“Is she still alive?” he asked anxiously. “Do you know how to find her?”
“Yes,” Ramie said dully.
Hope surged in his heart and he found himself nearly crushing her hands in his.
“Tell me where,” he urged.
Slowly and painfully she whispered the location down to the minutest detail. Chills once again slithered up his spine at the precision with which she described not only the location but the kidnapper. She even provided a license plate number.
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.