Misunderstandings and Heartbreak
Chapter 6 - Welcome to Heartbreak
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate all of them. I'm going to get caught up on review replies today.
Sorry for the delay. Real Life isn't fair sometimes and doesn't listen to what I have planned or what I want to do.
We did get our puppy. He is awesome! For those that asked, he is named after Batman. I did forget how much having a puppy was like having a newborn. LOL!
Jenrar is the best beta and friend ever! Love her to pieces.
The song that goes with this chapter is Welcome to Heartbreak by Kanye West.
Ranger's POV
I had been a month since I'd fled Trenton, running away from the woman who held my heart and from the life I'd built around her.
I walked into the little hole-in-the-wall bar I'd been visiting almost every day since I'd arrived in Rincon de Guayabitos and motioned to the bartender.
"Lo de siempre?"
"Si." I sank down on the stool and waited for my bottle of whiskey, the same thing I had every time I came in. I hadn't drunk this much since college, but it helped to forget her.
Halfway through the bottle, a woman walked over and draped her arms around me, whispering in my ear.
I removed her hands from my body before replying. "No, I don't want company, and I'm not interested in sucking your tits." When she looked at me sideways, I repeated in Spanish what I'd said in English.
She sauntered off, calling me every name in the book.
Of course, the person walking in after her departure wasn't someone I wanted to see.
"You've been down here a month, and the ladies have already got you pegged as an asshole," Tank quipped.
I lifted the bottle, ignoring him.
"So that's how it's going to be? No happy to see me? What am I doing here?"
I tilted the bottle u,p letting the dark amber liquid numb the pain inside, and continued on with the way I'd spent most nights since I got here.
"Is this how you've spent every day? Drinking yourself into a stupor?"
I began to wonder if I'd been talking out loud, and then I remembered that I didn't really give a fuck either way.
Pushing the bottle away, I stood up and headed for the door. "Go home, Tank."
"Ranger," Tank hissed from right behind me.
I turned, letting my fist fly to connect with his jaw.
Tank blocked most of my punches before knocking me off balance. As I tried to regain my footing, he kicked out, knocking me on my ass.
"You're damn lucky that I don't have time to beat the shit out of you," he mumbled as he reached down and dragged me up.
"It's me who's going to be kicking your ass," I retorted.
"That would require luck and you not being drunk."
He hauled me outside and across the street to the cheap motel I'd been holed up in. Opening the door to my room, he shoved me toward the shower.
"Go take a fucking shower. You smell like shit."
"When did you become my damn keeper?" I mumbled.
"Keep pushing, Ranger. I'm going to enjoy really kicking your ass when you're sober."
I woke up the next morning with the worst headache of my life. I vaguely remembered Tank showing up at the bar and me drinking well over my usual limit.
I looked around my hotel room. "How'd I get here?"
Tank's voice boomed loud enough to make me want to grab my head. "Man, you were so sloshed, I had to pull your ass off the floor of the shower. If I never see that again, it'll be too soon."
"You don't have to yell. I'm sitting a foot from you. Now quietly, explain what the fuck you're doing here," I whispered.
"I'm here to drag your ass back to Trenton."
"I told you why I left. There's no damn way I'm going back to Trenton."
Tank let out and exasperated sigh. "You fucked up, man. You walked away without letting her explain, and I screwed up too because I just assumed you'd figured out the whole situation before you walked away."
"I walked in to her accepting Morelli's marriage proposal. What would have been the damn point of letting her explain a damn thing? She said yes. That's the only thing I needed to know." My temper was rising. "So what did she do? Beg you to come after me?"
"I'm really trying to not pick up where we left off last night by kicking your ass, but you're asking for it." He ran a hand down his face. "I swear, if I'm ever in the middle of you two again, I'm quitting. Now listen. She said the word yes, but she was telling him no. Her word choice at the time completely sucked. But man, you have to believe me. She told him no."
"What? You expect me to believe that?" I gave him an incredulous look.
As Tank explained about the proposal, I felt my anger turn inward. I'd reacted poorly when I thought my future had imploded, and in not letting her explain, I'd wasted a month. I couldn't wait to get home.
"Shit," I cursed, scrubbing my face with my hand. "We need to book a flight—"
"Already taken care of," Tank said, nodding. "We leave first think in the morning."
Early the next morning ...
I walked into the control room, and a quiet hush fell over the employees. "Back to work," I barked as I made my way toward my office to pull up Steph's trackers.
Before I could even sit down, Lester and Hector came running into the room.
"Boss, I know that the current orders were to not keep track of Bomber," Les said, looking alarmed, "but she's been missing for two days, and this was just delivered by courier."
He walked over to the TV and popped in a DVD from the envelope. As soon as the video cued, my heart stopped. Stephanie was strapped to a wooden Saint Andrews cross.
A voice I'd thought I'd never hear again began calling to her. "Miss Plum, it's so nice to see you awake and in the land of the living."
"Who are you?" she questioned, looking frightened and very pissed off. "Why am I here?"
"My name is Auric. It took me years to find him, but once I did, it wasn't hard to find his weakness... His Babe. When Manoso shows up, I will finally get my revenge."
Stephanie laughed. "You've taken the wrong hostage. You obviously don't realize this, but you've made a mistake. He doesn't love me. He never did. He hates me now."
"Aww, my lovely. For your sake, I hope you're mistaken," Auric purred as he walked up to Steph and traced a knife down her cheek. "Let's test your theory, shall we?"
The knife pierced the pale skin of her arm, causing Steph to cry out in pain.
"Let's see if he'll willingly take your place. If I'm right and he truly loves you, he'll come here to die. I'll kill him, and you'll go back to your life, knowing that he truly did love you." Auric slowly slid the knife across Stephanie's flesh, making strategic cuts to her arm.
Stephanie screamed out in pain as the knife cut into her flesh. "Just kill me! I'd rather die than live without him. Kill me. Let me die in his place."
"So anxious to die, my lovely?" he asked as he ran the knife down her body, trying to terrorize her.
"I've lost everything worth living for."
"Everything?" he cryptically asked.
Steph's head dropped and her eyes closed as she began to whisper, "Don't worry about me creating difficulties for you any longer. My presence will no longer burden your heart." She was reciting the words from my letter. She looked heartbroken as she said, "My someday is over."
Auric laughed. "Your someday isn't over unless your hero decides to let you die." Auric turned toward the camera. "So what's it going to be, Manoso? You, or your Babe? You have twenty-four hours to decide."
"Hey, asshole. You have me. Kill me!" she screamed. "Ranger, if you see this, don't you dare try to save me. You live the life you wanted. Let me do this for you."
She was looking into the camera as the screen went black.
Letting her die for me wasn't an option. I looked at the men in the room. "We need to figure out how Auric got out of prison and how in the hell he found me. Pull up Stephanie's trackers and see if we can get a location."
Lester cleared his throat. "Boss, she turned all her trackers in after you left."
"Fuck it all to hell!" I roared.
TBC ...
A/N: Cara left to go hide behind Jenny. LOL! She says she will see you later this week. ;)
P.S. Please review!
