Dangerous Deals - Chapter 14

Ranger's body was rigid with uncertainty; uncertainty caused by Stephanie's whispered questions. He wanted to roll over, take her into his arms and comfort her, but her murmured questions deserved answers; answers he had but wasn't sure how to express.

What did he want from her? Whatever she was willing to give him; whatever her heart would allow her to give him. Did he love her? He had loved her from day one. Was he trying to test her? No. He knew the depths of her trust and her loyalty; not once had he thought of her as an amusement. Did he really expect her to marry him? He had been such a fool, a complete and utter fool to make such a deal. Even though she seldom did things by the book, turning a marriage proposal into a deal was… was… hell, he didn't know what it was, but seeing the worry in her eyes when she knew Joe was in trouble had frightened him. No, I don't expect you to marry me, it would be too much to hope for.

The bed dipped as Stephanie eased her body off the mattress. She didn't want to wake Ranger if in fact he was asleep. Sometimes she could tell when he was asleep, other times, like now; it was more like a meditative trance.

Stephanie pulled the bedroom door open as quietly as she could, then made her way through the dark hallway with care and on into the kitchen. She stumbled around until she found the handle on the freezer door and pulled out another container of ice cream. At this rate, she was going to have to go shopping for new jeans, two sizes bigger. Closing the freezer section, Stephanie opened the refrigerator and used the small amount of light it granted the dark kitchen. She reached into the drawer for a spoon. She didn't want the ice cream, she wanted the comfort. She wanted Ranger's arms around her, she wanted him to tell her that Joe would be okay; she wanted him to love her. Instead, she was seeking comfort from a frozen mass of sugar and milk. This was so pathetic.

"Babe?" Startled, Stephanie dropped the unused spoon. "Are you okay?" Ranger bent over and picked up the spoon. When he straightened up, Stephanie could feel the warmth and nearness of his body. "Babe?" Hearing the anxiousness in his whisper, Stephanie was unable to stop the tears.

Without thinking, Ranger wrapped her in his arms and pulled her back into him, holding her as she cried.

oOoOo

Joe felt the muscles in his leg twitch and felt a slight cramp in his left foot. Just the small amount of movement of walking across the room and up the basement stairs had been more than his body was used to after these past few days of captivity. He could feel the effects of the adrenaline that was starting to pump through his body. The only chance he had of making it out of this mess alive was to use whatever means of defense he could find. And right now, the combination of muscle and adrenaline was the only weapon he had.

He started to pace back and forth across the room, hoping to steady his legs and keep the adrenalines flowing. He would not let these bastards take him out without giving them the best that Joseph Morelli had to give.

For the third time after being returned to his cell, Joe eased his way around the edges of the room. Now that he knew the proposed purpose of the room, he was hoping that he would find some type of wiring or plumbing running underground. He had wandered about the dirt floor, pulling the heel of his shoe along the edge of the wall where it joined the floor; he was hoping to find something, anything that he could use as a weapon. Nothing. Damn.

Refusing to give up, Joe dropped down on his hands and knees, continuing to search, this time running his fingers deeper into the groove he'd made with his shoe. Joe's hopes began to fade until he reached the last wall. His mind started to think of other possibilities. If he couldn't get out of this alive, then he had to make sure that he left some type of evidence behind that would incriminate the Judge.

"Shit!" Joe yelled. Without thinking, he stuck his dirt-covered finger into his mouth. Spitting out the dirt and blood, he frantically started searching for whatever he had cut his finger. Maybe there was hope.

oOoOo

Tank eased the SUV up the driveway. Looking at the large two-story brick house, he smirked as he opened the car door, "Guess there won't be a problem of me finding someplace to sleep." Terri shot him a tired, impatient look before opening the passenger door. He watched her reaching inside her jacket and pulled out what looked like an electronic key and her gun.

"Expecting company?" he asked.

She remained quiet as she looked at the small electronic key she held in her hand, one that was equipped to record by date and time any changes to the security, such as on/off and which port of entry had been used last.

"Expensive." Tank remarked.

Finding everything to be in order, Terri used the device to unlock the door and led Tank inside. Terri didn't bother to give Tank any kind of tour; she continued through to the kitchen. Reaching inside the refrigerator, she pulled out a beer, opened it and then leaned against the counter, drinking. Tank watched as she swallowed her first strong pull from the bottle.

"Water would be better," he pointed in the direction of her beer.

Terri looked at the bottle she held in her right hand and moved to the sink, pouring the contents down the drain. She flipped her hand towards the refrigerator in a 'help yourself' manner. Tank did just that. He continued to watch her rinsing out the beer bottle and placing it in the sink.

"What?"

"Never would have pegged you as a beer drinker, thought you'd drink some kind of expensive wine or champagne."

Terri puffed a small sound of disgust through her nose and shook her head. "I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" She looked up at Tank. "Didn't think I was capable of truly loving anyone either, did you?"

Tank shook his head and lowered his eyes in embarrassment.

"Get some rest. You don't need to worry about letting your guard down, outside of Uncle Vito's and Ranger's house, this is probably the safest place you could be in Trenton." She started out of the room, stopping when she reached the other side.

"Oh, one more thing, thanks." Not waiting for his answer, she headed for the stairs.

"Shit. Terri Gilman in love, drinking beer and saying thanks; I really could use a beer," Tank murmured as he downed his bottle of water in one gulp.

oOoOo

Ranger had held Stephanie until her tears had stopped and then he had walked her back to bed. The fatigue of the past few days had taken their toll and she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. He stretched out on his back, his hands folded behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling, willing his body to relax. After this was over, he would tell her that the deal was off and apologize. It took every ounce of his self-control not to turn over on his side and watch her sleep, wondering if this would be the last time they would share a bed.

oOoOo

It didn't take Joe long to find the object that had cut his finger. Digging down just another inch revealed the base of a broken light bulb. One of the construction workers must have decided to bury the broken bulb instead of cleaning up the mess. Joe unearthed his find and blew the impacted dirt out from inside. He inspected the ragged edges with his fingertip, taking great care not to disturb any of the shards of glass. His soon to be weapon would fit inside of his shirt. Shit, he had been so stupid! All this time he had been searching for something to use as a weapon when he had the makings of one of the oldest forms of defense right at his feet!

Joe sat back and started taking off his shoes and socks. Taking one of his socks, he began to fill it with the loose dirt from the hole he had dug and packing it into a solid form. Filling it until it felt heavy and baseball size, he then tied a knot in the sock to close the packed dirt inside. Not bad, he thought as he tossed it up and slammed it against his leg. Not bad at all. He made another one with his other sock. He could use them separately or together, depending on the opportunity, but until they were needed, he could hide them in his pockets.

Now all he had to do was wait; wait for them to come and make their next move. He figured their plan was to drug him so they could remove him from the Judge's house. He forced himself to relax; it would be a few hours before they came for him.

The sound of the door being unlocked caused him to jerk awake and his adrenaline to spike. He blinked at the suddenness of the light shining when the door opened.

"I know the condemned are supposed to be given a last meal, but unfortunately for you, I can't cook. So instead, have a drink." The man held out a disposable plastic cup. "Come on, be a good boy and drink it all down."

Joe took the offered cup and held it up to his nose. The strong whiskey vapors rising from the liquor made his head swim.

"Well, at least you brought me the good stuff," Joe remarked as he pretended to drink. "Would you mind if I took a piss before we left? Wouldn't want to embarrass myself when you finish me off."

"Hell, no, go right ahead," the man laughed.

Joe threw back the rest of the drink and handed the empty cup back. Turning his back to the man, Joe walked to the farthest corner and unzipped his pants. Pulling himself out, he pretended to urinate by forcing the liquor out of his mouth in a steady stream into the receptacle that had been shoved into the corner as a makeshift toilet. Facing the man, Joe shook his penis before repositioning himself and zipping his pants.

"Be back in a little while," the man chuckled as he closed the door, leaving Joe in total darkness once again. Joe figured he was supposed to be unconscious when they came back for him. Not knowing how fast the drug was supposed to work, he planned to be ready. Positioning himself in a sleeping position, he concentrated on his breathing, stilling it to resemble unconsciousness, mindful to keep his small weapons safe and hidden.

oOoOo

"Babe," Ranger gave Stephanie an easy shake, "it's time to go."

Stephanie didn't move. For a brief instance, he considered going without her. No, he had already made too many stupid decisions when it came to her in the past few days.

"Babe, we have to go." This time his voice was loud and strong.

Stephanie jerked awake and sat up, confusion covering her face. Without saying a word, she hurried towards the bathroom. Hearing the sound of the toilet flushing and then water running in the sink, Ranger left the bedroom and walked into the living room. He pulled out his cell phone and called Tank.

"Talk." Tank's voice was groggy.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, we were just heading for the car."

"See you there." Ranger closed his cell phone and found Stephanie looking at him from the bedroom doorway.

"Ready?" She nodded and walked toward the door with determination.

oOoOo

Joe heard the door being unlocked and urged his body to remain calm, his breathing even. Without wasted words or motions, the two men entered the room. Bending down and placing their hands under his arms they lifted Joe off the floor. Joe allowed his head to hang limp against his chest, rocking side to side, matching the motion of his body as they dragged him down the short hall. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, one man moved to hold Joe under the arms and one lifted him by his ankles to carry him up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, they changed their positions back and continued to drag him out of the house and into a waiting car, dumping him into the backseat.

Joe needed to wait until they were away from the Judge's house before he made his move. He wanted to be well away from any backup the two could summon and he wanted to be able to run.

oOoOo

Bobby reached for his cell phone as Lester started the SUV's engine, neither one of the men taking their eyes off the car that had just pulled out of the Judge's driveway.

"Yo."

"They just pulled out," Bobby answered the unspoken question.

"Morelli?" Ranger asked and then felt himself holding his breath.

"Appeared drugged but alive." Ranger let out his breath after hearing Bobby's answer.

"Don't lose them," Ranger instructed and then disconnected the call.

"Don't lose them? Who the hell does he think is working for him?" Bobby asked Lester.

"I told you Bobby, he's in love and love makes people do stupid things," Lester grinned.

"Shit, I never thought I'd hear 'Ranger' and 'stupid' in the same sentence." Bobby moved his head from side to side in wonderment without taking his eyes off the car. "Sure as hell hope she can put us all out of our misery soon."