Disclaimer - Not mine; wish they were. All mistakes are mine and mine alone.
Chapter 13
Chuck casually entered the room and walked over to stand in front of Sam. Before she realized what was happening, Chuck raised his arm and smacked Sam across the face with the back of his hand.
Sam's head snapped to the side and she was momentarily stunned. When she regained her senses, she was furious.
"DAMN IT, CHUCK! YOU CAN NOT COERCE ME TO SELL! I DON'T CARE HOW PISSED OFF YOU ARE! WHAT DID YOU THINK I WOULD DO? JUST SIGN EVERYTHING OVER TO YOU AND NEVER MENTION YOUR USE OF FORCE?" Sam's breathing was heavy and her throat hurt from yelling.
Chuck looked at Sam with a slight smirk and said, "What makes you think you'll live to tell?"
Sam's blood ran cold at his insinuation. She always knew he was a little off, but she never thought he would physically harm her. With all the courage she could muster, Sam replied, "I don't believe you."
Rocky, who had remained silent, snorted a laugh.
"Believe me, Samantha," Chuck continued, "I have associates that have decided your company's reputation is very valuable to them."
Sam was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Let me spell it out for you, dear sister-in-law." Chuck roughly grabbed her shoulders and was inches away from her face as he spoke. "You and I both know that a good reputation goes a long way in avoiding investigation by the Department of Transportation. Therefore, I need your company in order to transport property across state lines with no questions asked." He gave her a hard push and stepped back.
"I know all about what you were doing in Vegas," Sam angrily replied. "I don't want my name attached to selling drugs."
"Drugs? Is that what you think this is all about?" Chuck laughed. "Sorry, to disappoint you, but drugs are not as lucrative as other endeavors. More human endeavors to be exact," his voice was cold and Sam was visabily shaken.
"Human endeavors?" she shakily asked.
Rocky spoke up. "How many times a week do you have pick-ups at the border in Laredo, TX? Instead of picking up your regular cargo, we plan on returning with illegal aliens. People that will pay any price to come to the U.S. They will do anything to be here, and we can 'assist' them with that dream," he finished.
"That's not a dream, that's a nightmare!" Sam cried.
"Doesn't matter to me," Chuck stated calmly. "It's all about the money, and I intend to make this happen. Now, I have the paperwork all ready for your signature. All you have to do is sign and this will all be over."
Withdrawing a gun from the back of his waistband, he ran it down the side of Sam's cheek. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "You have forty-eight hours to decide if you want to die painlessly with a single shot to the head, or if you want your last breath to be taken in torturous pain."
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Thirty-six hours had passed and Sam was still missing.
Tank and Lester had arrived two hours ago and were sitting in the conference room with Ranger and Bobby reviewing her case. Stephanie continued to use every search program available, but with little success. The few leads they did have never panned out and the frustration mounted.
Bobby was on edge and had barely slept. When Lester made a crack about Bobby needing Midol, he snapped.
"Shut the fuck up, Santos! I'm so damn sick of your smart ass mouth! Keep that shit up and I'll be more than happy to meet you on the mats!"
"Brown!" Ranger barked. "Mats, now!"
As Bobby grudgingly followed Ranger out of the room, Tank and Lester looked at Stephanie with stunned faces.
"Damn, Beautiful, what happened to our mild mannered doc?"
"He's really worried about Sam," she quickly replied.
"We're all worried about her," countered Tank, "but that doesn't give him the right to be an asshole."
Stephanie realized that Bobby had not shared with them the change in his relationship with Sam. She was hesitant to betray his confidence.
"What's going on, Beautiful?" Lester questioned. "There's something you're not telling us."
"Yeah," agreed Tank, "spill it, Bombshell, what's been happening down here."
"Uhhhh, well," Stephanie was stalling for time. She didn't know what to say. Ranger had known about Bobby's fascination with Sam, but then he always knew everything. Maybe Bobby hadn't discussed it with Lester and Tank because it was too new; too fragile. Maybe he hadn't had a chance to tell them about the turn of events that had taken place during this trip. Thankfully, she was saved by James entering the conference room with a black folder.
"Stephanie, I found another file," James said as he handed it over to her. "It has more information on Field's business dealings in Las Vegas. I don't know if it will be helpful, but it's worth a try."
Stephanie grabbed the file and headed to the main floor to begin a new search.
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Ranger and Bobby returned to the conference room 90 minutes later. Bobby was sporting a few new bruises and the beginning of a black eye, but his demeanor had completely changed. He walked into the room with his shoulders squared and a look of determination on his face. He nodded in Lester and Tank's direction.
Before any of them had a chance to speak, Stephanie came flying into the room. "I've got it! I've got it!"
"What is it, Babe?"
"After you left, James came in with another file he uncovered from Chuck's time in Vegas. I knew it was a long shot, but something about it made my spidey sense go haywire. I cross searched all the business names from Vegas and the ones here in Atlanta, and I got a hit." She took a second to catch her breath. "There is an abandoned factory about 30 minutes from here that is registered to the same corporation as one in Vegas. It's got to be where he's holding her."
"Bomber, are you sure," Bobby asked? "We've had so many dead leads."
"I've never been so sure in my life," she responded with a smile.
"Core team Trenton assemble," Ranger snapped. "Tank inform core team Atlanta. Tell them they have 10 minutes to lock and load."
Tank, Bobby and Lester rushed out of the room to prepare. Ranger pulled Stephanie into his arms, "Proud of you, Babe."
She beamed, "Don't get shot."
"I won't, but if I do, I want you there with me," he replied, a smile spreading across his face.
Stephanie looked at him quizzically.
"Babe, you've been through the training. Sam is your friend now too." He brushed a kiss over her lips. "Let's get ready."
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Twenty minutes later five black SUV's quietly rolled up to the abandoned warehouse. Stephanie had been right. The two cars in the parking lot were registered to West Georgia Trucking and Rocky Young. Bobby knew right off that Rocky was one of Sam's employees, and he matched the description of the man that had been seen at the club with Sam.
At Ranger's command, Bobby, Tank, Lester and Stephanie advanced into the warehouse while members of the Atlanta team guarded each of the buildings entrances. Working methodically, they quickly searched each area until the only space left were the offices on the 2nd floor. Each office was cleared until they reached the end of the hall and a single door remained.
Just as Ranger was about to give the go ahead, the sound of a single gunshot and an anguished scream pierced the silence. Bobby immediately kicked in the door and entered the room to find Rocky slumped backwards in a chair; his shoulder bleeding. A stunned Chuck quickly began dragging a kicking and screaming Sam through the door on the other side of the room.
"Bobby! Help me!" she cried.
Bobby made a mad dash to the other side of the room just as the door closed and locked in front of him. "FUCK!" he screamed before he kicked it open.
Ranger barked orders into his mic to the teams guarding the exterior as Bobby followed the sound of Sam's frantic voice.
In the darkness of the warehouse, Bobby could barely make out the two forms descending the stairs in front of him. Sam was fighting Chuck every step of the way. Her sounds of distress only served to fortify Bobby's resolve to rescue her and make Chuck pay for hurting the woman he so desperately loved.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sam stumbled and fell, bringing Chuck down with her. Before Chuck could regain his stance, Sam scrambled away from him into the darkness. Bobby jumped down from the last few steps and landed on top of Chuck.
Crushing blows descended on Chuck's head and body as Bobby released his anger and frustrations of the past two days. After only a few minutes, Chuck's unconsious body lay on the floor in a crumpled heap.
Through his emotional haze, Bobby heard footsteps running towards him. Before he knew it, Sam was wrapped around him, holding on for dear life.
"Oh, my, god, Sam, are you hurt?" Bobby franticly searched her for any signs of injury. "I was so scared. I never thought I'd see you again." Sam sagged against Bobby and sobbed.
"Shhh, baby, it's okay," Bobby soothed. "It's okay, he's never going to hurt you again. I promise." He looked at the woman in his arms. "I love you so much, Sam. I was so worried and out of control. I never, ever want you to lose you again. You're mine; forever."
Sam looked up at him through teary eyes. "I love you with all my heart. I never want us to be apart again."
Bobby took Sam's face in his hands and crushed his lips to hers. He poured all of his emotion from the last few days into his kiss. Sam fisted her hands in his shirt trying to draw him even closer.
Chuck began to stir just as Ranger and the rest of the team filtered into the room. Stephanie snapped the cuffs around his wrists and gave him a kick of her own before stepping back to admire Bobby's handiwork.
"Serves you right, you asshole," she spat at him.
"Damn, Beautiful! Remind me never to piss you off," joked Lester.
Stephanie looked at him and blushed. "Sorry, maybe I should have let you guys train me on how to control my emotions too."
Bobby spoke up nex to Lester, "Let me know when that class starts," he said while keeping a firm grasp on Sam and rubbing the shiner that had formed around his left eye. "I think I need to take it too."
Sirens began to wail in the background. Tank hauled Chuck to his feet and walked him out of the building. The rest of the RangeMen followed.
"Come on, Babe," Ranger said putting his arm around Stephanie's waist, "Let's get our statements over with. I'm ready to test the control of your emotions."