Here's the next update.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad and I post when I can.
Stephanie's POV
As the pressure increased and my breathing was further restricted, my mind raced with a million thoughts seemingly all at once. It was like watching a movie in my head without having my eyes closed, one familiar face flashing after another. My family, especially my nieces and Grandma Mazur, were the predominant people initially as the images blazed through in rapid succession. Then, the even quicker reel shifted to focus on my friends: Mary Lou, Eddie, my Merry Men… And finally, once seemingly everyone that I've been close to in the recent years made a staring appearance, Ranger became the sole focus point. His smiling handsome face dominated my chaotic thoughts, a sadness hitting me right in the center of my chest full force at the thought of never seeing him again.
Tears welled in my eyes, both from sadness and from the forcible constraint. The burning in my throat spread down to my chest during my distressed attempt to gasp for breath, coating my insides in burning flames. Gurgling sounds mixed with my desperation, getting air into my lungs my number one goal.
My attacker eased on the pressure, his grip loosening just barely enough to allow me to actually breathe. The weird fog cleared slightly as I gasped, desperately trying to get air into my lungs despite the burning in my throat and the heavy coughing fit both colliding to make it extremely difficult.
"Woah! You…uhh…you okay?" The masked man asked, removing his hand from my neck altogether. "You were looking a little blue there." He stated nervously, saying something else I couldn't really catch because the roaring in my ears and my loud coughs tuned out his whiny voice.
Once oxygen was sufficiently circulating in my system again, Rhino Mode activated. It was like a switch got flipped. One second I'm dying and the next I'm pissed!
How dare he burst my sleep bubble?!
Besides, I'm naked!
And, he tried to kill me.
Rhino Steph took over, my limbs moving before I even fully registered what was happening. Thankfully, the man was equally caught off guard by my bare foot connecting with his gut as was I. His slow reaction gave me the necessary opening to get the upper hand. I didn't even stop to think that by swinging my leg in his direction I most definitely flashed my doodah. I'll worry about the inadvertent exposure later.
"Hey!" The man protested in shock as he staggered back a step, his hands automatically clutching his belly. Although he looks to be of a thin frame, upon making contact with my foot I registered that he has a body that has gone soft over the years. Probably, once upon a time he was a dedicated athlete.
But not anymore! I thought as I scurried towards the edge of the bed, swinging my bare legs over the side of the mattress to plant my bare feet on the posh carpet.
"Oww!" He yelped when I struck him across the face with a surprise slap, the little wuss. Instantly, I followed the slap attack with another well placed kick, this one to his right knee. "Hey, hey, hey…I'm not into the pain kinks!" He bitched, staggering back by his partial loss of balance.
I didn't have time to think about his confusing declaration, rising to my feet in a flash. Without giving him a breather, it was my turn to attack. My patented knee to the balls move didn't fail me, leaving him at my mercy as he sank to the floor. Clutching his prized jewels, he legit wheezed through the pain as he remained on his knees.
For obvious reasons, I didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for him. Continuing on the offense, I went on a blitz mission. Thanks to the Merry Men, I've added additional moves that are just as effective as my knee to the balls strike. Variety is good in self-defense I've come to learn.
Initially, he was still too stunned to do much aside from folding in on himself. However, as my rain of hits descended over him, it finally clicked for my attacker that he was the one dominating our interaction at first.
What came next became a blur of movement. One second I had the upper hand and the next he did, but I didn't give up. Giving up meant defeat and what I can only imagine will be a horrible assault waiting to happen. So, I persevered. No way I'm making it easy for this asshole. Nuh uh!
The panic button!
If I had a free hand to smack my forehead with at the moment, I would do it. Ugh! How could I forget?! Without wasting another second, I activated the alert, extremely grateful that I still had the bracelet on. Ranger and I spent the day teasing each other while we were on the yacht, the tension increasing tenfold during the charitable event. We danced very, very close last night. By the time we made it back to the suite, clothes flew in every direction and we didn't worry about much else aside from satiating our mutual need.
"I told you to stop!" The man growled, exasperation clearly mixing with anger as we rolled around on the carpet I used to think was velvety soft. I've kept myself moving, because he can't restrain me if I don't stay still long enough for him to do so. My unwillingness to comply has left me with some remarkable rug burns on different parts of my already achy body.
"No!" I yelled back, squirming out of his grasp as I zeroed in on my shoulder bag resting on the floor next to the side table. I'm so close! Stun gun, cuffs, pepper spray… any or all will come in handy right about now. If I could only reach them!
S&R
Ranger's POV
Regardless of how much I hauled ass, practically flying up the stairs that felt endless, I still felt like I wasn't fast enough. Just the idea that I'd be too late propelled me further, fobbing myself inside of our suite on my quest to get to Babe.
With the mini Glock in one hand, the one Babe never uses but conceded to drop into the fancy clutch she tossed in the sitting area when we were busy pawing at each other last night, I rushed towards the scuffling sounds floating out of the bedroom.
The grunting noises had my lower abdomen clenching with added worry, my heart nearly beating out of my chest when I couldn't immediately see Stephanie upon crossing the threshold. The empty bed was not a calming sight.
"You dick!" Babe's hoarse croak reached my ears before my eyes registered her nude form crouched over a motionless figure below her.
The seconds it took me to round the bed felt eternal. She was so close to me, yet so far away at the same time. This all consuming need to verify for myself that she was unharmed reached intensity levels never before felt.
"Babe." I called out, needing to get her focus on me instead of on the defeated man face down with his hands cuffed behind his back below her. Stephanie still has the stun gun grasped firmly in her right hand. I don't want to further spook her as she's already extremely on edge. Stuck in fight mode, I aim to extinguish the necessary flame of survival before I can approach.
Jerking her head my way, wide blue eyes locked with my reassuring brown ones. Nodding slightly, I took a tiny step forward. Sudden movements can do more harm than good. Her captivating eyes raked over me rapidly, fighting the instinct to react violently even though I'm here as her back up.
"You got him good, Babe." I murmured softly, moving closer again. McNamara overestimated Stephanie and like many before him, he's currently paying the consequences. He's lucky she didn't shoot him. Zapped and cuffed is way too good for this asshole.
Babe choked out a sob as I reached her side and tucked the gun in the waistband of my shorts resting against the small of my back.
"Ranger." She croaked too low for even myself to barely register her altered voice. Clasping her upper arms, I helped her up. Crushing her to my front, we clung to each other fiercely.
Shifting my stance, I made sure to block McNamara from Stephanie's view. She's already starting to shake, indicating that she's going to have a huge crash after the adrenaline rush.
Backing her up a few steps, I guided her onto the ornate armchair. As Babe followed my lead, her face dragging down my chest and past my abs as she sank down on the seat gave me a flash of last night. Our sensual night created a false sense of security and I was too naïve to think that getting distracted wouldn't be detrimental to her safety. I know better. Still, I let her down.
We spent long moments holding each other, my hands rubbing her shoulders and upper back in a soothing massage. Stephanie kept her face pressed against my crotch, a move that once again reminded me of our passion filled night. Except, instead of pleasure we're currently faced with reality. Steph most likely hasn't fully registered where her face is, her breathing still somewhat erratic.
Handing her a cold water bottle from the minibar got Stephanie to finally rear her head back. Chugging the liquid elicited a coughing fit, tearing raspy groans out of Babe's already sensitive throat.
She must have caught a glimpse of him, because she quickly wrapped her arms around my waist once again. This time she buried her face against my left hip, her hold yanking my shorts lower to indecent levels. Thanks to my reflexes, I caught the Glock before it tumbled to the floor. Setting it on the side table next to us, I continued comforting Stephanie. She's extremely shaken up, which I totally understand. I'm betting the asshole caught her while she was still sleeping, because she's as naked as I left her when I went for an early morning run.
"Let's get this shit over with." Babe croaked, pulling back to look up at me. Once again, her face is mere inches from my dick. She hasn't even picked up on the fact that if she'd lowered my shorts any further, my dick would be fully visible instead of giving her a good peek.
"Babe." I nodded, clasping my hands over her upper arms to help her up. To my surprise, Babe used her hold to tug my shorts up. The tiny smile she flashed me made my heart beat faster once again, this time for a completely different reason than fear.
Using my body as a shield, I escorted Stephanie to the bathroom. Once she was inside, I grabbed comfy clothes and passed them to her. I didn't worry much about myself, simply throwing a clean shirt over my head. I can shower the sweat later. For now, I'm calling Tio Marcelo to get this disaster over with.
By the time Tio Marcelo arrived at our suite, with Tia Izaira in tow, they both looked shocked to find McNamera restrained to the armchair. The loser is still out cold. He's not dead, although he did piss himself. Babe simply got him with a fully charged stun gun. It's possible he's never been zapped before.
Tia Izaira was quiet, yet her dark eyes kept straying to Andrew's motionless form. Tio Marcelo simply looked pissed off. I waited until Stephanie emerged from the bathroom to give the two a rundown. Instantly, their eyes zeroed in on Stephanie's face. Risking a glance, I too noticed the hand shaped bruise that had already formed around her pale neck. I'm sure she'll have others product of her scuffling with McNamera, even if they're not visible yet. Since she removed the necklace, I spotted another bruise on her nape as she passed me, most likely the result of Andrew trying to yank the necklace off.
"What happened?" Tio Marcelo asked, flicking his eyes between Babe and I as he awaited answers. He's not one to be a forgiving man, even if he can be extremely generous at times.
Together, we gave Tio Marcelo a breakdown of our findings. Except, mine were very rudimentary aside from pointing out a few discrepancies with his business partner. Babe and Hector followed the money, and there's indication that some skimping is most definitely happening.
It was Babe, however, who dropped the bombshell on everyone.
"What do you mean?!" Tio Marcelo bellowed, his tone harsh. Babe remained unphased, still ticked off about being targeted. "No. That can't be." He shook his head vehemently, too shocked to accept the truth.
"Babe?" I arched an eyebrow, also on the outside. I know it's my fault for getting so sidetracked with us to really follow up with her about what she'd found, yet I'd like to be on her train of thought before the others fully catch on.
"They're all forking each other. All of them. Together and in smaller pairings." Stephanie huffed, her voice nearly raw. To make sure I got the full picture, she made a crude gesture with her hands. I immediately understood, having been around Santos long enough it was easy to make out what she was getting at. Tio Marcelo's inner group has deeper ties. They've all slept with each other, an image I never wanted to have to picture. I'm in no way a prude, but they are family. It's a no from me.
Despite the revelation, it still took me a moment to fully process things, though. The idea of Tio Marcelo and Tia Izaira having an adventurous sex life was not something I ever wanted to know. Some things are better off kept as secrets.
"You should have asked your wife if she was okay with the group fun, because obviously she's not." Babe went on to point out that it was Tia Izaira who kept sending Marissa our way. It was her all along.
Tia Izaira stammered, not wanting to admit what is already crystal clear thanks to Stephanie breaking everything down in her rapid fire description.
"No?" Babe's pissed off, which is not going to bode well for Tia Izzie. Reaching for her cell, Babe sent out a rapid text. Her fingers flew, tapping the screen furiously. We didn't have to wait long. Within minutes, Babe's guest arrived as she'd been summoned.
"Uuu. Now it's a party." Marissa purred as she walked behind Stephanie, her eyes landing on everyone in the room. If she found it odd that her husband was unconscious and tied up, she didn't voice it.
"Marissa, why don't you tell us who kept telling you we were onboard with the group fun, hmm?" Babe should let her voice rest, but she's not going to do so until this is all over.
Marissa didn't miss a beat, quickly sharing that it was in fact Tia Izzie who kept redirecting her to us. "I figured you two were new to this lifestyle and needed to be eased into it." Smiling predatorily, Marissa focused on Stephanie. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Your husband is yummy, but I've been really looking forward to introducing you to our brand of fun." Smirking, Marissa laughed at Babe's predictable blush. All this time Stephanie thought Marissa wanted me, yet it seems both McNameras are into Stephanie.
"When that didn't work, you sent him in hopes that he'd scare us off." Babe rasped, her blue eyes drilling into Tia Izzie. Oh, Babe is furious.
Tio Marcelo looked at his wife and then at Babe, silently ordering Stephanie to keep going.
"You should have asked your wife if she was into the swapping and group stuff." Babe's flush seemed to transfer to Tio Marcelo, his usual tanned look morphing into a pale one that turned into a heavy blush. He may be adventurous, but clearly doesn't want the public to know. Now it makes sense why he didn't want the cops to investigate the alleged theft. "Newsflash, she's not." Stephanie went on to lay out the most likely course of action Tia Izzie took, disappearing valuable jewels and then telling Tio Marcelo that the pieces went missing after a group event. Perhaps she thought her husband would take her side and stop trusting the others in the group, leading to a falling out that would ensure the sex parties would end.
"Izaira?" Something changed in Tio Marcelo, the situation finally setting in.
"I didn't want to lose you!" Tia Izzie replied, finally folding and admitting the truth. She was the one behind it all. Tia Izzie knew why Babe and I were here, and she wanted to make sure we didn't unmask her before her plan was successful.
Tio Marcelo switched to Spanish and the two went back and forth arguing. Stephanie probably understood most of it, yet Marissa was way out of the loop.
"Well, I'd have been successful if this whore had kept her mouth shut." Tia Izzie is trying to deflect, attempting to shift the blame onto Stephanie.
"Damn." Babe murmured in mock shock. "And here I thought we were friends." Grimacing, Steph walked over to Andrew. I'm extremely proud that she's able to confront the fear and get past it, uncuffing the man that attacked her.
"You're the one that sent Andrew to attack her." I accused, my booming voice reverberating across the room. She's the one who kept throwing us off. She's been behind this the whole time. Unluckily for Tia Izzie, she too underestimated Babe's tenacity.
"Yeah, he kept telling me he wasn't into the pain kinks." Babe shared, pointing out that Tia Izzie must have told Andrew that Babe was into some sort of twisted fantasy. He was going to rape Babe while thinking that she was on board with the fake scenario. It's despicable. I always viewed Tia Izzie as a very by the book woman, fair to a fault. It seems that a lot has changed through the years.
"Oh my god." Marissa turned to Tia Izzie, glaring at her with disgust. Despite it all, she loves her husband it seems. "Why would you do this?" Shaking her head, Marissa pointed out that all Tia Izzie had to do was share how she felt. "Consent is key." Marissa huffed, moving to tend to her awakening husband.
"She's a psycho!" Andrew wailed as soon as he regained consciousness and his gaze landed on Stephanie.
Babe rolled her eyes in annoyance. Marissa helped him to his feet and the two scurried out of the suite as best as they could, leaving just the four of us. I'm sure Marissa is going to spread the news to the others. Andrew's lucky that Babe subdued him before I could get involved.
"Yes, all you had to do was say something." Tio Marcelo roared.
"Oh, and another thing." His anger fueled Babe's. She was going to give him one last bit of intel. "Your precious antique wines are fakes." Stephanie has to strain for us to even detect what she's saying. Flashing her a look, Babe ignored me. She's going to say what she has to say even if it results in a longer healing time. "Good fakes, but dupes nonetheless." Stephanie pointed out why she thought the supposed rare wines Tio Marcelo selected for our group meals. "I'll send you my report." Babe's hoarseness reached the highest levels, her words very faint.
Tio Marcelo glared at Stephanie, then at me before he stormed out.
"You would have done the same thing." Tia Izzie defended, her eyes zeroing in on Babe's minuscule thong resting on the carpet near the foot of the bed.
"No." Babe shook her head vigorously. "I divorced my scummy husband." Tia Izzie had nothing more to say, so she too left.
"Babe." I tried to check on her potential injuries, but Stephanie moved out of my grasp.
"This turned into such a disaster. I'm sorry." Sinking onto the edge of the mattress, Stephanie hung her head in defeat.
"It wasn't your fault." My use of her usual line tore a small smile out of Babe's achy body.
"It sorta feels like it is." Once again blushing, Stephanie pointed out that we got distracted with ourselves instead of keeping our eye solely on the prize.
"Our job was to gather intel." Hooking my forefinger under her chin, I used my hold to raise her head so we could lock eyes. Her usual vibrant blue eyes are obscured by the redness filling the whites of her eyes. "We did that." In fact, we did more than that.
"Guess we did." Babe muttered dejectedly.
"Come on." I coaxed her back into a standing position, telling her our time here was done.
It didn't take us long to gather our things and head towards the small private airport nearby. Calling ahead, I had the company jet on standby for us. Stephanie declined to get checked out, so I chose to return to Trenton so that Bobby could examine her. Stephanie will let him and will comply with his recommendations to avoid a trip to the hospital if it can be avoided. It's not ideal, but I'm willing to compromise. Ordering her around has historically not ended well for us.
Stephanie added some final comments to her report, which included detailed explanations of how she identified the culprit, as well as the whole counterfeit wine angle. Babe has been very busy these past several days, juggling more than what was intended. She did great transcribing her intel and her sources as a back up.
"Check it out." She croaked, passing me the laptop so that I could read her full report and merge it with mine.
By the time I finished reviewing the report, adding my part and sending it to Tio Marcelo, Babe was fast asleep as we flew back home. Raking my eyes over her, I zeroed in on the bruise around her throat. Since she removed her hooded sweater once we left the hotel, I spotted the beginnings of more bruises on her arms. Carefully lifting the sleeve of her oversized T-shirt, I confirmed my suspicions. Her delicate skin is bruised. Severely. I'm sure once I get her out of her yoga pants, I'll find more marks on her legs.
Overcoming my guilt will be difficult, despite it I kept my head in the game. Notifying Bobby, I made sure he'd be ready for us as soon as we landed and headed to Rangeman. Bobby was quick to tell me that he'd be ready, also enraged that what was supposed to be a relatively low risk level undercover job turned into a nightmare.
"Ranger." Stephanie whispered, jolting awake as we began our descent.
"Babe." Clasping her hands in mine, I kissed her right temple in reassurance.
"M'kay." Stephanie yawned, nodding before wincing at the pain. Now that the adrenaline is long gone, she's extra achy.
As we reached our waiting transport, an incoming alert notified me of a large transfer to Rangeman's account. Noting that the amount was significantly more than double what we had agreed upon, I didn't have to reach out to Tio Marcelo for clarification. Instead, he sent me a detailed email.
Dear Carlos,
Thank you for everything. Tell Ms. Plum that I greatly appreciate her frankness. It was refreshing to have someone be so unapologetically truthful with me.
Additionally, I've suspected for some time now that many of my latest collector acquisitions may have not been authentic. An ongoing investigation has led to little, however, Ms. Plum's findings have shifted our focus onto a previously uncharted lead. In gratitude, I've included double my usual finder's fee for Ms. Plum's unmatched skills.
I'd appreciate your confidentiality as I venture into fixing the issues at hand.
Marcelo
"Holy cow." Babe tried to whistle but failed due to the tenderness of her vocal cords. "He paid a lot of dough to get fake wine. Ha." Chuckling and then groaning, Stephanie murmured that had it not been for Orr's snootiness regarding wine then she'd never have been able to tell the difference.
"They were good dupes." I reinforced, since I didn't pick up on the fact that the wine wasn't authentic. The taste was identical to me.
"The cork and glue on the label were too modern." Steph muttered as she rested her head against the headrest. Once again, she left me speechless with her detailed visual memory.
The drive to Trenton was filled with silence until Stephanie spoke again.
"Stop blaming yourself. I'm fine." Her assurance wasn't as comforting considering her voice is nearly gone.
"Babe." Shaking my head at her attempt to pull me out of the darkness threatening to overtake me, I turned to smile at her when traffic stopped suddenly. We may be stuck on the highway for a while, yet it doesn't seem to phase either of us.
"We got the job done. Rangeman got paid and we're together. Can't ask for more." Stephanie shrugged just before I leaned across the center console to kiss her left cheek. Smiling sweetly at me, blue eyes sparkling in the minimal sunlight of early afternoon, hopefulness filled my previously hardened heart. "We are and will be okay, Batman." Reaching for my right hand, Stephanie placed a kiss over my knuckles before letting me go so that I could continue to drive as traffic inched forward.
The closer we got to the Haywood, the more I believed her. We are and will be alright. Of course we will. There's no other suitable outcome for us.
Be honest, did you expect the twist? There were tiny hints throughout that the dynamic in the group wasn't only a typical friendship.
