Dislaimer: Ranger and pretty much everything else is not mine.
I hadn't heard nor seen anything indicating that Tyler was still in town looking for me and Ranger was ignoring me so I didn't know what was going on. I was on my way to Ranger's office early in the morning, ready to negotiate with him. I was in a powerful mood and was sure not to lose. I was wearing the pair or sweatpants and the tee-shirt that I had stole from Ranger. It was the tee-shirt that someone had put me in the night I had got injured and Ranger had brought me back to his apartment. I scratched at my head as I rode the elevator up.
I knocked lightly and didn't get a response and took it as permission to enter. When I opened the door Ranger didn't acknowledge me, he just kept reading the file he was working on. I leaned against his desk and started humming, he finally looked up at me with an annoyed look and asked me what I wanted.
"I was thinking last night while I was lying in bed," the mention of me lying in bed made his eyes look distant for a moment, but then he snapped back and looked impatient once more. "Well I figured that since you want me to wear black so bad, you can take me shopping today. That way I can buy some clothes that actually fit me and I won't have to wear these." I shrugged in his clothes and waited for his reaction.
"No."
"Ranger," I growled low in my throat, I wasn't in the mood for his need to always be in control. "Either you take me or let me go by myself."
"No, now get to work."
"It isn't even seven yet, I don't have to work for two more hours. Plus, I think it might be nice if you would quit being a jerk and maybe actually acknowledge me when I am working." He looked back up at me, a questioning look upon his face. "That whole little stunt at the police station the other day wasn't that funny. Just because you have this power doesn't mean you can go and throw it in my face."
He stood up and crossed the distance that had been between us, I could smell the Bulgari shower gel and I knew that it wasn't me today. I closed my eyes and breathed it in deeply, dirty thoughts beginning to cloud my head. "You need to learn to take direction better before I acknowledge you. I will have someone take you this afternoon." Then he walked to his door and opened it, dismissing me without any other words.
The rest of the day was spent impatiently waiting to be taken shopping. I was going to spend my last paycheck on some new clothes. Tank came over to my side as I finished the last search I had in my inbox and informed me he would be taking me shopping. I must have given him a questioning look because he just said Ranger didn't want him to let me out of his sight and he knew that Tank wouldn't let me get away with stuff even if I got naked for him. Plus I had to think that it may have also been to have some muscle around in case Tyler happened to show up.
As I walked next to Tank I could see the glances people gave us as they walked by and I strung my arm through Tank's. He just looked down at me and I couldn't help think how weird we must look together. I spotted Victoria's secret and asked Tank if he would go in. He just shrugged, stating he didn't have a choice. I had a thing with underwear, and I hadn't been able to get any new pairs that were decent for quite a while. As we entered the saleswomen looked as us and then quickly bustled away to find something else to do. I could see them all watching Tank with hungry eyes as I shopped around.
Leaving the store I had four bags, one had three bras in it, one held two pairs of dirty pajamas, and the other two were filled with underwear. Before I had chosen anything for sure I held it up asking Tank, thinking he might grow embarrassed, but he just threw out comments like "wouldn't be bad to see on the cameras" or "Lester would like it". It wasn't the reactions I was hoping for, but they did make me feel pretty sexy. Tank had offered to carry the bags but I had told him it wasn't necessary, not until I got more anyways.
As we walked he said that he had to take Stephanie to Macy's one time and then he agreed to take me there as well. We walked women's section and I glanced around for black. I found a pair of black slacks, a short black dress that Tank's eyes grow wide when I showed him, and a black pants suit. I was hoping to find more pants, but it didn't seem that there were any in stock. I decided to just purchase those three items, but then I saw the shoe department on the way out the door.
Tank sighed as he sat down in a chair and ran a hand over the top of his buzz. He apparently knew how it went with shoe shopping. I found a pair of black boots that reminded me of the ones that the men wore; I was pleased to add them to my collection when I found them in my size. I was browsing around for another pair of sandals when I found a pair of black stiletto sling backs. I pulled them onto my feet and attempted to walk around in them, a little shaky at first, but then I started strutting in front of Tank. I didn't think I was ever going to wear them, but I had always kept a pair of slut shoes in my closet back home incase an opportunity to wear them ever came up.
"Okay Tank, I think we should find a Target." He just stood with a shrug, picked up a few of my bags and we began walking out of the store. As we reached the door I saw a slightly familiar face nearing us. He was looking at me with a look of vague remembrance as well. I stopped and stared for a moment as he got closer and then smiled, it was Ben from the police station. I said a simple hello and he stopped and began to talk to me, looking at Tank wearily, I knew that he was probably wondering if Tank was going to beat him for talking to me.
"So, have you been out anywhere in town?"
"No, this is my first time actually doing something besides work really." I smiled; I had a feeling this was going to go somewhere good.
"Well would you like to have dinner tonight?" I couldn't help but giggle girlishly. I hadn't been asked out since I got married, and I knew I should feel guilty, but I said yes. "Do you want me to pick you up somewhere?"
I glanced over at Tank who raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. "Do you know where Vincent Plum Bond Agency is?" With a small nod from him we decided to meet there at eight. I waved over my shoulder and punched Tank in the arm triumphantly.
"Ranger going to chaperone you two?" I just made a face at him as we walked to the SUV and loaded everything into the back. The ride back to the office was spent with me talking a mile a minute about a plan to escape.
"I will ask Ranger to let you bring me to Vinnie's, and then you can drop me off and Ben can bring me back home later."
"No."
"Please Tank? We could be best buddies that disobey Ranger."
"No." With his final answer given as we pulled into the garage I grew silent. I didn't want any of the other men to know about the Ben thing. I had forced Tank to agree not to tell Ranger about it as he dropped some of the bags off in my apartment. I paced around briefly as I considered how I was going to do this. I decided I would go to Ranger right now and ask him to drive me to Vinnie's. I shakily made my way up to his office and when I found it empty I picked up the phone and dialed his cell phone.
"Yo."
"I need a ride to Vinnie's later tonight. I forgot I have some stuff that I need to talk with Connie and Lula about." I didn't get anything on his end and continued. "I didn't want to go in with Tank today because I didn't want him to know, it is sort of concerning something I am considering having done, umm a procedure. I really want to talk it over with some other women before I do it. I already called them and they said to meet them there are eight tonight so Vinnie wouldn't be there."
"I'll be there, just don't try and drive off if I'm late." With that he disconnected and I smiled triumphantly to myself as I leaned back into his plush leather office chair. I leaned back and then curiosity struck me, what did Ranger keep in his desk. I bent over to pull open the bottom drawer and found it locked. I tried the other drawers and found the same thing. I kicked out and was even angrier when I smashed my toe. I decided I should probably go down to my apartment and figure out what I was going to do for the night.
In the apartment Titus was pacing around and so I decided I would let him go have some fun. I brought him to the fourth floor and let him out into the gym. The men just looked at me and shook their heads, they hated when I did this. I had recently got into the habit of letting him off to go bug the guys. He run around barking and jumping as the men worked out. One day I had come in to see him attempting to get in on the action while two guys were sparring. I just waved and let the doors close and bring me back up to my apartment. Tank and I had taken more time shopping then I had realized and it was almost six.
I went into my room and dumped out my bags on my bed. I picked out a red lace thong and the matching bra, along with picking up the new dress I had gotten at Macy's. I decided that I had probably better shower if I wanted to look halfway decent and grabbed my new clothes before heading up to Ranger's apartment. I scrubbed up quickly and couldn't help but use Ranger's shower gel. I noticed that more of it was gone from when I had last used it and smiled to myself. I stepped out and wrapped a tower around me quickly and began to squeeze the water from my hair.
I scrounged up a brush from the vanity cabinet drawers and ran it through my hair. I looked under the sink and found a hairdryer, some gel, and a large curling iron. I took them out and looked them over. I didn't know who they belonged to, but Ranger apparently had a friend who had been staying the nights with him. I felt like an idiot as I thought about this and squeezed some gel into my hands. I flipped my head over and ran the gel through it before drying it with the hairdryer. When I flipped my head back up, I had hair a mile high. It definitely wasn't the look I was going for, to much body, even for Trenton.
I pulled on my underwear and bra as I glanced at the clock. I had to be at Vinnie's in twenty minutes. I rummaged around under Ranger's sink again and found some old makeup. I felt stupid, but I was going to use some of it. I pulled out the mascara and brushed it over my lashes before I found a light lip gloss and applied that. I remembered that I had forgot any jewelry and wrapped the towel back around me before ran to the elevator. In my apartment I grabbed a small box and went as fast as I could back up to Ranger's apartment.
I dropped the towel and sorted through the jewelry on the counter. I decided upon a simple pair of studs that were such a dark stone they appeared almost black. I had them in my ears and looked back at my hair, still huge. I tried brushing it down, but it wasn't going down. I took a last look at it and gave up. I wasn't going to pull it up after all of the trouble of drying it. I pulled on my dress and managed to get it zipped by myself. I began to pick up my mess and had just picked up my clothes when Ranger appeared in the doorway.
He raised his eyebrows as he looked me over and leaned against the doorframe. Knew I was late already and just ran past him. He followed me to the elevator without any comments. As he hit the garage button I realized I didn't have my shoes. I quickly made a stop back at my apartment and grabbed the new slut pumps I bought and then glanced at myself once in the mirror. I had to admit that I thought I looked pretty hot. The dress made my small chest look a size larger somehow, but then I realized it was probably the bra I was wearing. The bodice was tight and showed my curves.
I basically had to drag Ranger to the car because he seemed to be trying to walk slow. Inside I slid on my shoes and inspected how they looked on me. As we were nearing Vinnie's Ranger looked me over and I knew he could tell I was up to something.
"Does Lula or Connie drive a gray Nissan Titan?"
"No." I looked away from Ranger as he just shook his head and I saw a gray pickup parked outside the office. Ben was standing outside waiting, glancing at his watch. "He's a cop, I'll be fine."
"You'll be fine back at your apartment too." Ranger was driving slowly by, probably to rub it in my face that he wasn't going to let me go out with Ben tonight.
"Listen Ranger, I haven't had sex for over three years and I am quite desperate at this moment so I am going to go out with him tonight whether you want me to or not." I grabbed the door handle and Ranger hit the brakes as I pushed the door open. I quickly jumped out of the car and ran at Ben, telling him to get into his truck. I got into the truck next to him as Ranger got out shaking his head angrily at me. I could tell that I was actually going to be in trouble when I returned. He walked over and shut my door before sliding back in and driving away.
I told Ben, after many questions about Ranger endangering his life, that Ranger and I had known each other forever and he was like a big brother to me. I felt bad lying to him right off the bat, but he didn't need to know the real situation. We drove to a small restaurant where Ben walked me in, holding the doors and complimenting on how good I looked. Mentally I hit myself when I thought about how Ranger hadn't even noticed my outfit.
As we sat waiting for our food to arrive I excused myself to the bathroom to check and make sure I was still all in order. I looked at my hair, it was still huge, but seemed to be deflating slightly. I smacked my lips in the mirror and adjusted the plunging v-neckline of the dress so that none of my bra was visible. As I turned and walked out of the bathroom I tumbled into a man who had just come out of the men's restroom. He smiled down at me as I felt him cop a feel as I pushed off of him.
"Excuse me, keep your filthy hands to yourself." I attempted to push past him but he grabbed my upper arm and pulled me into him.
"I can get some money if I bring you to him, I know who you are. Your husband has been running around the city asking everyone about you." The man smelled of alcohol and I blanched as his breath reached my nose. He began to drag me towards the door and I was going to yell for Ben but the man just tightened his grip on my arm making me wince at the pain. As we got out into the parking lot he walked me to an old car that had duct tape holding the bumper up. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I wasn't going to be getting in that car so he could take me back to Tyler.
The man held onto me with his left hand and began to unlock his car with his right. He wasn't holding me as tight and I feigned a trip and pushed into him, freeing my arm. I grabbed the key from the unlocked door and jumped inside the car, locking the door firmly behind me. The man banged furiously against the windows as I attempted to get the key into the ignition. The man took a gun from his waistband and aimed at the window. I ducked down low as the glass shattered. I crawled across the seat began to unlock the other door as the man opened the driver's door.
I didn't get out of the car in time and he threw me roughly against the back of the seat. I sat breathing hard as he backed out of the parking lot. I didn't know what to do because he still had the gun in one hand. Ranger was right, I should have stayed hidden. As the man turned down a back alley he finally slowed down and I quickly threw open the door. It took me all but a second to decide to jump and roll rather than to end up back with Tyler.
I hit the hard ground and groaned as I rolled through a puddle and into a wall of a building, I knew he had fired a shot off over my head when I jumped out of the car. I climbed to my feet and saw the car turning around. I took off at what was a run in the shoes I had on, and stopped as I let a car cross the intersection, taking my shoes off as I waited impatiently. I looked back to see the man nearing me in the car and ran as fast as I could. He didn't even look as he followed behind me across the intersection, and I grimaced as I watched a large semi t-bone him. I ran across the parking lot and towards a grocery store, which I entered and found a payphone. I searched but realized that I didn't have my walled with me because I hadn't had a place to hide it in my dress.
I sighed and walked around trying to figure out what to do. I saw a familiar truck drive by and ran outside to see if Ben saw me. I waved at him, but he didn't turn around. I heard the sirens and knew the police were on their way to the accident. Once a few men got there I would walk over and see if they could contact Ranger. I watched across the parking lot as the truck driver went to the car and grimaced at what he saw. I knew that there was no way the man could be alive after that hit. I sat down on the curb and felt tears building in the back of my eyes as a familiar car pulled up in front of me.
Ranger was out and by my side in a second. He helped me up and looked at my ruined dress and disheveled hair. Opening the door he let me inside the comfort of his car where I sank into the seat, trying to disappear. Ranger didn't say anything the whole way to the building, but when he parked the car he made me turn and look at him.
"It is serious, I don't know why but your husband wants you back so bad, you're annoying as hell." I sniffled and let a tear run down my cheek which Ranger wipe away with his thumb. I knew he had meant that as a joke, but I knew it was more true than anything. I hadn't been listening to him and I had put myself in the situation tonight. "You either stay in the building or have me or one of the guys with you. No more arguing.
I nodded in agreement before slipping out of the car. In the elevator I couldn't help but lean into Ranger. He wrapped an arm around me instinctually and when the doors opened to my floor I could barely tear myself away from his embrace. I glanced back and his look seemed like he was considering doing something, but as the doors slid closed I realized it was nothing. Walking into my apartment I stripped myself of my clothes and pulled on the shirt I still had from Ranger before crawling into bed. I realized that one of the guys must have had Titus because he wasn't in the apartment.
I will wtell you now that this is probably my least favorite chapter so far.S o you can now see why I don't like it. I really want to re-write it but I am not to sure how I will do it. I really had a writer's block and that was all I could come up with. I hope it will leave me soon (the writer's block) Well I guess you can send in the complaints now, joking, but let me know what you think. I think I am going to do a Ranger point of view reasonably soon.