Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy (23 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The next week goes by in a blur. Kas has spent long, tiring hours holed up with his and Derrick’s team for the past six days. Dexter’s contacts in Atlantic City have been scouting the trafficker’s playground, one of them infiltrating the ring undercover. That’s Kas’ door inside. They have planned the meet, and everyone on the team knows his position inside and out. The only thing making Kas nervous right now is him not yet meeting the undercover agent he’s supposed to take with him as his ‘girlfriend’, for lack of wanting to use the derogatory term for what she is really going to be acting as. That, and his fear of what Raina is going to think about it. Raina has kept herself busy with Erik and the other geek sheiks, coming up with the best ways to, hopefully, gain access to the computer systems once Kas is on the inside.

They climb into bed, exhausted from the insane hours they have been keeping. Raina is deathly quiet as she lies next to Kas. She knows he’s used to all of this action, the life-threatening madness, but she’s not, and the thought of Kas being so close to monsters like them terrifies her.

Kas rolls over and wraps his arm around her, laying his hand on her stomach, pulling her closer to him, “Don’t worry, baby, everything’s going to be alright. Get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.”

She snuggles closer to him, but it’s a long time before she finally falls into a fitful sleep.

The
alarm
clock
blares after what feels like mere minutes since her eyes closed, and she groans, pulling the pillow over her ears. Kas turns off the alarm and climbs over Raina’s back, tugging at the pillow she is buried under. When she refuses to release her grip, he takes another tactic and trails kisses down her bare arms until she relents and rolls over to grant him better access. Throwing the pillow off the bed, he grabs Raina’s waist, sliding her down the bed until she is directly underneath him. He brushes the hair off of her neck, nibbling on the spot that he knows drives her insane. He inwardly cheers as he hears her intoxicating moans escape her provocative lips. He slowly slides his hand underneath her soft cotton tank top, the warmth of his touch leaving tantalizing tingles in its wake.

Stopping just below the curve of her breast, he caresses the sensitive skin, torturously close to where her breasts ache for him to inch a little higher. He plants a soft kiss just above her belly button and playfully pops her on the outside of her thigh, “Get your cute butt in the shower, we’ve got to leave in fourty-five minutes.” Kas rolls off of her, and she groans. The soft, sensual noise from her pouting mouth leaves the most sensitive part of him throbbing as he heads to the bathroom for his new morning routine, turning the shower faucet all the way to cold, trying to calm his raging hormones.

Raina remains mostly quiet as the rest of the team talks and jokes casually on the ride to New Jersey, like it’s just another day at the office.

“You think we’ll have time to hit some of the casinos?” Frank teases.

“Why, you’ll just come back all busted?” Luis cracks.

She perks up slightly as they drive along the boardwalk, looking at the ocean in person for the first time. Kas grabs her hand and squeezes it reassuringly before putting his hands back on his seat. He’s trying to be professional, a feat that is nearly impossible working with Raina. Turning around, she rewards him with a smile.

“I’m starving,” Austin yells from the back as Jake chimes in, “Are we there yet?”

“Don’t make me turn this van around!” Derrick yells back to them, causing Raina to giggle.

The motel they pull into is just slightly better than the local pusher’s hang-outs, and Raina wants to bleach everything before touching it.

“Nice, huh?” Erik sticks out his tongue and laughs.

They set up and wait on Dexter’s local contact to show.

“I wasn’t kidding about being starved,” Austin grumbles.

“When aren’t you?” Kas retorts, throwing him a pack of chips.

Raina’s stomach fills with butterflies as she hears the knock on the door, the reason they are here feeling, suddenly, very, very real. Kas peeks out the window before opening the door, his hand resting on the Glock attached to his side. They exchange the preset code words that sound like normal chitchat before Kas allows the man to enter.

“I’m Michael, or Jack, for all intent and purposes while you’re here,” the tall, dark blonde throws up his hand.

Introductions are quickly made throughout the dingy motel room. Michael, a.k.a., Jack, spends the next hour filling them in on some of the inside details. “Brittany will be here in a few, and I’ll take you to the meet, then you can check into your hotel.” Michael hands Kas the hotel information before continuing, “You are checked in under Tony Deturro, penthouse suite.”

“You get the five star treatment, and we’re stuck between roachville and a hot, cramped van,” Frank complains lightheartedly as he slaps Kas on the shoulder.

Michael’s cell rings, and Kas doesn’t like the expressions he’s reading, or the words he’s hearing as Michael swears profusely before looking at Raina and uttering a quick apology for his language.

Kas looks at Michael expectantly, “I take it something’s not going as planned?”

Michael rubs his hand across his forehead, “Brittany just called and is currently puking her guts out with a virus!” Another colorful expletive leaves his mouth at the bad timing.

“The meet is in a half-hour, do you have another agent you can pull in?” Kas questions, keeping calm on the outside, which isn’t exactly matching how he’s feeling on the inside right now.

“Not any that can be here and ready in that amount of time, and you only get one shot with these people,” Michael groans with unrepressed agitation.

Raina stands up, not exactly looking forward to doing what she is getting ready to offer. She takes a deep breath, not willing to let the traffickers slip through their fingers over some stomach bug, “I’ll do it.”

Kas spins around and glares at her, “The hell you will!”

She ignores his warning tone and steps up to him, jutting her chin out, “What other option do you have?”

Kas shakes his head adamantly, “No way, not happening, you’re not trained for this, Raina.”

Derrick pipes up from his reclined position on the bed, “Her role doesn’t take much training, Pierce. All she has to do is hang on your arm, looking all pretty, and do everything you tell her.”

Kas shoots Derrick a look as sharp as daggers.

“I can do it, Kas,” Raina pushes.

“This role calls for a docile and submissive girl, no offense, darlin’, but those are two things you just don’t have in abundance.”

“I can play the part,” she insists, her face set in sheer determination, “we can’t just walk away and leave those girls with them.”

Kas groans, raking his hand roughly through his hair, knowing she’s right but wishing there was another way to do this without having to get Raina anywhere near the traffickers. He firmly grabs her arm and pulls her to the side. “You have to obey everything I say, the second I say it. Just because we’re going to be tucked away in some private room in a nice restaurant, it’s not going to be anything like going out on some date. You will probably hear things that will make you sick and furious, but you have to keep your mouth shut and your expression neutral. I’m not going to be the nice guy I usually am with you, in fact, in all probability, I will be a huge ass.”

Raina nods her head in agreement.

Kas takes her chin in his hand, locking his gaze with hers, “Do not defy me, Raina, not with this.”

She keeps her gaze just as steady and serious as his. “I would never do anything to jeopardize the team, or those girls,” her words resonate truth with her promise.

Michael claps his hands, “Alright, all settled then. I’ll go get your outfit, you’re close to Brittany’s size.”

A few minutes later, Raina opens the bathroom door and tries not to blush at the silence that suddenly feels the room. She looks at Kas and his jaw that has literally dropped open. She’s surprised at how much that pleases her, seeing him standing there, gawking at her, his eyes roving over the length of her barely covered body. She tugs at the bottom of the skin tight dress, the hem barley covering her delicate areas, “I feel so objectified.”

“Darlin’, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Kas warns, while his eyes enjoy the view of her tight body, every feminine curve defined, leaving very little to the imagination. Kas can’t tear his gaze from her, and his body reacts as he thinks of how she looks amazing, so freaking hot in that dress.

Austin breaks the silence while the other men in the room are doing their best not to stare at their boss’ girlfriend. He lets out a loud whistle in appreciation of the amount of skin showing as Raina leans down to adjust her shoe, not used to walking in three-inch high heels. Austin grunts as Kas punches him hard on the arm. Michael laughs, already growing fond of the rowdy bunch.

Erik pulls his eyes away from Raina, not wanting to be on the other end of Kas’ fist, too. He hands her the tiny bug, “If you get a chance, plant this on him, it’s designed to cling to clothing very well.”

Raina attaches it under the hem of her dress, so she can access it quickly when needed.

Derrick hands her a pair of earrings, “There’s a transmitter inside, it’s virtually undetectable. We’ll be able to hear everything you do.”

She takes the earrings and slips them on as Derrick continues, “Don’t try to plant the bug unless you’re clean.”

Raina nods and grabs her purse before mustering up all the bravado she can manage as she says, “Okay, let’s do this!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kas says with a mixture of lust, pride, and worry as he follows her to the door. He smiles at the impressing show of her unusual audacity and lets out a slow breath as he glances, well, more like stares, at her curved backside swaying seductively in the clingy dress as they walk out the door.

“Pierce is one lucky son of a gun,” Frank grumbles jealously as he takes a moment to enjoy the view of Raina’s rear walking away, thoroughly enjoying how he can see every curve in that itsy bitsy, sexy black dress.

Kas and Michael brief Raina of the do’s and don’ts of how she is supposed to act on the ride to the ritzy hotel. She tries to listen and absorb all of their instructions as she reminds herself to breathe, a task made even more difficult in the tightness of the dress. They arrive much quicker than Raina desires, and she takes a steadying breath as her door is opened by a valet attendant. She politely takes his hand as he helps her out, trying to ignore his lusty eyes roaming over her outfit.

Raina glances at the breathtaking hotel as they walk through the lush courtyard lit with sparkling lights twinkling brightly inside bronze star-shaped ornaments hanging elegantly throughout the flower-filled patio. If they were here under any other circumstance, she would describe the atmosphere as a fairytale romance, with the candles flickering in the small multicolored glass jars that are in the middle of each of the wrought iron tables circled by chairs covered with silky jewel toned cushions.

The inside is just as elegantly romantic as the patio, with the soft, twinkling lights and the calming gurgling of the fountain in the middle of the terra cotta tiled dining room. Michael nods and waves at a man dressed in a designer suit waiting for them at the bar.

“Jack, good to see you again,” a slender, tan, dark-haired man says while shaking Michael’s hand.

Kas notes the Romanian accent as the trafficker greets Michael. Michael slaps the man on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. “This is Tony,” he introduces Kas, “the gentleman I’ve been telling you about.”

The Romanian gives Kas a cursory once over before smiling. “I’m Victor,” he introduces himself, firmly shaking Kas’ outstretched hand, “I’ve been reading up on you. I have to admit, I’m impressed with what I’ve learned so far.”

Kas nods his head confidently as he slips his arm around Raina’s waist, purposely not formally introducing her.

Victor roams his dark eyes over Raina’s body appreciatively and nods his head towards her, silently asking if she will be on the market.

Kas gives him a smug smile, “She’s strictly my toy.” He leans in and lowers his voice coyly as he winks cockily, “And, I don’t share well with others.”

Victor shakes his head in disappointment, “Too bad, she’d bring in a pretty penny.”

The maitre d’ joins them, and Michael says his goodbyes, completing his task for the night as the maitre d’ leads them to the elegant private dining room in the back. A waiter in a sharp white tux takes their preliminary drink orders and closes the door behind him as he leaves, giving the businessman their privacy.

Kas stands aside as he arrogantly nods for Raina to slide into the booth before he takes his seat. She avoids eye contact, as she has been told to do, and tries to glance around the room, wondering how she is going to plant the bug when she is so far away from Victor. Kas leans closer to the table, calmly folding his hands, casually resting them on the tabletop, like he’s there with an old friend, impressing Raina with his ability to act out the role so adeptly.