Chapter Thirty

Damn. My head hurt. It was hard to focus on anything else around the darkness that hung over my eyes. And the ringing. Like my head had been in a bell when it was struck. I tried to move, but my face was pressed into the floor. Murmuring just over my head. Someone was angry.

"I said to get her in one piece."

"She was fighting me," a guy started to say, but the air broke when he grunted like he'd been punched in the stomach. Not by the first guy who'd been talking. He was still over me. A warm hand on my neck. That meant there were at least three of them.

"Next time it'll be a bullet," the first man said. "And if it doesn't come from me, it'll come from him. Trust me. That fucker's scary as hell when he's just doing his job. What do you think will happen if you break his woman? Unharmed, she's a bargaining chip. But you hurt her and he'll hunt you to the ends of the earth. And when he finds you he won't just cuff you and drag you back to jail. You'll be lucky if he kills you quickly."

"He's not fucking Batman."

"You wanna bet your life on that?"

The guy didn't answer. Smart move.

The ringing had mostly stopped, but the aching persisted. I was starting to miss the stun gunning. The warm hand on my neck caressed me when I moved. He knew I was waking up. "I apologize for my associate," he said to me. "He's a moron. He should have known better than to clock a woman in the back of the head with a pistol butt just because she struggled."

"Struggled my ass. She kicked Diego in the face."

"Moron," the guy said again. My brow furrowed when I tried to open my eyes. "I just hope she doesn't have a concussion. We need her alert. He has to see her eyes. I want him off balance, not homicidal."

The first thing I saw was the dirty cement floor. Then the man leaning over me. I knew his face, but it took a minute for my brain to catch up. Alvarez. I'd seen enough pictures of him to be sure of that. He wasn't much older than I was. Black hair hanging over his forehead. His face handsome in a vague sort of way. A hint of fear hidden behind his sharp black eyes. He didn't look like he was planning to kill me. I should know. I'm pretty familiar with that particular expression. This man wasn't crazy. He was desperate. "Why are you doing this?"

He almost smiled. "You know why. Though in all honesty, I didn't expect to get hands on you tonight. Tonight was going to be about the establishment and the feds. Create chaos and panic and then take them all out before they knew what was happening. Solidify my power. There were three plants in that funeral home. One in each coffin. Laying in wait for the trap to get sprung. Then that crazy old lady you were with popped a lid early before she scampered away. Lucky for me, Moron over there managed to salvage the operation by nabbing you on the one night you were out of your ivory tower."

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work. He won't bargain."

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm not expecting him to bargain with me. See, Ranger Manoso has been a thorn in my ass for way too long. I can't escape him, even with a head start. No matter how far I run. The only way I'll ever be free is to end him. It's the only way. I don't want to kill you any more than I want to kill your cop friend. But I will use you. You're bait to catch a mongoose."

"Doesn't that make you the snake?"

He grinned. "Cobra. And I guess that is a little melodramatic. But then, it's also eerily accurate."

Something slipped into place in my aching brain. "Cop friend?" I tried to sit up, but the aching made it hard. I didn't have to look far anyway. Joe was on the cement a few feet behind Alvarez. His black t-shirt glistening where the blood plastered it to his chest under the tear at his collar. "Is he..."

"He's alive. Brains might be a little scrambled, but he'll keep breathing if you don't give me any more trouble."

"You've been trying to kill me. Why would I believe you?"

"I've been trying to get my hands on you. Not kill you. That bomb was meant for Ranger. He's the only one who has to die. See, Badge Boy is just a local cop. His reach ends when I leave his jurisdiction. But Ranger. He doesn't have boundaries. And borders don't stop him. Only way to get out from under his shadow is to put a bullet between his eyes. Hell. Part of me wonders if even that'll stop him. Fucking spook."

My phone chirped. I recognized the sound. It was coming from Alvarez. He pulled my phone out of his back pocket and smiled when he saw the display. "Speak of the devil." He answered on speaker. "I've got your woman."

Dead silence on the other line.

Alvarez shifted on the balls of his feet. More nervous than he looked. "I've also got your cop buddy," he tried. "I don't know what kind of kinky ass shit you got going on with the three of you, but if you so much as sneeze wrong, he's a dead man."

More silence.

"I could just kill them now—"

"Let me talk to Stephanie."

Alvarez smiled. Lowered the phone to me. I glared daggers at him. It was the only thing I could think of to keep the squishy feeling in my stomach from making me sick. "I'm here."

"Are you hurt?"

"A little. One of them hit me in the head. And Joe's been shot. I can't see how bad."

Alvarez lifted the phone again. "She's not damaged. How long she stays that way is up to you."

"What do you want?"

"Same as anybody. I don't want to fucking die. And that's what'll happen if I end up with the feds. You let me walk away and I'll leave your girlfriend alone. This doesn't have to get any uglier."

"You didn't recruit yourself an army to ask me nicely for your freedom. What do you want?"

"I want to know you're not going to hunt me down the second you've got her back."

"And how could I make that promise in a way that you would believe?"

"You say it to my face. I'll know if you're lying."

"Where?"

"Warehouse on the seventh block of Stark. Come alone."

The line went dead.

Alvarez looked to his lieutenant. "Surround the yard, but have them stay hidden. He'll bring a team at the very least. Maybe a small army. I want the place covered from all angles."

"You want 'em dead before they hit the door?"

"No. If he has the balls to walk into the building, we'll handle him in here. It'll be cleaner that way. Less chance he'll escape."

"You sure he won't just burn the fucking building down?"

"Not with his girl inside."

I saw the lieutenant nod and left. I finally managed to sit up. We were in a holding area. Surrounded by enough towers of boxes to make it hard to tell how many men were with him. My hands were tied. I looked over at Joe. He was lying very still. Hard to tell if he was breathing from here. "Why couldn't you have just left him there so they could get him to a hospital?" I asked, letting tears fill my eyes.

"Don't try the crocodile thing on me, sweetheart," Alvarez said. "It's beneath you. And he's only here to make you behave. So if I were you, I'd sit still and let this happen the way it has to."

There were calls from the other end of the hall. Alvarez stilled. Listening. And then a smile pulled at one corner of his mouth. It was unsettling considering the hard glint in his eyes. He hadn't worn it when he looked at me. I wasn't his target. But he was ready to kill Ranger. And there was little I could do to stop him.

Alvarez dragged me up and pulled my back against his chest. The cold press of steal in my neck. It was Joe's gun. Half a dozen armed men were waiting at the opening to the hallway when Ranger walked through. Alone. I couldn't read the blank expression he wore. His black eyes found me and I didn't see relief or worry or wrath. I saw nothing at all.

Just like the night he'd walked into my apartment knowing he was about to be shot.

Oh god. I was going to be sick.

"Take his gun," Alvarez said.

One of his men reached for Ranger, but Ranger just looked at him and the man flinched. I thought I might have seen a glimmer of amusement in Ranger's eyes before they went stone cold again. Ranger pulled the Glock from his utility belt and offered it up. The guy took the gun very carefully.

"Check him for other weapons."

"I'm not fucking touching him," the man muttered.

"Chickenshit. Diego."

Diego shook his head. He wasn't touching him either.

"For christsake. Vega. Frisk him."

The big guy in the back suddenly looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. He stepped forward and gave Ranger's side's a brief pat, and then he stepped back. All six of them were watching Ranger like they thought he might put a curse on them. Guess I wasn't the only one who thought Ranger was magic.

"Let the girl go," Ranger said. "You're not getting away, but you still have the choice of leaving this situation alive."

"I'm the one in the position of power this time, dumbass. I scratched together an army out of nothing. I've got three dozen armed men posted outside to ambush anybody unfortunate enough to have sided with you. And even if you brought the fucking army, I can just slip away again as long as you're no longer breathing. This comes down to you or me and I'm not rolling over to show you my belly just because you growl. Now, drop any other weapons you have or I'll blow your girl's godamn brains out."

Ranger lifted his shirt and unclipped his tactical knife. Tossed it with a clatter onto the cement floor. Then he pulled the smaller gun from his ankle holster and handing it to Diego. Diego grinned and tucked his own gun away. Pointing Ranger's gun at him. Alvarez relaxed and took the muzzle of Joe's gun away from my neck.

And pointed it at Ranger.

I thought there would be more time. Villains always made grand speeches in the movies. Drawing out the suspense so the hero can fully realize the fate that's about to befall them. But this wasn't a movie. Alvarez's finger was squeezing the trigger back and the squishy feeling in my stomach turned to lead. I shoved my shoulder into his arm and the bang stopped my heart. The bullet went wide and hit the boxes. "Fuck." Alvarez shoved me and I hit the floor hard, right next to Joe. The wind knocked out of my lungs. I gasped, trying to keep my wits through the blind panic.

The center of the room erupted. Shots fired and men shouted. Ranger was in the center of a brawl. One guy shoved Ranger's Glock in his face and pulled the trigger. Click. No bullets. Ranger caught the guy's arm and threw him into Vega. There weren't any bullets in the gun he gave Diego either. And then there were shots fired in the distance. Backup was assaulting the building.

I felt Joe move against my arm. He was coming to. Still disoriented.

Alvarez pointed the gun at me again. "Ranger!"

The fighting stopped. Only two of Alvarez's men were still standing. Panting and bleeding from cut brows and busted lips. Ranger wasn't even out of breath. We could all hear the battle going on outside. "What is that?" Alvarez demanded.

"I brought the fucking army," Ranger said. "Surrender. Now."

"Not happening."

Joe's leg moved against my arm. The leg where he kept an ankle holster just like Ranger's. Alvarez wasn't watching me. He was just pointing the gun my way. His eyes were on Ranger.

"Kill him," he told his men. They didn't move. Neither one of them was still armed. At some point in the fight, Ranger had knocked their guns away. And they looked reluctant to take their eyes away from him enough to search for one. "If he moves, I'll kill his woman. Get a fucking gun and put him down."

The fighting outside was getting closer. It was impossible to tell who was winning. But one thing was clear. Time was running out.

"Fucking cowards. I'll do it myself." Alvarez swung his weapon at Ranger. Ranger didn't even blink. He dropped to the ground and went for a gun. Two shots rang out, clipping the cement around Ranger's knees. And then Alvarez swung the gun toward me and Joe again. I pulled the revolver out of Joe's ankle holster and closed my eyes. Squeezing the trigger until the pops turned to clicking. Tears were leaking through my clenched eyelids. And then a warm hand closed around mine.

"It's okay, Babe. It's over."