The evening flies by, everyone laughs as they play games, share stories, and listen to Austin's jokes. Jake walks up behind Raina in the kitchen, "Dinner was delicious," he compliments her, grabbing a handful of beers out of the fridge, pa.s.sing one to Erik and Frank, asking if Erik's girlfriend, Susanna, wants one, and telling Russo to get his own when he tries to take his.

Raina thanks him and hands him a homemade brownie. Jake takes a bite, "I may never leave," he jokes, taking a swig of his drink before devouring the rest of the brownie.

Kas leans next to the fireplace, slowly nursing a beer as he watches Raina talking and laughing with everyone, not seeming nervous in the least about a room full of men with drinks in their hands, a stark difference to the first time he saw the fear spark in her eyes when Chase brought out a couple of beers when she first started staying with him. He is relieved that she doesn't harbor the same fear now. He knows that she trusts every man in this room, realizing they would never harm her. Kas would never have agreed to continue the tradition at his home if he felt Raina would feel uncomfortable. He also finds comfort in the fact that every man on his team knows when to stop, not over indulging, or getting out of line.

Kas pulls her into his arms as the countdown to the New Year begins, his lips find hers at the stroke of midnight. Raina suddenly wishes everyone was gone so she could do so much more with her irresistible husband. She softly groans, knowing they won't have any privacy until much later, not with everyone crashing there. Kas bites back a laugh as he sees the smoldering look in her needy eyes, "I can sneak you out back to the tool shed for some privacy."

Raina seriously considers his offer, and he can no longer hold back his laughter, "Do you have any idea how much I love you, woman?"

"Woman?" Raina teases, raising her eyebrow.

"I mean that in the most complimentary of ways."

"You better," she playfully smacks his arm before kissing him again, not able to get the dang tool shed out of her mind.

Raina makes sure everyone has everything they need before joining Kas in their bedroom. She thinks back to the peculiar behavior between Kas and Seth as she brushes her teeth. Slipping into bed, she leans back against the headboard, "What was going on between you and Seth earlier?"

Kas knew the question was coming, and he sits up, knowing she is going to be angry with him when he tells her about his reaction to Seth telling him he had told her father where she was. "The last time I saw Seth, I got a little rough with him."

"What do you mean by 'rough'," she asks tentatively.

"I shook him around a little when I found out he led your father to you."

"That wasn't his fault, Kas," the dismay apparent in her tone, "you didn't hurt him did you?"

"No, of course I didn't hurt him. I feel bad about my reaction, and I told him that tonight, apologizing for what I did."

Raina studies him for a few seconds, not being able to stay mad at him, especially when he is man enough to admit when he's wrong and try to make it right. She leans down, kissing him pa.s.sionately, taking Kas by surprise. He slips his hand underneath her gown, slowly sliding it off of her creamy, ivory skin. Her long, soft auburn strands billow onto the pillow as he wraps his hand around the back of her head, lowering her down. His mouth finds hers again as his fingers leave a heated wake behind his exploring touch. They continue to bring in the New Year, quietly making love.

Chris lies in bed staring at the bottom of the bunk above him, his thoughts on Raina. His rage seeps quietly through his veins as he thinks of how Pierce ruined everything, pondering at how he must have poisoned Raina's mind with lies about him. He thinks back to the last time he was with Raina, and he feels bad that he lost his temper, getting rough with her, smacking her around a little. He thinks of how he hadn't wanted to hurt her, but she just pushed him to do it when she tried to leave him. If she would have just listened to him, everything would've been fine, he wouldn't have had to hurt her. He closes his eyes as he thinks of Raina, knowing she will be his again when he gets out of this h.e.l.l-hole. He just needs to get her away from Pierce long enough for her to remember that she loves him, not that brainwashing imbecile.

He counts down the months, days, hours, until he is free, convinced that it won't take too much reminding from him for Raina to completely put Pierce out of her memory. Colorado pops in his head, and he imagines taking Raina there, starting their lives over in a beautiful, quiet place like Estes Park. He will remind her of how kind he really is when she doesn't provoke him. Drifting to sleep, he dreams of holding Raina, finally making love to her.

CHAPTER TEN.

Kas exits the large doors of the Boston Logan International Airport. The bitter cold and blowing snow is barely noticed as he hails a cab, doing his best to quench the nagging feeling of deception tugging at him relentlessly. Honesty is a huge deal with him, and he is struggling with by pa.s.sing his beliefs in this instance, lying to Raina about needing to go into work today instead of telling her the truth.

He glances at his watch, thinking of the engraving Raina had put on the back. She is his life, and there is no way he will allow Waterford to get by with hurting her. He's going to make it perfectly clear that he is to never lay a hand on Raina again. Leaning against the headrest, their argument last night replays in his mind. He had tried to reason with her to press charges against her father this time. He had rationalized, yelled, begged, then, flat-out ordered her to.

He hated the sadness in her eyes when she had refused, her gaze leaving his when she softly shook her head and whispered she was sorry. He had pulled her into his arms, knowing her father has brainwashed her, sickly twisting everything around, making her feel guilty when she owns no blame for what he has done to her. Frustration had bitten straight through him when he thought of how she immediately pressed charges against Chris, but won't against Waterford. He fears her father's threat is a large part of her refusal, and he plans on deflating that threat so Waterford can't hold it over her head any longer. He had called Henry after she fell asleep, only to be discouraged by the angry regret in his words that there isn't much they can do without the physical proof being on her anymore and her refusal to contact the authorities.

Kas had taken pictures of her stomach in Italy while she slept, and he was tempted to press charges himself, but knew the outcome probably wouldn't be to his liking. So, now, he is back to his original plan, going straight to the source, hoping he can maintain enough self-control to not cause lasting damage. He checks the address as the cab pulls to the curb. Quickly, he pays the driver and steps onto the damp sidewalk, his breath leaving puffs of white clouds as he leans against the brick wall at the edge of the alley, scanning everyone's face before they enter the bar.

When Kas sees Waterford exit his vehicle, he takes a deep breath, forcing himself not to maim him. He steps in front of the arrogant man before he reaches the bar entrance, his gaze determined, unnerving, even to a seasoned cut-throat lawyer like Raina's father. His fists coil at his side, his jaw clenching as he almost growls, "I'm Kas Pierce, Raina's husband."

The shocked expression on William Waterford's face doesn't last long, he subconsciously steps back, feeling the raw force behind Kas' current state of barely controlled wrath. "Well, I guess congratulations are in order."

Kas squeezes his fingers tighter into his fist at the veiled sarcasm in his voice. His blazing glare unwaveringly penetrates Waterford's until her father shifts his gaze, looking away. With that bit of male dominance out of the way, he decides to not waste time mincing words as he grabs his jacket, hauling him into the alley, roughly slamming his back against the cold, wet brick wall. "If you ever touch her again, I will take my time ripping you apart, piece by pathetic piece, making sure you have plenty of time to digest the pain and the knowledge of what I'm going to do to you next."

"Do you have any idea who I am?" William spits out, trying to keep the fear out of his voice, "you just threw your career straight into the toilet, son."

"Do you honestly think my career is more important to me than Raina?" Kas asks incredulously, wanting to really damage him, cause significant bodily harm, but he holds back. He's not the same kind of man as Waterford, and if Raina ever found out it would devastate her. He reins in his murderous thoughts enough to only knock the air from his lungs as he punches Waterford in the ribs, being sure to hit him hard enough to leave him good and bruised.

Waterford gasps for breath as Kas tries to control his urge to kick him, knowing he has kicked Raina. The photos of her badly battered body flash in his head, and he makes himself take a step back, the urge to mercilessly beat Waterford becoming dangerously uncontrollable. He stares down at the spineless coward in front of him, fury filling him when he takes in the considerable size of Raina's father. He finds it nearly impossible to walk away as he thinks of how Waterford has repeatedly used his large, firm frame to terrorize and inflict serious pain on his daughter since she was only five years old. The only saving grace for Waterford is the sudden image of Raina's face, her innocence, her love, and her willingness to forgive, burning in his mind, slowly calming the blinding rage.

Kas gives one last look to the malevolent reprobate slumped on his knees before he kneels down, roughly yanking Waterford's hair so he's facing him. "Stay away from my wife!" his voice as lethal as drops of deadly poison.

William leans against the damp bricks after Kas is gone, air finally filling his lungs as he holds his burning ribs. He is outraged by the knowledge that Raina is married. Thoughts of Beth cripple him, and tears run down his face. Hatred sears him from Raina's happiness and the audacity of her husband scoffing at his threat. Let's see which one he decides to choose after I'm done with him.

Raina checks her watch, walking to the window, staring out into the darkness, wondering where Kas is and why he hasn't called. She blows out the candle and wraps the plates in foil before putting them in the fridge. Grabbing Great Expectations, she curls up on the couch, trying not to worry.

Kas quietly slips through the door, his troubled heart easing when he sees Raina asleep on the couch, one of her favorite novels resting peacefully on her chest. He kneels in front of her, gently brushing an auburn lock off her cheek. He kisses her forehead before carefully lifting her into his arms. She softly moans and leans into him, mumbling something about dinner in the fridge as he carries her to the bedroom, laying her on the bed. She rolls over, hugging her pillow, her sleepy eyes slowly coming to life, "I was worried about you."

"I had something come up." The nagging guilt returns.

"Is everything okay?"

The tenderness in her voice pulls at him. "Yeah, darlin', everything's okay."

Lori attacks Raina as soon as she walks through the door, squeezing her and happily squealing as Raina tries to breathe.

"Aunt Lori, please don't break my wife," Kas teases.

Lori pulls away, holding onto to Raina as she gushes, "You made such a gorgeous bride. I saw all of the pictures. You really should've hired a professional photographer with my brother's pitiful photography skills, but they were still beautiful."

Guilt seeps into Raina again, feeling terrible about the rest of Kas' family missing the wedding. "Thank you," she blushes.

Lori grabs her hand, pulling her into the den where Raina sees she has gone all out decorating. Raina hugs the rest of his large family, excited to see that his family from Tennessee is also there. She is overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and acceptance of her officially becoming part of their family.

Lori plops her down on the couch, pushing Kas onto the sofa next to her. "Open your gifts, then we'll eat."

Kas and Raina begin opening the heap of gifts in front of them, and Kas laughs as he opens one of the boxes, handing it to Raina and winking, "This is from Stacey, I think this one is for you, darlin'."

Raina takes the box, blushing when she pulls out a very s.e.xy red negligee.

"Oh, I think that is actually for you, Kas," Todd jokes, his mom slapping his arm as he laughs, causing the scarlet flush on Raina's cheeks to match the naughty nightwear.

Kas decides to relieve his wife of her current misery. "I'm starving, let's eat," he stands up, taking her hand in his, leading her towards the kitchen.

Raina regains her composure, thanking everyone appreciatively, even Stacey, as they all make their way to the large spread of food.

Cliff wraps his arm around Raina's shoulders as she finishes helping with the dishes, "Can I borrow my favorite daughter-in-law for a moment?"

Raina follows Cliff into his bedroom, stopping short when he opens a jewelry box, taking out a beautiful silver ring with tiny emeralds making a delicate leaf pattern around the top, handing it to her. "This was Kas' mother's ring, it's not worth much money-wise, but she loved this ring, it was her grandmother's, and she always said she wanted to pa.s.s it on to her daughter one day, if we had one." Cliff's eyes shine, tearing up as he takes the ring from her palm, slipping it on the index finger of her right hand, "She would be very happy to know that I gave it to you, honey."

Raina doesn't know what to say, part of her feels terrible, not wanting to take away something that evokes such beautiful memories from Cliff, but she would never hurt him by denying his gift. She looks at the ring on her finger and is. .h.i.t fully with the meaning behind it. She throws her arms around her father-in-law, tears streaming down her face, "I don't know what to say."

Cliff wraps his arms around her, pulling her in for a warm fatherly hug, "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Raina steps back, wiping away her tears, "I'm sorry, I can't seem to control them lately," she whispers, embarra.s.sed.

"There's no need for you to control them," Cliff a.s.sures her, remembering Kas' recounting of the horrible details of her childhood. He looks at her and can't fathom how her own father could hurt her so badly. She is such a wonderful young lady, kind, caring, and she loves his son deeply, which makes him love her even more. "C'mon, kiddo, let's get back to the party."

Erik grabs Raina's hand, pulling her from the elevator as soon as the doors open, "I need you to work your magic on a laptop Derrick's team confiscated."

"Good morning to you, too, Erik. Yes, I did have a great weekend, thank you so much for asking," Kas calls out to Erik jokingly as he is completely ignored by Erik hurriedly dragging Raina towards his office.

Raina grimaces when she sees the dilapidated machine, "What happened to it?"

"It got caught in some crossfire. I've gotten as far as I can get with it."

Dexter walks in as Raina studies the hard drive. She smiles at him shyly, still feeling a little uncomfortable with him giving her job back so easily after she had resigned, by e-mail no less. She has never been that irresponsible before, and she had apologized accordingly when Dexter had visited them the day they got back. He didn't look at it the same way she did when he had held up a copy of her e-mail, telling her that there is no way he would have accepted her resignation, not when she's one of them. He then wadded up the paper and threw it straight into the trash. She was immensely relieved, she loves working with all of them, even when the job is heartbreaking at times. Mixed feelings swarm through her at his knowledge of her situation, but she is very grateful that Dexter hasn't told anyone else about her troubled past.

"Can you translate for Lawson in about an hour, he has a young girl he's bringing in who only speaks Mandarin?"

"Sure," she replies, inwardly cringing at the thought of working with Lawson again. The last time didn't end up so pleasantly.

The hour pa.s.ses quickly as she begins recovering data from the battered hard drive, leaving Erik impressed again. She glances at the clock and grimaces. Erik laughs, knowing that Lawson is not an easy agent to work with. "Suck it up, b.u.t.tercup. The quicker you get down there, the quicker you get it over with."

Raina smirks at him and heads downstairs to the first meeting room, knocking on the wooden door. Lawson opens the door wordlessly, and Raina smiles kindly at the scared, Asian girl sitting at the far end of the table. Seeing her tender age, sorrow and rage fill her. She takes a seat next to the child, briefly closing her eyes at the sight of the bruises on her arm.

"Ni hao," Raina greets her gently, then introduces herself before asking the girl's name. Raina spends the next half-hour talking with Jiao, tremendously relieved to find out that this sweet child wasn't subjected to h.e.l.l, at least not the kind of h.e.l.l from someone's unwanted touch. It's clear she is traumatized, and Raina is taking it slow, Lawson being slightly more patient this time. When she hears the child whisper the word "Prizrak," she freezes, slowly asking her to repeat what she just said. Raina's eyes dart to Lawson, who is already on the phone calling Dexter.

A little later, Raina squeezes the child's hand, telling her how brave she is to have run, knowing the atrocious alternative if she hadn't escaped. "Zai jian," Raina waves bye to the girl, who is shyly smiling, lifting Raina's heart. Speaking briefly with the social worker appointed to Jiao on the way out, she can't stop the pounding in her chest. Disappointed that Jiao didn't know any further details about the elusive Ghost, she asks Lawson the progress of the agent's planned raid of the warehouse Jiao described.

"They are going in tonight. We have agents watching the location until then. We will be sure to bring any electronics found to you and the geek sheiks."

Raina nods her head, thanking Lawson before heading back towards Erik to check on the recovery process on the hard drive. She smiles politely at two men, dressed impeccably, almost identically, as they walk past her, towards Dexter's office.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

"What the h.e.l.l do you think you are doing walking into my office with a load of c.r.a.p like this?" Dexter growls, throwing the offensive file angrily on his desk, his expression causing the two agents from Internal Affairs to blanch.

Agent Smathers, the shorter man with the gelled-back hair, steps forward trying to veil his intimidated state at the large, imposing man in front of him who looks like he might actually strike him. "As the file indicates, sir, there has been a report against Agent Pierce alleging he took a bribe to look the other way on more than one occasion."

"You need to be rechecking your sources because Pierce is one of my best agents, he has never and will never accept a bribe," Dexter yells, using a very colorful expletive to describe exactly what he thinks of the report.

"We are looking into all aspects of the allegation, sir, which is why Agent Johnson and I are here." Agent Smathers hesitates before continuing, taking a precautionary step backwards, "Agent Pierce needs to be suspended from all duties until this investigation is concluded."

Dexter storms towards the two men, "You will not just barge into my office and tell me to suspend one of my agents without just cause," he grabs the file, forcefully pushing it against Agent Smather's chest, causing him to stumble backwards, "and this pile of c.r.a.p isn't just cause." Dexter glares at the agents, wanting to physically kick them out of his building, but knowing they legally have to investigate allegations, even if they are a load of lies. "I will pull his gun and his badge, but I will not suspend him. I will place him on desk duty until you can sort your c.r.a.p out, and you better be sorting it quickly!"

Opening his door, he uses his hand to indicate it would be wise for them to leave before he throws them out. The vein on his forehead is furiously pulsating as he grabs the phone. "Pierce, get in here," he barks before slamming down the phone, having a pretty good idea of what might have brought this on.

Kas knocks on Dexter's door before entering at his gruff command. "Yes, sir?

Dexter walks around the front his desk, unb.u.t.toning the cuffs of his shirt and rolling up his sleeves over his toned, but aging, mahogany skin before sitting on the desk's edge. "There have been some allegations made against you, Pierce."

Kas' eyes darken, "What kind of allegations?"

"You've been accused of accepting bribes from an individual."

"I haven't accepted any bribes, Dexter, I would never do something like that," he states firmly, knowing who's behind this.

"I know you wouldn't, Pierce." Dexter stands, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You paid William Waterford a visit didn't you, son?"

Kas nods his affirmation, raking his hands through his hair.

"What the h.e.l.l did you do to him, Pierce?"

"Not anything close to what I wanted to," he admits angrily. "He threatened to ruin my career, that's why Raina wouldn't report him. I punched him, once, in the stomach, and told him to stay away from her, letting him know what I will do to him if he doesn't. I couldn't just let him get away with hurting her, Dex, not again."

Dexter sighs, leaning back against the desk. He had contacted Judge Whitaker after Kas told him about Raina's father. The images showing how savagely her father had beaten her were hard to digest. He understands why Kas did what he did. "Personally, I fully agree with your actions, but men like Waterford thrive on control. He's a powerful man, Pierce, he has the means to back up his threat if he greases the right wheels. I will fight this tooth and nail, you know I will, but I have to take your badge and gun for now."

Kas stares at Dexter incredulously, "You're suspending me?"

"h.e.l.l no, I told them that isn't happening. You will keep working, but in your office, absolutely no field work. You stay glued to paperwork, do what I say, and we will get through this."

Kas knows Dexter has no choice in the matter. Dexter had wanted to bring Waterford down almost as much as he did when he found out he hurt Raina. He removes his gun and badge, handing them over, "Raina doesn't know I saw her father. I don't want her to know he's behind this investigation, Dex."

"She won't hear it from me."

Kas nods his head in appreciation.

"We will clear you from this, Kas," Dexter a.s.sures him, "you are a good agent, a good man, I'll make sure the truth comes out about you."

Raina stands up, stretching her tired muscles. Most of the data from the hard drive was able to be restored, and Derrick's team is currently going over the information found. She and Erik have been working on the computers brought in from the raid at the warehouse Jiao told them about since 8:00 p.m. She briefly saw Kas earlier, but he had told her he was busy, that he was going to work through lunch, but insisted she go out with Erik and the rest of the geek sheiks. She chews on her lip as she thinks of his demeanor when she brought him a sandwich back from the deli. He barely looked at her, mumbling thanks, before rushing her out of his office.

She replays the morning in her head, trying to remember if there's anything she said or did to upset him. She comes up blank, the morning had been good, wonderful actually. A blush spreads across her cheeks as she thinks of what they did that morning, heat burning low in her belly.

"Get your head out of the clouds, or should I say gutter?" Erik teases, noticing the flush on her cheeks.

Her flush deepens. "Sorry," she pulls herself back to the present, sitting in front of the computer again.

Erik chuckles knowingly. "I think we should call it a night. We've been here fourteen hours, and I personally can't see straight anymore."

Raina wants so badly to find more information about Prizrak on these computers, but Erik's right, looking at it freshly in the morning is probably the best idea. She gives him a quick hug as she grabs her jacket, heading towards the door.