Chapter 4

"Babe," Ric said in a raw voice as his head descended down to mine to give me a feverent kiss.

"Ric?" I asked, confused. Where was I? Had all been only a bad dream and I was safe at home in the loving arms of my husband?

"Si mi amor," Ric murmured, before he claimed my lips again. Forgetting everything I let myself go and melted into his kiss, his arms holding me close to him. This time when he broke the kiss I just sighed contentedly and snuggled against his naked chest, his heart beating fast against my ear.

After a moment, I turned my head and started to shower his chest with small kisses. "I missed you so much, Cariño," I whispered and looked up between two kisses to meet his dark eyes, alighted with fire. Fire for me.

"I missed you too, Cara. I need you so much," Ric said and I felt as he gently pressed his hip against mine so I could feel the hard erection of him. "Never leave me, Babe."

"Never, Ric. I couldn't," I whispered and moved my hand to put it around him. "I need you too much myself."

With a groan, Ric took both of my hands to put them around his neck. Next he lifted me and put my legs around his hips. He claimed my lips, his tongue pushing deep into my throat to muffle my scream when he plunged himself with one forceful stroke deep into me. For a long moment we stayed like that, time standing still, the only thing moving our tongues warring and dancing a dance known since always simultaneously. Suddenly, Ric let my mouth go to rain kisses down my throat. Over the crook in my neck he stopped and gave it a long sensual kiss. In bliss I threw my head back and at the same time pushed myself harder against him to take him even more into me.

Ric lifted his head to look me into the eyes and there was a feral smile on his face. At the sight of this smile I inwardly jubilated in eager expectation. I knew that smile, had seen it often. It always promised me a wonderful, unforgettable meeting with Ric, a lovemaking there were no words for it, so incredible it was. Turning serious he slowly slipped out of me so far that he left my body almost completely. Then his head shot back to the spot on my neck he had ravished and his teeth pierced my skin at the same time he once thrust forcefully into me again.

Making me his, proving me that I was his, reminding me that I was his. Marking me as his. Forever and ever.

With any other man I would hate such a possessive gesture. Would hate to be marked in such a manner. But not with Ric. Never with Ric. Our need for each other often rendered to animalistic, our bond equaled more the life long mating some animals like swans did than a simple banal marriage. So I found it only natural to be marked in such a way. And I would return the favor as soon as I could.

He let go of my neck and kissed his way back to my mouth and while we kissed he picked up the ancient rhythm lovers, mates, danced to since the beginning of time. Stroke for stroke I met him and together we moved faster and faster and faster until we both ripped our mouths away at the same time to roar out our utter elation and ecstasy. We both trembled when he released himself deep inside me, him from the blissfully release and I from the sensation his seed spilling into me caused me.

We were one, only whole like that, joined in every way possible and nothing in this universe was more perfect for me than that one moment.

The more it hurt when suddenly, I felt myself being ripped away from the arms of my mate, being separated by searing force. I cried out in the pain of the sudden loss and from one second to the other the world around me turned from pure heaven to terrifying hell. Fire enclosed me and the scorching heat burned my skin. Red, orange and glistening, blinding white attacked my senses. I should hear the crackles of the fire around me, but the only thing I could hear were the agonizing screams of pain from Ric who desperately called out for me.

Sobs ripped away from me and the tears spilled out of my eyes while I cried out for my soulmate, weeping for him, for me, for us. The tears didn't even lesson the pain of my burning skin. No, the liquid evaporated within a brink of a second, leaving only the salt on my cheeks which only lit up the painful fire on them.

Then, suddenly, darkness descended upon me and with a petrified scream to Ric I felt myself be engulfed by it.


I gulped. Not that I was easily intimidated. But I had learned fast that Frank Plum may look pretty harmless, always sitting in his chair and watching television or eating undisturbed by the bedlam around him or driving a taxi, but if necessary he could be very scary and dangerous. I'll never forget the time after Steph and I had gotten together and he had invited me over to his garage to work with him a bit on the Buick.

Of course I hadn't been enthusiastic about it, but Steph had told me that this invitation was an honor unparalleled and I'd better go. As I had the intention to stay together with my Babe I of course went after all. I figured I'd better put myself on my woman's family's good side with the way things worked here in the Burg.

The moment I had entered the garage upon Frank's request I had been grabbed from the side and thrown with one move to the ground, a knife at my throat and two very cold eyes had stared into mine. "You have an excellent record, Manoso. I'm disappointed that you let yourself be taken by surprise like this."

"Sir," I calmly responded, more calmly than I felt.

The cool blade of the knife touched my skin. "You lead a dangerous life, Manoso. By dating my daughter, you pull her into that life. If this is the way you protect yourself then how do you want to protect my daughter?"

Growing aware of the test I was being submitted to, I swallowed my scruples to go against Steph's father and did what I normally would have done. Fought back. Only… I had no success. Nothing I did had any effect. Harmless Frank Plum had me well and truly immobilized and solely at his mercy. Damn. That hadn't happened to me since my training for the Rangers.

Thinking, I finally simply answered his question. "I will protect her by whatever means necessary, Sir," I answered honestly, before adding a bit sulkily. "Like I have done before."

His eyes didn't flicker, just stared a hole into my entire being. "You and I both know that the dangers Steph had so far been in will be nothing compared to what your enemies could do to her. So far she had been lucky. There hardly was any real threat to her, not someone with real training. But by being your woman, this will change. They will all go through her to get at you."

Getting angry, I had looked back at him with heat. "I know that, Sir. It was one of the reasons why I stayed away for so long. But I will do whatever is in my power to protect her, as well as my core team and the whole staff of RangeMan. And they are the best, Sir."

"So it's the rumor." Frank nodded, before leaning in real close. "And it better is true, because if something happens to my Kitten because of you, if you hurt her in any way, if you don't adequately protect her, nothing in this world will stop me from killing you." At his words the knife grazed my skin and drew blood. "Is that clear, Manoso?"

"Yes, Sir. Crystal clear." I answered hoarsely. And I knew it was true. I had no idea who or what Frank Plum really was, but I knew he'd follow through with his words.

"Good. Never forget that, Manoso," Frank said chillingly and before I knew it the knife had vanished and he had pulled me up to my feet. "And another thing: Not a word of this to Stephanie."

Tentatively touching my bleeding throat, I nodded. I had no interest in telling my Babe that her father had gotten to me like that. I would never live this down.

"Well, what are you standing around like that, Ricardo? Grab some tools and come help me," Frank then had said, as if nothing had happened, and turned over to the open hood of the Buick. And after what I just had experienced, I damn well hurried to follow this man's orders.

"Manoso!" Frank yelled into my ear, bringing me back to the here and now.

"Yes," I said hesitantly.

"I ask you again: Where is my daughter?" Frank asked in a clipped voice.

Finally, I registered the near panic in his voice. Could it be that he already knew about my Babe's abduction? But how? Pushing my thoughts away I slowly answered him, bracing myself for what was to come. "I don't know, Sir. She's missing at the moment."

A sharp intake of breath was heard then for a while nothing. I figured Steph's father digested the horrible news. Then a single word I hadn't heard so far followed. It was self explanatory though.

"When?" he finally asked in a tight voice.

"This morning between 0717 and 0900. Probably though between 0730 and 0800," I reported, not thinking twice about giving Frank Plum all information I knew - the little it was.

"Any trace of her so far?" Frank wanted to know.

Swallowing, I denied. "Some leads, but nothing definite."

Silence.

When I was sure Frank wasn't going to ask anything more for the moment, I asked the one question at the front of my mind. "How did you know about Steph's abduction, Frank?"

"Not over the phone," he answered briskly though. "You at your headquarters?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there in eleven minutes."

And the connection was cut. I dragged the phone away from my ear and stared at it for a moment.

What the hell was going on here?


"That was the Bombshell's father?" Tank asked me.

Slowly I nodded.

"How'd he know about it?"

I shook my head. "No idea. But we're about to find out." At Tank's look I sighed. "He's on his way here."

For a long moment, Tank stared at me before he shook his head. "Shit, Ric, want me to call for a team?"

The only one I ever told about my encounter with Frank Plum had been Tank. He had laughed his ass off but then helped me trying to find out more about my prospective father in law. Sure, there was the usual. Birth, marriage, birth of children. A sheet of prior engagements, note of his retirement from the post office a few years back. But after Frank's warning I knew there must have been more, so we went deeper. And despite our excellent resources we had found nothing. Nada. If I didn't know him I almost would have believed that no Frank Plum existed. We searched the cities data about him and found it classified. Trying to find more out on the indirect way we then checked on Steph's mother. And had to find out that her data was as protected as his.

To this day I still don't know exactly who Frank Plum really was behind that mask of a normal Burg houseman. But Tank and I learned to be cautious whenever he was involved. And it was reasonable of Tank to fear for my safety. I did so as well. But something told me that Frank would first take advantage of my resources. Once we got my Babe back though…

Another point that worried me a bit was the part about the fight. No guaranties what he'd do once he found out that all this happened because of a fight we had. All starting with a cucumber…

Suppressing a shudder, I shook my head. "No, I think you will be enough."

"If you think so," Tank relented, doubtfully.

I gave a short nod and turned away to go back to the window. There still were at least six minutes left until Frank would be here. Six long minutes in which I couldn't do much. Starting to call in the first favor would pretty surely take more than six minutes. The others were occupied with the different branches of the investigation. I had notified Connie that Steph was sick and wouldn't be in for a few days and then had sent out Hector and Cal to get Steph's skip. Walters was long back in jail by now and they were now going after the rest of her skips.

So all I had left to do was worry. The one thing I couldn't allow myself now, even though it was unavoidable. I closed my eyes and immediately, my Babe's beautiful blue eyes appeared, her look heavy with satisfaction and shining with pure love. The way they had looked just before the fight had started. The emotions I felt at that vision nearly chocked me up so I hastily opened my eyes again. Not that it would have lessened the pain. The damage to my composure was done now and my heart arched with longing for my wife.

On the other side of the room the door banged open and I felt a furious presence enter the room, the heat of his fury chilling me.

Frank.

Taking a big gulp of air I slowly turned around to face my father in law. He had looked scary, that day in his garage when he warned me off. But now… If I could, I would take my men and happily get to the next war zone in no time. My father in law's eyes were blazing with rage and every muscle in his body seemed to be tensed.

"How the fuck could this happen, Manoso?" he demanded to know, not losing any time with niceties.

Guilt surged through me again like a hot knife but I pushed it back. "She was out for a run when she got abducted," I quietly said.

Frank's eyes narrowed. "On a run? My Kitten? What did you do to her?" he asked, looming.

Bracing myself, I met his eyes. "We had a fight, Frank. A bad one. So we went to vent. She went running and I came here."

His hands grabbed my collar and I was yanked forward to be inches away from his face. Frank had moved faster than I had seen it coming. Not that I was surprised. "You left her alone? Hurting, unprotected?" he asked, dangerously low.

I just nodded, averting my eyes. I was already feeling enough remorse. Nothing Frank said could enlarge the guilt I was feeling for letting my Babe get caught.

"You swore to protect her!" Frank reminded me.

I nodded again. Yeah I did. More than once. To God, to Frank, to her, to everyone who needed to know it. And still I failed.

"If something happens to her, I swear you're dead, Manoso. And to the contrary to you I stand to my oaths," Frank told me, icily.

At last I met his eyes again. "That won't be necessary, Frank," I told him coldly.

His eyes widened in understanding. Abruptly, he let me free, not without slamming me into the wall behind me though.

"Mr Plum!" Tank exclaimed and with three steps was between Frank and me. "Look, I understand your worry but this doesn't help Steph at all."

Taking a deep breath Frank turned away. I was still with my back to the wall. Finally Frank turned towards us again, this time his emotions under a tight control. "Right. So what do you know so far?"

Tank glanced at me and after I said nothing he quickly gave my father in law a summary of the meeting. Interested, I watched as Frank's eyes turned distant, digesting the facts. When he gave us his attention again, he looked resigned and scared. "I hoped I was wrong," he whispered, more to himself.

Fiery anger shot through my veins and I pushed away from the wall to stand before my father in law. He knew something. Somehow, he was connected to Steph's abduction. Rage overcame me like a hurricane and this time around it was my turn to grab for Frank's collar. "What do you know?" I bellowed.

This agony I was feeling since Connie's call, and Frank had known something about what had happened to my wife all the time. And he dared to make me feel guilty? I was going through the nine circles of hell and was out of my mind with worry and all this time, Frank held some of the answers I needed to get my Babe back?!

I saw red.

But before I could do anything for which I probably would never be able to look my Babe into her eyes again, I was yanked away from Frank and Tank pushed himself between us once more.

The short distance helped me to cool down a bit, but only a bit. "You better tell me anything you know before I will forget myself!" I spat out.

"Calm down you two!" Tank exclaimed and glared at Frank and me. "Mr Plum, Ric did all he could to protect your daughter. What happened wasn't his fault. The way I see it, it would have happened anyway." Then he turned to me. "You better get that in your head also! And I'm sure Mr Plum would have done whatever was in his power to prevent all this if he'd have known."

For a very long moment Frank and I glared into each other's eyes before Frank's eyes suddenly softened and he sighed. With a nod he signaled Tank that he was under control now. Him pulling himself together helped me to see through my rage induced haze and I too was able to pull myself together again. Tank looked at both of us mistrustfully before slowly stepping back a bit. When we two didn't go at each other again, he nodded relieved. Then he turned to Frank. "First of all, Mr Plum, how did you learn that the Bombshell is missing?"

Frank's eyes hardened and he drew a sheet of paper, that was carefully enwrapped in a plastic bag, from his pocket. "I got this thirty minutes ago," he told us in a cold voice.

Tank took it and I slowly moved closer to read it also.

Icewolf

An eye for an eye.

A tooth for a tooth.

A child for a child.

Blood for blood.

Death for death.

It wasn't signed, but usually, that wasn't necessary. Usually, the receiver of such a note knew the sender. And one look into Frank's distressed eyes and I knew it wasn't anything different this time around. The note had no meaning to me. But it wasn't hard to get the general message and my heart stopped beating. Horrified, I looked at the bloody fingerprint on it, having no doubt whose print it was. Black spots danced before my eyes.

Death for death.

Steph.

My Babe.

No...


TBC!

(Author's Note: Okay, back from Verona and like promised, here the next chapter. Thanks for the nice reviews for the last one and I hope you like the twist in this chapter as well. For those who doesn't know: I'm a sucker for Frank Plum. Something tells me there is more in him that was revealed to us so far. So here's one version of what this could be. More soon!)