The next few days drag by for Raina as she becomes increasingly frustrated with the encoded pattern. It has never taken her this long to decode anything before. She knows there is vital information on there, there has to be with it being so hard to crack, and she's scared of what might happen if they can't get to it. Erik is working on all the other equipment brought in as Raina concentrates on her seemingly impossible task.

Erik checks his watch, seeing that it's almost 3:30 p.m., knowing Raina hasn't taken a break since she arrived at 7:30 a.m. "Your food is beyond cold over there, Rain."

"I'm not hungry," she mumbles absently, her full concentration on the flashing screen in front of her.

Erik's about to intervene when Kas walks through the door. He takes one look at the untouched food on the table and at Erik, and he grinds his teeth. Erik knows the intervention is about to be thrust full force.

"Raina!"

She spins around at the anger in Kas' tone.

"I need a minute with you, please," he states, his glare telling her that he isn't asking.

Raina stands, glancing at Erik before following Kas to his office. She can tell this isn't going to be pleasant as she walks behind him. She chews on her lip as he closes the door. When he turns around, his eyes are molten chocolate.

"You said you don't want me to treat you with kid gloves, well, the gloves are definitely off, Raina. You are pushing yourself too hard again, and I'm not going to stand around and let you do it anymore."

"I'm making some progress," Raina pipes in, hoping that news will lessen the severity of the lecture she's sure he has only started.

"At what expense? You're exhausted, you are barely eating. We've been over all of this before, you have to find a balance, Raina."

"What if there's information on there about girls that are being held somewhere right now?" some anger of her own flaring, mixing with the pained concern lacing her every word.

Kas softens his tone, "If you push yourself beyond your limits, then you will be of no help to any of them, sweetheart." He pulls her into him, wrapping his arms around her. "With your cla.s.ses in the mornings, coming here to work at least a full shift, then going home and studying, and coming here on the weekend, I don't know how you can even think, much less function."

"Maybe I should put my courses on the back burner for a while." Raina can tell that was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left her mouth, and she is met by the fiery blaze in Kas' eyes.

"There's no way you are quitting college! You are three months away from earning your doctorate. What the h.e.l.l are you thinking?" Kas yells at her, not believing what she is suggesting.

"I didn't say quit, I said take a break!" her anger quickly becoming a flaming ball of kerosene.

"You're not taking a break either, Raina. Not from college anyway. I agree you need a break, but it's going to be from here." Kas informs her, his temper flaring. "You have worked too hard for your doctorate to let it go now."

Raina stares at him incredulously, "You are not seriously thinking about making me stop working here again are you?"

"Do I have to make you? Or, are you going to be more responsible and take better care of yourself this time?"

Raina knows that Kas is her superior, he can back up his threat if he wants, he has before, she just really hopes he won't this time. "I thought I was being responsible," she states, barely audible.

Kas' anger starts to dissipate, "You are very responsible, with everything else but yourself." He rakes his hand agitatedly through his hair, "Rain, I love you. Seeing you continually push yourself until you are exhausted hurts me too, not just you. I'm not trying to be a jerk, darlin', I'm just trying to get you to find a healthy median."

Raina's eyes search his, guilt consuming her that she is putting him in this kind of position again. She knows he doesn't like ordering her around, and she doesn't know why she pushes until he feels it's necessary. "You're right," she turns, staring out the window, "I'm sorry. I will adjust my schedule accordingly."

Kas slips his arm around her waist, turning her back around. He stares into her eyes, the burning jade embers cooling as he rubs his thumb across her cheek, the bruises almost completely gone, but the emotional damage still lingering. He knows why she pushes herself, it's what saved her. But that was then, and this is now, he's determined to prove to her the difference.

Steve Sutton waits at the table, hoping his son doesn't ask about Raina today, knowing he will, he always does. He contemplates not telling him the news of the little s.l.u.t marrying the FBI agent. Chris smiles as he sees his father waiting on him, looking forward to their weekly conversation, his only reprieve in this miserable place.

"Hey, son, how you holding up?" Mr. Sutton asks warmly, giving him a quick hug before sitting back down, not wanting the guards to get their shorts in a wad.

"I'm alright, Dad. Have you heard any more about Raina?"

Mr. Sutton worries about his son, how his attachment to that girl is growing increasingly alarming every time he visits. "Your mom made you brownies," he states, sliding the thoroughly investigated container across the table, trying to distract him.

Chris barely looks at the brownies as his gaze continues to question his father.

Mr. Sutton sighs, "She's married, son." He hopes that the news will at least start to minimize his son's affections for her.

Chris stares blankly at his father for several seconds. Mr. Sutton starts to reach for him, alarmed, but Chris pulls back, grabbing the container of brownies his mother baked him, violently throwing them against the wall. Mr. Sutton sits back in his chair, shocked by the sudden outburst as the guards quickly approach. Chris stands up abruptly, knocking his chair over backwards as he grabs the chair next to him, throwing it across the room. Mr. Sutton watches helplessly as the guards restrain his son. The wild look in Chris' eyes unnerves Mr. Sutton to the core as they forcefully drag him out of the room.

Raina cuts off the offensive alarm, stretching before climbing on top of Kas, laying her head on his chest, her auburn hair spilling around him.

Kas threads his hand through her soft waves, "Good morning, darlin'," his voice s.e.xy and gruff from sleep. He rubs his hand down her bare back, "I hate fighting with you, but I really, really love the make-up s.e.x."

Raina giggles, "Me, too."

"Shower with me," Kas whispers into her ear, moving his mouth down her neck, trailing kisses in all the places he knows drives her wild.

A moan escapes her lips, and Kas grabs her, quickly rolling her over so he's on top, causing more beautiful giggles to escape her tempting lips. "You are so beautiful."

Raina's cheeks flush, and Kas kisses the scarlet blush before exploring for other flushed areas on her delectable body. He runs his hands softly down her ribs, causing her to rise closer to him. Kissing her just above her navel, his pride and manhood swell at her pleasing gasp. He slips his hand under the small of her back, pulling her closer to him as he runs his knuckles gently across her cheek. Another pleasure-filled gasp fills the heated air as they become one again.

Raina rinses her hair, leaning against the length of Kas, grinning as she feels what she is doing to him.

"You are going to make us late if you keep this up," he tells her, his words dripping with desire.

"What do you want for your birthday?"

He wraps his arms around her waist, the hot water making her skin slick and warm to the touch, "You."

She laughs, "You already have me, for better or for worse, remember?"

"I want to spend this weekend at the cabin with you. Nothing else, no one else, just you."

Raina turns around, pressing her lips against his with abandon.

"We are definitely going to be late," Kas informs her, pressing her hot, wet body against the shower wall.

Kas calls Derrick as soon as he hangs up from airport security, "Nikitin is clearing customs as we speak. Frank and Russo are on the way to apprehend him and bring him in. I'll have him in the first interrogation room."

He grabs his files, pulling out the information Raina and Erik recovered, shaking his head at how they could have recovered anything from the well-baked machine. He mentally prepares his questions, waiting on his men to arrive.

He sends Raina a quick message, letting her know their lunch date is cancelled, being sure to remind her to go ahead and eat, chuckling when he uses shouty capitals on the word 'eat', knowing he will hear about that later, happy that her tenacity is returning from a brief hiatus after what her father did to her. He heads into the adjoining room to interrogation, setting everything up as Frank and Russo arrive with Nikitin.

Watching the detestable man, he studies him carefully as he's left alone briefly. Frank and Russo enter the room, waiting with Kas as he continues to study Nikitin as Jake enters the interrogation room, asking preplanned questions so Kas can come up with a baseline of his reactions to stress. Once he's satisfied he has a handle on Nikitin, he grabs the file and two coffees, walking casually in the room, placing one of the coffees in front of the shaken trafficker, "It's cold out there, not much better in here either."

Kas gives the trafficker a friendly smile, easing his stress a little. He knows that everyone has their own beliefs on interrogation, but he prefers the non-coercive type, knowing that hard-handed tactics don't work, he would never use them, even if it were legal. He knows that type of demanding interrogation will either make the suspect confess to anything to make it stop, or completely shut down, getting nothing out of him. Despite the rage he feels towards the men who have caused Raina pain, and the way the traffickers enslave women and children, he's not a violent man by nature. He takes comfort in the fact that he's not like the traffickers, he doesn't enjoy watching someone suffer and isn't apathetic to humankind.

He nudges the untouched coffee towards the leery handler before calmly placing all of the evidence in front of him, carefully explaining every piece of incriminating information they have against him. He then sits back, watching as Nikitin digests it all. When he starts showing signs of acute stress, Kas leans towards him in a sympathetic gesture, "You have options here," he begins, giving him a reason to want to talk and not immediately lawyer up. "The e-mails mention Prizrak. We know he runs this operation, he's the man we are after. If you cooperate, we can cut you a deal."

Kas keeps his tone slow and steady, watching every minute movement Nikitin makes, studying his body language. "If you give us all you know about Prizrak, I will make sure they take the death penalty off the table."

The trafficker's stress level sky rockets at the implication of the possibility of lethal injection. Kas lets him sweat a few seconds before pushing the pictures of Beacher's burnt body and the recovered e-mail proving his death threat against Beacher closer to him. "What is right in front of you is enough to prosecute, requesting the death penalty. I'm sure your DNA is all over Beacher's place, one simple swab will back that up," his voice remains calm, even, resonating. "If you help us out, telling us all you know about Prizrak, the lead man who is ordering hits like this, the man responsible for the groups of traffickers, then we'll help you out."

Within thirteen minutes, Kas has elicited every last bit of information regarding the Ghost that Gavril Nikitin possesses, which isn't much. Russo relays the slim information as Kas begins working on getting the trafficker to tell him where to find the group of girls he's sure Nikitin has smuggled into the U.S. before they are rented out and sold to the highest bidders.

Kas momentarily rethinks pounding the man when Nikitin gives him an address, telling him the girls are there now, a number of men currently paying for their services. He steps out of the room, Jake and Frank are already calling the rest of his and Derrick's team, informing them they are raiding the warehouse tonight.

The men meet very briefly, grabbing their gear before heading out the door. Both Kas and Derrick hate taking their teams in blindly, knowing how dangerous that is, but they can't risk the girls well-being by waiting. Raina bursts out of the elevator as they are heading towards the door. She is breathless as she hands Kas the decrypted pattern. She takes in the men, their tense faces, gear in hand, and she realizes what's going on. Backing out of their way, she calls to Kas, asking him to read the information on the way, worried that it may be too late for the girls at the location she just recovered, praying it's not too late for any of them.

Raina is waiting in Kas' office when he finally returns. She sees the stress radiating off of him, and she wraps her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest, wishing she could absorb some of his affliction herself, relieving him somehow. Kas pulls her tightly into his arms, leaning his head against hers, inhaling her sweetness, needing her redeeming innocence.

It's a long moment before he speaks. "I called Dexter on what you found, you did good, Rain, real good." He feels her tense in his arms, and he knows she's worried. "Lawson had already taken the information you gave him to Dexter. Both Lawson's and Grant's teams are there now."

"Any news, yet?"

Kas shakes his head regretfully.

"What about the girls Gavril told you about?"

Kas bites back his bitter fury at the scene they discovered when they arrived. The warehouse was sectioned off by filthy sheets and blankets, creating makeshift rooms for the debased men who paid to rent human bodies. He is disgusted at the atrocities they found them doing to the crying, terrified girls. He flexes his fist, sore from the crushing blow he landed against the jaw of the man who he found beating a fifteen-year-old girl because she dared to tell him no. Kas can't taint Raina's mind with the sickening depravity, especially not when she is still recovering from her own nightmare, "We got them."

The teams debrief with Dexter, and Kas is getting ready to take Raina home when Lawson walks in. The look shared between he and Kas is deflating, and Kas sees the reason behind the turmoil in Lawson's eyes when his and Grant's teams lead the group of girls to the meeting rooms. Several in the group are pre-adolescent, and Kas feels Raina's hand angrily trembling in his. She jumps when a blood-curdling scream splits the air as one of the young girls stumbles, and Scott, an agent on Lawson's team, grabs her arm to keep her from falling.

Raina runs to the girl as she continues to scream, heartbreakingly flailing against the man trying to help her. Scott immediately releases her and backs away, realizing he is traumatizing her by being there. Raina reaches the girl and begins to talk with her soothingly, a.s.suring her that no one there will hurt her. The young raven-haired girl looks stricken, completely terrified, and Raina closes their distance slowly, all the while soothing her. When she's close enough to touch her, she shows the girl her hand, silently asking permission to help her. Raina forces herself to keep it together when the girl leans into her, sobbing. Raina holds her, whispering soothing words as Kas witnesses the heartbreaking scene. His love for Raina, her heart, sears through him as he watches his wife hold the weeping child in her arms, rocking her softly back and forth, all the while continuing to soothe her with comforting words.

Raina walks into the meeting room with the girl, continuing to hold her hand even long after the social worker arrives. She stays with her while she discloses the depravation of her time with one of Prizrak's trafficking groups. The thirteen-year-old girl finally gives them her name, Brooke, before breaking down in heart wrenching sobs again. Brooke doesn't want to tell them who her parents are, terrified they will hate her for what has been done to her. Tears run down her cheeks as she confesses that she disobeyed her parents and snuck out to see a boy she wasn't allowed to see. Her words are barely comprehensible when she says that the older boy she had a crush on took her to a motel, did awful things to her, then sold her to countless men before she ended up in the Ghost's large ring.

Raina holds Brooke, a.s.suring her that she didn't deserve what happened to her, she repeatedly tells her that what happened to her is not her fault. Raina stays with Brooke when Chase arrives. Her eyes search Chase's, begging him to help her, extremely thankful he is the one talking with Brooke, knowing he will put everything he has into helping her heal.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

It's early morning when Kas and Raina make it home. Kas worriedly watches as Raina undresses, grabs a towel, quickly telling him she is going to take a shower. It's killing him seeing her hurting like this. She barely spoke on the way home, her silence screaming her despair at what she saw and heard earlier. He drops onto the bed, troubled, as he waits on Raina.

After a few minutes, he can't take it any longer, and he steps into the bathroom to check on her. When he hears her crying, he throws open the shower curtain, wrapping her protectively in his arms as the tears flow. The hot water continues to shower them, soaking Kas' clothing as he holds Raina close to him, tenderly stroking her wet hair as she releases the anguish of the night in the warmth of his embrace, needing his sheltering strength desperately right now.

Kas says nothing, just continues to hold her until the water starts to turn cold. He grabs her towel and wraps it around her, picking her up in his arms, not putting her down when she tries to a.s.sure him that she's fine, that she can walk. He carries her to the bed, holding her on his lap as he tells her how much he loves her.

"You're going to get sick," she sniffles, pulling the wet shirt off of him. Blinking back tears, she stares into his eyes, suddenly having an overwhelming need for him to make love to her, to erase the pervasion from her mind. She needs to feel the beauty, the purity of love shared willingly between two people so she can momentarily push away the degradation of how some take it forcefully.

Kas senses her need, lowering her gently onto the bed. His eyes never leave hers as he slowly, sweetly, makes love to her.

Raina awakens with the name, Evan Parker, weighing heavily on her mind. She snuggles closer to Kas, relishing the warmth of his body next to hers as she wonders if that is truly Prizrak's real name. She had lost her breath when she read the name yesterday, finally decoding the infuriating pattern of encrypted words. The name isn't of Russian origin, it's American. They had no proof, or even evidence, that Prizrak is Russian, other than it being the Russian word for ghost, they just a.s.sumed. Raina thinks of how clever the Ghost is, and shame seeps through her at how easily she was thrown off track.

Erik had immediately began working on searching Evan Parker in the database and everything else he could think of to search for anything that would link the name to the powerful, wide spread trafficking ring. No commonalities have emerged yet. There was mention of a new sub group in the rest of what she deciphered, but not all of the data could be recovered from the badly damaged hard drive. She is grateful that it wasn't so damaged that it kept her from discovering the place where the girls were being held.

"Hey, baby." Kas rolls over, looking at her, worry lingering in his eyes.

Raina smiles at him, thoughts of earlier replaying in her head, loving him even more for his gentleness with her when she needed it the most. Thoughts of Brooke seize her, and she prays for healing for the traumatized child, for all of them.

They take a quick shower, stopping at one of the local bakeries for ham and cheese croissants to eat on the way. It's 9:30 a.m. when they arrive, and Raina takes a long sip of her favorite beverage, shaken iced green tea, as she waits for the elevator doors to open, anxious to check on how Brooke and the other girls are doing.

Relieved to see Chase talking with Lawson, she gives him a quick hug, thanking him for how he handled the delicate state of Brooke, before turning to Lawson, asking how the child is doing. Chase notices Raina's relief when Lawson tells her Brooke was reunited with her parents, but he also sees signs of apprehension. He knows Raina is worried about what Brooke had said about being afraid her parents are going to be angry with her for sneaking out. With Raina's past, she doesn't have the healthy rea.s.surance that her parents aren't going to care one bit about her disobedience right now, they are just beside themselves to have her home.

Chase's jaw tightens when he recalls how Raina's father had blamed her after Brian raped her, telling her that it was her fault and calling her a wh.o.r.e. He quickly a.s.sures her that the reunion was an extremely happy one. Lawson b.u.mps Raina's arm in a big brotherly manner, and Chase shoots her a quizzical glance, knowing that it is totally out of character for the gruff agent. Raina returns his gaze with a tilted smile, the look in her eyes telling him not to even ask.

Erik is diligently reading data on several thousands of Evan Parkers when she steps into his office. "How's it going?"

He grunts his unhappy response.

Raina laughs, "I'll help." She plops into a seat next to him, beginning the tedious work.

Five hours later, they are nowhere closer to finding any kind of remote link of an Evan Parker to any form of human trafficking, and they are both desperately needing a break from the mind-numbing data continually flashing in front of them.

Raina stands, stretching, with her mind on Brooke and Claudia. She grabs her phone, dialing Claudia's number, wanting to check in on her. Each call finds Claudia doing a little better, her tone being a little happier. Raina smiles as she promises to visit her again soon. Her stomach growls, and she spins Erik's chair around, trying not to laugh at his harried expression. "I'm taking you out for lunch before you go all mental on me here."

Raina shuts the computer down, realizing that this task is going to be very time consuming with only a name to go by. Evan could be anywhere, the ring spans several states, and countries. They are concentrating on the areas around Washington D.C. first, deciding that's as good a place as any to begin. She texts Kas, letting him know she is on her way down to his office. The beautiful city lights sparkle against the black night sky outside, and she walks towards the window, wondering how many women and children are out there right now, their bodies being bought and sold, their souls dying a little more each time.

Kas wraps his arms around her, pulling her back against him, "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"Nothing," she lies.

"Feel like a movie?" he asks, wanting to take her mind away from her troubling thoughts.

Raina readily agrees, needing something to distract her.

Friday evening couldn't have arrived any sooner for Raina's liking. She is excited about having Kas all to herself for the entire weekend. She packs his gift in her weekender bag, throwing in warm PJ's, then immediately takes them out. A smile spreads across her face at the knowledge that she isn't going to be using them this weekend. Kas knocks his boots off before coming in the door, his head and shoulder's dusted with snow.

"You Ready? It's really starting to come down out there."

Raina jumps into his arms, kissing him pa.s.sionately before heading towards the warm jeep. "C'mon already," she calls over her shoulder, laughing when he rolls his eyes, knowing good and well she was the one holding them up.

Excitement soars through her as they pull into the drive of her cabin, our cabin, she reminds herself, grinning. The cabin is beautiful, in the middle of the large snow covered field. The welcoming, serene woods provide a magical winter wonderland back drop with the branches of the trees gloved in glistening snow and ice. Kas fills his arms with groceries and their bag as Raina grabs a couple of grocery bags and quickly unlocks the door. Her skin practically tingles when she floods the room with light, her eyes resting on the large fireplace. Her mind plays delicious, wanton thoughts of what they are going to do in front of the warmth of the fire.

She starts unloading the groceries as Kas gets the fire started. The cabin has central heat and air, but they both prefer the look and feel of the flickering flames. She makes homemade pizza, being sure to add extra cheese and artichokes before plopping it in the oven. Kas slips his arms around her as she is drying her hands, "I have an idea of how to pa.s.s the time until the pizza is done."

Raina giggles as he picks her up, tossing her on the couch before covering her mouth with his.

The snow has stopped falling, leaving behind a thick blanket of shimmering white in the rays of the morning sun. Raina snuggles against Kas. She runs her fingers across his chest, "Happy birthday."

He slips her fingers in his, bringing her hand to his lips, brushing a soft kiss against her knuckles, "Thank you, darlin'."

Reluctantly, they slip out of bed, ravenous after the previous night's exertion. Raina gazes at the beautiful scenery through the large kitchen windows as they eat breakfast. Kas watches as she looks longingly at the woods, realizing just how much she misses them, "Want to go for a walk?"