This whole situation was wearing on them all. Dane and Eliza looked drained. Tori was pale and listless and she sat in a silent stupor at the breakfast table. Quinn and Beau sat on either side of her, eating quietly, their attention focused on no one in particular.
Ramie sighed and pushed her food around her plate with her fork, stabbing at a clump of eggs. Her stomach revolted at the idea of putting anything down and so she toyed idly with her utensil while she waited for the awkward silence to end.
Her fork clattered loudly on the plate when Dane’s phone rang. Her gaze swung upward, a knot quickly forming in her throat. Just because his phone rang didn’t mean the worst had happened. He got calls at all times of the day. As Caleb’s head of security, it was his job to ensure everything ran smoothly. He and only he reported to Caleb while the rest reported to him.
Dane tensed when he checked the incoming call. He tried to school his features, but Ramie saw his jaw go rigid and the sudden burst of frustration was nearly a tangible thing in the room, flowing between them like an electrical current.
Shaking, she pushed herself off the bar stool and instinctively moved closer to Caleb, seeking the shelter of his much larger frame. A betraying tremor quaked through her body and she reached blindly for his hand, preparing herself for the worst.
“It’s him,” she said in a small voice, turning her chin upward so she looked Caleb in the eye. Her mind screamed at him to tell her she was wrong, but she knew the truth for what it was. Could see it reflected in Caleb’s gaze as well.
Nausea coiled low in her belly, gliding sickly through her veins. Her mouth watered and she swallowed convulsively. The nightmare was about to begin all over again.
“He has another victim already, doesn’t he?”
Caleb secured his arm tightly around Ramie while his other hand was laced with hers as they waited for the revelation Dane would deliver. Ramie’s entire body shook and jittered. Color had fled her cheeks, leaving them pale and washed out, her eyes enormous against the delicate bone structure of her face.
How the hell was he supposed to just let her leave the safety of his home and not know what the hell was waiting for her at the crime scene? If there even was a crime scene.
Dane was speaking in a low voice, his features a mask of angry concentration. He swore vividly and Caleb tightened his hold even further around Ramie. If he wasn’t careful, he’d leave bruises on her skin. He forced himself to ease up a little but as soon as he did Ramie closed the small distance he’d opened between them and molded herself against his side.
He left her there, content to have her nestled in the crook of his arm.
Dane lowered the phone from his ear, resignation in his eyes.
“He’s getting bolder,” Dane said grimly. “He called it in again. This time he gave the police the woman’s name and address and asked them to send his regards to Ramie St. Claire and said that any time she wanted to arrange a trade he’d be willing to show mercy toward his most recent victim.”
Ramie went utterly still against Caleb. Only the soft puffs of her breathing registered any sort of life from her. Then slowly she tilted her chin up, seeking his gaze.
“We should go,” she whispered. “Now, while it’s early in the game. Before he has time to act out his plan.”
Caleb had never felt so uncertain in his life. It was evident that he was the only one who objected to Ramie trying to establish a connection between her and the killer instead of the reverse.
He swept his gaze between Dane and Eliza and directed his question to them.
“Who do you have on tap for this?”
Ramie looked confused, her brows knitting together above her shadowy eyes. Did she honestly think he’d send her into the unknown without enough firepower to invade a small country?
“I have a six-man team assembled. If you want more, I can get them. But in this case, less is more. We don’t want to draw too much attention and if we’re moving a dozen security specialists along with Eliza and me, plus you and Ramie, we’re going to get noticed,” Dane said.
Caleb remained silent a moment as he contemplated the situation they were in. He trusted Dane’s judgment and Eliza’s too for that matter. And up until now he would have said that he had absolute confidence in their abilities to protect.
But it had never been personal before. Only with Tori did he assign someone other than himself or Quinn or Beau and even then he’d only trusted Dane and Eliza. Tori didn’t go out much at all, so she was never in a position to need more than minimal protection. He frowned, realizing just how little Tori had left the house in the year since her abduction and rape.