My stomach felt like it was going to turn itself inside out. With the suspicious glances from Ezio and Pedro, I just had to grin and bear it as I forced down the omelette served in front of me.

Ranger sat beside me, his face blank. He had finished his own breakfast and just sipped a mug of coffee, looking totally at ease.

I, on the hand, was a wreck.

My insides were in knots, I was exhausted, emotionally drained and the slightest noise made me jump 10 feet into the air.

The way Pedro and Ezio looked at me didn't help either. To distract them, I had put on a very, very low cut scoop neck shirt and a short skirt where the hem came up just above my knee. It did the trick when I moved to position myself in certain poses and when the sapphire necklace hung over my cleavage. I just had to remember to stay close to Ranger.

Cortez came into the kitchen. He didn't notice my skimpy outfit which gave me the feeling that he wasn't happy.

"I just got an email from Mendez," He said dryly. "He wants 117K worth of cannabis."

Pedro and Ezio glanced at each other.

"117K?" Ezio repeated. "But he got 90 grand worth just last month."

"Nobody, not even a smack-head like him, can go through that much in that length of time!" Pedro said, shaking his head.

Cortez nodded. "I know. He wants to meet us this afternoon with some…Friends…"

"Who's Mendez?" Ranger asked, leaning back in his chair.

I caught Pedro's eyes quickly landing on me briefly. "Pablo Mendez. He's another one of our customers. Like Chapman but more sensible with what he does with his stash. "

"He's also a two-timing cheat and liar. He nearly sold us out to another gang." Ezio sneered before looking at Cortez. "Do we have to meet with him?"

Cortez scratched his scar thoughtfully with a glance towards me and Ranger. "I think so. Nigel, I think you should meet Mendez." A smile curled on his lips. "I know he would be interested with how you dealt with Chapman and that woman with the pistol."

Jeez…Why did they have to bring that up all the time?

Ranger smiled. "It would be my pleasure." He looked at me before pulling me on to his lap and placing a kiss on my neck. "But I think he should know the reason why too."

The air in the room went tense as I felt Ezio's eyes on me.

"Nightwing," He said with a cold tone. "Don't you think Stephanie has had enough excitement for this week?"

Ranger looked at him coolly. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

I struggled to swallow when all 4 pairs of eyes landed on me. The air was hard to breathe as a heavy silence compressed the room.

"Well Babe?" His hold on me suddenly tightened. "Are you interested?"

My heart pounded as I tried to keep my breathing under control while my head swam with ideas and possibilities. Ranger wanted me to go with them. Why? I had a few ideas and I desperately hoped they were wrong when I thought about the two nieces and the list of offences I read on the plane.

I wanted to shake my head no but Ranger's strength told me otherwise.

"Sure." I nodded. "Why not?"

Cripes…I think I just signed my own death warrant.

.

.

.

We were back to where we had first met Alvaro and Gilberto, but this time a large pure white cabin boat was docked on the waters. Its name was written in Spanish with blood red letters; Hundirse o nadar.

4 men stood in front of it. 2 of them with strong Hispanic looks and the other 2 were causation. They were all dressed in jeans and suit jackets.

I stole a glance at Ezio, Pedro and Cortez. They didn't seem as happy to see them as they were with me and Ranger…Nigel…Nightwing…

"Mendez," Cortez called out before the gang started walking towards us. "You didn't say why you wanted to buy our stuff."

A man stood a step closer to us. He looked around my age, 6 foot tall with spikey, black mid-length hair and light brown soulless eyes.

For a guy who was, to quote Pedro, a smack-head, he looked pretty healthy- apart from the intense gaze and him barely blinking.

He smirked at Cortez, "you nev'r care wha' we do with da shit. Why so curious now?" His English was broken and sounded like he came from a 1940s gangster movie.

Cortez shrugged. "You got 90 grand's worth a month ago." He gestured towards the other 4 men. "Have you been sharing?"

Mendez's eyes narrowed slightly. "Tha's none of your concern, Monaldo. Now d'ya want my cash or what? Where's my stuff?!"

It never occurred to me why they were questioning Mendez's order. I had lost count on how many times they had said they didn't care what their customers did with what they bought. What made Mendez so special?

The more I studied him the more I realised that he looked as healthy as any of us; nothing like Chapman.

"The Smiler's right." Pedro said with folded arms. "You didn't bring any of your little friends with you last time either."

Mendez rolled his eyes. "Dios! Ya getting' 117 grand out of me! Wha' da hell is with all da questions?!"

Ezio chuckled lightly. "He's right hermanos. We don't give a damn with what anyone does with our goods. By the way Pablo, you haven't met our old friend, Nigel Sarbello and his woman."

I really hate Ezio…

Mendez turned to us. Ranger slid his arm around my waist with his hand over my hip. I glanced up at him to see he had a smug smirk on his lips. He made me feel like a trophy.

Mendez suddenly grinned when our eyes locked. I quickly broke the contact and considered drowning myself by leaping off the dock.

I was regretting the skimpy outfit I had chosen as I felt him staring at my cleavage and legs.

"Tienesuna mujer para tenerentretenido. Es probable que tener un buen polvo. ¿Estás dispuesto a compartir?"

I didn't know what he had said, but before I could blink, Ranger grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulled out a gun and held it to Mendez's jaw.

My mouth hung open. I looked at the gang. Cortez's eyebrows were raised with surprise while Ezio and Pedro looked somewhere between baffled and sceptical.

"I never share what is mine." Ranger snarled.

Ezio placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nigel, he's not worth it. Don't waste good bullets on him."

Ranger slowly pulled his gun away, stepped back and pushed me behind him with a firm hold on my wrist.

"Just tell us why, Mendez. It'll make things easier." Pedro said irritably.

Mendez squinted at him and pressed his lips together for a moment before saying, "Give me wha' I want first and then I'll tell ya."

The three of them glared at him but then silently looked at each other until they decided on an unspoken agreement.

"Fine," Cortez sighed. "Have it your way. It's in the back of the car."

Pedro and Ezio went ahead of us as we all walked away from the dock. Ranger let go of my wrist as we reached the car. They heaved out a crate from the trunk and settled it on the ground.

One of the Caucasian men, a big brute of a guy, stamped his foot onto the lid and ripped it off the base of the container which was filled to the brim of the powdered green grass.

I caught Ezio rolling his eyes. "Was there any need?"

Mendez shrugged. "Ya can't be too careful, Shades."

"Yeah whatever, now where's our cash?"

Mendez nodded to his men who picked up the crate and carried it back to the boat. The Hispanic man came back a minute later with 2 large brief cases and handed them to Ezio and Pedro.

Cortez glowered at him with folded arms. "Alright Pablo, you got your stuff now tell us why you wanted it."

A small grin appeared on Mendez's lips. "Some people just need a good buzz."

We all stared at him.

…That was it?

So he was a smack-head and a modest one to say the least. I had honestly expected a more…dramatic explanation. Like…I don't know, using it to bribe or sell to some rich folks.

"But there is another reason…"

His arm wrapped around my neck and I felt the cold barrel of a gun dig into my temple.

"Gettin' wha' I want."