Untitled 13

By Heidi

Previously

It was Javier who spoke. "Scrog just called my cell phone."

I sucked in a breath.

"He said that if I ever want to see my sister alive again, I have to meet him tonight" Javier said with a tight voice.

Ranger still had an arm around me and I felt him stiffen.

"That's not all" Morelli said.

Javier looked like it was something he really didn't want to say.

I looked at Javier, noticing that his face was pale and his hands were balled into fists.

"Just say it" I urged him.

Judging by the look on Morelli's face it was bad.

Javier took a deep breath then said in a rush "Scrog said the only way he gonna let Paula go is if I trade you for her, Steph."

Chapter Twenty-one

Ranger's blank face dropped into place but I could see the tension around his eyes and mouth.

"It's a'ight Steph. I ain't even thinkin' 'bout it" Javier said. His face was pale and he was barely breathing.

I sighed. "Actually this is just the break we've been waiting for, for Scrog to make a move" I said looking at Ranger.

He locked eyes with me and held my gaze as he waged his internal war. Ranger knew full well that I planned to send myself in if it was what it took to shut Scrog down but his first instinct told him to lock me away and not let that happen no matter what.

This time it was Javier who sucked in a breath at my words.

"No Steph, I'm serious. I don't wanna do it and I don't want you to do it" Javier said.

Morelli and Bobby were voicing their opposition to any plan that involved sending me in. Ranger and surprisingly Lester remained silent appearing deep in thought.

"It wouldn't be just me going in. We're in this together Ranger" I said not really believing that I was the one insisting on meeting Scrog again. "This is your chance to help me do it the right way, so I can go in prepared, like we talked about."

Ranger wasn't showing any emotion whatsoever at this point.

"Let's head back to the office to regroup. Santos call in the team" Ranger said taking my hand in his and walking toward the door.

"No Steph. I will not let you do it!" Javier said loudly.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. They all knew that that was the best way to get me to do exactly what was being forbidden.

I spun around to face Javier and was just about to open my mouth to rip him a new one when I felt Ranger grasp both of my upper-arms gently from behind and lean his body into mine.

"Easy Babe" he whispered into my ear.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Javier, I appreciate your concern but it is not your decision to make" I said through clenched teeth. What is it with men thinking they can tell me what to do?

"Javier, I'd like you to come back to Rangeman with us so we can discuss this. Will you do that?" Ranger asked in a "don't even think about saying no" voice.

"I…I…yeah, a'ight" he said looking from Ranger to me.

"Thank you" I told him.

"Steph, do you want to take anything from here? The original purpose of our trip was to pick up more clothes" Ranger said looking at me.

My stomach rolled at the thought of touching any of those clothes ever again. Who knows what else Scrog touched, ick!

"No" I whispered. "Maybe Ella could do some shopping if she doesn't mind."

"Of course Babe" Ranger said wrapping an arm around me.

The CSI team had finished their sweep and the door of the apartment was being sealed with crime scene tape forbidding entry under penalty of law.

Ranger and I got into his truck and lead the way out of the parking lot. Javier rode with Morelli in his SUV. Lester and Bobby were out there somewhere in the wind again.

Ranger was silent as he drove. I don't think that he was daydreaming about my lingerie this time.

I personally was feeling overwhelmed and kind of numb. I had so many thoughts running through my head I just couldn't keep up. My mind was racing, my trains of thought completely disjointed. I just want this to be done…I hope Scrog doesn't want me to wear the butt crack pants again…Where could I hide the GPS this time where Scrog wouldn't find it…It would have to be inside of me or something, eww, is that possible…How the hell are we going to pull this off without one of us getting killed…I feel responsible for Javier and Paula…My family, I haven't seen them since this all started…I shouldn't have blown them off…Ranger, Oh God, I need to make sure that he remembers how I feel about him and that he doesn't blame himself, no matter what happens. I took a shaky breath.

"Babe" Ranger said softly touching my arm across the console.

"Hmm?" I said unconsciously, turning to look at him.

Ranger gave me a tight smile and it was then that I noticed that we were parked in Ranger's spot in the Rangeman garage. It looked like the guys had already headed into the building.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice we were back. I was lost in thought I guess" I said sheepishly. Talk about not being aware of your surroundings.

"Yeah. I didn't want to disturb you. It looked like you were standing on the ledge looking down again but then your expression got so sad, I couldn't take it anymore" he said caressing my cheek with his fingers, his eyes concerned.

"Sorry" I said quietly closing my eyes and leaning into his touch. My throat was tight with emotion. "I love you, always" I whispered looking at him again.

Ranger cupped my face in his hands and leaned in close.

"I know baby" he said brushing his lips across mine. "I love you too Steph."

I leaned my cheek against his and just enjoyed the intimacy and peace of the moment.

Ranger took a deep shaky breath and sat back into his seat pulling me into his lap, my back against the door, legs across the console.

Ranger held me tight against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him.

"God, all I want to do is lock you away and keep you safe. I don't want you out there dealing with this asshole" Ranger said, his voice gruff. "But I know that's not the right thing to do."

I buried my face in his neck and squeezed him tighter.

"I know" I agreed, my lips grazing the scar on his neck from Scrog's bullet as I spoke. I didn't want Ranger any where near Scrog either. I won't let Scrog hurt him again.

After a moment I blew out a hard breath. "Let's go upstairs and get this figured out" I said pulling back to look at him. "When this is all said and done I'm gonna hold you to your word" I said with a grin.

"Oh yeah? Which word is that?"

"You told me that when this is over you're going to lock us in the house for at least a week" I said, grin widening.

"You know I'm a man of my word Babe" Ranger said before kissing me senseless.

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The 5th floor conference room was bustling when we walked inside.

Large, hard, male bodies dressed all in black crowded around a buffet table at the back of the room, bringing back plates loaded with…omigod real food! There were meatball subs and pizza and Italian grinders. Of course there was salad too but that's alright.

Ranger looked down at me and smiled. "Pino's!" I said.

"Pino's Babe. I thought you could use some happy food." I smiled at him.

I saw Javier and Morelli already seated at the conference table. They had plates in front of them but Javier didn't seem to have much of an appetite.

I helped myself to a meatball sub and just to make Ranger happy I took some salad and a bottled water instead of soda.

"Good choice Babe" Ranger whispered to me as I took a seat next to him. I looked at his plate and saw that it mirrored mine, well except that he had more salad and I had more sub.

I surveyed the crowd as I ate and saw many faces I knew well. There was Tank, Bobby, Lester, Hal, Cal, Manny, Zero, Ram and Woody and of course Morelli, Ranger and Javier. There were also some faces that I had seen only one other time…the day we rescued Ranger from that barn. My meatball sub suddenly felt like a rock in the pit of my stomach. The memories of what Edward Scrog did to Ranger were still fresh in my mind and in my heart. Ranger's bruises had all but faded and his cuts were healing but on the inside the wounds were still fresh for me.

I didn't want to see Scrog again. I didn't want to look into his hard black eyes and see the haunted soul that resided there but he had to go down, no matter what. I told Ranger before that I wouldn't let Scrog hurt him ever again and I didn't keep my promise. Scrog did hurt him again. I won't make the same mistake twice. Edward Scrog is going down if it's the last thing I do. It ends tonight.

A shiver bolted up my spine and I couldn't help but shudder.

"How's your mental health Babe?" Ranger whispered into my ear, brushing back a stray curl that escaped from my ponytail.

I leaned toward him so I could speak to only him. "I just want to get this over with. I want my life back. I want to go to work. I want to go to Little Lenny's birthday party. I want to go to dinner at my parents' house. I wanna see Sally and Lula sing another horrible set. I want to live my life again" I said with a sad shake of my head.

"You will Babe. I promise" he said softly. But we both knew from past experience that there were no guarantees.

Ranger stroked his thumb over my cheek then tweaked my nose with a tiny smile.

"Let's get down to business" Ranger said, his voice the picture of authority.

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Five minutes later, lunch mess cleared away, we were all seated with open files spread on the table in front of us.

"Javier, can you tell us exactly what Scrog said?" Ranger asked looking at him seriously.

Javier looked like he was ready to barf.

"Well I can't say it like word for word but I can try to get it close" he said.

"That would be great" I said giving him an encouraging smile. I knew how intimidating these guys could be, especially when there were 15 or more of them packed in the same room.

"My phone rang while I was in the hallway with Detective Morelli. The caller ID said blocked caller. I wasn't gonna answer it but then I thought maybe it had to do with Paula." He licked his lips, took a deep breath and continued.

"I said hello. Scrog said 'Hello my friend.' I recognized his creepy voice right away. So I asked him what he wanted. He said he had something of mine. I played it off like I didn't know what he was talking about. He said to cut the bullshit, he knew I had been to my apartment. He said he wanted to make a trade. I didn't know what the hell he was gonna ask for so I told him I was listening. He said if I ever wanted to see Paula alive again I had to bring Stephanie Plum and exchange her for my sister." Javier stopped speaking and locked eyes with me.

"I still think that the whole bunch of you must be insane to even think about giving Steph to him" he said, his eyes shifting around the room looking each man in the eye, his gaze finally settling on Ranger.

Wow, Javier has bigger balls than I thought.

"You're alright kid" Morelli said with a grin, slapping Javier on the back.

"Fair enough" Ranger said, his lips twitching at the corners. "What else did he say?"

"He said he'd call me tonight at midnight and I best be ready with Steph in the car because he ain't a patient guy."

"Did he give you any other instructions?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said I should watch out for you 'cause you're a feisty one and I'd probably need to knock you out to pull it off" Javier said with a grin.

Then Ranger did something that I seldom saw him do while conducting business. He smiled, not just a little smile, but a full wattage Ranger smile. It was full of pride and pointed right at me.

"Oh and he also said to make sure I ain't followed" Javier said.

"Do you think Scrog knows you're talking to us?" Ranger asked.

That was a good question. In the past it seemed that Scrog always knew much more than he should

"Nothing he said gave me that idea" Javier said. "But you sent guys over to my apartment the other night and I drove to Steph's place in my car. My car's still there so if he was lookin' he could probably figure it out and Scrog said he got eyes everywhere. Of course I left Steph's with Detective Morelli so maybe he don't know."

Damn Javier had bigger brains than I thought too!

"Good deduction" Ranger said with a nod.

"I have an idea" I said. Everyone turned to look at me. "Hear me out. I think we should fake my abduction" I said looking at my captive audience. No one said anything so I took that as a sign to continue. "I don't think we should let Scrog know that I'm going willingly. He'll assume a set-up. I think we need to stage Javier kidnapping me. Then he can pretend to stun me and stuff me in his car. Once Scrog calls with instructions, Javier will take me to him."

"Yeah and then what Steph? We just let Scrog kill you all?" Morelli asked obviously angry.

"He won't kill me. He needs me to get to Ranger. Scrog's life doesn't work as long as Ranger's alive" I said, my stomach all squishy.

"And how are we supposed to track you guys huh? You remember last time don't you? Within 30 minutes you were off the radar" Morelli ground out.

"That won't be a problem this time" Ranger said flatly.

We all looked at him waiting for an explanation.

"After what happened with Scrog the last time Rangeman felt the need to invest in some new high-tech equipment. We bought several new to the market GPS tracking devices. There are a few different options we can choose from for Steph, but I guarantee Scrog will never know that she's being tracked. Just to be sure, we'll plant an obvious device on her as a decoy for him to find. He'll think he outsmarted us but we'll be on top of it every step of the way."

"What's the plan once we meet Scrog? How'll you get us all out of there safe?" Javier asked Ranger.

"We do whatever it takes" Ranger said locking eyes with me. I nodded my head in agreement.

"We don't know what Scrog has planned but we know some about the way he works from past experience. I also think that he's getting desperate. This time around he's involved more people and taken more risks and that's caused him to make mistakes. He didn't block the cell number when he called from Paula's phone. He took a big risk just to toy with us by pointing the rifle at the building but then he crashed into the river and lost his sniper rifle. That rifle was traced back to the guns and ammo stolen from the bonds office. Scrog wants Steph and he'll do whatever it takes to get her to him. Then he'll use Steph to bring me to him so he can take me out" Ranger said.

"Which we won't let happen" I said firmly, jaw tight with tension.

Ranger took my hand underneath the table and threaded our fingers together. "No Steph, we won't."

Morelli's beeper went off. He unclipped it from his belt and excused himself into the hall to call the station.

"Ten minute break" Ranger said.

He stood up from the table tugging me with him, our hands still intertwined.

Ranger walked us into his office and closed the door. He wrapped me in his arms and held me tight against him, his head resting firmly against mine. He wasn't saying anything; I don't think he was even breathing. I kept my arms around him as he worked through whatever he was dealing with.

After about two minutes he lifted his head and pulled back to look at me. He gazed at me intently then nodded firmly once. "Ok, we're really going to do this" he said.

I looked at him with some surprise. I hadn't been totally sure that Ranger would actually go through with it.

I smiled at him pleased that he had enough faith in me to go through with my plan. "Thank you" I whispered then placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"It's a good plan Babe" Ranger said then covered my mouth with his. The kiss was warm, hard and full of passion. Ranger's hands were splayed against my back pressing me to him. I held his face in my hands and kissed him for all I was worth.

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When we reconvened Morelli said he had some information for us.

"The Medical Examiner used fingerprints to confirm that the body was Sherry Sutherland as Javier suspected. She was an RN working at Trenton State. The full autopsy is taking place as we speak but Bernie and a State Tech conducted a preliminary examination.

They're performing a tox screen because they saw what appeared to be several intramuscular injections sites on the body. The ME said there was a decent sized cut on the back of her head that was hidden by the ponytail. It looked like she was whacked pretty hard with a heavy object. Sherry's 2003 BMW was found stripped on lower Stark Street about an hour ago. There was a decent amount of blood on the backseat and the floor. They towed the car to the PD for testing."

Morelli paused and glanced at me. He flicked his eyes to Ranger then looked back at me. He seemed reluctant to say whatever he was about to say.

"Just spit it out Morelli" I prodded. He looked at me again but didn't speak. I had a horribly sick feeling in my stomach. "Please."

"There was one more significant thing the ME found during the initial examination. Sherry Sutherland was sexually assaulted…violently" he said locking eyes with me.

A/N – Sorry for the delay again. I have the next chapter written but R/L (and 2 kids that love to use the PC) have limited my time to type. I might be able to get it up on Tuesday. One more chapter for set up and then the big showdown! At least I'm pretty sure that's the way it will go. Thanks for reading guys! Reviews are always welcome! Love ya!