Part 17 (1/2)

Raina is looking in the large archives room for a transcript from when she first started with the FBI, wanting to review it again, looking for anything new that could lead to Prizrak when Brent steps behind her. She turns around, her smile fading when she sees his expression.

”How long has Pierce been hurting you?”

”What are you talking about?”

Brent takes a quick step towards her, and she instinctively takes a step away. He looks at her pointedly, ”That is a learned behavior.”

Raina's cheeks flush from embarra.s.sment and anger. ”Well, I didn't learn it from Kas.”

Brent lowers his tone as he takes another step towards her, slower this time, ”You don't have to lie to me, I can help you. I won't let him hurt you anymore.”

Raina's cheeks flush brighter, but only with anger this time, ”Kas doesn't hurt me, Brent!”

He stops talking, but continues to advance towards her, his hands out in front of him, open, showing he means no harm, and she knows that Brent is trying to show he is benign, but the gesture makes her start to laugh, not knowing why she thinks this is so funny. He stops moving and looks at her, the confusion evident in his eyes. Raina continues to laugh, the laughter becoming uncontrollable, almost hysterical. She tries to stop, but that only makes her laugh more. The look in Brent's eyes pushes her absurd giddiness over the edge, and she doubles over from the building laughter as tears stream down her face.

He stares at her, dumbfounded by what to do, or say, next. After what seems like an eternity, she is finally able to curb her emotions, and her laughter sputters to a stop. She wipes the tears away with the back of her hand as she looks at him, half-amused, half-apologetic. ”I'm sorry, I have no idea what came over me.”

Brent gives her an unsteady once over before he decides to slowly advance towards her again, ”Are you alright?”

Raina feels the urge to laugh bubbling inside of her again, but she manages to squelch it this time, ”I'm fine.”

When he is close enough to touch her, he runs his hands down her arms as he fixes his concerned gaze on her confused one, ”I'm not talking about what just happened, Raina. I want to know if you are okay . . . safe?”

Something about the look in Brent's eyes unnerves her, and she steps away from him, breaking his physical connection. She ponders his question for a few seconds, wondering how to respond. There is no way she is willing to allow Brent, or anyone, to harbor doubts about Kas' treatment of her, remembering the pain in his eyes when his father momentarily thought he had left her bruised, so she decides to tell him the truth. ”Yes, I am safe, but I didn't used to be,” she begins, turning back around to face him, ”Kas hasn't hurt me, Brent, he saved me.”

His earlier confusion returns, ”I don't understand.”

”You're right, my earlier reaction to you was learned. I learned it from my father, and then, from my ex-boyfriend. When I met Kas, I was dating Chris. I ended our relations.h.i.+p, if you want to call it that, not long after I started working with Kas. Chris thought that I ended it to be with him. He became enraged and he . . . hurt me. Kas got to me in time to stop Chris from hurting me further.” Raina looks into his eyes, her determination for him to understand burning through her, ”Kas has never hurt me, he loves me.”

Brent's jaw tightens at her words. His anger boils at the thought of someone causing Raina any form of pain, and his heart aches at hearing the love in her voice when she declared Kas' love for her. He knows he shouldn't have feelings for her, shouldn't want her, but he does. It's as simple and as complicated as that. He witnesses the strength behind her feelings for Kas s.h.i.+mmering in her eyes, and it sends him reeling, needing to be the recipient of that love. Before he takes time to think, he grabs her, and pulls her towards him. His mouth covers hers, and he tastes the sweetness of her lips, savoring the heady sensation.

Raina's mind spins violently, her thoughts seem to suspend, being stuck in time, as she tries to wrap her head around what is happening. She feels Brent's kiss, and it feels all wrong. Her senses come rus.h.i.+ng back to her, and she yanks away from his grasp. She stares at him blankly, too many emotions are running through her, preventing her from finding the right words, so she communicates her feelings in another way, slapping him hard across his left cheek. Her fingers sting from the harsh contact, and she backs away, shocked by what she has just done.

He releases her, and takes a step back himself, rubbing his burning cheek as he sees Raina's pained expression. He can tell that there are absolutely no romantic feelings for him inside of her, and it stabs his heart. Guilt consumes him, and he steps towards her again.

Raina holds her hands up, placing a protective barrier between them, ”Leave, Brent.”

He looks at her for a moment, not sure of what to say to correct the damage he has just caused. ”I'm sorry, Raina,” he manages, barely above a whisper, ”I shouldn't have done that.”

The stinging in her fingers tugs at her conscious, she knows that Brent was completely out of line to kiss her, but her reaction startles her. She isn't a violent person, not unless she is pushed to be out of self-preservation. She has never intentionally struck anyone before, not without them striking her, or someone else first. She wants to get as far away from Brent as possible right now. She wants to run into Kas' arms. Panic shoots through her as she thinks of her husband. She knows she should tell him, but she is terrified of what he might say, and even more frightened by what he might do to Brent. She looks at him, her expression trying to solicit the reasoning behind his action. ”Why did you kiss me?”

He lowers his gaze, the full realization of what he has done sinking into him, ”I don't know, Raina.” He runs his hand through his hair roughly, ”These past couple of weeks working with you, I just-I can't get you out of my head. I'm trying very hard not to love you, but I can't help that I do. I'm sorry.”

Raina tries to process his words, feeling completely blindsided at how she didn't see this coming. Her heart aches at the pain in his eyes. She has grown very close to Brent, and cares for him, but her feelings are strictly platonic, ”I'm married, Brent.”

Agitation pierces his eyes, ”You are barely twenty-one, Raina. You are way too young to have made that kind of commitment.”

Anger surges through her, ”I'm old enough to know how I feel, who I love, who I want to spend the rest of my life with! I am in love with Kas, even if he and I weren't married, that wouldn't change how I feel for him.”

The resignation in her eyes is unmistakable, and he knows he has no chance with her. ”You're right. I have no right to judge you, or your decisions.” He turns to go, but stops, roughly hitting the concrete column next to him with the palm of his hand. Brent turns back around, his eyes pleading, ”I know that I don't have a right to ask you this, but please don't tell Pierce what happened, not until after the raid this evening. They need him to have his head on straight, there are too many lives at stake.”

A shot of guilt runs through Raina as she considers his request. She feels like she is betraying Kas if she doesn't immediately tell him, especially after keeping Chris' threat from him this morning, but she knows that he will go ballistic when he finds out, and that could jeopardize the raid. Brent's right, too many lives are at stake. Pus.h.i.+ng the nagging feeling away, she nods her head, ”I will wait until he gets home tonight before telling him.”

Brent nods his head tightly, giving her one last apologetic look before he turns and leaves. Raina stares after him, feeling drained from the day's emotional turmoil, and the dull ache from the loss of a good friend. The guilt from agreeing to not tell Kas until tonight eats at her. She tries to swallow the choking guilt, rationalizing that Kas is already too preoccupied with Chris' earlier call for her to distract his attention any further by divulging what happened. She takes a deep breath and steadies her nerves, doing her best at refusing to allow herself to feel guilty as she walks out the door.

Five minutes earlier Kas' thoughts are dominated by Raina and Chris' chilling threat. He has spent too much time away from her, working relentlessly on planning for the raid while she was helping to dismantle the ring in New Jersey, and he feels contrite that he hasn't been able to be there for her. He smiles as he thinks of last night. Heat floods his veins as his mind replays how they made love, the feel of her searing touch scorching his skin. The intensity of his love for her overwhelms him at times. His need to protect her invades him. He promised himself that he will never allow anyone to hurt her again, he would rather die first. He hated the worried hesitancy in her eyes earlier. He knows he shouldn't lose his cool around her, not with her past, but the thought of Chris still hurting her, even when he's behind bars, is driving him insane.

He checks his watch, and sees that he has time to run down and see her before meeting back up with Derrick. He sprints towards the elevator as more memories from this last night soothe his mind, stirring his southern region to full attention. The way she moved underneath him, the feel of her breath against his neck, how her moans escaped her lips, pleasing him by how he was pleasing her, drives him wild with need for her again. He decides that he will take his time enjoying her again tonight. Her love and her healing touch, is just what he needs to calm him after the raid is over, and he's desperate to rid her mind of Chris.

His smile is still covering his face as he leaves the elevator, walking around the corner to the file room. He stops dead in his tracks, and his smile dies, his heart dying a thousand deaths with it, when he sees Brent grab Raina, pulling her to him, kissing her. The pain tearing through him is unbearable. Conflicting emotions send him reeling between wanting to rip Brent in half, and savage grief from seeing the woman he deeply loves in someone else's arms. Rage quakes violently through him, he wants to tear Brent's hands off of her, but he is too broken to do it. Quietly, he turns and leaves, smothering despair consuming every part of him.

Raina has looked everywhere for Kas the past half-hour, finding him nowhere. She goes to his office to use his phone to call his cell, but he doesn't answer. Jake walks by, and she runs after him, ”Have you seen Kas?”

”He called Derrick to push the meeting back, he said he had to run home for a few.”

”Thanks,” she mumbles, wondering why. She drives home, wanting to make sure everything's okay.

Raina walks through the door, and calls for Kas, but he doesn't answer. She walks into their bedroom, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she sees him angrily shoving clothes into a duffel bag. ”What are you doing?” she asks, her voice full of panic.

”I'm leaving” he says flatly, throwing a last s.h.i.+rt in his bag before zipping it and tossing it over his shoulder.

”Leaving? What do you mean?” her panic soaring higher.

He storms past her, ”You're the prodigy, figure it out.”

”But this is your home,” she cries out desperately, following him through the living room, trying to understand his actions.

He spins around, ”I thought it was our home, but it's obvious you don't think the same!”

”You saw Brent? He told you,” she whispers.

”That's all you have to say?” the pain is evident in his voice.

Mistaking the reasoning of his anger and pain as due to her not telling him herself, she timidly shrugs, ”I was going to tell you tonight. I didn't want to jeopardize the raid.”

He stares at her in bewilderment, the anguish tearing into his heart. He desperately wants to take her in his arms and act like it never happened, but he can't forget what he saw. His jaw tightens as he forces himself to leave, grabbing his bag tightly as he reaches the door.

Raina knows she has hurt him again, and her guilt overwhelms her from how she has hidden two major things from him today. She understands his anger with her, but can't stand the thought of losing him. ”Kas stop! Don't go, I'll do whatever you tell me to do,” she pleads through her tears, ”I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I promise, I'll do whatever you say...please, just stay.”

”You'll do whatever I say?” he screams. ”You promised to love, honor, and obey, what happened to those vows today, Raina?”

”Kas, don't go...please!” she continues to plead between sobs, wrapping her hands around his arm as dangerous, disturbing thoughts treacherously riot through her.

He jerks his arm out her grasp, and she steps back, her eyes wild as the hot tears stream down her face. He gives her one last look, his gaze so full of pain and anger it rips through her. The door slams, and she drops to her knees weeping. Her father's words return to torment her, 'you taint everything you touch'.

Curling up on the floor, tucking her knees tightly into her, she continues to cry, her entire body shaking from the force of her sobs. Her life flashes in her mind. Her mother's love, then the cold, hard emptiness when she was gone. The intense pain of her father's fists, belt, kicks, and all of the times he has grabbed her, twisting her arm until she thought it was going to break as he screamed at her, telling her how worthless she is, that she is nothing more than a terrible mistake, stab her like a flaming hot poker. Her mind replays the utter helplessness when Brian held her down and raped her. Her time with Chris streaks through her head, the night her tried to rape her before beating her unconscious. The day she met Kas burns in her memory, their sweet time together flas.h.i.+ng before her at warp speed, and then there's nothing...absolutely nothing, but excruciating emptiness, and she breaks.