CHAPTER 21

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Ranger came flying out of his office just in time to hear Hal say that Stephanie was somewhere in the Pine Barren's. He barely slowed as he headed to the stairs, motioning for Hal to transfer her call to his cell. Tank was following on Ranger's heels, with Hector, Lester, Woody, Vince, Bones, and Cal close behind.

"Babe," Ranger said as he jumped in the Cayenne with Tank riding shotgun. As he pealed out of the garage, Stephanie's beautiful voice came through the car speakers.

"Ranger." Her voice trembled.

He nearly wept at the sound of his name coming from her lips. She was alive, and for the first time in weeks, he was able to breathe. As she spoke, her voice grew weaker. He heard the pain every time she coughed, and the relief he'd been feeling moments ago changed back to fear. When she asked him to tell her family she loved them, he knew she was more than just sick, she was giving up. He couldn't allow that. She had to fight a little longer. He wasn't lying when he told her she was the strongest woman he knew.

He was speeding down 295 South, gripping the steering wheel tightly, and pressing the gas pedal all the way to the floor when the explosion blasted through the speakers. His foot halted on the accelerator. "Babe!" he called out.

Time stood still as both men held their breath—listening. When they didn't hear a response, Ranger's pleas became desperate. "Stephanie, answer me!" Each time she didn't answer, his chest grew tighter. The vein on the side of his neck throbbed as it worked hard to pump blood to his pounding heart.

Tank stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed as he watched his friend struggling to keep it together. He'd never seen so many emotions coming from Ranger. If Stephanie died, he didn't think Ranger would be able to deal with it—and that explosion didn't sound good. In fact, he feared they might be on their way to collect her body instead of rescuing her. He ran his hand over his shaved head, wiping away the perspiration, and dialed the control room. "There was an explosion on the line and the call was dropped," he told Hal. "I need eyes in the sky over the Pine Barrens. Have them look for smoke or other signs of a crash. We need to know where it is—NOW!" Tank's voice boomed throughout the car. "And get EMS to the scene as soon as it's located."

After Stephanie's call ended, Ranger didn't say another word. He'd retreated inside himself. His driving was precise, as usual, but the speed was dangerously fast. They made the hour-long trip in half the time, leaving the convoy of Rangeman vehicles to follow in their wake as best they could.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the Pine Barren's, snow had already blanketed the area, and more was falling by the second. Tank spotted smoke billowing up through the trees. "That way," he pointed, but Ranger was already turning down the narrow road.

They were going in blind—not sure which of the winding roads would lead them to Stephanie. Their only guide was the helicopter pilot, advising them when to turn right or left. Ranger squeezed the steering wheel as he maneuvered through the twists and turns of roads that were little more than dirt trails. Because of the snow, visibility was poor, forcing him to slow the Cayenne to a crawl. The last thing he wanted to do was slow down, but if he didn't, he might end up in a ditch unable to help Stephanie.

As if thinking it made it happen, he hit a rut in the road and the Cayenne bounced and pulled to the left. "Damnit!" he cursed under his breath as he righted the vehicle back onto the road. He took two more turns and then came around a bend in the road and screeched to a stop, just feet from a smoldering truck. It was resting upside down with the driver's side door lying on the ground several feet away. He threw the Cayenne in park and jumped out.

"Stephanie!" he called out as he got as close to the intense heat as he dared. He looked inside the vehicle for her but didn't see anything. "She's not in there." He exhaled a ragged breath of relief as he circled the wreck, calling out to her repeatedly while searching for her body lying on the ground.

When he didn't find her, he started checking the ground for any tracks she might have made as she left the scene, but the newly fallen snow had covered any footprints leading away from the crash site, making it hard to determine which way she might have gone.

"Stephanie!" Ranger called louder, focusing his voice in all directions. When he didn't get an answer, he called again and then kept calling for her as he widened the perimeter, hoping to hear her response.

Tank followed Ranger's lead, doubling their effort to find her quickly, but his attention was diverted when, minutes later, the Merrymen arrived on the scene, followed by an ambulance. He quickly set up a grid search, pointing at each two-man team. "Hector and Lester, take the north, Cal and Woody, go east, Bones and Vince, head west." He checked his watch. "The sun will set soon, and with the temperature below freezing, she won't last long." He gave each man a meaningful look. "Find her."

Without another word, Tank took off heading south after Ranger, while the other teams fanned out in the direction of their assigned quadrants carefully searching the ground and underbrush for Stephanie.

Twenty minutes into his search, Lester walked by a boulder and would have kept on walking if it hadn't been for the swatch of red cloth peeking through the snow catching his eye. His breath hitched in his chest as hope washed over him. He fell to his knees, frantically brushing the snow away. Each swipe revealed another section of curly brown hair, hardened with ice crystals.

"Stephanie," he yelled. "Steph, can you hear me?" He brushed the snow off her face and neck. She lay limp—unresponsive. Her face so pale it blended with the snow. "Over here," he called out, getting Hector's attention as he was busy searching an area several yards away.

Hector ran over, crouching down beside her. "Angelita." He drew in a sharp breath as he placed his fingers against her neck, checking for a pulse. "Por favor, estar vivo," he pleaded under his breath. (Please, be alive.) He gave Lester a thin smile. "It's weak, but she's alive." He began smoothing the hair off her face, eyes widening when he felt how feverish her skin was. "She is burning up."

"We don't have time to wait for the paramedics to make their way to us." Lester told him as he placed his hands under her body to lift her. "We have to get her out of here, now." He was afraid to touch her for fear of hurting her, but he didn't have a choice. If he didn't act fast, she could die. As if she weighed nothing, he carefully scooped Stephanie into his arms. Her painful moan squeezed his heart. "I'm so sorry it hurts, but I have to move fast, there's no time! Stay with me, Beautiful."

"Les," Stephanie faintly whispered.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm going to get you out of here, but you have to hold on for a few more minutes." He started running while trying not to jostle her battered body. Her moans became louder—more intense. There was no doubt he was hurting her, and he wished he could bear the pain for her. "Don't give up, Beautiful! Fight! You hear me?"

Hector dialed Ranger and took off running after Lester. "We found her. She's burning up with fever—barely alive."

"Where?" Ranger barked.

"A quarter mile north of the crash site. Meet us at the ambulance."

Ranger and Tank quickly did an about face and ran back the way they'd come. As they emerged through the trees, Lester came running from the other side of the road with Stephanie in his arms and Hector on his heels. "Babe." Ranger frantically ran his hands over her body, searching for injuries as he kept pace with Lester, but Lester didn't stop running until he placed her on the waiting stretcher.

The EMT's made fast work loading her into the back of the ambulance and starting an IV. Ranger hopped in with her, holding her hand, begging urgently. "Babe, you can wake up now. I've got you." He smoothed the frozen curls off her face. "You're safe now," he said as he gently kissed her frigid lips. "I won't let anything happen to you."

As the ambulance raced away, Tank placed a call to Lula. "Baby, we found her!"

"You found my girl?" She screamed in his ear, crying tears of joy. "Is she hurt bad?"

"She's on her way to Piney Grove hospital in Hammonton Township." He didn't have the heart to tell her that he wasn't sure Stephanie was going to make it.

"Me and Connie are on our way. We'll bring Mary Lou with us. Stephanie will want her friends by her side."

Tank disconnected and dialed Morelli. "We've got her."

Morelli's breath caught in his throat as he quickly stood up from his desk, sending papers to the floor in disarray. "Is she okay?"

Tank resisted the urge to sigh. He knew this conversation was going to be unpleasant. He really didn't like the cop. He got the impression he thought he was hot stuff. "EMT's said it doesn't look good. You might want to get her family here as soon as possible. She's en route to Piney Grove hospital in Hammonton Township."

"Hammonton Township? That's an hour away."

Tank didn't respond.

"How did you find her, and why wasn't I notified?"

"Her call came in on Rangeman's mainline. She was able to tell us she was in the Pine Barren's before she wrecked the truck she was driving. We followed the smoke from the explosion and found her passed out in the woods."

Morelli blew out a breath. "I'm on my way with her parents, tell her to hold on."

"Done," Tank said and disconnected.

As Morelli walked to the parking lot, he passed Eddie, and filled him in. He got in his SUV, heading over to the Plum's house, shaking with worry and anger. He didn't understand why she hadn't called him or the police for help? And he was pissed that Ranger and his henchmen hadn't notified him until after the fact. This was supposed to be a joint operation, but as usual, Ranger decided to play superhero.

Filling out paperwork was the last thing Ranger wanted to do, but Stephanie had trusted him as her medical power of attorney, and it was his responsibility to see that she received the best of care. The most important thing right now was making sure the doctors and nurses understand that he expected them to do everything possible to save her life. Since she was still covered under Rangeman's insurance policy, he knew she would be afforded the best possible care.

After he finished with the paperwork, he paced back and forth in front of the double doors, waiting for someone to come tell him if his world had just ended. There were so many things he wanted to say to Stephanie… so many things he wanted to show her. He unconsciously rubbed his fist over his heart. Knowing he might not get the chance made his chest hurt.

During the fifteen-minute drive to the hospital, the EMT's worked continuously trying to stabilize her. Ranger had held her hand the whole way, whispering how proud of her he was, and encouraging her to open her eyes—but she never did. Internally, he was rapidly spiraling out of control, but he was doing his best to contain his panic. Patience was only an illusion he'd cultivated over the years. In truth—his emotions were never more out of control than when Stephanie was involved.

The waiting room was eerily silent. He looked over at Lester, Hector, and Bones, leaning against the wall, worry etched on their faces as they stared at the double doors Stephanie had been rushed through.

He tried focusing his thoughts on retribution. His mind wandered back to the crash site. It was their only source of clues as to who had taken Stephanie and where she'd been held. He was thankful Tank, Vince, Woody, and Cal had stayed behind to collect whatever evidence they could before the feds descended and took over the scene. When he found out who hurt her, he was going to kill them—slowly and painfully.

The exterior doors swooshed open, drawing his attention. Morelli rushed in with Frank, Helen, and Stephanie's grandma running behind them. Morelli made a beeline straight for Ranger and Helen followed. She grabbed Ranger's shoulder, frantically shouting. "Where's my baby?"

Ranger resisted the urge to shrug her hand off and calmly stated. "The doctors are still working on her."

"What happened to her?" she asked. "Is she going to be okay?"

"We found her unconscious in the middle of the forest, burning up with fever." Ranger didn't want to admit out loud that there was a real chance Stephanie wouldn't make it. Instead he looked back at the double doors, wishing with every fiber of his being that she was strong enough to pull through this.

Lester and Hector registered Morelli's barely concealed anger, and walked over, flanking Ranger. They were afraid of what Ranger might do to him if Morelli was stupid enough to start something. Now wasn't the time to get into a territory war with Morelli, even if it had been brewing for years.

Morelli's cop face was in place, hiding his hatred for the man in front of him, but his voice betrayed his true feelings. Everyone in the room could hear the animosity flowing from him in waves. He looked Ranger up and down. "She called you?"

"She called the main office number." Ranger corrected. "My men initiated a trace and we followed it."

"I thought we had an understanding. You should have called me the second you heard from her." Morelli shook his head, barely keeping his anger in check. "I assume you recorded the call. I want to hear it."

The hospital doors opened again, allowing Eddie, Mary Lou, Connie, Lula, and agents Hobbs and Kinkade to enter. The feds approached while everyone else took a seat. Ranger nodded for Hector to play the recording.

"Someone was chasing her?" Helen shrieked and then abruptly fell silent as sounds of an explosion reverberated through the phone's speakers. They all waited, wide eyed, for more, but the line had gone dead.

"There was no sign of anyone else at the scene." Ranger directed his comment to Agent Kinkade but failed to mention that his men were collecting evidence and reviewing the scene as he spoke.

He shifted his focus back to the double doors and started pacing, again. It was a clear dismissal, telling them he was done answering questions. The room fell silent as everyone, but Ranger took seats. After what seemed like hours, the doors finally opened, stopping Ranger in his tracks.

His stomach clenched in fear as a middle-aged woman with short blonde hair, scanned the room. "Plum family."

He braced himself and approached, as did Steph's parents and Morelli. The doctor looked at Frank. "Are you Carlos Manoso?"

Ranger didn't breathe as he gauged the doctors body language, trying to determine the severity of her news. If she was going to tell him Stephanie was gone, he didn't want to hear it. He never wanted to hear those words. With more trepidation than he'd felt in years, he spoke up. "I'm Carlos Manoso."

The doctor held out her hand, ignoring everyone else. "I'm Dr. Powell, the cardiologist in charge of Ms. Plum's care."

"How is my daughter, is she going to be okay?" Helen interrupted.

Dr. Powell kept her focus on Ranger, her face somber, eyes full of sympathy. "May I speak with you in private?"