I stared at my phone, filled with horror and joy. Ranger was collapsed against a cement wall, the only thing holding him up was the cuffs forcing his arms above his head. There was a bloody gash across his right cheekbone and his lip was torn and swollen. His eyes were mere slits - from blood loss or drugs I didn't know. His black shirt was torn and I could see bloody bandages through the gaps. He looked awful, but he was alive.

I wanted to throw up but Ranger needed me to be strong so I grimaced and carefully sent out a text. 'What do you want?' . The phone rang in my hand and I looked at the number for a moment before I hit answer.

"Hello Steph. Now that I have your attention, listen carefully. You've made this harder than it had to be. Running to the big men to keep you safe. Now look at them - one in the hospital and the other" he chuckled "well, the other is with me."

"Please don't hurt him. I didn't mean to upset you, I thought it was just Ricky. See - it's all a big misunderstanding. Just tell me where you are and I'll be happy to come to you."

"Don't try to trick me Steph. I know very well Tank and the others have your phone bugged. After all I used to be one of those men assigned to watch over you. I've tracked your cars, swept your home for threats, done sanctioned drive by's of your apartment. All of your hero's attempts to keep you safe, just gave me the opportunity to learn all about you."

I hated him and I hated knowing one of the men trusted to protect me had violated my life. "Well then I ask again what do you want and why even bother calling me at all?" I snapped angrily.

"I want you."

"Well then you fucked up. Made your big move and failed to get me. Now you have all of Rangeman after you. How far do you think you'll get?" I heard the door fling open and gestured at Lester to wait as he bolted into the room.

"If this bastard knew when to quit, I'd have you now. Anyone else would have gone down after the first shot, let alone the second. Now he gets to be the means to get you and bring Rangeman down. So memorize this number Steph, and when you are ready to face your problems on your own, give me a call - on a phone without your buddies listening in. Pass the phone to Lester."

I wordlessly handed Lester the phone after turning on the speaker. He took the phone, hit speaker off and left the room. Angrily I dragged myself up to follow but he was already exiting the apartment and I saw Bobby standing in the living room. He expertly blocked me as I tried to duck around him and guided me over to the couch.

"Come on Steph. You've had a long day and a pretty close call. Let me check you over to make sure you didn't get injured." I squirmed but Bobby had a lot of experience wrangling tough guys who didn't know their limits and I didn't have a chance. I gave in and let him check me over, glaring as he checked my BP and listened to my lungs. "You seem ok for now but Lester mentioned you inhaled some water when he was getting you out. Knowing the state of the rivers in Jersey, I'm giving you some broad-spectrum antibiotics to stave off any infections. Hopefully we can stay ahead of any bacteria you may have picked up. I'm also recommending you take this - it will help you sleep."

He handed me some pills and a glass or water, quietly urging me to drink and I realized just how dehydrated I felt. I wanted to protest more but my fear-filled run in the park and stint in the river had exhausted me.

"You can get some rest Steph. Ranger isn't in immediate danger, he's too valuable a hostage. You saw that he'd bandaged his gunshot wounds. He's going to keep him alive for negotiations and we will keep you informed. This isn't going to be a quick resolution, and we're all going to need our strength for the duration." Bobby reassured me.

I gave in, let him direct me back to the shower and after I got out, he helped me take my pills and crawl into bed. Before leaving the apartment, he reminded me that I was safe and if I needed anything I could call down to the control floor.

I lay in Ranger's bed, hugging his pillow that smelled like him and continued repeating Cannon's phone number to myself until the pills kicked in and I fell asleep.