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Rain Trilogy Karen-Anne Stewart
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Raina has tried to forget her past, forget the pain, but when she finds herself staring straight into the fury blazing in her ex-boyfriend's eyes, her dark past comes rushing back. Furious with herself for actually having chosen someone like her father, she uses that anger to her advantage and fights for her life...and for her future that she prays will involve the man she can't seem to get out of her head. Kas is a natural leader, a fierce fighter, the type of man you send in when you need to get the job done. He is a courageous hero who is used to risking his own life to save others, but can he save the one who has captured his heart from her horrific past and the men who are hell-bent on destroying her? As Kas and Raina try to navigate through the twists and turns of a deviously intelligent human trafficking group, they find solace in each other's arms. Can they infiltrate the trafficker's tight ring, saving the innocent lives from imminent danger before it's too late?
Shattered when Raina runs after his marriage proposal, Kas is hell-bent to find her and bring her home, where she belongs. He will bend every law necessary to do so, willing to do anything to protect Raina from her demons and the men who haunt her, going as far as placing his career and life on the line to save hers. Raina will give up everything she has worked so hard to achieve, even flee the country to keep Kas from the wrath and powerful reach of her abusive father.
In the midst of the FBI team closing in on the Ghost, another ghost from Raina's past taunts her, promising that she will be his. Meanwhile, a different trafficking ring is gaining strength in New Jersey. Michael solicits Raina's help, needing her smooth, sultry voice to win the audition for the new singer in the ring leader's swanky night club. Raina knows her life is in jeopardy with the dangers of being undercover, but she is blindsided when she discovers that it's her heart that is threatened with a mortal blow.
Raina tries to heal from the nightmares of her dark past as the grisly bodies of innocent victims surface when the team gets closer to discovering the identity of the man responsible for the infuriatingly clever and powerful slavery ring. When Raina finally comes face to face with the Ghost, he quickly engulfs her in a twisted game of cat and mouse, delivering a veiled threat as he slips through her fingers. As the ghosts of her past and present ensnare her in their deadly web, Raina realizes the danger has just begun.
Finally able to put her harrowing past to rest, Raina looks forward to her future with Kas, but the Ghost has other plans. As the FBI team gets closer to taking down the largest human trafficking ring in the modern world, the Ghost begins a wicked game, making Raina the pawn and the target. Never before encountering a worthy adversary, he's fascinated by Raina and is enjoying the refreshing challenge of her intellect.
The danger ignites to a blazing new level, and Kas struggles between the need to finally exorcise the Ghost and his need to protect his wife. Tension mounts as an internal battle wages, tormenting Kas as he watches Raina put her all into taking down the man responsible for horrific sex slavery and gruesome deaths. When a new player takes control, Jefferson orders the end of the Ghost's game with Raina, which results in one final, devastating act, leaving Kas desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to save her...by whatever means necessary.
***Disclaimer: Due to sensitive issues of abuse, human trafficking, and adult scenes, The Rain Trilogy is intended for readers 18+
Placing
her hands flat on top of the polished wooden
bar
top, she leans in even closer, until Mr. Sutton is forced to
acknowledge
her presence. She feels the stares of men with
obvious
high hopes roaming over her. Any other day, she would
feel
completely out of her element in the overly crowded bar that
is
full of patrons from every pay bracket. She watches as they down
spirits
and ogle women they have never met and probably will
never
remember their names in the light of the early dawn.
She
knows that Mr. Sutton is a genius in the business realm,
with
restaurants and bars ranging from elegant and swanky with
the
elite socialites inhabiting the premises nightly, to the brazen
and
just slightly above seedy, that harbors the questionable
clientele
that are just as much regulars as their wealthy
counterparts.
One
of the braver men leans on the bar next to her, “Can I buy
you a
drink, honey?”
Raina
glances at her admirer who is looking everywhere at her
but
her face. She holds her hand up, letting him know that under
no
uncertain terms, whatever he is thinking about her will not be
happening
tonight. The man mutters something Raina is sure isn’t
pleasantries
as he gives her another lusty once-over and walks away,
his
ego tucked dejectedly between his legs. She turns her attention
back
to Mr. Sutton who has regained his composure and his glacial
patent
stare.
“Sweetheart,
I think you might be a little too young to be in here.”
Raina
inwardly gags at how the word ‘sweetheart’ sounds
so
nauseating coming from his lips, so polar opposite to how it
sounds
when Kas calls her that. “And, I think you are too old to be
playing
childish games,” she counters.
Sutton’s
cold stare turns to blazing fire, “I have no idea what
you
are talking about, sweetheart, now show me your ID, or I’ll
show
you the door.”
Raina
knows she has rattled him and has also gathered the
attention
of the patrons sitting nearby, which she uses to her
advantage.
“So, I see you have added stalking and damaging
personal
property to your repertoire. You’re a businessman, so let’s
put
this in terms that you will understand. You back off now, and
I
will let this go, all forgiven and forgotten, but if you don’t, then I
will
visit every single one of the establishments you own, bringing
some
of my friends who are very proud to display their badges and
who
love to ask lots of questions.”
Raina
can tell by his bared teeth that he understands she
is
letting him know that two can play his game and that she is
determined
to come out the winner. “I’m betting that it won’t
take
more than a couple of nights before your friends no longer
want
to play with my friends and they go home, finding other
establishments
to provide their entertainment.”
The
fury in his glare is practically tangible as he leans in close
to
her, hissing “Are you threatening me, you little witch?”
Raina
holds his gaze, unwavering. “I never threaten, I find it
demeaning,”
she replies unnervingly calm. She sees one of the
bartenders
on the phone, looking her way. Realizing she probably
only
has minutes before the cops arrive, she doesn’t waste anytime
mincing
words, “The ball is in your court Mr. Sutton, play nice, or
I
promise you won’t like the end score.”
The
murderous glint in his eyes makes Raina fully aware that
if
the bar wasn’t between them, and there weren’t seventy or so
witnesses,
he would take immense joy in throttling her right now.
She
knows that she needs to back off and get out of there, but she
is
way beyond the point of caring, so unremittingly exasperated
with
men like him. She gives him a final warning glare as she
turns
to go before her bravado gives way, and her false sense of
invincibility
shatters.
“You
deserve everything you got!” Raina hears Mr. Sutton
yell
after her, knowing he’s referring to Chris’ brutality, and her
calm
demeanor explodes to fervent vehemence. Spinning around,
she
grabs the fruity concoction out of the hand of the startled
businessman
who has been intently listening to their every word
and
throws the remaining liquid straight into Mr. Sutton’s face
before
she spins back around and storms out of the door.
There
are two uniformed officers that meet her just outside,
and
her flaring temper starts to dissipate as the reality of what
she
just did sinks in. She has never done anything like that before,
and
part of her wants to jump up and down, pumping her arm
victoriously
in the air, but the other part of her feels ambivalent
towards
her actions. Looking into the serious faces of the officers,
Raina
can guess which part of her they are siding with right now.
Karen-Anne Stewart has always adored reading and has now fallen in love with writing. Her written works are The Rain Trilogy: Saving Rain, Healing Rain, and After the Rain. Her debut novel, Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy, was a nominee for the Book Junkie’s Choice Awards and is a nominee for the 2013 RONE Awards.
When Karen-Anne isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, and visiting new places. She fuels her addiction of creating new stories by her only other addiction, caffeine, and listening to a myriad of musical genres. Tucked away near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Karen-Anne lives with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and their cat. She plans on writing new adult romance as long as her fingers maintain dexterity.
When Karen-Anne isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, and visiting new places. She fuels her addiction of creating new stories by her only other addiction, caffeine, and listening to a myriad of musical genres. Tucked away near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Karen-Anne lives with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and their cat. She plans on writing new adult romance as long as her fingers maintain dexterity.
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