Disclaimer: Everyone belongs to Janet Evanovich except the ones that are mine, and I'm just playing.
Warnings: Language, Violence, All 12 books.
A/N: Special thanks to my Dream Team: Super Karen my fabulous Editor, Luisa, Brain Stormer and Translator Extraordinario, and Lindsay my Voice of Reason, Lisa for making me laugh, Beth C. for feeding me, and all the BC & PP & BCRUS Babes for support, friendship, suggestions, hand holding, cheer leading and general ass kicking. I love you all!
Thank you to all of you wonderful readers and reviewers! I've tried to answer each and every review that you've sent. You've all made my Inner Review Slut very happy!
Don't forget to read Kashy's fabulous 'Keep The Faith' … you don't want to miss it! Read and review them please, you'll be glad you did!
The Name Of The Game!
By Stayce (XJerseyGirl)
Chapter 38: Russian Roulette!
10
Yuri stood frozen, looming over Stephanie, one hand around her throat, pinning her to the desk, the other still poised to punch her, his attention riveted on the office door. Lena's voice, urgent and anxious, whispered, "Yuri, please hurry! Senor Escobar is very upset. He's demanding to see Sasha and I can't find her anywhere!"
"Shit!" Yuri muttered under his breath, and immediately released Stephanie. "Take him up to the private dining room and get him whatever he wants. Tell him that I'm in a meeting and I'll be right up," he called to Lena.
As soon as he let her go, Stephanie rolled to her side and made a grab for her gun, lying next to her on the desk. Before she could get her hands on it, though, Yuri grabbed her arm and hauled her off the desk, pushing her so hard that she fell back into his chair. He bent and picked up her stockings from the floor, shoving them into her hands. "Don't do anything stupid," he growled at her. "Get yourself cleaned up and get up there before your boyfriend kills us both."
Yuri went into the small private bathroom attached to the office, washed the blood off the scratches on his hands and ran a comb through his hair. Straightening his tie as he came back into the office, he picked up his jacket and put it on as he walked across the room to the door. He stopped in front of Sasha, watching as she slowly pulled on her stockings and hooked them to her garter belt, her hands clearly shaking.
"I told you to move!" he barked. "What's the matter with you?" He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her out of the chair, shoving her toward the bathroom.
She turned on him, digging her finger nails into the hand that gripped her arm until he cursed and let her go. "You hurt me, you bastard!" she hissed through gritted teeth. "I should tell Ramon what you did to me. He'd cut your heart out!"
Yuri grabbed both her wrists, squeezing them tightly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at her. His lips curled back in a cruel version of a smile as she flinched in pain. "If you even think about saying anything to Ramon, my love, I'll tell him that you were the one who hit on me … and all my men! And you can be very sure that they'll back me up." He gave her his snake smile. "You may be smart Sasha, but don't make the mistake of thinking that you're smarter than me."
He released her hands and patted her cheek. "Remember that, and we'll get along just fine." He bent to kiss her, but she turned her head away at the last second.
Yuri went to the door and opened it, looking back over his shoulder at her, "Hurry up and don't keep your Latin lover waiting," he snapped. "He has a short fuse and I don't want him to blow up here."
Stephanie bent and picked up the cake plate from where it had landed on the floor and fired it across the room at Yuri. It missed his head by an inch, shattering against the wall. She stood, hands on hips, glaring at him.
He turned slowly, brushing the china fragments from his jacket before he looked at her. "I think I'm going to have fun taming you, my little wildcat," he sneered as he walked out of the room, "and have Paval clean up this mess."
The door closed behind him and Stephanie clinched her fists and her teeth, stamping her feet and growling out her fury. She wished she were a man; it would have felt so good to be able to beat Yuri to a bloody pulp with her bare hands. The need to inflict pain on him was overwhelming, and she had to fight the urge to chase after him and jump him, not just for what he did to her, but for what he wanted to do to Ranger.
Instead, she took a deep breath. She should be relieved, she lectured herself, that she had made it through another close encounter with that lunatic relatively unscathed. Even better, she had been able to control her desire to just bag it all and blow the son of a bitch away, she thought as she velcroed the holster back onto her thigh. Ranger would have been thrilled with her for that!
Still muttering to herself, she hunted around for her shoes, stepping into them before she locked herself into the bathroom to try to repair the damage to her hair and makeup. She looked into the mirror and wanted to scream. Dried tears had left tracks down her cheeks and angry red welts decorated her throat where Yuri had grabbed her. She could fix the makeup but she didn't know what she was going to do about her neck.
And where the hell was Max, anyway? He should have come to her rescue the minute she pushed that panic button… if he was able to, that is. What if he wasn't able to? What if he'd had a run-in with Yuri's men? What if he was hurt … or worse? A million 'what ifs' sped through her mind and the worst part was that she couldn't do anything about it right now.
She heard a key slide into the lock on the office door and Lena, carrying Steph's purse, slipped into the room, quickly locking the door behind her. Lena looked her over as she held out the bag, "Max and I thought you would need this," she said with a conspiratorial smile. "He had trouble getting past Yuri's men, so I came instead."
Steph sagged back against the wall in relief. "So he's okay?"
Lena nodded. "He is your boyfriend, yes?" she asked with a smile.
"No, not my boyfriend. Max is my … friend." And my partner and my bodyguard and a lot of other things, she thought.
"Sasha, I will bring your hat and coat and you can go out the back door and get away from here. I can tell them," Lena tipped her head toward the upstairs dining room, "that you had to go pick up something for Anton, for the kitchen? It would buy you some time." She looked at Steph hopefully.
Lena's face wore such sincerity and concern that Stephanie finally had to look away from her, afraid that she would spill her guts to the woman. She shook her head, "Thanks, but I can't, Lena. I can't leave yet."
"Well then, we need to cover those marks on your throat," Lena said as she untied the colorful silk scarf from around her own neck and draped it around Sasha's shoulders.
Steph rummaged around in her purse for her little makeup bag and went back to the mirror. Minutes later, her makeup was repaired and the scarf was artfully tied around her neck. She looked into the mirror, satisfied with what she saw there.
Lena gave her a hug and went back to the kitchen, and Stephanie, her heart beating double time at the thought of seeing Ranger, ran up the stairs.
9
It had been Ranger that she had spoken to on the phone this morning, laying on the bed, remembering what their lives had been like before the Lazarus Mission. Stephanie mentally crossed her fingers that it would be Ranger, and not Ramon, who was waiting for her in the private dining room.
Diego was standing guard outside the closed double doors and he gave her a curt nod before he rapped sharply on the door and opened it, stepping back to let her pass into the room. Ramon and Yuri were speaking rapid fire Russian and didn't look up when she came in. Neither was happy, and it was obvious they were arguing.
She stood inside the door and waited for Ramon to call her over. No matter what her relationship was with Ranger, Ramon would never tolerate Sasha barging right in, and Ranger was playing Ramon to the hilt. Stephanie had to remind herself that in situations like this, she had to be as much of an actor as Ranger was.
Here in the ornate dining room with its gilded mirrors, crystal chandeliers, silver and china, he had chosen to sit in a richly upholstered, high backed chair, larger and more imposing than the regular chairs surrounding the table. He looked like a king holding court, and he knew it. Ranger was here for a purpose, though. Ramon had show up unexpectedly to put the fear of God into Yuri.
They all knew that the Lazarus Mission was at a standstill. The last crucial piece of information was eluding them. The whole, elaborate scheme had been devised to find out who was paying the Russian mob to provide them with weapons grade plutonium… the name of the fine, upstanding, patriotic American citizen who wanted to sell homemade nuclear bombs to his fellow Americans for fun and profit.
That name was the last piece of information that the feds were waiting for, the thing that was hanging up the whole operation. Once they had the name of the buyer, the last piece of the puzzle would be in place and Ranger and Che could just pack up and go home. Their mission would be completed, the feds would take over, and they could walk away.
Yuri knew who the buyer was, but since Yuri wasn't sharing that little tid-bit, the feds had concocted a plan to get him to spill the information they needed; Yuri would be told that Ramon would refuse to bring the goods into the country until he knew who the shipment was going to be delivered to.
Stephanie knew that the whole operation had been like playing a game … anticipating what your opponent would do, strategizing your next move, betting on the outcome. But now, it was up to one of them, Ranger, Hector or Stephanie herself, to make Yuri play by their rules.
Without looking at her, Ramon called her over to stand next to him. As she swung across the room, he simply held out his arm and when she reached him, he wrapped it around her hips, pulling her close to his side. He continued talking to Yuri, who shot Sasha a brief, threatening look. She could tell from the slight squeeze of Ranger's hand on her hip that he has seen it, too.
When Yuri got up from the table and went to the bar to get himself a drink, Ramon turned his face up to Sasha. Looking into his eyes, she had no doubt that it was Ranger who had his arm around her. She bent to give him a kiss and shrieked in surprise as he pulled her across the arm of the chair and into his lap, earning her another glare from Yuri. Ramon had one arm around her shoulders, holding her against his chest; his other hand slid up under her dress, along the back of her leg. And when his fingers encountered her thigh holster, he chuckled and tickled her on the inside of her thigh.
She giggled and kicked her feet, shrieking, "Ramon! Stop it!" putting on a show for Yuri's benefit. Ranger gave her his wolf grin before he brought his mouth down on hers, a low groan escaping as he slid his tongue into her mouth. She lost herself in that kiss, melting into him, all her fears swept away just by having his arms around her. She fisted her hands in his hair, pressing her body against his, the other men in the room completely forgotten.
Over the edge of his coffee cup, Che eyed Yuri, not trusting that the man wouldn't do something stupid to set Ramon off. He watched Yuri's body stiffen and his fists clinch as he watched Ramon and Sasha's love play. As their kiss deepened and their passion became obvious, Yuri flushed a deep red, his breathing became erratic, and fury and hatred contorted his face.
Che left the table and moved closer to Yuri, leaning in to whisper, "Soon, mi amigo, Ramon's little snatch will be all yours," he said conspiratorially. "Only a few more days …"
Che's amused voice called out, "Hey you two, get a room," and he laughed a little too loudly.
Ramon broke the kiss and half turned to Che and Yuri, growling, "Get out!"
Sasha sat up in Ramon's lap, lacing her fingers around his neck and pulling his face into her cleavage. She caught Yuri's furious stare as she looked at him over Ramon's shoulder and met it with an evil grin. She took Ramon's hand and slipped it inside the top of the wrap dress to cup her breast and she moaned loudly, clearly taunting Yuri.
Che caught the show as well and smirked as he turned to Yuri, "Come on Yuri, I'll buy you a drink!" He slapped the taller man on the back as they walked out of the room. "I'm leaving Diego outside the door," Che called over his shoulder … a reminder that he wouldn't really be leaving them alone.
8
As soon as the door closed, Ranger framed her face with his hands. "Babe," he whispered, and kissed her thoroughly before leaning back in his chair and running his hands up and down her arms, studying her face. "That was quite a little performance you put on for Yuri's benefit. What the hell are you up to?"
Stephanie looked at him and arched an eyebrow. "What's the matter? Is my Latin Lover jealous?" she said, trying to make light of the situation, and leaned in to give him a kiss.
His hands went to her shoulders and he held her off. "Stephanie … I'm serious and you know it. What are you trying to do? What's going on with Yuri?" The tone of his voice changed and became sharp and cold.
Her eyes fell from his and she studied his tie, adjusting the knot and centering it over his chest. She could feel his heart racing under her hand… not Ranger's normal, steady heartbeat that she was used to. She chewed the inside of her lip, trying to figure out how just much to tell him. Ramon lurked just below the surface and she was afraid that if Ranger got angry, he might fall into the Ramon persona again. It would break her heart to watch Ranger disappear like that. As if reading her mind, he took a deep breath and tipped his head back to look at the ceiling for a few long seconds, controlling his anger.
Finally, he looked at her again, "Tell me, Steph. It'll be alright, I promise," his voice had softened and he lifted her chin so that their eyes met.
Still doubtful, Steph tried to choose her words carefully. "Do you remember how you telling me about the value of exerting pressure on somebody?"
He nodded and gifted her with a small smile. "I seem to recall demonstrating how well it could work."
She smiled at the memory, too. "Well, let's just say that I've been trying to exert some pressure on Yuri." She looked down at her hands in her lap.
He bent his head down to look into her face. "And did that work?" he asked, searching her face.
She rolled her eyes. "Too well, I'm afraid. I didn't take into consideration just how crazy he is," she said as she threw up her hands. "I forgot how jealous his is of you an…" She froze when she realized what she had said, and looked at him wide-eyed. "I …I mean Ramon. It's not that he wants me, he just wants everything that belongs to Ramon," she said in a rush.
"Stephanie, you swore to me that you'd be careful. You're taking too many chances, getting too close to him; you're giving him the opportunity to hurt you."
"Look," she said in frustration, "you and I both know that I have to play him. He's just not gonna volunteer information about the merchandise or the buyer or the hit on you," she argued. "I have to give him a reason to tell me. It's just that I never know which one of his personalities I'm dealing with," looking away from him again. "One minute he's this normal guy and the next he's trying to rip off heads and the next he's Mister Romance. Today he was just kinda … rough." She unconsciously raised her hand to her throat while she spoke.
Ranger ran his hands over her shoulders to her throat and started to remove the scarf that Lena had tied around her neck. Stephanie put her hands over his, stilling them. "Don't," she whispered and shook her head sadly. She didn't want him to see the marks that Yuri had left on her and she looked away from him again, blinking back the tears that pricked at her eyes.
His watched her for several seconds, then he carefully unknotted the fabric, gently pulling one end of the scarf so that the bright silk slithered around her neck and down into her lap in a pool of brilliant color. He stared at the marks on her throat and let his fingertips drift over her skin. So gently that she almost wasn't sure she felt it, he touched his lips to each bruise. Her eyes drifted closed as desire shot through her veins like a bolt of lightening and she fisted her hands in his hair, holding him to her.
He nuzzled her face and kissed her mouth, their tongues dancing until they were both breathless. Her head fell back when he slipped his hands inside the neckline of her wrap dress, pushing it off her shoulders, pulling her bra straps down her arms. His let his fingers drift over the swell of her breasts and he teased her nipples through the lace of her bra. She arched her back, pressing her breasts into his hands, moaning as he kneaded her tender flesh.
Trailing hot, open mouthed kisses over her skin, his lips and tongue worked the sweet spot where her neck met her shoulder until she was writhing against him. She whimpered helplessly when he raised his mouth from her shoulder to whisper, "Promise me that you'll go back to Trenton today," before threading his fingers through her hair and fusing his mouth to hers again.
His words snapped her out of her lust induced stupor, it took an effort, but she broke the kiss and pushed away from him, getting up off his lap. He was exerting pressure again, only now she knew what he was doing. Any other time it might have worked and she would have blithely given him her word, agreed to anything, just to keep his mouth moving against her skin. He knew how hungry she always was for him and he was trying to use her weakness to his advantage. This time though, she wouldn't … couldn't let it work.
He watched Stephanie straighten her clothes and all but stumble over to the bar, leaning her elbows on the smooth marble surface. She lowered her head down to her hands and ran her finger through her hair in an effort to compose herself. She didn't want to lie to him, but didn't want to make him angry enough to have Tank come and drag her back home either. She had to think of a way to plead her case logically, to make him understand why she couldn't leave.
Ranger came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, trapping her between the bar and his chest. Her head fell back against his shoulder and he nuzzled the side of her face. "I can't stand the thought of him putting his hands on you, even looking at you. If he hurts you, I'll kill him." He took a deep breath, "Stephanie, I want you safe."
She turned in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder again. Her lips moved against his neck as she spoke. "That's because you love me," she said softly. "But we both know that if I were an agent, you'd see it as a necessary risk." She hesitated a moment, "I love you, so I'm going do whatever I need to do, whatever it takes, to get you home."
"My very own agent provocateur? Working from the inside to bring down the bad guys?" he said with a small smile.
She cradled his face in her hands and looked up at him, "I'm doing exactly the same thing that you are, Ranger. I'm willing to risk it all for what I love the most."
Ranger looked into her face and saw the fierce determination there. This was his Babe; no force on Earth could stop her, not even him. He shook his head in resignation. "What am I going to do with you?"
"You're going to love me," she said against his lips.
He bent, and putting an arm beneath her knees, lifted her in his arms. She buried her face in his neck, inhaling that unique essence that was Ranger. He carried her to the wide leather couch that sat on the far side of the room and laid her down on it, then stretched out beside her.
Leaning up on his elbow, he brushed the hair out of her face. "I miss your curls and your big blue eyes," he said a little sadly as he ran his hand through her straight hair and bent to kiss her long and slow and deep.
When she opened her eyes, she realized the he was holding his closed fist above her head. Puzzled, she looked from his hand to his face. He slowly spread open his fingers and the heavy gold necklace with their pearl suspended from it dropped from his hand to dangle above her face.
Her eyes widened, then instantly filled with tears when she saw it. Fisting her hands in his hair, she pulled him down to her and peppered his face with kisses. "Ohhhhhh!" she breathed. "How did you get it? I mean, Bobby had it! I gave it to him again …He was supposed to give it to you if …" She didn't finish the sentence; she just reached out to touch the pearl.
"Thank Hector," Ranger said with a smile. "He went on a quest to retrieve it for us. He arranged some elaborate scheme to accidentally bump into a 'stranger' in Manhattan and walked away with the necklace in his pocket."
A sob escaped her as he slipped the ornate chain over her head and he held her close, kissing her tears away. They spent their last precious minutes together touching and tasting, kissing and memorizing each sensation, the sound of each soft gasp and sigh, whispered words of love and need, pleasure and pain … storing it all away for a future that might not have anything but memories. They lay in each other's arms, legs tangled, clothes in disarray, both silently wishing that they could make time stand still.
And then he was gone.
Stephanie stood at the dining room window, clutching the pearl and looking down at the long shadows stretching across the street below. Ramon's limo idled silently in front of the restaurant in the dimming afternoon light, its exhaust curling up like smoke. She watched as Caesar jumped out and came around to open the back door, and Diego, the faithful watchdog, his hand on his gun, looked up and down the street for any threat.
Ranger strode out of the building with Hector at his side. He stopped abruptly before he stepped into the car, almost as if someone had called his name. She knew he could feel her eyes on him when he turned and looked up at her. She was leaning against the window frame, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist as if she was trying to keep herself from falling apart. She raised one hand and laid it flat against the window pane. "I love you," she said from behind the glass and she saw a flash of pain cross his face before he turned and stepped into the car.
Ranger leaned back into the butter soft leather seat and ran his hands over his face. He knew with absolute certainty that despite all their efforts, this mission would end badly. As much as he wanted to deny it, as much as he wanted to drug her, knock her cold, drag her off and lock her up in some safe house, he knew that when it was over, she would spend the rest of her life blaming herself for not being able to save him. No matter what happened, he knew that she would die with him, if not physically, than emotionally. There would be no escaping the death sentence they both had hanging over their heads.
7
Lost in thought, Stephanie came down the stairs from the private dining room. She was still trying to figure out a way to make Yuri spill the name of the buyer. She sighed in frustration and said a silent prayer that, miraculously, the perfect opportunity would present itself.
She turned the corner and found Yuri standing in his office doorway, waiting for her. The last thing she wanted was to deal with him again today. Still, she couldn't miss any chance to put the plan into action. She hesitated a second, then stuck her nose up in the air and sailed past him to go to the kitchen and then out into the dining room to start her shift as hostess.
As she passed, he reached out and took her hand, pulling her into his office and closing the door. He backed her against the wall, bracing his hands on either side of her head, but didn't touch her.
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. "Well?" she demanded sharply.
"Come and have dinner with me." Snake charmer Yuri was in the room, she thought, as he leered at her. If one personality couldn't get him what he wanted, he just pulled another one out of his hat. The man just creeped her out.
"No thank you, I'm not hungry," she said rather primly, looking away from him. "Anyway, my shift starts in a few minutes, and my boss doesn't like me to be late."
"Then keep me company while I have mine. Lena can cover for you." Yuri took a step back from her and held out his hand toward a table in the corner of the office that had been set for two. He pulled out her chair and seated her, then opened a bottle of Champagne and poured it into crystal flutes. He held up his glass in a silent salute to her and took a sip, but Sasha didn't touch hers.
She eyed Yuri suspiciously, not saying anything. He was up to something, but what? He may have forgotten that he had tried to beat on her only a few hours ago, but she certainly hadn't. She watched him spoon a generous serving of the restaurant's most expensive caviar onto a mother of pearl plate, then added several of the buttery toast points that Sasha liked so much and put the plate down in front of her before serving himself.
"What's all this for?" she asked him, waving her hand at the table, laden with all her favorite foods. She didn't know what he was up to, but knowing how jealous he was of Ramon, she wouldn't put it past him to spike her food with a date rape drug or something, just to get what he wanted.
"It's an apology," he said, reaching for her hand. She snatched it away and crossed her arms instead.
Yuri was buttering her up, she thought, and all she had to do was figure out why. "You don't apologize Yuri, so why now? What's going on?"
Yuri threw his napkin on the table and slumped back in his chair in exasperation. "I can't fool you, can I Sasha?" He blew out a deep breath and massaged his forehead. "Che told me that Ramon is having a problem with this operation. My … partners … in Russia have a lot of money invested in this deal, millions, in fact. They won't be happy about losing it and they'll demand repayment. I don't have that kind of money. So, this has to work out, otherwise …" He sighed deeply, again. "I need your help," he finally admitted, and looked at her with his version of puppy dog eyes. Steph got the feeling that the puppy was Cujo.
She snorted. "And you thought that it'd just take Champagne and caviar to buy my help? That's insulting!" and she rolled her eyes.
"I was going to throw this into the bargain." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tennis bracelet with diamonds so big they made her eyes pop. He fastened it around her wrist while she stared at it, open mouthed.
"Ohhhh! Yuri! That's more like it," Sasha gushed when the shock wore off, and she immediately went into her 'bimbo/gold digger' routine, holding her arm up so the diamonds would sparkle in the light. She smiled at Yuri like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and put a spoonful of caviar on the toast. Leaning across the table, giving Yuri a view of her cleavage, she put the caviar to Yuri's mouth. "So, what do you want to know, lover?"
Sasha spent the next hour feeding Yuri, and not just the caviar. Her prayers had been answered. She had managed to convince Yuri that it was all his fault that the delivery had been held up. He had made Ramon suspicious, she told him, and there would be no delivery until he provided Ramon with the name of the buyer.
"Ramon isn't stupid," she said. "He doesn't trust anybody and he doesn't take chances. He knows you've been playing games and he thinks you're gonna try to pull something. He doesn't know you're gonna get rid of him, he just thinks you're gonna try to rip him off. Anyway, what does it really matter if Ramon knows who the buyer is? You're gonna kill him anyway," she said with a shrug.
"If you knew all this, why didn't you tell me before? It would have saved me all this trouble!" he snapped.
"Oh come on, Yuri," she rolled her eyes, "I have to look out for myself first. I can't afford to burn any bridges. I always go with the winner, and right now I don't know who that's gonna be, you or Ramon."
She watched him process the information and could see that he was still undecided. "You know, if your pals in Russia find out this delay is because you screwed up, they're not gonna be real happy with you either. I'm not sure I wanna get involved with somebody who stands a good chance of being found floating in the bay or buried in a landfill."
The thought of dealing with his Russian business partners was too much for Yuri, and to Steph's relief he pulled out his phone and called Che to arrange a meeting with Ramon.
As she walked home that night, Tank called her. Ramon Escobar had been spotted in Philadelphia. Shit! When were they gonna catch a break?
Stephanie and Max spent the next couple of days fielding calls from RangeMan and Hector, passing the information back and forth on the secured phone. Randy Briggs had been able to tap into federal files and was supplying a flood of information about Ramon Escobar, from sightings, to the agents assigned to tail him, to the discovery of those agents' bodies. It came as no surprise that the feds had underestimated how dangerous Escobar really was.
RangeMan wouldn't make the same mistake. When they found Escobar, Tank told her, the solution to the problem would be simple. Escobar would be dead.
6
Stephanie walked down the steps of her apartment building into the swirling snow, pulling up the fur collar of her coat and drawing in a deep breath of the cold, crisp air. Max was still up in the apartment, filling Hector in on the latest information that Tank had supplied on Escobar. These few minutes alone while she walked to the restaurant gave her an opportunity to clear her mind and think.
It dawned on her that she had never asked Yuri about how and when he planned to kill 'Ramon', and Yuri had never said anything more than that he was going to shoot him. Now she'd have to start fishing around for that information and she knew she didn't have much time to get it. As much as she hated the idea, she'd have to exert more pressure on Yuri, a lot more. She imagined his hands on her again and shuddered in disgust.
Buffeted by the winds, Steph hurried as best she could down the slippery sidewalk, grateful that she had decided to wear slacks and flat heeled boots today, a broken leg or a sprained ankle wasn't on her agenda. Finally making it to the restaurant, she grabbed the door handle, yanking it open. Only the door didn't open. She was more than surprised to find that the front door was still locked. She actually pulled on it a couple more times in disbelief. The restaurant was NEVER closed. Cupping her hands on the window, she peeked inside and realized that the dining room was empty and the lights were turned off.
Her spidey sense started to tingle and she pulled her gun out of her purse, slipping it into her coat pocket. She backtracked down the street and around the corner to the alley that ran parallel to the street, wondering if maybe Yuri's Russian 'partners' had gotten fed up and had come to collect their money.
The streets were deserted because of the weather and the streetlights had just come on adding to the ominous feeling that had come over her. She flattened herself against the side of the corner building and sneaked a quick look into the alley. As far as she could tell, it was empty. Snow collected on the fire escapes that clung to the backs of the buildings, small trash bins and old fashioned metal garbage cans were lined up like soldiers, ready to be marched out to the curb on trash day.
The wind gusted down the narrow passageway, making a weird moaning sound. Snowflakes swept through the halos of the security lights over the rear doors of the buildings that backed onto the alley. Everything was eerily quiet, no traffic or pedestrians, the shops closed up tight … she felt like the last person on Earth.
Stephanie shook off the feeling and pulled out her cell phone to call Max, but the call went straight to his voice mail. She left a message, telling him what was going on, and that she was going to take a look around. Probably it was a good thing he hadn't answered, since he'd tell her to stay put and wait for him. She'd freeze to death if she had to do that.
Holding her gun down by her side, she cautiously made her way down the alley, skirting the trash cans, but staying as close to the wall as she could. Darkness fell quickly, and she avoided the pools of light from the security lights. With a muffled crash, a gust of wind knocked over a trash can and Steph instinctively ducked down in the shadows. She crouched there for a minute, her heart thudding in her chest and watched the papers and debris get carried away by the wind.
Scolding herself for being such a chicken, she stood up and moved down the alley toward the restaurant's metal security door. She put her ear to it, but with the wind blowing, it was impossible to hear anything. Giving a quick look up and down the alley, she gingerly turned the knob, and when the door opened, she slipped inside.
She stood in the back hallway for a minute, holding her breath, listening. She could hear the humming of the kitchen appliances, but nothing else. In the dim light from the emergency exit sign she could see small puddles of water on the floor, probably melted snow, leading toward the basement. Stephanie took off her coat and hat, ditching them in a little alcove by the kitchen, and tucking her gun into the small of her back and her sat phone into her pocket, she quietly went over to the basement door.
Light showed from underneath and she could hear the low hum of voices from below. The cellar was a confusing maze of little rooms and hallways, used mostly to store old furniture and extra restaurant equipment. It was a dark, dank, spooky place with tiny barred windows that made her think of a dungeon. On her few trips down there, she couldn't wait to escape the place.
She made it down the steep stairs and followed the voices to the room at the far end of the hallway. The door was standing ajar and a naked light bulb, hanging from the ceiling, lit the room, giving her a clear view of what was going on inside. Yuri was surrounded by about a dozen of his thugs who were all dressed like knock-off RangeMen. They all wore head to toe black and had ski masks pulled over their faces.
Stephanie watched from the darkness as the men shoved aside a couple of heavy crates uncovering what looked like a large safe. Yuri spun the dial, then turned the handle and swung the door open. He started passing out automatic weapons from the vault, Uzis, a Bizon, rifles. He handed out enough fire power to overthrow a small nation, and as he barked out orders to the men, Stephanie realized that they were going to go after Ramon, tonight! Panic knotted in her stomach. She had to get out of there so she could call Ranger and warn him.
Moving as fast as she could in the dark, she made it halfway up the steps when a hand shot out and grabbed her arm, pulling her roughly down to the floor. A hand clamped over her mouth and Stephanie sank her teeth into it as hard as she could. It was jerked away from her with a curse and she let out a blood curdling scream. She struggled wildly against the man who locked his arms around her, pinning her hands to her sides, and dragged her up the stairs and into the kitchen.
Her scream brought Yuri and his men running and she was still fighting against the arms that pinned her when Yuri came into the kitchen and the lights were flipped on.
"Sasha?" he said in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously and signaled the man to release her.
"Yuri!" Sasha cried in relief, and she flung her arms around Yuri's neck and hung on to him. "I came to work and everything was dark and I was looking for you," she babbled, "and I couldn't find you and I didn't know who they were and I was afraid they were going to kill you." She took a step back from him and bit her lip, looking up at him through her lashes. "I thought I could rescue you." And she looked down at the floor, embarrassed.
Yuri was silent for a moment, then he and his men started to laugh. Sasha looked around at the group and big tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.
"Oh Sasha!" he laughed and put his arms around her, kissing her on the top of the head. He turned to then men and spoke rapidly in Russian. The men disappeared, some going down to the cellar, some out the back door.
Yuri took Sasha by the hand and took her into his office. Wrapping his arms around her, he picked her up off the floor and spun her around. "Tonight's the night, my little love!" he crowed. "Tonight we get rid of Ramon and I become a rich and powerful man!"
"But I thought you had to wait for your merchandise to be delivered?" Sasha asked innocently.
"Hernandez will pick it up tomorrow morning in New Orleans and we'll all be rich!" He spun her around again laughing triumphantly. He put her back on her feet and fisted his hand in her hair, pulling her head back. His mouth came down on hers, in a brutal kiss and he forced his tongue into her mouth.
Yuri shoved his hand into the V neck of her sweater, his fingers slipping into her bra, squeezing her breast … and he froze. He lifted his mouth from hers and she watched his eyes turn from lust filled to murderous. He straightened and she tried to step away from him but he held her fast in a vice-like grip.
Never taking his eyes from hers, he slowly pulled his fingers out of her bra and held up his hand, the tiny microphone dangling from his fingers. Her eyes flicked from his to the mic and back again. In that second he shoved her away from him with such force that she hit the wall, banging her head. Trapped there, with Yuri between her and the door, she had no way out.
"You fucking cunt," he roared. "Who do you work for, you bitch? Escobar? Hernandez? Mikhailov?" He looked at the mic before he threw it down and ground it into the floor with his foot. "Are you're a Fed? Shit! You are, aren't you?"
He bellowed at the top of his lungs, calling for his men to come back upstairs. His face red and his eyes blazing, he half turned away from her, balling up his fist and pulling his arm back to punch her. She turned her head and raised her arm to ward off the blow but as he stepped in to punch her, she swung her foot back and kicked him in the balls with everything she had in her. He stood stunned for a second and then dropped like a rock. She was out the office door before he hit the floor.
Yuri's men were pounding up the stairs from the cellar into the kitchen, and the only other escape route on this floor was through the dining room to the front door. But the front door was locked and short of crashing through the glass, there was no way out. Instead, she hit the back stairs to the second floor, scrambling up the steps on all fours, her heart in her throat, her pulse hammering in her ears. She made it into the private dining room with the fire escape outside the window, but the window wouldn't budge. Her escape was on the other side of the glass, and she couldn't get to it.
Desperate, she flew out into the hall again, looking for a way out. She could hear Yuri's men fanning out through the building, searching for her, calling to one another as they cleared room after room. She prayed all the way up to the third floor, her prayers answered when she managed to get the window to the fire escape open just far enough to squeeze out. The snow had stopped, but the first icy blast of wind took her breath away and she had to hold on tight to the railings as she quickly made her way down the slick steps.
She was almost to the second floor when two of Yuri's men came out the back door into the alley and she froze. In an effort to step back into the shadows, her feet slid out from under her and she stumbled, slipping on the stairs and falling onto her knees. The men looked up at the noise and the falling clumps of snow, yelling to their buddies when they saw her in the dim light. Guns in hand, they pulled down the ladder to climb up after her, firing at her retreating back.
Adrenaline pumping through her body and expecting a bullet to hit her any second, Stephanie flew back up the fire escape to the roof. Despite the wind, she didn't even feel the cold as she raced to the door that led to the interior stairs. She could hear voices echoing up the stairwell and she quickly slammed the door shut. Searching for anything she could use to jam it closed, she found a metal bar leaning up on the brick rim that ran around the edge of the roof. She dragged it over and jammed it through the door handle just as somebody tried to pull the door open from the inside. She could hear them cursing on the other side of the door.
Scanning the roof, she realized that she was trapped; there was no way off except straight down. If she could only get to the roofs on the other side of the alley, she might be able to escape down one of the fire escapes there. The alley wasn't that wide, maybe, just maybe …
She stood on the roof in the pitch black of the moonless night and fought the panic that curled in her belly as she watched Yuri's men climb over the edge of the roof, making up her mind for her. Maybe she could fly after all … Strangely calm, she took a deep breath and ran the length of the roof as fast and hard as she could, launching herself off the brick rim, arms spread, feet treading thin air as her momentum carried her up and out, over the alley to land on the roof across the way.
Her knees buckled under her as soon as her feet hit the snow covered tar paper, and she dropped and rolled like a movie stunt man. A spray of bullets kicked up the snow all around her as she scrambled behind the large air conditioning unit. She could hear the bullets zing over her head and ricochet off the metal as she gulped in lungfuls of frigid air. She had a sudden desire to laugh that she made it across the alley, but she wasn't safe yet.
The buildings on this side of the passageway were so close together that she was able to run across the rooftops here. She darted from cover to cover, shadow to shadow to the last building, then down the fire escape to freedom. She ran for almost three blocks before her legs started to give out on her, and she ducked into another alley to regroup and catch her breath.
She leaned over and braced her hands on her knees, her breath coming in ragged gasps and her heart thundering in her chest. Somewhere along the line she had lost her gun, but at least she still had her sat phone and she pulled it out to call Max and Ranger. Not wanting to give Yuri's men a chance to catch up to her, she pushed out of the alleyway looking back down the street to make sure that they hadn't found her.
She glanced over her shoulder again as she approached the next corner. As she turned back, two men in ski masks stepped out in front of her, their guns pointing at the middle of her forehead.
"Yuri is looking for you," one said. And they both started to laugh.
Ranger and Stephanie were friends and lovers and partners.
They were six weeks, two days, seventeen hours, and eleven minutes into her plan to save him, and now, their time was running out!
TBC …
A/N: Only one more chapter to go. Thank you to all of the wonderful readers who left such sensational reviews for Game. I can't tell you how much each and every one means to me. Ranger, Steph, the Merry Men, and all the supporting cast of characters would like to thank you for your kind words and for sticking with us for a whole year.
I've had a wonderful time weaving this story, thank you for taking this journey with me. My next story, which will be shorter and simpler, I swear, will start in a couple of weeks. If you want to be alerted to the start of 'What I Did For Love' please click the author alert button at the end of the chapter. Oh, and please leave a review, too! I'm still a shameless review slut!!! LOL!