Keep Me Safe by Maya Banks Page A

to.”
    â€œYou providing me sanctuary is payment enough if you feel you’re in my debt.”
    â€œCount on it,” he vowed. “You’re coming home with me, Ramie. I formed a security firm with my brothers after Tori’s abduction. I swore never to be without the right tools to ensure the safety of my family. We hire only the best.”
    â€œI need the best,” she said in a low voice filled with conviction. “Because he’s always only a footstep behind me. No matter where I go. No matter what I do. And until he’s taken down, all the women he kills will be my fault. I can’t live with that guilt any longer.”
    Caleb emitted a soft curse as he slid his hand underneath her chin, framing it between his thumb and the rest of his fingers. His gaze bored into her unwaveringly.
    â€œI will protect you, Ramie. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

EIGHT
    CALEB watched a myriad of emotions flicker and swirl in Ramie’s smoky gray eyes. The pupils were slightly dilated, making her eyes appear enormous in the delicate bone structure of her face. She was thin. Perhaps too thin because there was no spare flesh at her cheeks or eyes and her shoulders were narrow, her collarbone pronounced, making hollows between it and her neck.
    He could circle her wrists with a thumb and one finger and she felt delicate. As though she would simply break if someone handled her with anything but the utmost care. And yet she was hauntingly beautiful. Not the sort of woman he was normally attracted to but he realized he was indeed attracted to her. The idea of another man causing her harm infuriated him beyond the fact that no woman should ever be brutalized by a man. It felt personal to him. As though she were his woman and another man had put his hands on her.
    The idea that she would somehow blame herself for him still being at large, out there hunting new victims—God only knew how many there were that no one ever knew about or discovered. If he had anything to do with it, he was going to make sure she absolved herself of any ridiculous blame over the fact that one out of dozens had escaped the grasp of the authorities.
    He paused a moment, his brows furrowing as he considered his sudden vow. Yes, he owed her a great deal, and yes, he would ensure she was safe, that nothing would ever touch her again. But to take on the monumental task of absolving her guilt?
    It was an arrogant assumption on his part to think he would bring her anything but more pain, more regret. But if he could even bring her a small measure of peace, anything but the hell she must endure on a daily basis, then he would move damn mountains to make it so.
    He frowned again when he took in the dried blood and the bruise that had already formed on her chin and mouth area. He released her hands, carefully placing them back in her lap before he pushed upward to his feet. He held up one finger to her.
    â€œDon’t move. I’ll be right back.”
    The instant fear that sparked in her eyes made him angry all over again at the bastard who’d made her life a living hell for the last year and a half.
    â€œI’m not leaving the room,” he said gently. “I’m just going to the bathroom to get a warm washcloth so I can wipe the blood and see how badly you’re bruised.”
    Her hand shot upward, a faintly puzzled look in her eyes as though she’d forgotten all about her injury. She winced when she pressed too hard on the bruise and he reached out to tug her hand back downward in a silent command for her not to touch it and cause herself more pain.
    He strode into the bathroom and turned the faucet on, letting the water grow hot before dampening and then wringing out a washcloth. Ramie looked relieved when he reappeared from the bathroom as if she truly had believed he’d somehow disappear. He hated the fear in her eyes. Wished he could wipe it away like the blood he planned to