A/N: Sorry it's gotten so late. F F. net's kinda shaky tonight..

DANGEROUS MERGERS

Chapter 16

Okay, she had a plan. Besides, how much more wrong could things get? She knew how babies were made and how they were born, well; she had enough of an idea for this to work. She'd had cramps and the flu; it should be a snap for her to fake a case of 'fake' premature labor. She went to the bathroom and filled a glass of water and poured it down over her butt so that it spread over her backside and another one on the front of her skirt below the baby bump. The last glass of water, she poured onto the bed.

"Well, here goes," Stephanie whispered to herself as she settled in the center of the bed. "Oohh…" she moaned in a regular tone and then waited before she repeated it, this time a little louder. "Ooohhh…" Shit, it was a good thing she wasn't really in labor!

"OOOOHHHH…" she sat up in the bed and moaned louder and longer in the direction of the door. "I need help in here!" Her eyes watched the doorknob, hoping to see it turn. Shit, what if her babysitter didn't speak English? When the knob moved, she took a deep breath and looked at her finger that was covered with soap. "Showtime," she muttered and stuck her fingertip into both of her eyes. For the first time in her life she wished she had Valerie's ability to cry on demand; oh well, soapy tears would have to work.

"Señora?" Stephanie blinked around her soapy tears and almost forgot her plan. The man who appeared in the open door was the bastard who'd felt her up in the wagon! "Are you ill?" he asked, his eyes nervous. She collected her thoughts and fell sideways on the bed, drawing her knees up while she clutched her stomach.

"OOOOHHHH…" She had no trouble making the sound painful; this man was going to pay.

The guard's face paled with fright. "Do you need a doctor?"

"My water broke… I think the baby's coming…" She ground her words through gritted teeth like she'd seen actresses do on television.

The man stood frozen. Shit, he was worse than most… Going for the full affect, she screamed and rolled onto her other side, exposing the wetness. "Do you know how to deliver a baby?" she asked and let another scream.

"No." The bastard with the roaming hands answered.

Stephanie rolled onto her other side to hide the smile that almost broke out on her face and screamed as loud as she could while clutching the pillow.

"Get me a phone!" She panted and rolled her wet eyes to look at him. Unsure how he was supposed to answer, he nodded his head yes.

"I need to call my doctor!" Stephanie held her breath, praying that the asshole's confusion lasted just a little longer.

The man pulled the cell phone off his belt and started to hand it to her, but drew it back in hesitation.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!" Stephanie wailed loud and long and grabbed the phone from his hand. Damn, this really was turning into an act of labor. She didn't waver and started to punch in the country code for the US and then a number she was hoping would be answered.

The bastard took a step toward her as if he was going to take the phone from her. Stephanie fell back onto her side and screamed for all she was worth. Her performance was so convincing that the man took two steps back. Please, please, please… answer the phone.

One ring and the call rolled over to Ranger's voice mail. Shit! She wasted no time in punching in another number: this may be her only chance of reaching a real person and she wasn't going to stop until she heard a person on the other end.

"Talk," a deep voice said and she felt real tears slip from her eyes.

"Mom? I think I'm having the baby… I need h e l p." Stephanie stretched the last word out, hoping to emphasize her desperation.

"Who the hell is this?" Shit, Tank wasn't in a patient mood tonight.

"Mom, I'm with Ranger's uncle in Havana and I think the baby isn't going to wait until we reach Miami tomorrow."

"Stephanie?" Tank's voice came back sharp.

"Yes," Stephanie wept with relief.

"How far apart are the pains?" Tank asked. "Wait a minute; what the fuck are you talking about, you're not pregnant…"

"I can't find Ranger… do you know where he is?" She let another painful moan creep into her voice.

"Has that son of a bitch, Julio, hurt you?" She could imagine the knotted bunch of muscles forming on Tank's jaw. "Ranger's in Havana looking for you. STAY WHERE YOU ARE…" Tank screamed the order loud and clear over the phone.

"Okay, Mom." Stephanie said before she pulled the phone away from her ear. "Mom says I should go to the hospital." The bastard nodded in agreement. "Thanks Mom, we're on our way to the hospital. I love you." The sadness her face reflected was real when she ended the call.

She lifted her head and looked at the man standing at the foot of her bed, "Will you take me to the hospital?"

"Sí," a voice answered from the doorway. The bastard's head swerved around to see who had spoken.

"Who's that?" Stephanie asked and then noticed the man hovering in the doorway was standing at attention. Oh, this could not be good.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Miguel Manoso." He left the doorway and walked to the edge of the bed. "I am your husband's cousin and I would be more than honored to escort you to the hospital."

As Miguel's hand reached out to touch her stomach, Stephanie instinctively recoiled back to protect her unborn child from his touch. Damn, this was spooky.

"Thank you," she whispered. "The sooner the better."

"Tell my father I have taken Ricardo's wife." Miguel shot the verbal order at the guard. "Can you walk?" Stephanie shook her head. "Shall we go?" Miguel asked. Stephanie rose off the bed; her steps slow and she was careful to hold her pregnancy pillow snug against her stomach. She'd seen this bastard at work and had no intentions of blowing her plan now.

oOoOo

Tank stared at the phone, unheeding of the dial tone that had replaced the woman's voice. "Was that Stephanie?" Lopez asked. "You didn't say anything about her being pregnant." The detective watched the large man's face. He couldn't tell if the man was going to laugh or going into a rage.

"She's not." Tank said after he ended the call on his end and clipped the cell phone back on his belt. Tank's eyes met Lopez's and then a huge smile broke out across his face. "You haven't had the pleasure of meeting the new Mrs. Manoso yet." A cavernous chuckle rose from his chest. "She is one-of-a-kind, totally unpredictable." Tank shook his head. "Come on, let's go," he called to Lopez over his shoulder and left the small hidden room and stepped back inside the restaurant's kitchen.

"Where are we going?" Lopez turned to follow in the larger man's footsteps.

"Cuba," Tank replied.

"Cuba?" Lopez stopped. "Are you crazy?" he shouted at the large back that continued walking away.

Stopping, Tank turned and looked at Lopez. "If I'm going to be a quasi-uncle, I plan on being there for the birth!"

Confused, Lopez looked at Tank. "But she's not pregnant!"

Tank's laughter was loud and hearty. "You're right, but whatever the Bombshell is planning on giving birth to, I don't want to miss." Turning, Tank left the confused detective staring once again at his back.

oOoOo

Ranger reached inside his pocket and pulled out the vibrating phone. "Yo."

"Congratulations, my friend." Will's smiling voice came booming through the phone.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ranger asked.

"Seems like your wife is in labor and on her way to the hospital," Will laughed. "You do work fast."

"You talked to Stephanie?" The note of hope in Ranger's voice was easy to hear.

"No, Tank did. Seems she's on her way to the hospital to give birth to your miracle child." Will laughed harder. "I have to meet this wife of yours, Ric."

Ranger rubbed his face. "Which hospital?"

"I'd say the closest one to Hotel Melia Cohiba since that's where your uncle is staying," Will answered.

Ranger didn't bother to respond; he just disconnected the call and turned to Abrahan. "Stay here until Leon arrives. Stephanie called Tank, Julio has her in Havana."

"Julio?" Abrahan asked. "How?"

Ranger shook his head and walked toward the door. "It's just the way Stephanie does things."

"Be careful, Ricardo," Abrahan called to his cousin.

oOoOo

Stephanie had to remember to moan and act like she was in pain. Her attention was being drawn away from her 'condition' while she studied the shadowed profile of the man driving the car. The few lights that were on afforded her only brief glimpses of the man she had watched murder Juan. The family resemblance made her heart ache.

She watched as his eyes flicked nervous glances to the rearview mirror. He had done it several times since leaving, but this time he smiled and pulled the steering wheel to a sharp right. The old car didn't have seatbelts and Stephanie slid over the worn leather seat, jamming the armrest into her side.

"Ouch!" Her pain was real this time. "Careful." She shot an angry look in the driver's direction. He responded by allowing a vicious smile to form on his face.

Ignoring the condition of the road, Miguel drove faster. Stephanie didn't say a word, but hung on to the dashboard and tried to absorb the heavy bumps as best as she could, trying not to hit her head.

"Is this the way to hospital?" she asked, but feared she already knew the answer. The man remained quiet, but his face still wore the ugly smile. "Where are you taking me?"

With another sharp pull of the wheel, the car swung to the left and then slowed. They had entered a tree lined dirt path that only someone familiar with the area would be able to find. A small stone structure appeared before them and Miguel steered with care until the car was hidden behind it.

He turned the engine off, opened his door and stepped out, leaving Stephanie to sit in the dark interior. He walked around to the back of the car, opened the trunk and lifted out a large duffel bag. When he opened her door, she thought about trying to run but discarded that idea when she saw the gun in his hand. He waved the gun, instructing her to get out of the car.

He gave her shoulder a slight push and pointed toward a small building that was set back in a tiny grove of trees. When they reached the door, he leaned past her to open it, but blocked her from entering.

"I saw you and my cousin Ricardo in Vegas." Stephanie shivered at the hateful way he said Ranger's name. "Your body has changed some in the past few days."

Stephanie froze. Shit, he knew she was faking the pregnancy.

He nudged her forward into a dark room that smelled of old grease and stale air. She almost vomited. He shoved the door shut and stepped around her to light an old fashioned lantern that was sitting on a small rickety table. The pale yellow light cast the room in heavy shadows; it also revealed the makeup of her surroundings. The room was small with a bed in one corner, a small stove next to a blackened fireplace. The only other furniture was the table and chairs.

He opened the duffel bag and pulled out a length of rope and, yanking her arms behind her, he tied her hands together. Stepping in front of her, they looked at each other. His hands were quick, her skirt was pulled up and the pillow removed before she could prevent it. She could feel his eyes roaming over her. She twisted and turned her body; she stepped back, and pulled her skirt from his grasp. He laughed.

"Don't worry cousin; I plan on welcoming you to the family in a very special way." He hauled her body tight against his. "Women do not need to pretend they are pregnant after being with me."