Author's Note

Whooo finally finished this one...uff ...it has certainly taken me a while.

I have now 9 other unfinished Stories I have to tend too...Why is my muse doing this to me?

Lol

Lotta love xx


Steph's POV
present time

I stare at him in disbelief, unsure of what to say. Tears are gathering in my eyes and I am swallowing hard to keep them at bay.

"Would you like some bread?" The waiter asks, as he appears out of nowhere at our table, making me jump in surprise. I can only shake my head in response and gather my things without even looking at the man I thought I knew and loved.

"Babe…." He says, as I stand, but I only shake my head again and walk away. Something like that is hard to wrap my head around and I don't know if I can get over this.


Ranger's POV
Two Weeks earlier

"You want to do what?" Lester looks at me as if I have grown another head and starts shaking his own. "This is a bad idea, hermano…this will backfire on you big time and you will lose her."

"I agree with Les" Tank says and Les shoots him a surprised look. Obviously he expected Tank to back me up on this.

"How did you even come up with this stupid Idea? You guys have been together for a while now" Bobby questions.

"Celia pointed out to me, that I should make sure, before I ask her to marry me. After all she moved in here rather quickly." I inform my friends.

"Only my wife can come up with something that stupid…I swear she is more suspicious than you." Bobby shakes his head.

"Celia should mind her own bees wax" Les comments.

"She has a point though. Steph moved in rather quickly, she had no money and her part time job at the button factory didn't get her fancy shoes and jewellery" I tell them and start pacing my living room. Steph is out at a friend's hen's do and I don't expect her to come home for some time.

"Who you are trying to convince that this is a good idea, us or yourself?" Les questions a little angry. "I will support you, but this is wrong on so many levels. The girl is clearly head over heels in love with you." My cousin is a little overprotective when it comes to Steph. They have been friends for longer than we have been together and he sees her as his little sister.

"Once again, I agree with Les" Tank nods and finishes of his beer.

"What the big guy said" Bobby nods and points at Tank.

"Just for a few days… see how she is going to take it. It won't matter to her, if she does really love me" I assure them.


"Babe…can I talk to you for a moment?" I question and sit next to her on the couch.

"Sure" she nods and mutes the TV. "What's up?"

"Rangemen is in trouble. We have tried everything on the business end, but it is not helping. And as the core team is financially liable, if the company does bad or goes bankrupt, all of us need to come up with a great amount of money." I tell her.

"Are you ok?" She questions and takes my hand. Steph knows how much work went into building this company up from the ground.

"I am ok." I nod, putting on my blank face.

"How much money are we talking about and how long do you have?" Babe probes.

"2 million and about six weeks" I say. 2 Million is the fictional Number, me and the guys came up with last night. It is the number, each of us knows we would never able to pay back, if we needed it in a few weeks time.

Steph breathes out and takes a big gulp out of her wine glass. "It's doable between the four of you. You can put a mortgage on the properties each of you owns and that should be enough."

"You misunderstood Babe…it is 2 million each" I correct her and see the colour drain from her face. "Breathe Babe" I push her head between her legs and don't let her up until her breathing has gone back to normal.

"Wow" Is the only thing she manages to say and for the rest of the evening she is pretty quiet, which is highly unusual for her.

As I open my eyes at 8.15 am, Steph is already gone and her side cold. For a moment I panic, but then I hear some music coming from the kitchen downstairs and sigh in relief.

"Okay...Thank you. You have been a great help….Yes I will talk it over with him and I will give you a call back. Thank you" Steph says and hangs up the phone just as I enter the kitchen. There are papers all over the kitchen counter, the laptop is open and the tablet propped up right next to it. Steph herself is only in her pyjamas, but seems to be already on the third cup of coffee.

"Did you turn off my alarm?" I question and place a kiss on her head, on my way to the coffee machine.

"Yes I did. Thought you deserved a sleep in, with all that is going on" She answers, without looking up from the laptop.

"What are you doing?" I ask curiously and pour myself a cup of coffee.

"Planning" She simply replies and scribbles something down on a piece of paper.

"What are you planning?" I probe and try to make out her writing.

"We need a plan of action...well you guys need a plan of action and I can help. I have talked to a few Real Estate agents about this place" She says, with her finger making a circling motion, telling me she is talking about this house.

"I know I don't have a right, but this place is of great value. You can mortgage it, but you wouldn't get enough money together, plus you'd then owe the bank. So like I said, I talked to a few Estate Agents and they will come and have a look what number they think they can get us." Babe adds. "Have you had a look on how much you can borrow from the Bank for the Haywood Building?"

"Uhmm…" I answer, not knowing really what to say.


Steph's POV

I laid awake half of the night, thinking about how to help Ranger and the others. The longer I lay awake, the more my feet started to itch and eventually I gave in and got up. I even went for a run today, because it was too early to call Agents and start making arrangements.

"Babe, you love this house" Ranger points out and warps me into a hug. He is right, I do love this house, but I love him more. I don't care where I live, as long as I live with him.

"It's ok. Once Rangemen is doing better, we can look for something else. In the meantime we can live on the seventh floor." I assure him and withdraw out of his embrace. "I have to go to work. Vinnie is going to rip my head off, if I am late one more time this week." I add and leave the room. I get dressed in my usual jeans, top and hood outfit and with one last kiss on his lips, I leave the house.

It will actually be easier, if we'd lived back in Haywood. I wouldn't need to leave an hour earlier, so that I can be at work on time.

As I met Ranger two years ago, I was working part time at the Button Factory. My mother got me that job, after EE Martin closed. There I was working as a lingerie buyer, dreaming of having my own store.

Half a year later, Vinnie, my cousin who owns a Bail Bond Enforcement Agency, was looking for another person to do the filing and office work full time. He didn't had a choice, but to hire me, because I blackmailed him into giving it to me. Apparently his wife doesn't need to know about his weird sexual fantasies and his 'friendship' with Joyce, the town slut.

For now a year and a half, I have been working alongside Connie at the Office and I am actually not minding it. It's fun and you hear some great and weird stories.

Armed with a dozen doughnuts, which I picked up on the way, I walk into the office, only to find my other friend Lula chilling on the couch, with a Lollipop in her mouth, a magazine in her lap and her feet resting on the small table. Today she is dressed like a naughty schoolgirl. Her white shirt is so tight and see through, that I am afraid that the buttons are going to pop any moment.

Lula used to be a prostitute, before she upgraded to work in Sex Toy shop, just of Stark Street.

"Finally...I need sugar" She says and grabs the doughnuts out of my hands.

"You are licking a Lollipop" I point out and drop my bag at my desk.

"I am only doing that, so that I can get last night's one night stand's taste out of my mouth" my friend answers, shrugging her shoulders.

"Urgg...Too much information Lula" I pull a face and sit down in my chair, but not before recurring a couple of doughnuts out of the Box, before Lula eats them all. "Where is Connie?"

"Running late...Josephine Hickle got locked up again and she asked me to open up for her." Lula tells me. "You look like shit white girl...everything alright?"

"He in?" I ask and point to the door behind me, only for Lula to shake her head. Vinnie likes to bug our office and I cannot be asked to get the bug spotter out to check, if he put any new ones under our desks. "When I tell you this...you can't tell anyone….not even Connie...you have to promise. I don't think anyone knows yet."

Lula is about to speak up, but my serious expression keeps whatever she wanted to say locked up.

"Rangemen is broke and they owe about 8 Million Dollars" I blurt out and Lula drops her Doughnut in shock.

"Holy crap" She shouts. "What are they going to do?" Lula asks.

"Man…" She shakes her head, after I finish telling her what I know..

"I already made a call to estate agents. I don't know how much Ranger paid for it, but the Agents assured me that we can get a decent price for the house. Plus it is in a very good area…" I tell her. "But I need some help...maybe next weekend?"

"Okay, sure...whatever you need." Lula assures me.

"Thank you" I answer and in that moment Connie walks into the Office, telling us about Josephine's latest attempt get back at her Ex Husband.


Ranger's POV

"Ranger...enough...you knuckles are already bleeding!" Bobby says with concern from behind me, but I don't pay attention to it. For the better part of the last half an hour, my friends have been trying to get me to stop punishing the boxing bags, but I need to keep hitting something or I may go crazy.

"She called Estate agents this morning" I inform him. "Fucking Estate Agents...I am an idiot"."

"Then stop it...tell her the truth" Tank tries to reason, but I only shake my head.

"Tank is right, you have to tell her" Les adds. "The sooner the better."

Left, left, right. Left, left, right. Left, left, right. And with the last right punch, the sandbag comes crashing down to the ground. "Fuck…." I shout and kick it in frustration. "Bobby, we need better quality sandbags, these are shit!"

"I will keep that in mind, Buddy" He replies dryly, as he comes over to inspect my knuckles. "Tell her and beg for forgiveness."

As I come home later that evening, Steph is busy showing Estate Agents through the house and she falls asleep very early on the couch. Instead of waking her, I let her sleep and figure, that I can always tell her the truth tomorrow.


Steph's POV

one week earlier

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean you can't just give these away" Lula says and holds up one of my very beloved Jimmy Choo's.

"There is no other way. Every Dollar can help." I tell her and continue to take pictures of my shoes, as well as the jewellery Ranger bought me. I know that what he gave me is real and I want to get an estimate, how much I can get for it.

"Has Ranger signed it yet?" Lula questions curiously and packs away the shoes we already took pictures off.

"No...he is still reluctant. I don't know why...they now have five weeks to get this money together or they are going to have to declare bankruptcy." I respond, without looking up from my task.

"I don't understand how this could have happened...Rangemen was doing so well" my friend remarks.

"I don't know...Ranger said that they are in debt with the bank and owe suppliers some money too. I didn't probe further, it seems to pain him enough." I explain.

"But what about letting people go? Or those expensive cars... That should be the first thing to go, or not?" Lula exclaims and takes a health sip from her margarita glass. I told her I wasn't drinking, but she poured me one anyway. That was three Margaritas ago.

"I talked to a car dealership in Philly about the Porsche and he said he can make us a good deal. And I asked Ranger about letting go Employees, but he only said that wasn't an option. He is rather broke with a lot of debt than putting those guys out of a job….I get it though... Those guys wouldn't be hired anywhere else, as most of them have a record….Hit me again" I point at my empty glass and Lula doesn't need to be told twice to fill it.

"How much have you got together with everything?" Lula questions as she hands me my glass.

"1.5 Million...not enough. I am hoping, by paying off more than half, that we can get a leeway. Ranger said the other guys don't look much better, so fingers crossed."


Ranger's POV

"I tried...I just can't seem to find the right moment to do it" I explain to Les, as we enter the house.

"You can't keep doing this...this has to end...I just can't believe you hermano" Les shakes his head and then abruptly halts in his step, making me nearly crash into him. "Lula…"

"Hey...where is Steph?" I question and walk past my Babe's best friend, only to be stopped as she grabs my arm.

"What do you need to tell her? Have you been sleeping around?" She questions angrily.

"No!" I exclaim. "Where is Steph?"

"She is sleeping...she had one or two too many margaritas. What do you need to tell her?" Lula presses.

"We aren't really broke" Les blurts out.

"Seriously? How did you even make it through Ranger training?" I question astonished and shake my head.

"What do you mean, by you aren't really broke?" Lula's grip loosens around my wrist, I step away and come to sit on the steps, which lead upstairs.

"I made it up, to see if Steph was after my mo…" But before I can even finish that sentence, Lula's flat hand has already connected with my cheek.

"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!" Lula shouts and nearly hits me again, but Lester stops her just in time. "You son of a bitch...how could you even think that she is a gold-digger? May I remind you, that she really didn't want any of this?" She adds and motions around the house. "You have been worrying her for nothing...she has been stressing out all week, she is constantly crunching numbers….and today we were taking pictures of jewellery and shoes which she wants to sell… You are unbelievable."

"Lula...I meant to tell her, I meant to correct it, but I haven't found the right moment" I explain.

"There is no right moment….Listen to me Manoso" Lula says in a threatening tone and manages to slip out of Lester's hold. "You tell her or I will" She promises and pokes my chest. "I hope you die alone and miserable." With those words Lula leaves our house and I just sit there on the stairs stare into nothingness. I could I screw up so badly?


"Ranger..we cannot afford this" my Babe whispers, as we sit down at our usual table in Rossilini's restaurant.

"Babe, I have to tell you something" I say and avoid her eyes. It's been a week since Lula threatened to tell her and only now I have had the balls to do so. I know I am pathetic. When did I become like this?

"What is it?...You are starting to scare me…" Babe grabs my hand and starts running circles with her thumb.

I take a deep breath. Here we go. "We are not broke...far from it actually. Rangemen is doing better than ever and I made the whole thing up, because part of me thought you were with me for the money. I am sorry Babe."

"Come again?" She says, staring at me in disbelief.

"Rangemen is not broke" I repeat and my heart drops, as Babe withdraws her hand. I can see tears pooling in her eyes.

A waiter approaches with a small bread basket and asks "Would you like some bread?"

Steph jumps slightly, as she obviously didn't see him approach. She shakes her head and gathers her stuff.

"Babe" I say, but she only shakes her head again and leaves.

I am quick on my feet and follow her outside. "Come on let me take you home" I say, as I catch up with her. But I don't receive a response, instead she keeps on walking. I walk with her, just to make sure she is okay, until we get to the Bond's office.

"Babe let's just go home and talk about this" I tell her and grab her arm, only for her to jerk it out of my grip.

"Leave me alone" She growls and with that she walks into the Office, leaving me standing out the front. I contemplate to follow her, but as she locks the door I decide against it. Maybe it is better to just leave her be for the moment.

This would be easier for me to see what she is thinking and feeling, if she was screaming and shouting at me. But this silence from her is far worse, than any injury I have ever sustained on any of my missions. My heart aches and in my mind I know I royally fucked this one up.

Why did I listen to my sister?


Steph's POV

I lock the door behind me and flip the sign to close. I knew Lula would be here, with Connie, as she is every Saturday morning, because they are doing their manicures at the office.

"Are you okay White girl?" Lula questions and looks at me with worry.

"No" I shake my head and then the floodgates open. "It...It...It wasn't real….he thought I was a gold-digger" I hiccup and Lula and Connie immediately jump up, each with a box of tissue in their hands.


"You are going to be okay!" Connie assures me and rubs my back for like the zillions time. I nod and wipe the tears from my cheeks, before getting out of the car and walking up to our house.

I know he isn't there, because the house is dark and the cayenne is gone from the driveway. If he was home, I wouldn't be able to go in. I don't want to face him, it hurts too much.

I let us inside and I quickly pack my suitcases, taking everything that belongs to me. Only the things I brought with my own money, as I moved into this house a little over a year ago, are coming with me as well. I drop the keys, trackers and my phone into the key bowl at the entrance and pull the door close behind me, with a heavy heart.


"White girl?" Lula knocks on the Guest bedroom door and walks in. "I knew about it." she confesses. "I found out a week ago and told him to tell you...I thought he was going to do it the next day, but apparently I was wrong. I know that you are probably angry at me now and I am sorry. I just wanted the bastard to tell you himself."

"I am not mad" I assure her and as she shoots me a doubting look I ad "I am not...I get why you did it and I would have done the same in your shoes...And I am not even mad at Ranger."

"But if you are not mad at him, why did you pack your stuff?" She questions and joins me on the bed.

"I can't be with someone, if they don't trust me or don't believe that I love them more than the money they have." I answer and swallow hard. This whole thing is so surreal. After my two-second marriage to Dick and dating Joe Morelli for a few years, I thought finally found the one I would be with for the rest of my life. The fact that he doesn't trust me hurts a lot and I am not sure if I can get passed that.

"I don't care about money. I never wanted the expensive gifts, but he insisted. I didn't need the big house, but once again he insisted, just because I said I loved it. How does he go from there to she is only after my money?" I shake my head and new tears are rolling down my cheek.

"Come on…Let's eat our weight in chocolate and doughnuts and cry our eyes out, whilst watching some girly movies" Lula says and pulls me from the bed.

"I would rather watch a horror movie and get drunk" I confess and she just shakes her head.

"Are you sure you are a girl?" Lula laughs and drags me out into the living room.


Ranger's POV

"Steph?" I shout as I walk into the dark house. I spend the last few hours trying to take my mind of things and trying to do some work, but I ended up punching the shit out of yet another sandbag.

As I am about to drop my key's into the bowl, I see Steph's phone, Trackers and key's and my heart stops beating. I quickly run upstairs, inspect every single room. She took everything she came with and nothing I gave her. Even the Pandora bracelet, with wonder woman attached to it, which she has worn ever since I gave it to her for Christmas last year.

I run back down stairs, slam the door shut behind me and get back into my car. I have to find her, I have to make her come home.

10 minutes and a few broken traffic laws later, I come to a halt in front of Lula's house. I know she would be here, because there is no way that she would went to her parents or sister's place. And Connie is currently living with her family, as her apartment got flooded last month.

I bang on the door a few times and I hear something crash on the other side, before two woman start laughing out loud. "White girl…STOP LAUGHING" Lula shouts, laughing herself, before she finally opens the door.

"Oh…" Babe's best friend says before looking back at Steph, who immediately sobers at the sight of me. "Now is not a good time, Manoso. Come back tomorrow."

"I want to talk to you" I plead and look at my Babe. Steph only nods and gets up from the couch. I can tell that she is quite drunk, by the way she walks and holds herself.

"What do you want?" Babe questions, as she steps outside and closes the door behind herself.

"We have to talk about this…you can't just leave." I tell her.

"I can and I did." She answers with a sad look on her face. This is clearly not what she wants. "You don't trust me not to take you for everything you have and I can't live or be with someone like that."

"Steph…please. I am sorry. It was a stupid idea and I regret it immensely. I know you are not a Gold-digger" I assure her, but she shakes her head.

"If that were true, you wouldn't have done this. I am sorry Ranger, but I can't..." Steph points out and walks back inside. Just before the door closes, I can hear her break down in sobs and my heart breaks once again.


Three months later

"Well you look like shit" Les comments, as I walk into my office. "And you smell like shit too! How long has it been since you took a shower?"

"What do you want?" I growl and pull down my sunglasses, as my office is currently flooded with sunlight and I can't handle it at the moment. My hangover is worse than yesterday's and the little men with the jackhammers inside my head, have yet to stop for a break. I walk to the windows, pull down the blinds, before I take a seat in my chair.

"You need to stop this. You gotta snap out of it. For the past month you have either been beating the shit out of a punching bag, growling at your employees or drinking." My cousin points out and glares at me. "If you want her back, this is not the way to go!"

"I have tried everything I can think of, but nothing is working." I sigh and hang my head low.

"What are we talking about?" Tank and Bobby question at the same time, as they enter my office.

"Close the door" I growl. I don't want my employees to hear my personal business.

"Steph and his inability to cope." Les explains.

"When did you become a psychologist?" I look at my cousin, raising an eyebrow. Before he can answer, my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and sigh. I haven't had a call from this number since I resigned from Special Ops. "Why are you calling?" I question as soon as I pick up.

"We need you to lead a small team into Syria." the man on the other end replies.

"Reason?" I ask.

"A team of CIA analysts accompanied by Sanders, Rodgers, Sanchez and Prentiss. Was only supposed to be re-con, but they ran into trouble. We lost contact." he answers. I am surprised that he is giving me so much information from the get go. He must know that I wouldn't secretly try to sneak into Syria, for anything less than a fellow soldier in trouble.

"You don't exercise the 'If something goes wrong, you're on your own' line anymore?" I retort amused and lean back in my chair.

"That is why I am calling. The government won't help officially. CIA is funding this off the record" he answers and before I can ask what my time is worth to them, he adds " We double your fee."

Without hesitating I question "When do you want me to leave?"

"2 hours, chopper will pick you up" and with that my former CIA handler, Jonathan Green, hangs up.

I quickly get up and leave my office without another word. This will give me some time away and Steph some space from me.

"This isn't smart….at least let her know that you are leaving" Les says, for like the hundredth time since we left my office, as he watches me pack my backpack.

That night as I went to Lula's place, I only went home to get my own clothes and moved back into the seventh floor apartment. I didn't want to stay at the house. Too many memories and without her the big house, seemed too empty and big. As of yet, I haven't been back.

"I have tried for the past three months to text, call, email, tweet, facebook and whats app her. I even send a proper letter, via the actual postal service. But everything went unanswered. So no, I will not let her know I am leaving." I retort a lot angrier than I thought I was. I am not angry at her, I am angry at myself.

Les just shakes his head, mutters something under his breath and leaves the room. I know I am doing the right thing. Maybe I pressured her too much and didn't give her enough time and space. No contact maybe the way to go right now and what better way to do that, when I am thousands of miles away.

With one glance at the clock on my night stand, I find I still have one and a half hours to go, before the chopper is going to pick me up. Plenty of time to sort out my affairs.