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.