Chapter 26
Katherin's POV
MEN! I have been Alexander's physician for the last few years, and he treats me like a little girl , not a grown woman. I'm in my thirties for crying out loud! I love the man, he rescued me I was in a bad spot, offering me a job and a home when I needed it most. Since then though, he's acted like I'm made out of porcelain and I will break at any moment. He's set in his ways unfortunately, so I don't think I'll be able to convince him otherwise.
The men that came from Rangeman are gorgeous, even though them being here is due to Stephanie being in trouble I'm still enjoying the scenery. She's lucky to be around them all the time. Not that I don't have my own versions of eye candy in Trouble and Phoenix, but they are too much like annoying older brothers for me to enjoy the view.
I heard a phone buzz, and we all watched as Trouble brought it to Alexander. It must be Anthony, Alex is usually calm and level headed but whoever he's talking to is getting under his skin, his face is red. "Alex, you need to breathe." I commented as I sat down next to him, placing my fingers on his wrist in a covert attempt to check his pulse . He hung the phone up , pulling his wrist out from my grasp and stalked across the floor towards the men from Rangeman. I couldn't stop the tears from springing to my eyes at his coldness towards me, I tried to remind myself he was under stress. I felt the cushion next to me dip as someone sat down beside me. As I turned my head I saw their medic close to me, his hand near mine. I made the motion to move and he grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight before letting go. It was very sweet, and unexpected.
Alexander's face was twisted, the conversation didn't go well. "That was Sizemore. He wants a trade. Stephanie for my business." That wasn't a shock, Anthony and Alexander have been at odds for years. But I was shocked at the next words out of his mouth, although I tried not to show it. "Katherin. Go, get Stephanie and bring her home. Take Phoenix and Trouble. Bring Sizemore back here, alive."
Ranger's POV
I was surprised with Ramos' announcement, but the doctor seemed ready. She was sitting on the couch, Bobby close to her. My phone buzzed and I groaned quietly when I saw the caller ID. "Yo."
"Manoso where is Steph? I've been trying her for hours and haven't gotten a call back. I've left her a dozen messages, I'm getting worried."
Shit. "I'm at Alexander Ramos' compound in the Pine Barrens. We were ambushed this morning and Steph was taken by Homer." I could hear him cursing and knocking things around on the other end of the call. "We have a plan, Ramos' doctor is going in to get Stephanie. I'll keep you apprised about the situation as it unfolds Detective."
"I'm on my way. Tell them to let me through the gates." He said curtly and hung up. Double shit. The last thing we need is a hot headed Detective taking this operation over. I suppose he does have the right to be here though, she is his best friend.
"Morelli?" Tank asked and I nodded.
"He's on his way." I turned towards the woman on the couch "Doctor, are you ready for this?"
She nodded, grabbing her black medical bag and standing in front of me. "Let's go get Steph." Fairly confident for a woman who hadn't explained exactly how she was going to accomplish this feat, but I admired her tenacity.
Stephanie's POV
Shit. I walked into the bathroom, pulling off my wet clothes as I went. Turning on the shower as hot as I could stand it I let the room fill up with steam before stepping in and letting the hot water soak my skin. I almost moaned at how good it felt, forgetting where I was for a moment. I stayed under the stream until I couldn't stand it anymore, turning off the water and wrapping a large fluffy towel around me that had been hanging next to the shower. I picked up my wet clothes and hung them over the towel rack in the bathroom, then moved to the closet. This is strange, there are women's clothes here but Sizemore didn't have a daughter… I pulled out a pair of jeans and a grey tank top with a flowy grey and white striped shirt to pull over it. Rooting around deep in the closet I found a pair of grey boots that had a small heel in my size. Not bad. If I get shot at least I'll look cute for the medics I thought looking at myself in the mirror. I moved back to the bathroom and found a hairbrush and a hair tie so I wrangled my wet curls into a ponytail and called it good. With all that out of the way, I started wandering around the bedroom.
The room screamed female. The bedspread was a deep purple in a floral pattern, the bed had a multitude of pillows on top of it. If I could afford that many pillows my bed would look the same. As I wandered around the room I caught sight of a photo out of the corner of my eye sitting on a dresser and stopped. Picking it up I walked backwards until my legs hit the bed and I plopped down hard on the mattress.
The photo had to be a few years old, it showed three people. Anthony and his son were on either side of a young woman, but she was closer to Mark. Her arm was linked with his as if they were walking down a wedding aisle, except this was taken outside somewhere tropical, they were on a beach with the sunset behind them. It dawned on me I recognized the woman, I had met her before…it was Katherin Bend, Alexander's personal physician. I liked her, she was a little older than me but we had a lot of fun shopping and hanging out when I spent time with Alexander few years back. She shared my dislike of Homer, he had never treated her nicely. Now I'm wondering if he knew this side of her… did Alexander?? I heard the door unlock and tried to toss the photo behind me but Anthony came into the room too quickly.
"I see you found the clothes. I'm glad they fit you, they've been sitting collecting dust for years and deserve to be worn." He saw the shocked look on my face, there was no way he didn't. My mouth was open and I was full on gaping at him. Apparently the sight was funny, he chuckled at me. Great, the mob boss thinks I'm funny. "I expect we will be seeing your Mr. Manoso arrive soon, shall we wait downstairs?" I sat there staring until Ape #2 came over and hauled me up by the arm, escorting me behind Sizemore out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. "Hungry?" My eyes were as wide as dinner plates at the spread that was laid out but I didn't trust my voice yet so I just nodded. Might as well have a last meal, right??
A/N: Anyone see that coming??