Life's Challenges
I had been thinking about what had happened in the last months. I had bought a lottery ticket, won 112 billion dollars, gotten myself trained, bought houses, apartments, and some condos all over, stocked each up with weapons, own 5 businesses, world-class horse stables, a dog rescue center, and more, and I had hid it from the public. Ranger and crew had been gone a year, letting me do this alone. Just before Ranger had left, he proposed with a brilliant sapphire and diamond ring.
There was a knock at the door. I walked and saw through the peephole that it was Morelli. I smiled. Show time.
"Hey, cupcake" He said, sauntering in.
"Morelli" I said, pulling a gun on him, blank mask sliding into place. Another knock. "Hold your hands up and slowly walk towards the couch. One muscle misplaced, and your dead" I stated, the door opening with a
"Babe…" Ranger immediately pulled out on of his guns. He was followed by Lester, Tank, Hal, Cal, and Hector, all doing the same.
"Morelli cheated on me and guess who told me?" I said, walking to the couch where Morelli was frozen. "Diesel" Ranger was tense, a cold, dead stare in his eyes, and his finger on the trigger of his pistol. He had a scar that ran from his wrist to in between his ring and middle fingers.
"What? Cupcake, I didn't do that" I smirked. He wasn't in a good place. Seven guns, trained on him.
"And the master does it again. Yet another amazing feat. Five lies in two hours! Give the man a round of bullets to the forehead!" I said; smirking.
"Cupcake I didn't do that!" He was standing up, waving his arms; not a smart position to be in.
"Really? Then what is this tape I gave Steph?" Diesel said, strolling in.
He pushed a button, playing out loud "Yea, Steph will never know. She's too stupid and trustworthy. Manoso is gone, don't know where he is or when he'll be back, and don't care. Because by the time he's back, she'll be mine"
"Well? Does that sound innocent?" I asked turning to face Ranger and Crew.
Lester raised his hand "No. It sounds like he needs to be shot!"
"I'll do it!" Chorused throughout the room. I had to smile.
"Babe" He nodded towards Diesel "Why is he here?"
"Long story" Diesel replied. "But to condense it, zebras escaped from a zoo, wrecked a paint shop, and ate my house." I giggled.
"Liar" Tank said "You're here because your house burned down" Ranger raised his eyebrow
"I still didn't say that!" Morelli butted in.
"Seriously? I think you'd best leave. And if you don't I'll have Lester, Tank, and Cal take you for me." I said, walking into the kitchen. I handed Ranger a file "San Fran. Due by Monday" He nodded.
"I suggest you leave Morelli. Because if we escort you, you won't like it" Cal boomed. With that, Morelli left. The crew went through my kitchen, looking for ample food, while Diesel crashed on the couch.
"Babe?"
"He's just a friend, and he can cook. Why shouldn't I let him crash? Besides, he's with Connie." I sat in an armchair and stole the remote from Diesel.
"Is the skip really in San Fran? Or did you want the idiot gone?" Ranger asked turning the TV off
"Both" I turned to the kitchen and yelled "Lester!"
"Yes beautiful?" He replied, coming in with some Chex mix.
"Shotgun under my bed. Got it from Connie. Said it was yours." I stated. He got the gun and said
"This isn't mine. Mine's older."
"I know hand it to me." I took it and fired it at one of my walls, they were bulletproof, and the gun had a silencer!
"You have a shotgun?" Five, with silencers. And 3 Glocks, 2 Desert Eagles, one with stock, one without, 2 semi-automatics, 3 automatic Uzis, and 5 .45 S&W's. All from Connie, all licensed, all legal, all mine, all had enough ammo for a week, constant fire, and all had silencers.
Ranger looked like he was going to faint "What?"
"Out loud?" I asked
"Yeah" Diesel replied
"You have 20 guns?"
"I have 25 knives" I stated casually.
"What the heck? What happened to the old Steph?" Hector said, mumbling something afterwards.
"You were gone for a year and a half. I won the lottery, got trained, bought a house, a few apartments, and took care of Morelli. That's all within the last 6 months. And the weapons, that's only here, in NYC"
"You're kidding me" Hal stated, sitting on a barstool and fixing a glass of red wine.
"Not one bit. You didn't think I would lie, would you?" I asked, getting up and making my favorite snack; calamari. When I was done, I walked into the living room and flopped onto the loveseat with Carlos.
"What's that?"
"Calamari" I responded popping some in my mouth.
"Cala what?" Diesel asked
"Fried squid legs"
"Yum!" He jumped up and grabbed a handful. "This is good!" I laughed.
"You eat squid legs?" Carlos asked, eating some from the large bowl.
"Fried Squid Legs" I stated.
"Should've known" He said with a grin.
"How's Lula?" Tank asked.
"Thanks for asking. She's fine, well; I would be too if I married a billionaire." I stated
"She WHAT!" He boomed, eyes bugged.
"I'm only kidding. She I gave her 5 million, and she bought herself a red Porsche, a red house, and a red wardrobe. She's driving me NUTS! You are kicked out, you have to go get Lula to shut up!" I groaned, "She's calling me every day saying 'Are Batman and the A-team back yet? Are you hiding them?' If she does it again.." and my pink droid rang. I pressed speaker, and the room was filled with
"White girl! I know you have them! Batman and the A-team are never gone for this long! You owe me! I haven't seen Tank in One year, Six months, eighteen days, five hours, thirty six minutes, and twenty three seconds!" She accused
"Lula, come on down here. They are here, they just got back. And bring Connie, Diesel is suffering with drawls." She laughed at that. I turned on a favorite song of mine, Pink's raise your glass.
The lyrics started and I sang along. Connie and Lula walked in, Lula running to Tank, Connie taking off her jacket and walking to Diesel.
"Mm that feels good" I mumbled when Carlos started massaging my lower back. I leaned in to his chest and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was in my bed, and I heard the door opening. I slipped my hand down my long leg and grabbed a Desert Eagle and a knife, quietly tucking the knife in my… Where's my waistband? I just felt lace… Oh no, no no no! I reached and felt my bra, good… I wasn't completely naked. The person came closer, and I prepared to shoot them, grabbing hold of the gun.
"Babe, wake up" I heard, I smiled and opened my eyes. Carlos.
"Carlos why am I here?" I sat up under the chocolate and beige sheets laying my gun on the covers, next to the knife.
"You fell asleep. I brought you up" He smiled and sat on the bed. Yay, Carlos brought me into my bedroom, where he stripped me down into my chocolate and beige underwear. This couldn't get any better! I'm not being sarcastic.
I smiled at him "Carlos, can you bring me the light pink iPad? I'd like to show you something" He reached over and grabbed my iPad and handed it to me. I started it up and pulled up a screen listing my properties, assets, and businesses, etc. "This is me. Everything I own." I handed it to him.
"Babe, wow! This is amazing, the things that are here. The numbers add up to be… Whoa…" He looked amazed at the spreadsheet.
"You have the magic black card, right?" He nodded. I reached and pulled out my card, "I have the magic beige card" He smiled. "Ranger, I know over five languages, fluently. I can speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, and Cherokee. I know the cultures of the world, when I go somewhere now, I blend." I smiled and took the iPad from him, shutting it off.
"Let's head downstairs and fix breakfast" I said, sliding out of bed and walking leisurely into the wardrobe to dress, picking peach scoop neck tee with a logo on front, reading "To learn to fly, you must know when fall" and tight jeans. I strolled out to find Carlos looking at pictures on my mahogany dresser.
"What's that?" He asked, pulling me into his arms.
"A picture of you and me, silly" I reached and grabbed it "Connie and Lula took it." It was me and him kissing in front of the bonds office, I had just gotten back from a trip to Illinois for a friend's funeral; that's where I had found my winning numbers, the day, month, and year of her death.
"I know that" I walked over and opened up a mahogany jewelry chest up, pulling out a ring and slipping it on my left ring finger, replacing a platinum band that was there earlier. "Babe, Why was your ring not on?"
"I was afraid I would lose one of the stones. And also if I wore it the Burg would go crazy, so I bought a platinum one to match it, and I wear that every day." I smiled
"Babe…" He was interrupted by Connie coming up and announcing
"If you aren't down if five minutes, I'm bringing my Nikon and taking pictures of you both tonight!" Ranger paled, and then motioned her out.
"I have to fly this afternoon, I have a meeting with my business manager in San Fran, and I also have to get that skip. If you want to stay here, have fun, but I have to head out!" I said reaching up to kiss him then I hurried down before we got caught tonight. I met the guys downstairs, getting comments, whistles, and flirts that is, until Ranger walked down, giving me an earth-shattering kiss then starting to fix breakfast for us.