Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Janet Evanovich. I am only borrowing them. Thank you for allowing us to use your amazing characters for fun!

-chapter-2

RPOV

Stephanie looked amazing tonight. No guy can resist my Babe. When she walked by target, Jack Frost, I couldn't help but notice his instant attraction to her. It pisses me off but how could he not? She's sexy as hell. She'd flirted and teased and was now leading Jack out on the dance floor. How she managed to keep his wandering hands under control, I will always wonder. An unidentified man came up to Jack and he quickly introduced him to Stephanie. My thoughts were interrupted when Lester spoke over the coms, "We have a problem".

"Report!" came my reply.

"That is Alexander Lopez," Les said.

"Fuck." Alex Lopez was local wannabe international criminal and most likely the source of Jack's illegal guns. This just got a whole lot more complicated. Just then, Stephanie whispers to Jack, "Let's go outside, I want to show you my new car; it has a very large back seat." she licks her lips, grabs his hand, and pulls him toward the back door. Jack and Alex make eye contact and nod to each other, and Jack lets her lead him to the back. I bark out, "Get ready!" and just like that, Steph walks our FTA into our waiting arms. After he is quickly subdued, I turn and look for my Babe. Not finding her, I call over the coms, "Where's Stephanie"?

"In the front parking lot," was the reply. Hurrying to the front, I feel the familiar tight squeeze in my chest whenever my Babe is in trouble. On the ground is the wire and all her trackers, even her shoes. "Steph is gone. Hector, I need eyes on the front parking lot. Hal and Cal, take Jack to the station, everyone else, find her".

Hector's voice over the coms confirms my worst fear. "It was Alex Lopez. He is driving a black 2021 Mercedes Maybach S-class, NJ license plate # FT 0974. He left the parking lot 10 minutes ago".

"Find that car" I say more calmly than I feel. I call Morelli. The last person I want to talk to was Joe Morelli, but it has to be done for Steph's sake.

"Morelli."

"Steph's been taken."

"By who?"

"Alex Lopez"

"WHAT? What the hell did you do Manoso?"

"We don't have time for this, he just left Club Atlantis in a black 2021 Mercedes Maybach S-class, NJ license plate # FT 0974."

"I will put it out, you better hope we find her."

"Keep me informed."

I go to Hector and check in. "Boss, the car turned east out of the parking lot and headed toward I-95."

I bark out, "Hector, follow that car. Les get me everything we have on Alex Lopez." I head toward the Turbo. I need to get to Haywood; I need to get to headquarters to track down my Babe.

SPOV

I'm starting to come out of my drug induced slumber. My eyes are still closed, and I'm trying to shake the thick feeling in my brain as I take stock of my senses. I'm sitting up in a chair, my forearms and lower legs taped to the chair so tightly that I can only move my hands and feet. No shoes. It's quiet and there is very little light in the room filtering through my closed eyelids. The coolness and the damp smell puts me in a basement or warehouse, maybe by the river?

I have the beginnings of a headache and other than being taped so tightly, no other injuries that I can tell right now. Maybe something else will hurt when the adrenalin wears off, who knows. After several minutes I chanced a little peak to see if I'm alone. Yes, I'm alone. The room is maybe 20' x 20' with cinder block walls, concrete floor, and peeling paint. The room is dim, but I can make out a bare light bulb on the ceiling with flip switch over by the only door. Windows are high and small. That door is the only escape. Now I get to wait. I hate waiting. It's torture.

Am I supposed to want someone to come? I can't get free if I am alone, but I also can't get dead. I think back on how many times I have been in similar situations. Ugh! I have been in this situation a lot. I am sort of a pro at this. My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. I quickly closed my eyes. I try to listen as much as I can before they know I'm awake to see if I get any info. The door opens and the light is switched on. I have to control my reaction to the light even through my closed lids. Silence. It sounds like two men came into the room. They wait quietly for a few minutes.

"How long until she wakes up?" one of them asked.

"Should be anytime; Boss wants to ask her some questions before we get rid of her."

"Let's wake her, we have shit to do, and we don't have the manpower or the time for this. The shipment is going to be here in an hour."

A slap to my left cheek jolts my eyes open, stunning me. My cheek is on fire, and I have to force myself not to cry out. I gather my wits and pretend to wake up. "Junior" placed a call on his radio to let the "Boss" know I was awake. Ten minutes, and some rather uncomfortable stares and sneers from the "middle aged wise guy" later, the door opens, and Jack's friend comes through the door.

"Do you know who I am?" he enquires.

"Alex, you're a friend of Jack," I say with a lot more confidence than I currently feel. A smile creeps over his lips. "Very good miss..."

"Barnhardt. Joyce Barnhardt." Jeez I'm petty!

"Nice to meet you, Miss Barnhardt. What were you doing in the bar with Jack and why did you have a microphone and trackers?"

I wait a minute before answering. I go for the truth this time. "I'm a bond enforcement agent and I was there to capture Jack Forman." I'd already gathered that they were not going to keep me alive after they found the wire and trackers. Shit, I wish I still had my shoes. I know there's a hidden tracker in those. "What do you want with me?"

He smiles. "I would like for you to leave my associates alone but it's too late for that. Now, I'm trying to determine if you're worth keeping alive. You may prove useful to me. A pretty girl like you has many uses."

I suppress a gag. Although conventionally attractive, Alex makes my skin crawl with his statement, and his lifestyle in general makes me want to puke. Flirting with him is definitely off the table; I can't imagine trying to get close to him now. Looks like I'll need to work with the goons.

The radio comes to life and a voice intones, "Boss, they are 20 minutes out". He looks at the goons and says, "They're early. Keep an eye on her. I'll be back after the meeting." He turns and leaves.

I wait for what I'm guessing is 20 minutes and ask if I can use the bathroom. Junior looks at the wise guy with a questioning glance and he shrugs. "I don't want to clean up a mess." He produces a knife and cuts the tape along both of my forearms and legs, releasing me from the chair. A gun is pointed at me, and I'm instructed to not "try anything stupid or you will be shot".

They lead me down a hallway at a slight decline until we reach a door on the right. It's a large room with a lone toilet, no sink. Yuck! I quickly scan the area. There are no windows but there is a hole in the wall at the bottom where a cinder block is missing and the ones around it are crumbling. I quickly gauge the size and determine that I may just fit. I waste no time in running across the room and diving for the opening, arms stretch in front. It's a very tight fit and I have to turn my head to get it to fit. With my head and arms through, I pull the rest of my body free and quickly look around. There's water and I saw a lot of lights and activity upriver. Is this the Delaware? I run toward the shadows, not caring that my feet are stepping on rocks and sharp sticks. I make it to the edge when I hear the shouts that were alerting others to my escape. Thank goodness it's summer. The last time I was in the Delaware it was freaking cold.

My only escape is chancing the current and getting downstream to get help. I would much rather do that than chance Alex or his goons. I didn't catch a last name, but I certainly know he's not someone I want to hang out with. It's pretty dark and instead of contemplating my crappy life choices I quietly slide into the water and start swimming downstream. The darkness is intimidating, so I concentrate on trying to stay near the edge. The current isn't too strong, but it takes a lot of effort to stay in the shallow edge. As I'm floating, I work to stay focused on my surroundings but when the thought occurs to me that I may find a dead body floating in this filthy river, I can't bear to look around too closely.

Not paying close enough attention leads to me going through a bunch of wire wrapped in the thick branches that hung into the water. I can't see the wire but since I feel multiple scratches along the left side of my body, wire is the only explanation. It stings but the coolness of the water and my adrenalin keep me pressing forward. I half swim, half float through lots of garbage. People are so disgusting. How can we let out rivers get so polluted? There are no lights anywhere. After the wire, I pay closer attention to the floating debris, as well as keeping near the edge. I float for what seemed like an hour when I finally see lights. It takes another 15 minutes to fight the current at the edge of the river and to make my way out of the water. Once I'm out of the water, I collapse along the shore. I just need a little rest before I crawl up the embankment to look for help. I curl up on my right side and close my eyes for a minute.