Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy (2 page)

“Sweetie,
I
need
to
talk
with
you
about
your
mama.”

Judge
tells
me
that
mommy
has
passed
away,
but
I
don’t
know
what
that
means.
The
lady
with
the
funny
hair
hugs
me
again
and
tells
me
that
mommy
is
in
a
better
place
now.
I
want
to
go
passed
away
and
go
with
mommy
to
the
better
place,
too.
Everyone
whispers
to
each
other
and
some
cry.
I’m
scared.
People
hug
me
and
keep
talking
about
the
better
place
mommy’s
at.

Judge
takes
me
to
the
kitchen
and
lets
me
sit
on
the
counter
as
he
makes
me
my
favorite
sandwich
and
pink
lemonade.
It’s
dark
outside
now,
and
everyone
starts
to
leave.
Judge
goes
to
talk
with
daddy.
I
pick
up
the
picture
of
mommy
and
me
at
the
fair,
mommy
was
laughing
at
me
in
the
picture
because
I
had
cotton
candy
all
over
my
face.
I
hug
the
picture
tight,
hoping
mommy
will
come
back
from
the
better
place
soon.
Judge
gives
me
a
hug
bye
and
kisses
my
head.
Daddy
gets
another
drink
of
something
that
smells
funny.

“Daddy,
when’s
mommy
coming
home?”

Daddy
finally
looks
at
me,
but
he
looks
mad.
He
yanks
the
picture
of
mommy
and
me
away,
and
it
hurts
my
hands.
Daddy
throws
the
picture
against
the
wall,
and
I
get
scared
as
he
yells,
“She’s
never
coming
home!”

CHAPTER ONE

NO,
NO,
NO!
How
could
I
have
let
it
get
this
far?
Raina silently screams at herself when she sees the dangerous glint in Chris’ eyes. It takes all of her strength to fight the fear from over taking her. She takes a deep breath, trying desperately to calm herself while she scans the room for some possible weapon, but there’s nothing within easy reach. Pungent fear spirals through her like a lightning bolt, and she feels a strong wave of nausea roll through her stomach and up her dry throat. Her mind runs through the few self-defense moves that she knows, and she wonders if the moves even matter when someone as small as her is going up against someone as large as Chris.
His
hands
are
so
strong,
her thoughts betray her as she tries to prepare her psyche that she can escape, no . . . . that she
will
escape this.

Chris closes the distance with one step and, with harsh accuracy, lands the back of his hand hard across Raina’s cheek. The blow knocks her onto the ground. The salty, mineral taste of blood spills across her tongue as the cut on her lip that he gave her last night is split open.

Wiping away the blood with the back of her hand, Raina tries to ignore the throbbing pain radiating through the right side of her face. Fury fills her as she stands up, defiantly raising her chin and glaring straight into Chris’ cold eyes. She knows she’s no match for him, but she will not back down anymore, not this time, not ever again!

Chris twists his lips into a cruel, taunting smile as he steps towards Raina again, but, this time, she’s ready. Quickly, she steps to the side and rams her elbow into his ribs as hard as she can before kicking the side of his knee cap with so much strength it surprises her. She can’t help but inwardly cheer as he goes down. Sparing no time with her triumph, Raina pushes him all of the way over and races for the door. Her pounding heart thumps so loudly in her ears it’s hard to hear anything else as she runs down the hall and bursts through the front door. Relief floods through her as she realizes that she is almost to the woods, almost to safety.

On any other night, Raina would spend time enjoying the ethereal light of the early April moon and the magnificent cherry tree blossoms that only present their exquisite beauty this time of year, but tonight she barely registers anything as she flees into the welcoming darkness, oblivious to the bewitching spring night. Her relief is short lived as she feels an angry hand grab her arm, jerking her around so ferociously that Raina feels dizzy. Before she can steady herself, Chris punches her in the stomach, causing her to double over from the intensity of the pain. Her earlier panic returns with a vengeance as she desperately gasps for air that refuses to fill her lungs.

Raina is still fighting for a sweet breath as Chris pushes her onto her back, ripping open her shirt, causing the buttons to go flying. Time seems to slow as she watches the buttons hit the ground in slow motion, and she absently thinks of how mad she is that he just ruined her favorite shirt. Chris straddles her, and she knows his intentions. She knows that she must get him off of her.

It seems as if her brain isn’t functioning, and Raina idly wonders if maybe it’s the lack of oxygen that is causing her to feel as if she is in her own body but out of it at the same time. As Chris runs his tongue across her neck, Raina floats even further away, distinctly hearing the distant roar of a plane in the night sky. The soft night breeze blows her hair, and she becomes fully aware of the sweet scent of the cherry blossoms as she is finally able to take a small, ragged breath.

As quickly as they left, Raina’s senses come rushing back, and she pushes against Chris with all of her might as he undoes the button of her jeans. She barely moves him from her disadvantaged position. Panic and fury rage like a wildfire inside of her when he laughs wickedly and forcefully grabs her bra, breaking the strap. Her mind flashes back to that awful night four years ago, the night she has tried to no avail to lock away, deep in the dark recesses of her memory.

Chris’ hot breath rasps against Raina’s neck, and her whole body shakes in revulsion at the uninvited touch. Time plays tricks on her again as she is thrown back and forth between the past and the present. The familiar sickening feeling of utter helplessness is overwhelming, and nausea rips through her again.

Raina feels the bile rise in her throat as Chris’ hand moves lower. She can’t let this happen, not again.
DO
SOMETHING,
her conscious screams at her. With every ounce of the strength she has left, she pushes him again, and he is momentarily unbalanced. Taking advantage of this, she knees him hard in the groin.

Chris blanches, and now it’s his turn to try to breathe. Raina knocks him the rest of the way off of her with her leg, then quickly scrambles away from him. She is back on her feet and running so fast that her lungs burn from the sheer exertion. She wants to take a peek over her shoulder but doesn’t dare take the chance to slow even a fraction of her momentum, so she keeps running, despite the protest of her shaky and weak legs.

Raina has almost made it to the woods when she hears Chris behind her.
NO!
I
can
make
it!
Willing herself to go faster, she pushes through the pain and exhaustion. Chris is faster, and she feels the air leave her body again as she is thrown to the ground with such force her head bounces and she slides. The abrasiveness of the damp grass and dirt scratches against Raina’s cheek as her slide comes to a halt.

“You’re going to pay for that,” Chris snarls as he raises his fist.

Raina feels the sharp pain of his blow plunging all the way to the bone in her cheek. Suddenly, everything goes out of focus as his strike disorients her. She feels his breath on her again, this time against her ear, as he whispers, “Let’s move this to a place a little more private.”

Raina tries to scream but can manage only a slight, pathetic whimper when he roughly grabs her arms, jerking her upwards, over his shoulder. Dazed and distracted, she notices how pretty the grass is with the beads of the fresh dew sparkling in the moonlight. As she bounces like a rag doll over Chris’ shoulder, Raina wonders how it would feel lying in that dewy grass, wrapped in Kas’ arms.

The abstract thought startles her back into focus, despite her disorientation from his brutal punch and her humiliation from her dangling position. Wistfully, Raina thinks of Kas, of his large size and powerful strength, of how he’s so different from the other men in her life. She thinks of how his laugh reaches all the way up to his eyes and how his touch was so gentle when he examined her bruised cheek and lip.
Is
this
why
Chris
is
doing
this?
Did
he
sense
that
I
had
feelings
for
Kas
before
I
realized
them
myself?

Shaking her head in self-directed fury, Raina reminds herself that it doesn’t matter if Chris sensed anything, it wouldn’t matter if she had slept with Kas or anyone, he has no right to do this to her! Welcoming rage fills her again, causing her to bite and viciously elbow Chris. Relief pours through her veins as he groans in pain and releases her to grab his shoulder and wounded side. Once again, Raina starts to run, but he grabs her before she can even start her escape this time.

AHHHHH!
Frustration rips through Raina as she lashes out with years of pent up fury. She manages to get in a few good hits before Chris restrains her arms. Fighting back with all that she has left, she lands a solid kick to his shin, only to be rewarded with another hard backhand. She doesn’t fall all the way down this time, due to his bruising grip on her right arm. Shaking her head, she tries to clear the buzzing his last strike left ringing in her ears.

Chris tries to pull her towards the cabin, but Raina twists and turns and kicks again. He mercilessly punches her in the stomach, and she collapses onto her hands and knees. Before she can even focus on the searing pain and loss of breath, he kicks her viciously in her ribs, landing her flat on her back, sending fire burning the length of her torso.

Vaguely, Raina feels Chris on top of her again, before darkness starts to slowly sweep over her. Faintly, she hears the squeal of tires in the distance and a voice yelling her name. As the voice screams her name again, Raina realizes that she recognizes it, just as the darkness totally consumes her, and she sinks into a deep oblivion . . . .

Twenty
minutes
earlier
.

“How’s she doing?” Chase asks Kas as they walk out of Kas’ favorite restaurant.

“She says she’s fine, and she’s being stubborn about staying at the dean’s house for a few days while he’s on vacation, even though we both insisted,” Kas mutters while running his hand through his short, dark curls.

Chase glances at his friend and knows that he’s on edge, “So, she didn’t agree to go, yet?”

Kas shakes his head in frustration, “Not even after I told her that it was his place or mine.”

Chase fails to suppress his laugh, and Kas shoots him a pointed annoyed look. “That must have been after you threatened to camp out in her cabin twenty-four-seven, before she shot that down, too.”

“Raina thinks she can handle everything on her own, that she doesn’t need any help. She’s completely minimizing the seriousness of the situation, telling me that she’ll be fine, as I was looking right at the bruise on her cheek, which proved otherwise.”

Chase studies his friend, his best friend for as long as he can remember, and he knows that his usual ‘psycho crap’, as Kas refers to it, won’t work on him. He does what he always does with Kas and gives his honest opinion, no matter how brutal it may sound at times. “She’s done everything we wish every victim of domestic violence would do. She got him the hell out of there the minute he struck her, she immediately reported him to the police, and she changed her number. We both know that it is best if she stays somewhere else for a while, until things can calm down some, but she said she doesn’t have any family around and she doesn’t have any close friends.”

Chase chooses his tone carefully for his next words, “I know you want to protect Raina, but demanding her to go somewhere else doesn’t seem to be working well with her.”

“So, I should just let her stay alone at her cabin, in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely no security, and hope for the best?” Kas spits out angrily.

Chase shakes his head at his friend, feigning mock hurt. “Man, you should know me better than that! I think you should do exactly what you’re doing,” he starts as he nods to the food Kas is holding in the carry out bag, “stock up on sustenance so you can stake out her place tonight when Chris makes bail.”

Kas lets out a cathartic laugh, “You always did know everything I was thinking.”

“Need company?” Chase volunteers, knowing that Kas will stay up all night watching Raina’s cabin making sure Chris doesn’t make another impromptu visit in the middle of the night.

Kas’ cell rings before he has a chance to answer.

“Agent Pierce, it’s Officer Hunt, Mr. Sutton made bail an hour ago. I’m sorry, I know you wanted to be called before he left, but it must have happened while I was trying to separate the fighting drunks and—”

Kas swears and closes the phone before Officer Hunt has finished. He dials Raina’s number while Chase holds up his hands, looking at him quizzically. Kas swears again as he closes his phone a second time.

“Two cuss words in thirty seconds, this can’t be good,” Chase only partially jokes, knowing that it must be serious because Kas very rarely swears.

“Chris made bail an hour ago,” Kas quickly explains as he quickens his pace to the jeep, “and Rain didn’t answer her cell.”

Chase nods grimly, sliding into the passenger side, barely having time to close the door before Kas tears out of the parking lot.

It’s dark when they pull into the driveway of Raina’s cabin, and Kas’ heart stops when he witnesses Chris brutally punch Raina. Fiery rage fills his every pore as he sees Chris kick her so hard that the impact flips her onto her back. “RAINA!” he yells as he races through the field, his heart beating so hard it feels like it’s going to come straight through his chest, “RAINA!”

Kas reaches them after what seems like eons and tackles Chris at full speed. The forceful impact doesn’t faze him, and he immediately grabs Chris inescapably with his left fist as he lands a crushing right hook to his jaw with the right one. Kas delivers another punishing blow before he roughly handcuffs a barely conscious Chris. He has never wanted to kill a man before tonight, and it takes all of his self-restraint to keep from beating him like he was Raina. The only emotion stronger than his fury is his desire to get to her.