It wasn't the first time I was held hostage but I was sure it was going to be my last.

My eyes switched rapidly from Ranger to Ezio to Pedro to Cortez and back to Ranger. I felt my forehead clam with cold sweat and my vision went hazy as my breathing shallowed while my heart was about to burst through my chest.

There were no Merry Men to help me. There were no hidden cameras or microphones or panic buttons or tracking devices attached to me.

I was done for.

"What else do you want, Mendez?" Cortez said without looking at me. "You got your stuff so why are you holding a gun to Stephanie's head?"

Mendez's lips brushed against my ear and the barrel of the gun moved to my neck.

"Stephanie eh?" He schmoozed. "So tha's ya name. I like it. I can see me screamin' it lat'r in th' bedroom."

Cripes! Were all these men sex-deprived?! I was starting to taste my breakfast again.

"C'mon man," Pedro said, shaking his head. "Be fair. You don't even know her. You don't know if she's clean or not."

Ranger shot him a glare.

Pedro rose his hands up in defence. "I'm just saying, Nightwing, in every gist of it."

Oh thanks Pedro…

Mendez moved his arm over my chest and pressed his cheek against mine. "I don't see many pretty American chicks 'round these parts. I like a change."

I closed my eyes so nobody could see the tears shining in them.

Oh God! Will one of you just make a sudden move so he'll shoot me already?!

"You didn't answer my question, Pablo. What else do you want?" Said Cortez, his eyes narrowed.

Mendez scoffed. "Ya already know. You all live in tha' fancy villa but at least you can get out of it! Try bein' stuck on a boat for months with a bunch of guys."

Ezio rolled his eyes. "Christ Mendez, if you needed a few puta why didn't you say?"

I had no idea what a puta was but he had better not be calling me one!

"I'm not made outa money, Shades." Mendez retorted. His arm was back wrapped around my neck again; he pulled me back towards the boat. "Don't try anythin' funny. I don't want Stephanie lookin' like Swiss cheese!"

The word cheese made me snap.

Without thinking, I dug my heels into the ground so my legs didn't budge and I was only held up by my neck.

Mendez dropped me so I landed flat on my back with a hard thud and he scowled at me with his gun aimed at my head.

"Maldito coño!" He snarled.

I couldn't blink or move a muscle. My heart rate made the blood thundered in my ears. But I still heard the gun shots…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A scream tore from my throat as I waited for the bullet to pierce in to my flesh.

But they weren't for me…

Mendez's eyes were wide with shock as his arms fell to his sides, dropping the gun in the process as he sunk to his knees.

I didn't miss the 3 bullet holes in his chest or the red stains soaking through his shirt as he collapsed on top of me so his bloody chest was against my face.

I shrieked, kicked and thrashed out violently as Mendez's blood stained my clothes and skin.

I could feel bile stirring in my stomach. My chest tightened.

"Hook, help me get him off her." I heard Ezio say in a nonchalant tone.

Mendez's body was pulled away and all 4 pairs of eyes stared down at me. But it didn't help with my breathing.

I still felt smothered; like I was being choked. The pains in my chest worsened. My hair was damp with sweat despite the cold shudders that shook me. I felt numb as the world spun before my eyes as I struggled for air.

Ranger knelt down beside me after putting away his gun. He placed 2 fingers against my neck. "Her pulse is soaring and no wonder. She's having a panic attack."

The rest of them sucked air through their teeth as they all looked down at me.

"Nigel, sit her up." Pedro said. "I got some Vitamin Q in the car."

Ranger sat me up as he hurried to the passenger side of the car.

"Vitamin Q?" Ranger asked, resting me against his chest.

Even I knew there was no such vitamin.

"Quaalude, but that's just a brand name for Methaqualone." Cortez explained.

Pedro reappeared with a syringe, a handkerchief and a bottle of clear liquid. He unscrewed the bottle and soaked the handkerchief, with what I recognised as rubbing alcohol judging by the smell, and swabbed the crook of my arm.

He twisted the cloth and wrapped it tightly above my elbow before poking at the skin around the inside of the hinge with his fingertips. Pedro then held up the syringe, pulled off the safety cap and flicked his fingernail against the cylinder.

"I'm only giving her 70 milligrams, Nigel." He said, holding my arm. "It's only a threshold dose but it will calm her down."

I didn't jump when I felt the sharp prick of the needle puncture through my skin and spill its cold contents into my blood stream; I was too preoccupied with the fact that Ranger had let him inject me with an illegal drug…

Pedro untied the handkerchief. They all watched silently as my hyperventilating gradually died away and I went limp in Ranger's arms with my eyelids beginning to droop.

"There," I heard Pedro say. "It's starting to work."

"What shall we do about Mendez? Should we tell his gang?" Ezio asked.

"Nah, we got the cash so they can do whatever the hell they want. Let's get back to the Villa." Said Cortez dismissively.

Ranger slid an arm underneath my legs and lifted me up. I let myself rest my head against his shoulder as he carried me to the car where Ezio opened the door for him. I didn't miss the evil glint in his eye…

Ranger had me on his lap in the car with my head still on his shoulder. He rubbed a hand up and down my back as I closed my eyes.

"Sleep it off, Babe." He whispered.

And I did.

I woke up on the king sized bed back in our room with a cold sensation against my face. Ranger stood next to me holding a hand towel that was stained with red.

"You've been out for 3 hours." He said tonelessly.

"Is that all?" I croaked. My throat was scratchy and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

I sat up, groaning slightly at the stiffness in my muscles and joints before realising I was only in my underwear.

"I didn't think you needed any reminders of today," Ranger said, handing me a glass of water. "I got Pedro to burn your clothes. I doubt the blood stains would have come out anyway."

I looked away from him as I took a sip and let the day's events process in my head to confirm I was well and truly screwed.

Ranger had shot a man dead right in front of me…above me…and he let Pedro drug me with some sort of sedative.

Let's recap from day 1.

He had his hand around my throat, held me by the hair, cut out a man's stomach, intimidated me while nearly dislocating my shoulder, bought orphaned children, shot a guy 3 times in the chest and let me get injected with who-the-hell knows what!

Ranger was gone. Just accept it Stephanie.

A gun shot went off from outside, making me nearly drop the glass.

Ranger went up to the window before Ezio and Pedro came bursting in through the door a minute later.

"Nigel, Cortez said he saw a man in black outside the fence." Said Pedro. "But he took off when he shot at him."

Ranger stared at him. "What did he look like?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Cortez just said he was a big guy. A really big guy dressed head to toe in black."

Ranger smirked. "Anymore smack-heads or competitions I should know about?"

Ezio, who had been eyeballing me in my bra and panties, made a short laugh. "Pfft, Nightwing you haven't even met the competition!"

Pedro did a double take when he noticed me for the first time. "Erm…were we interrupting…something?" He sounded hopeful.

Ranger frowned at him. "If I say yes, will you two piss off?"

"What, you're not even going to let us watch?!" Ezio droned.

"You really are a selfish bastard, Nigel." Pedro bantered, before Ezio dragged him towards the door by the scruff. "Just stay indoors in case the big fella is still out there."