The characters below are all from the genius of JE. The mess they're in is entirely my fault.

Jenny (JenRar) you have been an amazing beta and guide on this story. Thank you for your hard work and encouragement along the way.

Chapter 12 – Ranger – Taking Back What's Mine

How many years has the big lug known me that he thought he needed to remind me to enter on my belly? I specialized in the details and keeping that kind of shit in the front of my mind is what kept me breathing on some missions. Still, this whole fucked up situation was so far beyond what I'd ever experienced on a mission that he was probably right to say something. And anytime Stephanie was involved, my rule book tended to go out the window.

I gripped the key tighter, knowing I couldn't get her out alive without it, and dropped to my stomach to begin the familiar movement of covering the distance flat on my abs. I could hear Bobby talking to her, telling her she needed to stay awake for him, and Zero and Lester joking and laughing with strained voices, obviously acting more light hearted than they really felt. I thought I also heard Manny's voice mixed in somehow. I wasn't sure how he'd gotten in; I thought Tank had left him in charge while he was going after the Pharmacist. I guess when Tank arrived Manny hightailed it back in here. I didn't really blame him.

Manny was encouraging his wife to keep her eyes open. I had to take a deep breath and stop moving to remember the reference to them being married was from when Stephanie was saving my life, not a real marriage that I needed to worry about. With all the people in there, it sounded more like a party than a rescue mission.

I came around the corner and felt every eye land on me as Lester exclaimed, "Thank God you're here."

"Awe, man, don't get all mushy on me, I haven't been gone that long," I told him, hoping he'd pick up on the hint that I wanted to keep her distracted while my eyes roamed the warehouse, taking in everything that could be a threat and avoiding looking at Stephanie until I absolutely had to.

Juarez had done an impressive job of trying to duplicate the trap I'd set for his brother in Columbia years ago. Some of his systems were more simplistic, but he didn't have the same background I did to hide them very well.

I had stalled long enough and knew I needed to look into the pit that the guys were surrounding. Manny and Lester were holding ropes that were supporting Stephanie in some way. Bobby was pulling a needle out of Zero's arm, which I could see had been directly connected to Stephanie. He also wasn't wearing gloves. That might not seem like a big deal, but Bobby was a damn good medic, diligent in every way to prevent infection. Obviously, this was serious if Bobby was more concerned about getting her help than he was about universal precautions or potential germ contamination.

I'd put it off for far too long and let my eyes fall on the woman I'd loved for years. To my eye, there was a beauty in her that rose above her condition, but there was no denying the truth that she'd been worked over, and as harsh as it sounded, she looked like shit. A new wave of fury flew through me, and I had to work harder than I ever had to control it so I could trust my voice when I spoke.

I had to get her out of here in one piece, and then I'd let my mind go wherever it needed to, but until then, I had to stay in control. A quick glance at my men told me they were struggling with the same pull – the need to avenge her for the hell she was in and the need to protect and care for her as an innocent who didn't deserve any of this.

"Babe," I said only her name, hoping she could read into it how sorry I was that she was in that hole.

Her eyes, which had been closed and causing Bobby such stress, began to move, and one popped open while the other remained mostly shut from the swelling on that side of her face.

"You can't be here," she announced, obviously agitated. It didn't take a heart surgeon to know that kind of stress on top of her injuries wasn't good for her, so I moved in closer so I could touch her.

"Where else would I be when you need me?" I asked, putting my hand on her cheek. I brushed my thumb over the skin with lines formed by tears pushing through the dirt and grime her captors had allowed to cake on.

New tears fell, and I took it as a good sign if she were able to make the signs of hydration since Bobby had a bag of what I assumed was saline to keep her going. "But he said…" Despite her attempt to be strong, her body wasn't used to this kind of long term stress and keeping her mind and mouth working together was proving to be difficult. "He said your life or mine, and you can't die for me…you have to go."

I smiled, looking her straight in the eye to be sure she was listening to me. "I'm not dying, and neither are you. I didn't come here until I eliminated every possible threat to us from this day. Once we get you out of this hole, you're safe, and so am I."

"But…" she attempted to argue once more, but was too weak to put up much more than that.

"Proud of you, Babe," I threw out the phrase I found myself saying every time she amazed me. It wasn't nearly strong enough, but I hoped she'd figure out what I meant. "You protected me and took a pain that should never have been yours, simply to keep me safe."

"I'd never betray you, Ranger," she said, obviously finding a pool of strength to reassure me once more of her loyalty.

"I never doubted that as true," I promised, realizing how few people in the world I could say that about. "Are you ready to get out here?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light.

"Can I?" she asked with a crack in her voice. I knew she wanted to leave, but I also knew the threats Juarez had made to her while inflicting pain had been literally beaten in as true and she was struggling to accept that it was possible she might live to get out of here. Someone had broken her enough to take away her hope, and I wished Juarez were still alive so I could kill him once more, but draw it out longer this time to make him suffer more for what he'd done.

"Of course you can," I promised. "There are a few things I need to do to make it safe, and then we're doing to pull you right up out of that hole and get you outside, where your family is waiting."

"Why are my parents here?" she asked, picking up on everything I'd said.

"Your parents haven't even been notified, but RangeMan is here," I explained.

Lester interrupted, "We're your family, Beautiful."

Manny added, "That's right. We're the ones that have your back no matter what."

Bobby saw I was checking out her pit and kept her distracted by saying, "And we're the ones that love you unconditionally, because you taught us how. You're stuck with us now."

In order to get my arm down to feel for the trap based on the level of the water gel explosive she was standing in, I had to move closer, putting my face very close to hers. It was only because of the proximity that I heard her reply, "I can't wait for the family reunion. For the first time ever, I won't be repulsed by the idea of kissing cousins."

I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up at her acceptance of what the guys had said and what was most likely an internal thought that she hadn't intended to say for everyone to hear. I loved those glimpses into her mind and always felt like the hidden thoughts taught me more about her than anything else.

I finally got my fingers around the lip of a pipe that I knew was the feeder tube for the required agent to set off the explosion Juarez had intended to kill Stephanie and me at the same time. I had no way of knowing how much he'd planted. It wouldn't take much to set off the explosion, but I had to assume he'd planned for us to use a container to capture the agent, so he probably had enough in reserve to fill any decent sized bucket or bowl and overflow, still causing the explosion he wanted.

I estimated the pipe to be three inches in diameter and brought my hand out, looking between Bobby and Manny to ask, "What do you have that I can use to block a three inch pipe?" Then I added, "And what kind of overflow container do you have to catch anything that comes past the blockage?"

Bobby produced packages of gauze, which I began shoving down in the hole and into the pipe. They would only delay the progress of the agent as they absorbed the liquid until they became too saturated to take on any more. Manny had moldable tin – similar to aluminum foil, but much sturdier. I made a pipe cap out of the tin, grabbing a heavy duty rubber band to secure it around the edge of the pipe. That would probably buy us a few seconds. Bobby then came up with a tray like they used in hospitals for patients whose stomachs were unsettled that he'd put some kind of straps on to hang over the small lip. That would potentially add a few more seconds to the overall time to escape before the explosion hit, so I hung it up, taking some moldable clay from Manny as an adhesive agent.

"Boss, we're down to four minutes, if our master time is synchronized to the countdown here," Manny said, basically reminding me we didn't have all day to make this happen.

I nodded that I'd heard him, and then pulled my hand out, knowing we'd done everything we could here. "All right, it's time to get you out of this hole," I told Stephanie, wanting to warn her that she was about to be moved, since I knew she was going to hurt when we started jostling her.

"I made a board with wheels that we can use to roll her on," Manny suggested.

"Crawling will be too slow," I decided aloud. "We'll put her on the board, and then we'll each take a corner and carry her out."

"What about the traps?" Zero asked.

"Collateral damage for the greater good," I replied, gladly willing to take a bullet for Stephanie if it meant saving her life. Hell, it wouldn't be the first time I'd been shot for her.

Then I realized it wasn't fair to ask the same thing of all my men, so I said, "But if you don't want to risk it, feel free to crawl out now while I'm getting her settled. No reason to put your neck somewhere it doesn't have to be." I wasn't really surprised when the men just looked at me, refusing to abandon her to save themselves.

"Ram, I need you in here," I said to my comm. unit, feeling like our explosives expert should check out what we'd done.

As soon as he appeared, I told him to double check our cap, and he shrugged. "It's the best we can do. I say we go for it."

Manny pushed the board forward with the hand not wrapped in rope and sat it so that she could be pulled straight out and onto it with the makeshift harness they'd been holding her with.

I looked him and Lester in the eye, and then nodded, giving them a signal to get her out.

"Hang on, Babe," I told her when her eye snapped tightly shut, no doubt registering the pain of being moved again. "We'll do this as fast as we can, but we've got a short window to get out with."

"Just do it," she said, sounding resigned to whatever else she had to endure now.

It took them only a few seconds to get her on the board.

"What the hell is that?" Ram asked, pointing to the cable attached to the bottom of her metal vest and running back into the pit.

I didn't bother explaining, already aware that it would be there. Instead, I moved to her side, used the key I'd been holding, and unlocked the padlock between her legs. Juarez had soldered metal rings to the bottom of the vest between her legs and run the lock through them to secure her inside the electrical circuit. The lock had then been wired to the vest so that any attempt to cut it off would result in activating the plate to generate electricity. Without the key the person wearing the vest couldn't get out of it alive.

Looking over my shoulder at Bobby, I said, "Help me get this off."

Bobby and Zero pulled the vest so that it separated, and Manny pulled the cart she was laying on so that the vest could slip away from her. I noticed it scratching her as they pulled it, but knew that was a small price to pay to have it off of her.

Once it was done, they set the vest down, and I saw it was still connected to her via a wire running to a device in her hand. The suicide control had been strapped to her so she couldn't forget about that out to escape what she had been through. I'd seen many soldiers take such an out and was proud of her once more for fighting through it and refusing to give Juarez the easy victory by pushing that button. My woman was a fighter, and this was just one more piece of evidence to support that truth.

I cut the wire with some pliers Manny handed me, knowing it didn't matter if the vest engaged at this point. It couldn't hurt her anymore.

"We're under two minutes," Zero announced.

No sooner had the words come out of his mind then we heard a loud click, as though a timer had just engaged.

Ram shouted, "Move, move, move!"

Bobby had a hand on Stephanie, keeping her secure and monitoring her for any signs of crashing. We had to get her out, but we also knew in her condition, any change could be the final straw that caused her body to shut down. Lester and I stood at the head of Steph's gurney, with Manny and Zero at the foot, and we began to walk out as quickly as we could.

Steph was making heartbreaking sounds with each step. It was obvious she was trying to hold them back, but the agony was too great to be denied. Seeing the damage visible to the naked eye, I was honestly surprised she was even conscious, so I couldn't blame her for the indications of suffering. I do think it kept us from running, when it might have been wise.

We'd gone only four steps when we tripped a sensor and a gun went off. I was prepared to compensate in supporting Stephanie if I had to, but no one indicated they were hit.

A second later, there was another click, and smoke began to plume from the second floor. I wasn't sure if it was tear gas or evidence of a fire, so I commanded, "Suck in a breath and double time it out."

Our speed picked up as we moved through the haze to the exit, still mindful of the shock to our cargo.

As soon as we cleared the building, I saw Tank standing there, practically frozen to the ground. I nodded to him, trying to let him know that she was alive, and once again, he'd done it; he'd looked out for her when I was unable to.

That was all it took for Tank to run ahead, shouting out the necessary orders to mobilize our company and bug out to a safe distance. The fire department and TPD were called, alerting them to a possible bomb situation and a rescued kidnap victim who was being transported for immediate medical attention.

Hector pulled up with the large Navigator and jumped out to open the back with the seats folded down so we could slide Stephanie straight in. Bobby and I each jumped in on opposite sides, before Hector shut the door to make the trip to St. Francis.

I was aware of someone else getting in the front passenger seat, but I couldn't take my eyes off of Stephanie.

I pushed her hair away from her face and asked, "What did they do you, Babe?"

Her eye began to flutter, before they closed with a groan, and then she was still.

"Bobby?" I asked in a panic. I couldn't lose her now. Not after all I'd been through to get to her, and especially not after everything I'd realized on the flight here from my mission.

One of his hands was holding a stethoscope to her chest, and the other jumped to her neck. He nodded, but I didn't relax until he said, "It's shallow, but she's still breathing. She's in shock. I can't do anything else for her right now, other than be ready in case she shuts down completely. We're going to need a team of surgeons at the ready to pull her through. Nearly everything on her needs some form of attention."

"Don't leave her side," I commanded him, knowing the hospital staff wouldn't allow me back to the operating room. They had made exceptions for Bobby in the past, and whether they knew it or not, today was going to be an exception.

"No way in hell they're taking her somewhere without RangeMan being there," he confirmed.

I couldn't stop touching her, knowing we'd be separated the moment we got her to the ER and needing to reassure myself that she was okay now. I put my index finger knuckle against my lips to keep myself from talking and saying something I'd regret. But when she made another low sound of pain and her eye began to flutter open again, I realized my foolish pride could go to hell. I couldn't miss what could be my last chance to tell her how I felt.

"Babe." I spoke only her name, but it felt as though I'd said so much more.

"I'm sorry," she apologized on an exhale.

"No," I said firmly, stopping her. "I'm the one that should be begging for your forgiveness here, not the other way around."

"Please don't leave me," she begged, sounding so small and frail.

"I'm taking you to the hospital, and while the doctors are working to patch you up, Bobby will be there. The second they're done, I'll be back by your side," I promised.

Her lips turned up slightly, as though trying to smile and not quite managing it. "But after that, don't go."

I wasn't sure what she meant, feeling as though I'd already promised I'd be by her side, and then I knew it was time to man up and forget about the guys in the truck. It was truth time, and I wasn't going to let her go into the ER still fighting for her life without laying out what would be waiting for her when she got out.

I took one of her hands in mine and squeezed it. She returned the gesture gently, so I knew she was listening. I leaned down closer so I could speak softly, and then opened my heart to her.

"Stephanie, I'm not going anywhere – ever. When I first got the call from Tank that you'd been taken, I was furious and realized this was my worst fear come true. I kept telling myself that if I'd stayed away from you like I knew I should have, then you wouldn't have been targeted and you wouldn't be suffering. I had a brief moment of stupidity when I told myself I'd get you out, and then leave Trenton for good so this could never happen again. But that didn't last long, because the thought of never seeing you again took me to my knees."

Literally, I'd collapsed on the floor of the plane, unable to make my legs support me. I knew that cutting her from my life would be the end of me. Plus, as my rational mind came back on board, I realized in Trenton, Stephanie and I were not officially a couple and someone still got to her. So I'd figured the only real way to keep her safe wasn't to push her away, but to pull her closer. There was no way in hell she'd have been taken if she'd been sleeping in my bed, by my side, where she should have been.

"While I was down there, I prayed words I'd never used for my own safety, but they flowed from me when it was your life on the line. And I knew that once I got you back and you were out from under the threat of harm, I'd never be able to push you away. In the brief second I thought about leaving, I knew I'd never be able to do it. I can't have a life without you in it. So, when you come out of surgery and open your eyes, focusing on the ceiling or the walls of your recovery room, you need to be prepared to see me. And then every time you open your eyes for the rest of your life, you need to be prepared for me to be there, too, because it's going to be a long time before I'm going to be able to give you any space to be away from me."

That partial smile came over her face once more, and her shoulders lowered. I hadn't even noticed how high they had been, but something I'd said allowed her to relax, and knowing I'd comforted her just with words alone made me want to keep talking.

"I need you to relax and let the doctors do whatever they need to so that you can come back to me. We've got a lot to talk about, and the sooner we start, the better."

"What..." she began, before stopping to swallow. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Our future," I replied, as though it were a foregone conclusion.

This time, her lips managed a full smile, even showing her teeth a little. "What about our future?"

"Where you want to live, when you'd like to get married, how big of a ring you'd like, what kind of car you want to drive, where you want to vacation... All kinds of big decisions need to be made, Babe, and I need your help to make them," I told her, knowing I sounded like a fool, but for the first time in my life, not caring.

Her eyes fluttered open, and her head turned away from me toward Bobby. I tried not to tighten my grip on her hand at that action, flooded with fear that she was rejecting the future I'd just revealed to her. I had thought through every possible outcome except that she might not want to be with me. Of course, after all she'd been put through because of my past, I couldn't really blame her.

"Drugs…did you give me any drugs?" she asked him seriously.

Bobby shook his head. "No, Bomber, like I said, I can't give you anything until we get you stable at the hospital. I'm sorry."

She shook her head slightly, stopping him and turned back to me. "Needed to be sure I wasn't dreaming," she explained.

I touched her face with my free hand and assured her. "No hallucinations, I promise."

"You may have to tell me again…later," she said, her forehead wrinkling as we flew over a bump in the road.

"I'll tell you as often as you want to hear it for as long as you need to hear it," I volunteered.

Before anything else could be said, the truck stopped and the back door opened. A team of medical personnel stood at the ready, proving Tank had called ahead and briefed them on the incoming trauma.

They started pulling her board out, when she gripped my hand tighter, so I held up my palm to stop them.

"What is it, Babe?" I asked, not wanting there to be anything left unsaid between us before we were separated again.

"…love…you," she whispered, a tear running from the corner of her eye into her hair.

I bent over quickly and kissed her, privacy be damned. I pulled back just enough for my lips to move and said, "I love you, too."

She nodded, which I assumed meant she was ready to roll, and I helped Bobby to lift her board and put it on the waiting gurney, wheels and all, for her to be pushed into the open emergency room.

When the double doors swung shut, I had that same feeling I'd had in the plane and was glad someone was there to catch me, giving me enough support to get me to one of the molded plastic chairs in the waiting room.

I sat down hard, and then looked to my right to see Tank standing there, awaiting instructions. I had nothing to say, no instructions to offer. I'd admitted how I'd felt to Stephanie and anyone else who was close enough to hear, and then I'd had to stand down as she was wrenched away from me. There weren't any words or commands that would take away the empty feeling inside of me. Nothing I had seen or endured had prepared me for this feeling of isolation and helplessness.

Tank put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I've got it, man," and then walked to the registration desk. He knew what to do; I'd trusted him with my own life, and knew he'd take the same care of Stephanie's. And after what I'd told her, weren't they one in the same anyway?

I clasped my hands between my knees, and then bent over with my forehead resting on them, hearing the second hand of my watch ticking close to my ear. Why had I wasted so much time keeping her at arm's length? Obviously, I hadn't been protecting her; an enemy had still used her in ways so horrible, I'd never even imagined them.

I shook my head, realizing that I'd kept the distance between us because I was a fool and a coward. I was afraid of what would happen if I let myself be vulnerable. Hell, she'd proven her own toughness already, so the only explanation was that I was scared I couldn't be what she needed, not the other way around.

But the forced reality that she might be ripped from me made me acknowledge that even without the title or the public acceptance, she was mine – mine! – and not even my foolish pride and rigid rules would keep us apart ever again.

I took a deep breath, trying to get a grip on myself. Falling apart in the damned waiting room like some emotional wimp wasn't going to help her. I had to keep it together and stay strong for her.

A second, slower breath helped a little more to release some of the tension I'd been storing since I first heard what happened. I had been having a beer with a contact, reviewing another successful completed mission and doing the schmoozing I hated so much but that kept the business rolling in. The guy had just mentioned the hardest thing for him in his line of work was staying in shape, because he had such a sweet tooth. I'd called on my skills of hiding my reaction at his admission of weakness and thought of Stephanie. The moment her face popped into my head, my cell phone rang and my whole world crumbled. For all I knew, the DC crony was still sitting at the bar, waiting on me to return to finish the beer.

He'd be waiting forever, for all I cared, because there was no way I could revisit this day anytime soon.

My hip buzzed, and I jumped from the shock of it. I sat up, yanking the cell off my hip in a hasty movement, and looked down to see a text from Bobby.

Holding her own. This will take a while – lots to repair. Eat something. Get cleaned up so you can be with her when we're done.

Like hell. Tank came over, holding his phone and reading, before tapping my handheld with his to get my attention. "Bobby says I'm supposed to carry you out of here if I have to in order to get you fed and cleaned up. Says she'll be in there for hours."

"Not leaving," I replied, hiding the grimace at how much I sounded like a two-year-old being told to go to bed and refusing.

"Not asking you to." He matched my tone with his, before softening slightly and saying, "Zip is running to RangeMan to get you fresh clothes and some things from Ella for Stephanie. When he gets back, I've spoken to the staff here and gotten you access to a shower so you can wash up without leaving this floor. Give me some credit, man. I knew you wouldn't go."

I couldn't stop myself... The roller coaster of the day, the relief that she was hanging on and still fighting, and the fact that my oldest friend was smiling made my own mouth betray me and tip up at the corners.

Tank held out his hand, and I put mine in his. "Congrats, man. I'm so glad I didn't have to kick your ass to make you realize what was right in front of you."

"My ass got kicked all right," I told him, referring to the last two hundred and forty minutes. "You just didn't get to brag about it."

"No matter. You settled everything?" he asked, getting serious once again.

"Yeah. I told her I'm here for the long haul," I told him, not caring who heard.

"You cool with what that means?" he pushed a little more than usual, proving how important she was to him, too.

I raised an eyebrow, just to mess with him.

"You gonna have to let her in, talk to her, and accept that this may not be the last time you get a call that something's gone wrong with her. Loving that woman won't be easy."

"I don't need easy," I replied to his last sentence, but letting the truth of everything he'd said sink in as well.

He held out a fist, and I bumped it, about to thank him, when he spoke up once more. "Don't even insult me by saying it. I did it for her. The fact that the little girl seems to need you for some reason means you get the benefit of it, too. But I did it for her."

I looked around the waiting room at the men that had congregated and saw every man on my payroll. "Who's running the ship?"

Tank looked back and shook his head. "Do you really care?"

"Not a damn bit, but it looks like everyone's here," I commented.

"Got a couple of contract workers on monitors, but that's all. I got nothing to threaten these guys with bad enough to make them go back until they hear that she's going to be all right," Tank replied, speaking a truth I could understand.

My men – the guys I'd interviewed, hired, and in many cases served beside and trained. I knew their loyalty was there no matter the circumstances, but today only cemented what had previously only been held in theory. I had been out of state, and yet, they'd all dropped everything to fight for the woman I loved. I guess I should just accept the fact that they loved her, too.

I sat back and took yet another calming breath, feeling the adrenaline that had rushed me when I stopped in the ER beginning to wane slightly. Pulling out my cell phone once more, I re-read Bobby's message. She was fighting, and she'd pull though, because she was the strongest person I knew.

The guys settled down, taking chairs or finding places to lean, and I didn't bother to tell them to go back to work. They had as much of a right to be here as I did.

Two days ago, I would have said four hours was an eternity, but now I knew precisely how long it was, having counted every single one of the minutes as it passed. My whole life had been changed in the blink of an eye that passed in that span of time. I'd nearly lost her under the guise of protecting her, and as a result, in such a short period, she had become my whole world.

Thinking about Stephanie, I felt the peace that her presence in my mind always brought me and relaxed a little more, finding the zone that I knew would allow me to wait out the work happening behind the doors in front of me.

I had plenty to mull over as I waited. I hadn't exaggerated the decisions we needed to make. I had finally admitted what she was to me, and there was no reason to go slow. The mark of our relationship officially beginning was this day, and I saw no reason to step back and ease into anything.

Bobby had said it would take hours for them to finish treating her, and Juarez had defined how much time that truly was. I'd use my time now to plan out the life I wanted with Stephanie, and when I was allowed to move to her side, I'd stop at nothing to make it happen.