As far as sandwiches go, I like lots of veggies on mine, peppers and onions and olives and all of that good stuff. Just no tomatoes for this girl, ick. As for Football, I only cheer for the Packers because it drives my grandpa nuts, I don't actually watch it. Lol. Go GreenBay!

"Te Amo"

Chapter 12

POV- Shilo

"You're not really in a good position to be making demands from us."

I smirked, John and I had been fighting for nearly half an hour at this point. He just didn't get it. I had what he wanted, but he was only going to get it if I got my way.

"Those are my terms." I repeated. "I'll tell you what I know about that necklace if we go free. I want Julie returned to Haywood, unharmed. Then you let Ryan and me leave."

"I could just kill her." John said. "You'll tell me what I want to know or the girl dies."

"No deal." I shot back, trying to look menacing while I was still shackled to the prisoner's chair. "If you hurt her I have no reason to tell you shit. You won't get anything from me without my cooperation. This isn't the first time I've been held against my will."

Keith rolled his eyes. He'd been watching our banter from his place against the desk the hole time, seeming to find our fighting humorous. I took Keith to be the smarter of the two brothers. John was crazy, Keith was ambitious. I hadn't meet the eldest brother yet.

"Just let the girl go." Keith said. "We didn't need her in the first place. That was another screw up on your part. Besides, we're running out of time. We need to start thinking about leaving. With the boy's getting into so much trouble with the local authorities, it's in our best interest to head home."

Good if they were in a hurry to get back to Ireland it would only help my cause. They wouldn't have time to think of a way to foil my plan. Hopefully they'd give in and I'd get my way.

John's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think she isn't trying to trick us?" John demanded. "If we let her go, we lose our bargaining chip."

Keith shrugged. "Release the girl and keep the boy as insurance until we get what we want." He smirked, glancing at me over the top of his glassed. "If she's lying, then the boy dies. Then we make her talk my way." Then Keith left the room.

John smiled. "Alright Lass, I'll play your game for now because you amuse Keith, but you better know what you're doing. Keith may look like the good cop compared to me, but cross him and he'll kill you faster then I want too."

He pulled a gun from the folds of his suit jacket and ran the barrel gently along my jaw. "And believe me," He continued darkly. "I want too."

John left the room and a few moments later, another unknown man came to collect me. I was pulled to my feet and returned to the basement. Once I was locked back in my cell and the guards had left I scooted back into my place next to Ryan.

"Are you ok?" He asked. "You don't look too ruffed up."

I shrugged. "I'm fine, do you still have it?"

He nodded and pulled my little knife out of his pocket. "Yeah, I got it, slick transfer by the way. Where did you get this?"

I took the knife and flicked it open. "Thanks, It's mine, I was wearing it. I'm just amazed it got through their search. I was so sure I'd lost all of my weapons I didn't even think to look for it."

"Lucky," He agreed.

I smirked to myself, maybe there was something to the 'luck of the Irish' theory after all. It certainly seemed to be favoring me lately.

"What did they ask you about?" Ryan wondered. "Did they ask about Grandma?"

I nodded. "Yeah, and her old necklace. I wonder why they want it so badly."

"It has something to do with money." He said offhandedly.

I rolled my eyes, why did violence always have to do with money or sex. "That necklace can't possibly be worth that much." I mused aloud.

I didn't get it. Silver wasn't that valuable, and sure the emerald was huge, but it wasn't worth all of the effort the O'Donnell's had put into hunting us down. It would be cheaper and easier to just make another one.

"I don't think the money's in the necklace itself." Ryan explained. "When they were talking with me, it sounded more like the necklace was some kind of clue to finding the money. Too bad no one knows where it went."

"I do." I said in sing-song with a tiny smirk. "Go figure right?" I added when he gave me a disbelieving look. "What were the odds of that?"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "You're kidding right? Grandma died when you were a baby, how on earth do you know where that necklace is?"

"Research." I said easily. "I've spent years hunting down every piece of information I could find about our family."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "Because I wanted to know more about them." I admitted. "It sounds kind of silly now, but back then I thought that if I could learn about them, that I might be able to learn more about myself. I kind of went through a rough faze when I moved to the states. I didn't know who I was."

Once again, Ryan reached through the bars and took my hand. He gave my fingers a squeeze and smiled softly when I looked up at him. "That's not silly." He said. "I forget how young you were when we lost them. It's only natural that you would have been curious about your family. You probably can't even remember Dad to well."

"I can remember his voice." I admitted. "He used to sing us to sleep."

Ryan nodded. "Every night, you used to have nightmares sometimes and when you'd wake up Dad's singing was the only thing that would help you fall back asleep."

I didn't remember the nightmares, but I had distinct memories of being sung to. I couldn't remember the words or any of the song's, just the pitch of his voice. Sometimes our Mom would sing too or I'd fall asleep listening to them play downstairs.

"Do you remember 'Good Night My Angle'?" Ryan asked.

I shook my head. "Is it a song?"

"Yeah," He hummed a few bars; his low baritone voice was very warm and inviting in the cold gray room. I smiled and listened enjoying the familiar rhythm. Once he was done, he looked to me and I nodded. I recognized the tune to the lullaby our mom used to sing.

"I remember that tune."

"When we get out of here I'll teach you the words." He promised. "I bet it would sound a lot better coming from you. The song was meant for a soprano."

"I'm an alto."

He shrugged. "That's still higher than me. We can duet; I'll play the violin and you can sing. I know that you'd love the guys I play with. Our band's been missing a female voice."

"It's been a long time since I've sung." I admitted. "and even longer since I've played."

"It's in your blood, it will come back." He said positively. "Now tell me more about Grandma's necklace. Where is it? How did you find it?"

I sat back against the bars and launched into the tale about all of the searching I'd done for information on our family. I'd found birth certificates and death notices. "I have a news paper clipping." I explained. "It was from Grandma's funeral. In the picture, she was all decked out in her casket with her make-up done. She was wearing her wedding ring, and that necklace. I'd bet my life that it went into the ground with her."

"But, you don't know that for sure." He asked. "What if it's not there? How are they even going to get it, if they buried it? It'll be six feet under."

"By the time we learn if it's there or not, I'm hoping that you and Julie will be long gone." I explained. "I'll figure something out later for myself. I'm good at improvising, but it will be easier and safer if I know your both safe."

"What do you mean we'll be gone?" He demanded. "You struck a deal with those maniacs?"

I nodded. "I have to make sure that you guys get out safely." I explained. "This was the only way I could think of to do that."

"That's crazy!" He shot back, "You can't trust them as far as you can throw them. They're traitors and murderers. They'll never follow through with what you want."

"They will if they want that necklace." I said confidently. I wasn't sure if my plan was going to work, but at least Keith had seemed down with my trade. What other choice did I really have?

"What about you?" He asked seriously. "You know they'll shoot you if they find out your wrong. Even if you're right and they find the dumb thing, they'll kill you as soon as they have what they want. I won't leave you alone with them."

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. He was not going to make this difficult for me. "You will not fight me on this." I told him flatly.

"Like hell I won't-" He interrupted, but I shut him down fast.

"No, you're going to do what I tell you to." I demanded, in my sharpest military voice. "I'm the one with battle training. I can take care of myself. What I need you to do is get yourself to safety, so that I don't have to worry about you getting caught in the cross fire later."

"You're crazy," He said.

I shrugged. "Probably, but I'm going to negotiate for your release as well as Julie's. Once you're out you can go for help. I've told you where I think the necklace is. Once you get out go figure out where Grandma's buried and tell the police to expect us."

"I don't like this." He said. "I still don't think you can trust them."

I nodded. "I don't trust them. Really, I'm just hoping to play them long enough for them to release Julie."

He thought for a moment. "You're not planning on getting out alive are you?" He asked solemnly.

"I'm not trying to be a martyr." I told him honestly. "You bet your butt I'll try to get out alive. I just think it's unlikely they'll let you go, let alone both of us, after all of the work they went through to get us both here."

"Can I do anything to help?" He asked. "I might not be trained, but it feels wrong to consider leaving you here. I'm supposed to protect you."

"You've already done that." I reminded him. "I'd have died years ago if it wasn't for you. Let me help you this time."

He nodded. "I still want to know if I can do anything to help."

I shrugged. "That depends on them. First, we need to wait and see if they'll play along with my terms. They seemed interested upstairs, but I doubt it will be that easy."

We both fell silent as the lock on the dungeon room door tumbled and the door swung open. I passed the knife back to Ryan and he stuck it in his pocket to keep it hidden. Gavin walked in carrying a covered tray and kicked the door shut behind him. He crossed the room to stand in front of my cell and flashed me a smile. "Hello Sarah." He said sarcastically.

I smirked. "Hi Gavin."

"You know him?" Ryan asked looking flabbergasted.

I nodded. "We've spoken before."

"I brought lunch," He said sweeping the tray out and flourishing the napkin away. "Peanut butter," He said, "Breakfast of champions."

He tossed a sandwich to me and I took an eager bite out of it. I was starving. Again, Ryan looked at me as if I was losing my mind.

"Aren't you worried that it's poisoned?" He asked, grabbing the sandwich that Gavin tossed him, but not eating it.

I shrugged. "Nope, John's to into torture to let us die a slow easy death alone here in our cells. He'd want to watch us die and inflict lots of pain. Besides they need me if we're going to finish our deal so it's unlikely they'll kill us right now."

"You made a deal with them?" Gavin asked. "Are you crazy?"

"Thank you!" Ryan said, tossing his hands. "See," He continued, turning to face me. "Even one of their own men can't believe you'd work with them."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Gavin said.

I nodded. "Me too," I said around another mouthful of sandwich. "Giving them what they want is the only way to make sure that Julie and Ryan go free."

Ryan sniffed at his sandwich before taking a tentative bite. He smiled slightly at the food and I wondered how long he'd gone without eating. He was done with his food before me, giving Gavin an odd look.

"Would you let us out if I asked nicely?" He asked.

Gavin smirked. "Not a chance, I'm in enough trouble as it is. I let you out and I might as well pull the trigger myself."

"They haven't killed you yet," I offered. "That's got to be a good sign."

He nodded. "I guess. I'm surprised you haven't asked about your little friend upstairs. She was very curious about your welfare."

My heart jumped. I had thought about asking if he knew wither Julie was all right or not, but I'd been afraid of what his answer would be.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yep, I just brought her some food as well. They've got her locked upstairs."

"She was injured." I said. "Has anyone treated her?"

He shook his head. "The wound is not life threatening so they won't give her medical treatment. I had her soak it in cold water so the swelling is better. She hasn't been harmed since arriving."

The door swung open again and Gavin fell silent quickly, probably he didn't want to get caught chatting with us so easily. Two men walked in and I narrowed my eyes as I recognized one as the man who'd tried to strangle me in the ally. I believe Flynn said his name was Amos. There was a line of stitches along the right side of his face, running from his temple almost down to his jaw where I'd managed to swipe him with one of my knifes. Good to see I'd managed to mark him the same way he'd marked me.

"Hello Beautiful, long time no see." Amos said, leaning against the front of my cell. "Got something that belongs to you." He taunted with a big smirk. Then he pulled a long silver chain from his pocket and I knew even before he held the crest up that it was my necklace. My blood was still stain across its face and darkened part of the chain.

"Go to hell,"

He just grinned even more. "She's feisty." He commented to his unknown partner. Then he looked back at me. "You're going to be fun to break."

I narrowed my eyes in a silent challenge. Bring it on! I wasn't afraid of Amos. I was pissed off and looking for a fight. Lack of common sense fear was practically a requirement of Special force work and one of my best advantages. Hiding undercover amongst a bunch of rebel spies was easy. The thought of having to face Ranger if I survived this scared me to death.

Amos ran the pad of his thumb along the line of stitches on his face. "Gunna make you pay for cutting me." He said darkly.

I mirrored his move, by touching the line of stitches on my neck. "We're even,"

"I don't think so." He sneered at me. Aww, was the big, bad thug mad that I'd marked his pretty face. I was starting to think he'd look good with a matching scar on the other side.

"Now, now Amos," The man with him commented playfully. "Play nicely. You can have your fun later." Then the older man looked to Gavin. "Are you finished?"

Gavin nodded. "Yes Sr."

"Then leave, I'd like a word with Miss Connalay and you have other things to do."

Gavin nodded obediently and left the room. I kept my attention on the unknown man. If he had the power to boss Gavin around I was willing to bet this was the last of the older O'Donnell brothers. Once Gavin was gone, he smiled at us.

"Hello," He said pleasantly. "I haven't had the chance to introduce myself yet. My name is Roy."

Roy O'Donnell was a hair under six feet tall and built like his brothers. Tall without being lanky, but not overly muscled. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were dark green. The only plus was he didn't look crazy.

When neither of us spoke, he continued. "My brother's have mentioned that you claim to know the whereabouts of the necklace we are hunting for."

I nodded. "Then they have also mentioned my condition for assisting you in finding it."

He nodded. "Indeed, very noble of you to put the life of your friends and family above your own safety. I have considered your terms, but I feel we need to discuss them at greater length." He nodded his head to Amos. "Grab her."

I suppressed a groan. I should have known it wouldn't be this easy and from the sick look on Amos's smug face I was about to get the bad cop treatment of my earlier interrogation. I gritted my teeth and mentally cracked my knuckles. It was time to prove that the only way they were going to get any information from me was to do what I wanted them to. Let's get this over with.

"Where are you taking her?" Ryan wanted to know. "She already agreed to help you."

Amos unlocked my ankle cuff and grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet. He smirked at Ryan, "No worries, your sister and I are just going to have a little chat upstairs."

Ryan caught my eye and I was glad I hadn't told him that Amos was the one who had hurt my neck or he really would have been freaking out. "I'll be fine." I promised him. "I promise, I'm tougher then I look."

Amos smirked again and ran one of his fingers along the line of stitches in my neck. I made myself a promise to wipe the look right off his face at the first chance I got. "We'll see about that." Roy followed us out and I heard Ryan call my name right before the door slammed shut on him.

Pov- Julie

It was starting to get late and I was wondering when something was going to happen. For some reason I imagined that being held captive would be more intimidating. So far the only person who'd even come into my holding room was Gavin.

I was lying on the bed, counting the little stucco dots on the ceiling when the lock on the door tumbled open. I sat up quickly, caught off guard by the sight before me. Several men came into the room led by an older man I recognized as Roy O'Donnell. His brother John O'Donnell was there along with a couple of unknown Lynch's.

Then I spotted Shilo. She looked like crap. She was practically carried into the room by a man I recognized. He was the one she'd fought with in the alleyway who had taken her necklace. I stood quickly incase I needed to move fast and got my first good look at her.

One of her eyes was badly swollen, and there was a dark bruise forming along her jaw. The line of stitches on her neck had been ripped open in places and blood was soaking into her shirt. Her hair was a mess and I spotted cuts and bruises along her arms even though they were cuffed tight behind her back. She was breathing hard and I was willing to bet she had some damaged ribs.

Roy took her roughly by the arm and pushed her forward so she tripped and landed on the ground in front of him. "It's your lucky day." He said darkly looking at me though crazy eyes. "This little lady has won your freedom."

I narrowed my eyes at him. What did that mean?

"Unlock her." He ordered.

Gavin stepped out of the crowed and approached me. He motioned for me to sit down and when I didn't he shoved on my arm. I sat down on the edge of the bed and he unlocked the shackle around my ankle. He took my arm once I was free and tugged me forward a step.

He pushed me in Shilo's direction and let go of me. My first instinct was to leap at the nearest man and start fighting. My ankle meant that I wasn't going to be doing any jumping for a while. Then the fact that I was so outnumbered stopped me from doing anything stupid.

Instead, I took a step in Shilo's direction. Every nerve in my body yelling out to check on her and do what I could to take away her pain. When no one stopped me, I moved to her side and dropped to my knees, wrapping my hands around her. "Shilo?"

She looked up at me and smiled softly. "Hi,"

I cupped one hand under her jaw and used the other to brush a string of her hair away from her face. She pressed into my hand and I scooted closer to her. "Are you ok?"

Her shoulders stiffened and she sat up, pulling out of my hold. "I'm fine."

"What's going on?" I asked, missing the contact between us and not liking the hardened look on her face. Her walls were all back in place, stronger than ever. If I ever found out which one had hurt her, the man would die.

"Julie, you're leaving this place." She said.

I opened my mouth to say I wouldn't leave without her, but she cut me off. "Don't argue." She said sharply. "Don't say anything. I'm going with these guys." She continued, nodding to Roy. "We have unsettled business to deal with and there's no need for you to be part of it anymore. You were never meant to be here in the first place."

I narrowed my eyes at her. It sounded like she was reading a script. I didn't believe for one moment that she thought I'd just leave and not go for help. She knew me better than that. The O'Donnell's had probably made her say these things.

"Don't come after me." She continued, locking eyes with me. Hers were dark and sharp and when they looked over my face, I saw pain in them. She really didn't want me to come after her. She was trying to protect me again. "Go home and stay safe for me. As long as you and RangeMan stay out of their way, the O'Donnell's have agreed to leave you and your family in peace."

Roy clapped his hands. "Very good." He said. "Now that that's all settled." He jerked his thumb at the man who'd carried Shilo in. "Bring her back downstairs and let's make the arrangements to take the young Miss Manoso home."

"Aye," He said, before grabbing Shilo by her hair and dragging her away from me. I moved to grab her, but was caught around the waist by a strong pair of arms and yanked backwards. Gavin snapped a mettle cuff around my wrist and locked my hands behind my back.

Shilo was taken from the room and the other men left just as swiftly. Once we were alone I gave Gavin a dark glare and jerked out of his hold. I moved a step away. "What was that for? I should have done something to protect her." I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye.

"You can't go causing trouble." He said. "They'll look for anyway to break off their deal with Shilo. If you had caused a scene, they could have used it as an excuse to shoot you. Then her deal would be for nothing."

"What deal?"

He shook his head, giving the door a quick glance. "No time, talk later." He grabbed my arm again and led me to the front door. "Just walk with me nicely," He pleaded. "This is your only chance to get away from here."

Gavin helped me down the stairs and set me down near a door that looked like it lead to the garage. Then he pulled a length of black fabric from his pocket. "We can't take the van." He said. "You have to wear the blindfold until were away from the house."

"Can I see Shilo again?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not a good idea. She's downstairs in the cell room with Ryan."

"Cell?"

He nodded. "Yes, your room was very nice comparatively."

He tied the blindfold around my eyes and led me into the garage. I heard a car unlock and then Gavin helped lift me into the passenger's seat of what felt like a large four door sedan. The door next to me clicked shut and a moment later, I heard the front door open and then the car started up and backed out of the garage.

It was silent for a long time. Gavin didn't say anything and I was trying to decide if he'd let me peek past the blindfold to see where we were. I reached for the tie and he spoke, gently smacking my hand away from the knot. "Leave it on,"

"Where are we going?" I demanded, arms crossed, scowl on.

"I have orders to return you to the RangeMan building on Haywood Street." He said. "The car is being monitored visually, so don't try anything stupid or I'll have to hurt you."

"What about audio?"

"No," He said. "They can't hear us."

I leaned back in my seat and tried to look pissed off. Not hard seeing as I was being held against my will. "Why are they monitoring us?" I wondered aloud.

"Making sure I behave, as well as providing the proof of safe delivery that Shilo demanded as part of her agreement. She'll see the tape later."

"What exactly did she promise them?" I asked. "What did she want in return?"

"Try not to move your lips so much." He said softly. Then he was silent for a bit. Probably, he didn't want it to look like we'd had a friendly chat. That would limit the number of questions I could get answered.

I was getting ready to ask another question when Gavin spoke up. "She's helping them find something."

"What?"

"Don't know, but I doubt she actually has it. I think she's playing them. In exchange she wanted you and Ryan to go free, unharmed and unbothered in the future."

"And they agreed to that?" That didn't sound like something the O'Donnell's would do.

Gavin was quiet for another long pause before he answered. "They only agreed after Shilo refused to break under physical pain. You saw how thoroughly they worked her over. She's a tough one. She didn't say one word the whole time Amos was beating on her."

After what I was guessing was another hour. Gavin told me I could take the blind fold off. I removed it quickly and blinked a few times in the dim light. I waited for my eyes to adjust and took in my surroundings.

We were in a large gray four-door flying down rout one towards Trenton. The sun was setting and people were in a hurry to get home. I recognized the area immediately; we were only twenty minutes from Haywood as long as traffic behaved.

"If you're going to do something stupid make sure you do it fast." Gavin said as he pulled off the interstate. "I overheard John and Roy talking. We're leaving tomorrow night."

"Leaving?"

"Heading back home." He said. "If the O'Donnell's get on Irish soil they'll vanish and you'll never see either of those kids again unless they float in on the tide."

"Are you going with them?" I wondered. "I thought your family lived here in the states?"

"We do, a few of us will accompany the O'Donnell's home and return once they have been safely delivered. That's how we always do it when they drop in for a visit. I will be part of the delivery team this time."

He kept his eyes trained on the road before us, ignoring my blatant stairs. "Why are you helping us?" I asked. "You've been very nice to me all things considered."

He stopped short at the side of the road a couple of blocks from Haywood. "Guess I'm just a nice guy." He said. Then he reached across my seat and opened the door. He undid my seatbelt and gave me a hard shove, sending me falling to the sidewalk below.

I landed hard and cursed as pain throbbed in my ankle, glad I'd managed to catch myself before I'd hit my head. "Ass Hole!"

Gavin chuckled at me. "See you around." Then he pulled the door shut again and laid rubber, whipping an illegal u-turn over the median and getting right back on the interstate. I waited for him to be out of sight before getting to my feet and moving as quickly as I could down the road.

The streetlights were on, and several of the shops and nearby apartment buildings were dark as their owners went to sleep or retired to an evening of television. The only exception was RangeMan.

Every light in the RangeMan building was on, lighting it up like a beacon. Clearly, the guys were pulling double shifts trying to find us. I hadn't even hit the edge of the front yard before the doors flew open and Hal dashed out followed shortly by Woody. They both had their guns drawn. Thank god for monitors, I wasn't sure I could have made it all the way to the door.

I tripped as they near me, my ankle giving out after the run. Hal caught me easily and pulled me to his chest. Woody was scanning the area, looking for danger.

"All clear." He said shortly. He stood in front of me, keeping me shielded between the two of them. "Let's move her."

Hal scooped me up, tucked me to his chest like a football and took off for the safety of Haywood's lobby. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on. We entered the lobby and I could hear feet on the stairs. A second later the door opened and what looked like the rest of the team poured out.

Ranger and Stephanie were in the lead followed by the rest of the core team. Hal only loosened his grip on me when Ranger reached us and then Ranger wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him.

"Are you alright Niña?" He asked.

Everyone was talking all at once, asking if I was ok and where I'd been. How did I get away? They wanted to know. Where had I been taken? There were so many of them. I was overwhelmed by how much they all seemed to care. They were all so happy I was back. Ranger must have noticed that I was getting overwhelmed because he ordered everyone to step back and pulled me closer to his chest.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he hooked his other arm under my knees, picked me up, and started moving. We got onto the elevator. Steph, Bobby, Lester and Tank forced their way on with us.

"I'm fine Daddy." I promised, he hadn't taken his eyes off me.

"You were limping." He said. "Tank already told us that you'd hurt your leg. Bobby will look at it."

The elevator stopped on three and once we were all inside Bobby shut the door. Ranger carried me to the hospital looking bed and set me down. Ranger staid by my side, while Bobby rolled over a chair and started looking at my ankle.

"This happened in the house?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, when the explosion first happened."

"Are there any other injuries I should look at?" He asked and I felt the tension in the room spike while they all waited to hear my answer. I knew what they were waiting for. Bobby was really asking if I'd been sexually assaulted. I was thankful he didn't say the words.

"No," I said quickly reassuring them that I was fine. "I wasn't miss-treated." In the end, I'd practically been ignored once they'd gotten me chain upstairs.

I felt everyone take a collective breath and then I winced as Bobby pressed on a tender spot causing me to flinch.

"Brown!" Ranger chided.

"I'm fine." I protested. "Don't yell at your doctor."

Bobby smirked at me. "Sorry Niña." He said. "This is going to hurt a little bit, but I don't think the damage is too extensive. Tell us what happened."

I nodded and felt Ranger press a kiss to my temple. "They were waiting when we got out of the house." I started. "John O'Donnell was there with some of his men. They grabbed us and stuffed us in the back of this van that was waiting. Shilo got stun-gunned and they tied us up. They took our things away, did you find them?"

Ranger nodded at my side. "We tracked your phone to the dump location. Your things are upstairs."

I continued my story, going into as much detail as I could remember. I was positive the house they'd taken us to was near Point Pleasant.

"We've had eyes on the O'Donnell's Point Pleasant house." Ranger told me. "There hasn't been any activity for the last three nights. It almost looks abandoned.

"Then there's another house." I said confidently. "I could smell the ocean and we were only in the van for a couple of hours at the max and the drive back felt even shorter than that. My guess is they took the long way bringing us in so they could make sure they weren't being followed."

Lester and Tank remained silent against the far wall as I continued my story. Steph had taken up a spot sitting on the bed behind me, while Bobby worked on my leg. She had brushed out my hair and was playing with it.

I told them about the room I'd been kept in and how Gavin was the only one who'd come to see me. I even told them about the sandwich he'd made me.

"Sounds like Shilo made a friend." Lester commented. "Maybe she's working with Gavin. That would explain why he took care of Julie."

"Or he's just a nice guy." I interrupted. "I have a feeling that Gavin's finally realized that he's in over his head. I think he felt sorry for me."

Then I told them what I knew about Shilo's deal.

"Gavin said she was helping them find something, but he didn't believe that she really knew what she was doing."

"Dealing with your captors never works." Bobby said. "They'll kill her as soon as they get what they want or realize that she doesn't actually know anything."

I nodded along, that's what I was afraid of too. "She wasn't trying to get herself out." I said. "She traded her cooperation for Ryan and I. She's in bad shape too." I told them. "They worked her over pretty hard; she was having some trouble breathing."

"They promised not to come after you?" Ranger asked.

I nodded. "Only if we didn't interfere." I explained. "I don't think they really expect me not to. Shilo was spouting a bunch of crap about leaving her behind. We have to move fast though; Gavin said they're leaving tomorrow night for Ireland. We have to get them back before then or we'll never find her again."

Everyone was silent once I'd finished my story and I watched Ranger's face, waiting for him to break into motion and start calling orders. Load the car's, get a search going, find the house and storm into action, why wasn't he mobilizing the troops?

"Carlos," It was Steph who first broke the silence. "You're not really considering that are you?" She asked him. I turned my head to look at her. Considering what?

"Why should we?" Ranger asked. "Shilo's working with them now. She asked Julie not to come after her. It's her fault they were put in danger in the first place."

"What about Ryan?" Steph pressed and I finally understood. Ranger didn't want to go after her.

I turned back to face my father, floored by what I saw there. His standard blank face was gone, replaced by more emotion then I was used to seeing on him. Anger, fear, other's I wasn't sure about. He was seriously considering not rescuing her.

He was watching my face in turn, I wonder what he saw on my face. "Ryan was never our goal." He said. "The bond on Michael is over. Technically our part is done."

"What?" I asked, still not believing what I was hearing. "You can't be serious."

His gaze hardened, as did the grip he had on my hand. "We have you back now, that's what matters. Your safe and I'll see to it you stay that way."

"They'll kill her!" I shot back, pulling my hand away from him. "We're the only chance they have."

"She almost killed you," Ranger argued right back.

"Shilo's never done anything to purposely put me in danger. She saved my life. She traded herself for my freedom. I wouldn't be here right now without her."

"This is her problem."

"That's Bull Shit!"

We were yelling at each other, hands on hips, stubborn in place. Steph looked like she wanted to intervene, but didn't know what to say. The boys just stayed silent. I knew they had been worried about me but surely, they didn't all agree that we should leave Shilo and Ryan on their own.

"We have to go after her." I said, trying to lower my voice. "It's the right thing to do."

I pushed Bobby aside and slid off the table I'd been sitting on, ignoring his order's to remain seated. Bobby had wrapped my ankle and put me in a small boot, but it still hurt to put too much weight on it. "If you won't help me I'll go by myself." Then to prove my point I started to hobble towards the door.

"Why is this so important to you?" Ranger asked, his voice had dropped back to a conversational level, but the point of his question was clear. He knew.

I stopped to face him. I'd known that sooner or later I'd have to tell him about Shilo and I. I was hoping to have done it before he found out. Not right after having been kidnapped.

"What exactly is Shilo to you?" He asked.

Steph was looking at me with a knowing look, but none of the boys noticed it. They were all watching me. I was sure Lester had figured it out. I was pretty sure Bobby suspected too. "Mi Amante." I said gently, brushing my hair away from my neck so they could all see the fading mark that Shilo had left on my skin, only a couple of nights ago. "My lover," I repeated, feeling braver for having finally said it aloud. "I love her."

Lester's mouth fell open and I almost laughed at him. Tanks face staid blank, and Bobby looked like I just confirmed his worst nightmare. Stephanie offered me a small smiled when I looked her way and nodded that I should continue.

"I love her Dad." I said again. "Have from the moment she got here. I know that I promised not to get involved with her, but I didn't know how to stop it. It just sort of happened. She loves me too, I know she does."

"She's only been here for a week." He said. "You can't possibly know her well enough to believe that you've fallen in love with her. She lied to you."

I narrowed my eyes at him. He didn't know shit about Shilo. "Just because it took you three years to pull your head out of your ass and admit that you loved Stephanie, doesn't mean it takes all of us that long to realize what we want!"

I felt bad as soon as the words were out of my mouth. It was a low blow. I knew Dad wished that he would have moved faster with Stephanie, that he'd kept his distance at first to protect her. My words were also true, so I didn't regret saying them. I refused to stand here and let Shilo try to save herself. She needed my help and I was going, wither they helped me or not.

Steph reached out a hand and put it on Ranger's shoulder. He turned to look at her they did one of their ESP things. Stephanie always talked about how Ranger and the core team could talk without words, but I'd never seen anyone do it as effortlessly as they did. Steph knew exactly what to 'not say' to make Ranger see sense.

"You saw this coming Carlos." She told him gently. "She's more like you then anyone ever realized."

He nodded, but said nothing.

"Help her or lose her." Steph continued, dropping her hand to into his and lacing their fingers together. "She's an adult now. You can't lead her life for her. She's made up her mind. Now what are we going to do?"

Ranger looked back at me. We locked eyes and something passed between us that I would later call mutual respect. I'd stood up to Ranger before, but this was the first time I was calling the shot. I seriously would leave on my own if he wouldn't help me, and he knew it.

"Alright Julie." He said standing up and motioning for the guys to follow his lead. They did so, but the only one who looked even remotely happy was Lester. I knew it would take time for the guys to learn to trust Shilo again. I also knew that they would eventually do it for me. "Let's go find her."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck when he reached me. I kissed his cheek and gave him a big hug. "Thanks Dad."

"Let's find her first." He said, squeezing me back. "Then the three of us are going to have a chat."

I just nodded along. "Fair enough."

Pov- Ryan

It had been hours since Roy had taken Shilo away and every moment she was gone increased the sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach. What sort of shape would she be in when they brought her back? Would they even bring her back?

I stayed in my place near her cell. The empty room the only connection I had to her. I should have offered to take her place. Should have tried to do something to protect her. I had her little knife in my hand, turning the small piece of metal over and over again.

The lock on the cell room door tumbled open and I shoved the knife away. The man Roy had called Amos walked in, and if it hadn't had her red hair I might not have recognized the mass he dragged in with him.

"Shilo?"

Amos ignored me as he unlocked her cell and dropped her inside. I could see her chest moving, but her breaths came in short gasps. Amos hooked her shackle back in place, thought it was entirely unnecessary. I was doubting she could stand let alone try escaping.

"She'll live." Amos said standing back up once he was sure her shackle was locked. "For now."

I narrowed my eyes. "I'll make you pay for hurting her."

"You're not going to do shit." He said confidently, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the bar's of her cell. "Once the O'Donnell's are done playing with her, you'll be dead, and sister dearest over here," He said nodding in Shilo's direction. "will become my new pet. Lucky for me. I've always had a thing for red heads."

He left the room, that cocky smirk still in place. As soon as the door was shut and locked behind him I turned to look at Shilo.

"Shy?" I called her name. "Can you hear me?"

She groaned, rolling onto her side so she was facing me. She was a mess.

"Can you move over here?" I asked. If she could get closer to the side of her cell I could look over her injuries.

"I did it." She said softly, making no attempt to move. Her voice was muffled by a swollen lip.

"Did what?" I asked.

She looked at me with her good eye, the corner of her mouth turning up. She took a couple of deep breaths. "Julie's out. She's safe."

I tried to ask if she was ok, but her eyes had closed and her breathing evened out. She'd passed out. Now that Julie was safe, what were we going to do to escape?

~Darkrose

I never intended to do anything from Ryan's pov, but I wanted to show Shilo getting back to her cell and she wasn't in the best shape to be doing a lot of talking. What did you think?

Question 10 (No way will we make it to twenty before this is over)- Any special lullaby's from when you were little?

*Youtube 'Celtic Women's' version of the song 'Good Night My Angle'. It's one of the sweetest little songs in the world and their version is my favorite.