****No ownership, no fee required. Ok, so I know I havent posted in a while, but honestly, Roarke has been keeping me busy. If you havent read the In Death series, ***pant, pant*** you should. Thanks to my friend for loaning me the books.

He was almost asleep when she asked and he answered without thinking. Wife of my heart.

She was almost asleep, but she heard the words float through her brain. Her last waking thought was that he was the husband of her heart.

Chapter 15

Showdown

She felt him stirring beside her and the dread of the day clutched at her beating heart. The sheet he had thrown over them last night shifted which brought to her mind the events of last night and Rangers sleepy admission. With thoughts of belonging to his heart, she reached for him in the dark, finding the smooth skin over hard muscle.

His hands found her hips and pulled her to him. With eager mouths and busy hands they kissed and caressed until both of them pulled away breathless. He tucked a curl behind her ear and whispered against her mouth, "Morning, Babe." He gave her another soulful kiss before continuing, "Babe, as much as Id like to continue this, I think we better get dressed, before we get caught with our pants down."

She knew he was right. Sullivan could arrive at any moment and they were lying on the floor naked, engrossed in each other instead of preparing.

Reluctantly, they both got up and began dressing. When she couldnt find her shorts, she turned to find them dangling from Rangers fingertips. She took them from him, pulling them past her hips just before she heard what sounded like firecrackers in the distance. The look on Rangers face told her that it wasnt firecrackers. Sullivan had arrived and the showdown was about to begin.

"Babe, stay low to the ground. Only shoot if you have a clean shot; we dont have any extra ammo." He had a moment of indecision about going out into a raging war with his Babe, but he knew that they had to finish this.

When they emerged from the guard shack, it was to a volley of bullets flying in everywhere direction. Ranger and Stephanie crouched down low and searched the woods for the other men. Ranger spotted Tank and Lester, giving them some type of hand signal.

To Tank and Lesters cover fire, Ranger and Stephanie made their way to a cluster of trees both shooting past the whizzing bullets. Stephanie saw Hector and Bobby take off after two of Sullivans men disappearing into the dense forest.

Ranger turned to her putting both his hands on her shoulders. "Babe, were going to fall back into the woods and try to coax Sullivan to follow. Im almost out of ammo, so Im going to trade guns with you. When we get deep into the woods, I want you to get somewhere out of sight. Dont fire unless you have to."

He kissed her forehead, "Do what you have to in order to stay alive. I love you."

She tamped down her nerves and steeled herself against the fear bubbling inside. "I love you too. Lets do this."

As they made their way between the trees, she could hear the sounds of gunfire fading and noticed that the shots were coming at shorter intervals. It made her wonder if Sullivan was having the same problem as them and running low on ammo. She hoped that was the case and that they could find a place that would give them the advantage.

She nearly rammed straight into Rangers back when he stopped suddenly. She saw a blur out of the corner of her eye just as Ranger pushed her to the ground. Stephanie crawled on her belly until she reached a tree and took up post behind it. Ranger got off several shots, keeping Sullivans men busy while she got into position.

To her right, she saw another shadow and realized that Ranger had fallen into a trap to lure him out into the open. She saw one man ease up from behind a boulder and aim at Rangers back. Without thinking, she brought up her gun and unloaded it into that mans chest just as Ranger took down the man in front of him.

He turned and saw the fallen man a couple of yards behind. The mans body had fallen on top of a boulder and blood slithered down the crevices. He quirked an eyebrow in Stephanies direction and said, "Proud of you, Babe."

She gave him a tight smile, "Yeah, but now Im out of ammo." Her stomach was in knots, wondering what they would do now. She watched as Ranger eyed their surroundings and hoped that he came up with a plan soon. She could hear the leaves crunching under distant footsteps.

"Steph, Im going to boost you up in that tree and set a trap for Sullivan. Ive got a few rounds left. If I can lure him into this clearing, maybe I can get a clean shot off before he gets all the way in. By the sound of it, hes almost out of ammo too."

He seemed confident in his plan, so she nodded. She was sure that her expression was grim as she told him, "Im going to be really pissed if you get shot."

He jerked her in for a fast kiss, "Me too, Babe. Ive got plans for the future that dont include getting dead." As an afterthought, he released his knife holster from his hips and attached it around hers. Interlocking his fingers, he crouched down for Stephanie to place her foot in his waiting hands.

Stephanie placed her foot in his palms and laid her hands on his shoulders. She leaned in to press a small kiss to his forehead and whispered, "Take care of whats mine." She nodded that she was ready and surprised him by adding a bounce and a push to his thrust. Amazed he watched as she vaulted to the targeted branch. Looking like a practiced gymnast, she extended her arms and threw her leg over.

She almost giggled out loud at his stunned expression, she whispered down, "Six years of cheerleading stunts and climbing in and out of windows comes in handy at the strangest times." He shook his head in disbelief and said quietly, "You never disappoint, Babe."

Ranger faded into the trees and waited for Sullivan to arrive. He knew that hed only get one shot and planned to make it count. His eyes strayed to the branch where Stephanie stood propped against the great oak. His thoughts wandered to the events of the past couple of weeks and he knew now, more than ever that he could make a life with her. She truly was amazing in her resilience to overcome obstacles.

Keeping alert, he surveyed the area, listening for any noise that indicated Sullivans arrival. Finally, he heard the crunch of leaves but it sounded off to him somehow. Ranger leveled his gun toward the clearing waiting and watching as the crunching became louder, closer. He only relaxed somewhat when the two deer walked into the open.

He watched as the ears of the larger deer perked at a noise or smell. As they bounded into the dense woods, Ranger realized too late, what had spooked the wildlife. The butte of a gun was pressed into the base of his skull. At the sound of it being cocked, Ranger raised his hands in the sign of surrender. Sullivan smiled evilly as he relieved Ranger of his gun.

"Never thought Id see the day, that Id get the drop on the great Manoso." Sullivans voice was a sneer in Rangers ear as he pushed him toward the clearing of the trees.

Stephanie watched as Sullivan forced Ranger forward, creating a gap between their bodies.

"Hands behind your head, then turn around, slowly now, wouldnt want to cause me to shoot you too soon. I wouldnt want your death to be too quick, I want to savor it and while the life is draining from your body, you can watch as I enjoy you little puta. Ill take her lithe little body so often, that shell be begging me to kill her.

She could see Rangers body go stiff with rage, fury burning in his eyes. Behind Sullivans expression she could see the madness, his face sported gruesome burn scars, which normally wouldve inspired Stephanie to feel sorry for him. However, he had taken many innocent lives and was now trying to take what was hers.

Taking in her surroundings, she looked for something that might help her assist Ranger. Thats when she noticed what was lying against her hand, a brown vine the sized of her fist clung to the tree like a lovers embrace. She observed that midway down the tree, the vine had grown into the bark but hung loosely. Pulling as much of the length upwards as she could, she used Rangers knife to sever the vine from the trees grasp. She tugged on the vine to test its strength. Satisfied it would hold, she sheathed Rangers knife and gripped the vine tightly between her hands.

She looked to where Sullivan was standing and determined that he stood directly in her path. She knew she would only get one chance at this effort, so she had to make it work, for Rangers sake.

When Ranger saw Sullivan turn his head slightly, he flicked his eyes toward where Stephanie stood in the tree. He saw the vine in her hand and knew what she had in her mind to do.

Most people wouldnt have noticed the tiny movement of Rangers eyes and then the imperceptible nod of his head, But, she knew he was giving her his approval of her plan. His eyes went back to Sullivan as the man began talking. "Tell me where she is. If I have to, Ill shoot a few holes in you to convince her to come out of her hiding place."

Ranger smirked, "Shes not hiding, in fact, shes in plain view and youre about to get a close up view of her."

During, Sullivans tirade, Steph stifled a primal urge to roar and proclaim herself queen of the jungle. She had an overwhelming desire to protect and save Ranger, as he had done for her countless times. Rangers words signaled to her that it was time.

Displaying strength that she didnt know she possessed, she leaned back on the branch, holding onto the vine for dear life. She took a fortifying breath, locked her arms and lifted her feet, she sailed soundlessly through the air.

Sullivan must have heard the swishing of the air around her. He turned just in time for her feet to impact with his face. Just as his head jerked back, Ranger knocked the gun out of his hands and went flying through the air after it. Ranger quickly grabbed the gun before it had time to hit the ground.

Stephanie saw Ranger immediately bear the gun down on Sullivan. She couldnt spare any more time on the drama unfolding below her, because she had a dilemma of her own. Like what the hell she was going to do about a landing. She was more than a comfortable height from the ground and she couldnt bring herself to just let go.

She saw Lester and Tank burst through the clearing, as her vine reached its limit. Fearing that she would swing back and knock down Ranger, giving Sullivan back the upper-hand, she released the vine and went flying through the air.

Too late, she realized that she was going to plow right into Lester. He was so stunned by the sight that he couldnt react in time, couldnt to move out of her path or prepare himself for the impact. Her body caught his chest and they both landed on the ground with a crash.

When the dust settled, she saw a slow smile begin to form on Lesters face. She took notice of her position and knew his forthcoming comment was going to be a sexual innuendo. She had landed straddling his chest with her crotch aimed directly in his face.

"Damn Beautiful, I knew you wanted me, but you didnt have to knock me down, all you had to do was ask."

"Omigod, Lester, are you ok?" She asked as she scrambled to untwist their bodies. In her eagerness, she bumped his crotch with hers and realized something impressive was straining against her center. She was mortified and tried unsuccessfully to get up.

Tank saw the predicament and offered his hand to Stephanie. "Cmon Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, somebody is getting impatient to see if youre ok."

When she finally made it to her feet, she saw Ranger watching with an impatient look on his face. She guessed he was waiting for her, so he could see for himself that she was alright. As she made her way to his outstretched arm, she heard Lester grumble fuck that was hot. She nearly ran to where Ranger was still holding the gun on Sullivan. Before she could make it across the scattered leaves, Hector and Bobby had arrived and took control of Sullivan.

Ranger closed the distance between them and pulled her body roughly to his. "Babe, if I wasnt already in love with you, I would be after that stunt. Lester was right, that was hot." His mouth crashed onto hers. The adrenaline seeped out of her body and was replaced by passion. Her rubber legs nearly gave out from under her as his hot tongue swept inside hers.

She could hear talking, but didnt care what they were saying as Ranger pulled her behind a tree, continuing to kiss her with increasing desire. "Babe, weve got to get things settled here and then Im taking you back to the cabin and making love to you all night."

She could only nod with happiness and a little bit of sadness. Their time in seclusion was about to be over and theyd have to return to the real world. She wondered briefly what life would be like for them when they went back to Trenton. Would they be able to mesh their lives? Would her family support her relationship with Ranger? And what about Rangers family? Shed never met any of them. Would they like her?

"Babe, I smell something burning." He gave her another soft kiss before answering the fears that she hadnt voiced. "Everything will work out just fine. We love each other and thats the only thing that really matters."

And she knew in her heart that he was right, it was the only thing that mattered.