A/N: Because this is my only outlet, I want to respond to all of the guest reviewers...thanks for your comments, I appreciate them. And to those who are nervous, I added a phrase to my summary...Babe HEA. As always, I use them for fun and not for profit.

Chapter 10

Conversation and Revelation

I sat in the SUV which was parked inconspicuously at the edge of a loading dock. I could see Ranger or maybe the shadow of Ranger as he made his way away from me, down the alley. Woody had dropped me off on his way to the safe house only minutes before. I'd planned to use the quiet time in the SUV to get some answers from Ranger, but as usual things weren't going according to my plan. I had plenty of questions, and I was betting Ranger had all the answers, but before I could even formulate a question he'd turned to me and reminded me of my promise to stay out of the action and then with a curt, "Stay here," he was out of the SUV.

I saw movement against the wall of the nearest building. I blinked and tried to focus on what I thought was Ranger and then, in true RangeMan fashion, he disappeared. I sat in the SUV waiting and wondering how long I should wait before I went after him. Chroma had said earlier that merry men worked in pairs, but he was Ranger and it was raining, and I'd promised to stay in the vehicle. Still, someone should have his back.

Just when I decided he'd been out too long and I needed to find him, I saw him jogging back from wherever he'd gone. He stopped and stood for a moment under a dimly lit overhang and I saw the faint illumination from his phone. He talked for a minute before he disconnected and started back toward the truck, his feet splattering the puddled water he ran through. When he was once again settled with his wet windbreaker stored behind the seat he turned toward me. "Fucking cats."

"What?"

"I saw movement and it was cats."

"Who were you talking to?"

"Santos, the guy who is supposed to be here in this alley. Your sister is fine and they've seen no sign of trouble."

"That's good. They're at Lester's Fortress of Solitude, right, somewhere in the country?"

Ranger snorted. "Yes, it's in the country, and he's doing me a favor by taking your sister off the grid. Otherwise he'd be the one spending his Friday night out here."

"Well lucky for you, I'm here to keep you company," I said in what I hoped was a comforting yet enthusiastic tone. "It's a nice night for a stakeout."

"Babe."

"What are we doing here?" I asked

"We're waiting to see if anyone tries to get in through the back of the building in the middle of the alley, the building on the left."

"I don't think we're going to see any action, other than the cats," Ranger said. "The building is video surveilled, but someone is getting in somehow and RangeMan is going to sit here for twenty-four hours to make certain no one gets in without us seeing them."

"Riveting work." I was being sarcastic, but Ranger responded seriously. "It's the easiest and most cost effective way to make sure our surveillance is working. Someone is getting inside, but I think they are doing it internally, from the building next door. If we don't see any one on the outside then we will set up surveillance on the inside, but we have to rule out the external entrances first, because that would mean getting adjacent businesses involved." I was only half listening, trying to compose my forthcoming interrogation. I realized he'd quit speaking and I didn't let the silence continue.

"Ranger, we need to talk."

"We are talking."

"We need to talk about Chroma."

"What was Morelli doing in your apartment?" he asked, ignoring my opening salvo.

"I'm not sure. He was at Pino's when he heard my order get called in and he brought it to me. He wasn't particularly nice about it, so I don't know why he bothered."

"Does he know you are over...finished, totally?" I thought there was sarcasm in the question but I chose to ignore it.

I held my casted hand up. "Yep, I think he does, but I don't want to talk about Joe, I want to talk about Chroma—and her brother, Ant."

Ranger didn't move his gaze from the midpoint in the alley, but I knew I had his full attention. "She told you?" he asked.

"No. I figured it out, today. When did you figure it out?"

"When she kicked the shit out of Lonnie Murdoch. I knew Ant for a long time before he came to work for me. I knew he had a sister, but I didn't put it all together until I saw her fight. Then I knew. I asked her the next morning and she told me the story."

"Tell me the story," I said.

"Why didn't you ask Chroma?"

"I was going to, until Morelli showed up and told us Murdoch's goons were trying to get in via my fire escape."

"I talked to Morelli, tonight," Ranger said.

"You did?"

"Yes, right after you called me. I told him about the threat against you, Val, Lula and Chroma and I told him I didn't have the manpower at present to take care of the situation. He's going to have Trenton PD keep tabs on the men."

"That's big of him," I said.

"He's very protective of you. And he enjoyed having me ask him for help." Ranger's tone said he hadn't enjoyed asking.

"About Chroma," I said trying to refocus the conversation.

"Chroma will have to tell you her story, Babe. It's not mine to tell."

"But I think she might be lying about her past," I persisted. "She said she was a mercenary, but in Eastern Europe. I think she was in Syria, with her brother." I had known I had Ranger's attention from the moment he'd reentered the SUV, but he'd kept his eyes focused on the back of the building. After my last statement his gaze swiveled from the building to me, and all at once I remembered how intimidating I had found Ranger to be at the beginning of our relationship, when he was my mentor. Now he was my boss, and I didn't think he liked what he was hearing.

"I told you your searches would be monitored, but you used the program to satisfy your own curiosity," he said. He didn't sound happy.

"It wasn't my fault." He arched one eyebrow and I continued. "It really wasn't my fault. I came back from lunch and clicked the 'return to last browsing session' icon and it took me someplace I hadn't been."

Ranger sighed and said nothing and we lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I was trying to figure out how to change the mood in the SUV. Tension was radiating off him and that was definitely unusual for someone with his control. He sighed again and with a little shrug of his shoulders he began to speak.

"Anatoly's father was Russian, his mother Canadian." Ranger's eyes were once again focused on the back of the building. "We met at a time and in a place I can't talk about. If either one of us had failed at our mission, our countries would have denied any knowledge of the op. Hell, it was successful and they still denied any knowledge of the incident. Our objective was the same even though we approached it from different directions and we worked together, unofficially, of course."

"When my time of service was over I came home and became a partner in RangeMan. When Anatoly's time was over, he and his sister immigrated to Canada. They were able to claim Canadian citizenship because of their mother. Chroma stayed in Canada with her mother because she was still in school. Ant obtained a US work visa and came to me."

"Is he the one that taught you Systema?" I asked.

"Yes. He was more than proficient. He was absolutely lethal. He didn't stay with RangeMan too long because he had an opportunity to make a lot of money in a short time. And he needed money, more than RangeMan could pay him."

"I know what he did," I said. "He became a mercenary and fought in the civil war in Syria, and somehow, he took Chroma with him."

"And how did you come upon that information?" Ranger asked curtly.

"The mercenary part I read about, but the Chroma part I guessed. But I'm right, aren't I? She said she'd been a mercenary."

"You need to talk to Chroma if you want to know. And she may tell you it's none of your business. Talking about her brother is something she doesn't do much."

"Why? Don't they get along?"

"He's dead," Ranger's voice was flat and his gaze had turned back to the inkiness of the alley. "He was killed in Syria. If you'd looked a little longer you'd have found the information. It's public record. He went to Syria to fight as a Russian mercenary and he was betrayed by people whom he trusted. It cost him and many others their lives and…" Ranger leaned forward in the seat, his eyes never straying from their focus on something I didn't see.

"Back to Chroma," I said.

"No." One word, but it was enough to tell me he meant it. I sat quietly trying to assess the sudden change in Ranger's mood. I guess that was the end of me trying to get information on Chroma. I decided to change my strategy. I was thinking I'd get more information out of Lula, if I asked the right questions. My strange fascination with learning about Chroma's past was something I didn't stop to consider. It just seemed important that I know everything there was to know about her.

Ranger said Joe was protective of me. Well, I thought Ranger was being very protective of Chroma. And that made me wonder what he was hiding.

It was his damn ESP. He was reading my mind, and I didn't even care because it caused him to break the silence which was once again getting uncomfortable. "She is not the center of some evil plot, Stephanie. It's just that it's her business. As I've said before, everyone at RangeMan has secrets and we let them lie. I imagine you have a few secrets yourself."

Me? Did I have secrets? Yep, I had a big one. One I'd only admitted to myself recently, about the time he'd found me walking home with a broken hand. I was in love with Ranger and I'd known it for a while, but I was in the kind of love that wanted a ring and a white wedding gown and a registry at the local department store, I wanted to pick out towels and sheets and cookware, and I could never let my secret be known.

I looked across to see Ranger focused intently upon me, the potential menace in the black alley temporarily forgotten. There was an almost smile hovering at the corners of his lips and with an embarrassed start I remembered his damn ESP. Had he figured out my secret?

I flushed, which hopefully went unnoticed in the darkened cabin. "No, not me," I falsely assured him. "I have no secrets at all." At least his ESP had lightened the atmosphere in the SUV. Once again I was being entertainment. And I knew there was a difference between what I wanted and what I would settle for. I was starting to think that Ranger on his terms would be better for me than no Ranger at all.

"There is something else I want to talk to you about," I said. I waited a few moments for a response, but I got none. I took a deep breath and jumped off the high dive. "How did I get your t-shirt back on?"

"You were cold."

"I woke up and put the t-shirt back on? I don't remember that."

"You didn't wake up, I put it on you."

"How'd you know I was cold?"

"Babe."

"Don't 'Babe' me, Ranger," I said. I was proud of myself. My voice was even and the stress I was feeling from speaking so forthrightly wasn't showing at all. I was breathing fast and the windows were fogging up, but hey, the humidity was very high. Ranger reached out, turned the key in the ignition, and flipped the defroster on.

I continued. "What's the deal, Ranger? Two nights ago you refused me, because of the wine and pain pills. I get that. But the next morning in your office you kissed the lipstick off me! If Lester hadn't interrupted…well. And then that night you slept in the same bed with me but felt obligated to put my t-shirt back on me. If you don't want me, let me know, but quit messing with my mind!"

I sat back against the seat and tried to calm my breathing. I looked over at Ranger to see what his reaction to my frankness was. I hoped no one broke into his client's building, because I think I had totally taken his attention away from the stakeout.

"I'm not convinced you and Joe are over," he said.

Emotions warred within me. Anger came first at his refusal to believe me, then hurt. I'd been juggling feelings for Joe and Ranger for years and I knew Joe was out of my life.

"Joe and I are over, Ranger. Isn't my word good enough for you?"

"I know you think it's over, but Joe doesn't give up easily. I don't want to place you in a position that will make it hard for the two of you to get back together."

"Can't I be the judge of that?"

"Is having sex with me worth risking our friendship?"

"What?" I asked. "Are you saying if we have sex we can't be friends any longer?"

"What I'm saying, Babe, is that you matter to me. I haven't changed my views on a sexual relationship. I can be friends, and I can have sex with you, and I can separate the two. Can you?"

Could I? Hell no. "Of course I can," I said with what I hoped at least sounded like certainty. And then it happened. Tears came. The anger I'd felt just moments before was gone and I was left with the hurt, because I knew I couldn't just have sex with Ranger. I'd want more. Maybe it was the Burg girl in me, but I'd want more. Maybe it was because I thought deep down he felt more than he was saying.

"Shit," Ranger said. "It's already happening. I've hurt you and it wasn't my intention."

Okay, the anger was back. "Listen, you asshole," I said. "I'm a grown woman, and I don't need you looking out for my emotions. I can handle myself just fine. If I say I just want to have a sexual relationship with you, then do me the favor of believing me. Or tell me you just don't want me. I imagine there are plenty of others that do! And if Joe Morelli is one, well…he's not on my list. I have needs and if you don't want to…"

I never finished my sentence which was a good thing, because I had no idea how I was going to finish it. Ranger's arm snaked out and wrapped around my shoulders. He hauled me against him and I had the brief thought I was glad it was a fleet vehicle, because it was much bigger than the Cayenne. His lips met mine and rational thought ceased. The need to touch him and have him touch me took over all my senses. Suddenly I was on my back, my head against the door and Ranger was on top of me. The sounds of our gasping breaths, when we broke apart briefly, sent flames throughout my body. There was no finesse, there was just raw need. Holy cow! We were going to do it in the SUV. We weren't even going to get all of our clothes off. We were going to behave recklessly and passionately and it was going to be good.