A/N: Thank You All you are AWESOME! So this was fun to write! Enjoy!

Warning

This chapter is a bit angsty!

And read until the end!

Betrayal

Chapter 20

Rangers PoV

October 31, 2011 1649hours

Bodie,WA

For the first time Stephanie adverted her eyes.

Whatever was going to come had written Fubar all over it.

With a deep sigh she said:

"Jeanne and Mrs. Bestler were not my only contacts. I had another one. A more active one."

Oh no no no. It can´t be.

"Who?" I asked toneless.

"Joe"

Before my brain caught up with me I was out of my seat, across the cavern and had Plum lifted up by her lapels.

Nose to nose with her I growled:

"Joe? As in Joe Morelli?"

That stupid chit just raised her eyebrows.

"Had a good laugh at me? Fucking him while leading me around by my dick and ripping my life apart?" Shaking her with every word and suddenly there were lights out.

~~~~~oooo~~~~~

Lester´s PoV

Beautiful said the fucking cops name and a second later Ranger wrenched her up against him.

Holy fucking shit. Never in all the thirty-four years of knowing my cousin Carlos, have I ever seen him so out of sorts. It speaks volumes that he lets his emotions run away with him like that, screaming –well, screaming for Carlos anyway- at Steph. This is going south fast. Carlos is a hair´s breadth way from snapping and killing Steph without even thinking about it.

Fuck what just happened?

One minute I was leaping to my feet - I wasn´t the only one- and in the next Ranger went down like a ton of bricks.

Before I had even a chance to process what happened, Steph had one knee on his back and had his gun drawn and pointing at us.

"FREEZE" she cried.

From the corner of my eyes I saw my brother´s hands move to their guns. Why do I have a feeling that´s a bad idea.

"Hands where I can see them." Steph snarled and pressed the gun to Rangers temple.

Gulp.

Very bad idea, indeed. Sometimes I hate it when I´m right.

Never have I seen Stephanie look so terrifying. Her eyes were colder than ice, her brows furrowed and canines barred. And I think she even growled. She emanated menace out of every pore.

I´m not sure but I might have pissed my pants.

I´m sure I wasn´t the only one feeling a little bit creeped out.

Minutes ticked by and no one dared to move.

I barely dared to breathe.

Steph was still hunched over Rangers motionless body never taking her eyes off us, but now she lightly strokes the side of his neck.

Ah, so she hit him on the bundle of nerves under the ear, taking him down with minimal effort and damage.

Clever.

It´s a really disturbing picture. With one hand she pressed the barrel of Rangers own gun to his head and with the other she caressed the spot where she had hit him, lovingly.

While I stood here waiting for whatever she waited for, I let my mind wander over the things she told us. Not that I really grasped it mind you, but Beautiful is really something else. And I must admit I am awed. Never have I expected her to be a black ops spy. Sweet, innocent Stephanie a spy for chrissake. Before my musing could go any further Ranger emitted a small groan.

I saw him blinking furiously, trying to clear the cobwebs and a second later freezing. I´m not sure he froze because of the gun or the caress.

It was deathly silent in the cavern.

Everyone waited.

What was going to happen between Ranger and Steph?

I tensed ready to strike.

As much as I love Beautiful but my loyalty lies with RangeMan.

Steph leaned forward and whispered loud enough for us to hear in his ear.

"I am not The Bombshell Bounty Hunter. I will not tolerate being manhandled. Not by you. Not by anyone. Did I made myself clear?"

Silence.

"Did I?" she barked.

Bloody Hell. That was the tone of my Drill Sergeant. I snapped to attention and cried

"Ma´am, yes, Ma´am" Thank god I wasn´t the only one, that would have been embarrassing; but everyone except Ranger said and did the same.

~~~~~oooo~~~~~

Ranger´s PoV

Fuck! That woman took me down. With one hit she took me down. I can´t believe it. That has never happened before.

I blinked clearing the cobwebs from my brain and take stock of the situation. I´m lying on the ground on my stomach. Peebles pricked in my left cheek. A knee, her knee pressed into my right kidney. Her hand stroke the spot where she had hit me.

Goosebumps ran down my spine.

God, I´m such a wimp.

I´m still lusting after her although she never wanted me.

She and that dumbfucking sorry excuse for a man…I froze. There was the barrel of a gun on my temple, most certainly my own gun.

I´m sooo fucked.

We outnumbered her eleven to one but we were checkmate. My men would never risk my life. Not because of her.

The silence stretched.

Then, in a tone I never heard from her before, she stated.

"I am not The Bombshell Bounty Hunter. I will not tolerate being manhandled. Not by you. Not by anyone. Did I make myself clear?"

Gulp.

"Did I?"

Fuck! Who the hell is this woman? And where the hell had she learned to sound like my old Drill Sergeant?

"Ma´am, yes, Ma´am" my men thundered. I was too occupied to figure out the Woman of Mystery on my back to answer.

Big mistake. She pressed the gun harder into my temple and growled

"Did I make myself clear, Ranger?"

"Crystal" I grunted out.

Like a flash the weight on my back was gone and I heard my man drawing their guns. I did the same, getting my backup gun from the ankle-holster, as I picked myself up from the ground.

She stood at the same spot where I had grabbed her. Arms, with my gun still in hand, hanging loosely by her sides, completely unfazed by the eleven guns pointed at her. She let her eyes wander over us and then she slowly, deliberately raised one single eyebrow.

Fuck.