Disclaimer: I own no one except the person who gets arrested in this chapter and the one who got shot in the first. (In the last disclaimer, I said the guy who gets arrested here gets shot, and that was the plan, but I changed it. So...yeah, forget that.)

Chapter 3

The drive that normally takes about twenty minutes to get from my house to Stephanie's apartment took eight and a half. But, even though it was less than 50 percent of the time,it still felt like it took forever. By the time I'd sped through the fifth red light, I had three cop cars chasing me with their sirens blaring. I pulled in to Stephanie's apartment parking lot, and my truck was quickly surrounded by the cop cars. I rammed it into park, turned it off (I was parked across about four spots at once, but whatever), and leapt out.

I heard a command to 'Stop! Police!' (I was hearing that a lot tonight), as six cops leapt out of their cars, guns drawn. I didn't slow down, just pulling out my own gun and yelling back to them, "I don't have time." Then, deciding there were at least two advantages to bringing them with me (1. If I shot the bastard who was hurting Stephanie, they'd see that it was in defense of a third party 2. Back up), I added "Come with me."

I heard them following me at a run and, as I punched the up button on the elevator, then changed my mind and ran up the stairs, I wasn't sure whether they were coming because I'd told them to or because they were planning on arresting me. Really, I didn't care.

I still had my phone on and, pressing it to my ear as I ran down the hallway, I heard Stephanie whimper again. Deciding that wasting time picking the lock wasn't worth it, I reached her door and kicked in the door, entering with my gun drawn.

The man in the room turned at the sound of the door being kicked in, and he smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile, though, in fact, it made shivers run down my spine.

"Ah. I see I was incorrect. Apparently, Ranger is coming. Now you can see him die." He aimed his gun at me, then suddenly, his eyes widened. Judging by the footsteps that I'd just heard, the six cops had all just run in. They all had their guns out and aimed at him within a second.

As though they'd practiced it (maybe they had), they all spoke, perfectly synchronized. "Freeze. Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head."

He was completely still for a moment. Then, he clearly realized that, if he shot a single bullet, he'd soon have seven in him. He tossed the gun to my feet and put his hands on his head. He looked down at Stephanie, who was curled in a ball at his feet, and spoke. "Looks like you got off easy this time, sweetheart."

I put the safety back on my gun and left the cops to deal with the man, running to Stephanie and dropping to me knees at her side. I gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, and then her whole body started trembling. "It's ok, Babe. It's me." There was no response. Her eyes were squeezed shut. She was lying on one side, all curled up, so I couldn't see much, but I could see that she already had a black eye and a cut by her temple. The latter had bled, so that much of the right side of her face was covered in blood. "Come on, Babe. Open your eyes."

I was aware that some of the cops were watching me, while another one called over the radio for an ambulance. I didn't bother to mention that Tank had already called one. I focused completely on Stephanie.

Finally, her eyes opened, though one was swollen almost completely shut. I could tell she was in shock. She tried to sit up, and then let out a sound that was a mixture between a moan and a whimper. "Easy, Babe. Stay still. You're going to be ok."

She raised one hand, and grabbed my hand, the one not on her shoulder. "Ranger." She stopped trembling as she said my name, and her whole body relaxed slightly.

I looked behind me as I heard more people running in. There were a bunch of cops as well as some paramedics. The cops stood there, obviously confused, but the paramedics saw Stephanie right away and came over.

"You'll have to step back, sir." When the paramedics said this, I gave them a 'are you kidding?' look.

"I'm not leaving her." My determination must have shown on my face, because they just nodded.

They lifted her carefully onto a stretcher. Her hand tightened on mine and I just looked down at her bruised face, hoping she'd be ok. If she wasn't ok, I'd find the man who did this (I now noticed that he, and the cops who'd chased me due to my speeding, were gone) and kill him, even if the entire Trenton police department was watching me do it.

Just as the paramedics lifted the stretcher, Tank ran into the room. He'd have to have sped to get here this soon, but not as much as I had. He looked at Stephanie and, judging by the muscle jumping in his jaw, he loved the guy who'd done this about as much as I did.

"Is she ok?"

I shrugged. Stephanie, who'd closed her eyes, opened them again. "Tank?"

"Yeah, Bombshell."

Stephanie closed her eyes again and all of us except the cops (me, Tank, the paramedics, and Stephanie) left her apartment. The cops, I think, stayed to do the whole 'crime scene thing.'

After telling Tank to find some way to get my truck back home, I got into the ambulance with Stephanie.

The paramedics gave me an annoyed look, presumably for just getting in without talking to them, but I glared at them and they just nodded. The entire ride over, I watched Stephanie breathing, as though she'd stop if I didn't watch her.

At one point, the ambulance hit a bump and Stephanie drew in a sharp breath then let it out in a small groan. I looked at the paramedic who was in the back with me. "It hurts her to breath." This I'd guessed from the groan, but I wasn't totally sure.

The paramedic gave me an annoyed 'thank you, Captain Obvious' look, then apparently saw something in my face that changed her mind. Her face softened and she rested a gentle hand on my arm. "She'll be fine, sir."

She could reassure me all she wanted, but I wouldn't believe it until Stephanie was recovered enough to look at me and talk to me. Maybe not even then.

I held her hand (Stephanie's, not the paramedic's) until we got into the hospital and I was informed that I needed to let go. Nodding, I dropped her hand. She opened her eyes barely and made a sound of dissatisfaction, but couldn't protest much more than that. "I'll see you in a bit, Babe."

She gave a nod, but it was tiny. Then her gurney was wheeled away and I sank into a chair, putting my head in my hands and taking a few deep breaths. I have just decided that waiting officially sucks.