Sacrifices

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Not mine and they never will be.

A/N: A few months ago, I participated in a Round Robin. One of the rules was that it couldn't lean Babe or Cupcake. And, well … you guys know me. I'm a die hard Babe. So I asked if I could take my part and write it into a Babe story. So this story is a spinoff of the May round robin on Babecakesrus. I'd like to thank all the ladies for their wonderful chapters that inspired this story. Special thanks go to Jenny (aka Jenrar) the queen of smut and commas. Love ya, Babe.

Steph's POV

I sat up in bed, startled awake. By what? I looked around my bedroom, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. I lay back down, and my heart rate slowly returned to normal.

A second later, I heard Tank's booming voice. "Steph! Bombshell … Wake up!" His voice was followed by a pounding on the door and the ringing of my house and cell phones. What the hell is going on?

I jumped out of bed and ran to the door, throwing it open. Tank, Bobby, and Lester walked in, guns drawn. Bobby started checking the locks on my windows, while Lester swept the apartment. Tank wrapped me in his arms. "Thank God you're okay."

Once Bobby and Lester gave the all clear, they started tearing the place apart. They ran their hands around the door seal, took my phones apart, skimmed their fingers around the window frames, and checked the fire alarms.

"Tank, what the fuck's going on?"

He placed his hand across my mouth to keep me from talking, and placed his finger to his lips, his eyes pleadingly asking for my silence. I nodded my head in agreement.

We watched the guys methodically searching my apartment. For what, I didn't know. It seemed like hours passed, though it was really only a few minutes, before Lester said, "All clear."

"Is someone going to explain to me what's going on?" I asked in an exasperated tone.

"Have you heard from Ranger?" Tank pinned me with a glare.

"No, I haven't talked to him a few days. Why? What's wrong?"

"Stephanie … I need you to be honest with me."

Frustration was starting to set in. If I didn't start to get some answers soon, someone's balls were going to become acquainted with my lethal knee. "Why would I lie? I'm always honest with you."

Lester smirked at me, clearly about to retort, and bring up the fact that I constantly blend the lines between truth and lies to get rid of my Merry Men bodyguards.

"Okay, fine! I might tell little white lies to lose my bodyguards. I don't need babysitters." I crossed my arms and huffed. "Tank, I swear to you. I haven't heard from Ranger since Sunday."

"Did he say anything about going out of town? Did he ask you for anything?"

I quickly thought back to the last time we'd talked. It'd been a brief phone conversation. "He called me to check in. He'd heard about the run in with Morelli at the PD, and wanted to check and make sure I was all right. Told me that he might have a job for me in a day or two if I was interested. I asked if I needed to buy a new distraction dress. He told me not to worry, he'd take care of it, and then he was gone."

They watched me speculatively.

"You three either tell me what's going on, right now, or get out."

"Ranger's missing," Tank said in a dead pan tone.

Ice gripped my heart, "What do you mean, he's missing?"

"Monday night, Ranger's GPS went offline. We followed standard operating procedures and called his cell. He answered and said it was a check, to make sure everyone was doing their job. Tuesday night, the same thing happened. This time, he disabled the GPS unit in the Turbo and also turned off his cell. We had no way to contact him. Standard operating procedures were also followed that night, and we mobilized and went to search his last known location. He was there waiting for us. I questioned what he was doing, and was told that he was testing our reaction times. Last night, it happened again. Except this time, when we arrived at his last known location, we found his personal trackers, his cell and sat phones, and the GPS unit has been turned off in the Turbo."

"Could it be another test?" I asked hopefully.

"No! He wasn't testing our reaction times to make sure we were doing our jobs. He was testing his system to see how much time he had to get away. Something's wrong. He's in trouble, and for whatever reason, he's shut us out," Lester answered, going to my fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a swig.

I thought back to another time when he was in trouble. He was FTA and wanted for questioning in the death of Homor Ramos. I'd helped him then; why wouldn't he ask for my help now? Didn't he trust me?

"Okay, so I understand coming over here to ask me if I've seen him, but I don't get what the security sweep was for and what this all has to do with me? I'm grateful that you told me, but Ranger only tell me what he thinks I have to know. I don't see how I can help you."

"Until we figure out what's going on, we are on high alert... which puts you on lock down," Tank added in his don't-give-me-any-shit voice.

"What! Why?" Great, now I'm reduced to one word statements.

"Do you really want him to explain? The answer's obvious," Bobby said, gesturing for Lester to throw him a bottle of water also.

I tried to quirk my eyebrow, but was unsuccessful. "Sure, guys. Make yourselves at home," I said in mock exasperation. "And, yes! Explain!"

"Steph, we don't know what happened to Ranger, and until we do, our job is to keep you safe."

"But why? We don't even have a relationship. Even if someone is out to get him, why would that put me in danger?"

The guys all said in unison, "Scrog!"

I had no retort to that, as it was a valid point I hadn't thought of, so I walked into my room and hurriedly packed a small bag. I walked to the door with the bag over my shoulder. "Well, someone grab Rex and let's get this show on the road."

Lester's mouth hung open, Bobby grinned, and Tank breathed a sigh of relief. "We really thought we'd have to stun you and lock you up on seven."

I glared. "Yeah, well if there's a chance that some psycho is after me again, I'd rather not sit here and be live bait. At least if I go with you, I'm safe. Plus, you'll need my help to find Ranger."

We walked out to the parking lot, and I was unsurprised to see Cal waiting inside the lobby. The guys surrounded me, and we hustled to the idling SUV. Arriving at Haywood a few minutes later, the guys escorted me to the elevator. Tank looked over and asked, "Four or seven?"

"Seven." I needed to feel close to Ranger.

The elevator stopped at five, and Lester, Bobby, and Cal walked into the control room. Tank rode with me up to seven. I opened the door, and he placed Rex's cage on the breakfast bar. Turning to me, he said, "If you hear from him, let me know. I don't care if he tells you not to. Promise me."

I wouldn't lie to him, but my loyalty would always be to Ranger. "I'll tell you if I can. I can't promise to, though." I shook my head. "I think that he's more likely to call you over me. In fact, I should be asking you to promise me, but you feel the same way I do. Neither of us would betray him."

Tank half-smiled and kissed my curls. "You're one of a kind, Bombshell. One of a kind."

He let himself out of the apartment, and I walked into Ranger's bedroom. I curled up on the bed and pulled his pillow, inhaling his scent. Please let him be safe.

I must have dozed off, because all of a sudden, my cell phone was ringing. That's odd, I don't remember having that ringtone. I quickly recognized the song. It was Addicted by Saving Abel. Ranger and I heard this the last time he took me to dinner, and I'd told him I'd love to see them in concert.

I ran to the kitchen and frantically searched through my bag. I finally found the blasted thing and hit talk, bringing it to my ear. "Hello!"

I heard, "Babe," and the line went dead.

TBC …

A/N: Continue? Hit the review button and tell me what you think?