Ranger [ON HOLD]

Chapter Twenty-one - Who is She?

He was growing restless.

Leaving Ella in the kitchen had been surprisingly difficult, given the position she was in. It was only the look that Von had given him that convinced him to not let Ethan stab Martin in the throat while he had the chance.

He could vaguely hear hushed whispers between the two of them, and it infuriated him to no end that he couldn't understand what they were saying. With every passing second he was tempted to rush back in, and it was only Von's hand on his shoulder that stopped him. There was something in the old mans gaze that stumped him.

He wasn't sure if he liked it.

Arti had been strangely quiet, arms folded as he stared toward the archway. What frustrated Ranger more was the mans complete lack of concern over his son's actions. Had Ranger known this was how he would react to simply seeing the girl, he wouldn't have told them to come.

And he shouldn't have without letting Von or Ethan know first; hell, Ella probably deserved to know more than anyone else.

He took a small step closer to the opening, peering inside with enough discretion as possible. Just to make sure all was well.

And apparently he had chosen the perfect moment. Because at that time Martin was pulling Ella into what looked more like a lovers embrace than he would ever care to admit. An embrace strong enough to lift Ella clear from the ground until she looked little more than a life sized doll.

The sight of it had his lips curling in what he knew to be poorly hidden disdain. Somehow seeing the display of affection had his chest constricting in a way that was far different from the other times it had occurred. It was not something that left an empty feeling in his gut, but a heavy feeling as though someone had dropped a solid ball of iron in his stomach.

He was angry.

 Artie straightened his spine, finally snapping out of whatever thought process that had taken him away.

"Perhaps my son will be able to enlighten us once the interrogation is over."

"Interrogation?" Ranger turned his attention to the older man, lips curling into a sneer that surprised even him."She's not a fucking demon. She's not anything. She's a human."

"That's right. She is."

Ranger turned on his heel, grasping the front of Martin's shirt in a grip that he had no hope of escaping without aid. The blond remained as collected as ever, though for a moment Ranger could have sworn he saw a spark of anger in those ice blue eyes.

"So what the fuck was that?"

"I know her."

"So, what? What the hell did she do to earn that?" Ethan questioned hotly, a scowl forming on his lips that could have very well rivaled Rangers at the moment.

"I thought she was a shapeshifter."

"Tha' was violent for a suspicion." Von commented almost casually, if not for the underlying tension that lay under his words he could have been talking about the weather. "Who is she to ya?"

Martin's jaw locked, eyes flashing over to Von quickly before zipping right back to Ranger.

"You don't need to know."

Ranger's expression turned stony, but he made no move to punch the living crap out of Martin despite how his fists clenched threateningly.

"We don't need to know? I'd like to think we have a right to-" Ethan was cut off unsurprisingly by Von, who placed a hand on his shoulder. He said nothing but shook his head instead.