” Kas asks, confused again while dialing Chase.

Raina gives him the details about Carrie, her voice weakening with every word, “I think I heard a train in the live feed. She’s somewhere near railroad tracks.”

“I’ll have Chase send a team to look for Carrie,” Kas assures Raina, squeezing her hand. When Chase answers, Kas quickly tells him to not say anything, to control his emotions. He tells him that Raina is alive but in a bad condition. Informing him of the plan, he asks Chase to make sure the ambulance arrives quickly with a doctor ready. Relaying the information about Carrie, he keeps his gaze fixated on his wife, shaking her when her eyes close, “I’ve gotta go. Tell them to hurry!”

Raina’s body is violently trembling. Quickly stripping her of her soaked jeans, Kas lays on top of her, his body shielding hers from the biting wind, “Hang on, sweetheart, please just hang on.”

“Kas, don’t let me go, okay?” Raina asks, her voice dangerously soft.

“Never, darlin’, I will never let you go,” Kas promises. “Keep talking to me, Rain, can you do that?”

Kas keeps Raina talking until the medics arrive on four-wheelers. He helps them wrap her in the blankets, continuing to rub his hands quickly over her body to warm her. Carefully picking her up, he carries her to the back of one of the all-terrain vehicles. Her body is limp in his arms, terrifyingly fragile, and he cradles her tightly in his lap. When one of the medics wraps a blanket around his shoulders, he takes it off, wrapping it around Raina instead.

Raina’s eyes are closed when Kas looks down. Gently shaking her, he softly demands, “Wake up, Rain. Stay with me, baby.”

Slowly, she looks at him. The smile that curves her lips brings more tears to his eyes.

“Please, don’t. You’ll make me cry, and it’s too freaking cold to cry right now,” she says, letting out a limp chuckle.

Laughing, Kas wipes his eyes on his shoulder, “I love you, Raina Pierce!”

“I love you, too,” she replies, her words barely above a whisper.

Trying to minimize the jarring from the rough ride as much as possible, he shelters her in his arms, cradling her head with his hand until they are almost at the top of the mountain. They stop, and Kas almost loses it when one of the medics pulls out a body bag.

“We’ve gone too far not to catch him now. Kas, please,” Raina begs, knowing the look in his eyes too well.

Kas rakes his hands through his hair before dragging his hand roughly down his face, “The doctor is in the back of the ambulance. You keep your eyes open in there until we get you to him, Rain. Promise me!”

“I promise.”

“I still owe you a dinner date for your amazing job with the equipment, stay awake, and I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, Rain. Just stay awake!”

A small smile tilts her lips, “Anywhere?”

“Anywhere.”

“I want you to take me to La Roustide, in Nice.”

“France?” Kas laughs, tears pricking his eyes again as he watches his wife smiling, trying to ease
him
after what she’s been through. Loving his wife tremendously at the moment, he would take her around the world if she wants, “Alright, France it is then, baby. Just stay awake in there.”

The anguish of putting his wife in a body bag is indescribable. Kas leaves the zipper open a fraction at the top, not able to bring himself to seal it all the way. They securely attach her to the stretcher and carry her the short distance to the crest of the mountain to the waiting ambulance in front of El Diablo’s abandoned mansion.

Kas watches the horror resonate through his father’s eyes when he sees the body bag. He wants to tell him Raina’s alive but can’t risk giving anything away on the camera. Chase grabs Cliff’s arm, embracing him. Grateful for Chase’s discrete disclosure, Kas is relieved until he spots Brent running towards them before stopping abruptly, nearly doubling over from witnessing what he thinks is his worst nightmare turned into heart-wrenching reality.

Chase is walking towards Brent when he suddenly stands, rushing straight at Kas. “She’s dead because of you!” he yells, taking an enraged swing at Kas’ head.

Kas ducks, dodging the blow, and, with one swift move, he grabs Brent by his throat, slamming him against the side of the ambulance. Mercilessly jerking him around, out of the line of the cameras, he holds his forearm roughly against Brent’s chin. “Raina’s alive,” he reassures him, understanding his pain, furious at the understanding they share.

The immense relief Kas witnesses sends a jolt of conflicting emotions through him. Releasing Brent, he steps away and climbs into the back of the ambulance, forgetting the illicit agent, just needing and wanting to be with his wife right now. He immediately unzips the body bag as soon as the doors are closed, relieved that Raina held true to her promise, but just barely.

“The doctor’s here, Rain, stay with me,” Kas encourages, taking her cold hand in his.

Dr. Reed introduces himself and does a quick, cursory exam. “She’s showing signs of hypothermia, her blood pressure is low. She also appears to have a concussion. We need to get a CT scan when we get to the hospital.”

“No!” Raina protests, “he’ll be able to access the records. The only paper trail needs to be of the data entered into the morgue, nowhere else.”

“You’re getting a thorough examination, Raina,” Kas tells her forcefully, not willing to take any more chances with her.

“Is there any other location where I can be examined?” Raina asks, her words slightly slurring.

Dr. Reed informs them there’s a private practice not far from the hospital where he has access to utilize the equipment.

“How far away?” Kas inquires, making sure there’s no delay in getting his wife needed medical attention.

“Less than five minutes.”

Raina pleads with Kas, “Please, just agree to this one last thing, and I swear I’ll do whatever you say.”

Giving her hand a tender squeeze, Kas laughs, “We both know that’s impossible for you, darlin’.” Gritting his teeth, he relents, looking at the doctor, “Everything you need is at this facility?”

“It functions the same as the hospital, just on a smaller scale.”

“No records can show my name.”

The doctor hastily agrees, wanting to put Raina at ease, needing her calm and still while he continues examining her. He notices how Kas’ body is shivering, and he grabs blankets, tossing them to Kas, “Get out of your wet clothing and wrap these around you. I need to check you for hypothermia as well.”

Kas follows the doctor’s advice, keeping his eyes on Raina and squeezing her hand when her eyes start to close. He calls Erik, telling him to meet them at the hospital outside the morgue and to bring extra clothes.

Staying awake is proving nearly impossible, and Kas keeps Raina talking, asking her to tell him the full plan, terrified that she’ll never open her eyes again if she drifts asleep.