Thanks so much for the positive feedback, everyone! I hope the story lives up to your expectations! Please let me know about you feel in regards to switching back and forth between Steph's POV and Cam's. I could do the whole thing from the third person if you think that might be better.
Chapter Two
Stephanie
Morelli and I were sitting on my couch in front of my tiny TV. I had six teeny tiny stitches on my eyebrow, which was sitting under a bag of ice. Morelli had supplied some beer, and we decided we were going to have an early night. He was off, or as off as he could ever be, and I was happy that I probably wasn't going to have a scar on my face.
Somehow in the middle of the 8th inning, Morelli's hand found its way to my crotch. I gave him a look as if to remind him that I had just had stitches put in. It didn't seem like Joe particularly cared, as my face wasn't the important part of what he had in mind.
That's when my phone starting ringing.
"Ignore it," Morelli pleaded. He had just unbuttoned the top snap of my jeans. I looked at the caller ID. It wasn't a number I recognized so I didn't pick up the phone. Eventually it stopped. But only for a second. The same number called again. Morelli looked like he was about ready to put my phone in the blender and hit puree.
The only problem with that plan was I didn't have a blender. It was on my shopping list, though.
"Just let me pick it up," I said. "It looks like they won't stop calling until I do." I grabbed my phone and hit the green button.
"Hello?" I tried to put as much exasperation and annoyance into my voice as I could.
"Stephanie," a familiar voice came from the other end. Cam.
"How did you get my number?" I asked, and then immediately regretted it. That was a stupid question.
"I'm going to assume that you understand how silly that question was and we are going to move on," Cam said to me. I almost thanked her but stopped myself just in time.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Your skip is in the St. Francis ER," she answered. "Someone shot him." I took my phone away from my ear for a second and looked at it in disbelief. Joe gave me a questioning look, which I ignored.
"Which skip?" I finally asked.
"Genovese," she answered.
"Did you shoot him?" I continued. There was a beat of silence on the other end of the phone before Cam answered.
"No."
"That doesn't sound very convincing."
"Strictly speaking, I didn't shoot him," Cam answered. This was something I could work with. I was used to operating in a gray area, especially when it came to my skips being shot. Technically it was never really my fault.
"Who did?" I asked as I buttoned my top button. Joe sighed and flopped down on the couch as I went looking for my shoes.
"His girlfriend," she responded.
"Is there proof of this?"
"Well, the gun is in her possession," Cam answered. "Look, are you going to come to the hospital and get this guy or not?"
"I'm walking out of my apartment now," I answered. "Will you make sure he doesn't leave?"
"Sure thing," Cam answered and then disconnected.
"Who was that?" Joe asked.
"Ranger's assistant."
"Ranger hired an assistant?" Morelli asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Like someone to manage his calendar and greet his clients?"
"Yes."
"What an asshole," Morelli muttered. "What did she want?"
"Ant Genovese just turned up at St. Francis," I answered. "He's been shot. I'm going to go cuff him to a bed."
"Lucky guy."
Cam
After disconnecting with Stephanie, I looked in my backseat at Genovese. His out of control hysterics had calmed to a tolerable whimper before he passed out. I was really glad that Stephanie was coming to the hospital because I did not feel like driving around with this whining baby in my backseat anymore.
"Look, I found a hospital," I yelled to him as I put the car in gear and inched towards the Emergency Room. I had wanted to make a joke about how it looked like he was going to get a new court date tonight after all, but I wanted to avoid connecting myself to Stephanie if I could. It was bad enough that I had to make the phone call in front of him. Hopefully he had been too out of it to hear. "You're in luck."
"You're a crazy fucking bitch," Genovese stammered groggily as he came back to consciousness.
"You saw what happened to your girlfriend when she called me a bitch, didn't you?" I asked mildly as I stopped, put the car in park, and got out. When I opened the back driver side door to drag him out, he was feeling comfy enough to threaten me.
"I swear, I am going to kill you," he seethed as I grabbed him by his hair and pulled him out of the car. He was my height, but I definitely had about ten pounds on him. I could easily move him around. "I swear, if Gloria is hurt-"
"Oh, she's definitely hurt," I promised him, shoving him to the ground. He groaned as he fell onto his hurt leg. Luckily traffic around the door was slow, and I was pretty sure the SUV would block me from view of cameras and prying eyes. I hadn't actually pulled into the driveway that led into the sliding doors. Instead I had parked on the street. "Did you see how hard I kicked her? Her head practically snapped off her neck!" I looked down at my Doc Martens. They were black, so they wouldn't show any blood, but there had to be some there. I had a very satisfying flashback of the feel of her nose meeting my boot. The crunch of bone was delicious. "You'll be OK if I leave you here, right?"
He didn't answer. Instead he started crawling away from me, to the opposite side of the street. I sighed and pulled my hood up over my face. These idiots never took the smart choice. I mean I had delivered him to the hospital.
"I guess you need door to door service," I murmured as I went after him, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and started dragging him towards the door. "You're an idiot. You've been shot. People that have been shot need to go to see the doctor."
"I'm not going back to jail," he grunted, trying to fight me and failing.
"I don't think that's up to me or you," I informed him. "Personally I just don't have the means to treat a gunshot wound. Maybe you should teach Gloria how to use a gun and next time she won't shoot you." I dropped him right in front of the door, satisfied that someone would be out to get him soon when I saw a nurse in pink scrubs look out at us.
I quickly made my way back to the car, put it in drive, and calmly pulled away from the curb, watching the nurse come out to Genovese with a stretcher from my rear view mirror.
Stephanie
When I got to the hospital, Cam was nowhere to be seen. Annoying, because I wanted to ask her about what happened. She said that she would make sure that he didn't leave. As it was, I wasn't in the mood to call her to get her to come back. There would be other chances. Besides, I would rather have Ranger deal with her than do it myself.
"I'm looking for Ant Genovese," I said to the nurse who was sitting at reception. "I was told that he was here."
"He just got in about ten minutes ago," the nurse said, "gunshot wound. Someone just dropped him off at the door and left." My eyes widened in shock.
"Is he all right?" I asked.
"He should be," the nurse answered. "The shot was in his leg. Are you family?"
"No," I answered as I flashed the badge I had printed on the Internet in the nurse's face. "I represent his bail bondsman. Mr. Genovese missed his court date. I'm here to secure him and bring him back to the courthouse."
"I doubt that he will be getting out of the hospital tonight, but you're welcome to wait here until he gets out of surgery so that you can get the proper proof that he's here." She gestured towards one of the chairs. I sighed and trudged over to it.
"God damn it, Cam," I murmured as I pulled out my phone and dialed Ranger.
"Yo," he answered.
"So I'm back in the hospital," I told him.
"I noticed," he told me, "did you forget something?"
"Someone left Ant Genovese at the door of the Emergency Room at St. Francis," I explained, trying my best to keep my tone even and civil. "But not before they got him shot." Silence. "Ranger what did you do?"
"I didn't do anything," Ranger assured me.
"OK, what did you have Cam do?" I asked, my fuse getting shorter and shorter by the minute.
"I did not give her any order to apprehend him," Ranger said again.
"Cut the fucking bullshit, Ranger!" I exclaimed. Several people turned to look at me, so I quickly got up to bring my conversation outside. "What did you say to her?"
"I told her that I wanted her to help you track him down," Ranger answered. "That was it. Why? Do you think Cam shot him?"
"I have no fucking idea what happened," I told him. "I got a call from her telling me that Genovese was at St. Francis and that was it. Now he is in surgery and I have to wait here to get to him."
"I'll send her to wait with you," Ranger suggested.
"I don't want you to send your assistant to wait with me," I told him. "Ranger, you know I don't want you bringing in my skips for me. I can do my own damn job. Now he's been shot. You know how much paperwork that involves."
"Well, at least you have Morelli for an alibi, so no one can blame you for it," Ranger told me. I could hear a bit of venom sneaking into his voice as well, which was strange for Ranger. His tone was always calm.
"I don't like where this conversation is going," I told him. I already knew that Morelli and Ranger would never get along. They would work around each other for my sake, but that was it. "Next time you want to have my job done for me, at least give me a little heads up." I hung up on him and stormed back inside.
I dialed both Connie and Lula to let them know that Genovese had been shot and that I was with him at St. Francis. Next was Morelli. I told him that it was unlikely that I would be home any time soon. He didn't sound very happy but there wasn't really much for that. I wasn't in the mood for appeasing the men in my life at the moment.
Cam
I was getting ready for a late night work out. There was no way I was going to be able to get to sleep in my current state. The urge to find something and kill it was making my fingers tingle. Luckily for me and everyone around me, I knew this wasn't a productive emotion for anything but exercise. My plan was three miles on the treadmill in twenty minutes or less.
I was pulling on my sneakers when I heard the locks on my door tumble and heard it swing open. Immediately my senses heightened. The tingling in my fingers turned into a burning as I reached for my gun. My mind slowed down as I started running through all the possible scenarios in my head. I was at least well dressed for a fight, and whoever was in my apartment probably wasn't expecting me to be practically high on the lust for blood.
"Camryn, it's me," I heard Ranger's voice say from the hallway. This would have calmed any normal person, but my brain doesn't work that way. It was kind of like an adrenaline hangover. Now that I knew I wouldn't have to fight, my body didn't know what to do with this energy. I felt like I was going to throw up.
Instead, I took a deep breath and put my gun down. My hand shook visibly so I shoved it into the pocket of my sweatshirt and went to the living room to meet Ranger. He did not look happy.
"Do you want to tell me about what happened tonight?" He asked mildly.
"Nope," I responded.
"Let me rephrase that," Ranger started over. "What the fuck happened tonight?"
"Looks to me like you already know," I told him as I tried to get by him. He put his arm out and stopped me and I quickly backed away.
"I'm going to give you a pass because you're new here," Ranger said to me. "In the future, when I ask you a question, you answer it."
"Am I on the clock right now?"
He lowered his arm and glared at me, his dark eyes hard and unforgiving. I found myself thanking the universe for my height. At least he couldn't look down too far at me. "While you're living in an apartment that I pay for, you're always on the clock. Let's try again. What happened tonight?"
"I delivered Steph's skip to her," I answered. "It didn't happen exactly how I wanted it to, but I think he's now in her possession."
"He was in surgery about an hour ago," Ranger told me.
"Makes sense," I said with a shrug. "His girlfriend shot him."
"Did she?"
"If I had shot him, I'd take credit for it."
"This is not what I asked for," Ranger informed me.
"I know," I answered, "but it seemed more efficient than bumbling around with her for hours just to make her feel like she's a competent adult."
"It is not your job to decide what is more efficient," he said as he advanced on me. "It is your job to do what I ask of you." I closed my eyes so I couldn't see him.
"Please don't come near me," I begged, deciding to throw my bravado out the window and humble myself. Attacking my boss was not on the list of things that I thought might make a good impression during my first week, but sometimes I couldn't control myself. I felt it was especially important that I at least try in this case because I doubted the outcome of a fight with Ranger would be pleasant. "Please stay on your side of the room and I'll stay on mine."
My hands were shaking again.
"Do you want me to go back to the hospital and wait with Stephanie? I'll go." My eyes were still screwed shut as I lowered my head so I would have been staring at the floor. I clenched my hands. Once, a doctor I had seen told me that a quick, temporary fix for anxiety was tensing all of my muscles for as long as I could and then letting them go. It was supposed to give me enough time to take another breath and calm myself. Unfortunately it wasn't working.
"She doesn't want you there," Ranger told me. I did my best not to look relieved. "Since it appears that you need very specific instructions, I'll spell this out for you. Tomorrow you will call Stephanie and apologize for meddling."
"But the meddling was your idea."
"After you apologize," Ranger ignored me, "you will ask her if there is anything she needs from you for the rest of the day."
"Is this supposed to be like a punishment?" When I opened my eyes, Ranger was standing very close to me. His presence was ominous and threatening. Reflexively I put my hands on his chest and gave him a shove. Surprised, he took a step back so he wouldn't lose his balance. There was dead silence as he just looked at me. After about twenty seconds, he finally asked, "Are you insane?"
I couldn't answer. My mind was in defense mode, looking around for things I could use as weapons. It took all of my effort to bring myself back into the moment. There was no danger. At least not physically. Breathe in, breathe out. Luckily, Ranger's phone rang, giving me a few extra seconds to compose myself.
"Babe," he said. It was Stephanie. He listened momentarily, said OK, and then disconnected.
"Genovese got out of surgery about fifteen minutes ago. Steph got what she needed and she's on her way here because she is pissed off.
"Great, I was just heading to the gym." I tried to walk past him again and he snagged me by the hood of my sweatshirt.
"You're definitely insane if you think I'm facing her alone."
Stephanie
Ranger and Camryn were already waiting for me in his apartment when I arrived on the seventh floor. Camryn was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, her hands folded in front of her as she stared down. Looked to me like she was counting the spots in the marble countertop. I couldn't help but smirk. She looked scared.
Ranger looked much calmer. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and black jeans, and had a glass of red wine in front of him.
"Babe," he greeted me.
"Get me one of those," I sighed.
"You can have this one," Ranger answered as he pushed it towards me. I grabbed the glass and downed about half of it, placing it down gently as I looked at Cam.
"So. What did you do tonight?" I asked her. With the wine in my system I was feeling a lot calmer. I decided on my way over that I wasn't going to blame Cam. She was just doing what I was sure Ranger asked of her – or at least her interpretation of what that was. The girl looked up at me, her eyes unfocused, her breathing ragged. Looked like she had seen better days. I wondered what Ranger did to her.
"I …" she began, her eyes closing as she searched for composure. "I went to Genovese's apartment. I figured I could grab him and drive him to your apartment and we could go together to get him booked."
"So far this doesn't sound terrible," I told her. Then, I cut my eyes to Ranger. "Still completely unnecessary, but not terrible. Go on."
"It was going smoothly. I had him up against a wall and cuffed when I heard a gun being cocked behind my head."
"I can relate to that," I assured Cam. "That happened to me tonight as well." I shuddered involuntarily as my mind went back to that moment. No matter how many times someone points a gun at you, it doesn't get any easier. I dealt with it by trying to forget it ever happened.
"After that it was instinct. I redirected her aim and she squeezed off a shot that ended up in Genovese's leg. I got the gun from her, got Genovese, and dragged him to my car."
"I think that you're leaving something out," I said to her, "I spoke to Genovese briefly after his surgery with the cops. He seems to think you killed his girlfriend."
"I don't think she's dead," Cam told me. "Though I can't be sure. I didn't check on her before leaving. I was trying to get out before someone came around asking about the gunshot."
"Do you have any reason to believe that she might be dead?" Ranger pried. He also knew that he wasn't getting the whole story out of her and I could tell that was he frustrated.
"I kicked her pretty hard in the face before I left," Cam said with a shrug. "It was self-defense." I snorted and rolled my eyes. Something told me that this girl in front of me had nothing to fear from Genovese's tiny girlfriend, even if she was pointing a gun at her. "But I don't think I killed her. It didn't feel like I killed her."
I refrained from asking if she knew what it felt like to kill someone. If she was working at Rangeman, I was sure that she did. This was another thing I dealt with by ignoring it.
"This is bad news, Cam," Ranger told her. "Gloria De Silva is Felix De Silva's daughter. He's up high in the Latin Kings around here. That is not a man that you want to piss off."
"I doubt she knows who I am," Cam responded.
"No, you're probably right," Ranger agreed. I could tell that he was working hard to keep himself under control in front of me. God knew how he would be acting if I wasn't here. I was surprised to find that I was glad to be there to protect Cam from his wrath. The knowledge that I had that kind of control over Ranger made me feel warm. "But she knows who Stephanie is."
"Well, hopefully she's dead, then," Cam responded, deadpan. "Dead women tell no tales."
"This is serious, Camryn," Ranger told her.
"I'm being serious," Cam assured him.
"You realize that your actions have put Stephanie in danger, right?" Ranger inquired. Cam cut her eyes to me and I shrugged.
"I'm used to gangs being after me," I assured her. I couldn't explain why I felt the need to reassure her that her life wasn't about to become a living hell, even though I knew it probably was. There was something about he way she was sitting with her hands clasped so tight that her knuckles were turning white that pulled on my sympathy. She was scared.
I took a second to revel in the idea that she was scared of me.
"That's not the point," Ranger cut in. "The point is, just because this isn't Sudan, doesn't mean that real danger doesn't live here."
Sudan? I looked at the girl in front of me. There was no way she could have served overseas. She was practically a child. The mention of Sudan seemed to do something to her, though, and her gaze retreated inward, if that's even possible. She looked like Ranger had just punched her in the chest.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. Her voice was thick like she was about to start crying and I immediately felt the urge to run. Something shifted in Ranger, too. His next words were much less harsh.
"I know," Ranger responded. "Until we're sure there's no threat, you're going to be with Stephanie." He turned to me. "Call Cam when you wake up tomorrow. She'll be there when you're ready to leave. You can take her with you skip hunting tomorrow." Camryn opened her mouth to protest and then shut it quickly. I was not so nervous about speaking up in front of Ranger.
"I don't need a babysitter."
"At least let Cam follow you around until that is confirmed," Ranger suggested. When he phrased it that way, it didn't seem like such an intrusion. His tone suggested that he wasn't going to take no for an answer anyway. He looked back at Cam. "You understand your orders?"
"Yes," Cam answered softly. "May I leave now?"
"Go ahead," Ranger replied. He seemed relieved that he was going to get her off of his hands before she broke down into tears. Cam stood up so quickly that the stool she was sitting on scraped loudly against the floor and almost fell over. I could tell she wished that the elevator wasn't the only way out. She looked like she needed a door to slam. I could relate to that.
Once she was gone, I looked back at Ranger.
"Sudan?" I asked.
"I shouldn't have said that in front of you," Ranger told me as he grabbed another wine glass and poured himself a glass from the bottle that was sitting on the island.
"How the hell do you know this girl?" I pushed. It was bad enough to have to deal with Ranger's mysteries. A mysterious woman from his past was just too much to cope with.
"It's not my story to tell," Ranger responded, and that was that. He took a sip of wine and his gaze settled on me. "Are you all right?"
"Just tired," I answered, frustrated at how he was continually shutting me out. He wondered why I continually chose Morelli over him. Joe might have his shortcomings, but at least he wasn't a book that I had to judge by the cover. He let me into the private parts of him. I would never have that with Ranger. I was dismayed to realize how much that hurt me.
"I've been in the hospital for the past two hours trying to make sure Genovese didn't try to escape after his surgery. Not too much chance, though. He's doped up on enough pain killers to put an elephant to sleep."
"I'm sorry your night ended up like this. I guess in a way it's my fault."
"It's your fault in all ways," I corrected him. It was meant to chastise him, but Ranger just smiled his wolf smile.
"The need to protect you is one of my dominant urges," he told me.
"Where have I heard that before?" I muttered as I finished the last of my wine. "Do you have any more of this?"
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Ranger asked as he took a step towards me, pouring more wine into my glass.
"I'm the one on my second glass," I reminded him.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I'm pretty sure this is your first." After he finished pouring, he put the bottle down. The newly free hand settled on my waist. "Now … about you asking for it …" I had to admit, the wine and the closeness of Ranger's body had me all revved up and ready to go. I was considering how long it would take me to get my clothes off when my phone buzzed.
"Shit …" I muttered. "It's Morelli. He's been waiting for me." The look in Ranger's eyes turned from predatory to unreadable in zero seconds flat as he backed away and took up his wine glass.
"Is his wine better than mine?" Ranger inquired. I chuckled and shook my head. Morelli was more of a beer guy. Sometimes I thought that was why we got along. He was just as laid back as I was about pretty much everything … besides my job that is. Morelli hated my job. "Drive carefully, and let me know when you're ready for an upgrade."