He’d once thought her selfish, back when he was frantically trying to locate her in order to save Tori. He’d deemed her selfish for purposely disappearing from the public eye and refusing to help others desperate to recover a loved one.

God, what an ass he’d been. Now that he knew what it cost her each time she traced a line back to the victim, he couldn’t imagine why she’d done it for as long as she had.

But now that he was assured that his touch wasn’t harmful to her, he carefully pulled her into his arms, watching for any sign that this wasn’t something she wanted. But he met with no resistance. She melted into his embrace and even buried her face in his chest, her head tucked snugly under his chin.

Her breaths were coming in ragged spurts and her chest heaved against him. He yanked her back in a hurry, worried he’d caused her yet another anxiety attack, but what he saw filled him with more dismay than if she had been suffering one.

She was crying. Heaving, heart-wrenching, completely silent sobs. Tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving damp trails in their wake. It was as if the final barrier had come down and something so simple as him offering a comforting hug had completely unraveled her.

“I’m not even sure I’m sane anymore. I feel . . . ​broken,” she said around the tears that seemed to be streaming faster the more she spoke. “I’m not sure anyone can help me or if they even should. The person stalking me is a complete sociopath. He thinks nothing of killing anyone he feels is an obstacle to his end goal. Anyone I’m around is in danger. And I can’t let your sister go through hell again. Not because of me.”

“Do you forget she escaped hell because of you?” he asked softly.

She went silent, allowing his question to go unanswered, but she could hardly refute his statement of truth.

“And what is his end goal, Ramie? You said that he would kill anyone posing an obstacle to it.” Even though Caleb had a very good idea, he wanted confirmation from Ramie. Even though he knew. And it was a stupid question.

“Me,” she whispered. “His end goal is me. And until he gets to me, countless other women will suffer horrifically because of me. How can I save myself knowing that other women have to die in order for me to stay out of his grasp? How can I live with that on my conscience? That he won’t stop torturing and killing other innocent victims until he finally achieves his ultimate goal? Me.”

NINE

CALEB stared at her in a mixture of what the f**k and absolute disbelief. “You can’t possibly think that the deaths of his past victims and any future victims he tortures are your fault. You’re not a stupid woman, Ramie. Even you have to recognize the idiocy of such an assumption.”

She looked angered by his statement. Her cheeks flushed with color and impatience flared in her eyes as though he simply wasn’t getting the point. Oh, he got it all right. And it didn’t make a goddamn bit of sense to him.

Her fingers curled into tight balls and she pressed one fist down on top of her thigh, repeating the motions as she spoke.

“Were he not so focused on me, and were I not so hard to pin down, then he wouldn’t be so hungry for his next victim. The longer I keep him at bay, the more frustrated he’ll become and he’ll utilize substitutes for me. Because I’m the only woman who manages to evade him at every turn. Not because I’m smarter than he is or that I somehow am able to outwit him. I’ve just been lucky. But my luck won’t hold out forever. And part of me wishes he would catch me because I know exactly what I’m dealing with and if I died I’d damn sure make sure he goes to hell with me.”

“That makes no goddamn sense,” he said, voicing his earlier thoughts. “I swear I want to shake you. That’s the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You are not responsible for the decisions a maniac makes. You are not responsible for him torturing, degrading and ultimately killing his victims. Do you honestly think he would just quit after you? Hell, he’d think himself invincible if he managed to bring down the one woman who’s proven to be his biggest challenge. And I’d be willing to lay odds that’s why he’s so obsessed with you. Because other victims are easy. They offer him no challenge. He enjoys the chase and the fact it has proven so difficult. It will only make him that much more egotistical if he does succeed in killing you. He’s going to believe he’s invincible. God of his own twisted universe. Because after you, how could he fail to bring down his next target? He’s become obsessed with you because you’re his Holy Grail.”

He knew he’d scored a point with his logic. Ramie frowned, her gaze thoughtful. Her hand went still, her fist pressing hard into her thigh. She chewed on her bottom lip and then let out a long sigh, closing her eyes as fatigue and stress marred her forehead.

“I guess I never imagined beyond him being able to capture me.”

She nodded slowly as she said the next, opening her eyes and fixing her gaze at some distant point beyond him.

“But no, you’re right. I think he would only get worse, grow bolder and more confident once he managed to do away with me for good. I’m a thorn in his side. No one has ever come as close as I did to capturing him, or even figuring out who he is, and there seems to be no connection between his victims. No similarities, personality traits. Nothing. Just a thirst for torture and degradation that has his victims wishing for death.”

“Do you know his name? Any identifying information?”

She threw him an impatient look. “Don’t you think if I knew how to find him that I would have already done so? I’d kill him myself and damn the consequences if it meant eradicating his presence on earth. I’d willingly spend the rest of my life in prison if it meant no more women had to suffer the torture he so loves to heap on his victims.”