"I think I'm in better shape than you right now," Kas jokes. He turns serious, realizing that this is Chase's first time experiencing something like this, "You alright, man?"

"You were the one shot, and you're asking if I'm okay."

"It's just a scratch."

Chase inspects the wound closer, seeing the depth. "You need st.i.tches."

"Nah," Kas laughs, trying to rea.s.sure his friend, seeing his distress and about ten shades of white.

Chase is quiet for several seconds before he divulges what's really bothering him, "You saw the shot coming, and you put yourself in front of it to push me out of the way." He looks straight at Kas, his eyes dark, "You could've been killed."

"You're like a brother to me, I'm not going to let you die, not if I can help it." He decides to change the subject, not used to Chase being the one losing it. "At least we now know that we definitely have the correct Evan Parker. Derrick's waiting for the shooters in interrogation, maybe they'll give us more than the girls on the street."

Raina has just finished translating for Lawson when she spots Kas and Chase stepping out of the elevator, the color draining from her face when she sees the blood on Kas' shirt. She rushes to him, gingerly touching his arm, "Is that a gunshot wound?" Her jade eyes are swimming with worry as her panic heightens, "What happened?"

Kas gives her his best knockout grin, "It's just a scratch, darlin'."

Raina tenses when she inspects the wound closer, "That's no scratch, Pierce. You need to have a doctor look at that."

He nudges Chase, "Already did."

Chase and Raina answer in united exasperation, "Not that kind of doctor."

Chase steps beside Raina, tag teaming his stubborn friend. "I'm with Raina on this. You need to be seen."

"And have it cleaned," Raina exclaims, taking in the filth on his shirt, "it looks like you've been rolling around in oil." Her worried eyes meet his, "Are you, okay?"

He wraps his good arm around her, "I'm fine, sweetheart."

"Now, look, who's using the word you fuss at me so much about," Raina softly admonishes, wrapping her arms around his waist. Once she's sure the rest of him is in one piece, she pulls away, "I'm driving you to the hospital."

"I don't need to go to the hospital," he fusses, closing his mouth when he sees her unrelenting glare. He gives in, knowing this is the only way to ease her mind.

Kas takes a shower when they get home, being careful not to let the water hit the bandage covering his seven st.i.tches too much, or Raina will have his head. He smiles at the concern that brimmed her eyes when the doctor told him he required st.i.tches. He hates to cause her worry, but it was nice to see how much she cares about him, especially when she insisted on making his favorite dinner, spinach and Italian sausage lasagna with peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream.

His dad is sitting at the island in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of coffee when he walks out of the bedroom. "Hey, Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Thankfully, it's not every day that my son gets shot, but I thought I should drop by anyway and see how you are," Cliff states, giving his son a disapproving glare that he didn't call him.

"I wasn't shot, Dad, I was-grazed."

His father's chastising glare remains, and Kas feels like he's five again, getting ready to be lectured by his dad. Cliff carefully removes the bandage, inspecting the doctor's handiwork. "I wouldn't call seven st.i.tches 'grazed'." His eyes meet his son's, worry wrinkling the corners, "You, okay, Kas?"

"Dad, you've been in Afghanistan three times, not to mention everywhere else you've been, and you've seen much worse."

"Yeah, but not on my son."

Raina smiles, her heart warming, seeing how much Kas' father loves him. "Will you stay for dinner?"

Cliff takes a whiff of the delicious aroma coming from the oven, "You couldn't kick me out of here until I had some of your lasagna, honey."

Raina sends the duo out of the kitchen after dinner, finishing the dishes as they walk out back.

"How's she doing?" Cliff asks, concerned about what Kas told him had happened after the misunderstanding when she came back from New Jersey.

"Good, Dad. Really good, actually. This is going to sound crazy, but, in a way, I'm kinda glad it happened. Not the part where she was hurting, but her seeing that I came back to her before I knew the truth broke through to her, letting her know that she is worth something. That's she's worth everything to me." Kas grins happily, "She's finally overcoming the lies her father told her."

"You have a good wife. You are very blessed to have a woman who loves you so much." Cliff grabs his son's shoulders, "And, she's very blessed to have you. I know it hasn't been easy for you watching her having to suffer through everything, but you stood by her. I'm proud of you, son."

Raina walks out onto the deck, calling to them in the yard, "Do you want the peach cobbler now, or later?"

Cliff pats Kas on the back as he quickens his pace towards the house, "And, the girl can cook."

Kas lets out a hearty laugh as he catches up with his dad. Feeling every bit the blessing Raina is to him, thanking G.o.d for her.

The window pane is covered with rain drops, mother nature finally providing some relief to the sweltering heat and the drought advisory. Kas pulls Raina closer to him as they watch a movie. October is only two days away, and Kas' uneasiness about Chris' release from jail being in a couple of weeks darkens his mood, although he's trying not to show it. Pete has gone to bat and has pushed for an ankle monitor for at least the first few months Chris is out of jail and on probation. Much to Kas' relief, the judge granted the request, despite Dr. Ross praising Chris' exemplar progress. Chase went ballistic when he read the report Dr. Ross submitted, calling him very ingenious names, even going as far as asking the doctor himself if he received his doctorate from a cereal box. Kas chuckles at the memory of Chase losing his impeccable calm shrink persona and going off on the shrinking doctor in the middle of the courthouse lobby.

Raina hasn't mentioned Chris, but Kas hasn't expected her to. She has gone on with their normal routines, acting like everything is fine, but Kas can see her stress. "Why don't we ditch the movie and go out to eat?" he asks, needing to provide a distraction for both of them.

"But, you have been waiting for this movie to come out for weeks."

"It will be here when we get back." Kas grabs her hand, "C'mon, I'll take you to the new German restaurant."

Raina smiles and grabs her purse. Kas holds her hand as they race through the rain to get to the jeep. Raina is still smiling, excited about trying German cuisine, and Kas pulls her into his arms, loving how easy it is to please her. He lowers his mouth to hers, delivering a heated, pa.s.sionate kiss.

"What was that for?"

"Just because, darlin'."

The restaurant is crowded, but they manage to get a corner booth. Raina immediately loves the romantic feel of the place with the light from the candles flickering against the slate blue walls and the tables covered in crisp, white table clothes. Kas reaches across the table and grabs her hand, lightly rubbing his thumb across her knuckles when the waitress appears.

Raina notices how the waitress immediately zones in on Kas. Her brow arches as she watches how the gorgeous waitress unabashedly drinks in Kas' toned, masculine frame. Kas feels Raina's hand stiffen in his when he gives his order. He ignores the woman's roaming eyes, biting back a chuckle when Raina watches how her baby blues melt when they gaze at Kas' breathtaking face, his handsome, strong angular features, full lips, and chocolate eyes. When the waitress stumbles over her words and has to tear herself away from Kas to get her order, Raina stiffens again.

"What's wrong?" he asks, finding Raina's obvious struggle with feeling jealous amusing.

Raina's gaze drops, and her cheek's flush a light pink as she raises her shoulder. Refusing to let her simple shrug be an answer, he squeezes her hand. "Huh uh, darlin', spill."

Raina's cheeks flush scarlet, and Kas sees the flash of embarra.s.sment in her eyes as she mumbles, "Nothing. I just didn't like how she looked at you."

"Why?" he barely suppresses his laugh at how his usually gentle, benign wife is having such a hard time admitting that she has fallen prey to the green-eyed monster.

Raina chews on her bottom lip and lowers her head. Kas tucks her auburn shield behind her ear, "I'm waiting, darlin'."

She lets out a rushed breath, "How can you be so freakishly adept at reading people's emotions, except when it comes to gorgeous girls flirting with you?"

"Are you jealous, Mrs. Pierce?"

She pouts, her bottom lip finally freed from her teeth's grazing and sticking out a little, making Kas want to take over where her teeth left off. He can see how it is driving her crazy that she is letting herself be affected by the stinging emotion.

"Why, Mrs. Pierce, you are jealous!"

Raina smacks his arm, "What woman wouldn't be if someone like her flirted with her husband?"

"Someone like her?" Kas asks, feeling a little guilty for torturing his wife, but enjoying himself way too much to stop.

"You know, long legs, killer body, gorgeous face." Raina's eyes shoot to his, widened with bewilderment. "You really didn't pick up on her checking you out?"

Kas can't suppress his laughter any longer, and he decides to give her a break. He shrugs off how she looked at him, not interested in the waitress, or any of the other numerous women who flirt with him. Raina's mouth drops open when she sees that Kas knew all along how the shameless woman was devouring him with her eyes.

"You are in so much trouble," she tells him, laughing at his expression when he looks at her and winks.

"Darlin', you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm in love with only one long legged, gorgeous woman with a killer body."

Kas takes Raina home after dinner and shows her exactly how much in love he is with her and only her.

The team is relentlessly working on tracking down Prizrak. Kas curls his fist when another dead body is found, this time from an overdose. Frustration gnaws at him as he reads the autopsy of the twenty-three-year-old only child who died from an intentional overdose, and Kas shakes his head, the probability of the overdose being what the girl sadly saw as her only means out of the slavery that was killing her too slowly.

Raina knocks on his office door, and Kas quickly closes the file as she walks into the room, a huge smile brightening her lovely face. "I have some very good news for you."

Kas pushes away from his desk, in desperate need of some good news right now.

Raina takes his hands in hers and pulls him towards the elevator. "We found the host of the metal shavings forensics has been a.n.a.lyzing." She turns towards him, determination and excitement making her eyes sparkle a brilliant jade. "There is a direct link to the Evan Parker being monitored and the shavings.

Kas grabs Raina, pulling her into him. "That is excellent news," he praises her, picking up speed to Erik's office. He has managed to keep Raina in the dark about the victims, not wanting to subject her to the sorrow and frustration. He had to be very careful when he asked her and Erik to help determine the metal shavings' origin, not letting her know how they came into their possession.

Kas calls Dexter when he reads the information Raina found, getting the all-clear to finally order Mr. Parker to be brought in for questioning. Kas spins Raina around, "You did good, baby."

He punches Erik on the shoulder, and Erik grunts, grabbing his arm. "She gets the fun spin around, and I get slugged."

"Once we put Prizrak behind bars, I'll spin you around until you're dizzy," he calls to Erik as he heads out the door.

Raina's heart is in her chest as Kas leads her downstairs to get the room ready for the long-awaited interrogation.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.

It's been six long hours since Evan Parker has been brought in, and he is thoroughly enjoying himself frustrating all of them by his refusal to talk. What puzzles Kas even more is his not yet requesting a lawyer. Kas carefully studies him, looking for any clue his body language might give them, but Parker seems to know their intentions and provides nothing, except his occasional arrogant, narcissistic smirk in the two-way mirror. Derrick and Kas both have tried to talk with him, but he just calmly smiled, leaned back in his chair, and stared at them, amus.e.m.e.nt dancing in his green eyes. When Dexter himself took a shot, it appeared to only stroke his ego instead of put him on edge and ready to start talking.

Raina studies Kas from her chair in the corner as he continues to study who she is sure is the Ghost. Frank is in the room with him now, opening the file Parker hasn't touched, and flipping it to the information that got him landed in the spot he seems to be comfortably enjoying at the moment. Raina sees Kas' jaw tighten as Parker casually leans on the table, looking bored as he reads through the file. Evan blinks, then slowly raises his gaze to the mirror, staring as if he can see straight through it. A small smile curves his lips, and Kas would swear he sees admiration gleaming in his eyes.

Evan leans back, his eyes never leaving the mirror as he finally speaks. "I will only speak with the person who found this," he states, pushing the paper with the information Raina located about the shavings across the table.

Kas pushes out of his chair, raking his hands through his hair, agitation apparent on his fatigued face. Dexter glances at his best agent, knowing how exhausting it is doing what Kas does best, putting everything he has into searching every minute movement for some larger meaning. He's been at it for hours, and it's taking a toll on him. "Pierce, grab a cup of coffee."

"I'm good, Dex," Kas replies, rubbing his eyes and taking his seat again.

Dexter stands, "That wasn't a request."

Raina watches Kas' shoulders stiffen before he stands. "Yes, sir."

Dexter lets out a string of expletives at Parker's aloofness before he follows Kas out the door. Derrick watches Parker for a few seconds before heading towards the door himself, ready to try to go another round with him.

Raina walks towards the mirror, staring at the eyes that seem to be staring right back at her. "Wait," she calls to Derrick, her eyes glued to the gaze of the enigmatic predator, "I'll talk with him."

Derrick pauses, knowing Kas is going to kill him for even considering this. Raina turns to him, her eyes imploring his, needing to see if she can do anything to help put the ruthless trafficker behind bars. Images of Claudia, Jaio, Brooke, and all the other girls flash through her mind, and she steps in front of Derrick, raising herself to her full height, "You have to let me try. He's not talking to anyone else."

Derrick lets out a long breath and jerks his head towards the door. "Fine, but you're not going in there without me."

"I don't think this is such a great idea," Jake pipes up, stepping in front of the door.

"I didn't say it was a great idea, but it's our best option at the moment."

Raina reaches around Jake and opens the door. Austin gives a quick nod to Jake, and he heads out the door to find Kas. Raina takes a deep breath to steady her nerves as Derrick opens the door to the room holding the elusive Ghost, relieving Frank. She tries to ignore the warning look in Frank's eyes as she steps into the room he just left. Whispering a quick prayer, she maneuvers her gaze towards Parker, staring directly into the most evil eyes she's ever seen.

Evan stands, and Derrick steps in front of Raina, which causes him to laugh, holding up his hands as he sits back down. Derrick steps to the side and gives Raina a silent warning not to get within an arm's reach.

"Now, now, you can't possibly be the one who is such a genius with computers who managed to put together such a complete file on this Prizrak person you are looking for," Evan states, running his tongue over his lips as he leans forward, his eyes taking their time to greedily roam over her body, his obvious appreciation of what he sees in the wicked smile that spreads across his face.

Raina tries to calm her rapid pulse as she places her hands on the back of the chair across the table from Parker, trying to keep her fingers from trembling. She pulls on her inner strength and her adept ability at hiding her emotions as she returns his stare, her jade eyes unwavering to his piercing gaze.

"What's your name, honey?"

Derrick steps beside her, "Her name's not important for you to know right now."

Evan never tears his eyes away from hers as he replies calmly, "It is if you want me to answer your questions."

Derrick grabs Raina's arm, ready to get her out of there, not liking how his carnivorous glare is plundering her body, but she pulls her arm away. She looks at Parker steadily, willing to play his game if it means it will save innocent women and children from his grasp. "Raina. My name is Raina."

Jake finds Kas walking back towards the interrogation room, and he stops, opening his mouth, then closing it, not exactly sure how to go about telling his boss that his wife is in the same room with the most wanted trafficker in the country.

Kas sees Jake's near panic. "What is it?" he demands.

Stumbling over his words, he tells him that Raina said she wanted to try to get Parker talking.

Kas lets out a loud expletive as he throws his coffee cup in the trash and storms towards interrogation. He bursts through the door to the viewing room and barks at Austin to get Raina out of there now, knowing he isn't currently able to tame his emotions if he went in himself, and he's not about to give Parker anything to use against them. Austin immediately obeys, giving one short knock before opening the door, his eyes landing on Raina's.

"You're needed elsewhere, right now," Austin stammers quickly, taking her arm and pulling her out of the room.

Kas waits impatiently until she steps out of the room before grabbing her arm like a wayward child. His anger is palpable as he walks her to his office, his hand never leaving her arm. "You know to stay away from him, Raina!"

Angry and embarra.s.sed by her humiliating march to her obvious scolding, she wraps her arms defiantly in front of her. "I never said I would stay away. He's made this personal, he wants to play his sick game, and he's made it very clear that he's not talking unless it's to me, so I'll play his game if it means it will lead us to the girls."

"No, you won't!" he yells at her.