A/N: if you are squeamish to violence or if it's a trigger, please skip the section between the * marks.

Chapter 3

Stephanie arrived bright and early at Rangeman. She kept tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Her mind was working overtime. Stephanie checked her medicine cabinet for something to use as a sleep aid. She found a bottle of Benadryl, but it was empty. There wasn't anything she could use to help her sleep.

"Morning," she grumbled when she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Are you feeling okay?" Bobby asked.

"I'm tired, but I couldn't get to sleep last night," Stephanie replied.

"What's on your mind?" he wondered.

"I don't know. It feels like something's on the horizon. I'm not sure how to describe it," Stephanie said, shaking her head to clear her foggy brain. Stephanie found it hard to sort through her thoughts to find the appropriate words to describe her state of mind.

She drank the cup of coffee she grabbed, then poured herself another cup. "Better?" Bobby asked.

"Yup," she cheerfully said. "Thanks for the chat." The coffee made her less foggy. She would need to drink a lot more if she was going to get through her shift.

Stephanie went to her cubicle to run the search on Don Juan Brando and Lucy Carothers. As she suspected, Lucy and Don never dated. Lucy had a restraining order on Don because he kept harassing her at school and work. She moved to Trenton several months ago to escape the man. He discovered, through a mutual friend, that she transferred to Trenton. Lucy taught kindergarten at the public school.

Don saw Lucy on what he perceived as a date with a fellow teacher. He got angry and beat the man. Lucy's coworker got released from the hospital a few weeks after the incident with his jaw wired shut from the broken jaw. Stephanie felt sorry for Robert. Don missed his court date, and Stephanie needed to find him.

She went through his work history in Austin. Don worked in warehouses to organize stock. Stephanie felt he would get a job in the warehouse district with his experience. She made a plan to visit his place of employment after his day shift ends on Monday. It was her Rangeman day, but she'd make it across town in time.

"Are you coming with us for lunch, Beautiful?" Lester asked at 1 pm. Stephanie's stomach growled loud enough for the men to hear.

"Sure. I'm starving," Stephanie replied.

Cal joked, "We know. Your stomach was grumbling for the past hour."

They went to Shorty's for pizza. Stephanie preferred Pino's, but she wasn't interested in bumping into Joe. Conversation with her Merry Men was always fun. She loved the way they teased each other without being mean or malicious.

When her shift ended, Stephanie grabbed the reports and gave them to Tank. He would need the results to assign the captures the following week. Stephanie completed a few background checks for potential employees too.

On Saturday afternoon, Stephanie went to the warehouse district to find Brando's place of employment. If you didn't know your way around the industrial park, you could get lost. She parked her car outside the building, where crates of electronics get organized for distribution to the stores. Stephanie saw Brando loading a box onto the back of a pickup truck.

She jumped from her car to approach the men. "Hi. I'm looking for Don Juan Brando," Stephanie stated.

"I'm Don. How can I help you?" Brando asked.

"I'm Stephanie Plum. I work for Vincent Plum bail bonds. You missed your court date," Stephanie replied.

The man with Don moved behind Stephanie when she introduced herself. Stephanie didn't move out of the way in time. She was grabbed and pushed to the ground. Cuffs got fastened to her wrists when her arms got pulled behind her back. Stephanie tried to scream, but the man shoved her face into the snow.

Her face felt the bite of the ice in the snow, and Stephanie couldn't breathe from the man's weight. She got yanked to her feet and dragged into the warehouse. Don and his two friends stripped Stephanie.

"Do you know who I am?" the man who cuffed her asked.

Stephanie shook her head and whispered, "No."

"My name is Anthony Bianchi," he replied.

"I don't know who you are," Stephanie said as she shook from the cold.

He grabbed her arm and pressed the puckered scar from the poker burn she got from Eddie Abruzzi. "You killed my brother," he growled.

"Jimmy Alpha didn't have a brother. Clyde Cone only had two brothers. I haven't killed anyone else. I swear," Stephanie added.

"You stupid bitch. I'm talking about Eddie Abruzzi," he yelled. Stephanie shook in fear. Abruzzi was a sick man. "My mother remarried when Eddie left for college. I was only ten, so I took my step-father's last name. Eddie told me all about you and the men protecting you. I know you had my brother killed to stop him from killing you. You may not have pulled the trigger, but you are solely responsible."

"Why did you remove my clothes?" Stephanie hysterically asked. Her panic button was in her jacket pocket. She forgot to remove it before approaching Brando.

"Eddie said your friends have ways to track your movements. I'm making sure you don't have anything that could lead them to me," he barked.

Stephanie was afraid he would molest her, but he wrapped her inside the moving blankets. She was tightly secured. Anthony had stuffed a rag into her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

"What are we going to do with her clothes and car? You said the men could track her," the third man stated.

Anthony replied, "Toss her clothes in the back and drive the car around. Stop at the mall and walk around. Make sure you grab her trackers and stay together."

The men waited until Anthony loaded Stephanie into his jet located at the far end of the warehouse. He jettied his plane onto the parking lot and loaded Stephanie inside. Once he took off, Brando and his friend drove Stephanie's car out of the area.

Stephanie hyperventilated as fear rolled through her body. By the time Rangeman realizes she's gone, it would be too late. She finally found the words to describe how she felt yesterday. Terror, horror and dread. What felt like days later, Stephanie was removed from the plane, unwrapped from the packing blankets and shoved into a coffin. She shook from the memory of Constantine Stiva locking her into one last year.

The sound of fire crackling inside a barrel was ominous. It didn't take long for Stephanie to realize Bianchi set fire to the blankets. She hoped someone would find her hair or DNA on the blankets, then come to save her. Bianchi set her last hope of getting rescued up in flames.

Stephanie prayed someone would rescue her before Bianchi killed her. She had no doubt the man would make her pay for Abruzzi's death in the most devious way he could find. The terror Stephanie felt was more intense than ever experienced. If she made it through this ordeal alive, it would be a miracle. Ranger couldn't save her this time. She cried for the life she wouldn't get to live. "I love you, Carlos," she whispered.

Bianchi got his friend to help him load the coffin onto his cargo boat. They packed twenty coffins into the metal boxes. The one Stephanie got encased inside was the only one inside the large bin. He had more than enough room to take care of Stephanie Plum.

Stephanie didn't like the feel of the scratchy lining of the coffin. The fabric felt like it got made from wood shavings. It irritated her skin, making her itch from head to toe. She felt around for her tracker watch, hairpins and jewelry, but suddenly remembered Bianchi stripped her bare before he wrapped her in the blankets.

She felt the craft rock on the ocean. There was no doubt in her mind that she was on a boat. Judging from the rocking, they were far from the coast. Stephanie heard a muted splash as the anchor got dropped. The creak of a large metal door brought her to focus on the minute noises surrounding her. Not all of the noise got muffled by her coffin. Bianchi roughly yanked her from the box and cuffed her hands behind her back. He quickly shackled her ankles in thick chains. She was rooted to the spot.

Stephanie felt helpless when Bianchi shoved the casket to the back of the large metal bin. She could see what he planned before his fist hit her nose. Tears ran down her face as Bianchi punched her face repeatedly, breaking her jaw and cheekbones. Her nose broke from the first hit. Excruciating pain radiated through her face. He kicked Stephanie in the ribs until she felt her bones crack. Breathing became more difficult as he continued to assault her.

A hard object hit Stephanie's arms. She felt the bone snap. Her bone breaking felt like hot poker rods getting shoved into her skin. Stephanie screamed, but no sound left her mouth. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. Bianchi hit her legs. She fell to the floor as her legs broke. Let me die, Stephanie quietly prayed. "Look at me!" Bianchi shouted. She reluctantly looked into the evil man's eyes as he lifted the billy stick to hit her in the head. Everything went black.

Her body hit the water with a splash. The weight of the chains was noticeably missing. Using every bit of strength left in her body, she rolled to float on the surface face up. She didn't know why she was still alive. Every hit and bone breaking was fresh in her mind, but she didn't want to remember anything. The memory was too painful.

A sound like a vast water creature swam close to her. Something nudged her body. Stephanie felt smooth leathery skin gently move her body. She was relieved that it wasn't s shark to finish her off. It pained every time she felt the touch, but she wasn't scared. The swimmer kept her head above the water. She rolled her head to watch her rescuer. Three dolphins swam around as they gently pushed her towards the shore. "I love you, Ranger," she repeated in her head until the waves pulled her body onto the beach.

The bright sun hurt her head. Stephanie looked around but couldn't see where she was. Sand blew across her naked skin from the gentle breeze. She expected to feel pain, but she was numb. There was nothing left to feel.

"Oh my God!" a woman screamed. She ran towards Stephanie lying on the sand. Water washed against her legs as the woman approached. "Who are you? What's your name?"

Stephanie looked at the woman and blinked. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to silently communicate to indicate that she didn't know her name. "I called 911," a man shouted. He ran towards the woman, carrying a blanket.

"She has multiple broken bones in both arms and legs. It feels like six ribs got broken. Her jaw, cheekbones and nose got broken too. Who did this to you?" the kind woman asked. "My name is Louise, and this is my husband, Barry. We own the care facility a few miles down the beach. The ambulance should be here soon. Barry and I will make sure you get everything you need."

"Blink twice if you understand my wife," Barry added. Stephanie blinked twice. "That's a positive sign." She wasn't sure how not knowing her name was a good thing.

"You have cognitive ability," Louise explained. The siren of an ambulance blared from down the road parallel to the beach. It got louder as it approached their location. A paramedic team ran across the beach with a backboard. They left the gurney beside the ambulance.

Stephanie moaned as they rolled her onto her side. "Sorry, ma'am. We're trying to be careful," the female stated. "We'll go as fast as we can, okay?" Stephanie blinked twice.

"She understands," Louise answered. "Barry and I were taking our daily walk down the beach when we noticed something get washed up onto the beach. As we approached, I noticed it was a naked woman. Barry ran home to grab a blanket to cover her. She doesn't remember her name or how she got here."

"Was there blood in the area before the water washed onto the beach?"

"I saw some closer to the water before it got washed away. The woman got washed ashore. Someone beat her and tossed her in the ocean," Louise explained. "I'm coming to the hospital with you."

"Okay."

Louise jumped into the back so stay with Stephanie. She promised to make sure she got the care she needed. The ambulance got to the hospital twenty minutes later.

"Unidentified female was found on the beach badly beaten. Jane Doe sustained multiple arm and leg fractures; at least six broken ribs, broken jaw, cheekbones and nose. Blood pressure is low at 110 over 60. Heart rate is slightly elevated. We don't know how long she was in the water before she washed ashore. Amazingly, she's still alive."

"I have never seen this extent of trauma before," Dr. Tim Wallace stated. "Take her for CT, CAT, X-rays and full-body MRI. I don't want to miss anything." Louise watched the interns transfer Stephanie to the hospital gurney and followed them to the radiology department.

"You can't go into the room," the intern reminded Louise.

"I know, but I want to stay close to her. She doesn't have anyone else," Louise stated. "I don't want her to go through all of this alone."

A few hours later, Dr. Wallace examined the images and shook his head. "She's lucky to be alive," he quietly said to Louise. "Do you know her name?"

"No. She can't talk," Louise stated.

He sighed, it was a long day, and he was the only surgeon available. "Jane needs reconstructive repairs to her face. Her jaw needs to get wired shut. We can set her arms and legs without further surgery."

"Dr. Frasier arrived to assist with the surgery," the nurse announced. Louise was relieved to hear the plastic surgeon arrived to rebuild Jane's face.

"Thank you, Kayla. Get the operating room ready for my patient," Dr. Wallace directed. Kayla finished inserting the IV needle into Stephanie's upper arm.

"Sure," Kayla left to organize the OR nurses and make sure the room got supplied with the equipment required.

Stephanie got moved into the operating room. They will set her bones while repairing her face. Tears dripped from her eyes as they placed her on the table.

"Close your eyes, sweetheart," Dr. Amanda Frasier told Stephanie. "I'll take care of you." Dr. Frasier was surprised that Jane Doe was still alive from her attack. A lot of women would have given up by now. The woman lying on the table was made of stronger stuff. "Was she raped too?"

"There was no signs indicating a sexual assault," Wallace stated.

"Thank God," Frasier said as the anesthesiologist pushed the general anaesthetic through the IV port.