Sydney and Gage were taking a walk around the edge of the property, holding hands and just enjoying each other's company. It felt complete serene to be able to just be together and able to explore their feelings without speculation from their coworkers and friends.
"This is really nice," Sydney said as she leaned in closer to Gage. His arm went around her shoulders and he smiled down at her.
"I know what you mean. It's nice to just spend some time together."
"Well, we'll just have to find a way to spend time together once we get home," Sydney said with a wink.
"I like the sound of that," he replied as he leaned down to kiss her lips. She kissed him back and took his hand once more to lead him back to the house.
"Let's get some lunch, Francis."
"You know, I've never liked hearing my name as much as I love hearing it when you say it," he said, sneaking for another kiss.
"Come on, let's get you fed," she replied laughing.
Walker had gotten back to the office and looked around for Hilary. He wanted to ask her about her time spent in Houston, but she was nowhere to be found. He started out the door and up to Briscoe's office to see if he knew where she was.
He got upstairs and knocked on Briscoe's door.
"Come in."
Walker went inside. "Hey Capt."
"Hello Walker. What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if you knew where Hilary was. I wanted to ask her something but I can't find her."
"She was up here about an hour ago. She went to lunch with Amy. Let me see if she's back yet."
Briscoe went to the small office next to his and poked his head in the door. He saw his assistant Amy sitting at her desk.
"Amy, can you come in here a moment?"
"Sure Captain Briscoe." Amy walked in and saw Walker standing there. "Hello Ranger Walker."
"Hello Amy. I was wondering if you knew where Hilary was."
"Oh, I am so sorry. I forgot to tell you. She and I went to lunch and she started feeling sick. I told her to head home to rest and that I would tell you she went home. I am so sorry."
"It's okay Amy. I hope she feels better."
"Me too. There's quite a nasty bug going around right now."
"Amy, can I ask you something?"
"Sure Ranger Walker."
"Did you know Hilary when she worked in Houston?"
"Yeah. We've been friends since middle school. She started working in Houston when I started here in Dallas."
"Do you know if she knew Ranger Cooke or Ranger Gage while she worked in Houston?"
"Yeah, she used to eat lunch with Ranger Gage quite a bit while she worked there. He was one of the first people that she met in Houston and they seemed to get along quite well right off the bat."
"So they were friendly?"
"I'd say they were friends. When she got hired to work here in Dallas, she said she was excited to see Ranger Gage again."
"Okay, thanks Amy. I'll see you later Capt."
"Good day Walker."
Walker headed back upstairs. Alex was right, well at least half right. But if Hilary knew Gage, she must have known Sydney too. He was actually kinda surprised that neither Gage or Sydney said anything when Hilary got hired as his assistant. He decided to call Gage and ask him about Hilary.
Sydney was in the kitchen, making them some sandwiches while Gage sat on the couch, looking for something for them to watch on TV. He was searching for a boxing match that he knew was supposed to be on when they phone rang. He picked it up.
"Gage."
"It's Walker."
"What's up Walker?"
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Shoot."
"Do you remember a woman named Hilary Wilson?"
"Sounds familiar. Why?"
"Did you work with her in Houston?"
"I think she worked at headquarters. I honestly haven't seen her in a while, well since I came to Dallas. Why?"
"You didn't recognize her?"
"Huh?"
"Hilary Wilson was the woman Briscoe hired to be my assistant."
"No, Hilary Wilson is a redhead. Your assistant is blonde."
"Why are you asking about Hilary Wilson?" Sydney asked, coming in from the kitchen having heard the other woman's name. Gage turned to look at her.
"Hold on Walker." He turned to Sydney. "Did you know that Hilary Wilson was hired as Walker's assistant?"
"Yeah. Just because she colored her hair doesn't make her face any less recognizable."
"You knew she dyed her hair?"
"I am a woman, Gage. I do notice these things. So why is Walker asking about her?"
"Hold on, I'll out it on speaker." He pressed the button. "You're on speaker Walker."
"Sydney do you know Hilary Wilson?" Walker asked.
"Yeah, she worked at the Houston headquarters. She wasn't exactly the friendliest person. I was surprised when you hired her to be your assistant. She didn't do a great job in Houston."
"So you know her well?"
"Like I said, she wasn't the friendliest person. I always made polite conversation when I saw her but it was almost like she had her mind wrapped around something or someone else. She always kinda gave me the brush off."
"Walker, what's going on?" Gage asked.
"We naturally assumed that the person who was doing this was someone you both encountered on a case in your past. Maybe it was someone you both connected with in the office back in Houston."
"Are you saying you think Hilary Wilson is doing this to me?" Sydney asked.
"I don't know for sure. Gage, what was your relationship like with Hilary?" Walker asked.
Gage thought long and hard back to his dog days in Houston.
********FLASHBACK********
Francis Gage entered headquarters and headed straight for the coffee pot. He'd had a long night and needed a strong cup of java to get him moving this morning. Last night, he'd gotten into a disagreement with his sister, Julie, about something he wasn't even sure why they were arguing over.
To his surprise, the coffee pot wasn't there. He groaned slightly and began to head back out the door to go to the coffee cart down the street. As he turned, he bumped into someone.
"Excuse me," he said, not looking up right away.
"Totally my fault. I was busying trying to clean the coffee pot," came a female voice. Gage finally looked up and into the deepest green eyes he had ever seen. The green eyes belonged to a perky, pretty redhead with a million dollar smile.
"No worries. I was just on my way to get some coffee."
"You're Ranger Gage, right?" the woman asked him.
"Yeah, everyone just calls me Gage. You are?"
"Hilary. I just started here."
"You're a ranger?"
"I wish. I actually work in the administrative office."
"Sounds like interesting work."
"Hey, someone has to push papers while strong men like you are keeping the streets of Houston safe," Hilary said as she smiled at him again.
"Would you like to join me for a coffee?" Gage asked her.
"I'd love to Ranger Gage. Oh, sorry, Gage."
Gage offered his arm. "Shall we?"
Coming back to the present, Gage wondered how he could've missed that smile on the now blonde woman who worked for his boss. It was that smile that he remembered most about Hilary Wilson.
"Gage?" Walker asked. Sydney poked Gage in the shoulder and he shook the cobwebs from his head.
"Yeah Walker?"
"What was your relationship with Hilary like?" he asked again.
"We had coffee a couple times, had lunch together a couple times. Nothing major, nothing serious. Why?"
"I know it's none of my business, but were you ever involved with her?"
"She had asked me out a couple times, but I always said no. She was cute, just not my type. Shortly after that, Syd and I went undercover. When we got done and back to work, Hilary was gone. I didn't know where she ended up, although I guess I do now."
As Sydney looked at Gage talking to Walker, she could tell he was lying. She had studied his face enough over the years to know when Gage was lying. Especially since he was so bad at it. He would start talking just a little bit faster and he blinked a lot more than normal. She decided to wait until he got off the phone before she questioned him.
After Gage hung up the phone, he noticed Sydney was really quiet. He watched her quietly, wondering if Walker's questions about Hilary had her rethinking their relationship. Things were going to well between them and he would hate to think that a blast from the past could ruin things for them.
Finally, he just had to know. "Something bothering you, Syd?"
"Why did you lie to Walker?"
"What do you mean?"
"Walker asked you if you were involved with Hilary and you started talking really fast. You only do that when you're lying. I've seen you do it before. You also blink really fast too. So why did you lie to Walker?"
"It wasn't so much that I lied, I omitted a few details."
"And what details would those be?"
Gage sighed. "After a couple weeks of her asking me out, I finally gave in and said yes. I picked her up at her place; we went to dinner and a movie. But I just didn't feel anything. I could almost tell that she wanted more, but it just wasn't going to happen."
"Uh huh, if that's all that happened, why would you lie about it?"
"I don't like people in my personal life. It's my life, who else needs to be involved?"
"Walker is our boss and he's trying to help us so we can go home. Don't you want to go home and get back to real life?"
"Real life? So what we're doing here isn't real? Is that it? I'm just the fling you need to get you through until you get home and get back to work?" Gage shot back, tears threatening to fall from those steely blue-gray eyes of his. Sydney stepped closer to him, taking his face in her hands and focused her chocolate brown eyes on his.
"Gage, how can you say that? What we share between us is more real than anything I have ever felt in my life. It took so long for me to see what was happening between us and where this was going but I like where it's going. I take safety in knowing that I'll go to sleep every night in your arms, your strong arms that can cradle and protect me from the outside world. I take comfort in knowing that I'll wake up every morning with you beside me, making me feel loved and special. I know that you'll be by my side every day, kicking butt and taking names. And I know that every night, you'll be making love to me, full of passion and fire. You might be many things Gage, but a fling is not one of them. At least not to me."
As Gage listened to her words, he knew she was right. He wanted nothing more out of life than being right there beside her, taking on the world like they did everything else. Together.
He put his hands on hers and eased them down his face to his shoulders. He then wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and drew her closer to him. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips against her. It was a soft and gentle kiss but was certainly more than a kiss between partners. It conveyed all the passion routed between the young lovers, grounding them to each other; mind, body and soul.
Sydney slowly removed her lips from him and looked deep into his eyes. She brushed off a tear with her thumb. "Does any of that answer your question?"
"I'm sorry that I said that. I should never have said you didn't take us seriously. I just don't want it to end when this is over and we go home."
"You can't get rid of me that easily. Besides, if Hilary is the one causing all this drama, I know I can take her. She doesn't scare me."
"What does?"
"What?"
"What does scare you?"
"Nothing as long as I'm with you."
"Glad to hear it."
"So are you going to tell me what happened between you and Hilary?"
"You really want to know?"
"Gage, I know people have pasts. Lord knows I've had my own fair share of mistakes in my past and if you wanted to know, I would tell you about each and every one of them. I don't want there to be secrets between us. You mean so much to me and I don't want anything to come between us. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine."
Gage finally released the breath he was holding and knew that if he was going to spend his life with Sydney, he could at least do as she asked him. Of course, he wasn't sure if it would keep her anchored to him or send her running for the hills.
"Like I said before, she had been asking me out for a while. I was doing a good job of saying no, but finally I gave in and said yes. I picked her up, she was real dressed up in some sort of deep green dress that made her eyes pop. Her hair was all done up with little bits hanging down in her face. She really was beautiful and I thought I should give it my best before just hightailing it home.
We went to this little Italian place near her place; she was the one who suggested it. She surprised me by speaking fluent Italian. After dinner, where we had polite conversation about ourselves, we went to a movie. I let her choose the movie and of course, she chose some chick flick. But as we were sitting there watching it, I figured out she picked it for a reason. She had already seen it because all she kept doing was trying to make out with me."
"You didn't want to kiss her?"
"Like I said, I really wasn't feeling the date to begin with. But yes, I kissed her a couple times. As soon as that movie was over, I got her back to her apartment as fast as I could. I told her that I had a lovely evening but I didn't think we should do it again. It wouldn't be professional for us to continue a relationship. I had thought she understood."
"If that's really all it was, then you need to tell Walker."
"I know, I'll call him back."
Sydney put her hand on his as he reached for the phone. "That can wait until after lunch."
"What did you make?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Sandwiches. But I think they can keep for a little while."
"Oh?" he asked, one eyebrow slightly raised.
"Yes, I need your help with something upstairs," Sydney replied, a twinkle in her eye.
"Well I'm always willing to lend a helping hand," Gage said with a sly smile. She took his hand and led him up the stairs to the bedroom. He turned and faced her.
"What can I help with?" he asked, holding in a breath.
"Well, first you can help me out of this shirt and then maybe you can help me out of these jeans. Finally, I need your help in bed," she finished saying, looking up at him with her own doe-eyed expression.
Gage reached his hands down to the bottom of her shirt, began lifting it over her head while he spoke. "I think I'm just the man to help you with all these things. First was your shirt, wasn't it? Okay, that's gone now," he said, dropping the shirt to the floor. He scooped her up in his arms and laid her gently on the bed. He brushed a kiss against her neck while he hand slid down her stomach towards the button on her jeans.
"I believe you said these were next," he said, unbuttoning her pants and sliding the zipper down. He slowly eased them down her luscious legs and slowly trailed his hand back up them, leaving goosebumps in his wake.
A fire started to spread within Sydney. She had never known that someone could invoke all these feelings and sensations within her. There weren't even words that she could form to express her intense desire to be with this man for the rest of her life.
Gage spoke again. "Okay, that's two things I've helped you with so far. What was that last thing?" he asked her, teasing her.
"I need you to help me in bed."
"What would you like me to do?"
Sydney brought her lips to his ear, kissing it softly before whispering in it. "Make love to me."
Gage grinned as he looked into her eyes. "Oh I can definitely help with that." He began to kiss her neck again. He felt her start to respond to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, fingers playing in his hair. She arched her back to him as he began his descent down her chest. He reached around, unclasped her bra and slid it off her body.
He bent his head down, teasing the underside of her breast with his finger while finding the hard nub to take gently between his teeth. He sucked and fondled her breast for a just a moment before switching to the other. Then a trail of kisses down her stomach before hooking his fingers inside her panties to slid them off her body.
She sat up and helped him out of his t-shirt. Once it joined the remaining clothes on the floor, she ran her fingers across his broad, tanned chest taking in all that was Gage. She had never seen a more perfect specimen of man. Her small but nimble hands went to his belt buckle and he slid out of the tight jeans. But she didn't stop there; his boxers were the next thing to go.
Gage rejoined her on the bed, her body rolled underneath his. He cradled her in his arms and kissed her again. By this time, she could feel his arousal as it pressed her and she ached to have it inside of her.
She brought her lips to his ear again and whispered, "Take me, Gage. Take me now."
He didn't need to hear anymore. He slipped himself inside of her and she hung on for the wild ride. He started slow and deliberate, wanting the feeling to last forever. Never did he feel more satisfied as he did when he was with her, inside of her.
He began to quicken his pace as Sydney began to shudder beneath his touch. The pressure was building and getting closer to that sweet relief. With one final thrust into her, their cries of pleasure were simultaneous. He fell against her, trying to catch his breath while bathed in sweat. Sydney just laid beneath him, still breathless.
"Gage, do you honestly believe after that that I could only consider you a fling?" she asked him.
"Sydney, I'm so sorry I ever said that to you. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"You didn't."
"Then forgive me for asking but…"
"What?"
"What brought on the sudden urge to make love in the middle of the day?"
"If we could spend the rest of our lives in bed together making love, I would do it with you in a heartbeat. Unfortunately that isn't going to happen, mainly because we both work but if we can have this small escape from the real world for just a little while; I want to indulge every minute of it with you. I want to be with you in every sense of the word. We're the Dynamic Duo of Company B and I want us to be the Dynamic Duo in life as well."
"I know what you mean. I have never felt more alive than I do when I'm with you. When you're by my side, I feel like I can do damn near anything. All I ever want to do is prove that to you."
"You prove it to me every day. You prove it to me by letting me know I no longer have to go through this world alone. When I was a little girl, my mom always told me that everyone in the world was searching for their other half, the person who would complete them. I have spent 33 years looking for that person, only to find that person had been by my side for the last 3 years."
"What exactly are you saying, Syd?" he asked, caressing her cheek with his fingers.
"I want to be with you, forever and beyond. I want to pledge my life to you, in every sense of the word. I want you to be my husband."
"You're saying you would really want to be married to me?"
"More than anything."
"You know, I always thought I was destined to be a bachelor. After losing our parents, I remember telling Julie that I never wanted to know what that kind of pain was like. I was destined to blow through life, keeping my heart guarded so that I would never know what it was like to love someone so much that I couldn't live without them. Mainly because when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. I would never want to put something through anything like Julie and I went through when we lost our parents. I'd almost given up hope of becoming a husband and father, but when I met you, everything changed. I could see it happening…"
"Gage, you're rambling."
"Sorry, I guess what I'm trying to say is I want you as my wife. I want you as the mother of my children. I want us to spend our lives together."
"I want that too."
"I know I don't have much to offer you right now, but I do have one thing I've always kept with me." He rolled off the bed, reached for his jeans and into his pocket. He withdrew his keychain and took something off it. He returned to the bed and looked at Sydney once again.
"My dad gave this to me just before he died. When he first met my mom, he knew with all this heart that he wanted to be with her. He actually gave this to her on their first date and asked her to marry him. He said he asked her to marry him on every date they went on until she finally said yes. Then when I was about five and Julie was seven, Dad had finally saved enough money to get her the ring she deserved. That's when Dad gave me this."
Gage held up a small metal ring with one of those cubic zirconia diamonds on it. It was very plain and very simple; clearly something one would get from one of those claw machines at the grocery store. But Sydney knew it meant a whole lot more to him.
"Gage what are you saying?"
"I'm asking you to marry me, Syd. I love you with all my heart and want to know you'll be with me every step of the way. I know it's not the ring you deserve and when we get back, I will get you something better…."
"Gage, this ring is more special than anything you could buy at the jewelry store, mainly because it holds a special memory for you because it was something special from your father. I will treasure this ring for the rest of my life."
"So is that a yes?"
"Yes, my answer is yes. I want nothing more than to be your wife."
Gage slid the ring on her finger and kissed her hand before kissing her lips. Now he was sure that nothing could tear them apart.
Walker was sitting at his desk when Trivette came in the office. He held a paper in his hand and went straight to Walker.
"We got lucky. The lab was able to extract some DNA from the cigarette butt."
"How long until we have the results?"
"A couple days at most. When we get it back, do you want me to run it through the database?"
"I don't know what good it will do."
"What do you mean?" Trivette asked.
"I have a feeling it's not going to match anyone in the database."
"Cherokee instincts again?"
"Hear me out, Trivette. Hilary Wilson worked at Houston headquarters and she knew both Gage and Sydney. I just got off the phone with them a little while ago. Gage said he never really knew her that well, had coffee and lunch a couple times. Sydney said that she always got the brush off from her. Said it was almost like Hilary had her mind wrapped around something or someone else. Gage even told me that she asked him out a bunch of times."
"So what do you think?"
"It just makes me wonder if she had a hard time with his rejection."
"Why don't we ask her? Is she back from lunch?"
"She had lunch with Amy and ended up going home sick. Amy told me when I went up to talk to Briscoe."
"Okay, we can ask her tomorrow."
"Yeah, but something else is bothering me."
"What?"
"Gage seemed really distant on the phone. I think there might be more to his past with Hilary then he shared with me."
"Maybe he told Sydney. Those two are awful close; they do talk about a lot of things."
"Possibly. They are getting closer."
"How do you mean?"
"When we were at Gage's apartment this morning, I noticed a pile of clothes next to his couch."
"We all know Gage can be a slob," Trivette stated.
"Yeah, but some of Sydney's clothes were mixed with his."
"You don't think they're, you know?"
"I don't know and I don't want to speculate. One thing I know for sure, we need to get to the bottom of this fast. We need them back here."
After their round of lovemaking and proposals, Gage took a shower while Sydney went downstairs to get their lunch on the table. She heard the shower running and saw the phone Gage had left on the side table, next to the couch. She picked it up and dialed Walker's number.
"Walker."
"It's Sydney."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to tell you that Gage and I talked after he got off the phone with you."
"And?"
"You might want to take a look at Hilary Wilson."
"I figured as much. Why didn't he tell me?"
"Embarrassment, pride, could be just about anything."
"Okay, Sydney. I'll look into it. You guys stay safe."
"We will." Sydney hung up the phone and went back to the kitchen. She had just set the plates on the table when she heard the shower stop. She was about to head up the stairs and get Gage when she suddenly felt something heavy hit the back of her head and darkness took over.
Gage had gotten dressed and began downstairs to find his fiancé. Wow, one word had never felt so right. He couldn't wait to begin his life with his beautiful, petite, raven-haired beauty. He stopped before he reached the bottom of the stairs.
The front door was open and Sydney was nowhere to be found. His hand immediately went to his gun as he crept down the stairs. He began to search the room for any clue as to where she would've gone in such a hurry.
Suddenly he felt hands go over his eyes and he smiled to himself. He was about to turn and face the person who belonged to the hands when he felt a sharp prick in his neck. As he began to fall to the floor, he caught a glimpse of blonde hair and green eyes.
Sydney woke up, tied to a chair and sitting in the barn located on the edge of the safe house's property. Her hands were bound behind her and a rag was stuffed in her mouth. As she shook the fog from her head, she noticed a bed was setup in the corner of the barn.
Where is Gage? she thought to herself as she tried to get free. It was pointless as she was expertly bound to the chair. She heard rustling and the sliding door opened a bit as a figured dressed in black entered, dragging something behind them.
It took Sydney a moment to realize that the thing being dragged along the ground was her partner. The figured dragged him over to the bed and began to push him up onto it. Once he was in the middle of the bed, the figure secured his hands and feet to the bed posts. Clearly this person had this planned for a while. Sydney was shocked they hadn't heard any commotions from the barn.
The figure stood back to admire their handiwork before finally turning to face Sydney. Slowly, gloved hands reached up and pulled down the hood. Sydney tried to gasp as she saw who was standing before her.
"You really are stupid, aren't you Sydney?" Hilary Wilson said, standing before the petite ranger and smiling. "You just had to get in the way between me and Gage. Everything was fine until you came along. I had him right where I wanted him. I was going to be his wife and the mother of his children. But no, you had to come along and ruin everything. We were going to be happy until you showed up."
Hilary walked over to Sydney and drawing her hand back, slapped Sydney across the face. A small trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth as she brought her eyes back up to meet Hilary's.
"Never in my life had I met a man like Francis Gage. Strong, caring and sexy; he is everything I've ever wanted. You can't make him happy like I can. You'll never mean as much to him as I do. The night we made love for the first time was absolutely perfect. He was so sweet to make sure all my needs were met. That's when I knew he and I were soulmates.
But then you come into the picture and ruined everything by taking him away for almost a year. If he hadn't gone on that assignment with you, we would've been married by years end. Then none of this would've happened. You could've gone on your way and he and I would be settling down in Dallas together. So now it's time for you to go and for us to get our happily ever after."
Hilary leaned down to Sydney's face. "But not before you get a ring side seat for the show," she added with a smile.
Sydney tried to scream out but the gag was preventing her. Knowing that the three of them we all alone at the safe house, Hilary removed the gag. Sydney launched a full verbal attack against her.
"Gage will never love you. He never did and never will. He told me what happened on the only date you had been on and it didn't include lovemaking. He was never attracted to you and you will never own his heart. That belongs to me."
"Liar!" Hilary exclaimed, slapping Sydney again. "Gage loves me. I see it in his eyes every time I bring him coffee in the mornings. I know he feels the deep passion that burns inside me for him."
"The only thing he feels for you is NOTHING!"
"Well, he felt something once. The night we made love in my bed for hours."
"That never happened."
"Of course it did. After the wonderful dinner at the restaurant where he told me all about himself and that perfect movie where he did nothing but kiss me the whole time, he came back to my place and we made love until morning. He definitely made sure I was totally satisfied before he left my place. Then you showed up and ruined everything."
"You can't blame it on me that you can't get or keep a man."
"Oh I've got Gage now and I will show you how I'm going to keep him."
"By tying him to a bed? That's not going to keep him."
"It will keep him when we make love for hours. And you're going to see the whole thing. You're going to watch as he loves my body and my soul. You're going to see that you're not match compared to me and that I'm the one who holds his heart."
Hilary walked back over to the bed, where she had Gage tied up. She bent down to him to press her lips against his and slowly straddled his body. Sydney watched as she trailed kisses down his neck and back again to his lips.
Gage started to come to and when he tried to move his arms, he realized he couldn't. Something was preventing them from moving. For a brief moment, he thought it was Sydney sitting on top of him and when he finally opened his eyes, it wasn't her warm brown eyes he was staring into. No, these eyes were a deep dark green and he knew it wasn't Sydney's lips on his. He struggled a bit more and then heard her words.
"Don't fight me, darling. It's time we get back to where we should've been had it not been for Sydney. We need to bring out the passion we once had before she showed up."
"What are you talking about Hilary? We never had any passion."
"Of course we did, darling. The night we spent together was wonderful."
"We never spent a night together."
"Of course we did. That night we went to dinner and a movie."
"Hilary, I've never been with you."
"Yes you did. You made love to me all night."
"No I didn't."
"Yes, you did. With a little help from my friend rohypnol."
"You drugged me?"
"It was the only way for us to be together, my love. It was such a wonderful night. I can't count how many times you satisfied me, making sure every orgasm was perfect."
"So the only way you could have Gage was to drug him?" Sydney spoke up from the corning. Hilary turned to look at her, daggers shooting from her eyes.
"I did what I had to do in order to have the man I love."
"He never would've touched you if you didn't drug him," Sydney said in the calm, cool voice she used when questioning dangerous criminals. She knew if she could get under Hilary's skin, Hilary would get off Gage. Maybe that would be enough so he could try to get free.
Sure enough, her plan worked because in a flash, Hilary was off Gage and the bed before heading in Sydney's direction. Hilary drew her fist back and took Sydney right in the gut. It knocked the wind out of her for a minute but she quickly regained her composure.
"Sure, take a cheap shot since I'm tied up. You know you couldn't beat me in a fair fight."
"You'll wish I had once I'm through with Gage."
Trivette came running in the office, waving a paper in his hand.
"Walker!"
"What is it Trivette? Why are you yelling?"
"I thought about what you said earlier. I remembered seeing Hilary spitting out her gum in a wad of paper and throwing it away, so I dug it out of the trashcan."
"You were playing in trash?"
"It was worth it. I took the gum down to Mary at the lab. I had her cross check the DNA from the cigarette against the gum. 100% match. Hilary was the one watching from across the way at Gage's apartment."
"Where does she live?"
Trivette went to his computer and pulled up her personnel file. "Over on Catacomb Dr."
"Let's go."
When they arrive at Hilary's apartment, they walked slowly to the door. Walker knocked and called for her.
"Hilary? It's Ranger Walker," he said as the door creaked open. Slowly, he and Trivette unholstered their weapons and entered the apartment. They went over every inch, finally coming to a closed door at the end of the hallway.
Creeping open the door, Walker and Trivette entered the room and both stood in shock. The room's walls were filled with photos of Gage, taken over the past few years. There were pictures of him alone at home, riding his motorcycle, of him at the office, with Sydney, with Walker, with Trivette. There were photos of him with Julie, photos of him at Walker's ranch, even photos of him holding baby Angela. But the one photo that caught their eyes was a sonogram in the middle of the wall.
Walker walked over and studied the photo. He stiffened and turned to face Trivette.
"We gotta get to the safe house. NOW!"
Hilary briefly considered finally having it out with Sydney. She was at least a good 3 or 4 inches taller than Sydney and she had been taking self-defense classes. But she knew that Sydney often sparred with Gage and she knew that Gage was great at teaching the martial arts. Finally she decided Sydney was fine where she was and turned her attentions back to Gage on the bed.
"We'll need to make this a quickie so I can hurry up and get rid of her. She's the only thing standing in our way, darling. Once she's gone, we can finally be together."
"Wait, I don't want to do it this way," Gage said, trying to buy some time. "If we are going to make love, I want to do it right. I want to be able to hold you, to feel you underneath me."
"Are you asking to be untied?"
"Yes, please."
"That's not going to happen, darling. If I untie you, you'll end up running back to the cheap whore."
"I promise I won't run from you. I realize now that you really do love me. You love me so much that you came to find me."
"Of course I did. I would do anything for you."
"How did you find me? Walker said he wasn't going to tell anyone where I was."
"But that's the great part of being his assistant. I had complete access to all his files and records. I just couldn't wait any longer to be back in your arms."
"Is that why you took the job with Walker?" he asked her.
"Once I found out he had asked you to come to Dallas, I knew it was our chance to be together again. I packed up everything of importance and came here. Sure, it took a while to figure out how I was going to get you back, but I made sure I kept my eye on you. I watched you with your colleagues, I watched you with Walker's beautiful little baby, I even watched you with her," she spat out, casting a glance in Sydney's direction. She turned back to look at Gage. "I never wanted to be away from you, my love. But I had to wait until the time was right."
"And now you have come to find me."
"Of course. I would've moved heaven and earth to find you. But in order for you to truly be mine, she has to go. I say we just kill her now and get it over with."
"How do you plan to kill her?" Gage asked, just trying to keep her talking. The longer she talked, the longer he had to come up with a plan.
"The easiest way would be to shoot her. I think we should even use your gun. It would be so poetic, don't you think?"
"Yes it would."
"Come to think of it, it would be even better if you pulled the trigger. To watch the life seep out of her body and know that the agony she has caused us will be gone. Then we can make sweet love and finally go home to be a family."
"If that's what you want me to do, I will. Just not in here. I don't want to ruin all the work you did in putting this together for us."
"Alright my dear. I will untie you but know that I also have a gun and if you force me to use it on you I will. Take her out behind the house and tie her to the big apple tree. Then just stand back and shoot. I will be watching and waiting for you, my love."
Hilary leaned over and untied Gage's hands. Then she reached down and untied his feet. Gage knew he couldn't react right now; she had that gun in her hand and kept it trained on him. He didn't know what kind of moves she might have or how quick she would be on that trigger.
"On your feet, my love."
Gage stood and walked over to where Sydney sat. He reached back to get the handcuffs from Hilary and placed them on Sydney's wrists.
I have a plan he mouthed to Sydney. She nodded slightly, hoping Hilary wouldn't notice that she had. Once she was cuffed, Gage untied the ropes and then tied one around her waist. Hillary handed him his gun and watched as he led Sydney out of the barn and towards the back field near the apple tree.
Once they were out of earshot, Gage whispered to Sydney. "When I fire this gun, drop to the ground like I hit you. My handcuff keys are in my pocket, I'm going to drop them on the ground next to you when I bend down to check that you're 'dead'."
"Keep her busy for about 10 minutes so I can get to my gun. I hope she didn't find it in the house."
"I'll do my best. I love you Shorty."
"I love you too Gage, please don't make a widow before we're even married."
They reached the tree and Gage tied the rope, pretty loosely, around the base of the tree. He knew he could shoot close enough to Sydney to make it look like she was shot but not actually hitting her. He walked back a few paces, turned to make sure Hilary was watching him. She blew a kiss at him and he waved. Then he turned back to Sydney. He took his aim and fired.
Sydney fell to the ground, probably with more force than she should have, but she wanted it to be convincing. As promised, Gage holstered his weapon and drove his hands in his pockets before walking over to her seemingly lifeless body. He bent down and pretended to feel for a pulse with his left hand while his right wiggled the keys out of his pocket. They fell to the ground, with his foot blocking the way. He took one last look at Sydney before standing and heading back to the barn.
"Walker, what did you see?" Trivette was asking as the senior rangers sped towards the safe house.
"Hilary Wilson was pregnant about 4 years ago."
"And?"
"Sydney had called me about an hour after I spoke to her and Gage. She basically confirmed my suspicions about Gage's past with Hilary. About the time she would've gotten pregnant is about the time she got obsessed with Gage, is my guess."
"Do you think Gage fathered her child?" Trivette asked.
"I don't know. I didn't see any baby stuff in her apartment and if she is obsessed with Gage, she could've found out where he and Sydney are by looking through the files on the computer. "
"So this kid would be how old now?"
"Around 3."
"Do you honestly think Gage could've fathered her child?" Trivette asked again.
"Anything is possible, Trivette." Walker didn't say another word as he pressed harder on the accelerator.
As Gage walked back towards the barn, he hoped he could keep Hilary busy until Sydney could get to her gun. He hated having to say those things to Hilary in front of Sydney, but he needed to gain Hilary's trust in order to set his plan in motion. He thought back to that first day when he invited Hilary for coffee. If only he had known then that the woman was truly nuts, he would've just kept his mouth shut.
Hilary smiled at him when he approached her. "Is it done, my love?"
"It's done."
"Finally, we can now be together. We can finally be husband and wife."
"Is that what you want?"
"You are all I've ever wanted. But before we get married, there's something we need to do first. Back on the bed, darling."
"Can I have just a minute please? I've never killed anyone before."
Hilary walked over to him and put her arms around his shoulders. "Of course, sweetheart. I know how hard this must be for you. But she needed to die. We couldn't let her interfere with our lives anymore."
"I just wish there had been another way. Did she really have to die?"
"She never would've left us alone. She would've tried coming after you and I couldn't let that happen. You'll see soon enough that everything I do is for you. I'm the only one who really thinks about you. Nobody has ever loved you the way I do."
"What else have you done for me?" Gage asked, trying to keep her talking.
"That's not important now darling. What is important is that now we can finally consummate our relationship." She pushed him over to the bed. Gage turned to face her.
"Just a minute, please."
"You've had enough time. Now are you going to lay down willingly or should I bring my friend in to help you relax?"
Gage swallowed deeply. He hoped that Sydney had gotten away by now. He didn't have any choice but to lay down on the bed. Hilary quickly tied his hands above his head again.
"What's that for?" Gage asked.
"You never objected to being tied up before. Now just relax and I will take you to heights of heaven you never knew possible."
Hilary stood slowly and began to remove her clothing. First she lifted her shirt over her head and exposed the top of her bustier. Gage swallowed deeply again. Next she removed her pants and revealed her long, toned legs with thigh high stockings.
As much as he tried to resist, Gage's body retaliated against him. His arousal began to rise and all he could do was hope and pray someone would get to him before she could have her way with him.
Sydney had laid on the ground until she was sure Gage and Hilary were gone. Carefully lifting open one eye, she peeked up and saw she was alone in the field. Quickly, she picked up the handcuff key and freed herself. She untied the rope and crept silently along the front side of the house towards the front door.
When she reached the door, she crept inside. She wasn't sure if they were in the house or still in the barn. Letting out a sigh of relief, she realized she was alone in the house. Hurrying up the stairs, she made it to the bedroom and retrieved her gun.
Coming back down the stairs, she heard footsteps in the living room. She froze for a moment and readied herself for a fight. Sydney slowly took the stairs one at a time and leapt into the living room.
"Texas Ranger! Freeze!"
Sydney came face to face with Walker's desert eagle.
"Walker?"
"Sydney? Where's Gage?" Walker asked.
"He must still be in the barn."
Trivette came in. "Everything okay Walker? Oh hey Sydney. Where's Gage?"
"Hilary must still have him out in the barn. Walker, she's the one who did this to me. She's totally obsessed with Gage."
"We know, we've been to her apartment. She has a room filled with his pictures," Trivette said.
"She told us she's been keeping her eye on him," Sydney replied.
"Did she say anything else?" Walker asked.
"Oh she had lots to say. The one date Gage had with her, she drugged him and took advantage of him when they got back to her apartment. Walker, she raped him."
"Does he remember any of it?" Trivette asked.
"No, when she was telling us what happened Gage looked truly surprised."
"How did you get away and why isn't she looking for you?" Walker asked.
"She told Gage to take me out to the apple tree in the backyard, tie me up and shoot me with his gun. Something about it being poetic. But we have to get out to the barn. Walker, she's a bedroom set up in there. I think she's going to…."
Walker didn't let Sydney finish. "Let's go!"
Gage was struggling with the ropes as Hilary began kissing his neck. He had to do something. He couldn't let this happen. Where on Earth was Sydney?
"Hilary, stop!"
"Don't fight me, Gage. I'm getting what I came for."
"I don't want to do this. Please don't force me."
"Then I guess I have to bring out my little friend."
Hilary withdrew from him and went to a bag, sitting in the corner of the barn. She bent down to grab something and Gage saw a flash of brown hair near the door. Sydney was here!
Hilary turned back around, syringe in her hand. "Don't worry lover, this won't hurt me a bit."
She took one step towards Gage and met with Sydney's foot in her back. Hilary dropped the syringe and turned to face the petite ranger.
"Filthy whore, still alive? Not for long," Hilary exclaimed as she lunged at Sydney. The two women rolled around on the floor for a few minutes before standing up. Sydney delivered a swift roundhouse kick to Hilary's chest and she fell to the ground. Another kick to the face and she spun around. Hilary looked up just in time to see Sydney draw her foot straight up and deliver a drop kick to her face. That was it, she was done.
Sydney ran to Gage who was now silently crying, his hands still tied above him. She cradled him in her arms and held him close. Releasing his hands, she pressed her body against him and whispered soothing words in his ear.
"I'm here Gage. She can't hurt you anymore. Don't cry Gage."
Walker and Trivette came running into the barn and saw the embrace between the junior rangers. Walker motioned to Trivette to follow him back outside and let them have a moment alone.
Gage looked up into Sydney's warm and soft brown eyes, his own filled with tears. She gently brushed the tears off his face with her thumbs and leaned in to softly press her lips against his. When she pulled back, she looked deep into his eyes.
"Did I get here in time?" she asked him.
"Just in time. She was going to get the drugs."
"Gage, I'm so happy that you're safe."
"I'm sorry for the things I had to say to her. I know how much that had to have hurt you."
"Gage, you did what you had to do. I'll admit, hearing you say those things to her stung a bit but if the situation were reversed, I would've said the same things. I told you before; nothing is ever going to come between us. I love you and as long as this is on my finger, I will always belong to you," Sydney said, holding up her left hand so he could still see the ring his father had given him sitting on her finger.
"I love you too Syd. I never want to be away from you again. I never want to even look at another woman ever again."
"That's good, because I don't share. You are mine," she said with a smile as she leaned down and kissed him again. It was only a quick kiss as Sydney knew their bosses were probably waiting outside.
"What's wrong?" Gage asked.
"Walker and Trivette are outside. They want to talk to us. Besides, we need to call DPD to come get Hilary. So come on Romeo, let's go face the music like we do everything else – together."
Hand in hand, Gage and Sydney emerged from the barn.
Sitting in the living room of the safe house, Walker looked at the junior rangers sitting very close together on the sofa. He knew something had happened between them while they were in the safe house, but right now there were some more pressing matters to discuss.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Walker asked.
"Gage was in the shower, I heard a noise. I went to look and was hit from behind. I woke up tied to the chair," Sydney said.
"I got done upstairs and came down to look for Syd. I saw the front door was open and as I was going to check, I felt something sharp in my neck. I saw her eyes as I lost consciousness," Gage added.
"I watched her drag Gage out to the barn and onto the bed. She tied him up and then turned to me, telling me it was all my fault that she wasn't with Gage. She got a couple hits in and then Gage came too."
"She told me that Syd had to die and that it would be poetic if I did it with my gun. I convinced her to let me do it outside and I was planning on running, but she stood watching me, her gun trained on me. I finally figured out some sort of plan."
"Gage told me to fall to the ground when he shot; he was going to miss on purpose. God, Walker, that bullet was so close; I could feel it blowing by my side. I dropped to the ground; he came over to "check" and dropped his handcuff key. When he went back to the barn, I freed myself. Went to the house and got my gun. That's when you showed up."
"What happened when you got back to the barn, Gage?" Trivette asked.
"She kept trying to get me on the bed. I told her I needed a moment; I'd never killed anyone before. I kept trying to stall long enough for Syd to get there. She finally pointed the gun at me and told me to lay down. She retied my hands and kept trying to "get what she came for" as she told me. I kept trying to fight her and she finally said she was going to get the drugs. Then I saw Syd," Gage replied.
"I tackled her and we fought and I kicked her ass. Then I went to free Gage. Then we came in here," Sydney finished.
Walker and Trivette just looked at the two junior rangers. An awfully lot had happened before they got there, that's for sure. Walker's expression softened a bit as he looked at Sydney and Gage.
"I'm sorry that this had to happen. Hilary hid her obsession from all of us and she hid it well."
"I'm just glad we got her before she had a chance to do anything," Sydney said, her hand holding tightly onto Gage's. Walker noticed it too.
"Trivette, why don't you take Sydney out to the truck and take down her official statement?" Walker asked, clearly wanting a moment alone with the blonde ranger. Trivette nodded and escorted Sydney outside. Gage looked up at Walker.
"We need to talk, Gage."
"I figured as much."
"Why did you lie?"
"I omitted a few details."
"Look, I know your personal life is just that – its personal. I'm glad this situation didn't turn out differently but your omission could've turned this into a deadly situation."
"I know Walker and I'm sorry."
"It's okay; just don't let it happen again."
"I won't Boss."
Walker cleared his throat. "There are a few other personal questions I need to ask."
Gage swallowed deeply. "Okay."
"When we were at your apartment, I noticed the pile of clothes next to the couch. They weren't all yours. Sydney's was there too."
Gage was still silent.
"Is there something going on that I should know?" Walker asked a soft and almost fatherly tone to his voice.
"I love her Walker. I've asked her to marry me and she said yes."
"Look, Gage, each sergeant is allowed to run their company the way they see fit. As long as it doesn't interfere with your job and professional relationship, then whatever you and Sydney choose to do in your personal lives is up to you."
Gage couldn't believe his ears. Walker was giving them his blessing. It was the greatest honor he could bestow upon the young rangers and for Gage, it felt like Walker was proud of him.
"At least it didn't take you seven years like it did me," Walker added with a chuckle.
"Nope, just three."
"The way you look at Sydney reminds me of how I look at Alex. We're not so different, you and I."
"Thanks Walker, that means a lot."
Walker smiled, but it quickly faded. "There is something else Gage."
"What is it Walker?"
"When we went to Hilary's apartment, she had a room filled with pictures of you."
"That makes sense. She said she had been watching me."
"There were photos of you with all of us; me, Alex, Trivette, Sydney and even Angela. She had been watching you for a while now. But there was something else."
"What was it?"
"There was a sonogram in the room."
"A sonogram?"
"Yeah, it was Hilary's. Her name was in the upper left hand corner. Dated a few months after the "date" you had with her. Do you remember that?"
"Yeah, it was dinner and a movie. She must've drugged me drink at the movie because she said things happened when we got back to her place."
"What did she say happened?"
"Just that apparently I made sure she was completely satisfied."
"I see," Walker looked away. Gage grabbed his arm.
"Walker, what are you saying?"
"We didn't find any baby stuff in her apartment."
"She told me she had packed everything of importance before she came here. Once we had consummated out relationship, we would be leaving to begin our lives as a family. Walker, did you find her car?" Gage asked in a panicked voice.
"No, we didn't."
"Walker, we need to find that car. I have to know. Please."
The two men stood and raced out of the house. Sydney and Trivette saw and followed close behind. They ran around to the back side of the barn and saw the old beat up Ford Taurus sitting there.
At first, nobody moved. They all stood there, watching the car. Sydney and Trivette had no idea what they were looking for but it had to be something important the way Walker and Gage had flew out of the house.
Gage was the first to take a step towards the car. He looked back at Sydney. She gazed into his eyes but they were unreadable. He just turned and kept walking. Reaching the car, he looked inside.
