Chapter 7

Steph's POV

Holy shit. I can't believe I just made a move on Bobby. What the fuck is wrong with me?

I need to get my hormones in check. I feel relieved to be going back to my apartment. It's been a lot of fun living at RangeMan but I really need some space from the guys. I truly love them but they don't seem to get privacy or boundaries. They all walk in and out of my apartment without knocking and when the door is locked they simply pick the lock. They tend to do that at my other apartment too, the difference is it doesn't happen several times a day like it does here.

All my stuff was packed and Bobby and Lester were loading it, so I headed to Tank's office to turn in my keys. "You ready for phase three little girl?" asked Tank.

"I am! What's phase three going to look like?" I asked.

"Well for starters, you will have more independence, such as living off site and you won't be on a monitored diet anymore. It's up to you to maintain your diet," he said looking me dead in the eye.

Tank knows that I'm a complete junk food addict and right now I'm thinking about picking up a pizza from Pino's with extra cheese, then driving to McDonalds for fries and chicken nuggets with multiple dipping sauces and then going to Dairy Queen for a giant cookie dough blizzard. My mouth was watering.

"You're still going to be partnered with Brown but you will be training with all the members of the core team in the gym. They are on a schedule so you just show up at 0600 and they'll let you know you're training with. Also, we'll work on defensive driving and you're probably going to doing some distraction work again. Does that work for you?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," I said as I gave him my keys.

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After I unpacked my stuff I went to the grocery store and stocked up on a bunch of healthy stuff while chanting my stuff while chanting my new "I'm an adult" mantra over and over again in my head.

I didn't even stop at Pino's, McDonalds or Dairy Queen! I did buy a few of Ben and Jerry's single serving ice creams, I mean you can only expect so much change in such a short period of time. Also, after my encounter with Bobby I feel like I needed the sugar.

Once back in my home with Rex happy in his hamster ball running around the apartment, I took a good look at my place and realized I didn't like it very much. My furniture consisted of different items I got off craigslist after my divorce.

I could have fought for alimony. I caught my husband fucking that slut Joyce Barnhardt on our new dining room table. The dick actually offered my alimony if I kept my mouth shut, he used to have political ambitions. I declined. We'd only been married a few weeks and I made sure that the story was all over the Burg (I can be vindictive). I didn't want his money; I didn't want any connection to him whatsoever. If that meant being broke and living hand to mouth I was clearly willing to do that.

Now, I wasn't living hand to mouth. I had a decent salary and after living at RangeMan full time for the past three months and not having to pay utilities, I had a decent nest egg and I was itching to spend some of it. I called Lula and made plans to go furniture shopping later that week. I took control over my body, now it's time to get control over my apartment.

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It's been nice living in my apartment again. Lula helped me pick out a comfy couch and a queen size bed (no more full for me! I'm an adult!). I also got a bookcase, coffee table and table and chairs delivered by Ikea.

I may have put aside my new independent streak and have tricked some of the guys into coming over for pizza, beer and the Yankees. When they got there I had purposely opened all the boxes and was sitting in the middle of "trying" to put together the coffee table with the little allen wrench why the guys walked in.

"Oh shit," said Lester as he surveyed the scene.

"Looks like someone took a trip to Ikea. Nice couch Gorgeous" said Bobby gesturing to my new couch.

Vince folded his arms and said "Bomber, get up. I'm not going to sit here and watch you fuck around with this shit for the next five hours when we can bang this out in an hour."

I widened my eyes, "I couldn't ask you to do that!" I exclaimed. I mean, I couldn't ask but since they offered…

Ram smiled at me and said "Lets split up gentlemen and we can have this shit done before the pizza is delivered."

Ram grabbed the bookcase, Lester the table and Vince the chairs. Bobby walked over to me and gently moved me away from the coffee table that I was "working on."

"I know exactly what you're doing," he whispered in my ear. I tried to look innocent. "You're lucky you're cute," he said with a shake of his head.

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It was Saturday night and I was going out dancing. I bunch of the RangeMan guys were going out and Lula and Connie were coming too. I was really looking forward to blowing of some steam. I was even enjoying getting ready.

I've still been working long hours and I feel like I was either in gym clothes or RangeMan gear and I haven't exactly been feeling feminine. Last time I was at the mall I dropped a fortune at Victoria's Secret just so I could have pretty bra and panty sets to wear so I could remind myself that I'm still a girl under my gear.

Tonight I was going all out. I had a fitted dark blue dress and sexy 4-inch FMPs. I had shaved, waxed and lotioned up. I was now working on straightening my hair. It's naturally curly and I have to admit most days I'm way too lazy to bother with it but tonight was different.

I played up my eyes with dark liner and tons of mascara. I made sure my mouth was properly glossed. I was packing my clutch when I heard the lock tumble and I smiled knowing that Lester has just let himself in.

I walked out of the bedroom. "Hey Les! I'm all ready. Thanks for driving," I called out.

"No worries Beautiful, I figured you can't handle more than one drink and I'm planning on us having a lot so I thought I should…." he trailed off when he turned and looked at me. "Beautiful, you may want to change and pull up your hair or something," he said as his eyes traveled from my head to toes and then back up again.

"I look that bad!" I shrieked. I know it's been awhile since I've dressed up and the guys haven't really seen my hair straight but I looked in the mirror and I thought I looked pretty good. How could I have been so off base?

"Beautiful, you look incredible. I'm planning on drinking tonight and I don't want to have to fight all the guys that are going to be hitting on you looking like that. Also, I am going to be drinking tonight and I'm nervous I'll start hitting on you and then Ranger will come back and my body will wash up on the coast of Africa," he explained.

I beamed. "You are a seriously dangerous and charming man Mr. Santos," I said as I threw my arms around his neck.

Les groaned. "Seriously, Beautiful. How about a sweatshirt?" he begged.

I laughed again and grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

The bar was packed and the music was good. I spotted Tank right away (he's called Tank for a reason, he's kind of hard to miss) talking to Lula and Connie. A bunch of the other guys were already there sitting at tables sipping drinks.

I bellied up to the bar and was waiting on the bartender when the man next to me asked if he could buy me a drink. I guess I can rock the straight hair look after all. The guy seemed nice enough I just wasn't feeling interested so I politely declined and paid for my own gin and tonic. Yay independence.

I walked over to where the guys were sitting and Vince let out a "Damn!" while looking me up and down. I got a few cat calls and whistles from the guys which I clearly loved. It's nice to know that they can still see me as a woman outside the office.

Bobby was just staring at me with his mouth hanging open. I walked over and jokingly lifted his chin so his mouth would close.

"Uh you look….nice," he stammered.

"Nice, seriously? That's kind of lame," I said with an eye roll as I started to walk away.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him. I let out a small gasp as I landed on his hard chest.

"You look fucking unbelievable and you know it. I'm going to have to stay away from you all night so we don't have a repeat of me being your bed. I can't promise that I'm going to be able to keep restraining myself," he whispered in my ear.

I shivered involuntarily as I felt my body grow warm. I must need more sugar. I could feel how warm my face is. Maybe I just need ice water. Maybe I just need an ice water shower. Oh boy. Yeah I need to walk away from him too.

I moved away from Bobby on shakey legs.

After I composed myself, I went off and danced with Lester for awhile trying out some of the moves he's been showing me and then I danced with Vince and tried out some of the steps he's shown me. I spent a lot of time talking to Lula, Tank, Vince and Connie.

It was getting late and I watched at the guys started pairing off with different women. It was kind of fun to watch the guys work their magic and believe me they definitely had some magic. Each one was able to pick up a girl and most were leaving with their "dates."

I wonder if I just put out a bowl of condoms and Valtrex in the breakroom on Monday? I giggled to myself thinking about my prank.

"Something amusing you?" Bobby asked sliding up beside me.

"Just watching the guys in action. It's impressive. Why aren't you out there? Don't you see something you like?" I asked gesturing to a group of pretty women which were currently surrounding Vince and Woody.

"I see something I like. It's just not over there," he grinned as he looked me up and down. I felt my face grow warm.

With that he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off my feet and walking me to the dance floor before placing me on my feet.

I wouldn't have believed it but Bobby can dance. He's really good and I loved dancing with him. Maybe too much. I kept thinking about how good he smelled and how nice it felt to be do close to him. I don't know how long we danced for but next thing I know the lights were on.

I looked around for Les. "If you're looking for Lester he left with a hot blonde awhile ago. He's probably already kicked her out by now. Don't worry he asked me to give you a ride home before he left," said Bobby.

"Oh Bobby! Is that why you didn't hit on anyone? Because you were planning on having to take me home? I could've always taken a cab," I said feeling guilty that I may have ruined his night.

"No," was Bobby's only reply.

Bobby drove me home and then did a quick walk through of my apartment. All the guys seemed to do that. I don't know if it's a military thing or it's a "Stephanie attracts crazies" thing. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and turned to see Bobby just standing a few feet from me watching me.

I tried to think of something to say. His mouth was tight and eyes were dilated. He walked over to me taking the bottle out of my hands and setting it on the counter. He then grabbed me face and kissed me.

It was urgent and hot. I could feel his tongue and I opened my mouth in response. I heard myself moan and Bobby's kiss became more urgent. His hands were in my hair and then running down my back pulling me closer. My toes were curled, my hands in his hair and I began grinding my hips against his. I was getting dizzy with excitement. Damn he feels good.

He abruptly broke the kiss. Are eyes met and I think he looked as shocked as I felt. He then turned on his heel walking out of my apartment. Now I was the one standing with my mouth hanging open.

What the fuck just happened?

Bobby's POV

I kissed Stephanie. It was a mistake. I should've controlled myself. I was really pissed off at myself and wasn't sure how to handle the situation. I got lucky though, the next say Steph came in like nothing happened. She didn't treat me any differently or mention anything about the kiss. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or irritated.

I mean she kissed me back. There was clearly something going on between us. Some of the guys were asking and making jokes how Ranger was going to be sending me off to a third world country when he got back. I felt really guilty about Ranger. I know he has feelings for her but what I don't understand was he why won't commit to her.

Steph told me that he's repeatedly said that he doesn't do relationships and that his life doesn't lend itself to relationships but yet she's his woman. I can tell she resents that. I resent that.

Ranger is my brother in arms. I would never want to do anything to hurt him. I need to keep my hands off Steph until they sorted out their shit.

It's difficult. I'm really falling for her and I can tell she has feelings for me. I can also tell she's confused and I don't want to fuck with her head so I will just be her friend and be supportive…for now.

It's been slightly easier to get some space from her after the kiss because Tank has been keeping her busy at the office this week so she hasn't needed me to go skip tracing with her. There are a bunch of client meetings and Tank has asked Steph to attend, so she's been working hard getting caught up. She's great with clients and Tank feels that having a woman like Steph attending certain client meetings is beneficial when we need to present a slightly "softer" side of RangeMan.

Lester and I usually attend client meeting when Ranger's away since we're also partners. We have to get dressed up in "corporate RangeMan" wear, i.e. black suits, black shirts, black tie. Steph walked in wearing all black as well. Black skirt, black shirt, black jacket, black tights and black heels. Her hair was pulled up in a bun. I kinda liked the corporate look.

I tried not to stare at her during the meeting. It was hard because not only did she look good she was charming the pants off of our clients. I felt so proud of her. I could tell Tank and Lester were also pleased with her performance.

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It was Friday night and Steph was doing her first distraction since her training began. She was dressed in more of a corporate look trying to pick up a white collar skip at Happy Hour. When it was time to mike her up I made sure that I was the one to do it. I would have killed any of the guys that touched her. Fuck, I was getting possessive. I don't want to start acting like Ranger.

She gave me a nervous smile after I finished miking her up. I kissed her forehead and whispered "You'll do great. You always get you man."

She squeezed my hand and then tested her microphone. Tank gave her the thumbs up.

"See you boys later. Watch my back," she said as she got out of the car and sauntered into the bar.

Lester, Ram and Vince were inside while Cal and I were waiting outside to make the apprehension.

Lester came over the radio saying that our target has taken the bait. We could hear Steph chatting up the skip. Twenty minutes later Lester reported that the skip was touching her thigh so it was looking good that the skip would follow her out. I was enraged to think about some douchebag skip touching her. I breathed and got control over my emotions.

"Target approaching the door," Lester's voice came over the radio, breaking through my thoughts.

Cal and I moved into position Steph casually came out of the bar, kept her eyes straight and kept walking as to not startle the skip. Once he was in sight Cal moved in front and simply said "Bond enforcement."

The guy tried to run but I was behind him. I grabbed him by the collar throwing him against the wall he bounced off falling on the ground. I gave him a quick kick in the ribs for putting his hands on Steph.

Cal cuffed him and looked up at me. "I really fucking love my job," he said grinning at me. I just grinned back.

Steph's POV

Last night my distraction job went down perfectly. I also nailed all the client meetings this week. I was on a professional high. I was completely kicking ass at my job and I was earning RangMan a ton of money instead of costing RangeMan a ton of money. I helped Tank negotiate with the suppliers for office supplies and weaponry, I've been consistently bringing in low level skips with the help of Bobby, and last night I helped them take down an extremely high level skip which earned the company crazy money. This made me feel especially good considering Ranger has told me before that his company "bleeds money" because of me. I was practically glowing.

Then there was Bobby. I don't know what to make of our situation. Bobby is one of the most amazing men I've ever met. We were clearly attracted to each other…very attracted. Although, every time we get close to possibly becoming more one of us freaks and backs off. I wonder if it was totally because of Ranger or maybe Bobby just wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with me.

I know I still love Ranger but I'm also angry and hurt. I overheard Tank saying something about the mission that Ranger on. Something about how Ranger has known about this mission for months.

Yet he told me five minutes before leaving. Why does he hide things from me? Why is he always trying to keep me in the dark? Does he think that this is protecting me? Maybe he just doesn't care enough to keep me informed.

The worst part is being really pissed off at him and he's not even here for me to rage at. Then of course there is the guilt for being mad at a man who's risking his life. Guilt for being angry and knowing that he might not come back.

Today, Tank is having a barbeque since it's the first weekend that it will be over 70 degrees. Tank has a great house with an awesome deck and huge backyard. I brought beer considering I still not much of a cook; even with Bobby's lessons during phase one. Tank was grilling, Lula and Connie were playing bean bag toss with Manny and Ram and everyone else was lounging around with beers. Ahhh I love spring.

To my surprise Celia, Ranger's sister and her husband Tony were there too. I smiled and waved at them. The afternoon was pleasant and was spent stuffing our faces, playing wiffle ball, beer bong and bean bag toss. It was dark and the tiki torches were lit when Celia and I finally had a moment alone.

"Okay, I just need to ask. What's going on with you and Bobby? He keeps staring at you but you two seem to be avoiding each other," she asked.

I sighed and rubbed my face. "I really don't know. There's a lot of mixed signals from both of us and…" I trailed off.

"Carlos?" she finished for me.

I nodded and then it came out. Like it ALL came out. Everything about Bobby and Ranger; my confusion, guilt and aggravation all came out.

Celia listened patiently and when I finished she hugged me. "Look Steph, I love my brother and I know there is clearly something between you two considering that he actually talks about you. Carlos never talks about women. His last relationship was with Rachel and it was not a love match. They would have never been together if she hadn't gotten pregnant. I will say that I don't know if my brother even knows how to be in a relationship. I'm not sure what he's capable of giving you. I think you have to figure out what you want out of a relationship and if you think he can actually give you what you need. I've also known Bobby for years. He's a good man and would be an amazing boyfriend. It seems like you both are sending each other mixed signals and you need to figure that out too," she suggested.

"Thanks for letting me vent. It's gotta be weird to hear someone talk about your brother," I said shyly.

"Are you kidding! I love hearing this personal stuff about Carlos aka 'Ranger,'" she said making air quotes around Ranger. "It's nice to know that he can be human and that he has someone like you in his life. He's so secretive it's just nice to see another side to my baby brother," she said smiling.

I thanked her and we said goodbye making plans to grab coffee and get our nails done later in the week.

After I got home I looked around my apartment. It looked so much better now that I actually had furniture. I even got two throw rugs and hung up and few black and white pictures.

I thought about how in the past few months I've gotten control of my job, body and apartment. Now I just really needed to get a grip on my love life and the only way to do that was to actually figure out what I wanted instead of letting other people dictate the terms.