come from to see a young woman standing there, staring in horror at Ramie. Her words were shrill, almost to the point of hysteria.
Ramie didnât need an introduction to know who she was. Ramie knew her on sight. Tori Devereaux. Calebâs sister. A woman whose mind Ramie had been in. A woman Ramie had suffered with.
âYou said you were helping her, not that you were bringing her here ,â Tori said, her voice rising. âWhat is she doing here? She canât be here. You have to make her leave.â
Tears ran in rivulets down Toriâs face as she stared at Ramie, shame burning brightly in her eyes. Ramie closed her eyes, unable to bear looking at Tori a moment longer.
It was obvious that Toriâs brothers had been completely unprepared for their sisterâs outburst. And before they could react further, Tori turned and ran from the room.
Caleb looked as though heâd been punched in the stomach. His two brothers were equally stunned.
âIâll go after her,â one of his brothers said in a low voice.
He departed the room leaving Ramie alone with Caleb and the other brother. Ramie knew the names of the family, just not who was who. Caleb was the oldest and Beau and Quinn were younger while Tori was the baby.
Her guess was that Quinn had been the one to go after Tori and that Beau, the second oldest Devereaux, had remained behind. The moment Toriâs outburst had registered, Beauâs expression had become unwelcoming. He stared at Ramie as though she were an unwanted intruder. She could hardly blame him.
âIâm sorry,â Caleb said in obvious bewilderment.
Ramie shook her head. âDonât apologize. Her reaction isnât surprising.â
Beauâs brow furrowed. âWhy do you say that? You sound as though you expected such a response.â
Ramie stared directly back at him, her voice calm. âBecause I know. Because I saw everything. Because Iâm the one person apart from her and her kidnapper who knows exactly what she went through. You and your brothers didnât see. You know only what sheâs told you or chosen to share. Sheâs embarrassed and ashamed because I saw her at her worst and I experienced it with her. You can hardly expect her to roll out the welcome mat for me. Because as long as Iâm here, Iâm a constant reminder of everything sheâs tried so hard to forget. And she doesnât get to console herself with the fact that I donât know everything as is the case with you and her other brothers.â
âJesus,â Caleb said, running a hand through his hair. âI never even consideredâ
. . .â
âI should go,â Ramie said, rising abruptly from her perch on the couch. âItâs obvious I donât need to be here. Iâm doing her harm. I should have never called you. Iâm sorry.â
âI disagree,â Beau said bluntly, surprising her with his response. From the way heâd been looking at her ever since Toriâs outburst, Ramie would have thought he couldnât get rid of her quickly enough. âI think you being here is exactly what Tori needs. Youâre right. We donât know what all she went through. We canât possibly understand. But you can and do. And no, she wonât like it, but weâve babied and coddled her for the last year and I think weâve done her a huge disservice even though our instincts are to do just that. Protect and coddle her. Maybe itâs time that the gloves come off.â
âThis family has used Ramie enough,â Caleb said icily. âI wonât have her used anymore. Not as a crutch for Tori. Not for anything. I promised her protection and safety, so yes, she will remain here. But not because weâre going to use her as some kind of healing measure for Tori.â
Beau looked surprised by the vehemence in Calebâs voice. His gaze narrowed as he glanced back and forth between
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