“You must be hungry,” he said. “You had nothing to eat since breakfast.”
She shuddered delicately. “I don’t think I could eat even if I was hungry.”
“You can’t afford to skip meals,” he pointed out. “You have to take better care of yourself, Ramie. If you won’t do it, I will.”
“Did they find her?” Ramie asked softly. “Did they catch him?”
Caleb tensed, his arm tightening protectively around her. “They found her. And no, they didn’t capture him.”
Her exhale was sharp. Her breaths hitched and stuttered from her lips.
“He’s going to keep killing,” she said painfully. “He wants me. He’ll trade me for future victims.”
“No!” Caleb exclaimed, fear gripping him by the throat. “Don’t even think it. There will be no trades. No deals. No negotiating with insanity. You’re staying here with me. Where I can be sure you’re safe and protected.”
“I can’t hide forever,” she protested.
“Can’t you?” he challenged. “I have resources you can’t imagine. I can make sure he never reaches you.”
“At what price? How many more women have to die because of his obsession with me? Maybe we should talk to the police about a trade. A setup. Give him what he wants.”
Panic slammed into his chest. He couldn’t force air into his lungs. He was holding her so tightly that he was likely bruising her. He forced himself to relax but rage burned through his gut, eating a hole in his stomach.
“There will be no trade,” he said tersely.
“It’s not your decision.”
“The hell it’s not! One of us has to play it smart and it sure as hell isn’t you. You aren’t in this alone, Ramie. And there’s no way in hell I’m letting you offer yourself like a sacrificial lamb to a deranged psychopath who wants your death. It’s not up for negotiation. If I have to tie you to the goddamn bed and sit on you I’ll do it and suffer no remorse whatsoever.”
“What do we do then?” she asked in frustration. “I can’t live like this, Caleb. I can still smell blood, feel it on my hands and remember the instant he killed her. It’s a game of chess to him. He’s cold and calculating and he enjoys death. He’s god of his own universe and is an unstoppable force.”
He kissed her furrowed brow, trying to ease her fretting. “You being dead won’t save anyone.” She sucked in her breath as he continued ruthlessly. “Do you honest to God believe he’d stop with you? He’ll always need the rush. A bigger challenge.”
She made a frustrated sound of grief. “He’s probably already hunting for his next target. He’ll keep taunting me until he gets what he wants.”
“I don’t give a damn what he wants,” Caleb snapped, his arm tightening around her body. “I will not hand you over to him nor will I allow you to be drawn into a trap that may or may not result in his capture. We’ll find another way.”
“There is no other way,” she said quietly. “You know it and I know it. Eliza and Dane know it. The police know it. How long do you think they’re going to put up with a maniac killing off women before they throw me at him?”
“If I have to take you out of the country I will,” Caleb said, his jaw clenched tightly. “This isn’t open for debate, Ramie.”
She sagged against him and then sighed wearily. “We can’t do this, Caleb. It’s insane.”
He frowned, a growl of frustration welling in his throat. “We’ve already discussed this. I asked you to stay. To fight for your right to stay. With me. For me. If I’m willing to make sacrifices, shouldn’t you be as well?”
Ramie pushed herself up on her elbow, tugging the sheet over her breasts. “Any other time I’d say yes. If we’d met . . . before. Maybe we would have had a chance. But this has no shot at working out the way it stands now. What kind of life will you have with me in hiding for the rest of my life, unwilling to confront a killer? A constant reminder to your family of what happened to Tori.”
“Shut up,” he said rudely. “I never said I had all the answers. But I happen to think you’re worth fighting for. I’m not giving you up.”
“God, Caleb. It’s not that I don’t want you or that I don’t want to fight for you—us—whatever. I’m just trying to get you to understand what kind of life it will be, not only for you but for your family. I can’t hide for the next fifty years.”
“I don’t see why the hell not,” Caleb bit out.