*****Standard disclaimer, don't own them and not making any profit from them. I am just borrowing them and will return them unharmed – welllll, Ranger might be a little used.

They leaned on each other for a few minutes before she got up to put away the supplies. They ate their sandwiches quietly each lost in their own musings. She got up and cleaned up their trash then came back to curl up beside him. He could tell she was tired. His legs were stretched out on the coffee table and her head lay on his shoulder. "Let's rest for a bit and then you can tell me." Her words were barely out before both of them nodded off. His last thoughts were of how comfortable he was with her in his arms.

Chapter 3

"My Past"

He felt her stirring and was surprised that he had slept so long. It was dark out and they hadn't turned on any lights. She leaned over and turned on the lamp beside the couch. Her hair was everywhere and it made his pulse jump with its sexiness, he tugged at a curl, she smiled then went toward the kitchen. "I'm going to start some soup and grilled cheese and then you can tell me what's going on." She was gone and he realized that he had to go to the bathroom. He groaned at what he was about to have to do.

"Uh…Babe, before you get started…could you help me…uh..you know." She was immediately back helping him off the couch. Gut wounds hurt like hell and he hadn't wanted to take any more pain meds because they made him loopy. However, he would need some before he went to bed. It was humiliating to need help just to go to the bathroom, especially from the woman you most desire.

They washed up and she helped him back to the couch. He watched as her hips swayed toward the kitchen. Listening to her puttering around in the kitchen, he thought about his conversation with Tank. Tank had found the pictures he had left in the truck and was as worried as he was about what they meant. Then a thought came to him, where the hell, were they? Sure, they were on a lake, but where? Ranger wasn't used to being so out of touch with his surroundings.

"Babe, where exactly are we?" From the kitchen she responded, "We're in Selmer, TN. The lake is Pickwick Lake. It's part of the Tennessee River. An old college roommate of mine is from a bordering town, Corinth, MS." This gave him a slight pause. He hoped it wasn't a close friend.

"Don't worry Ranger. We were only roommates for half a semester and we didn't really hang out. I only thought of a snippet of a conversation that we had late one night. There is no connection to me and this place." She always amazed him at her perceptiveness. He mumbled, "Proud of you, Babe." She peaked around the corner, "Heard that and…thanks." He gave her one of his 200-watt smiles.

She came in carrying a tray with soup and sandwiches. She must have picked up the trays when she went to the store. They were perfect for sitting on the couch and eating. After she settled his tray on his lap, she went back for her own. They ate and he started telling her some of his past.

He told her about working for the government and that he did odd jobs that nobody else wanted to do. Ranger was basically a contract clean-up crew. He cleaned up messes that nobody else wanted to do, black-op stuff. Mainly, he was in and out like smoke. However, many times it was necessary to infiltrate an organization. On these occasions, it was unavoidable for his identity to remain a secret.

He took a deep breath and gave her a sideways look, expecting her shock. Instead, he was shocked at her smirk. "Ranger, Lula and I have always thought that when you went 'in the wind', that you were doing exactly what you just described. We always watched the news to see if there was some kind of information on a miraculous recovery mission." He laughed and held his side.

"You never disappoint, Babe." He steadied himself as he began to tell her about Sammy Sullivan. "Anyway, on one particular mission, one of my men went rogue. I don't know what happened for sure, he just snapped. He went on a killing spree and killed twelve innocents. It then became my job to dispose of him. The entire mission went fubar and we cornered him in a hut. We couldn't get in close because he's an excellent marksman."

He paused because some of what he was telling her was classified and he needed her to know that. "Babe, what I am telling you is classified and I could get into a lot of trouble for sharing this with you." She got up and took our trays to the kitchen. When she came back, she hesitated, "Ranger, you don't have to tell me. But…you know you can trust me, right? I would never betray you."

He could see in her azure eyes determination and…. something else. Loyalty. It shined through her eyes and expression and he knew that he was willing to take the chance. It was time for him to trust her, completely. He held out his hand for her to come back and sit with him.

He toyed with her hair as he thought about how to tell her what he did. "Babe, I set the hut on …fire." He waited for her response and continued when she had none. "I'm not proud of some of the things that I've done, but that was the hardest because Sullivan had been a friend. We heard his screams and thought that he died. Before we could check for the body, we came under attack from another insurgent group."

He stared off in space, his mind going back to that moment and the horror of his screams. Stoically he continued, "We had several wounded, so we had to high-tail it out of there to make our check-point. Several months later, we heard a rumor that Sullivan was alive and was being held prisoner. Of course, the government didn't really care because he had gone rogue in the first place."

She squeezed his hand for support. Stephanie knew sharing this part of his life was hard for him in more than one way. He was reliving the event as he told it to her. It broke her heart to see his sorrow for what he had done in the name of his country. "When I was returning from visiting my Abuela the other day, I happened across a skip that I had been looking for. I don't usually go after skips without back-up. Why I did this time….I'll never really know." He shook his head and stared at their clasped hands before continuing.

"I watched as he entered his house and checked the area. It should have been an easy pick-up. I did a walk around and saw that he was alone, so I went in." He turned to look at her to assure himself that he hadn't lost her. What he saw in her expression was faithfulness and love that he'd always known was there, even if she'd never spoken the words to him.

"I don't know how he knew that I was there, but he did and he was ready. He got off a shot before I even got completely through the door good. I shot back and took him out. That's when I noticed the pictures. They were scattered throughout the room, pictures of you, of me and pictures of us….together." Now she had a death grip on his hand and her knuckles were white.

Letting her absorb his words, he suggested she get them a drink. He knew she could handle the truth, but he was going to have a hard time telling her the last part. Her posture was stiff as she went to the kitchen to get them a drink. She returned with two bottles of water and curled back against him. He took a long drink then a deep breath, before continuing with his story.

"I didn't have a lot of time before the cops arrived, but I gathered all the pictures and wiped for prints. I couldn't get the bullet because it was embedded in his skull." She cringed at that, but he knew it wasn't the worst, so he proceeded with his story.

"Babe, several of the pictures had S. Sullivan written on the back. Somehow, he has gotten free and is after me and now… you." She gave him a look that told him she knew there was more. "What else Ranger?" His face was grim when he told her, "One picture had a personal message to the skip, Woodrow. It said 'R. Manoso/S. Plum. Half a million for their capture. Payback time. S. Sullivan." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened them again, he saw her fear. He didn't want to tell her about the pictures, to add to her fear, but knew he had to. He wished he could get up and pace, because he didn't want to be near her when he told her about the pictures. That was the cowards way though.

He turned to look her in the eyes. "The pictures were very private in nature." He saw when recognition registered. "You mean that…that they were of me without clothes?" He nodded with hatred in his eyes, "Yes, that and of us, in the alley and of…after the deal." Her face was pale and he pushed her head between her knees. "Breathe, Babe, it's alright."

She could feel the anger bouncing off of him, but she couldn't comfort because her stomach was rebelling. She gulped deep breaths of air, trying to get a handle. He never wanted to cause her heartache, but knew that he had. Nothing changed for him. He still wanted her in his life. He just hoped after this that she would be willing.

With a shaky voice, she asked, "Ranger, where are the pictures?" He let her sit back up. "Tank has them." At her panicked look, he placed his hands on her face. "Shhh…I told him not to show them to anyone. He removed them from the truck before anyone else saw them. When he realized what they were, he put them away. I promise that he only saw the first few and they weren't of…the private nature. He is holding them for us until we get back." A few tears fell and he wiped them from her eyes. She looked at him with such trust and love that he almost lost it.

She saw that the telling had pained him and she wanted to comfort. "Ranger, that's enough for one day. Let's go to bed. I need to go to denial land for a little while." He thought that sounded like the perfect idea. She helped him to the bedroom and he saw an internal battle waging within her.

She pulled back the covers before turning to help in the bed. He was surprised when she began to undress him. She hooked her thumbs in the elastic of his sweats and boxers and eased them down. Her hands caressed his thighs as she stood back up. She eased him onto the bed and then backed up a few steps.

"Ranger, I don't want to have sex with you…tonight,….but, I just need to be close to you." She undressed and stood before him waiting for his consent. Ranger scooted over and patted the bed, "Babe, come to bed." She slid between the cotton sheets and snuggled up to him, placing her hand on his heart and her head in the curve of his shoulder.

They lay there holding onto each other and he had the burning desire to tell her how he felt about her. Her soft breast was pressed against his chest and her intimate curls brushed his leg. He wanted to go to sleep in this position for the rest of his life. Now, he knew what he had been searching for all of his life. Her. She was his everything and he would make this right, with her help.

She could feel that he had things he wanted to say to her. Tonight had changed something between them, but she was afraid that it wasn't for the good. All she knew for sure was that she loved this man who would protect her with his life as she would him.

He was about to speak when pressed a kiss to his neck. "Not tonight Ranger. We'll talk some more in the morning. Tonight, I just need to feel." He understood that she wasn't ready to discuss their feelings. He just hoped that this wasn't the beginning of the end. "Night, Babe." He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Night, Ranger."