JE owns the rights to anything familiar - all mistakes are mine.
For my fellow Babes, LilyGhost and highlandsgirl, in the hopes they'll temporarily forget the fact I've made no progress on our new joint story. ;) ;)
(There is something just for you in here too, Margaret)
And to everyone else, I wish you and yours a happy holiday season!
"I don't think this is a good idea."
I paused with a stack of black t-shirts in my hand and shot a glance over my shoulder. Tank was leaning in the doorway of my bedroom with his massive forearms crossed over his chest and I was starting to wonder why the hell I'd let him in my apartment.
"I don't remember requesting a running commentary of your thoughts." It was the third time this week he'd expressed his opinion on my impending move to Boston. I hadn't wanted to hear it the first two times either. The decision had been made and I wasn't going to change my mind because Tank didn't like it. I stuffed the shirts in the bag and repeated the process with my cargo pants.
"It's unnecessary," he continued, ignoring my snarky comment and apparently completely missing the obvious irritation I'd purposely let my tone convey. "Dallas can run the Boston office. Or even...Ozzy. There is no reason for you to go."
The mention of his brother brought my packing to a stop, although I was nearly finished anyway. Tank must be desperate for me to stay since he hadn't spoken to or of Ozzy in two years. I zipped the duffle closed and dropped it onto the floor next to its twin. "I'm done talking about it, Tank. The plane leaves in an hour and I will be on it. Is Hector back yet?"
He opened his mouth, I was sure to once again protest my departure, so I leveled him with a look I normally reserved for criminals and Joe Morelli, and my second in command thankfully backed off.
"Yeah, he's ready to go."
I was bringing Hector and one other man to Boston with me. It was the only thing Tank hadn't complained about. "Good." I grabbed my watch off the night stand and attached it to my wrist before securing my weaponry. The not-at-all gentle giant watched in silence from his threshold position, working the muscle in his jaw and trying not to say anything else to me about leaving, which was a good thing because if he mentioned it one more time I might have to shoot him.
When I was done, I hefted both duffles off the floor and headed out, stopping only to don my heavy winter coat. I'd already shipped the majority of my belongings earlier this week so these last two bags were all that remained. He followed me through the door and pulled it closed behind us. I hit the button to call the elevator and turned to Tank's cranky face. "You remember the rules about the penthouse?" I knew he did but felt the need to mention it anyway.
His response tested the fragile boundary of my waning patience. "Did you even tell her you're leaving?"
It took every ounce of discipline I had to keep my expression neutral and my stony gaze from wavering. Tank caved with a small exhale when the elevator arrived. "Yes, I know the rules. No one else is allowed inside and she is to have access to the apartment, the building and any resources or help she might need, twenty-four-seven."
I gave him a curt nod and stepped onto the elevator. He was right on my heels and we rode to the garage in silence. Tank knew he'd crossed the line and was finally able to keep his big mouth shut.
Hector and Zip were waiting for me by one of the fleet vehicles along with Vince who was chauffeuring us to the airfield. I nodded a greeting and Vince took my bags, adding them to the ones already inside the SUV.
I held out my hand to Tank and he shook his head once in anger or maybe exasperation before clasping it in his and pumping it once. "Give my condolences to Ace's family," he said and then shoved his hands into his pockets. Ace had been the man in charge of the Boston branch of Rangeman Enterprises for the past ten years. A month ago he dropped dead in the middle of a busy intersection, leaving a wife and two young daughters behind. The autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a ruptured brain aneurysm.
"Let me know when you get there," Tank added harshly and then spun on his heel. He strode to his car and was peeling out of the garage before the rest of us were inside our ride.
It wasn't the most amicable of departures, but he would get over it. Much to my relief, Hector and Zip and even Vince weren't feeling loquacious so the drive to Luna Airfield was blessedly quiet. A friend of mine, who owned the field and the jet we would be taking to Boston, owed me a favor and I was calling it in with this trip. The pilot greeted us cordially when we arrived and helped Vince load our bags into the cargo hold before giving us a brief overview of safety procedures and the flying time to our final destination.
Ten minutes later we were in the air and I felt the anxiety and tension of the past two weeks finally starting to loosen its grip on my muscles. I'd been under a great deal of stress since Ace's death and it only got worse when I made the decision to go to Boston. It was one of the hardest choices I'd ever made and truthfully, I still wasn't sure it was the right one. I guess only time would tell.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes and for the first time in weeks, made a conscious effort not to think of Stephanie. She was the reason my decision was so difficult but when she chose not to come with me when I asked if she would, I nearly changed my mind a dozen times. Our relationship, such as it was, had always been challenging, mostly because of me, so I shouldn't have been surprised when she didn't immediately start packing when I suggested she abandon her life and move to another state with a man who'd never even taken her on real date.
That didn't change the fact I really wanted her with me and my heart was physically aching inside my chest at the thought of not seeing her every day. I let out a slow breath and willed my mind into a blank slate. Unfortunately, my self-imposed brain cleanse was not to be. I really should have known better; I haven't been able to get the woman out of my head since the day we met but this time it was Hector's fault.
The man sat beside me twenty minutes into the flight and apparently, she was the only thing he wanted to discuss. He kept his voice low and although he was learning how to speak English, we held the entire short conversation in Spanish.
"I was expecting to see Stephanie on this plane." I'd been refusing to talk about her whenever Tank brought up the topic, but for some reason I didn't shut Hector down.
"Me too," I confessed. "But it wasn't in the cards."
He surprised me by barking out a laugh. Hector rarely laughed, he hardly ever smiled either, come to think of it.
"Maybe not yet, but it will be."
I lifted a brow. He sounded very confident and I wanted to know the reason. "Really?"
He smiled again and it made me a little uneasy. "You love her, no?"
"I love her, yes."
Hector's deep, whiskey colored eyes left mine and traveled across the aisle to where Zip was dozing in one of the cozy leather seats.
"Love always finds a way, brother."
I didn't think he knew I was aware he and Zip were seeing each other, but that moment where he unconsciously looked at the man he was obviously in love with, was when I realized it was way more serious than I thought. I chose Zip in deference to Hector, and now I know it was the right move. I don't think he would've agreed to leave if I had picked someone else.
He left me alone with that thought consuming my mind for the rest of the flight and by the time we landed at a small private airport just outside of Boston, all I wanted to do was have the pilot fly me back to Jersey.
Snow was falling steadily as we exited the plane and I turned up the collar of my coat against the strong and icy wind. The first snow of winter hadn't hit Trenton yet so this decidedly colder weather would be an adjustment. If it kept up it was going to be a white Christmas.
The realization that I wouldn't be spending the holiday with Steph made the ache in my chest deepen and spread like a virus directly into my bones. Obviously I was still failing miserably at trying not to think of her.
There was a black Rangeman SUV waiting for us and after retrieving the key from the pilot and loading the bags in the back, I let Hector drive us to the building downtown.
"Fuck, it's cold," Zip declared from the back seat and I turned just in time to see him tug his knit cap down over his ears.
"It's not that bad," I said. "And it was cold in Jersey too."
"Yeah," he conceded, "but that was a normal cold, this is a whole other level of freezing. I think I just saw a penguin waddle by the window."
I caught Hector's grin in my peripheral vision and didn't know if this new Happy Hector would ever stop being disconcerting.
"Man up, Zip," I commanded. "It's only going to get worse."
"Sir, yes sir!" He snapped back with a sardonic salute. "Good pep talk, sir. Very motivating."
Hector laughed out loud and I felt the urge to roll my eyes. "Maybe I should have brought Lester and Manny with me instead of you two smart asses," I mused aloud which made Hector laugh harder. I bit back a sigh. Annoying fucks.
"You would've tossed Santos from the plane halfway here," Zip surmised, and that was probably accurate.
"I liked it better when neither of you were in the mood to talk." I turned my gaze out the window to the city lights trying valiantly to shine through the haze of the winter storm. I could feel their smiles, but they were apparently more perceptive than Tank and let me spend the rest of trip in silence.
There was a list a mile long of things I wanted to get done this week and I was still mentally reviewing it when we arrived at the gate. We pulled inside the underground garage just as Ozzy exited the stairwell and I nearly smiled at the mirrored expressions on Zip and Hector's faces. Oz could easily pass for Tank's twin and seeing him for the first time was rather jarring. The only thing more unsettling was seeing them together. Fortunately that hadn't happened in a very long time.
"Jesus," Zip muttered, "you couldn't have given us a heads up?"
"And miss that look on your ugly mug? No way."
I exited the car before either of them could toss out a sarcastic retort and greeted the big man.
"It's good to see you," he offered with his extended hand, "but you could have stayed in Jersey. Dallas was ready to take the reins."
"You sound like Tank," I replied, trying not to let my exasperation show.
Ozzy flashed me a grin. "How is my incorrigible little brother?"
"Cranky, annoyed, and discontent. He sends his regards."
"Sounds about right but if he did more than swear or grimace at the mention of my name, I'll eat my boots."
I shrugged my shoulders in a non-committal way and Ozzy laughed. The brothers had a falling out a few years before and though I knew the gist, neither of them had ever told me the whole story and from what I did know, it should remain that way. It was highly personal and the two of them would eventually work it out...if either of them would stop being stubborn enough to agree to talk.
"This your posse?" he asked as Hector and Zip joined us by the door, towing our bags between them.
I made the introductions as we hiked the stairs to the 6th floor. Ozzy let us know we needed to see Moose to get key fobs and pass codes for the building and left us to our own devices on the control room floor.
The Boston office was set up almost identically to the Trenton branch except it had three more floors. My apartment was on the 10th and after getting the list of codes and the appropriate fobs, I parted ways with my 'posse' and headed to the penthouse. It was late and I needed to sleep before I started to settle into this new life I'd decided to undertake.
There was a tray of fresh fruits and veggies and a welcome note from the Boston version of Ella waiting for me in the kitchen. I popped a strawberry into my mouth on the way to the bedroom.
After dropping my bags, stripping and then showering I crawled into bed and as it always did when I was alone with only my thoughts to keep me company, my brain overflowed with memories of Stephanie Plum. Once it began it took a great deal of effort to contain but tonight I didn't even try, letting the images roam freely through my head. I finally fell asleep with the sound of her laughter in my ears and the feel of her unbelievably soft skin gliding under my dexterous hands.
The morning brought a half a foot of snow and a raging hard-on and neither did anything to improve my mood. I took care of the only one I could do anything about and instead of relieving some tension it just seemed to fuel my ever darkening disposition. Hector was the first one to mention it, but he wouldn't be the last.
"If it's a bad time, I'll come back."
I glanced up from the quarterly tax report I'd been perusing and quirked an eyebrow.
"I didn't say it was a bad time."
"No, but the black cloud of despair hanging over your head is a definite indicator."
I nearly looked up at the ceiling. "What is it, Hector?"
He lowered his wiry frame into the plush leather seat in front of my desk and took a breath before responding. "Do you think it will be a problem if Zip and I share an apartment?"
I didn't think he knew I knew so I was not expecting that. It garnered my full and complete attention. "This is a big move...are you sure?" I knew he was; Hector never did anything spontaneously.
"Yes," he replied without hesitation, "but only if you agree. I don't want to cause issues here."
"I'll make sure it doesn't," I said, letting him know I wouldn't allow any. If someone had a problem with it then I didn't need them to work for me.
Hector tried and failed to hide a smile so he got up to leave instead. At the door, he turned and then totally derailed my day. "I spoke with Estefania last night. Her pet rat has died...she is very sad." And then he disappeared so quickly it was like he'd never even been there at all.
Fuck. Stephanie was crazy about that stupid hamster. Without even thinking, I snatched my phone off the desk and dialed her number. It went right to voicemail and after the beep sounded, I found myself at a loss for words.
"Steph...I...I'm sorry about Rex...call me if you want to talk." Shit. Of course she didn't want to talk. She wanted someone to hold her and let her cry on their shoulder until there weren't any tears left. I wanted intensely to be that person for her.
But I was in fucking Boston and she was in Trenton.
That was the first time I knew I'd made the wrong decision.
Just as I was about to call the control room and have Moose book me on the first flight back to Jersey, my desk phone rang. I snatched the handset off the cradle and listened to Bull tell me about the emergency alarm going off at one of our local security client properties.
Ten minutes later I was rolling out with the on-call response team. The emergency turned out to be a fire started after a break-in gone bad and it took most of the afternoon dealing with the pissed off and worried client and the police and fire departments before we were heading back to the office.
After I checked my phone for the fifth time to see if Stephanie had called back, Ozzy asked if everything was okay with me.
"Yeah, why?" I bit out, mildly on the defensive.
"No reason...you just seemed a little...distracted today."
Hell yeah I was distracted. My first day in Boston and I'm dealing with a cluster fuck of a security breach, a crazy snow storm - Zip was right, it was cold as fuck - and I was worried about Stephanie so much I was checking my phone every ten minutes.
"I'm fine," I assured him.
"Uh huh." It was such a Tank response I almost called him that name.
"I said I'm okay." I wasn't and I hated the fact I was letting it show.
"Right." Ozzy let it drop and I, for once, was finally glad about being in Boston. Tank would have pushed until I was ready to put a bullet in his leg.
I tried Steph a couple more times in between handling bullshit paperwork and a complaint about shift changes with no success. I eventually gave up the quest but when my phone rang at two in the morning, I knew it was her.
"Hey, Babe." I answered like I hadn't just been fast asleep and the broken tone of her voice cut a hole right through my heart.
"Sorry it's so late."
"It's never late where you're concerned, Steph. Are you okay?"
"No. But I don't want to talk about it; I just...wanted to hear your voice. Is that alright?"
"Always and I can be on a plane in an hour if you need me."
There was a long pause before she said softly, "You'd really do that, wouldn't you?"
"In a heartbeat."
"Ranger...I...I uh...I'm gonna go. Thanks for calling me today, it meant a lot." The last word caught in her throat and before I could beg her not to hang up, the distinct buzz of the dial tone was ringing across the line.
Yep. I made the wrong decision.
I didn't sleep much that night or for the next few nights. In the midst of the whole of the Boston office getting ready for the Christmas holiday by hiring contract workers so some of the regular staff could have some time off, the maintenance crew decorating the lobby and most of the rest of the building and the annual office holiday party preparations, I was quietly making arrangements for Dallas to take over so I could go home. I hadn't told Hector or Zip of my decision yet but I got the feeling as long as they were together it didn't really matter to them where they were.
It was Christmas Eve before I finally had everything in place and just before the holiday party began, I pulled Dallas into my office to let him know my plans. His response was unexpected.
After spearing his short black hair with his fingers and scratching at the five o'clock shadow growing in on his chiseled jaw, he regarded me with his cool green eyes and said, "I don't get it."
"There's not much to get, Dallas. I have personal shit at home that I should have handled before I left and I'm going back to take care of it. I might return but for now let's assume I won't. I'm putting you in charge and the lawyers will have the paperwork delivered after the holiday." I'd already gone over all this with him and wasn't thrilled about having to repeat it.
"No, I understood all that bullcrap, what I don't get is why you are going home when your personal shit showed up in the lobby fifteen minutes ago."
I blame it on the lack of sleep, but it took a few beats for that to sink in. "What did you just say?"
Dallas grinned at me, showing off his vampire-like incisors. "Well, a little blue-eyed, curly-haired thing arrived in the building a bit ago and I just saw her getting swept up in a hug by your man, Hector, and since he and Zip are an item, I assumed she must belong to you. Am I mistaken?"
I held his amused gaze for another second before silently leaving him standing in my office. "They were heading toward conference room two," he called after me. A seed of hope was blooming in my chest as I nearly ran down the hall in the direction he indicated. I wanted her to be there more than anything I'd ever wanted in my entire life.
When I reached the door I paused for a beat to calm my racing pulse and then flung it open.
She was standing there in a pair of worn black jeans and a body hugging, indigo sweater next to the eight foot balsam fir, admiring the white, twinkling lights and silver ribbons. When she turned her head and met my gaze her eyes were such a deep shade of blue I thought I might fall into their swirling depths and never come out again.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered the smiling faces of Hector and Zip leaving the room, but nothing mattered to me except her.
The corners of her lips tilted slightly and she filled the silence with a classic Stephanie quip. "Why don't you decorate the Trenton office like this? Maybe Tank wouldn't be such a crabby bastard if there was some freakin' holiday cheer around that place."
I strode across the room and yanked her into my arms. Before she could say anything else I lowered my mouth to hers and devoured her lips in a kiss that made us both hungry for more.
"I was coming back," I informed her when I paused to let us both breathe. "Tonight, I was coming back to Trenton."
The word was a little breathy when she asked, "Why?"
Time to admit what I've known since day one. "Because I don't want to be without you. Here, there, it doesn't matter, I want you with me...I need you with me and I never should have left unless you were by my side."
I kissed her again, drawing her tongue out to dance with mine. My heart thumped when her hand slid up my chest and she let it rest over said organ, beating now only for her. When we broke apart again, Stephanie was eyeing me with those endless blue orbs. "Well, I'm glad you left."
If there wasn't a twinkle in her eyes and in her voice when she said it, my blood might have turned to ice inside my veins. "Is that right?" I prompted, brushing my fingers along the delicate line of her jaw.
"Yep. If it took you moving to Boston for both of us to finally get our shit together and admit we love each other, then I almost wish you'd done it a long time ago."
My heart lurched again. "You love me?" She'd never said it before and well, neither had I...not without a ridiculous qualifier. A second of panic flashed across her face when she realized what had come out of her mouth, but it was gone almost instantly.
"Yeah, I do. And for the record, I wanted to come with you when you asked."
"I love you too, and for the record, I nearly changed my mind about leaving a dozen times when you said you wouldn't come with me."
"God, we're idiots."
I couldn't argue the point so I took her mouth again before taking her up to the penthouse where we could celebrate Christmas and our new found relationship in private. I didn't know if we would stay in Boston or go back to Jersey and I didn't care. As long as Stephanie was with me, the geography was inconsequential.
AN: Thanks LilyGhost for letting me borrow your penguin line. ;)