I didn't want to find out who the poor guy who got caught was.
But Ranger didn't give me a choice.
I dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt and headed towards the kitchen. I could hear cursing, arguing and fists smacking into skin.
I stalled when I was close enough to hear what was being said.
"I wanna see for myself!" A muffled voice yelled. The guy sounded as though he was missing some teeth. I couldn't recognise who the voice belonged to.
"You heard the man," Bantered Ezio. "His woman is in the bedroom so shut up and be patient!"
I abandoned all plans of loitering for the sake of the guy who wanted to see me. My heart began beating faster as I neared the kitchen and I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead.
As I walked through the door, 5 pairs of eyes landed on me but my eyes locked with the man who was handcuffed to the chair.
It was Hector, the Rangeman security whizz…
He wasn't in his Rangeman uniform; he was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a black pair of cargo pants. I noticed his utility belt strapped with guns and wire tools lying discarded on the floor.
His face was bloody and his clothes were torn and stained with red. His lip was cut and he had several bruises on his cheeks.
Blood splatters were sprayed across the floor and cabinets.
I could only stare as my mind raced with a million questions. At the same time, I wanted to cry, run up to him and scream at Ranger for letting them do this to Hector.
Oh come off it, Stephanie! Sensible Stephanie chastised. What did you expect? Ranger's gone. There is no Rangeman! There are no Rangemen! Hector is just a guy who still cares about what's happening to you and look what Ranger is letting them do.
Our gaze broke when Ranger slid his arm around me. "Happy now? She's right here, perfectly healthy."
I doubted that after what Pedro had injected me with…
Hector scowled at him. "I told you not to take her with you! She can't handle this! Look at her! She's freaking terrified."
"Wouldn't you be if a complete stranger came snooping around in the middle of the night?" Cortez smirked.
Hector ignored him and turned towards me with sad eyes. "Steph…I'm sorry I let them…I let them take you here…I knew I should have done something…"
"I already told you, buddy." Ranger said coldly. "She's mine. You should have already figured that out when we left New York."
He let go of me and looked at the gang. "Stay with Stephanie." He turned to Hector. "I'll deal with him in the basement."
All three of them started to snigger. Pedro placed an arm around my shoulders as Ranger un-cuffed Hector from the chair and dragged him out of the kitchen by the collar of his shirt.
"Did you know him, chica?" Pedro asked.
I slowly shook my head without looking at him. I didn't know whether it was a good idea if I did tell them I knew him.
Another light bulb flickered over my head. "I don't even know his name."
They all looked at me.
That was probably bad idea…
"What? So you recognise him?" Ezio asked.
I nodded cautiously.
"But why was he apologising to you? What did he mean by when he said he knew that you couldn't handle this?"
"I don't know!" I snapped at him while my mind raced to come up with some explanations. "I've seen him a few times. Nigel would have told him…no…warned him to leave me alone…but how did he know I was here…?"
I squeezed my eyes shut to hold back the tears.
"Leave her alone, Shades." Pedro said. "She hasn't had a moment's peace since she got here. Cortez, turn on the coffee brewer. C'mon, chica. You could use a tazade café."
He sat me down at the kitchen table before Cortez placed a mug of creamy coffee in front of me. I could feel Ezio's eyes on my back; sending goose bumps and chills across my skin.
"Se me ocurrió un plan para mantener a las fuerzas armadas a los pueblos de América del Sur de distancia de nosotros."
I have no idea what he was saying but I knew he only spoke in Spanish so he could talk about me.
That was so rude of him!
"Le pregunté a Nigel si podemos usar Stephanie como nuestro seguro. Y dijo que está muy bien con él!"
Pedro and Cortez burst out laughing with delight.
I already knew why.
Ezio was talking about how I was their insurance gridlock; whoever was on their case couldn't touch them without them touching me.
I pretended to be nonchalant about them laughing and chattering in Spanish as I sipped my coffee.
After I had finished, I got up and excused myself before leaving the kitchen. The moment I walked through the door, they all started bantering again.
I was alone now.
They were all in the kitchen…. Ranger was in the basement….
My eyes found the front door and without a second thought I ran outside the villa. I crouched down close to the wall like the first time I had escaped and crept towards the back.
I went around the shed to find the hole Chapman had made in the fence was still there. I almost cried with relief.
Okay, Stephanie. It's now or never.