Chapter 9: True Romance

"How are you feeling?" Ranger asked as he closed the apartment door, hoping to put the day, the interrogations, and the stress behind them.

"Fine."

"You're not tired? It's been a long, rough day for you. Not having any pain in your abdomen? Bobby could check you out, if need be."

"It's really nothing," Stephanie replied.

"I saw the bruising on your abdomen. And the abrasions on your face. It's something. And it's something you didn't tell either the TPD detective or the Special Agents. Tell me."

Steph sighed. She'd guessed wrong. They were going to talk first. "They shackled me ... and ... they..." Steph took a deep breath, "... they hit me," she said. "It's what pushed me over the edge, and made me finally try to escape. Remember I told you they put a hood over my head and someone, a woman, came in to talk to me?"

"Yes."

"Well, they …" she stopped talking while she tried, unsuccessfully, to control the whole body shudders that were racking her. Ranger stepped close and wrapped her in his arms. "They hooked my hands and feet to chains on the wall. And after the woman accused and insulted me, she hit me. In the stomach and across my face. And then they all left."

"They left you tied up?" he asked. His voice was soft and well-controlled, and Steph knew from experience that meant he was hanging on to his temper, barely. She didn't want him to lose it, even if it wasn't directed toward her. She hurried to explain.

"No. They unhooked me. They left the hood on and I didn't take it off until after they left. I'm sorry I wasn't brave, but if I hadn't been so afraid of what they were going to do to me next, I wouldn't have tried to escape. So, in a way, being afraid helped me get out."

"Babe, acting in the face of fear is the definition of bravery. You were very, very brave. Come with me. I have something for you." He took her hand and led her to the bedroom.

He opened the drawer of the nightstand and reached in. He took her left hand and slid her engagement ring back on her fourth finger.

"You found it!" she exclaimed. "I left it as a message, a clue, for you."

"I found it," Ranger said. "I saw it and..." he paused ever so slightly, "I was afraid ... of what had happened to you. I knew you hadn't gone of your own accord. I vowed then to find you and place this ring back on your finger, but before I could, you were able to free yourself. If it was your fear that motivated you to attempt an escape, then be thankful and not ashamed. Your fear brought you back to me. Don't ever be ashamed of admitting fear, Babe."

His hands cupped her face. He bent his head and his lips grazed the bruise on her cheek. Ranger liked to take his time, she knew that well enough, but she was impatient. She turned her head until his lips grazed hers, instead of the bruise. He took the hint and kissed her deeply, passionately. She was feeling not only his desire, but his relief in having her back. They stayed like that for a while, standing close, their arms wrapped tightly around one another, kissing and sharing a quiet intimacy.

Ranger released his hold on her and stepped back, and Stephanie felt an immediate sense of loss at the contact. When she realized he'd only pulled away to begin undressing her, a surge of desire flooded her body and made her limbs weak.

"I need to lie down," she said.

He smiled and kissed her at the base of her neck. "I'm working on it, Babe." She pushed his hands away and ripped her shirt off over her head. Then she attacked his shirt, pulling it loose from the waistband of his slacks, running her fingers over the contoured planes of his abdomen.

"I need to lie down," she said again.

"Me, too," Ranger told her. He finished the job she'd started and shed the rest of his clothes quickly. She did the same. They stood for a moment looking at one another and then Ranger pulled her close again, and the feel of his skin against hers sent another wave of desire through her. He was ready. She could feel him hard and pulsing against her abdomen. He bent toward the bed and pulled her with him, so that she was lying on top of him.

He was giving her the power to control their lovemaking. It was a generous gift, given that she could see his need for her and sense it in his touch. But he understood that she had a need beyond the physical satiation. It was a need she hadn't fully realized until that moment, to be in control of what was happening between them. Because for the last few days of her life, her freedom and choices had been violently stripped from her. He was giving up his control to her, putting her back in charge of the most elemental part of her life. This man loved her.

Later, when they were holding each other, luxuriating in the afterglow, she touched his chin and turned his face to her. "That night, the night they took me, were you going to take me to the Bat Cave?"

"It was my plan," Ranger said. "I thought it would be a surprise. How did you know?"

"I know you," Stephanie told him. "And all the time I was in that basement I kept thinking about it. How I'd missed seeing it. I hoped I'd get the chance, eventually, but for a while I wasn't sure if it would ever happen."

Ranger propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at her. "Let's go now," he said. "We'll get dressed and go spend the rest of the day there. Tomorrow, I'll begin in earnest to find the person responsible for your kidnapping."

Stephanie placed her hand on his chest. "No," she countered. "I don't want to go to the Bat Cave." At his frown she continued. "Hear me out on this. I've been afraid of getting married, because I screwed it up so royally the first time. I imagine you know that."

"I know Dickie," Ranger said. "I know who screwed up your marriage. And I'm not Dickie, you damn well know that!"

"I didn't mean to imply that you were like Dickie. It isn't logical, and I know that, but I've been afraid to set the date. Not anymore though. I'm over that, but I want to wait until three days after we catch the assholes that took me. Then I'll go to the Bat Cave."

"Babe?"

"It takes three days of waiting to get a marriage license," she said. "Three days after this is over I want to go to the Bat Cave and marry you. And I don't want anyone there but two witnesses and a minister."

"No family?"

She shuddered as the vision of a church full of her family on one side and Ranger's on the other passed before her eyes. "No family," she said. "But maybe we could have a reception. With lots of wine."

Ranger laughed and pulled her once again on top of him. "It's a deal. Three days after we catch whomever is responsible for taking you. I've already got a start on finding this pervert. I've got a good lead to follow up."

"I've got a lead, too," she said. "I've been thinking about who would want to hurt me, and I always come back to one name. The problem is, I can't think of anything I've done recently to get her so angry."

"Who, Babe?"

"Joyce Barnhardt," she stated. Ranger pulled back his head and frowned at her. "Ranger, I need to ask you…" Stephanie was uncomfortable asking Ranger about his past. The last time she'd done it he told her the story of Grace Galloway, and his relationship with her. That story had about killed her. Finding out Ranger had been involved with Joyce would kill her. She was convinced of that.

"About Joyce," she said. "Did you and her, I mean, did she, uh …"

"Have I slept with Joyce?" Ranger said. "Is that what you're asking?"

"Yes."

"No."

Relief flooded through her at his one-word response. His explanation wasn't so relieving. "Joyce pursued me," he told her. "It started out as irritating, and then became much more. When I found her in my bed, naked…"

"What!" Stephanie exclaimed, as she pulled away and sat up. "In this bed?"

Ranger sighed deeply. "Do you remember Miles?"

Stephanie was confused at the apparent change of topic, but she struggled to remember why the name Miles was vaguely familiar. "The Merry Man that worked here for a while?"

"Yes, the same," Ranger said. "He was a big mistake. I hired him because I thought he showed promise. Joyce hit on him and he fell for her. She seduced him into letting her enter this apartment. When I found her here, I threw her out onto the street, naked. I let her keep her cell phone and gave her cab fare. Ella disposed of the rest of her things and, uh, sanitized the apartment. I let Tank go two rounds on the mats with Miles and then, as soon as he was discharged from the hospital, I fired him."

Stephanie started at him in astonishment.

"I told you I was a brute, Babe."

"Well, that settles it. It must be Joyce," she said, incredulously. "The woman's voice was muffled. It could have been Joyce, maybe. She said, 'You came between me and my man.'" Stephanie frowned. "But she also said you handcuffed her, before you made love. So, maybe it isn't Joyce."

"I did handcuff her," Ranger said, thinking back. "She showed up at Vinnie's one morning when I was turning in some paperwork—I was still doing skips for him at the time—and she followed me out of the office. I couldn't get rid of her, so I cuffed her to the side mirror of her car and called TPD to report it anonymously."

"She must hate your guts," Stephanie said. "Or mine, for taking what she thought was hers. But where would Joyce get two thugs to work for her? And that place … I wasn't the first person held there. Joyce wouldn't have access to a place like that, would she?"

"She might," Ranger said. He told Stephanie about his visit to Dickie, and Dickie's whine that Joyce had dumped him for a Mob boss. "I'm going to track down Joyce," he said. He threw back the covers and stood. "And I'm starting now."

"Wait," Stephanie called. "You can't!" Ranger turned and looked at her. He waited for her explanation.

"I have to do this. I can't let you fight my battles for me. You said bravery was acting on my fear. I'm afraid if I don't act on this it will set a precedent for us. I have to fight my own battles. You don't want a woman that has to be taken care of. You want me! I can't let you change who I am!" Her impassioned outburst caused her a moment's alarm. She'd said he didn't want a woman who couldn't take care of herself … but maybe he did. He'd been cleaning up her messes as long as he'd known her.

Ranger came back to the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress. "I understand what you're saying. But it goes both ways. You can't shut me out of this. We're together, so maybe we should approach this together. We can share the task of finding your kidnappers."

"Okay," Stephanie said, relieved that the situation could be so easily remedied. Life without the arm-waving Italian rants she'd become accustomed to with Joe was going to be so good! "Let's go get Joyce!"

"Slow down. We'll share the investigation. I'll share everything I know, and you share everything you know, but I go see Joyce alone. You have a history with her, a physical history. I don't want to have to prevent you from murdering her on top of everything else!"

Stephanie flushed. He had a point. Ever since Joyce had rekindled her thing with Dickie, Steph had had a hard time keeping calm around Joyce. She did tend to fly into a rage when either Dickie or Joyce was involved. Ranger continued, "You stay here for this one, Babe. You need to be accessible for the FBI sketch artist. The sooner that sketch is in police hands, the better. And you need to talk to your family. Let them know you're okay. I need to make a quick trip to New York tonight to find Joyce. She has an apartment here down by the river, but she hasn't been there for a while. I tracked her to the City. I'll be back soon, and hopefully with some answers."

Having to stay here and let Ranger do this without her grated on her, but she finally relented. Something was telling her that if Joyce were the woman, Ranger wouldn't find her in New York. Plus, she was exhausted and knew she would be more of a burden to Ranger tonight than a help if she forced him to take her along. "All right," she said, "but you'd better tell me everything that happens when you see her." Stephanie continued, giving in a little ungraciously, "I'll just stay here and wait for you to come back."

"You have a big job to do while I'm gone, Babe. A dangerous one. It will be another chance for you to conquer your fear and act with bravery." At her puzzled look, he continued. "You have to tell your mother, and mine, that we've decided on a private wedding ceremony."