Chapter 2
Stephanie's POV
The sound of an alarm woke me, and I turned to find Ranger lying beside me with his head propped on his hand. I smiled as I stretched, rubbing my foot against the calf of his leg.
His eyes heated as he lowered his head, and then the sound of the phone ringing broke into the moment. For several seconds as his head hovered over mine, I thought he might ignore the call, but he sighed and pulled the offending item from his utility belt on the nightstand. "Yo."
I watched his facial features as he listened to the caller. Something told me this had to do with the man they'd taken into custody last night. Ranger's eyes darted to me, and in that instant, I was sure of it. After several tense seconds he finally said, "We'll be down in five."
Ranger disconnected the call. He bent down to kiss my lips before pulling back as he said, "We need to meet the others in the conference room. Your dad has some information on the guys we picked up at Monty's Bar."
I hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Ranger's hand clenched gently around a lock of hair as he said, "If you'd rather stay up here, no one would say anything."
I shook my head. "I need to face this."
"All right. I'm right here beside you."
Reluctantly, I threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. I felt Ranger's gaze on me as I padded naked into the bathroom. Knowing we needed to be downstairs in just a few short minutes, I hurriedly answered Mother Nature's call and then pulled on my underwear, a pair of jeans, and a T-shirt. I grabbed my shoes and socks and headed back into the bedroom to give Ranger a go at the bathroom.
When I got to the bedroom, no one was there, so I sat down on the bed and finished dressing. After slipping on my shoes I went in search of Ranger. I found him by the kitchen door with a travel cup of coffee and a Boston Cream.
My eyes closed, and I let loose with a moan as I seized the pastry out of his hand and took a healthy bite.
His deep-timbered chuckle did things to me that had me wanting to drag him back into the bedroom, but we had company downstairs and I was anxious to find out what they'd been able to learn about the two men from the bar.
I opened my eyes and zeroed in on him. One look at his dilated pupils told me he was feeling what I was. A discordant sound of a beep coming from his utility belt broke the moment, and his eyes hooded as he said, "Remember where we left off, Babe. Let's go get this handled."
His hand went to my waist as I preceded him from the apartment. We took the stairs down, and by the time we stepped out on the fifth floor, I'd finished my doughnut. As we entered the conference room, I handed my coffee to Ranger and waved my sticky fingers at him.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile, and I turned to make my way over to the sink in the alcove so I could wash my hands. Once they were dry, I took my seat at the table beside Ranger.
Within minutes, the others joined us. The last ones through the door were my dad and Joe.
Dad made his way over to where I was sitting and leaned down to kiss my cheek. "How are you holding up, pumpkin?"
"I'm doing okay. I know that you and Ranger are going to get to the bottom of this."
He winked at me before taking the chair beside mine.
Ranger gave a miniscule nod, which started the ball rolling.
Hector leaned forward. "When I talked to Hintin, he admitted that Helen hired him and Maglio. When they failed to complete the job, Helen flew into a rage and refused to pay them. She told them the only way she would ever pay them was if they completed the job."
I took a deep, shuddery breath, and for a moment, I felt as if I'd been hit hard.
Dad reached out and covered my hand with his.
I looked up at him, noticing the worry in his eyes. "This is a troublesome situation. I'm afraid I have some bad news."
I frowned but stayed quiet. I knew that he would tell us in his own time.
He took a deep breath and turned to look at Ranger and me. "Helen disappeared from the hospital. She was taken to the common room and attacked Jeanne Ellen, killing her, and then she was taken back to her room. When the nurse did rounds fifteen minutes later…she was gone."
I froze, stunned, until arms wrapped around me, making me feel safe and loved. Ranger whispered at my ear, "You're safe, Babe. I won't let her hurt you ever again."
I nodded shakily. The rest of the meeting went on, but I wasn't able to follow everything. Only odd pieces of information filtered through for me to latch on to.
Although I was aware of time passing, I couldn't say how long it had been before I was brought back to the present when my dad leaned over and kissed my cheek. He whispered, "I'm sorry, pumpkin. I wish I could have saved you from hearing that, but you need to know she's out there so you can protect yourself."
I nodded. "I know, Dad."
He caressed my cheek as he looked at me solemnly for several seconds, and then he stood and moved away. "I'll be checking in on you. And don't try to shake the shadow I put on you."
I grinned. "The only one of your guys who can keep up with me is Rodriguez."
A voice I hadn't heard in a few weeks piped up and said, "You paged?"
My eyes widened. "I didn't see you come in."
He chuckled. "You've had a lot on your mind. I'm going to be your shadow until Helen is back in custody."
I grimaced. "Normally I wouldn't agree to having a babysitter, but since it's you…"
He winked. "Hector refined the ring so that I have the frequency as well. If you get in trouble, just press the gem, and we'll ride in with guns blazing."
I nodded. "Thanks. Hopefully we won't need for that to happen."
Just then another voice spoke up to say, "He won't be the only one on your tail. I've been watching over you for six years. I have no intention of stopping now."
I hesitated. "What about Millicent and Alice? I don't want them being targeted because you're helping me."
Thor grinned. "They're well protected. No one will be able to use them to get to me."
I felt a measure of relief. Something felt wrong about this though. I couldn't help the worry I was feeling for Tina. I didn't know how she fit into this, but the feeling that she was in danger was suddenly uppermost in my mind. I turned to Lester and asked, "How's Tina?"
He got a dopey grin on his face and said, "She just told me that we're going to have a baby." He laughed, shook his head, and said, "Correction, we're going to have triplets."
There were congratulations all around.
I felt someone watching me and turned to see Ranger looking at me. His eyebrow raised as he asked, "What's wrong, Babe?"
I shook my head. "I have a bad feeling. It gets worse when I think of Tina."
Cam whipped his head in my direction, and I knew that he'd heard what I said. He moved over and knelt down beside me. "Is Tina in danger?"
I shrugged. "I don't know for sure…but I think she might be."
Cam's face tightened, and he looked up at Lester, who'd moved over to where we were when he heard Cam's question.
Lester paled. "Why would she be in danger, Beautiful?"
I looked up. The others were looking at me as well now. "I'm not sure… It's a feeling. When you were talking about Helen, I got a hinky feeling, and when I thought of Tina, it got worse."
The muscles moved in Lester's jaw, making it obvious he was clenching his teeth. His eyes got fierce as he said, "If those bastards try anything, I'll pulverize them."
Cam stood. "You'll have to beat me to them, Santos."
My mind raced, trying to figure out how Tina could be in danger. I could remember her reaction a couple of weeks ago when I'd finally gotten the report from FBI headquarters in London. She'd made the comment that if the bastard came after her this time, she'd slice off his balls with the whip. I believed she'd do it too.
It was hard to believe that only six months had passed since my first meeting with Ranger and the team that went with him to London after a high-dollar skip for the government. We were like fire and ice in the beginning, and it wasn't until I spent time at Ranger's apartment taking care of his daughter that I'd gotten a closer glimpse of the human being hidden beneath the layers.
Jealousy caused him to hit out at me and sent me running though. Fortunately, Thor saved me and took me to his hideaway. As soon as I'd come to, I insisted on calling my dad. That's when I found out that they'd found Tina—who'd been kidnapped and tortured by a Jack the Ripper wannabe.
Of course, that led to more questions. What would Helen have to do with the monsters behind torturing and killing women?
I looked up at the others and shook my head. "I don't have the answers yet. But I'm going to start looking."
Tina's POV
I paced as I waited for Les. He had a meeting this morning, but he promised me he'd be back in time to go with me to meet the midwife. Although he was reluctant to agree to not using a doctor for the delivery, especially knowing that I was having three babies instead of one and I'd almost certainly go into labor before I hit the ninth month, I'd finally gotten him to understand that this was what I needed to feel comfortable.
Jess was a miracle worker, and I'd been able to get through most of my insecurities since the kidnapping, but there were still some things that I couldn't control.
Just as I was starting to panic, the locks tumbled and the door opened to reveal Les had finally made it back. I rushed into his arms and clung to him, only becoming aware that someone else was in the room when I heard a throat clearing.
I turned to see who else was with us and smiled as I saw Cam's worried face. I grinned at him. "Don't worry, big brother. I'm okay now. I was just worrying that Lester wouldn't be in time to come with me to see the midwife."
Cam frowned. "Why aren't you seeing a doctor?"
I rolled my eyes at him. "Midwives are better than doctors because they specialize their training in delivering babies."
He shook his head. "I'd still feel better if you were seeing a real doctor."
I shuddered at the thought of lying on a table with my feet in stirrups while a man poked and prodded me.
Lester wrapped his arms around me. "I feel the same way you do, Cam, but Tina knows what's best for her in this instance. She's agreed to let Bobby and an obstetrician he knows monitor the pregnancy as well just in case. That's good enough for me."
Cam reluctantly nodded. His smile was week as he admitted, "I think I understand. Do you mind if I go with to meet this woman?"
I grinned. "No problem. But if I have to get naked, you get to wait outside."
Cam laughed. "Deal."
The three of us headed to the garage, where Lester helped me into the passenger seat and Cam climbed into the back behind me while Lester took the controls. In no time we were at the clinic where I was to meet the midwife who would deliver my babies.
Once the SUV stopped, Cam had my door opened and was helping me out when Les rounded the hood of the vehicle and held out his hand to me. I placed my hand in his, and we made our way inside. I moved through the waiting room to the window where the receptionist sat.
Leaning forward I said, "I have an appointment with Alexandria Marshall."
The woman smiled. "You're a lot younger than our normal clientele. Have a seat, and I'll let Alex know that you're here."
I was a bit puzzled by what she said. I didn't think I was all that young, but maybe most of their clients were in their thirties. Not giving the matter another thought, I walked over to the sofa with Lester beside me and took a seat. I was a bit surprised when Cam sat down on my other side. Something was off about his behavior. If I didn't know better, I'd think there was something going on and he was in protective mode. Maybe it was because I was pregnant.
Before I could think much more about that, a nurse walked into the waiting room and said, "Tina Shepherd."
As one, the three of us stood and Lester's hand went to my waist as we followed the nurse back to the examining room. When she saw both guys with me, her eyes got big and she stammered, "Uhm…are all of you going to be in here? Usually…uhm…it's just the parents."
I grinned. "My big brother is a bit overprotective. He'd like to meet the midwife who is going to deliver my babies."
She looked relieved. "Oh! Okay, then. Alex will be with you in just a couple of minutes." She took a gown out of the drawer and said, "You'll need to change into this."
I looked pointedly at Cam.
He chuckled softly and held up his hands. "I know, I know. You want me to wait outside."
He followed the nurse out, and I lost no time in shucking my clothes and pulling on the gown.
Lester winked at me as I sat back on the exam table. "You'd make a paper bag look sexy, gorgeous."
I rolled my eyes. "Can it, Lester."
He chuckled and lowered his head so he could nuzzle my neck.
I had just turned to allow him better access when a knock sounded on the door and it opened before either of us could say anything.
The look on my brother's face had me smiling. He looked like he'd been hit between the eyes with a two by four. The woman beside him was the most incredibly beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Her blonde hair reached the middle of her back, and her eyes were a deep sapphire blue. She had a heart-shaped face, and the minute she saw us she smiled, exposing dimples in her cheeks. Although I was sitting and she was standing, I could tell she was at least a couple inches shorter than my own five feet five inches because of where she came up to in comparison to Cam. She was wearing a white doctor's jacket but it was easy to see that she was fine-boned and slender.
"Hi. You're a bit younger than my regular clientele."
I chuckled. "That's what the nurse said."
Alex smiled. "I specialize in traumatic births. Most of the women I see are over forty."
I was getting a bit worried as I asked, "That doesn't mean you won't see me, does it?"
"Oh, heavens no. Let me just take a look at your chart." She reached for the file sitting on the counter by the computer and her eyes widened. "Ah! I see why you were referred to me. It seems you're having triplets."
I nodded. "Yes. We just found out."
She smiled. "Well, you have nothing to worry about. Pre-term babies are the norm for me."
I relaxed. "That's good. I was pretty freaked out about seeing a male doctor."
She looked at me for a moment, and then her gaze went to the guys before returning to me. "Is there something I should know here?"
I knew she should have the info, but I wasn't ready to relive all that had happened. I'd talked everything out with Jess, and Les and I'd had several talks, but there was a lot I wasn't able to say. I turned to Les, and he leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Could you take a look at Tina, and then while she gets dressed, Cam can tell you all about it?"
Alex turned to Cam and blushed. "If that's what you prefer. We could talk in my office."
Cam nodded absently. He still hadn't looked away from Alex, and I had the impression my brother had met his Waterloo.
Alex was thorough in her examination, and once she was satisfied with what she'd learned, she gave a quick nod and said, "Everything looks fine. I'll leave you to get dressed, and I'll need you to make an appointment for next month. We'll do an ultrasound to check on the babies then." She turned to Cam, and once again she blushed. "If you'll come with me, we can discuss the other."
Cam nodded and followed her like a lost puppy.
