This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

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Scent of a Woman

Chapter 21

Stephanie felt the grip of fear return once again. "What do you mean?"

Victor's voice was filled with agitation. "You're just like her." He downed the drink in his hand. "That can't be coincidence."

Stephanie looked at the coffee table where her purse was sitting. She thought briefly about reaching for it but he was warily eyeing her with such suspicion that she was afraid the movement would set him off even more. "Victor, I don't know what you mean. Who are you talking about?"

"Marissa!" He spat out in annoyance. "Your hair, your eyes….My god, you even smell like her." His eyes were wild with anguish. "What do you want? Why are you doing this?"

"You're wrong." Stephanie added a pleading tone to her voice. "There is nothing intentional here. I met Andrew at the cabaret show. He asked me out. I have no idea what you think I'm doing. I'm not like Marissa."

"You're just like her!" He cried out. "Did you come here tonight to tease me…to drive me insane?" He threw the empty glass against the wall.

Stephanie cringed at the impact. "Why would I do that? I'm here because Andrew wanted us to have dinner with his friend. He asked me to come here."

"You know, don't you?" he said in an accusing voice.

"Know what, Victor?" Stephanie was praying that any minute now, Ranger and his men would come through that door. The armed bodyguard was out in the hall. They would have trouble getting past him. She wasn't sure just how long she could keep this crazy man at bay. Where the hell is Andrew? She thought, desperate for any kind of assistance that wouldn't leave her alone with this man a second longer.

"You know that I loved her," he said with agonizing heartache behind every word. "You know that I was the one she was coming to that night…. The night they…."

"No. I didn't know that. I swear." She calmed her voice, hoping he would respond. Stephanie, almost, felt sorry for him; he looked so grief-stricken and lost. "You're a friend of Andrew's. That's all I know."

"Have you been lying to Andrew, or is he in on this, too?" Victor stiffened and glared at her. "Did you think I wouldn't notice the bracelet?" He growled out.

"The bracelet?" Stephanie touched the gift from Andrew.

"I gave her that bracelet." He stalked over to Stephanie and aggressively gripped her wrist. "I gave her this!" He shook her arm roughly. "Three diamonds…one for each of us…Marissa, myself and…our daughter."

Stephanie's heart sunk as the realization of his words hit her. "Madison was your daughter?" Her head was spinning, trying to keep up with the information coming at her.

"How did you get this?" He continued to shake her arm. "Why are you wearing it?"

"I gave it to her." Stephanie and Victor both sharply swung their heads toward the voice. Andrew was standing in the doorway to the bedroom. His face was stone. There was no emotion in his voice.

Stephanie couldn't begin to imagine what was going on in his head. The anger and shock he must feel at the revelation about his wife and daughter. The bracelet…wait….

"You knew." Stephanie stated flatly.

"I suspected." Andrew dryly replied.

"How?" She questioned.

"I told you, I went through her things. I found a letter, a couple of receipts, and her datebook. It wasn't hard to piece the information together. But I wasn't sure it was Victor."

"You used me?" She said to Andrew with a look of genuine betrayal in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Maria." He looked pained and his voice was full of regret. "It was just…I…I didn't do it to hurt you…I needed to know. I hoped I was wrong. But I had to know the truth."

Victor still had hold of Stephanie's arm, and it was beginning to hurt. The angrier he got at Andrew's words, the tighter his grip became. She tried to forcibly shake him off.

"No!" He yelled. "No, no, no, no. You aren't going anywhere." Victor pulled a small gun from his coat pocket, roughly drew Stephanie towards his chest and wrapped the weapon bearing hand tightly around her waist. The hard steel against her stomach made her wince." He looked at Andrew. "You had Marissa! She was married to you for more than five years! You had my daughter! Madison called you daddy!" His tortured voice escalated in volume. "Do you know what that did to me? It was unbearable!"

"God, Victor, you were my closest friend. She was my wife!" Andrew shouted. "I loved her! I loved Madison! You destroyed my family!

Stephanie felt another forceful tremor move through Victor's body. It was if a switch had been flipped. His face changed and his eyes darkened. "She. Loves. Me!" Victor was really losing it now. "Andrew, you are such a fool! We are together every chance we get. She doesn't want to hurt you, so we've been keeping it quiet. All the women, my wild, playboy image, are ruses to keep you from suspecting. It has taken me a long time to convince her to leave you, and now she's here…with me." He rubbed his hand gently against Stephanie's face. "You're wearing the bracelet I gave you. I'm so happy. It's all out in the open now, baby, and we can finally be together."

Victor had officially gone over the edge, and Stephanie was terrified by his rapid change from volatile to delusional. He looked at her with eyes that appeared empty and desperate. She had seen that look on skips before. It always meant trouble. She tried to pull away; he tugged tighter on her waist, digging the gun deeper into her side.

"Owww, Victor you're hurting me."

Andrew was also beginning to understand the depth of the dementia Victor was experiencing, and he was concerned for Maria's safety. "Put the gun away and let her go, Victor. She's not part of this." He begged.

"But she is, Andrew. Don't you see? It's Marissa." He ran his fingers through Stephanie's hair bringing it to his nose to sniff. "She's come back. She couldn't stay away from me. You have been gone so long, Marissa. I've missed you so much." He looked sharply at Andrew. "You don't get to win this time. It's my turn. She belongs with me."

"Victor, she is not Marissa. Her name is Maria. She doesn't know you." Andrew began a slow progression across the living room while he continued to distract Victor with a low, even dialogue. "Maria has a son that she loves. She needs to be safe so she can go back home to him. Victor, look at her." Victor briefly took his suspicious eyes off Andrew and glanced at Stephanie. "See. She's not Marissa. Marissa had a small birthmark just at the top of her left shoulder. Look there, Victor. Maria doesn't have that mark."

"No!" He panicked. "You're trying to trick me. You want her back. I won't let you have her again." Victor started to back away from Andrew's slow advance, awkwardly dragging Stephanie with him as he travelled toward the double door entry to the suite. "We're going to go away now. We just need time to be together. You'll see, Marissa. It will be just like it used to be between us. We'll go someplace warm. Madison loves the beach. We can stay there as long as you like."

"Please don't do this, Victor." Stephanie had tears in her eyes. "Let me go. I don't want to go to the beach. I need to stay here with my son. I'm all he has." Stephanie was terrified that if they left the room, the bodyguard would assist Victor in his delusional plan. She knew Ranger and his men would do anything, at that point, to stop them. Someone could get shot. Someone could die trying to protect her from this mess.

They were just ten feet from the door when it silently opened. Andrew was the only one aware of it. It was Richard. He slowly entered the room, lifted a gun and aimed it at Stephanie and Victor as they continued backing toward the door unaware.

Unsure of the guard's intentions and fearing for Maria's safety, Andrew shouted a warning as he abruptly lunged toward them. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her away from Victor while the momentum of his actions carried her with him to the floor. He remained protectively over her body when he heard the muted discharge of a gun equipped with a silencer, followed by the soft thud of a body dropping limply to the floor.

It seemed like hours, but was only seconds, before all hell broke loose and two large men, with weapons drawn, stormed into the room. They quickly subdued the surprised bodyguard and had him face down on the floor with the weapon secured before Andrew had a chance to realize what was happening. He heard Maria moan.

"Oh god, sweetheart, you're hurt. Maria?" Before he could fully assess her injuries, he felt rough hands grab him, and he was lifted away from her body. His blood-covered hands were cuffed behind his back. Several more men, dressed in black, now filled the room.

"Stephanie!" Ranger was at her side immediately. "Babe, stay with me." He briefly froze at the sight of the blood under her head. "Where the hell is Bobby?" He yelled without taking his eyes off her.

Stephanie moved her head slightly and grimaced in pain. "Where's Carlos? She moaned weakly, her eyes still closed.

"I'm here, Babe, right here. Don't move, amada. We'll help you." He took her hand and brought her fingers to his lips.

"It hurts so much." She whimpered. "I need…Carlos. Is…safe?"

"It's okay, mi querida. Everyone is safe." Ranger was frustrated that she was suffering. "Damn it, Bobby. Do something for her."

When Bobby had finished taking down the bodyguard, he had done a quick check of Giordano's condition. He found a gun lying next to the unconscious man and handed it to Hal. At Ranger's panicked request he moved and settled opposite him near Stephanie's prone body. "She's losing a lot of blood." He turned her head slightly to the side. He located a large gash just behind her right ear. "Giordano's gun never discharged. Looks like she hit the corner of that marble end table during her fall." Tank returned to the room carrying the medical bag. He set it on the floor next to Bobby, who immediately opened it and pulled out a large package of gauze bandages. "Ranger, hold this in place and apply gentle but firm pressure...right here. Tank! Call an ambulance."

Ranger reached across her body and replaced Bobby's hand on the bandage. With his other hand he gently caressed her cheek. Stephanie had lost consciousness.

"What the hell is going on here?" Andrew was furious at being restrained by the intruders. "I need to be with her. My god, did he shoot her? Please, let me help her. Please don't hurt her." No one was responding to him but he kept pleading. "You have to let me go to her! Who are you, and why in hell are you calling her Stephanie?" He continued to struggle against Lester, who was holding him back. He looked at Lester one more time and froze. "I know you. You were at the cabaret. Who the hell are you people?"

Ranger was too concerned about Stephanie to deal with him now. Inside he was falling apart. He attempted to regain control the only way he knew how, by barking commands. "Bobby, Giordano? Is he dead?"

"No boss, the bodyguard shot him with a dart gun. He's just knocked out. He'll be out for a while."

"Good. Cal, Woody, Hal and Binkie, quietly get him and the bodyguard down to the transport before the cops get here. Take Giordano back to Trenton and drop him off at the cop shop. They can deal with the bastard from now on. Take the bodyguard back to RangeMan. Lock him in a holding cell. We need some questions answered."

"Santos! Bobby and I are going with Stephanie. You and Tank deal with the authorities. Find out from Sullivan just what the hell went on here, and explain the new situation to him."

"Sure thing, Ranger." Lester took a very confused and defiant Andrew by the arm and guided him into the bedroom.

Giordano needed to be taken back to New Jersey to be turned in. If it were discovered by the Philadelphia police that he and the bodyguard had been part of this 'accident', they would interfere with that plan. It would be up to Lester to convince Sullivan that it would be in his best interest to go along with the alternative sequence of events they would provide him as a cover story.

"Hector?"

"Si."

"Necesitamos rápido ascendente limpio." (We need clean up fast.) They looked at each other and without another word, it was understood what needed to be done.

Hector nodded and immediately began to remove all traces of Giordano's presence in the room. He removed the third place setting from the dining room table and cleaned up the glass from the shattered drink. When Hector looked at Stephanie, lying injured and unmoving on the floor, it made his blood boil. He had listened to her beg that crazy bastard to leave her alone. He had heard the fear in her voice. They all had. The frustration of not being able to get to her sooner had been evident on all of their faces as they waited.

Ranger looked back at Stephanie, she was so pale. She looked chillingly vulnerable and fragile. "Bobby, how is she?" His voice was rugged with anguish.

Bobby's face was riddled with concern. "Her blood pressure is very low. Her breathing is erratic, and her heartbeat is weak." He very gently lifted her left arm and carefully pressed his fingers along its length. "She may have a broken arm. There's a lot of swelling in her wrist. It looks like she either fell on it when she landed or used it to try to break her fall." He checked her eyes with a penlight. "I'm concerned about her head injury and the possibility of shock. The fact that she's unconscious is not a good sign." He shook his head in frustration. "All we can do here is try to control the bleeding. We'll know more when we get her to the hospital. I'm going to start her on oxygen and get an IV with fluids going. When the ambulance gets here, they'll hook her up to a heart monitor."

Bobby continued to attend to Stephanie while the two prisoners were removed from the scene. Ranger vigilantly remained at her side, never letting go of her hand. He whispered the soft Spanish words of comfort that he knew she responded to in their most intimate moments. He was so focused on her face that he barely noticed when Bobby added another stack of clean gauze to supplement the blood soaked ones under his hand.

Ranger was livid that, once again, he had failed to protect her. When he had heard that Giordano was intending to serve dinner in his room instead of the restaurant, he had scrambled for a new plan. Stephanie had skillfully provided them with the location of her new destination, so he had sent Bobby to the front desk to procure a room on the same floor. Once they had positioned themselves in an empty suite down the hall, they had been relieved to be closer but had been frustrated that they had no eyes in the room. Stephanie had let them know she was okay, but was concerned about Giordano's drunkenness and instability. As he and his men had listened to what was happening in the room, they could tell things were going downhill fast after dinner. When the verbal assaults escalated and there was mention of a gun being pulled, they prepared to move in, but there had been a constant barrage of civilian traffic in the hallway leading to Giordano's room, effectively preventing them from covertly advancing. With an armed guard at the door, they couldn't have risked the public safety. Ram and Bobby had been the only ones dressed in civilian clothing. They had been originally assigned to be stationed inside the restaurant as patrons and were outfitted to blend in. Their opportunity to move had come when a large wedding party stepped off the elevator and headed down the long hallway. As they passed the suite that he and his men were using as a base, Ram and Bobby had stepped out and closely followed the party down the hall toward Giordano's room. They arrived just as the bodyguard entered the suite and fired his weapon. They had been able to subdue the guard and Ram was in the process of lifting Sullivan off of Stephanie's injured body as Ranger entered. His heart had nearly stopped when he took in the scene.

Within thirty minutes the ambulance and the police arrived and Stephanie was treated on sight, safely transferred onto a backboard and gurney, and was whisked away to the local hospital, accompanied by Bobby and Ranger.

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Ranger sat so eerily still in the waiting room chair, that Bobby had, more than once, checked him for consciousness. He knew that Ranger could be an incredibly patient man. He had seen him sit for hours on surveillance, deathly calm, hardly ever speaking; scarcely acknowledging his own partner in the vehicle. He had also seen him at his most violent. When managed rage controlled every muscle in his body, Ranger was a deadly force, able to carry out the most dangerous missions. He had saved Bobby's life more than once. They had been together in some of the most godforsaken places on the planet. He had seen Ranger train, prepare and lead an entire unit of men into hell and back. He had seen him ruthlessly interrogate criminals, assassins and military leaders. He had seen him drink but never get drunk, and he had seen him with women…a lot of women. But he had never seen him like this. Just underneath Ranger's deceptively placid facade, Bobby saw the foreign emotions of anguish, despair and fear. Stephanie Plum had an effect on Carlos Manoso that Bobby would never have predicted he'd ever be witness to.

Over the past three years, there had been much speculation around RangeMan about the actual existence of an intimate relationship between Stephanie and Ranger. They all knew the word on the street was that she's 'Manoso's woman' but it seemed to be an elusive affair. Everyone, except those two, could see the special connection they shared almost from the beginning, but no one ever observed much of anything more physical than a casual touch or friendly kiss. Ranger was always there for her, but never with her, until recently. If the amount of time he had been spending with Bombshell these last two weeks hadn't given them a clue as to what was going on, the scene some of them witnessed in the control room this morning had. Hell, there was hardly a guy in the company that didn't fantasize about being with Stephanie, and what they would do about it if Ranger did not step up. But after taking in what they saw on the monitor, fantasy is all it would remain. Standing among the men, the general response Bobby heard to the scorching make-out session on the screen had been some bawdy remarks and whistles. But he was pretty sure that, secretly, most of the guys were, like him, in envious awe of the obvious passion igniting between the boss and Bomber.

Bobby had also been in the same vehicle as Ranger, earlier in the evening, when Steph had been at Sullivan's house. From what they all had heard through the wire, things had gotten a little hot and heavy between her and Sullivan. Ranger's demeanor had remained stoic and professional during the entire situation, but more than once Bobby noticed his friend's eyes close, his mouth tighten in a perceptible grimace, and his knuckles turn white from the tight fists he was forming. Those seemingly understated reactions spoke profoundly to Bobby about the depth of Ranger's feelings for this woman.

Yeah. While the doctors and nurses were doing all they could for Stephanie. Bobby Brown would take care of the man in front of him.

It had been almost seven hours since their arrival at the hospital. Ranger was surrounded by his men in an unspoken show of support from brothers bonded to him by trust, mutual respect and a common affection for the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. There was little conversation. Someone had gone for coffee. The nurses had stopped coming by with updates. They were probably too scared. Every time the door opened, at least eight large, armed men would lunge out of their seats or away from their positions against the wall, in desperation for any news of Stephanie's condition. Bobby had begun making regular trips to the nurse's station to bring back the news, or lack there of, instead.

Just after three o'clock in the morning, the door opened and a tall, tired looking man in scrubs walked into the room.

"Mr. Manoso?" He inquired of the large group of men.

Ranger stood. He approached the doctor and nodded. "I'm Carlos Manoso, and this is our company medic Bobby Brown. He'll be working closely with the hospital staff in providing care for Stephanie."

"Mr. Manoso, Mr. Brown. I'm Curtis Payne. I'm Ms. Plum's neurosurgeon."

"How is she?" Ranger was afraid of the answer. The surgeon looked very grim.

"Right now, she's in recovery." He rubbed the back of his neck, indicating the difficulty of the long stressful hours he had spent in the OR. "When she first arrived we ran some tests; cat scan, angiography, x-rays. In addition to the obvious open head wound from the impact of her fall, she has a broken wrist and several bruises." He looked back and forth between Bobby and Ranger and continued his account of her injuries. "She has a basal skull fracture. The possible complication to this particular injury is infection, so we have started her on an aggressive regimen of IV antibiotics. During surgery I cleaned out the wound and cauterized some of the larger ruptured blood vessels to control the extensive external bleeding. She was given blood to replace the copious amounts she initially lost. But our biggest concern is the intracranial hemorrhage. She's suffering from an acute subdural hematoma. This is bleeding between the brain and the skull. The immense pressure it's creating is affecting the body's ability to properly control some of her vital organs. Currently, we have her on a ventilator." He stopped and looked despondent about what he was about to say. "Mr. Manoso, Ms. Plum suffered multiple seizures during surgery. Seizures are not uncommon with a head injury, especially one as severe as hers. But it's a strong indication that she is experiencing a tremendous amount of tissue swelling as well." He put a friendly hand on Ranger's shoulder. "We have her on several medications to help reduce the swelling and prevent infection. We will continue to monitor the pressure from the brain bleed. If the swelling doesn't stop and recede on its own with medication, we will have to return to surgery to relieve the pressure as a last resort. She'll be kept in a medically induced coma for at least the next twelve hours. The next 24 to 48 hours will tell us a lot about her capacity for recovery."

"Are you saying there's a chance she may not recover?" Ranger's heart was slowly breaking. He was finding it hard to take his next breath.

"She's a long way from being out of the woods. Her recovery could be full, partial, or…" He sighed. "Look, Mr. Manoso, you seem like a man who deals best with the truth up front. The truth is…I can't say, at this time, what her chances are. Her injuries are very severe, but she's young and strong, and she made it through a grueling surgery. She has that in her favor." He looked around the room at the waiting men. "It also looks like she has a lot of support from people who care a great deal about her. That counts for a lot. A strong will to live…to return to the people you love, can make all the difference. But even if she survives, she could have a whole slew of complications that will make her recovery quite a struggle." He sighed "It's been a long night for all of us. Why don't you get some rest, and I'll go over more of this information tomorrow with you and Mr. Brown?"

"When can I see her?" Ranger's only thought right now was to get to Steph. He needed to see her, touch her, and talk to her.

"She'll be in recovery for the next hour or so; then she'll be moved to a room in the ICU. The nurse will let you know when it's okay to go in."

Ranger appeared to be at a total loss for what to do next. His thoughts had turned inward and it was obvious that he was no longer completely functional as the boss of RangeMan. Bobby stepped forward. "Doctor, Stephanie was working in an undercover capacity for our security company when she sustained these injuries. It is possible that there could be attempts at retaliation by some very dangerous people for her involvement. We will be stationing at least two guards at her door 24 hours a day. They will also accompany her to any tests or therapies for which she may need to leave her room. Also, either Mr. Manoso or I will be with her inside her room at all times." He gave the doctor his most unyielding, military face. "This is not negotiable and we expect that you and your staff will give us your full cooperation in providing complete protection for her."

"I understand. That won't be a problem Mr. Brown. I'll notify the staff. Please make sure that the charge nurse and hospital security have a written list of your requirements. Now, if you gentlemen don't have any more questions, I am going to check on Ms. Plum in recovery."

Bobby nodded. "Thanks, doc." He said in a relieved response.

Ranger acknowledged the doctor and shook his hand. He looked at Bobby and, without a word, thanked him for what he had just done.

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Carlos Manoso walked into his Babe's hospital room with more fear and concern than he had possessed during the storming of the headquarters of the Shiite terror cell in Bahrain last year. In that instance, he knew exactly who the enemy was. He had the intel, the plan, the guns, and the manpower to overwhelm it, and he was pretty confident that he and his men would achieve success in their mission and come out of the situation alive.

All of his first-rate training, all of his extensive field experience in covert and black ops missions, were of no value to him now. The enemy inside this room was untouchable. He had no ability to out-wit it with expert strategy or overpower it with the latest weapons. Neither his vast resources, nor the strength of the Merry Men could be used to deter the course of its impending devastation. The outcome of this incursion was completely out of his hands and he was both terrified and humbled by that fact alone.

His future, his light, his love...was lying there within his reach, but beyond his help.

He waited and he prayed.

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