Author's Note: Okay... Seriously... You guys are freaking AWESOME! I loved your responses from Chapter 25! They were epic! Phillygirl.. just wow! Oh my goodness... I just loved them all. Now.. as for today... I did not respond to your reviews for chapter 25 because I don't have time. Today is super busy and I just wanted to get this chapter out for you. But I will respond to all reviews for this chapter. I've been thinking about this chapter for awhile now so it almost wrote itself, but I wanted to get it out there this morning for y'all because of the major response y'all left me yesterday. So please enjoy... and let me know what you think...

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Hal?"

He let out a sigh and shook his head, still caressing her face with a gentle and shaky touch. "Please don't hate me, sweetheart. I am so sorry."

"I don't understand. What's going on? Why are you here?"

"I –."

"Spilling our secrets, Hal?"

He was cut off by the cold voice that Steph knew she was going to kill, one way or another. She wouldn't die by this bitch's hand.

"You know I wasn't." Hal replied coldly, standing up.

Steph glanced up to find Maya eying Hal closely. "You had better not. You know what will happen." She taunted.

She could hear Hal's teeth grinding from her sweet seat on the floor. He wasn't happy to be here so why was he?

"Yeah." Was Hal's reply.

Maya nodded once. "Good. Go get things ready. Everything has to be perfect."

Steph watched as Hal shuddered. "You cannot ask me to do this…" Hal growled.

Maya's face took a menace look. "Do you want him to die, Hal?" She goaded Hal some more. Steph watched as Hal's body went ridge and fists clenched.

"No." He replied sadly.

Steph didn't have a clue what was going on but she was honestly and pardon her for saying, dying to know.

"GO! Now!" Maya ordered with screech.

Another sigh left Hal's huge body and with a sad look toward Steph, he walked out the door.

Steph turned her attention back to Maya. "What the hell is going on? Why am I here? Why is Hal here? What do you have on him?" Steph fired question after question, only making Maya laugh.

"Question isn't what do I have on him, it's who."

Steph's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

Maya sat down in the only chair in the room. A cheap, metal thing that look completely out of place in this very expensive room. Stephanie only now taking a look around at her surroundings. They were in a wine cellar. A damn wine cellar. But who's wine cellar. Someone with money that's for sure. The place was loaded with bottle after bottle of wine. It was nestled nicely in built in shelves that looked to be cedar or oak or some kind of expensive wood.

Oh her head was hurting.

Maya cackled, clapping her hands together. "Oh you look fucking miserable! I love it!" She gleefully said.

Steph ignored her. She wasn't sure if she could take another beating like the one before. Right now she just wanted some answers.

"What's going on, Maya? Why am I here?"

Maya sat back, crossing her legs. "Why don't I start at the beginning." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Steph nodded.

"When my daddy mentioned Ranger's name and oh how close they were and how he owed my father a favor, I knew that was my in. So I planted the idea of me marrying Ranger for my inheritance in his head and he totally went for it. After that I started doing my Intel." Maya touched a hand over her heart. "Daddy taught me well." She said, rolling her eyes and smiling.

"Intel on what?" Steph asked, trying to get Maya back on track. The chick was freaky when she smiled. Something like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory but scarier.

Maya cocked her head and looked at Steph. "On Ranger of course."

"I bet you came to a dead end there. It's Ranger. He doesn't have any intel."

Maya nodded in agreement. "That is kind of true. There isn't much on him. I mean an ex-wife and daughter in Miami, businesses coming out of his ass, money that could fill the Yankee Stadium twice over, and loyal employees that would die for him. But nothing really personal on him. So I looked into each and every one of his men." Maya met Steph's eyes and Steph suppressed a shiver. Damn that woman was freaky scary. "And I found a lot."

"What does this have to do with me? And Hal?"

Maya shooed Steph like she was a fly. "I'm getting there. But anyway… I needed all the information I get could on Ranger because I needed to make him hurt like he hurt me. But when I couldn't find anything on him, I turned towards his men and I found so much." Maya repeated through clenched her teeth.

Steph backtracked. "How did Ranger hurt you?" Steph asked.

Maya blinked back tears and looked at Steph. "He killed my lover, the love of my life."

"Why?" Steph asked.

"Does it matter?" Maya snapped.

Steph shrugged. "Ranger usually doesn't kill someone just for shits and giggles." Steph told her, hoping like hell she didn't piss her off too bad.

Maya growled. "Just because Roaul was the leader of a drug cartel and killed others who got in his way doesn't mean that made him a bad man."

Steph barely managed to hold back her laughter. "Of course not."

Maya glared at her, but continued with her little tell. "So Ranger had to suffer and it wasn't until I got here that I discovered you. Did you know that Ranger has left you everything in his will?"

Maya paused, waiting for an answer so Steph shook her head. It wasn't like she was lying. She didn't know.

"Well, he did. And the fucking will is ironclad. I mean so ironclad that if anyone tried to change it, they would probably fucking explode on sight. That man fucking loves you. It's fucking pathetic."

Steph didn't know what to say to that. A year ago she would have been happy to hear that, but now… she was so in love with Hector that Ranger was nothing more to her than a friend. A friend she would gladly die for, but just a friend.

"But I wanted to see how much Ranger really loved you so I started to taunt him with you. When I didn't get my way, I would threaten you. And well, seeing as Ranger signed a contract he couldn't kill me or hurt me. So I taunted away until one day I think I pushed Ranger too far. And that's when I decided I've had enough of you."

Maya's teasing voice went dead cold in a spilt second and this time, Steph shuddered in horror. She was starting to doubt she would ever make it out alive.

"That's when I went to my little folder of hidden secrets on Ranger's men. I needed one of them to help. Lester was completely out seeing as how he's Ranger's cousin and too fucking loyal to him. As the same with Tank. Woody is a closet gay, afraid of what his family would think of him. Binkie is a klepto which is just weird as shit seeing as he has lots of money. Ram has killed more men than everyone at RangeMan put together and he has nightmares and fucks women nonstop to get rid of the nightmares and well...Bobby killed someone on his table because he hated the man and Bones is an alcoholic. Interesting stuff, huh. But see now, Hal was a completely different story. Even though he was totally devoted to Ranger, he has a secret life. A sweet secret life, not a haunting one like rest of RangeMan. Did you know that?" Maya stopped, waiting for an answer.

Steph shook her head. "No."

Maya nodded. "He does. He has a secret life that not even Ranger knew of."

Steph swallowed. "What's his secret?"

Maya reached into her pocket but frowned. "I must have left my phone in the other room. Damn." Maya glanced towards the door like she was going to get up and Steph prayed to God above that she didn't move.

Amen.

She shook her head and once focused her attention on Steph. "He has a son."

Steph gasped in surprise.

Maya smiled really big and it reminded Steph of the Joker, but totally more creepy. "I know right! He has an ex-wife too, but I didn't give a shit about her."

Steph swallowed the vomit in her throat. "What did you do?" Steph asked, but really she didn't want the answer.

"I killed his ex-wife and kidnapped his son."

Steph inhaled sharply. "Where is it son now?"

Maya laughed. "I could tell you, but I'm not. Just on principle."

Steph knew she wasn't going to tell her, but she had to try. "So how old is he?"

Maya shrugged. "I don't know. Four or five or something. Who cares?"

"So Hal's only here because you have his son?"

Maya nodded eagerly and Steph felt so much relief in her aching body that she let her body go limp against the cement floor. She didn't think that Hal could have betrayed Ranger, but she was scared he had. Now she had to figured out a way to get out of here and rescue Hal's little boy.

"So what's next? We wait for Ranger to come barreling in here and you kill me in front of him or something?" Steph asked, trying to get any detail she could.

That made Maya laugh and damn the bitch was creepy. That laugh was cold and evil. "I may act stupid sometimes but I'm not. If I even allowed Ranger anywhere near here, I would be dead before I could speak two words. No no no… I've got better plans for you. Hal is getting them ready right now."

"What's the plan?"

"I'm going to kill you first and Hal is going to deliver you personally to RangeMan."