Keep Me Safe (20 page)

He stroked his hand through her hair, not saying anything as he sensed she just needed quiet—and comforting.

“He was here,” she whispered so only Caleb could hear her. In fact, he had to strain to catch what she was saying. When it sank in and he realized her meaning, his blood went cold.

He pulled her gently away from his chest and cupped her chin so he could see her eyes and her expression.

“What do you mean by that, Ramie?”

“I heard him.”

Frustration was audible in her voice, impatience simmering. She knew her stalker would never give up. He'd displayed ultimate patience, drawing out the pursuit and making her dance to his tune like a puppet being manipulated by his puppet master.

He was simply waiting for the day when she made a fatal mistake.

“I can't go on this way. I don't want to live like this, always running. I want what everyone else wants. A family. Friends. I've been alone my entire life, but I don't want to be alone forever.”

Caleb cupped her cheek and then pushed her hair back behind her ear. “You won't be alone again, baby. You have me. You have my family.”

She winced at the mention of his family. His family would never be hers. There was too much pain and resentment. She would always be a reminder of what happened to Tori. There was no erasing it, no making it all better. Tori—and Ramie—would bear the emotional scars for life.

“Ramie, look at me,” he said in a firm voice.

She instinctively obeyed before she could think better of it or shy away. Their gazes collided and his eyes were brimming with sincerity. There was pleading in his expression. A request for understanding. He was torn between two loyalties, one to his family and one he'd imposed on himself when he vowed to protect Ramie.

“My family is your family, warts and all. They aren't heartless people. We're all still reeling from Tori's abduction. And I'm still appalled by what I forced on you. They just need time, and while it isn't fair to you because you've done nothing to earn their censure, time will change their points of view. Right now my brothers are lashing out and guilt-riddled because they think they failed Tori. You aren't an acceptable outlet for their anger or mine. I'm precariously close to begging you for the chance to back up my words.”

Her heart clenched painfully, her breaths suddenly rapid. Her pulse sped up as she stared into the intense blue gaze stroking over her skin like the softest paintbrush. Stroke after stroke, striving for perfection.

“And let me make one more thing clear,” he continued, not waiting for or perhaps not
wanting
to hear her response. “I don't want you tracking him. It puts you at too much risk and I don't want to lose you.”

She reached up to hush him with a finger. She let the tip rest on his lips and then traced a line around the edges.

“No matter what it may feel like, he can't reach me. Not telepathically. I just have to remind myself of that when panic overwhelms me. He's using the link between him and me to frighten and intimidate me. He wants me to slip up and make a fatal mistake. And I won't allow that to happen. It's taken me long enough to make sense of it all and actually
think
instead of reacting blindly, but if he could somehow harm me physically, he would have already done so. I've unwittingly aided him in his pursuit of me by my rash and frantic actions.”

Caleb didn't look at all happy with her firm resolve. For once she sounded convincing, a halfway intelligent woman, instead of coming across as the hot mess she was. He dragged a hand through his short-clipped hair in agitation.

Before he could argue, she slid her fingers into his and squeezed, for the first time offering
him
the comfort she'd been provided time and time again. She marveled at the fact she
could
touch him when she was unable to touch anyone else without enduring unspeakable pain. She had to be strong and grow a spine instead of being a pathetic excuse for DNA. For whatever reason, God had given her a special . . . ​gift? She wouldn't go that far, but she'd been given this ability and it was time to use it to her advantage.

“He said
too late
when earlier today Dane made the comment,
a few more minutes won't make a difference if he's already moved on to his next victim
.”

Caleb's eyes widened in shock and then they darkened as he glanced between Dane and Eliza.

“He's already found his next victim,” Ramie said softly. “Or at least he's actively acquired a new target. I suspect he's out there right now, stalking an unsuspecting woman; perhaps he's already put his plan into motion. If he holds true to his pattern then he'll call it in. He'll want me to know. And he's going to continue to punish me by accumulating victim after victim until I finally break.”

Caleb shook his head, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

“You won't break,” he said with conviction. “That's where he's mistaken and hopefully that's where he'll make
his
mistake by coming after you.”

A halfhearted smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“I wish I was as confident as you are about me not breaking.”

“I won't
let
you break,” he said softly, his hand clenching around hers with a reassuring squeeze. “You'll never have to worry that no one loves you. You'll never be alone again if I have anything to say about it.”

The utter conviction in his tone, the love, warmth and worry in his eyes gave her a surge of confidence.

He fused his mouth to hers, utterly ignoring the other occupants of the room. It was exquisitely tender. So very precious and sweet as though she were utterly treasured. She sighed into his mouth and he swallowed her breath before she took it back. A discreet cough sounded and Caleb stiffened. He turned and slashed a withering stare in the artist's direction.

“You can leave now,” Caleb said tersely. “If the sketch is done, Dane will show you out. We'll handle the rest.”

The artist rose as if he couldn't wait to be out of Caleb's house. He shoved his sketchpad and pencils into his bag and then hurried for the door, not waiting for Dane to lead the way.

Caleb turned his attention back to her. He slid his thumb over her cheekbone, his touch warm, a balm to her frayed nerves.

“He'll call it in like he did the last one,” Ramie said. “This time we're expecting it so our reaction time should be faster. Maybe that will give us an advantage in locating him before it's too late.”

Caleb swore and her hand fell away from his as he paced the living room floor between her and where Eliza sat.

“He can't touch her here,” Eliza said. “Here is the very
best
place for her to be if she's going to trace a link back to the killer.” She hesitated a moment and then rested her gaze on Ramie. “I've been doing some research on psychic abilities. Most of it hypothesized, mind you, since there aren't any documented cases of mental telepathy or pathos, but one researcher theorized that it was possible for someone who taps into the mind of another to then establish a more permanent link. Which is, as I think you'll both agree, precisely what our killer has done with Ramie.”

“What are you getting at?” Caleb asked.

Ramie remained silent, mulling over Eliza's words. She had a good idea where the other woman was going with this and it infuriated her that she
herself
had never thought of the possibility before. But to analyze her abilities meant embracing them in some small measure, and Ramie had never even come close to acceptance. She'd spent her life fighting the very demons that may well save her now.

“I'm suggesting that since he and Ramie share a mental pathway and that he's able to project inside her mind to glean information . . . ​that she can do the same to him.” Eliza watched Caleb closely, no doubt concerned about his reaction. But instead of a volatile outburst, he turned, looking inquisitively at Ramie.

“Can you do that?” he asked, skepticism written all over his face.

“I don't know,” she said honestly. “I've never tried. I've never
wanted
to try. I'm able to establish a mental pathway to the victim by touching something that belonged to her so it stands to reason that I'd be able to tap into him doing the same.”

Caleb blew out his breath and shook his head. “And that's the catch. You can't very well track him when you have nothing he's touched.”

“Not so fast,” Eliza murmured.

Caleb's head shot up and his brow wrinkled as he stared back at Eliza.

Eliza fiddled with a pencil the artist had left and then she slid the drawing closer to her, studying it intently.

“I don't know how it would affect her,” Eliza said after a moment's hesitation. “It's not like we have case histories or actual research to back us up. The conversations and speculation center on a what-if scenario and pose the question what if a person had a specific psychic gift, which of course we all know to be factual even in the absence of actual proof. But what if she visited the crime scene? If he keeps the same MO then he will have left an item belonging to the victim at the scene of the crime, his invitation or perhaps challenge to Ramie to come after him. Which also means he was there and touched
something
in the vicinity. No one can be that careful not to leave a single trace behind. And Ramie doesn't need a tangible object. She's able to collect information when she touches someone or touches something another person came in contact with.”

“No way will I risk Ramie by taking her somewhere the killer is likely close by,” Caleb said, shaking his head vehemently. “Not only that but if she has a link to both killer
and
victim, think what that would do to her! She'd suffer everything the victim is subjected to but then she would also experience torture, pain and death through the
killer's
eyes and it would be as if she murdered the victim herself. We can't put that kind of burden on her. It may well push her over the edge.”

How calmly they discussed her sanity, or rather the lack of. She knew Caleb had her best interests—her absolute protection—at heart, but she also knew that this could very well be their only real shot to take a monster down.

Instead of fear, anticipation—a sense of
excitement
—coursed through her veins.

Her voice, when she spoke, was strong and convincing, a spark for the first time she could remember in forever. She was suddenly imbued by hope that she'd refused to allow herself to even consider until now.

“Caleb, it could work.”

Caleb jerked his head around in obvious surprise. She winced at just how shocked he was that she would entertain anything but avoidance or running away. An art she'd perfected over the last year and a half. It was a testament to just how much of a coward she was that he now stared at her in disbelief.

“No,” he finally said. “Don't even think about it, Ramie. There are a million things that could go wrong in a scenario like this. I won't chance it. I won't risk your life or trade it for another.”

“It's a good idea and you know it,” she argued. “If it were anyone else but me, if your security firm had been hired to protect someone like me, you wouldn't hesitate because you'd know that you were providing top-notch protection. Ever hear the saying that the best defense is a good offense? It's time for me to stop running and start hunting him like he's hunted me all these months. He'd hardly expect it. He's certainly become well acquainted with
my
MO. As long as he sticks to his, we have the upper hand.”

“This is insane,” Caleb bit out.

“I think it's better that we don't bring up my mental status or lack thereof,” she said dryly.

Caleb winced, apology reflected in his expression.

“She wouldn't be alone or unguarded,” Dane interjected from the doorway to the living room. He walked toward where the others were seated and stood next to Caleb, his stare gauging Caleb's temperament. “The killer would be a fool to return to the crime scene. Besides that, he'll have no way of knowing that she'll be there.”

Caleb shook his head, his eyes shooting sparks. “The hell he won't know. If he has an open line into Ramie's mind and can see her surroundings then he'll know
exactly
where she is and what she's doing. We may as well paint a bull's-eye on her forehead and tie her to a tree.”

“And that's where we come in,” Eliza said in a calm, placating voice. “We put our best team on this. Make sure we have all the bases covered. She goes in, sees if she can pick up on anything and then we get out and hope we nail the bastard before he murders another innocent woman.”

“I agree,” Ramie said firmly.

She rose from her perch on the couch but went still when she swayed precariously. She let out a frustrated curse because everything had shifted around her the moment she stood. The effects of the medication Dane had given her hadn't been pronounced until now. She was light-headed and the jackhammer in her head had subsided to a dull ache at the base of her skull.

“Are you okay?” Caleb asked anxiously.

“I'm fine, Caleb,” she confirmed. “I think the medication is kicking in, that's all.”

Caleb's expression was worried and grim. “I think you should go lie down for a while. God knows you're going to need all the rest you can get if we're even considering this fucked-up plan to let you go after a monster.”

She locked gazes with him and then she closed the distance separating them, taking the few steps to where Caleb had ended his last pacing session. She laced her fingers through his and squeezed in an effort to give him some reassurance.

Tension radiated from him in waves. His mind was a jumbled mass of chaotic thoughts and fears. She could feel how terrified he was that something would go wrong and that she would pay the ultimate price.