Disclaimer I do not own any of the Plum Characters, they are the envision of Janet Evanovich, I have just borrowed them to come out and play for a spell. Any other characters that have popped up from my plot are of my own making and those I do own. I am not getting any royalties from any of this, and these characters shall be returned when finished. End Disclaimer

"Last fight and you're free to leave."

Alex looked at the man, his grin was lopsided. The scar running the length of his mouth and across his right cheek didn't help with any enduring qualities. Keeping her eyes on the man, Alex felt him release the cuff on her right wrist. He took her right hand in his and brought it up to his lips and kissed the bloody and bruised knuckles. Her stomach almost revolted as she snatched her hand away from him. He gave a soft chuckle.

"That was what you said about the last one." She bit out through gritted teeth.

"Cross my heart and hope to die!" He said as he crossed his heart this time.

Looking towards the open doorway, Alex just shook her head and started walking out. It wouldn't be the last fight; she knew it wouldn't. She had seen the glimmer of excitement in his eyes after she won the first fight. No light ever came into this place and she wasn't even sure what day it was anymore, the pit boss had taken her watch and had failed to return it.

Stopping at the door she turned and looked back at her capturer, she wasn't even doing this for herself; her mother had gotten her into this mess. She didn't like her mother, she loathed her, and her mother always did something to make her life miserable. "Last one, then I'm leaving."

He pushed Alex through the doorway and shut the door behind him. "Your mother is a screw-up, but I like you, last fight, I give you my word. Your mother owes me too much, so she's staying."

Damn fence! Alex thought. She hated her mother, her mother was always getting money from loan sharks, always putting her in the position of getting her ass out of the deep water. Alex knew she had gone too far this time. She knew the man beside her wouldn't let her mother walk out, she knew she wouldn't be able to walk out either. For the last two weeks she had been in this hell hole trying to stay alive. Trying to stay one step ahead of anyone they put in the pit with her. Her choice hadn't been a good one, but had been to either fight her way out of the debt or spread her legs for it. Alex didn't have a choice, she had seen what happened to another girl who had been in her situation who took the last option. The last one choice hadn't been an option. The man standing beside her put his hand on her shoulder and led her down the hall up and out of the basement. He had said her mother was staying, she felt pretty sure her mother was dead.

She could hear the crowd already, the last time she did this, there had been at least around seventy people around the pit. The doors opened and two more goons were standing at the end of the hall and Alex walked through with her fight manager; that was what they called him. She knew better, he was the enforcer for the man behind the scene. Walking down the stairs into the pit she saw the same man who had been there two days ago, she could feel his eyes on her as she turned and glared at him. She didn't like the way his lip started to almost grin at the ends when she had glared at him.

Ranger felt Stephanie's nails as it dug into his leg. He put his hand over hers. He found this kid for her a week ago. Ranger was still finding it hard to believe that Vinnie, the slime ball that he was, had written a bond for a fifteen year old. The kid hadn't been burg material, she did get assault charges pressed against her for assault on a peace officer, and had done some damage, a broken arm. She had thrown him over her shoulder and twisted his arm so fast and drove a fist hammer into his arm to break it. She tried to make amends with the cop, but he hadn't been listening. And he felt the need to keep the charges pressed against her, and also the judge had put stipulations on her bond that it stayed in place while she was on pre-trial diversion. If she missed one probation meeting, the bond would be revoked and she would be placed back in lock-up.

"How are we going to get her out of here?" Stephanie hissed in Ranger's ear.

"I've come up with something. Relax." Ranger said quietly back to her.

He continued watching the kid glare at him as she passed by. He noted the new bruises and cuts. Turning in his seat he caught sight of the blonde at the other end of the room, Teri Gilman had walked in with Joe Morelli.

"Opportunity may be knocking." Ranger nodded across the room and saw Stephanie recognize her boyfriend.

"What is he doing here?"

"I'd say he's working." Ranger squeezed Stephanie's hand again as it dug deeper into his leg. At this rate she was going to be bruising him. "Quit getting jealous, we have a job to do here. Sit tight."

Ranger stood up and started walking back out of the room and nodded to Tank and Lester. He had several men in this room. He was doing this all for a damn fifty dollars; that was the total amount from the cut from the bond that the kid had on her head. But, Stephanie had gone maternal on him. He hated when she did that. She could weasel him into doing anything when she went maternal on him over a skip. Problem was, he had a feeling the kid didn't skip on her last probation meeting by accident. This kid wasn't a bad kid, just needed a little guidance and a push in the right direction.

Joe had seen Ranger and excused himself from Teri, he ended up meeting with Ranger out in the hall. "What is Steph doing here?"

"Working, the kid is her skip."

Joe looked back through the door as the kid was waiting by the chain link gate. Looking back at Ranger "She's the one who broke Gaspick's arm."

Ranger grinned at him. "Yup. And, she's been fighting for her life for the last two weeks. Matches are fight to the death."

Ranger turned and walked back to his seat and sat down by Stephanie.

Alex stepped into the chain pit. Ultimate style fighting. She looked at the man on the far side of the octagonal pit. He looked positively happy at seeing who he would be fighting. Alex assessed him, he wasn't too big, but he had at least fifty pounds on her and a good foot in height. She stood only five – five, and weighted less than nothing. Standing still she watched him push off from the cage and start coming over towards her. She didn't stand still and started backing away around the fence. Keeping her back away from him and keeping him in eye contact the whole time.

She hadn't killed anyone yet. She had put them asleep, she knew several sleeper grappling holds. Her martial arts training had been keeping her alive the last two weeks at the same time keeping the people she was fighting alive. The man who ran the show didn't really like it, but he had at least not done anything to her yet. She looked out at the audience and saw him sitting, his dark eyes watching her as she kept the man inside the cage away. He had a smile on his face.

"Last fight!" He said, his voice gravely and deep.

Alex looked back at the man in the cage. Last fight, she didn't believe it. That wasn't the rules. She had to kill him in order to walk out of this place alive. That was the rule, the only rule she couldn't bring herself to do. She hadn't killed anyone before, broken a few bones, but never murder.

"Come on baby, I'll make it painless." The man in the ring stated. "Only one of us can walk out of here. You don't want them hurting you anymore." The man pointed to her hands.

She looked down at them, the guy didn't have a clue, she hadn't gotten this from her capturers. She had gotten these from inside this ring. Alex looked back up at him and fain fear of him and kept circling the ring.

"What is she doing?" Stephanie asked Ranger.

"Assessing her prey." Ranger whispered into Steph's ear. "She won't make a move until she knows she can take him."

Ranger watched as Alex kept circling the cage. Last week Bobbie had actually been able to tape one of the fights. They all sat down in the control room and watched the kid in action. Ranger had learned where she had taken martial arts and found out she was actually a junior instructor at the school. She had been paying the bills in the apartment her and her mother lived in while her mother had been getting deeper into debt and higher than a kite.

Ranger looked over to Victor Shiropolli, he was sitting across the isle from him and Stephanie. He was the man who yelled out to the kid that it was the last fight. Ranger only hoped it really was. He didn't think Alex would be able to hold up under the pressure she was under much longer.

Alex waited until the guy made the lung, instinct kicked in as she sent double fists to his chest to stop his momentum. She felt him try to grab and she chambered both of her arms to her side and then double fisted his crotch.

Joe twisted in his seat and grimaced at seeing the shot she gave the man. He gritted his teeth and glanced over towards Victor Shiropolli. He wanted to bring that man down, this was a kid in this fight ring. This was taking loan sharking to a whole new level. Don't pay back what you owe and you had to go into the pit. Joe had been hearing rumors floating around for some time. He had talked with Vito and Teri, Teri had a way to get him inside.

"She'll win," Teri told him. "She always has. But she has never killed anyone. If you kill someone you get to walk, she's been in ten fights in the last two weeks."

Joe looked at Teri, "Is that why she's still here?"

Teri nodded. "She's defying Shiropolli. Look at him, he actually likes this kid."

Looking back to Shiropolli, he could see what Teri was saying, the man was grinning at the kid in the ring as she now had the man's hands off of her and just swept his leg out from under him and took him down to the ground. Joe swung back and watched as she twisted the man's wrist and leveled her fist by her right ear and brought it down on the bend where the man's arm was bent over her knee. The snap was heard like a gunshot along with the scream. She had broken his arm. Joe swallowed hard as he saw the bone come through the flesh. She hadn't done that with Gaspick. She had controlled her power with Gaspick.

"I think Gaspick is luckier than what he thinks. He walks around bitching that she broke his arm, the bone never went through the skin on him though."

Teri gave Morelli a half grin, "I think she's giving Shiropolli a show."

Stephanie hid her face in Ranger's shoulder. She felt sick. Ranger reached around and pulled Stephanie in tighter. "Don't watch anymore."

"I'm not." Stephanie told him. Taking in deep breaths.

Alex threw the man's arm off her leg and walked over towards Shiropolli, grabbing the chain in front of her. "Let me out."

Shiropolli grinned at her, "Kill him and you'll be let out."

Alex turned around and banged her head on the fence. That wasn't the answer she wanted. "I won't do it!" she growled out in her frustration.

Stephanie felt the tears start to pool in her eyes. "Get them to stop."

Ranger moved his right hand over Stephanie's cheek and kissed the top of her head that was buried in his chest. "I can't. I warned you coming in, this could happen. We can't do anything just yet Babe."

Shiropolli stood up and moved towards the pit, Alex spun back around and faced him. "Do it and I'll let you live."

"I won't." Alex growled, "I can't." Her fingers were curled around the links in the fence.

Shiropolli reached up and rubbed his thumb over her bloody fingers. "You can do anything you set your mind too. Your mother put you in here; he put himself here. I've been lenient enough with you. Do what I said and you'll leave."

Alex could hear the man's screams in the cage, her soul felt like it was being wretched into. She looked down at her hand where Shiropolli was caressing hers. She felt sick and looked back at the man on the floor. Her heart was pounding in her chest; her breath was coming fast. She watched as he was rolling around on the pit floor.

"Put him out of his misery, end it, and make it fast and quick." Alex herd Shiropolli hiss as she felt the lips brush her fingers. She pulled her hands away from the fence and strode towards the man on the floor. Her anger boiling away.

Ranger watched as Shiropolli was playing with the kid's head. Inside he was seething, he could see how Alex was breathing fast, her reactions jerky from the anger that was coursing through her veins. He wanted to rip Shiropolli's head off. It would make him feel better; it would probably make Alex feel better. His hands were tied. He watched as she lunged down at the man on the floor and rolled him so her legs were crossed around his stomach, her arms had gone under his armpits locking his neck into position and she squeezed. Ranger gave a small smile, the kid was putting the guy to sleep. The screams of the man died away. Alex released him and rolled him off of her. She stood up and glared at Shiropolli, "You want him dead, do it yourself. I'm not your fucking toy."

Joe had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't laugh out loud. The kid had grit, and backbone of steel. He glanced at Teri who was grinning. "He'll let her go, look at his face."

Joe looked back at Shiropolli. He was actually smiling at the kid. "Open the gate."

Alex watched him warily, but walked out the gate when it was open. Shiropolli came up to her and grabbed the back of her head and tilted her face up. "You are lucky I like you. Damn lucky."

He released her and grabbed her shoulder as he spun around to walk back to his seat dragging her with him and stopped at the stairs as he saw Ranger. "Ranger … Are you here for another skip?"

Ranger gave a brief nod.

"Then get your man and leave." Shiropolli told him.

"I will if you'll release her so I can take her." Ranger told him.

Shiropolli looked down at Alex and laughed. "Dear me, what did she do?" He asked as he looked back at Ranger.

"Broke a police officer's arm, she missed her last probation meeting last week." He told him smoothly.

"She was busy. I can't let her leave just yet." Shiropolli stated.

Alex looked back at Ranger. She had seen him take a man out in cuffs two days ago when he was here. Her breathing was still fast and erratic with the adrenaline that was flowing through her.

"I believe her mother owes you fifty large."

Shiropolli narrowed his eyes at Ranger. "Are you suggesting to buy the note?"

Ranger gave a nod.

Shiropolli looked down at Alex. "One hundred large."

Alex looked up at him, "You told me it was only seven. A thousand a fight."

"I lied." He looked back at Ranger. "Do we have a deal?"

Ranger kept looking at Shiropolli, He could feel Stephanie's nod in his chest. She was willing to pay it. Stephanie had already cost him at least that much. His eyes moved towards Joe and he saw the nod. Joe wanted the kid out of there as well. He never paid for an FTA. It wasn't in his nature. He had gotten money withdrawn from one of his business accounts though, he knew Shiropolli only talked money. He looked at Alex. Alex was staring at him shaking her head no. He saw Shiropolli's hand go to her neck and squeeze. "Be still, you don't have a say in this." Shiropolli hissed at Alex.

"One hundred large." Ranger nodded towards Tank. Tank stood up with the briefcase. Tank couldn't believe Ranger was doing this. They never bargained for FTA's. It just wasn't done.

Shiropolli smiled and looked back at his man. "Get the case."

The man walked over to Tank and took the case. He walked it to Shiropolli and opened the case, Shiropolli glanced at it and seemed satisfied. He released the kid and pushed her forward. "Get out of here."

Alex started walking up the stairs. Ranger stood pulling Stephanie with him. Ranger half drug Stephanie out in the hall. Alex walked through the door with Tank right behind her. Once they reached outside the building Ranger's phone rang. He pulled it out and flipped it open. "You owe me, Morelli."

"You'll get it back, just let me talk to that kid."

Ranger looked at Alex, "Not tonight. I think she's earned at least that much." Ranger shut the phone off before Morelli could say more.

Stephanie finally got a hold of herself, "What did you do that for?"

"You told me to get your FTA out anyway I could."

"I didn't know you were going to pay for her." Stephanie stopped walking and looked up at Ranger. "You're crazy."

"I'm not," He reached over and lifted her chin. "You went maternal on me, even you said yes in there. I'll just write it off as entertainment."

Alex looked at the two of them, she shook her head, she wasn't staying with them, these people had lost it. She inched a little more away from them as Tank had stopped and looked back at Ranger and Stephanie. She saw her moment and bolted.

Ranger looked up. "Fuck! My FTAs never run." He started after Alex.