Thanks so much for all the reviews! I still don't own them, make no profit, blah blah blah. This is the final chapter, so thanks for reading all the way through!

…

"Tank let me in. And you can go now," he said.

She crossed her arms. "I'm not going anywhere."

The man glared. "I don't know who you are, but I know that the last thing Carlos needs is his current snatch hanging around and playing nurse." He took a step closer and loomed over her. "You can go. Now."

…

Steph was left standing there with her mouth open when the man spun around and stalked toward Ranger's bedroom.

"Hey asshole!" she yelled, chasing after him. "You can't just waltz in here and—"

But by then the man had Ranger's bedroom door open and had stepped through. She hurried after him, only to find Ranger, sitting up in bed, smiling widely.

"Marco!" Ranger said. "Nice to see you man."

Steph watched in shock as Marco shook Ranger's hand, his whole persona completely different than the terrifying man she had seen in the kitchen.

"How are you Carlos? Tank called and said you were laid up. Figured this would be a good time to come see everyone and see if I could pitch in."

"I'm always willing to let you pitch in, but I'll be back to work in a day or two."

From the doorway, Steph snorted. "You're staying in that bed a week, even if I have to tie you down."

Steph caught a glimpse of Ranger's wolf grin before Marco blocked her line of sight. "I thought I told you to leave," he said, his voice back to cold and menacing.

"Leave her alone," Ranger said. "She's fine."

Marco leveled a glare on Steph that normally would have her shaking in her boots. At the moment, it couldn't compare to the steam coming out of her ears.

"What exactly do you think you're relationship with Carlos is?" he said.

"Marco," Ranger said, his voice growing sharper, "leave her alone." Ranger and Marco stared each other down for a moment before Ranger turned to her, moving his head so he could see her around Marco's bulk. "Steph, can you give us a minute?"

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Please babe?"

She stared at Ranger for a moment, entirely befuddled by who this man was and what was happening. "Sure," she finally said. She stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her with a shaky hand. Who the hell was this guy? Ranger never let anyone get away with talking to her like that.

She walked back into the kitchen and grabbed the tray with Ranger's water and medicine and headed back for the bedroom. That should be plenty of time for Ranger to set this asshole straight.

…

"Who sent you?" Ranger said as soon as Stephanie was gone. "Mama or Celia?"

"Mama did, little brother. And don't think you can get rid of me."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ranger said dryly. "And that's Stephanie you just ordered out of here, by the way, not some hooker I've got stashed away."

"I know who she is."

Ranger raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And you think I'm going to let you talk to her like that?"

"Look bro," Marco said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I know Mama is convinced that Stephanie hung the moon and is your last chance at salvation and all that. But Tank told me what went down. You've got your head so far wrapped up in this little white girl that you almost got yourself killed. This job doesn't allow for relationships, Carlos. You know that."

"Maybe it's a risk I'm willing to take."

"What about when she gets hurt? Or if she gets kidnapped and you have to be reasonable while looking for her? Or when she wants to get married. Or when she wants kids – what the hell are you going to do then?"

Ranger rested the back of his head against the headboard. "I've been over all of that Marco. She had I have both been over it. You're not going to talk me out of it." Not that he had finally gotten her back. Not now that he knew what his life was like when she wasn't in it. There was nothing Marco could say to make him go back.

"This is a bad idea. You're going to end up getting both of you killed. Is it going to be worth it then?"

Ranger didn't respond, knowing it would just piss his brother off further. But he knew without a doubt, finally, that the answer was yes. No matter what the consequences were, she would always be worth it.

But realizing he was never going to get Marco to shut up by trying to convince him, he decided to try lying instead. "It's not that big of a deal Marco. It's barely a relationship. You don't have to worry."

"It is a big deal," Marco said, raising his voice. "You were almost killed."

"I'm fine. Just go," Ranger said, his anger starting to get the best of him.

"I'm not going anywhere. You have to call this off!"

Ranger raised his voice, something only his older brother who lived to torture him could make him do. "Christ, Marco! It's not like I'm in love with her. It's just sex. Now get the fuck out!"

…

Stephanie waited outside the door. She could hear muffled voices, but couldn't figure out what they were saying. It wasn't until Ranger raised his voice that she could make out his words. She stood there and listened to his shouted words and could have sworn she felt the world shift under her feet.

She put a hand to her chest and took a step backwards. Then another. The pain didn't hit until she tried to take a breath. Then it seared through her, the kind of pain that could only coming from knowing you had handed her heart over to a man who had never even wanted it.

She took another step backwards and glanced around for a place to set down the tray she was carrying. She had to leave. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to get out of that apartment.

She finally just set the tray on the floor and walked toward the door. How could he say it was just sex? He told her he loved her. She spent days sitting by his bed, taking care of him. He had wanted her to stay, and it was just sex?

The cool metal of the doorknob filtered through her hazy mind. She stared down at her hand, ready to open the door and get out of there. And she should go. She should leave without making a scene, keep her dignity, make a graceful exit, all that.

But he lied to her! He told her he loved her and he didn't. No man should be able to get away with that.

"Fuck a graceful exit," she said out loud.

She marched back toward the bedroom. The tray with his medication and water was still sitting on the floor. Barely slowing, she scooped it up. She could still hear yelling coming from the bedroom, but she didn't stop to figure out what they were saying. She threw open the door, causing both men to abruptly stop.

She turned to Marco first. Blood was rushing through her face, heating it. She could hear a ringing in her ears, and the tray was rattling her hands were shaking so badly. But she had a lot to say, and none of that was going to stop her.

"I don't know who you are and I don't care. My relationship with Carlos is none of your fucking business. If you ever speak to me again the way you did, you will regret it, even if Carlos can't be bothered to defend me.

"And you!" she said, turning to Ranger. She dumped the tray – water, medicine and all – in his lap. "Just sex? That's all I am to you? I wouldn't have wasted so much time praying for you to wake up if I'd known that. I hope you get some terrible infection and your heart rots from the inside."

She was half way to the door when she turned back and threw her hands up in the air. "Oh I forgot. You don't have one!"

"Stephanie," Ranger said, his voice low, intimidating enough that it would usually stop her in her tracks.

Not this time. "Fuck off, asswipe," she said. She slammed the bedroom door shut behind her, then the apartment door. As soon as she was in the elevator, she started rummaging through her purse. When the doors slid open into the garage, she had pepper spray in one hand and her stun gun charged and ready in the other.

She counted two steps out of the elevator before the stairway door flew open and Tank came barreling out. He skidded to a stop directly in front of her.

"Try it," she said, tightening her grip on the stun gun. "There's enough volts in here to drop you like a bug."

Tank raised one eyebrow and his mouth quirked up into a smile. "Bomber, maybe you should just calm down before—"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She raised the pepper spray. "How far do you think this stuff sprays?"

"I've been sprayed enough that it won't buy you much time." He took another step toward her, and before she could blink, had taken both the pepper spray and stun gun from her.

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "What are your orders? Drag me back upstairs so he can keep using me? No thanks. I'm going home, and you can't stop me."

Tank's smile disappeared. "Just come back up, Steph. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. He loves you."

She sucked in a breath and her eyes filled with tears. Those three little words were enough to make her anger drain away and the pain come rushing back so strong she struggled to stay on her feet.

"No he doesn't," she whispered. "I thought he did, but—" She stopped and squeezed her eyes tight shut. When she opened them she had to blink away the tears. "Please don't make me go back up there, Tank."

He studied her a minute before he finally nodded. He dropped her weapons back in her purse for her, and with a hand to her back, guided her to her car. "Want me to drive you?"

She shook her head. She started to climb into the car, but instead turned and leaned up on her tiptoes to wrap both arms around Tank's neck. "Thanks." She dropped her arms and got in the car before he could reply.

…

Ranger sat in the office in his apartment, wincing in pain as he leaned forward to rewind the security feed from the garage. He pressed play and watched it again. Fuck. Using his laptop, he pulled up the tracker on her car. She had gone home. Good.

"I need you to drive me over there," he said to Tank.

"Look man. I don't want to get in the middle of whatever this is, but maybe you should give her some space."

"Drive me over there," he said, anger and panic making him enunciate every word.

Tank shook his head. "You've been fucking this girl over for months, man. And she's a good girl. Give her some space." He turned and walked out.

Ranger stared at the empty doorway. The pain that had been centered at the stab wound in his lower ribs was growing, radiating through his entire chest and seeping into his heart.

He had to get to her, that was all there was to it. He knew, without being able to say how he knew, that if he didn't go fix this now, he would never get the chance. And that was a risk he wasn't willing to take. Not after he finally realized how badly he needed her in his life.

Losing her now was simply not an option.

He levered himself out of his chair, biting his lip against the pain, and stumbled into the living room. Marco was standing in the kitchen.

"Get the fuck out," he said.

Marco raised his hands. "Just trying to help, man. Somebody needs to be the voice of reason here."

"What you need is to get out," he said.

Marco walked toward the door. "I'll go hang out with the guys. You throw your life away if you want."

"Marco," Ranger yelled to his retreating back, "if you ever speak to Steph like that again, brother or not, I will kick your ass."

Marco waved over his shoulder and kept walking. Ranger waited until he heard the stairway door bang behind Marco, then walked toward the front door. He grabbed his keys and climbed into the elevator, scrambling cameras as he went so no one would stop him.

He made it to his truck before he had to stop and gasp for air. Jesus, he thought, closing his eyes against the wave of pain. He had forgotten how badly knife wounds hurt.

He managed to get the keys into the ignition and the truck in reverse. Maybe driving hadn't been a good idea. But he was desperate. And if this is what it took to keep Steph, then this is what it took.

His cell phone rang, but it was Tank, so he ignored it. It rang again – Lester this time – so he turned it off. He knew what he was doing and he wasn't about to let anyone stop him.

Easing into traffic, he headed for her apartment, fighting off the pain with every breath. He pulled into her apartment, sighing with relief, and gingerly climbed out of the truck. He forgot he was barefoot until his feet hit the cold pavement. He didn't have a shirt either, because of the sling, and his sweatpants were wet where Steph had dumped water on him. He hadn't noticed any of it. Oh well – too late now. He shivered and walked as fast as he could manage toward her door.

…

She was sitting on her couch, staring ahead at nothing when he walked in. The room was dim, lit only by the fading daylight still seeping in. Ironic, really, she thought. Same scene as their last break-up, just a different apartment. Somehow, though, this one hurt worse.

"Steph," he said, coming closer.

"Go away," she whispered.

"It was a misunderstanding, that's all."

"You didn't say 'it's just sex'?"

"I was lying, babe. You have to know that."

She snorted. "You were lying then, or you're lying now?"

"Stephanie," he said. His voice was sharp enough that her head came up and she met his eyes. "I was saying what he wanted to hear, so he would leave. So we could have our privacy and so you didn't have to deal with him. He won't bother you again."

"Well good. No more Marco. I'm happy for you." She waved her hand goodbye at him.

"If you want me to leave I will. It's your choice, babe. What do you want?"

"I want you to love me!" she yelled, jumping up from the couch and finally breaking free of her stupor. She stopped directly in front of him and poked a finger toward his chest. "I want to be important to you and I want you to let me into your life. You can't cut corners in a relationship, Ranger. You're either in it or you not. And if you're not, you need to leave."

"And if I am?"

She stopped ranting and stared up at him. She was still trying to work though his meaning in her mind when she noticed how white his skin was and how badly he was shaking.

"Oh my god, sit down." She carefully tugged him toward the couch and made him sit. He leaned back and closed his eyes, taking shallow breaths, and rested one hand over his ribs.

"Thanks," he said.

She sat on her knees on the cushion beside him, leaning over him and studying his face. "How did you even get here? You should be in bed."

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Tank wouldn't bring me so I drove myself."

"You drove here? You shouldn't have driven. Why did you do that?"

"Stephanie," he said, taking her face in both hands so she was forced to hear every word. "I would have gone to the ends of the earth if I had to. You're not walking away from me this time."

Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at him. "I'm not?" she whispered.

He shook his head. "No."

"You and me, Steph, what we have is something special. Neither of us is letting it go again. Neither of us is holding back, and neither of us is walking away."

He let his fingers slide down her face and rest on her shoulders. He pulled her to him until her lips were only a breath away from hers. She closed the gap to kiss him, her tongue sliding between his lips.

She smiled at him. "I think I can live with that."

His expression stayed serious as he stared at her. "Me too." He pulled her back for another kiss, threading his fingers through her hair. "Do you know how much I love you?" he whispered.

"Show me."

He smiled at the challenge and pulled her closer, but groaned when her elbow smacked him square in the ribs.

"Oh shit," Steph said, pulling away from him. "I forgot how bad you're hurt. We can't even have sex."

"Babe. I will fuck you if it kills me," he said through gritted teeth.

She laughed and nudged his shoulder. "No way. I didn't spend days by your bedside just to have you to drop dead halfway through sex now."

He raised an eyebrow. "So you've stopped praying for, what was it, my heart to rot from the inside out?"

She gave a dramatic sigh. "I guess you can live."

"Thanks. That was a pretty good insult, by the way. Is that the kind of stuff you used to scream at Morelli?"

Steph laughed. "Yeah. Consider yourself lucky that this is the first time I've been pissed off enough to use that anger on you."

Ranger raised an eyebrow. "This is the first time you've been upset with me?"

"Hell no. This is just the first time my anger has overruled my fear of retaliation. And besides, you're bedridden. How much damage could you do?"

"Steph," he said softly. "I don't ever want you to be scared of me."

"I'm not now. Haven't been for a while, actually," she said. Then she grinned. "Of course, it's hard to be scared of a man who shows up in February without a shirt or shoes or a coat—"

He glared at her.

"I'm kidding," she said, leaning her head on her shoulder. "I love you for it, you know. I needed that – needed the proof that you meant what you were saying. I wanted to believe you at the hospital, but then with Marco, I just wasn't sure…"

"You're sure now?" he said. "Forever sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"No more walking away?"

She shook her head and leaned up to kiss him gently. "Never again."

"Good." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I love you, babe."

She tipped her head back and smiled at him through a haze of tears. Happy ones this time. "I love you too."

…

The end.

Thanks for reading!