Disclaimer: The characters belonging to Janet Evanovich are used strictly for entertainment purposes.

A/N: Okay ... only four more chapters. They'll all be posted by Saturday. Sorry for the week delay. I was so busy with holiday stuff, but my beta has all the rest of the chapters for a final check so we're good to go!

…

Chapter 26

Crash! Harry sat down abruptly, probably aiming for the loveseat, but landed on the coffee table. His arms flailed in surprise and swept everything from the table: the glasses and a candy dish filled with … shell casings of all things. Crystal shattered and liquid streamed across the table and began dripping onto the floor. He made fish motions with his mouth, trying to speak, but only ended up shaking his head.

Annoyed, I crossed my arms and took a few steps to stand over him beside Seppe at the couch. Callous didn't begin to describe the way I felt toward this man and I wanted to make sure he suffered through this encounter … as much as possible. It still wouldn't compare to what he'd done to me, my family, and everyone I cared about, especially my son.

"Surprised? That was some story, Harry. Good thing we didn't give you a chance to weasel your way out of this or we'd never learn the truth.

He seemed to collect himself and his expression cleared. He sat up, but didn't stand, possibly because Seppe took a step closer with a furious expression on his face.

I leaned down. "I want to know who and why. And I want to know where my son is, so start talking."

Harry bent his head and looked at his hands for a second before looking up with a calm expression that infuriated me beyond belief.

"Speak up, Harry, I can't hear you," I said.

"I will discuss this with the Signore."

Wrong. "It's not Seppe's life you messed with. It's mine and I want to know why."

"And mine," Ranger said from the doorway. All three of us turned to look at him. Damn, was he angry.

"Signore…" Harry said, but Seppe nodded at Ranger and sat on the couch, removing himself from the conversation. As if realizing he had no backup or protection, Harry began to look adequately uncertain.

Ranger crossed the room in long strides and bent over Harry, grasping the front of his shirt in a fist. "Answer her." His face was a mask of dark, eyes hard and violent.

Harry sneered up at Ranger. "I owe you nothing. Neither of you."

"Nothing? You kidnapped me and then stole my baby!" Harry's eyes flicked my way and I said, "Adriano gave me that tidbit before I killed him."

Surprise flared in his eyes.

Ranger gave Harry a hard enough shake to snap his head back. The older man grunted and said. "The original plan was to get you out of Trenton for a short time and then bring you back."

"Who?" Ranger asked.

Harry shook his head and looked away. Seppe stood and approached Harry. Ranger released him and backed up slowly. Harry took that moment to move himself from the coffee table to the loveseat, shaking the broken glass from his clothes.

Seppe said, "Orlando, you remember Nico Toscini?" With a wary look in his eye, the other man nodded. "What would he do if he were suddenly in possession of evidence proving you had his daughter killed?"

Face pale, Harry said, "I didn't! I even tried to help find the group responsible for her death."

Seppe nodded, a scary, satisfied look in his eye. "Yes, but what if he suddenly found out you were responsible. Would he want retribution?"

"Signore, please. It would be a death sentence for my daughter."

"Yes, I know," Seppe said. Seconds ticked by. He gestured toward me. "You will answer her questions or find yourself in a mess you can't clean up."

With a visibly hard swallow, Harry looked Seppe square in the eyes and nodded. "You keep Lucille safe." He looked at Ranger, then me. "I didn't know you were the intended target. By the time I realized, it was too late. Then Mañoso got involved with your search. I know his reputation. He's known for finding people. It was only a matter of time before he found out, so we staged your death. Paid off the medical examiner—"

"Threatened," I interrupted.

With a nod, Harry said, "Yes, threatened. As expected, when Mañoso believed you were dead, he stopped looking. It wasn't personal."

He acted like all he'd done was side swipe my car. I gritted my teeth and snarled, "You just don't get it. You ruined my life. Even if you hadn't 'killed me off' I lived a life of utter hell!"

"That wasn't my fault." He said it calm as can be, like a calculated boardroom executive.

"How do you figure? If you hadn't plunked me in Italy in the first place, I never would have met Adriano."

Ranger grabbed the front of Harry's shirt with both hands and yanked him up until their noses touched. "You have thirty. seconds. to explain why you needed Stephanie out of town."

"That's all you're getting."

"Twenty-eight."

Seppe pulled out his cell phone and began punching in a phone number. Harry's eyes flicked between the two men and then a hand went up. "Wait, Signore." He gave a slight nod and Ranger shifted his fists enough to set Harry back a few inches away. Harry turned his head and looked at me with a slight shrug. "The baby."

"What? Impossible," I said.

Harry shook his head. "You were kidnapped because of your pregnancy."

"Fuck you, Harry. I'm sick of your lies." I paced away a few steps and returned. "No one knew I was pregnant. I didn't even know I was pregnant. Try again."

"The hospital tested you."

"This is a waste of time," I spat, bitterly disappointed.

Ranger glanced over at me. "He's not lying."

"He has to be."

Harry fell down to the loveseat when Ranger let go of his shirt as he turned to me and said, "Before you came to, the hospital was prepping you for a CT Scan on your head. The one you refused."

"When I was knocked out by that brick?" Ranger nodded. Of course a pregnancy test would be part of the prep. I looked at Harry. "Who told you?"

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Is this the person who has Carlo?"

He didn't say anything and, quicker than I could blink, Ranger wrapped his hand around Harry's neck and tightened his fingers, cutting off his airway. I was beginning to think it was a signature move for him. "Where is he?"

"Never," Harry squeaked.

I needed to think. Before Ranger killed Harry. Not that I would miss Harry, but I didn't want Ranger to off a guy in front of me.

If the hospital knew I was pregnant, why wasn't I told? Granted, I'd bolted out of there faster than a nun from a gay strip club. And clearly Harry had an inside connection at the hospital. It could be anyone, but my gut told me it wasn't just a random person. It was someone who wanted a baby. Someone who wanted a baby badly enough that they'd torn up several lives to get one.

The name jumped out at me faster than a lightning bolt. Oh. My. God. I knew who it was and, more importantly, I knew why. "Tell me, please, tell me Lucille doesn't have my baby!"

"Lucille planned this?" Ranger asked, too surprised to hide it, letting go of Harry's throat so he could answer.

"You keep your fucking hands off her, Mañoso!" Harry shouted.

"You aren't in a place to make demands, Orlando," Ranger said.

"She does, doesn't she?" I yelled. "That crazy bitch did all of this because she couldn't get pregnant. Was she waiting specifically for me? Is this some sort of payback because I worked for Vinnie?"

Harry looked away from me, the coward.

Ranger said, "Go fill Tank in, have him get Vinnie's address in Florida and make flight arrangements for us. Make sure Lester goes, and Lula. I'll be out when I get a few more answers."

"Both of you go," Seppe said. "I will take care of my own." He came over to stand in front of me and put his hands on my shoulder. "Trust me to get your answers. You go get that little boy."

"Thank you," I said. I grabbed Ranger's hand and together we walked out of the room, then out of the house. Two more of Seppe's men came in through the front door as we entered the hallway. It looked like they were getting down to business and I suddenly wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.

Ranger apparently felt the same way, because he surged forward, helping me manage the stairs in my heels as we ran down. He signaled Tank and Lester, then made some gesture to Hal, Cal, and Ram, receiving a nod from all three. The four of us climbed into the last SUV, with Ranger at the wheel and Lester in the backseat beside me.

"Call the office, have Mick get Vinnie's address, then book the four of us and Lula flights to the nearest airport. We will be leaving tonight, no exceptions." He looked at me in the rear view mirror and I nodded at him. Damn right we'd be leaving tonight.

…

One thing about the Rangemen is they work fast. By the time we got back to the office, Mick had the information Ranger wanted and a private pilot on standby at Trenton Mercer. "You may have to wait a little while for clearance to take off, but he's ready when you get there. Lula said to send Stephanie up to seven for a change of clothes."

"Get clearance for 11:45. Talk to Chandler, he'll get it for us. We're heading out in ten. Babe, go ahead." He stalked to his office, or Tank's office, and went in, phone to his ear. I would have been offended that he'd just commanded me like one of his men, but I wanted to get out of here just as fast as he did.

I took the elevator to seven and Lula opened the apartment door before I stepped off the elevator. "This is crazy. Going to Florida and no time for a bikini." I decided not to think about Lula in a bikini and kicked my shoes off. She tossed a pile of clothes at me and I began changing right in the foyer. I didn't so much as move off the tiled area and didn't look around, but kept my eyes on the floor so I wouldn't have to see any changes that marked the passage of the time I was away.

"I know, I know. This is all about the baby and it should be." She grabbed her purse and waited for me to finish. "Still seems like a waste of a perfectly good tropical place."

I snorted. At this moment, I didn't think of Florida as a vacation spot. It was a destination, hopefully the final one, where we'd end this insanity once and for all.

I finished tugging on my running shoes, not bothering to tie them, figuring I'd do it in the car on the way to the airport. Lula and I left the apartment and stepped into the waiting elevator.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just want it over."

"I hear that."

At the Escalade, I was surprised to see Ram would be joining us, as well. It made me nervous to think that Ranger was taking three guys with him to confront two people and I could only hope no one got hurt, especially Carlo.

An hour later, we were in the air with Ranger's cell on speakerphone with Seppe on the other end

"He's used this reconditioning center to experiment with memories for the past ten years?" I asked.

"Yes, he has. My first priority is going to see this place. I'm curious." Good God, if he was going to use it I really didn't want to know.

He'd been playing with lives for years. No wonder it was so easy for him to grab me and turn me into someone else in such a short time. The man had it down pat. "Why does he have that place?"

"It started as an obsession to help his mother. She had Alzheimer's and he wanted to find a way to help her retain her memory. After she died, he kept it to pursue the other findings of his employees. He's solely used it for a way to dispose of people, rather than killing them outright."

Given my experience, I wasn't sure what would have been worse. At the time. Of course, I was incredibly glad he didn't kill me. Now. "That's disgusting."

"Did he say what took him so long to return Stephanie to herself once she had Carlo?" Ranger asked.

"And why he didn't take Carlo as soon as he was born?" I added.

"Adriano. He'd found out who Camila really was and, since Orlando brought her to me, he knew Orlando was involved. So, Adriano blackmailed him, made a deal to leave Carlo alone until he could get Camila pregnant with his own child. Orlando felt trapped. He couldn't just take Stephanie like he had last time. Adriano kept her and Carlo under constant surveillance. There was also my relationship with her to consider. He had to tread carefully and wait for the perfect moment.

"Unfortunately, that came when Adriano had nearly killed her. I know it matters little, but he did not realize the extent of Adriano's behavior. I still accept that blame since I pushed you to him."

I shook my head. "Seppe, Harry got me to Italy in the first place. If it hadn't been for him, none of this would have happened. He may not have directly had a hand in my marriage to Adriano, but he's the guilty party here, not you."

"I appreciate your kindness, but it will remain one of my greatest regrets."

Seppe told us he planned to return to Italy tomorrow night, and I thanked him. We hung up and I leaned against Ranger during the flight, just thinking. My thoughts were consumed with Carlo. How different would he look? Could I handle this? My life had changed so much, seemingly in a blink of the eye, and I didn't know how to feel about any of it. One thing was certain. I knew I loved this kid, no matter how I felt about motherhood. I'd figure out the rest later.

"Babe," Ranger said a little while later.

Broken out of my thoughts, I looked at him, focusing on his face. He was serious, but his eyes held a tenderness that hit the gooey spot deep inside my heart. I reached up with my good arm to cup his cheek, noticing that the scratches were mostly healed, and kissed him.

He folded me into his arms and deepened the kiss quickly, then pulled back before I was ready. "We're here."

The small jet began a rapid descent and was soon taxiing up to the gate. Tank and Lula were having a quiet discussion and I smiled. I liked the two of them together. My eyes traveled back to Ranger and I said, "Okay. What's the plan?"

"Drive to Vinnie's, get the baby, go home."

"Just that simple."

He gave me a serious look. "I make no assumptions. This is why we brought a team."

The plane stopped and sounds from the front made it clear we'd be disembarking soon. I took a quick breath and twiddled my thumbs.

"What is it?" he asked.

I pressed my fingers against my thighs to stop my fidgeting. "We don't have any paperwork to prove he exists or that he's ours."

"I'm sorry, babe. We were so busy yesterday with visits I forgot to tell you Seppe produced the documents we needed." I took the word 'produced' literally in this sense. "We have a birth certificate that reflects our real names." Ranger grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. "His gift to us."

I relaxed. Then another worry popped into my head. "How does that all work with everyone thinking I was dead?"

He blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Technically, it doesn't matter." With a jerk of his head toward the front, he said, "Looks like it's time to go."

I looked up and saw that everyone else was at the door. We exited the plane behind them and went through the gate and then through a door a security guard opened for us, down a narrow passage with low lighting. No security check, no ID check. It was scary to think some people in the world were allowed to live outside the law, even if one of them was Ranger. I asked him how it was fair.

His lips brushed my ear. "Babe, people like me exist because of the other guys. Think of Vinnie and Lucille." I rolled my eyes. It was so like him to turn my concern around and make it personal. And I couldn't be concerned now, because our guys were going to kick the bad guys' butts.

I was on pins and needles for the whole drive. The air was sticky outside and I was glad for the air conditioning. Ranger tried to soothe me, but I shook his hand off. It was distracting and bothersome when I almost needed the agitation to keep me focused. When we finally got to the quiet street where Vinnie and Lucille lived, Tank handed me a Sig Sauer, my old gun. I looked at him. "Locked it up in the safe after." I blinked and took a deep breath, refusing to get emotional right now.

Ranger turned to me, speaking in a low tone. "You come with me. Tank and Lester are going in the back to find the baby. Ram will be outside the front door in case we need backup. Lula is waiting in the truck and she'll take care of him until you get back. Got it?"

I nodded. "Are we expecting a fight?"

"Lucille went to a lot of effort to get him. We don't know how far she'll go to keep him."

"Okay," I said and blew out a breath to calm myself. "I'm ready."

"Talk to them, use your instincts. It's more important to get out without losing lives than to get answers. Plenty of time to ask questions later."

"Got it."

I checked my gun to make sure it was loaded, even though I knew it was. It made me feel responsible and it gave me something to do with my hands while I waited for Ranger's signal.

"Engage," Ranger said quietly and we filed toward the house. I saw Tank and Lester run swiftly to the back. I was briefly impressed with how stealthy a big guy like Tank could be. Ram positioned himself to the side of the front door. If any of the neighbors were up, they might think it was a sophisticated robbery attempt. Ranger raised his fist and banged loudly. The sound thundered through the house. He knocked once more and one of the front rooms in the house lit up.

Breathe in. Breathe out. I could do this. Talk first, shoot later. I felt like I was hyperventilating, my heart was beating wildly under my sternum, and my blood pressure was pounding in my ears. Ranger cupped his hand around the back of my neck. The warmth of his skin calmed me and I drew in a deeper breath.

The porch light flicked on and I blew out one final breath, then sucked in and held it. Time to get Carlo back.