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  Saving Rain

  The First Novel in the Rain Trilogy

  Karen-Anne Stewart

  Saving Rain is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges that the trademarked status and the trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

  Cover photo was purchased from Thinkstock.com. Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

  Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher herby disclaims any responsibility for them.

  Due to sensitive issues of abuse and human trafficking, mature scenes, and some violence, The Rain Trilogy is recommended for readers 18 and older.

  Copyright © 2013 Karen-Anne Stewart

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1505504953

  ISBN-13: 978-1505504958

  Dedicated to all of the survivors and the heroes who help them.

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To my husband, thank you for of your patience, guidance, and support, even for the times you wanted to take away my laptop and tell me to go to bed. I love you.

  To Jim Guilliams and Todd Ervin, thank you for your expertise.

  To Heather Sowalla, Windy Hills Editing, thank you for doing an amazing job.

  To Vernon Gardin, your advice helped to make Saving Rain better, thank you.

  To Bret Stewart and Karen Galloway, thank you for all of your help proofing Saving Rain.

  To Bret Stewart, Karen Galloway, Valeria Gardin, Heather Lindall, and Diane Maxwell, thank you for your encouragement and opinions.

  To all of the authors and bloggers, thank you so much for your advice, encouragement, and support!

  To the readers, you truly are amazing, thank you for your feedback. I hope you enjoy The Rain Trilogy as much as I enjoyed writing it!

  All of your support helped me get through this part of the journey, love ya!

  PROLOGUE

  I’m playing hopscotch with Jessie while I wait on my mommy to pick me up so I can go to ballet. She is late, and almost all of the other kids have left school. Jessie has to go home now, too, so I sit with my teacher on the bench and wait for mommy. It’s boring sitting on the bench, but my teacher gives me a cookie while I wait. We aren’t supposed to eat anything in the after school lines, but my teacher tells me it’s okay to eat the cookie today. It’s my favorite, chocolate chip!

  I finish my cookie as my teacher tells me that my ride is here but it’s not mommy. I get excited when I see Judge get out of the car. I love Judge, he’s so funny when he makes faces and makes me laugh. I run up to Judge and wrap myself around his legs, holding on tight, hoping he will give me a ride on his feet like he usually does.

  “Hey, Judge, are you taking me to dance today?”

  Judge ruffles my hair and picks me up, “You can call me Henry, sweetie.”

  I giggle when he says Henry. I like Judge better, besides everyone else calls him Judge, well, they call him Judge Whita—Whet-, I can’t remember the second name they call him. “Wanna see my new tutu that mommy bought me? It’s purple, and it shines!”

  Judge puts me in the car and buckles me up.

  “We better hurry, or I won’t have time to change,” I tell Judge, waiting for him to ask to see my shiny tutu.

  “You’re not going to dance today, sweetie,” Judge tells me.

  Judge is different today, he’s not making funny faces like he always does. I was going to ask him why, but he turns the radio up really loud. I love this song! Mommy and I sing it together as loud as we can, and she makes me laugh when she puts her L fingers on her head!

  The funny song goes off, and another one comes on, but it’s not as funny. There are so many cars in my driveway when we get home. “Are we having a party?” I jump up and down in my seat and clap my hands. “I hope mommy made chocolate cupcakes!”

  Judge carries me inside, he’s still not making funny faces at me. There are lots of people inside, and I look for mommy and daddy. Everyone looks at me, and I scoot closer to Judge. No one is laughing, this isn’t a fun party. I want to find mommy and have her put in my princess movie. I tug on Judge’s shirt. “Where’s mommy?” I whisper because everyone’s so quiet.

  Judge gives me a hug, and he looks sad. He puts me down and holds my hand while we find daddy.

  I see daddy, and I run to him, maybe he will put in my princess movie. I hug daddy, but he doesn’t hug me back. Daddy looks sad, too. “What’s wrong, daddy?”

  Daddy won’t talk to me. I tug on his shirt, but he walks away. I wonder why daddy is mad at me. A lady with funny hair hugs me, she is crying. I wonder if daddy is mad at her, too? She kisses my cheek, and it feels yucky, so I rub it off of my cheek and run back to Judge.

  “Where’s mommy?”

  Judge has water in his eyes, too. “Oh, sweetie,” he says to me and kisses my cheek.

  I don’t mind his kiss, so I don’t rub it off. Judge walks over to daddy, and I hear him ask daddy where he wants to talk with me, but daddy just shakes his head and turns away from me again. I must have done something really bad, daddy is really mad at me. Judge picks me up again and puts me on the spinney chair. I spin and giggle. Judge puts his hands on the chair, so I can’t spin anymore. I really don’t like this party.

  “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 f
rom 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 f
ire 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.”