use them for fun and not for profit.

Chapter 17

Tinley slid off his stool and walked toward Stephanie. She saw him coming out of the corner of her eye, but her gaze was focused entirely on the other man. Her eyes were telling her it was Ranger, but she knew it wasn't. This man was the exact double of Carlos Mañoso. Rock's resemblance paled in comparison when she looked at this man. His hair was long and hung straight, falling onto his shoulders, which looked well-muscled and powerful. This man was Ranger as he had looked years ago when they'd first met.

Rock had forgotten to mention one little thing. He looked like Ranger, so much so that he could have been Ranger's brother, but Rock's brother looked like Ranger, too. In fact, Rock's brother was Ranger's double. The man staring unblinkingly at her was dressed in white and he was Naldo Montara. She was sure. He remained motionless while Tinley slowly approached Stephanie. It occurred to her that she should run. Had Julie had enough time to get away? She took a step backward toward the door and a hand came up from behind her and pressed a cloth against her mouth. She swung around, but her movements were halted by Tinley's tight grasp on her forearm.

Her eyes swung back toward Naldo, but the bar stool was empty. She tried to breathe through her nose, but the hand holding the cloth slid upward and covered her lower face completely. The smell was sickly sweet and although she couldn't identify it, she knew it wasn't good for her to breathe. The few occupants of the bar seemed to be watching with interest and one of them had stepped up behind her to help Tinley. Stephanie realized she'd walked directly into a trap.

Ranger maneuvered the Porsche seamlessly into its assigned slot. His mind had been focused on finishing up the day's business, and only on the trip home did he let his thoughts wander to what was waiting for him. He was finally going to prove to Stephanie that he could indeed last all night. For once he was going to be irresponsible. He'd act first and then they'd talk. He was ready to get out of his business clothes and slip into something more comfortable...Stephanie. He smiled at that thought. As he stepped out of the car he noticed the empty spot reserved for Stephanie's car. He frowned as he pulled his cell from his pocket. The meeting had been tense with sensitive negotiations and he cursed as he realized he'd never turned his phone on afterwards. He dialed her number. It rang six times before it flipped to voicemail. His "Call me," was terse. It hadn't occurred to him that she'd have second thoughts and remove herself from the building. He was surprised at the depth of his disappointment.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he answered before the caller I.D. could display. "Yo."

"Get up to four, pronto," Tank growled. "We may have a situation."

Ranger hit the stairs running and didn't stop until he opened the door to four and saw Tank, Rock, Lester and Bobby all looking at a monitor. She was the one with spidey-sense, but he knew. This was about Stephanie's missing car.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Stephanie's car has been static for about a half-hour. She's east of downtown, in the warehouse district," Tank said, "and she's not answering her phone."

"She left alone about an hour ago," Lester said. "Her car was tracked to Chestnut where she parked momentarily and from there she headed back north and then took off on Olden. She parked at her present location and she hasn't moved since."

"Fuck," Tank said softly. Everyone turned to look at him. "Her location on Chestnut Street," he said quietly. "Lula and Connie were going to the Snake Pit tonight, to watch some guy dance. The point where she turned around is near the Snake Pit." He walked away from the group of men and made a call. His tone was low and the conversation was brief. "I got hold of Lula," he said. "It was so noisy I couldn't hear well, but she and Connie are still there. Stephanie didn't go with them."

Rock turned from where he'd been studying the screen with the unmoving blip of Stephanie's tracker centered on the monitor. "I'm still learning my way around Trenton," he said, "so I'm not positive, but I think she's in the area where we saw Tinley and Mary Black."

"You've been on Tinley all day, right?" Ranger questioned.

"I've been at his brother's apartment all day," Rock said. "He never showed. If Stephanie got a tip about his location, she would have called." His face paled as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "I had it on silent while I had Tommy Hicks' apartment staked out. I checked it several times during the day and…nothing, but now I've got two missed calls from Stephanie. The last one about forty minutes ago."

"Let's roll," Ranger said. The men headed as one, toward the stairs as Ranger called out commands. "Two vehicles. Lester, Bobby, you guys go with Tank. Rock, you're with me." They were on their way.

There was total silence in the SUV driven by Ranger. Rock assumed he'd be upset, but Ranger appeared completely in control, calm even. "I thought Stephanie was off this case," Ranger said. "It was my understanding you'd be calling me for backup."

"That's my understanding, too," Rock said. "I have no idea why she would go out on her own. Based on the location of her car and the two missed phone calls, I'm thinking she must have come upon Tinley unexpectedly."

"Or Naldo," Ranger said. Rock was silent. "Is there anything you need to tell me?" Ranger asked him.

Rock opened his mouth, closed it and said nothing and Ranger shot a quick sideways glance at him. There'd been a hesitation, slight but real nonetheless. Ranger thought there was more to Rock's story and he'd given his new employee every chance. If Stephanie was harmed because of Rock's holding back information, he would be the shortest tenured employee in RangeMan history.

Stephanie fell forward on to her hands and knees. The hands pushing her through the doorway gave one last shove and she felt herself falling. She heard the door slam shut behind her. Her mouth was free from the cloying odor of the cloth that had been pressed tightly against it. She took in deep breaths, feeling the air travel deep into her lungs, but it didn't help. Her legs and arms were so heavy she lay in the position she'd landed. She was tired. It was her last conscious thought.

When Stephanie awoke her head was pounding and she didn't know where she was. Her arms felt tingly and she wanted to go back to sleep, but something wasn't right so she tried to fight the urge to close her eyes. Cautiously she raised her head from the hardness of the floor and pushed herself up, trying to remember where she was. Something smelled horrible. The small room was dimly lit and she could see the wood paneling on the wall was warped and water-stained, but it didn't smell like mold. She tried again to remember why she was here and trying to think made her head spin. Slowly she scooted herself toward the wall opposite the door. She was dizzy and tired and she couldn't catch her breath and it took all her energy to stay in a sitting position and lean back against the wall.

The black and white checkerboard tile floor seemed to be swaying, and looking at it made her nauseous, so she tried to focus on one square at a time. Black and then white, black and then white. Her eyes drifted to the corner opposite her. What was that on the floor? It was a dead chicken, she realized and it was what she had been smelling. The blood spattered around the chicken was dark and viscous and Stephanie didn't think the chicken had died a natural death. The first tendrils of fear started to push the fogginess from her brain. And then the door opened.

Ranger stood in the doorway smiling at her. She was safe. She stood with great effort, pushing herself up and leaning against the wall for balance. Then she took a step and wobbled her way to him. Her equilibrium wasn't very good and that made him smile.

Ranger. He was so beautiful. His hair was long and fell in soft waves around his shoulders and she reached out to touch it. "You came," she said.

"I did come, my dear. Just for you and I'm going to take you home."

"To the Batcave?" she giggled and then she frowned. Ranger wasn't wearing black. He was wearing white and he looked beautiful.

"I'm going to take you to your celestial home, where you belong. You don't belong with my brother. I've been watching you and it's time for you to go." He held out his hand to her and she took it and she let him lead her from the room and down a short hallway, but she was confused. Did she know Ranger's brother? She couldn't remember. The floor was cool on her feet and she concentrated on taking steps, her gait getting a little steadier as she slowly placed one foot in front of the other. She looked down to see her feet with the pretty pink polish on her toes. Where did her shoes go?

Ranger was still holding her hand, leading her into another small room. He turned to face her and reached out to touch her breast. This was what she'd wanted all day. Ranger. She put her hand out to touch him and he smiled.

"Wait here, my dear," he told her. "I'll be back shortly." He closed the door behind him and she heard a lock tumble. She knew that wasn't good, but she couldn't think why, her head starting to spin so violently she stumbled and fell against the wall.

Concentrate, Stephanie, she told herself. Why was she here? The harder she tried to remember the more confused she became. This room was much nicer than the last room, but it was smoky, too, like the other room. Maybe it was the smoke that was making her confused. She pulled her shirt up and covered her mouth, trying hard to filter the air, and she turned slowly to look at the room. There were no dead chickens in this room and she felt a little better about that.

The room was filled candles, though only a few of them were lit, and there were soft pillows on the floor. And there was smoke. Was the room on fire? No. She saw a larger brass censer, just like the one the priest used at High Mass. It was hanging from a hook on the wall and tendrils of smoke escaped from it and curled toward the ceiling. The smoke wasn't good. She knew that, but she didn't know why, she just knew she needed to stop the smoke. The black wrap jersey top was easy to pull over her head. She wadded the fabric up and made her way to the censer. She lifted the top and stuffed her shirt inside, tamping down the smoldering incense, but she breathed in spite of her efforts not to and inhaled the smoke deep into her lungs. She slid to the floor and lay back on the pillows and her eyes closed. This time when she awoke Ranger was there. His hand held hers softly and he was smiling at her. He was naked.

Ranger sat next to her and reached out and helped her take off her pants. She looked down and smiled. Her Victoria's Secret lingerie was all she was wearing. She didn't know where her shoes were, but Ranger didn't have any shoes on either. She could see his toes. Ranger had pretty toes. Ranger had nine toes. She reached her hand to his feet and started counting. One foot had five toes. The other foot had one, two, three and then there was no toe. But he had a pinkie. It made Stephanie laugh.

"Do you like my feet?" Ranger asked her. She became solemn as she looked at him. When did his hair grow so long? And when did he lose his toe? Her mind slipped away into a memory of Joe and she shook her head to dispel the image, but it wouldn't go away. She couldn't quit thinking of Joe's feet. Joe had all his toes. She remembered Joe talking about the serial killer and then she remembered everything. The killer took fingers and toes. This man wasn't Ranger. It was Naldo and he was going to take her fingers and toes.

He leaned forward over her and she shrunk back into the pillows. She saw his penis, erect and inching closer to her. This man was not Ranger. Ranger didn't have an ugly penis. "You're not Ranger," she told him accusingly.

"I am Obatala, the sculptor of men. I will take you into me and I will form you and you will seek your celestial father. My brother's time with you is through." His words were chilling. In a brief moment of clarity she wondered if this room had been Mary Black's last sight. She wondered if he had 'formed' Mary by removing her fingers, and then she didn't think at all, because he was close to her, reaching down to pull her remaining clothes off. Her legs were heavy, but she used all her remaining strength. Her timing was perfect. She raised her knee just as he came close and she rammed it with all her might, directly between his legs.

Montara groaned and fell backward and Stephanie rolled, because she didn't have the coordination to walk. She crawled to the censer and yanked it from the hook where it hung. Montara was still groaning, but he was kneeling now, one hand cupping his sex protectively.

Stephanie's head was spinning as she pulled herself to her feet. Montara leaned toward her and she swung the chain with arms extended. The heavy brass censer stuck him in the head with a solid thunk and the impact knocked him off his feet. Stephanie overbalanced and fell against the wall. She half-stood and half-leaned against the wall while she waited for the spinning to subside. Naldo Montara was lying on his back, unmoving. There were hot embers from the censer scattered over his head and shoulders and her wadded up shirt was lying at his side, smoldering, but he remained motionless. She'd knocked him out, she was pretty sure, but she had to walk by him to get to the door. Taking shallow breaths she pushed herself off the wall and looked down at her bare feet. Unsteady steps brought her to his side. She carefully raised one leg and closed her eyes as she jammed her heel down on him, rearranging his scrotum, to the best of her ability, and then she moved toward the door.

When she was in the hallway she stopped to listen. There was muted noise coming from the far end and she thought that way was back into the bar. Not a good choice. There was another short hallway half-way down and she inched her way toward it, trying to be quiet and trying to keep her balance. She had an urge to laugh at the ridiculous sight she must present. Clad only in underwear, lost in a maze of wood-paneled hallway with black and white tiles under her feet. She knew she had to get out, but what then? How long had she been asleep? Did Julie find Rock? There was a noise from behind her and she whirled, lost her footing and fell hard against the wall, but no one came. She approached the short hallway and saw what looked to be a door to the street. She remembered vaguely that Tinley had gone into a house next to the bar. This had to be her way out.

She pushed herself off the wall and made a beeline for the door. Her hand curled around the knob and she pushed the door open and fell through. Her eyes were closed as she fell forward onto the sidewalk. When she opened her eyes she saw black Armani loafers and she felt hands come around her and scoop her up and pull her against a solid warmth. And then she smelled Bulgari. "Ranger."

"Babe." He folded her against him. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Her eyes were wide as she looked up at Ranger. There was no doubt now. This was Carlos Mañoso, her Ranger. "Naldo Montara is inside. He's hurt. I hurt him. I stepped on his penis and his penis is very ugly."

There was a moment's silence. "Shit," Lester said. "She's stoned." Ranger swung her up and carried her across the street to a black SUV. Bobby followed behind and pulled the door open. Ranger sat her on the seat and pulled off his jacket. He wrapped it around her shoulders and then stepped back. Bobby moved in with a small portable oxygen unit and placed a mask over Stephanie's face. "Breathe, Bomber," he told her. "Take deep breaths and you'll feel better soon." Stephanie did as she was instructed.

Ranger looked up and saw Tank and Lester, but Rock was missing. "He went in," Tank said. "Do you want us to follow?" Ranger gave a terse shake of his head and the men remained unmoving.

"Give him a few minutes," Ranger said.

Stephanie pulled the mask from her face and looked out at the men on the sidewalk. She looked up at Ranger. "Thank God Julie got to RangeMan okay."

"Babe?"

"Julie," she said. "She got my car to RangeMan and told you to come get me."

"Babe, your car is still in the warehouse lot two blocks down. We used your tracker to find you."

"Oh my…" Stephanie suddenly couldn't speak. She tried to breathe, but her lungs were so constricted she couldn't get air in or out. Then with a huge effort she drew in a breath. "He's got Julie."

"Julie was with you?" Ranger asked.

"Yes and she must be inside," Stephanie said.

"What's inside, Stephanie?" Tank asked. "Is it a house? Rock said you guys saw Tinley go into that bar the other night."

"It's connected," Stephanie said. A hammer was pounding against the inside of her skull and she was feeling a cold fear in the pit of her stomach. They had Julie.

The men were looking at her and waiting for her to give them more of a description. "It's a hallway," she told them. "One end goes to the bar and Naldo Montara is in a room at the other end. I think I knocked him out."

"Brown," Ranger barked. "Take Stephanie back to RangeMan." Bobby Brown did as ordered and as the SUV pulled from the curb the three remaining men stood and started to strategize. The sound of a gunshot silenced them. And then they moved at once through the door, weapons drawn, prepared for the worst.

As Ranger entered the hallway he saw Rock step from the door at the end of the hallway, weapon drawn.

"It wasn't me," he said. "It came from the other end of the hall." The men turned and made their way down to a closed door. Julie's voice was loud and clear as she said, "This is your last chance, where is she?"

The relief Ranger felt was quickly stifled as he called out, "Julie?"

"I'm okay, Dad." Ranger opened the door and he and Tank stepped through and froze in place.

Julie was two-handing a gun and Tinley Hicks was slumped against the opposite wall. His lower left leg was bleeding, and he was whimpering in pain.

"They've got Stephanie," Julie said, never looking away from Tinley. "He told me they were going to kill her. Where is she?" she asked Tinley. "Tell me now or I'll shoot your other knee."

"It's okay, Julie," Ranger told his daughter. "We've got Stephanie."

There was a low chuckle from Tank. "Shit, man," he told Ranger. "That's your girl."

"Yeah," Ranger said softly. "That's my girl."

Tank walked across the room and pulled Tinley to his feet and the man screamed in pain. He pulled cuffs from his vest and prepared to restrain the man. Ranger walked across the floor to Julie who had let the gun drop to her side. Ranger took it from her and set the safety. He looked at the weapon. It was a Browning High Power 9 mm pistol. It was a classic and a well-cared for one at that.

"Julie, where'd you get this gun?" he asked.

Satisfied that Tank had Tinley under control, Julie looked up at her father. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Scott gave it to me," she said into her father's shoulder. "It was his grandfather's and when Scott found out he was being deployed he taught me to use it. I carry it with me all the time. Is Stephanie okay?"

"Yes," Ranger said. "She's on her way back to RangeMan right now."

"You want me to call Trenton P.D.?" Tank asked.

"Call Morelli direct," Ranger said. He looked up and noticed Rock and Lester were missing. "Give it five minutes, though," he said. "And call RangeMan for backup. "I'm taking my daughter home." He loosened his hug to wrap one arm firmly around her shoulders and slipped her pistol into his waistband as they walked out of the room.