DISCLAIMERS ... the same as usual

NOTES … hoping all is well with each of you. As always, Kevan and I both thank you on behalf of Marilyn for reading and reviewing. It truly does mean a great deal, as you already know.

13 If Handcuffs Could Talk

By Marilyn (Ranger Hunters) and Kevan

Uploaded by Alfonsina.d

Leadership (Steph)

"Hey, Les," I leaned in the doorway to his office. "You have time to eat with me if I buy lunch?"

Lester looked up from the papers he was scanning, eyebrows raised. "You buy me lunch?"

"Yeah, I want to ask you some questions and I don't have a good bribe."

He dropped the papers and leaned back in his chair, hands laced behind his head. "Questions and a bribe? This is serious." He smirked.

"It is serious. I have some things that are confusing me, and I think maybe you're the only guy here who can help me understand."

"And will my answering these questions get my ass kicked by Ranger for eating you?"

I rolled my eyes—the full roll, the one where I can count the hairs on the back of my head. "Focus, Lester. I said lunch, as in lunch hour. As in eat with me, not as in eat me."

"Well, that one time—"

"Forget it. I'll ask Bobby or Tank." I turned, intending to stalk off down the hall in full-on pissy mode when he catapulted out of the chair and caught my arm.

He tilted my chin up and looked at me. "This is serious?"

I put my hand on his chest and shoved. Made about as much difference as pushing against a building. "Yes, it's serious. I need to ask you some questions about, well, about Ranger and you guys and I asked him and he said to ask one of you, and I thought of you first."

"Then Pino's is out. So is any other public restaurant. We need privacy. What say we grab some food from the break room and head down to my apartment? Food is guaranteed good and it's close, so we have more time to talk. Gotta tell you though sweetheart, you're making me nervous."

I smiled. "Sounds perfect. And Lester? You should always be nervous around me." I tossed my hair over my shoulder and added an extra bit of swing to my hips as I sashayed to the breakroom.

xoxoxox

We finished lunch—salad with grilled chicken and chickpeas for Lester, turkey sandwich for me—before I got up the nerve to ask Lester my question. "Why do you guys follow Ranger? I mean, it's not all about the fact he can kick everyone's ass is it? You're all these muscular, testosterone-laden, alpha-male, dark-hero types, so why isn't there ever a revolt? Why do you all follow Ranger so blindly? Why do you all let him make you face him on the mats just so he can kick your ass?"

Lester sat back in his chair and studied me until I started to squirm. "Not the question I expected, Steph. This have anything to do with what happened upstairs the other day when I was on my knees in handcuffs and you were wearing just panties and heels?"

I blushed at Lester's reminder of that day when he, Ranger, and I were 'playing' or, as Ranger explained to me later, 'in a scene'.

"Hey," Lester leaned forward and brushed a hand along my cheek. "Didn't mean to embarrass you, Steph. I enjoyed the hell out of that scene." He smiled wickedly. "If I know my punishment is going to involve you and my tongue, hell, I'll volunteer for a time out."

My blush deepened and I was sure my face was now crimson. "Not helping, Les."

"So, no chance of a repeat today without Ranger here to put a stop to things, huh?"

"Not a chance."

Lester sat back with a sigh. "Can't blame a man for dreaming."

"So, has my embarrassment and our less than rapier repartee given you time to decide how to answer my question?"

Lester moved from the chair at the table where we'd eaten lunch to the sofa in the living room of his apartment. "Come here, Steph." He held out a hand. "This will probably be easier for both of us with a hug from a friend."

Unquestioningly, I walked over and sat on the sofa, turning so that I was leaning back against his torso, one arm wrapped around me to hold me close. "See, this is what I mean," I said softly. "Why did I just obey you without thinking or hesitating?"

"Trust."

"Huh?"

Lester sighed. "Trust. It's the most important building block in that wall of an answer you want." He kissed the top of my head. "It's a big wall.

"Steph, you never served in the military, never came close to combat, so I'm not sure everything I'm going to say will make sense. It's not a question of you not being smart—you're one of the smartest people I've ever met—but sometimes, if you haven't been in a particular situation you can't viscerally understand it. Mentally, yes, but not at the deepest level, where it's instinct and not thought. That's the level that a lot of times means living or dying.

"Ric is a natural leader—a good one. Not everyone is and not everyone who finds himself in a leadership position is cut out to be there. They make mistakes and people—good people—die. Steph, for me, I've seen the boss's job and I don't want it. I'm a great lieutenant, making sure what Ric wants done, gets done, but I'm not good at making the plans, not like he is. I don't have the vision, the instinctive feel for what needs to happen. Give me a direction, point me at the target, and I'll take it out, but don't ask me to decide what the target is or why it's the target.

"In the service, in combat, there has to be a clear hierarchy with a single leader. You get in a bad situation, you don't have time to call a meeting and discuss options and strategize and make sure everyone gets to have their say. It's not a democracy. We all have our specialties, and a good leader knows how to use those to our advantage, but we have to have a single direction, one goal. A team has to function like a single person. Ric is the brain, the head of that single person, for us. We're the arms, legs, muscles, other parts. He can't be successful without us to execute his plan and we can't be successful without him providing us that plan."

Lester paused. "Make any sense so far?"

I nodded. "I think. It's a lot to take in. I've never been in that kind of situation before. I've always thought of blind obedience as stupidity."

"It's not blind obedience, Steph. It's a team and everyone on that team has to willingly be one hundred percent committed. One person who is anything less than one hundred percent committed, can hesitate, destroy the team, and people die. You won't always agree with the leader's orders and afterwards—if you live—you can question, debate, review, dissect, argue, and disagree all you want, but at the time you don't hesitate. You follow orders.

"I know Ric has talked through some D&S basics with you, right?"

My blush returned in full force and I tried to sit up, but Lester tightened his arm around me and held me in place.

"Steph, relax. I'm not trying to embarrass you. I'm just trying to find an analogy that you can connect with."

From combat and life and death, to sex games. Only Lester could make that leap.

"Just like a dominant in a D&S scene is driven to pleasure and protect their submissive, to take them further than they could go without him, a leader is driven to protect and care for their team, to make them successful and keep them alive and provide them what they need to perform above and beyond what each one is capable of alone."

This analogy was, scarily enough, making sense and I could understand why Les chose it. What that said about me, I didn't want to examine too closely.

"Just like a submissive in a D&S scene grants the dominant control in return for pleasure and protection and the chance to fly higher than they can alone, team members grant the leader control in return for a better chance to survive, trusting that the leader will elevate all of them.

"It's all about trust and willing transference of power, Steph. Power and trust granted; power and trust accepted. Neither side is stronger than the other. Neither side truly dominates, not in the way most people think of dominance. The key word is 'willing'. Both sides have to be willing, have to understand what is expected of them in their role, and have to fulfill that role—even when things go to hell."

Wow! That was about twenty times the answer I expected, but I understood it. I think. At least part of it.

"So, it's not just that Ranger is in charge because he can kick everybody else's ass."

Lester chuckled. "No sweetheart. And your hero gets his ass kicked. Not that often, mind you, but enough to keep him from developing a god complex."

"Have you ever beaten him?"

"I have, but Ranger calling you on the mats isn't really about winning and losing."

"I'm confused. You guys always complain about him kicking your ass whenever you do something wrong."

"Yeah, we bitch, but it's just bitching. When we screw up, we know it, and we don't like it. Screw ups can leave somebody hurt or dead. Him meeting us on the mats is a wake-up call. It's our version of detention hall. It's part embarrassment in front of the other guys and part work your ass off to try and keep Ric from kicking yours until you're about to throw up. Works off our anger at ourselves and his anger at us. Sometimes you win. Enough to keep you thinking you can next time."

"Do any of the guys ever beat him on a regular basis?"

Lester kissed the top of my head again. "Yeah, there are a couple of guys that give Ric all he can handle every time, the guys that are seriously good at hand-to-hand and street fighting."

"Don't suppose you'd tell me who those guys are?"

"Don't suppose I would, but you should be able to figure it out if you try. You hang around the guys enough and they talk in front of you. Not any secret who the best shot is, or the best at B&E, or whatever, if you pay attention."

"What's the fastest anyone's ever beaten him?"

"Under two minutes."

I pushed myself up until I could twist around and look at Lester. "Less than two minutes! Are you serious? Was he drunk?"

"No, sweetheart," Lester laughed. "He got beat straight up that time because he underestimated the other guy. He hasn't made that mistake again. He can usually last about five minutes now, but he has to work hard to do it."

My jaw dropped. Someone could a) regularly beat Ranger in about five minutes on the mats, and b) had beaten him in under two minutes?

"Nuh-uh," Lester said, before I had a chance to ask. "You want to know who, you ask Ric." He sat up and checked his watch. "And I've got to get back upstairs and finish my shift. Just close the door when you leave, it'll lock itself."

Lester was halfway to the door before I thought to ask, "Les, why have you been calling Ranger Ric while we've been talking? I've only heard you do that when we're out at clubs socially, never here in the office or when we're on a job."

"Ranger is my boss, the leader that keep me alive. Ric is my friend."

This guy shit is complicated.

xoxoxox

Double Trouble (Breeze)

The apartment door opened and I smiled. Oh yes, this was worth the risk. I ran my eyes over Macy as she leaned against the door frame, one hand raised over her head, one hip cocked so that the toes on that foot rested on the ground. High heels that pushed her height to nearly six feet and made her legs look a mile long. Her skirt covered her ass—barely—and her top left a strip of her abdomen exposed.

Definitely worth the risk. Especially since it wasn't really a risk. Yeah, family was off limits, but Macy wasn't family. Sure, she was Kat's roommate, but she wasn't related. Even better, she and Kat were headed back to California in a few days, so the chance of any of the guys finding out about this get together were virtually non-existent. No harm; no foul. No possible comeback from the guys and I got to spend an afternoon—and hopefully the evening and the whole night—with a gorgeous, sexy blonde.

"Lunch, as promised," I held up the take-away bag from my favorite Italian restaurant.

Macy's smile was brilliant. "Well, I have the champagne chilled." she grasped my shirt with both hands and pulled me close.

"And you look like dessert," I murmured as her lips brushed mine.

xoxoxox

Oh yeah, dessert. I love dessert. It was my new favorite part of a meal. I groaned as I buried my cock in Macy over and over, loving how tight her body was around me, how wet she was, how hot. Loving the way her long tan legs wrapped around my hips, holding me to her, and the way her nails scored down my back and dug into my ass. Oh yeah, Macy was a delicious sweet. One I had sampled several times over the course of the afternoon; one I intended to sample as many times as I could before the sun came up.

xoxoxox

"Mmmm," Macy snuggled up against my side, one leg draped over mine.

Being nearly 6'4", I adore tall women. Always have. And Macy had legs that went on for days. Definitely my favorite body part of a woman. Maybe I should build my own perfect woman. Get some of the guys together, and several bottles of tequila. Not sure what to do about the body parts inventory; it wasn't like I had video of a bunch of women naked. Not like Steph and her girl pals had to work with.

I was drifting toward a nap when the front door opening interrupted my musing.

"Macy?"

Wonderful. Kat was home and we'd left the door open. Not that I minded another woman seeing me nude in the least, but Kat was definitely not on the menu.

"In here," Macy called, beginning to trace circles around my nipples.

Before I had time to wonder what she was up to, Kat appeared in the bedroom doorway.

"Oh, my, what a lovely sight," she said.

"Isn't he though?" Macy agreed, her hand moving to my cock, rubbing over the steel balls of my piercings. "And talented."

"So, are we sharing tonight?" Kat asked.

Whoa! Wait a minute. It's not that I haven't slept with multiple women before. I have—lot of times. But Kat was off limits and I liked living. I also liked all my body parts attached.

The problem was that Macy had scooted around in the bed until she could add her tongue and lips to her hand stroking my cock, and I was having trouble thinking.

Kat looked me up and down, licked her lips, and slowly unbuttoned her blouse. She was wearing this little scrap of a bra that did nothing to hide and everything to enhance her breasts. Emerald green, a color guaranteed to look great on a blonde with a tan. A natural blonde, I noted as she pushed her skirt down over her hips; it dropped to the floor and her panties followed.

The next thing I knew, Kat was kneeling on the bed on one side of me and Macy was kneeling on the other side and they were kissing, exploring each other's breasts. Kat sliding her hand between Macy's legs. And their moans. Dear gods, those noises of pleasure they were making were driving me insane. Without breaking their kiss, they both dropped one hand to my groin. Kat wrapped her hand firmly around my cock and Macy was running her palm over the head.

I stopped caring about off limits. Stopped caring about everything but getting my cock in one of their mouths, or their pussy, or their ass. I stopped worrying about Mal and revenge and missing body parts. I had one hand of each of their asses, fingers playing with them, relishing how wet and responsive they were already.

"You know what we need?" Kat's lips brushed my ear as she bent over and whispered to me.

"You," I ground out. "On my cock."

"Oh, we'll get to that," she purred. "First, why don't we move into my bedroom? I have a bigger bed. And handcuffs. I want to put you in cuffs so we can do anything we want to you, and I want to look down at you when I'm riding your cock and driving you wild, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it except enjoy."

Oh hell, yes! Worked for me.

xoxoxox

The front door opened but, rather than call out to Macy or Kat, I kept quiet. I'm still not sure why. Partly, I didn't want to let on how antsy I'd gotten over their absence. Partly, I wanted to hear what, if anything, they were saying. Partly, instinct stopped me.

"Kat?"

Mal. Crap! My day just went from stellar to the sewer. No hesitation. No intermediate stops. Nope, just the good old express train to the sewer. Thank the gods I didn't call out when I heard the door open. After what Mal did to Bobby for sleeping with his sister, him finding me naked and handcuffed in her bed would most likely result in my immediate castration. He'd found out about Bobby's indiscretion after that fact and he'd taken time to plan and execute an intricate, painful revenge. Finding me damn near 'in the act', especially after the incident with Bobby, I doubted he would take more than two seconds to reach homicidal.

At least the bedroom door was nearly shut. Mal wouldn't have any reason to come into his sister's bedroom. Would he? I hoped not. I prayed not. Just do not move, I chanted to myself. Do not move. Breathe quietly. For the love of your balls, do not fart or cough or sneeze or make any other sound. I wanted to close my eyes but found myself unable to look away from the door. If it moved, I was screwed. My situation could not possibly get any worse.

Until it did.

"It doesn't look like she's here, Mal. I'll just hang this dress back in her closet."

Just fuck me! Stephanie. My boss's woman. I am so totally screwed. Shoot me now. Maybe I can will myself out of existence. Talk about 'beam me up Scotty', and where the fuck is the Tardis when you need it?

The doorknob turned, and I steeled myself for the possibility of becoming a eunuch in the near future.

Steph entered the room, stepping around the door and partially closing it behind her before she noticed me. Her eyes widened as she froze, one hand holding a clothes hanger, the other on the doorknob. Shaking her head, she looked back at the half-open door, then back to me, then her lips curled into a smile that made me more nervous than I already was.

"Hey Mal, Kat said I could borrow her red skirt. I'm just gonna grab it while I'm here. Should only take a few minutes to find it."

"Fine, just remember we've got that meeting with Ranger and Tank in forty minutes."

Steph pushed the door closed and tossed the dress in her hand onto the foot of the bed.

What the hell was she up to? Evidently, she wasn't going to rat me out to Mal, so I kept quiet and watched her warily as she pulled her phone out of her purse. Oh hell no, she wouldn't! Not pictures or—worse—video! I thought as she raised the phone and aimed it toward me. Despite my predicament, I started to protest but she put a finger to her lips and smiled even as she swept the phone side-to-side. There would be no way to mistake whose room I was in. Anyone who'd ever seen Kat's bedroom, and I'm sure that included her brother, would know immediately where the video was taken. I closed my eyes, willing the nightmare to be over.

Lips brushing against my ear startled me, and I opened my eyes.

"I own you," Steph whispered.

Crap! This is my boss's woman; Ranger's woman. So not good. If I could just make it out of this without Mal discovering me, I could be out of the country in an hour. I was getting a really strong hankering to travel abroad for, say, the next decade.

"Steph, get a move on!" Mal sounded impatient.

"Coming!" she called back over her shoulder in the direction of the door before turning back to me. "And Breeze," she whispered in my ear again, "don't try to run. If you do the video goes straight to Ranger and Mal."

She left the room, pulling the door almost closed behind her. "What's the rush? It's only seven minutes to the office."

"Have a stop to make," Mal replied. "Need to pick up—"

What Mal needed to pick up remained a mystery as the front door of the apartment opened again and Kat and Macy returned, laughing.

"Steph! Hey, didn't expect you this early."

"It's your brother's fault. He heard me say I was going to drop off that dress for you today and offered me a ride since he was on his way out and driving right by here."

I could hear plastic rustling and several thunks. Probably Macy and Kat putting down whatever they'd gotten at the grocery. That little foray seemed like it had begun in another lifetime.

"Well, great! You want to stay, Steph? We're having a party. You're not invited, bro."

Oh god no! They couldn't. They wouldn't. Would they? Now normally I'd be all up for having three sexy women in my bed, but after the stress of the last several minutes and the fact one of them belonged to Ranger I was no longer in a party mood. I was in a mood to get the fuck out of here while I still could.

"What's the party for?" Steph asked.

"Why am I not invited?" Mal demanded.

"It's a girl's party. Not your thing," Macy told him.

"Chocolate syrup?" he continued. "Whipped cream? Strawberries and bananas? Sprinkles?" He was evidently inspecting the results of their grocery run. "You're making a giant banana split?"

"We're celebrating. Macy and I decided to postpone moving back. We're both going to stay here a couple more months, at least six anyway."

My brain froze. It wasn't possible. I did not just hear that. No. Macy and Kat staying in town? The whole reason I'd hooked up with Macy, much less agreed to Kat joining in was because they were leaving in a few days. With them gone, there was no way anyone would find out about our little get together. Now, with the video Steph had, and them both staying in town—

There is no way it's not going to come out.

Just kill me know.

xoxoxox

Object Lesson (Bobby)

"Boss, I've got trouble."

Ranger raised an eyebrow and twirled his finger in a gesture to continue.

"Teresa—my cousin," I started, not sure if he would remember her. They've only met maybe three times.

He nodded.

"Her daughter is missing."

"Alicia?"

Why does it not surprise me that he not only remembers Teresa but knows her daughter's name? Trust Ranger to know everything, even things he has no business knowing. Things that shouldn't be of interest to him. Things intelligence agencies don't know.

"Yeah. Teresa dropped Alicia off at her dad's place for the night but when she went by this morning to pick her up nobody was there. It's Sunday. No school and Mitch sure as hell isn't the church type so no idea where they are. Mitch knew Teresa was coming to pick Alicia up at ten. Now he's not answering his phone and Teresa's freaking out."

"Struggle?"

I knew why Ranger asked. Alicia's father, Mitch, was a long way from an upstanding citizen but the past few years he had been co-operating with the Feds, passing on information about gang activity as it related to drug distribution. If word of that leaked out, retaliation would be swift. I didn't want to think about that, especially not with Alicia involved, but I had. "No forced entry. No damage. Neighbors didn't see or hear anything."

"Hospitals?"

"Already called all of them. Nada. Checked arrests, accident reports, all that stuff. Nothing."

"Teresa still there?"

I nodded. "Afraid to leave in case they turn up. Afraid not to go back to her place in case they show up there."

Ranger sat silently for a minute, holding one of his patented internal conversations that could cover anything from what to have for lunch to the invasion of a third world country, before rising and heading for the door.

His whistle cut through the low murmur of activity that was the usual Sunday noise level in the main room. Silence, as the six guys on duty—Lester, Breeze, and four others—looked up, instantly alert.

"Situation. Missing girl. Ten years old. Bobby will give you the details. Call in everybody; pull them off whatever they're working on. Call in all the off-duty guys you can get hold of. I want her back. Today."

Ranger strode out the door, undoubtedly headed for Mitch's to talk to Teresa. Typical Ranger briefing. Concise. Pointed. Unequivocal. And leaving no one in any doubt that they would not enjoy what would happen if his expectations weren't met.

I blew out a breath, tension I hadn't been aware of easing a bit. I knew Ranger would help but I certainly hadn't expected him to pull everyone off what they were working on and put them on this. That was a lot of manpower and money. The guys were good. Ranger was relentless and unstoppable, an implacable force once he set his mind to something. We would find her. We would find Alicia and bring her home. I kept telling myself that because I had to believe that. The alternative was…unacceptable.

xoxoxoxox

"Az?"

"Set."

"Breeze?"

"Set."

Hearing confirmation that both our snipers were in position on nearby rooftops to provide cover, and instill fear if needed, Ranger slid out of the lead SUV followed by Tank. Rav, Mal, and Lester exited the second SUV and spread out to flank them. I stayed in the third vehicle, half a block back, listening over my earpiece, as emergency back-up. I knew Ranger also didn't want me involved in meeting the gang we had determined to be responsible for taking Alicia. For me, it was personal and sometimes personal created problems. I didn't like it, but I understood. I also knew I'd get to be an active participant if we needed to 'encourage' someone to talk.

Saint Blood's ragged bunch of gangbangers slouched down the alley. They were trying for swagger but mostly failing. Having Ranger summon you to a meeting in an alley at any time, much less at 2 a.m., had that effect on most of Trenton's criminal class.

Ranger didn't bother with a greeting or a question. He demanded to know where they had taken Alicia.

Saint Blood chose to cop an attitude and mouthed off to Ranger. It looked like a couple of his guys laughed.

I knew the little smile that would be quirking the corner of Ranger's lips as he dropped one hand to his side, two fingers pointed down. Two rifle shots. Two of Saint Blood's guys dropped. Before the rest could react, Ranger, Tank, Rav, Mal, and Lester had weapons drawn and trained. Inevitably, another three of the gang had to try and draw their weapons. They had no chance, but they were stupid and believed their own bullshit about how tough they were, and they had to try. They joined the first two on the ground. Saint Blood and his two remaining wannabe bad guys froze.

In less than five seconds they were on the ground and cuffed.

"Bobby," Ranger said.

"Roger." I pulled forward and hopped out with my medical kit.

Crap. Az and Breeze had taken one leg shot and one shoulder shot, trying to incapacitate instead of kill instantaneously, and were shooting 5.56mm rounds instead of 7.62mm but the first two guys to go down were already gone, bled out. I got the other three stabilized while Tank cuffed them securely to a nearby dumpster. They might live, if the EMTs got them to the hospital fast enough. Given that the EMTs tended to be less than enthusiastic about answering middle of the night calls in this area of town, I wasn't optimistic, but it gave them a chance which, knowing they had kidnapped a little girl, was more than they deserved.

Just in case the police were bored and responded quicker than usual, we threw the remaining three gang assholes into the SUVs and took off. Az and Breeze would follow in the last SUV.

xoxoxox

I studied our guests. Huh. Not impressed, but then there had never been a gangbanger that impressed me.

All three were on their knees on the dirty concrete floor. Hands and ankles cuffed behind them. Duct tape over their mouths provided a respite from their idiotic, repetitious—and empty—threats.

They were naked, bruised, and bleeding from numerous cuts and scrapes, the result of their attempt to protest being cuffed.

It was a start.

Tank and Lester grabbed the two underlings by their ankle cuffs, dragged them across the floor, and bolted the cuffs to rings set in the floor. Each left a smeared blood trail. They were struggling but that ceased abruptly when Breeze took exception to their behavior, walked over and kicked each one in the gut several times and then in the head.

"Assholes," he muttered. He added a pair of vicious kicks to the general area of their kidneys. "What?" he demanded when Tank gave him a look. "I have a 12-year old niece."

xoxoxoxox

Tank kept watch over the two barely conscious sidekicks, while Ranger, Lester, Mal, Breeze, Az, Rav, and I surrounded Saint Blood in a loose circle. All in black. All fully armed. All standing with arms crossed. And all of us had our game faces on. We all knew what we needed from this piece of trash—and what was going to happen to him and his pals regardless of whether he gave us the answers we wanted or not.

Ranger inclined his head fractionally in my direction, designating me to take the lead.

With pleasure.

"Hands," I said to no one in particular.

Breeze stepped forward, unlocked the cuff on Saint Blood's right wrist, jerked his hands in front of him, recuffed him, then forced his hands palms-down onto the floor and stomped on them, holding them in place with one size-13 boot. I knew the bones in his hand were shattered but it wasn't like he was going to need them much longer. Saint Bloods' eyes widened and he tried to scream but the duct tape muffled the sound. He tried to wrench his hands free, but stopped when Breeze simply put more weight on them, grinding the broken bones together. I ripped the duct tape off his mouth so he could throw up without choking to death. After he was through emptying his stomach of everything he'd eaten in the last day or two, Breeze dragged him to one side, out of range of the vomit puddle. No reason for us to get filthy.

My combat knife whispered as I pulled it from its sheath. His eyes widened when I squatted in front of him and held it up. Maybe it was finally dawning on the shit that he was in trouble.

"This is how this works, shit-for-brains. I'm going to ask you a question. If I don't get the answer I want, I'm going to start carving pieces off you." I turned the knife, letting the dim light in the warehouse catch on the blade. "Nod if you understand."

Saint Blood's nostrils flared and he looked around frantically, seeking what? Help? Escape? Too bad for him those were no longer options in his life.

Ranger wanted answers. We all did. I didn't have time to carve this mutt up like I really wanted to.

I placed the flat of the blade against his jaw and used it to turn his head back so that he was looking at me again. "No, not how this works." I inserted the tip of the knife in one nostril and jerked upward. Flesh parted, blood spurted, and Saint Blood screamed. I gave him a minute to focus back on me, then repeated the maneuver on his other nostril. More blood. More screaming.

"You need to pay attention," I reminded him when his screams had quieted to whimpers. "I have one question. Where's the girl you took from Mitch's apartment?"

He was crying, tears and blood and snot coursing down his face. He tried for defiant. "Fuck you, shithead mother—"

Opting for his left ear, I grabbed it and sliced it off, tossing it to one side. He screamed in rage and pain, and fell backwards onto the floor. I let him scream and writhe for a minute, allowing him to appreciate the pain and the hopelessness of his situation. And the fact that I meant what I said. I would carve his ass into pieces until he told me where Alicia was.

Grabbing his hair, I pulled him back to his knees. "Second chance shit-for-brains. Where's the girl?"

"Motherfu—"

His right ear followed his left, dropping to the floor.

He screamed again, an inarticulate sound of rage and pain.

I backhanded him to get him to shut up. "That's two strikes, shit-for-brains. I'm running out of patience." I grabbed his cock and testicles and jerked them—hard.

He squealed when I placed the edge of the knife against them, eyes widening in terror.

"I will slice your dick off and shove it down your throat. Now, where is the girl?"

He stuttered out a name and an address, as blood, tears and snot continued running down his face.

"You want to be telling me the truth because if you're not, I'll be back." Roughly wiping the knife against his chest to clean off most of the blood, which added several new cuts, I shoved it back in its sheath.

We left Lester and Breeze to look after the assholes. Lester would keep Breeze from killing them until we confirmed the girl was safe and we didn't need them anymore. After that, they were on their own with Breeze.

xoxoxox

I picked Alicia up and hugged her close, breathing in the scent of baby shampoo as I buried my face in her hair.

She burrowed into my neck. "Uncle Bobby."

"That's right, Alicia. I've got you. We're going to get you home to your mom real soon." I rubbed her back. "You're safe now. We've got you."

"Get her home," Ranger instructed. "Mal, go with and drive."

I turned and started toward the door, then stopped when I saw the asshole who'd had her, the pedophile the shithead gangbangers had sold her to. He was bleeding from a deep gash on his forehead, his lip was split, and it appeared his left forearm was broken. Apparently, he'd resisted when Az cuffed him. I wanted to finish the job, to rip him apart with my bare hands for ever looking at Alicia or any other little girl, much less touching her. Thank the gods, he hadn't had time to do anything more with her. He'd wanted to take his time and invite a few friends over to share her. No matter how bad I wanted to, I couldn't give into my rage. It would upset Alicia. She was my priority at the moment.

"Ranger…" I wasn't sure what I would have said, but as usual words weren't necessary with Ranger.

"We'll take care of it. I'm thinking it's time for an object lesson."

"Come on, man." Mal rested a hand on my shoulder, pushed me toward the door, and smiled at Alicia. "Let the guys deal with the trash and you can introduce me to this beautiful young lady while we take her home."

xoxoxoxoxox

Ranger's object lesson was headline news a day later.

The beaten, emasculated body of a man was found outside an abandoned warehouse with the removed testicles and penis laying on his chest, along with the bodies of three gang members, still handcuffed and chained, who had been tortured and beaten to death. An anonymous tip to the police led them to the bodies. Other anonymous tips to the newspaper, the tv stations, the radio stations, and even some online bloggers insured that the media arrived at the same time, before the police had time to effectively cordon off the area or decide which details to withhold.

They all came out. All the bloody, nauseating details. No one was actually tactless—or brave—enough to publish the raw pictures, and the descriptions of the mutilations varied from graphic to down-played, but there was no doubt what the message was. Not after the gangbangers were identified as more members of the gang that had recently been involved in a shoot-out on Stark Street. Not with the word 'pedophile' carved into the dead guy's abdomen. The message was loud and clear, and I felt sure a lot of people got it.

xxxx

as always, happy weekend and thanks for reading and reviewing!