Eliza slid her cool hand over Caleb’s shoulder and squeezed. “You’re trying too hard,” she said softly. “Relax and let it happen. Think only about finding Ramie and then open your mind.”
He huffed breath in and out, rage blowing like a firestorm inside him. The realization of just what he’d done, unwittingly or not, sickened him. It was a burden he’d bear for the rest of his life. That one night would haunt him forever.
He tried to relax, focusing on Ramie’s image. Her smile. Her beauty and resilience. She deserved better than a weakling who could be bent to another’s will.
There was a brief moment of peace and then he was assaulted by a bombardment of images. Ramie bruised and bloodied, arms tied over her head, legs spread-eagled and tied to posts thrusting upward from the floor.
The killer taunted her, demanding that she beg for mercy. She remained quiet, her eyes defiant as she stared him down. The killer flew into a rage, kicking and lashing out at Ramie, her body jerking from the multiple blows.
Then she lifted her gaze, hatred glittering in the depths of her eyes.
“Go to hell,” she said through swollen lips, blood spitting from her mouth with the effort.
Caleb curled his fingers into tight fists until his nails dug into the skin of his palms. Baby, no. Do whatever it takes to stay alive, even if it means surrendering. Please, stay alive for me. I’ll come for you. I don’t care how long it takes, I’ll find you.
Tears burned the edges of his eyes and carved a path down his cheeks.
Knowing the sight of her distracted him from his main purpose, he reluctantly blocked her out, focusing his entire energy on her captor. Images blurred and raced chaotically through his mind. Caleb’s view of the inside of the killer’s mind was a view of insanity. Utter derangement. Evil emanated from him in waves.
His head ached vilely but he pressed on, determined not to give up until he knew where Ramie was being held. He’d free her if it was the last thing he did, and then he’d get as far away from her as possible. Never would she live in fear of him again.
The barrage of images abruptly stopped and silence blanketed the pathway between Caleb and Ramie’s tormentor. Caleb floated, detached from the immediate surroundings of a maniac. He leaned forward, anticipation making him eager.
Caleb had managed to push through into the killer’s subconscious. He was in.
He absorbed the knowledge as if they were actual memories of his and not the killer’s. It was an eerily spooky sensation to be inside the head of another, to see the world as they saw it.
His head popped back, pain snapping him back to himself. Back to Eliza, Dane and Beau, who all stood staring while Eliza popped him again in the face to get his attention.
“Snap out of it!” Eliza yelled. “Get your ass back here and tell us where to find Ramie.”
The edges of his consciousness began to fade and grow dark. He panicked for a moment because back there was where Ramie was and he didn’t want to leave her alone. She had to be terrified, no hope of anyone coming for her after what Caleb had done to her.
He closed his eyes as grief consumed him once more. He swayed, nearly toppling over as he opened his eyes to see the others all standing around him.
He stared bleakly up at Eliza, his chest so tight he couldn’t breathe. When he tried to speak, he choked on the words, bile rising up his throat.
Tears slipped unheeded down his cheeks. Eliza’s gaze was as grief stricken as his own.
“I hurt her,” Caleb whispered. “I did this to her. How can I ever get past something like this? I don’t deserve to go unpunished. I hurt her. She deserves justice.”
“She does, indeed,” Eliza said quietly. “And that’s why we’re going to give her justice by going after that son of a bitch and taking him down once and for all.”
Caleb struggled to his feet and then blurted out where the killer—and Ramie—were located. Eliza gently pushed him down onto one of the sofas. “It’s probably best if you don’t come.”
Caleb shot to his feet again. “The fuck I’m staying here! Ramie is mine. I love her. And I can’t for one minute let her continue to think that I did this to her! That it was me who handed her over to a psychopath.”
“I understand,” Eliza said in a placating tone. “But you have to see it from Ramie’s perspective. If we go in and rescue her and she sees you, there’s no telling how she’ll react. She’s already damaged enough. Seeing you right now would likely crush her.”
“I can’t stay here and do nothing,” Caleb seethed. “Not when she’s out there dying an agonizing death. Because of me,” he said bleakly. “Because of me.”