"Babe," Ranger said. His eyes were hard. "What's going on?"

Pedro and Cortez appeared behind him, both looking curious as I heard Ezio coming out of the basement.

"Ezio, what happened to your lip?" Pedro asked.

I gulped.

"Ask Stephanie." I heard Ezio say.

Pedro chortled. "You got you lip split by a woman? You've gone soft, Ezio."

"Shut up, Hook."

"Both of you shut up!" Ranger barked with his eyes on me. "Stephanie, tell me. What happened?"

My heart thumped in my throat. I tried to swallow it back. "He came in to our room and kissed me." I blurted out.

Ranger's glare quickly switched to Ezio. I let out a small sigh of relief.

Pedro and Cortez stared with their mouths hanging open.

"Shades, you loco?!" Cortez exclaimed. "I only had an excuse because I was drunk!"

Ezio scoffed. "Don't think Stephanie is some innocent pequeño querubín. She knows about her role in the plan for the delivery of the grenades and she claimed Nigel told her everything. I didn't say a word to her."

Ranger's eyes were back on me. "How do you know?" His voice was calm and frighteningly quiet.

I shook my head and clenched my fists. "I might have been doped up with whatever Pedro injected me with, but that didn't mean I couldn't overhear you all bragging about your plan."

No one spoke.

"But forget about that; when were you going to tell me that all of you were planning on using me as a human shield?!"

My heart was thundering, my blood was boiling and my chest was heaving with rage.

Ranger stared at me for a few seconds before looking over at Ezio again.

"She's right." He smiled, making us blink at him in surprise. Ranger slid his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. I tensed in his hold. "But Babe, you should already know after all that has happened this week that I won't let anything happen to you."

I didn't believe a word of it.

I needed to get away; I couldn't stand being near any of these bastards. But Ranger pulled me tighter to him and kissed me.

I felt something snap inside. It could have been insanity or PMS. It could have been my spirit breaking.

Whatever it was, it made me skin my hand across his cheek.

Only the sound of slapping echoed in the room as Ranger's head flung to the side.

Ezio, Cortez and Pedro all stared with their eyes bulging; watching as Ranger slowly turned to face me again with a glare so cold and soulless. They told me I had already sealed my own fate.

He turned away from me and walked towards the door of the living room.

"Get her to the basement." Ranger said. "I'll deal with her later."

Oh God…

This was it.

My time was almost up.

I felt a pair of hands grab my arms from behind and heard Ezio snigger in my ear. "It'll be a pleasure, Nigel."

I struggled against him. "Get off me!"

If I was going to be dead by the end of the day, at least they could say I put up a hell of a fight. There was no way I was going to give them the pleasure either.

"Get off me you bastard!" I kicked out my legs before digging my heels into the floor. When that didn't work, I tried to hit him in the shins and feet.

"Grab her legs." Ezio said grabbing my wrists by wrapping his arms around my chest.

I kicked Pedro away as he attempted to grasp my ankle. Cortez wasn't put off as easily as he lifted my other leg off the ground; making it easier for them both to immobilise me and carry me down the stairs to the basement.

"I knew there was something up with you." Pedro said as Cortez attached a shackle to my wrist which Ezio held out for him. "You were right, Shades. Good thing Nigel realised it before things got real ugly."

Cortez shackled my other wrist so they hung in the middle of the wall at either side of me. He stepped back and admired his handy work before giving Pedro and Ezio a nasty grin.

"Nigel isn't here…. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

They returned the grin as Pedro stepped towards me. He put his hand in his front breast pocket and took out a capped vial filled with clear liquid.

"Lucky we didn't need to use the Mexican Valium at the docks earlier." He laughed, removing the cap.

"Stay away from me." I seethed, pressing myself against the wall.

He ignored me. "Smiler, keep her mouth open."

Cortez wrapped his arm around my neck and pinched my nose. He squeezed my throat; making me gasp for a breath and giving Pedro the perfect opportunity to empty the contents of the vial into my mouth.

The liquid was cool and tasted like vodka. It slid down my throat and I coughed and wheezed as Cortez let go of me.

They all started to laugh and speak in Spanish while giving me occasional glances which tortured me. I prayed for them to just go away or call for Nigel so he could come and kill me already.

I just called him Nigel…

He's gone Stephanie. There's no point being in denial when you're about to die.

My vision went hazy all of a sudden. I felt dizzy as my legs started to tremble and nausea pooled in my stomach.

"Hermanos, the rope is starting to work!" I heard Pedro laugh with delight. Or was it Ezio?

My legs finally gave out. I was sloped against the wall with my wrists hanging at either side of my head; trying to focus on the three of them who all surrounded me with manic grins which all started to look blurred.

No matter how many times I blinked, my vision didn't become any clearer.

I tried to force my eyelids open but my attempts were in vain as they closed fully. I felt the muscles in my neck relax so I couldn't hold my head up for much longer.

I heard someone laugh which sounded incredibly distant.

"Okay, who's first?"