Keep Me Safe (Slow Burn 1)

Caleb’s gaze drifted to the sketch lying on the coffee table in front of where the artist sat and his brow wrinkled, his gaze narrowing as he took in the killer’s likeness.

He looked like the last person who’d ever commit such atrocities but then wasn’t that the case with most serial killers? He recalled several famous cases where the criminal was the picture of bland mediocrity. Certainly nothing that indicated the viciousness of the crimes he committed.

“I gave her one of Tori’s pain pills,” Dane said. “She had a horrific migraine and I was afraid she was going to stroke out on me. If she’s not any better soon, she’ll need to take another. She was in a lot of pain and she needs relief.”

Caleb blew out his breath and turned his attention back on Ramie. He couldn’t very well take her to the hospital or even a private clinic. No way would he expose her. As long as she remained here, behind the impenetrable fortress he and his brothers had created, then she was safe from harm.

“If she’s not better soon I’ll call a doctor to see her here.”

Dane nodded. “I told her that. I don’t think she believed me. You operate in a world completely alien to her. She’s lived such a Spartan existence that she doesn’t know any other way. Your kind of wealth and means, your connections and power mystify her. That is if she even comprehends the full scope of your world.”

Caleb reached for one of Ramie’s small hands, gently rubbing the fingers to restore circulation.

“It’s your world too, Ramie. Maybe it wasn’t but it is now.”

She lifted her haunted gaze to his and he winced at the starkness of her features. She didn’t refute his statement nor did she confirm it. She just stared blankly at him as if trying to comprehend the ramifications of his quiet vow.

Then to his utter amazement she wrapped her arms around his neck and slid from the couch to the floor in front of him. She pressed her face into his chest and he could feel her trembling uncontrollably against him.

He stroked his hand through her hair, not saying anything as he sensed she just needed quiet—and comforting.

“He was here,” she whispered so only Caleb could hear her. In fact, he had to strain to catch what she was saying. When it sank in and he realized her meaning, his blood went cold.

He pulled her gently away from his chest and cupped her chin so he could see her eyes and her expression.

“What do you mean by that, Ramie?”

“I heard him.”

Frustration was audible in her voice, impatience simmering. She knew her stalker would never give up. He’d displayed ultimate patience, drawing out the pursuit and making her dance to his tune like a puppet being manipulated by his puppet master.

He was simply waiting for the day when she made a fatal mistake.

“I can’t go on this way. I don’t want to live like this, always running. I want what everyone else wants. A family. Friends. I’ve been alone my entire life, but I don’t want to be alone forever.”

Caleb cupped her cheek and then pushed her hair back behind her ear. “You won’t be alone again, baby. You have me. You have my family.”

She winced at the mention of his family. His family would never be hers. There was too much pain and resentment. She would always be a reminder of what happened to Tori. There was no erasing it, no making it all better. Tori—and Ramie—would bear the emotional scars for life.

“Ramie, look at me,” he said in a firm voice.

She instinctively obeyed before she could think better of it or shy away. Their gazes collided and his eyes were brimming with sincerity. There was pleading in his expression. A request for understanding. He was torn between two loyalties, one to his family and one he’d imposed on himself when he vowed to protect Ramie.

“My family is your family, warts and all. They aren’t heartless people. We’re all still reeling from Tori’s abduction. And I’m still appalled by what I forced on you. They just need time, and while it isn’t fair to you because you’ve done nothing to earn their censure, time will change their points of view. Right now my brothers are lashing out and guilt-riddled because they think they failed Tori. You aren’t an acceptable outlet for their anger or mine. I’m precariously close to begging you for the chance to back up my words.”

Her heart clenched painfully, her breaths suddenly rapid. Her pulse sped up as she stared into the intense blue gaze stroking over her skin like the softest paintbrush. Stroke after stroke, striving for perfection.

“And let me make one more thing clear,” he continued, not waiting for or perhaps not wanting to hear her response. “I don’t want you tracking him. It puts you at too much risk and I don’t want to lose you.”

She reached up to hush him with a finger. She let the tip rest on his lips and then traced a line around the edges.

“No matter what it may feel like, he can’t reach me. Not telepathically. I just have to remind myself of that when panic overwhelms me. He’s using the link between him and me to frighten and intimidate me. He wants me to slip up and make a fatal mistake. And I won’t allow that to happen. It’s taken me long enough to make sense of it all and actually think instead of reacting blindly, but if he could somehow harm me physically, he would have already done so. I’ve unwittingly aided him in his pursuit of me by my rash and frantic actions.”

Caleb didn’t look at all happy with her firm resolve. For once she sounded convincing, a halfway intelligent woman, instead of coming across as the hot mess she was. He dragged a hand through his short-clipped hair in agitation.