A/N: oh my you guys are so awesome! I loved the reviews- some of you are very vocal about Steph and her curiosity LOL . I love it!! Thank you so much!!

Chapter 12

Stephanie's POV

I rolled over and reached for Bobby to let him know we should be getting back to Haywood when I realized I couldn't move my hands. Panic set in as I tried to remember what I was doing prior to things going dark. I opened my eyes to try and take in my surroundings , but it was pitch black, except a tiny sliver of light peeking out from under a door. Why is everything so fuzzy ? We had walked in to the hotel lobby after the concert… Ranger. He had come to warn us about Bowman. But Ranger left, and Bobby and I had the most incredible… The bell boy! I had been following the bell boy, his name tag showed something staring with a J… the one that caused my spidey senses to tingle. Dammit why didn't I tell Bobby I thought something was off with the kid. I hear voices outside the door and I strain to hear them, but I can't make out words. They sound like the adults from the Peanuts cartoons to me, so I lay back down on what feels like a very old mattress , I can feel a spring digging into my back.

A few moments later the door opens and I'm hit with a bright beam of light. I would recognize that from anywhere , that's a doctors pen light, just like Bobby uses. Oh shit, Bobby! God I hope they didn't hurt him. I blink a few times and try to stare at the face behind the light.

"I recognize you. The bell hop, from our hotel right? Jim, Jason…"

"John. My name is John. I'm so sorry…" he started in as he checked my eyes but was cut off by a voice at the door.

"Shut up, don't talk to her. Is she okay to move?" Mr. Tall Dark and Scary asked. I couldn't get look at his face, but figured he wasn't the one in charge. "Boss wants her with him like yesterday." And my instincts prove right.

"Where am I?" I whisper to John, who obviously did NOT want to be there. "Who are you working for?" No sooner than I asked the question did Mr. Scary walked into the room and grabbed my arm, hauling me up abruptly.

"Quit chatting up the help and get moving." He not so gently shoved me towards the open door, and for a split second I thought I might actually get away from him, but that thought was derailed when another large man stepped into view and grabbed my arm to walk me somewhere else. Once I was in the light I could take stock of my situation . I'm handcuffed. My shoes are gone (I guess so I don't try and run?) and I feel in general disarray, but nothing feels bruised or broken. My thoughts shift to Bobby and then to Ranger. If I had my phone he could track me. If I had my car he could track me. As of right now I'm tracker less and I have no idea how I'll get out of this situation .

Scary dude #2 pulls me into an office, and throws me down into a chair. He motions for me to lean forward and I do, hesitantly, so he unlocks the handcuffs and points at me to sit back. I rub my wrists and resist the urge to kick this guy in the nuts, figuring that won't help my situation any , it'll just make me feel better. After a minute of silence and my guard watching me carefully I find my voice. "Can you tell me why I'm here?" The guy was taking a page out of the Rangeman playbook because his face completely blank. Seeing as my companion is less than chatty, I sit back and think. It's gotta be related to Bowman, there's no other explanation. Why does he want me? I don't get it.

"You don't seem that big of deal." He finally spoke up, his voice low and gravelly . "Boss seems to want you something bad though."

"And just who is this Boss?" I ask quietly, even though I'm 99.999% sure I know the answer.

"Oh, you'll see." He smirked. "By the way, if you're half as fun in the sack as it looked like with that dude you were with , then maybe I'll take a crack at you…"

Bobby. They had been watching us… I felt nauseous. "Where is he? What have you done with him?" Rhino Steph was out in full force at this point when I realized they might have done something to him.

The guy just scoffed at me. SCOFFED ! Can you believe the nerve? "We didn't do anything to him, or the other one. They're both clueless. And he says he's in security." He said laughing, and his eyes roamed over me. "I would definitely kept you more secure…" he started to walk over to me and before I could defend myself the door swung open and low and behold, there stood the mastermind behind it all.

Bobby's POV

I walked back in to the lobby to let Steph know the car was ready to go , but when I scanned the room I didn't see her. I had left her by the front desk so I asked them if them had seen her.

"No sir I'm sorry, she was standing here and then she was gone. I apologize. " The front desk girl gave me a frightened look as her eyes cut behind me and I immediately realized why she was nervous.

"Ranger, Steph is gone." I said without turning around. I tried to take even breaths, in and out but it wasn't making me feel better. Here I had accused Ranger of only coming here to rush us back to Haywood under the pretense Bowman was after Steph, when he actually was. And now he might have taken her. I shouldn't have let my feelings get in the way of her safety.

Ranger clapped a hand on my shoulder "You did everything right this weekend. You kept her safe and happy." He replied to my thoughts , I must have picked up her habit of saying her thoughts out loud. Then he turned towards the girl behind the desk who was still in awe over the two of us. "I need your security , now." She nodded and reached under the desk, pressing a button on a phone and speaking for a second before hanging up.

"They're on their way sir. " she said and scurried away.

We met with security and went over the video of the lobby and its surrounding hallways. I saw Steph standing next to the desk and something catch her eye as she went to investigate. When zoomed in we saw the bell boy that had brought Steph and me food that morning. She followed him around a corner and was gone. "Any other angles?" Ranger said calmly. This surprised me. Usually he… freaked out isn't the right term because Ranger didn't freak out about anything but he usually wasn't this calm when it came to her. The security guard played with the controls and brought up the feed in the hallway, showing Steph walking right past a man, he looked tall but we couldn't clearly make out his face. Then a few seconds later she dropped, he must have given her a sedative of some sort. We watched as he picked her up and took her out a side door. Ranger and I stood, shook hands with the security officer and walked away.

I waited until we were out of ear shot of the officer before turning to Ranger. "What do we do?"

He glanced at me and kept walking . "That was Bowman. We need to get back to Haywood." I was so angry with myself for not listening to Ranger, and not taking him seriously . This was all my fault.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me. "Bobby, I have never been one to get deep with any of my men, but Lester and I had a heart to heart when you two left for this mini vacation. I was an idiot for pushing her away, but if she's happy with you then I'm happy for you both. We will find her, and she'll be okay. She has to be." Again he clapped a hand over my shoulder and walked out the front door, leaving me trailing in his wake.

Ranger's POV

When I decided to travel the short distance to N.Y. and convince Bobby and Babe to come back to Haywood, I told myself it was strictly because I was worried about her safety. But then I saw them, walking into the lobby of the hotel. Stephanie looked gorgeous, as usual… But she also looked relaxed. A look I hadn't seen on her in quite a while. Bobby made her happy. We came from similar backgrounds, both serving in the same company together as Rangers , but as Bobby served as the medic, I made my way to Lieutenant Colonel fairly quickly. Why I felt like I didn't deserve Steph probably baffled some of my men, but Bobby saved lives, I took them. As much as it hurt me to admit it, he was better for her than me. When he accused me of making up the danger (not in so many words) just to get her back in Haywood I balked at the idea, but he was right (sort of). I didn't realize Bowman was this close, in fact I hadn't even been told he was in N.Y. My unexpected visit didn't really have so much to do with the possibility of danger as it did wanting to see Steph. After seeing the video I needed to get us back to Haywood and start tracking this bastard down.

To Bobby's credit he looked sickened at the thought of blowing my concerns and my presence off, but I got it. I tried to reassure him as best I could , and we headed in our two separate cars back to base. I called Lester to give him the heads up on my way out of town, but he didn't answer, so I tried Tank.

Leader's POV

Bobby called to let us know what had happened to Steph, and that he and Ranger were on their way back to Haywood. I hung up the phone sick to my stomach. We were supposed to be protecting her… she was in trouble because we couldn't lock this guy down. I knew Bobby had to be beside himself, his voice told me everything I needed to know about how the weekend went. He was in love with Stephanie, and now she was missing. Shit , this would not be good for any of us. I ran my hands over my face and went to see Hector.

Tank's POV

I hung up with Ranger and threw my phone onto the desk I was seated in front of. Little girl had been taken . I didn't know if I should be mad at Bobby for not keeping an eye on her, Ranger for going up to N.Y. and busting in on their weekend , or us for not doing our jobs and tracking down this bastard who was obsessed with her. I knew one person that needed to be made aware of the situation, although none of the others thought about him. I picked up the phone , dialing a number I figured I wouldn't ever be calling again.

Joseph's POV

I had been at home in bed when I heard my cell phone ring. I picked it up, checking the caller ID , and was surprised to hear the voice on the other end.

"Morelli."

"Morelli, it's Tank." Why was Rangers second in command calling me? It had to do with Stephanie, but why wasn't Ranger the one on the phone?

"Is she okay?"

He paused for a second. "She's been kidnapped. I believe you'll wanna be involved, I'm 99 % sure it was Bowman." The fucker that shot me and took my gun, of course I want to be involved! Even if Steph and I hadn't had that talk in the hospital, I still would always be there for her. It wasn't her fault I was such a dick to her for so many years, or that our folks wanted us to do the typical Burg life, which included Steph being the typical Burg wife (staying home, cooking dinner, 2.5 kids), and me being the typical Burg husband(heavy drinker, partying every weekend). She wasn't cut out that way. From the day she ran me down with her grandfather's car I knew she would never fit that mold. I loved her though, still do. Although now it's more along the lines of a wanting to protect her, not a wanting to sleep with her type of love. I had ruined any chance of that happening ever again a long time ago.

"Where's Ranger?"

I heard the big guy sigh quietly before answering . "On his way back from N.Y. with Bobby." The medic… before I could ask why he continued "Bobby and little girl were in the city this weekend . We got word Bowman was on the move so Ranger went there to give them the heads up, but before they could make it back here she was taken. Can you drive? Or do you need a pick up?" Judging by his tone of voice there was more to the story than he was letting on. Since the shooting had limited my mobility I actually shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car for another week or so.

"Pick up would be great. I'll be ready in 15."

"Someone will be there in 10." He said shortly and hung up. So as quickly as I could I got dressed and made my way downstairs . To his word someone knocked on the door 10 minutes later and I headed outside under the escort of a tall bald headed man dressed in all black. I recognized him as one of Rangers main guys, although I couldn't remember his name. "I know you…"

"Cal. Let's get you to Haywood Detective." He opened the door for me and we got in , heading to Rangers fortress.