Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns the rights to the following characters. This story is only intended as artistic exercise. I am in no way profiting financially from it.

Warning: This story is intended for adult readers only; contains graphic violent content, mature themes and adult language.

This is a Babe story, and will have and eventual Babe HEA.

Breaking of Souls

Chapter 6: When Nightmares Unfold

Previously…

His phone vibrating in his pocket brought him out of his musings, his brow furrowing at the unfamiliar number.

He placed the phone to his ear, listening to the shuddering of frantic breath; his throat constricting with emotion as he whispered, "Babe?"

Silence descended upon the room, twenty sets of eyes turned to stare at Ranger with baited breath; a glimmer of hope swelling in their hearts.

Ranger stood trembling with anticipation, desperately wanting to hear the sound of her voice.

"Ranger," Stephanie rasped, her voice thick with tears.

Ranger's shoulders drooped, his head falling back in relief, "Thank God... Babe, where are you? Are you hurt?"

"I… I don't know where I am. Please, Ranger… Hurry! He'll find me, I know he will! Please…" she pleaded hysterically.

Ranger's head snapped to attention, his eyes locking with Zero's, motioning towards his phone with his hand, silently ordering him to trace the call. Zero nodded, his eyes focusing on the screen in front of him, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Shhh… Babe, it's okay. I'll find you," he whispered soothingly, omitting his intentions of finding her abductor as well; and ripping his still beating heart from his chest.

"Boss, the call is coming from a rural area in Morris County, near Parsippany. I've locked in on the coordinates… we're about an hour and fifteen minutes away."

Ranger ran from the room, barking orders over his shoulder as he left, "Contact Agent Nielson and the Parsippany P.D. and fill them in on the situation."

The room burst into action, men scrambling for the exits and pouring into the stairwells. Someone had hurt one of their own and each man wanted a part in delivering justice. Ranger reached the garage first, running towards the Turbo. Tonight he would test its 193 mph track speed, and it wouldn't be fast enough. He reached for the driver's side door, only to be pushed out of the way. Still holding his phone to his ear, Ranger flipped around, turning his murderous glare on Tank.

"Not tonight, man," Tank shook his head, snatching the keys out of Ranger's shaking hand. "You focus on Bomber and I'll drive." Ranger started to protest and then nodded, realizing that he was in no condition to drive at that speed. Tank slid his massive body behind the wheel as Ranger ran to the passenger side, jumping into the car. They peeled out of the garage, the tires screeching against the pavement; the procession of black vehicles following them resembled the Presidential motorcade.

"We're on our way, Babe. We'll get there as quickly as we can." Ranger leaned over to look at the speedometer; even at this speed it would take them at least thirty minutes to reach her.

Stephanie sobbed into the phone, overwhelmed with fear and exhaustion, "Ranger! Please hurry, I'm…"

Stephanie stopped abruptly, sending a chill racing down his spine.

"Babe?... Stephanie… Talk to me, Babe!"

"Sss… somebody's in the house!" She whispered, her voice wobbling with terror.

"Babe, PLEASE stay calm. Is there anywhere that you can hide? Look around you for anything that can be used as a weapon or..."

Stephanie gasped, her fear slicing through him, "Oh God! He's coming!"

Ranger heard the phone crackling as it dropped to the ground, the muffled scurrying sound of movement, and then… silence.

The moment seemed to suspend in time, his body aching painfully with dreaded anticipation. Tank turned to look at Ranger, his foot pressing down harder on the already flat gas pedal.

Ranger flinched at the sound of three loud bangs that sounded like a fist beating on a wooden door; his heart hammering frantically in his chest. He clutched his head in his hands, his free hand fisting in his hair. He had never felt so helpless. "No… Please!" He whispered brokenly.

His breath caught in his throat at the machinistic sound of metal snapping once... and then again, "Chk chkk." The unmistakable sound of shot gun being cocked

"Fuck!" He grit through his clenched teeth, his stomach rebelling, forcing the acid up into his throat. He swallowed back the bile, his body shaking violently, listening to his worst nightmare unfold.

Stephanie crouched down behind a stack of storing totes, her hands covering her face, too afraid to breathe. She had sealed herself into a room with only one exit, there was no way to escape; she was trapped inside with the devil.

She listened, paralyzed with fear as the doorknob turned and yelped as the door crashed open; the containers barricading the door slamming roughly against the wall. She listened to the footsteps moving closer, closing in, stopping just in front of her hiding place. She screamed as the totes tumbled down around her, exposing her position. Cornered and helpless, she cowered into the ground, covering her head with her hands. She prayed silently for a quick death… she had suffered enough. She closed her eyes tightly… waiting.

"What the fuck is going on here!" A man's voice roared, the timber not matching her abductors, "What right do you have to break into MY house and rob..." he trailed off, clearly surprised at his discovery.

Stephanie peered out from under her arms, tremors wracking her body as she looked up into the man's face. He was an elderly man, his skin creased and weathered but his posture was straight and strong. He met her gaze, looking down the barrel of his gun at her; his eyes widening as they trailed over the bruises on her face and throat.

"What in the hell…" he muttered lowering his gun; his hand reaching out to touch the handcuffs on her bloody wrists.

She cringed away from him, tears streaming down her face. He pulled his hand back, placing it to rub his whiskered chin, "It's okay honey. I ain't gonna hurt 'cha."

He crouched down beside her, speaking gently, "Who did this to you?"

Stephanie swallowed, blinking the tears from her eyes; "I… I don't know his name. He took me to a house just through the woods from here. I ran away… but, he's going to find me and…"

"Over my dead body," the man growled vehemently patting the butt of his gun. "Me and Norma here are gonna keep ya safe. A man's gotta be a real monster to do that to a lady. I think we better get 'cha to the hospital to have your wrists looked at though… is there somebody I should call for ya?"

Stephanie pointed towards the phone, the receiver sprawled across the floor. She winched as she tried to stand, clutching at her throbbing ribs. He motioned for her to stay still, picking up the phone and placing it to his ear, "Hello?"

Stephanie watched the man, listening to the faint rumble of Ranger's voice over the line.

"Nope… nope… not gonna be necessary…. Yeah, she's in rough shape though…. Uh huh… Alright then, I'll let her know." He hung up the phone, turning back to look at her.

"Your fella there said he's almost here. Say's if I don't keep ya safe he'll hunt me down like a dog…" he paused, one side of his mouth pulling up into a half smile. "Good man… I think I'll like him."

Stephanie let out a strangled laugh, rolling onto her side to face him; nodding her head in agreement, "He is a good man... the best man I know." She began to shiver, a fine sheen of sweat glistening across her face as her body went into shock.

He turned his back to her, rummaging through one of the plastic containers and retrieving an old fleece blanket. He draped it across her, for the first time noticing her half dressed state; wearing only a t-shirt and underwear.

"Can't have half the town barging in here with a naked lady in my house… though, I'd probably be a legend down at the Eagle's Club." He smiled wryly, his warm blue eyes crinkling. "The name's Charlie by the way."

"Thank you, Charlie" she said snuggling into the blanket. "You can call me Steph." She closed her heavy lidded eyes, the sound of sirens screaming in the distance.

Tank and Ranger followed the ambulance up the gravel driveway to the house. Ranger leaned to the edge of his seat impatiently, trying to see around the slower moving vehicle.

Fifty yards from the house Ranger wrenched the door open, Tank slammed on the breaks as Ranger hurtled from the car sprinting across the lawn and running up the steps into the house; the knot in his chest tightening. He ran towards the stairs to the basement, rounding the corner, the barrel of a shotgun pressing into his chest.

"Who the hell are you?" Charlie snarled, eyeing Ranger skeptically.

Ranger held his hands up in the air, "My name is Carlos Manoso, I just spoke with you over the phone… where's Stephanie?"

Charlie lowered his gun, his eyes giving the dangerous looking man in black one last appraising sweep. "She's downstairs… poor thing is going into shock… she's been askin' for ya."

Ranger stepped around him, flying down the stairs. His eyes following the phone line into a small room on the right. He entered the room, his steps faltering at the sight before him.

Stephanie lay on the floor in fetal position with her hands cuffed in front of her; the skin of her wrists bloody and oozing with infection. Her wild curls matted and wet with sweat. Dark, angry bruises wrapped around her throat in the perfect shape of a man's hands.

He fell to his knees before her, realizing how close he had come to losing her. Stephanie opened her eyes, tears pooling as she looked at him. "Ranger," she choked, the tears spilling over onto her cheeks.

With trembling hands he scooped her up gently, cradeling her into his chest and burying his face in her curls. "God, Babe… I thought," he swallowed roughly, fighting to contain his own tears.

She pulled her head back to look into his eyes, cupping his face in her hands, "I love you," she whispered, her thumb rubbing back and forth across his lips. She had never seen Ranger so emotional and the pain in his eyes was too much for her to bear.

His chin quivered as he stared back at her, his shoulders shaking lightly; a single tear trailing down his face, "I love you too, Stephanie… always have." He bent down towards her kissing her tenderly, tasting the salt from their tears, savoring the feel of her safe in his arms.

The bravest of men… brought to his knees by the love of a woman.

Tank stood at the top of the stairs gathering information from Charlie, "Apparently, he took her to the Jackson's farm up the road. The place has been empty for years. Couldn't have been one of them either… they never did have any sons."

Tank turned to nod a Lester, Cal and Ram; indicating for them to sweep the premises. "If you find the fucker, keep him alive… Boss' orders." The privilege of killing the bastard belonged to Ranger alone and his death would be horrific beyond imagination. They nodded, running out of the door, adrenaline flooding through their bodies. Tank and Bobby made their way down the stairs, pausing just outside of the door, their eyes misting over at the scene before them.

Bobby approached the couple, his eyes focusing in on Stephanie's injuries, "Ranger, man, you've got to set her down so that I can look her over."

Ranger hesitated, his eyes never leaving Stephanie's face "I… I can't," he whispered honestly. He couldn't bring himself to let her go.

Bobby stared at him, seeing the desperation in his eyes. "Okay… I'll just work around you then." He picked up Stephanie's wrists gingerly, cringing at the raw, mangled flesh, "How about we get these cuffs off of you, Sweetheart?"

They all turned, looking expectantly at the doorway at the sound of feet thundering down the stairs.

"Boss," Lester burst through the doorway, breathing heavily. "He's gone… but you might want to take a look at this." He held a brown leather journal out in his hands, the name Derek Cain embossed across the cover in gold leafing.

Ranger lifted his head to look at his men, a slow deadly smile spreading across his face. It was time to teach this fucker a lesson; One that he would never live to repeat.

TBC…

*So… is anyone else doing a happy dance? Thoughts?

*We'll learn more about our ever elusive stalker and his background in the next chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has left a review so far! Without your encouragement I wouldn't continue to write on Fan Fiction… thanks again!!!