Chapter Nine

Ranger couldn't help but watch Stephanie's very fine ass as she climbed the stairs to grab a shower. Ranger prided himself on his self-control, but any semblance of that had gone right out the window the moment he'd met this woman. He could still feel her wrapped around him, trembling in his arms, breathing his name. He barely suppressed a groan as his cock twitched to life, and he mentally cursed his weakness. He had the control of a hormonal teenage boy around her. He forced his mind to other things, mundane ones like how much ammo he had, and when Les would arrive. The last thing he needed was to be sitting at the table with a boner when she came back down.

Stephanie was spooked, and he needed to be careful or she would bolt right out of his life again. Her boundaries included keeping professional and personal separate. Mostly, his did too, so he respected that. While she may have blurted out, she had slept with him to Nikko, she wouldn't be so eager to let Jack and Luca know. Ranger wasn't entirely sure what was going on with her and Luca, but it was something. The thought made his gut give an uneasy clench. He was so focused on Nikko; it was entirely possible he had missed the real threat. Luca just might be the bigger obstacle. They definitely had history.

Stephanie had been quiet on the ride back to the safe house. He could tell she was freaked out, and he didn't really blame her. He was bordering on hysterical himself. It had been one hell of a night. He couldn't even imagine how much worse it had been for her with Alexi pawing all over her, and whatever had gone down between her and Michail. Ranger was fairly sure he didn't even want to know, or he would never get a sound night's sleep again. Whatever it was, it had been powerful. The head of the bratva didn't make a point of showing his respect for just nothing.

Ranger had never been good at the art of conversation; in fact, some might say he sucked at it. He had always been the quiet, brooding kid, and by the time he got out of the Army, the art of conversation had fled. Ranger was a guy that was focused on action and solutions, not problems or talking, but he had a feeling his not talking might be the problem, and he didn't know what to do about it.

His meltdown outside of Alexi's hadn't helped, and he realized his apology was entirely inadequate, but it was all he could do. He couldn't take it back or change it, no matter how much he might want to. When he dropped over the wall, the last thing he expected to see was that fucker Nikko. Jealousy had sliced through him like a hot knife through butter. Ranger was stunned by his reaction. Ranger didn't do jealousy, hell he had never cared enough about a woman to be jealous.

It was one of those pointless and unproductive emotions, yet seeing Stephanie with Nikko had winded him like a punch to the gut. They seemed completely aligned, and the petty part of him felt like an outsider. The two of them against the world while he stood there, face pressed to the glass, watching them.

It made him see red, and he'd lashed out at Stephanie in the most obscene of ways, even when he knew better. Stephanie and Nikko weren't sleeping together. He knew that for a fact. No, it was worse; she trusted Nikko enough to partner with him. To be friends even. It felt like she had chosen Nikko over him, which was absurd. Stephanie hadn't chosen anybody. Nikko had recruited her for a job, just like she had recruited him. Still, it rankled and tore at old wounds that had been festering for years.

Wounds that didn't have anything to do with Stephanie. She was just the catalyst that had brought them to the surface. Stephanie didn't know anything about his history with Nikko, but Ranger couldn't help but wonder if Nikko had chosen Stephanie as a fuck-you to Ranger. There had to be other women for the job. What were the odds that Nikko would be involved with the only woman that had caught his attention in years? Given Ranger's luck lately, pretty high it seemed.

Lashing out was juvenile, but Stephanie was under his skin and the filter between his brain and his mouth had malfunctioned in spectacular fashion. In one instant, he was back to being an insecure teenage boy again, getting the crap kicked out of him for being too little and too pretty. He'd survived that, but he wasn't so sure about this. That was the problem with women and emotion. They made you messy and stupid.

He and Nikko had a history. Some of it good, some of it bad, and yeah, it had involved a woman, just not like Stephanie thought. Or maybe it was exactly like she thought, hell he didn't know. It was time to let bygones be bygones with Nikko. They'd danced around each other for far too long. They stayed out of each other's way and gave the other a wide berth, until now, and once again, a woman was in the middle.

Ranger huffed out a breath. They had both moved on, or at least Ranger would like to think he had. Nikko rescued Stephanie from the rebel camp. Whatever else had happened, it didn't matter. That earned Nikko a pass and a clean slate.

Ranger was completely off his game when it came to Stephanie. He had been ever since she walked into that courtyard in Colombia. She was different, and she stirred things in him that he hadn't felt in a really long time, maybe never. They had both leapt head first without a parachute and whether she wanted to admit it or not, this thing between them wasn't going away. They couldn't just fuck it out of their systems or pretend like it didn't exist as much as they both might want to.

Ranger had used the same line a thousand times. Ranger had sex; Ranger didn't do relationships. His life didn't lend itself to them, but being on the receiving end of that little speech had felt like the blade of a knife across his skin. It stung.

Ranger heard the electronic keypad beep and the door unlock. His hand rested on his weapon. Even though the odds were low, the bad guys would enter through the front door.

Les came sauntering in and plopped his backpack down on a chair, giving Ranger a little salute in greeting.

"I brought you some clothes." Ranger grunted his thanks.

"What happened?" Les asked Ranger.

Leave it to Les to immediately hone in on the fact things were off. Les might seem goofy and charming, but not much got by Les. Les used charming like an invisibility cloak, but Ranger knew better than to ever underestimate him.

Ranger pinched the bridge of his nose. Really, where to start?

"That good." Les gave a humorless laugh. "I'd hate for things to be easy."

Yeah, where would the fun be in that? Ranger thought sarcastically. Les already knew about Senator Ryan's niece and Ranger's work to dismantle the human trafficking network that was supplying men like Alexi.

"The Alexi thing went FUBAR. He got crosswise with Michail Petrov tonight. Michail put him out of business, and the Albanians almost gunned Alexi down." A beat went by and Ranger dropped the actual bomb of the night. "Oh, and Nikko and Stephanie are teamed up."

Les was just staring at him, eyebrows about three inches up on his head as he filed through what Ranger was saying.

"Hmm." Les responded. "All that just tonight."

Ranger nodded and went back to wondering how his life had gotten completely off the rail in just four days. His whole carefully constructed life plan teetering precariously, and he couldn't seem to find the energy to care. All he could think about was how to lure Stephanie back to Trenton with him.

"You seem distracted." Les started and then spotted Stephanie coming down the stairs. "Yeah, never mind." Les chuckled as he gave Ranger a knowing look.

Ranger gave Les the death glare, which Les promptly ignored. Ranger wasn't sure why he wasted the effort. It didn't work when they were five. Why he thought it would work now was a mystery.

Ranger watched as Les gave Stephanie a big grin and she grinned back as she thanked him for helping. No lines of worry on her face, no guarded expression. Sometimes Ranger envied Les, and this was one of those times. There was nothing strained between Les and Stephanie. Les had always had a way with people. He could put them at ease, while getting them to divulge their darkest secrets. When he was done, they usually were too busy thanking him to notice they'd spilled their entire life story to some stranger. People had never been at the top of Ranger's skill set. Mostly they just crossed the street to avoid him.

As super-hot as Stephanie had been in that little black dress all dolled-up, the Stephanie that had come down the stairs was breathtaking. She had on a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt. The t-shirt was bordering on transparent, and he could just see the lace of her bra peeking through. He'd like to give a medal to whoever packed that bag for her. She looked sexy as hell. Feminine and fierce. Ranger was going to be back to running through the field manual on how to strip a weapon in about thirty seconds if he kept having thoughts like that. It was either that or embarrass himself in front of Les, and wouldn't that be the cherry on the sundae. Les would never let him live that one down.

Stephanie's face was scrubbed free of make-up and her hair was a dark tumble of unruly, wet curls around her face. That was the woman that stalked his dreams and made his balls ache.

She glanced his way, but couldn't quite meet his eyes. They needed to talk, and he gave Les a pointed look and motioned for Les to leave.

"Where do you want me?" Les asked Stephanie.

She motioned with her head. "Upstairs, third door on the right. I'm sorry, but you and Ranger will have to bunk together."

Les groaned and rolled his eyes, and Stephanie laughed. The sound ripped through Ranger and the last of his defenses crumbled. God, he wanted to be the one to make her laugh like that. It was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

Les ambled upstairs and Ranger got up from the table and moved towards Stephanie. She turned and gave him a wary look, bringing him to an immediate stop.

"I want to explain about the Nikko thing." Ranger started.

Stephanie held up her hand and let out a weary sigh. "I don't care what your history is with Nikko. You said you can work with him and that's what matters, but Nikko was right about one thing. Never insult me like that again."

Ranger winced. Apparently, he still had a lot of making up to do for that stupidity. "I won't." He reached out and rubbed his hand down her arm. "I screwed up."

"Then we are good." Her voice was flat and emotionless, and it scared him.

He could see her withdrawing from him with each passing second, rebuilding the walls around her. If he thought sex in the parking garage had solved anything, it was clear he had been dead wrong. It may have even made things worse because they had both been out of control, blowing past a dozen checkpoints without pumping the brakes a single time. She was probably regretting it, and the knot in the pit of his stomach felt like lead.

"Babe, I know this thing between us seems scary."

Stephanie interrupted him again. The look on her face remote and closed off. "You're clean, I'm clean. I told you we are covered. Nothing left to say about it. The sex is great, but let's just focus on the job from now on, OK."

The finality in her voice sent a little shiver through him. Ranger crossed his arms over his chest and studied her. She looked down and toed the tile on the floor. She might put on a good show, but that's exactly what it was, a show.

Ranger reached out and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

"No, it's not OK." He calmly told her. Ranger was not letting her get away with just pushing him aside. He wouldn't force her into anything, but he wouldn't let her run without a fight.

Ranger watched her swallow and her eyes darted around like a cornered animal before coming back to his. He could see her steeling her resolve.

"I like you, and I think you like me, too. You said yourself there is something between us. We both feel it. We can table it for now and focus on getting Ashley out, but this thing between us isn't over, and I don't think it is going away. It's not just sex, at least not for me." Ranger watched as she absorbed his words.

It was possible she might knee him in the balls or head butt him and he held his breath. Stephanie was not a woman that played by anyone else's rules, and he'd just called bullshit.

"You're right." She finally said, and Ranger let out the breath he was holding.

She looked so utterly miserable at the admission, he had to work to suppress a smile. He leaned down and her eyes fluttered closed and her lips opened in silent invitation. The lock on the door beeped, and she jumped back from him like she'd been scalded. Irritation rippled through him at the bad timing. Ranger didn't like being Stephanie's dirty little secret, but he understood it. For now.

Jack, Luca, and Nikko shuffled in. By the look on their faces, it was not good news.

"Did we find her? Did Alexi know where she is?" Stephanie asked.

"No, but they sent the Senator this about an hour ago." Nikko handed his phone to Stephanie.

She pulled up the video and Ranger and Les came up behind her to watch. Stephanie pushed play, and everyone took a collective breath. It was going to be one of those things they wished they had never seen.

The video flickered on. Ashley was tied to a chair, her long dark hair tangled and obscuring part of her face. Even so, her resemblance to Stephanie was striking, and Les sucked in a sharp breath.

Ranger tensed. The reason Nikko had recruited Stephanie for this job was clear. She had been like catnip for Alexi. It hadn't been about fucking with Ranger. His ego had blinded him to the facts that were staring him right in the face. She had literally been the perfect person. Nikko was cunning and ruthless, and had immediately seen the advantage of having her on the team. Ranger briefly registered how utterly egotistical it had been to think his little beef with Nikko had factored into anything.

"Read it." An accented male voice barked. Eastern European, but Ranger couldn't place the accent.

"Fuck you." Ashley snarled, earning a hard slap across the face. She spit at him.

Another man dressed all in black with his face covered yanked her head back and held a knife to her throat. A little trickle of blood rolled down her neck where the blade nicked her.

Ranger could see her nostrils flare and the fear on her face, but her voice was strong and clear. "Just do it. My uncle will never give in to you. He won't negotiate with your kind."

They all held their collective breath as a few seconds ticked by. The man let Ashley go and punched her in the gut until she doubled over, gagging. A second man yanked her up by her hair and put out a cigarette on her chest. Through it all, she barely whimpered.

The man with the accent gave another stern warning that they would start sending her back in pieces if the Senator didn't comply and then the video cut out.

"That's a brave woman." Les said to no one in particular. The admiration clear in his voice.

"Brave but stupid." Luca said. "It would go easier on her if she read the message. Her non-compliance is going to get her hurt worse."

"Some people would rather go out fighting than lay down and die in the gutter whimpering and begging." Ranger locked eyes with Luca.

Ranger didn't want trouble with the man, but trouble was coming whether or not he liked it. Luca would not give Stephanie up without a fight, and Ranger wasn't walking away. He couldn't.

Stephanie sensed the tension between the two of them and she stepped between them, physically separating them, but her eyes were on Nikko. Ranger wondered if it had been an unconscious gesture. It wasn't the first time she'd put herself between a couple of snarling men. Ranger didn't want to be that guy. He didn't want her to have to choose sides between him and her teammate. When it came to the operation, they were on the same side. Ranger attempted to dial it back, and so did Luca. A look of understanding passed between them. Whatever their issues might be, they were on hold until after they got the Senator's niece back.

"Did Alexi know anything? What's the plan? Every minute Ashley is out there is one more minute something bad could happen." Stephanie fired questions at Nikko in rapid succession.

Nikko gave a negative shake of his head. "Alexi never met the buyer. He was contacted through an intermediary, and the exchange of money for Ashley was done through him."

"So what does that mean? Are you saying we are nowhere?" Stephanie barked at Nikko.

Nikko's velvet voice was calm. "Our best hope is the phone. Not only did we get all the data off the cloned phone, but now that we have Alexi, we uploaded a trojan script. It wasn't the original plan but it may be better."

"How so?" Stephanie asked.

"We made Alexi text the intermediary, raise concerns. He heard the location they are using to hold the Senator's niece is compromised. Everyone will have heard about the attempted hit by the Albanians. It gives the story some credibility.

The intermediary declined the meet, but hopefully he will warn the others. It's a little like hopscotch, but when Alexi texted, it infected the intermediary. Now we wait and hope the guy texts or calls, and we get the location." Nikko finished.

Stephanie blew out a frustrated breath. "That's it? Hope. That's our entire strategy. What happens if he doesn't text anybody?" Anger vibrated through her words.

Nikko gave her a look that said what they all knew. Ashley would be lost forever, killed or sold. Ranger could see the tension and despair on Stephanie's face and he desperately wanted to go to her. Hold her, and tell her everything would be OK.

Instead, Ranger watched helplessly as Nikko pulled Stephanie in for a hug and wrapped around her. She didn't flinch, she didn't hesitate, she went right to him.

Her cheek was on his chest and Nikko rested his chin on her head. Nikko was the one comforting her. The one she'd turned to. Ranger would never get it. Nikko was one of the most ruthless, dangerous people he knew, yet women instinctively trusted him. Gravitated to him, even. That little gem had been the genesis of his problems with Nikko, and not much had changed in the years since. He wondered what that said about him.

They were decidedly too close for Ranger's taste, but he bit down on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying or doing anything else stupid tonight. He might get one pass for stupidity, but he wouldn't get a second. Ranger forced himself to relax and not clench his fist.

He could see the tension in Luca's face. His mouth was set in a grim line, and Ranger would bet money he was grinding his teeth. Ranger figured this was the one thing he and Luca agreed on. Neither of them liked that unholy alliance. Stephanie couldn't possibly know what she was getting herself into with Nikko. Nikko lived in the shadows and worked black ops. He was a ghost.

"It will work, love, just be patient." Nikko let her go and they stared at each other for a minute, some unspoken communication vibrating between them. Stephanie nodded.

Nikko's hand came up and his fingers brushed across her bruised throat. Ranger didn't miss the look of rage that flitted across his face, before he locked it down. At least Nikko and Ranger agreed on one thing. Neither wanted Stephanie hurt, and they'd kill any bastard that touched her. Maybe there was some common ground between them after all.

"Put some ice on that neck." Nikko told her. "I've got to go; I'll be in touch."

Nikko left and Ranger followed him out. He and Nikko had a few things they needed to get settled. The least of which was Stephanie. They'd either come to agreement or kill each other, and right now Ranger figured the odds were fifty-fifty and he didn't much care.

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A/N: Thank you for the reviews and feedback. I'm delighted every time I get a notification of a new review, and I read and appreciate every single one.