Keep Me Safe (2 page)

He picked up his phone and immediately called his brother, relaying the information that Ramie had provided. When he was done, he stared helplessly down at Ramie, grateful and yet deeply regretful for what he'd just subjected her to.

“What do I need to do to help you?” he asked softly.

Resignation dulled her eyes even further. “There's nothing you can do,” she said in a flat voice. “Just go.”

“The hell I'll just leave you here!”

He was already calculating in his head that he could simply bring her with him. He could get her the care she so obviously needed at the same time Tori was receiving what she needed.

“Your sister needs you. Just go. I'll be fine.”

The lie was so obvious, but it seemed to be all she could muster. He was torn between rushing to be with Tori and staying to ensure Ramie would be all right. But how could she be? Two women would live with this for the rest of their lives. His precious sister and the woman he'd forced to help him, never knowing the price she'd pay.

“Please,” she begged, her voice breaking. “Just go and leave me be. I gave you what you wanted. I helped you, now go. It's the
least
you can do.”

Caleb stood, wiping a hand over his hair and down the back of his neck in agitation. “I'll go, but I'm coming back, Ramie. I'm going to make this up to you.”

“You can never take this back,” she whispered. “There's no making up for what's been done. Just go and take care of your sister. She needs you.”

She closed her eyes, tears seeping from her eyelids. How could he just leave her like she asked? And yet how could he not go and ensure that his sister was safely recovered? He'd never felt so torn in his life.

“If you have any humanity whatsoever, you'll leave and never tell anyone where you found me,” Ramie said hoarsely. “Please, I'm begging you. Just
go
. He plans to kill her tomorrow. At dawn. You don't have much time.”

Her words proved to be the impetus, driving him to action. But goddamn it, he would make this up to her. Somehow, someway.

Regret swamped him. Worse was the fact that even knowing now what he hadn't known before, he couldn't say he would have done anything differently. Not when it meant the difference between Tori's life and death. But at least now he better understood Ramie's resistance. No longer did he look at her and think she was selfish and cruel. Now he realized her disappearance had been self-preservation. He didn't know how she'd survived this in the past. He just prayed he wasn't the tipping point in pushing her so far over the edge she'd never recover.

Caleb closed his eyes and then gently touched her cheek. “I'm so sorry. You'll never know how much. My family and I owe you more than I can ever repay. I'll go for now and pray to God I'm not too late. But I'm coming back, Ramie. Count on it. I'll make this up to you if it's the very last thing I do.”

TWO

RAMIE
dragged herself toward the end of the couch, lacking the strength to even make it to her feet. Caleb had departed just a few minutes earlier. Not that he'd introduced himself. But his name had been a strong presence in Tori Devereaux's mind, her anchor to reality as her captor pushed her further and further to the brink of insanity.

She could summon pity and even understanding for Caleb's actions. She could even forgive what he'd done. But she'd never be able to forget. That was worst of all. The images, the memories, engraved permanently in her mind.

Tears burned a trail down her cheek. She felt hollow and empty. Not even like a person. She'd been stripped of all humanity time and time again.

She pushed herself upward, forcing her way through the horror and pain that flooded her. Because the connection to Tori Devereaux didn't end when the scarf was taken away. Ramie was still very aware of what she was enduring. The link could last an hour or a day. Ramie could only pray it ended soon.

She had to run. Had to get as far away as possible and this time make sure no one could find her. So
he
couldn't find her. Because if Caleb Devereaux had found her, then the man stalking her could as well. Never again could she go through what she'd just experienced. She wasn't sure she'd ever recover. Too much, too soon, too fast. She hadn't even healed from the last time she'd located a victim and now she'd been forced to do it all over again.

Numbly she shuffled like an old woman to the tiny bedroom of the cabin. She couldn't even summon hate for what Caleb had done. She understood desperation. Had encountered it time and time again. Who was to say she wouldn't do the same exact thing if she had a loved one whose life hung in the balance?

But no, there were no loved ones for her. She supposed at some point she had a father and a mother. Somewhere. But she'd been abandoned when she was just a baby and had become part of the system. Bouncing from family to family with no real roots.

The discovery of her powers had only alienated her many foster parents. They looked at her with fear, like she wasn't a human being with feelings. And the last foster home where she'd been placed had ended in horror and violence.

Ramie had lived her life alone ever since. She'd never been able to bring herself to trust someone enough to become involved with them. Being isolated didn't bother her. She embraced it.

Except . . . ​every once in a while, she grieved for what she'd never had and never would. A normal life. Friends and family. All the things most people took for granted. Ramie would never make that mistake. If she were ever blessed enough to have family or friends, she would cherish every single day and never take life for granted. It was impossible for her to do so because she'd witnessed death and unimaginable horror over and over again.

Where to go now? Where could she be assured no one would find her? She simply wanted to disappear.

For good this time. And pray that this time she'd do a better job of covering her tracks. Of hiding. Of making certain no one could find her. Because if the one man who'd focused all his concentration on destroying her ever found her, she would die. And her death wouldn't be quick and merciful. She would die an agonizing death, spending her last breaths praying that each one would be her very last.

THREE

CALEB
received word as his plane touched down that Tori had indeed been found at the location Ramie had provided. His brother Beau grimly filled him in on her condition and even though Caleb had known through Ramie exactly what happened it was still a fist to his stomach to know his baby sister had endured such horrific treatment at the hands of her captor.

What pissed him off all the more was that Tori's kidnapper had not been arrested. She'd been alone, in a completely normal house in a peaceful, family-oriented neighborhood just outside of Houston, when the police had burst in and found her chained in the bathroom.

She'd been treated like an animal, barely kept alive with minimal food and water. According to Beau she'd lost a lot of weight and was severely dehydrated. Worse was the fact that Beau had completely broken down on the phone while trying to relay Tori's condition.

Beau was solid. Of the four Devereaux siblings, he was the hardest nut to crack. Never showing his emotions, his features always set in stone. And he'd broken down in tears while talking to Caleb. It was a testament to just how truly terrible Tori's condition was.

Quinn, Caleb's youngest brother, had remained with Tori at all times, riding with her to the hospital, where Beau now awaited Caleb's arrival.

When Caleb strode into Tori's hospital room, he was quickly met by Beau and was motioned outside. Caleb shook his head. He was going nowhere until he saw his sister. He had to see Tori with his own eyes, no matter how bad it was. He needed that reassurance, to know she was alive and finally safe from further harm.

Quinn glanced up from his position at Tori's bedside, anguish in his eyes. Caleb quietly approached, not wanting to disturb Tori's sleep.

“They gave her something so she would rest,” Quinn said softly. “She was hysterical and who the hell can blame her? God, Caleb. What she went through.”

Quinn choked out the last words and then went silent, his gaze drifting back to their sister, a glossy sheen in his eyes.

Caleb took in Tori's haggard condition, the deep shadows underneath her eyes, her pallor and the fact that she was far too thin. He sucked in his breath when he saw a handprint on her face to match the one that had appeared on Ramie's when he'd forced Tori's scarf into Ramie's hands. Guilt surged through him all over again.

Tori was here. Hurt, damaged, but
here
with family and a support network. Ramie was alone in a high country cabin with no one. She'd endured the same treatment as Tori and yet she had no one to help pick up the pieces. It just hardened Caleb's resolve to return as soon as Tori was taken care of. He couldn't take back what he'd done, but he could damn well try to make amends. At least make sure she was taken care of and not alone.

“How the hell did you do it?” Beau asked in a quiet voice. “How were you able to pinpoint her location so quickly when we weren't able to find a trace of her before now?”

“Ramie St. Claire,” Caleb said simply.

Quinn's surprise was obvious. But then he knew through Caleb that she'd gone off the grid and presumably was refusing to help anyone again. “You got her to help?”

“I didn't give her a choice,” Caleb returned quietly. “What I did to her. God, I had no idea. I hunted her down and when she refused to help me, I forced Tori's scarf into her hands and she went straight into the pits of hell.”

Beau's expression became savage, anger flaring in his eyes. “Why would she tell you no? What the hell is
wrong
with her that she would refuse to help save someone's life?”

“Because of what it does to her,” Caleb murmured. “I didn't
know
. I had no idea. How could I have? And what's worse is that I can't honestly say I wouldn't have still done the same exact thing I did, but at least now I understand
why
she said no.”

Quinn cocked his head, confusion in his gaze. “I don't understand. What does it do to her? I thought she was just able to track victims, locate them by touching an object that belonged to them or that was associated with the crime scene.”

“She tracks them because she becomes part of them,” Caleb said. “I put her there. Just as if she were the victim. Everything that Tori endured? Ramie endured it too. I saw a handprint matching the one on Tori's cheek appear on Ramie's cheek. Ramie was raped as surely as Tori was.”

Quinn paled, astonishment and disbelief reflected in his eyes. Beau visibly flinched and the anger that had been present in his eyes just moments before subsided as he stared back at Caleb. Then he closed them, fatigue evident when he next spoke.

“Son of a bitch,” Beau muttered. “That's a hell of a note.”

“Tell me about it. I feel like a complete bastard for subjecting her to that and even worse of an asshole for knowing I'd do it again if it meant having Tori safe and out of the hands of a killer.”

“Jesus, what are you going to do? I mean, how is Ramie now?” Quinn asked.

Even more guilt plagued Caleb. He'd been so desperate to get to Tori, to call in her location, that he'd simply done as Ramie had begged. He'd left her alone.

“I don't know how she is,” Caleb admitted. “I left her. She begged me to. And my focus was entirely on Tori. But once we get Tori home and on her way to healing I'm going back to make things right with Ramie.”

“We all owe her a huge debt,” Beau said, his gaze sweeping over their sleeping sister.

“Yes, one I fully intend to repay,” Caleb vowed. “What did the doctor tell you?” he asked, changing the subject from the uncomfortable topic of Ramie St. Claire. “How long will Tori have to remain in the hospital?”

“A few days at least,” Quinn replied. “She has multiple broken ribs and numerous contusions.” He winced as he said the next. “They need to make sure there's no permanent internal damage and they want to rehydrate her and make sure she's ready to be discharged before doing so.”

The three men went utterly silent when a soft moan escaped Tori's lips. Her forehead furrowed and an expression of pain marred her face. She twisted restlessly and tears slid down her cheeks.

Caleb was there in an instant. “Tori, honey, it's me, Caleb. You're safe now. Beau and Quinn are here too.”

Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open and then anguish and despair swamped her eyes, turning them to liquid aqua-colored pools. But worse was the shame crowding her eyes. It gutted Caleb that she would be ashamed of what she had no control of.

“Caleb,” she croaked.

He cupped his hand over her forehead and pushed back her hair in a soothing motion. “Yes, honey, it's me.”

She licked her lips and swallowed, the medication slowing her and making her sluggish.

“How did you find me?” she whispered. “I thought no one would ever find me. That I'd
die
there. He
told
me I would die. He was going to kill me. God, if you hadn't gotten there when you did. He was going to kill me and I prayed that he
would
.”

Her words ended in a sob and Quinn buried his face in his hands as Caleb hugged Tori gently to him. Beau stood at the end of the bed, his expression murderous, eyes filled with rage.

“I went to someone like you,” Caleb said gently, leaving off the part of Ramie being reluctant—with good reason—to help him. He'd never tell Tori that he'd forced Ramie's compliance.

Tori's brow furrowed and she stared up at him with a puzzled expression. “Someone like me?”

“Well, not exactly,” Caleb said, injecting a smile just for her. “After all, there's only one you. But I went to Ramie St. Claire. She's been helpful in finding missing persons before. I gave her your scarf and she was able to locate you.”