I woke up to find Ranger sitting next to me on the bed. I sat up and looked around the room confused. That last thing I remembered was arguing with Ranger , throwing the flowers, then taking a swing at him, and after that my mind could not recall any more details or how I got here in bed.

"What happen , how did I get here?", I ask Ranger.

"You went all fight or flight on me, and wore yourself out then fell asleep", Ranger told me.

I was shocked and embarrassed. " I 'm sorry , I am so sorry, did I hurt you ?", the words all rushed out of my mouth at once.

Ranger put his finger to my lips , and pulled me out of bed with him as he stood.

"Ella has dinner ready, let's eat", he said.

I sat down at the table and ladled the soup in to my bowl. Ranger stared at me waiting for me to eat.

"When was the last time you ate? " he ask.

I had to think about that question, it was yesterday at breakfast I suppose. There was no way I was going to let Ranger in on that fact.

"Breakfast" ,I said quickly as I spooned the soup in to my mouth. It was warm ,spicy and flavorful. When I swallowed the delicious creamy broth , it was soothing and gentle on my empty stomach. I reached for a slice of bread and dipped in to my bowl. Before I knew it, I had eaten three bowls of soup and four slices of bread.

Ranger sat back in his chair watching me with a slight smile on his face. We finished our meal, and put the bowls, glasses, and silverware in the dishwasher. I followed Ranger into the den, and he remoted the television on. Ranger sat down and stretched his legs out. I sat next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. In this moment I felt content and safe. After watching an action movie, we went to bed.

I got up the next morning , took a shower did my hair then got dressed in Range man attire.

Ella had set up breakfast on the table I stared at it and pondered if I felt like eating.

"Babe you are wearing the wrong clothes, remember you are going in to the bond office, and tonight your going to Inferno", Ranger reminded me.

"I Remember, but I never agreed to that", I replied.

"Stephanie, we have put a lot of time and effort in to this plan, and I am going to need you to cooperate with us", he explained.

"No", I replied flatly.

"No, what ?", he ask.

"No, I will not run around out there ,and hope that man will chase me. No, I won't go to a club , and wait for someone to drop a Roofie in to my drink and drag me off somewhere so you can follow him. No I will not be bait !", I shouted.

"Why are you shouting ? ", Ranger said in an annoyed voice.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Drop the attitude Stephanie, go change, get in your car, and go to the bonds office" , he told me in a low menacing voice.

"Anything more demands warden?", I said sarcastically.

" I have got six men on standby prepped and ready to help you , they want to make sure you are safe. We need you to work with us Babe."

I said "no", as I walked out of the door. Ranger followed behind me slamming his door hard behind him. I was able to get to the elevator, push the button , and head down to the fifth floor before he could get on.

Five minutes later, I was sitting in my cubical working on search when I saw Ranger stalking in my direction. He entered my cubical , leaned over turned off my computer, and pulled me out of the chair by my arm.

"Go!", he said pointing to the elevator. I shook my head no, and walked back toward my cubical , Ranger put an arm over the door way to block me. I ducked under and sat back down. Then I heard laughter coming from the control room. Ranger grabbed me by the tee shirt, and kicked the chair out from under me as he pulled me to my feet. I heard more mummers of laughter again.

"Stop man handling me ", Ranger.

Tank came running in my cubical.

"You two are putting on quite a show for the control room, and others are filing in to watch", Tank reported to us.

Ranger let go of my shirt, and stormed over towards the control room. In his haste he tripped over a ladder that Louis had been using to change an overhead light. Ranger was able to avoid falling , but he angrily tossed the ladder in the opposite direction. About 10 Rangemen sprinted out of the control room and five others were tripping over one another trying to get out, but Ranger blocked their exit before they had a chance to escape. He stepped in to the room and slammed the door so hard the walls shook.

"Bomber you are making that man crazy", Tank laughed.

I sat down in the Range man kitchen at one of the small tables. I stared at the empty coffee pot , trying to decide if I wanted to make another pot, or just go back my desk. Ella walked in and smiled at me.

"I was just about to make another pot, but come with me , and I will get you something better", Ella told me.

She made a fresh pot of coffee for the kitchen, took hold of my wrist then towed me out of the kitchen and into the elevator. We took the elevator down to the fourth floor and entered her apartment. Ella's place was beautiful , there were perfectly polished wooden floors dressed with expensive Persian rugs. The windows were draped with silk contains made from exotic material. She had comfy contemporary over stuffed furniture , that was complemented by the tasteful mahogany end tables. This was more than just an apartment , it was warm and inviting , this was a home. There were silver frames on one of tables of Ella and Louis though out their relationship. Some where in black and white , the more recent ones where in color. There were pictures of a younger version of Louis and Ella on a date, others of their wedding , and then I saw a photo that shocked me. It was Ella , she had a small baby bump, Louis was bent in front of her kissing her belly as she kissed his the top of his head.

"That is one of my favorite photographs", Ella announced.

"I didn't know you had children Ella", I said.

She shook her head and replied "No, I don't".

"I am so sorry Ella"

"That was a long time a go mija , I have recovered ", she assured me. Come on, and I will make you a cup coffee."

Ella had a large kitchen with state of the art appliances, there was a large prep counter and triple sinks with a top of the line fancy faucet. This kitchen was Martha Stewart meets five star restaurant. I sat down in one of the elegant kitchen chairs , and watched Ella take out a French coffee press, and then put coffee bean in a grinder. She placed the freshly ground beans in the French press, then poured hot water over them, and artfully prepare the coffee. Ella set two cups and saucers made of beautiful china on to the table. I admired the China as Ella poured the coffee.

"Those belonged to my grandmother, I brought them all the way from Argentina", Ella beamed.

She set down a plate of toast with guava paste along with cream and sugar for the coffee.

Ella joined me at the table and poured cream into her coffee then added sugar. She took a sip of her coffee , and then peered over the edge of the cup to look at me.

"Ranger is in a mood today, do you know anything about that?" , Ella inquired.

"All too well Ella, we are having a disagreement as to my over all welfare ", I answered.

"What does that mean?", Ella ask.

"There is a bad man after me , Ranger has a solution to the problem", I said.

"And you don't agree, you want to talk about it ?" She ask.

I shook my head no, and took a bite of the toast.

"That's okay mija , you don't want to talk, just listen. When I was a young woman in Argentina , I worked in a five start hotel , and I was excellent at my Job as a hospitality manager. In those days women were nothing more than house keeper , but I studied abroad and worked in hotels during my semester breaks. I learned each and every detail of the industry. From catering , to event planning , to management, I made sure to learn it all. Once I graduated and went back home, I worked hard to make my way up the corporate ladder, determined not to let anything distract me. That is until I met an American Solder in the hotel bar named Louis. He was stationed there , and we began dating, before I knew it I was hopelessly in love with him. After we got married , being the solder he was and seeing the things that he a had seen, he was constantly worried about my safety. I hated it , and sometimes, I would do the opposite of what he said, just to annoy him. Like walking home alone late at night. One day the hotel was hosting an event for a political official and I was in charge of every detail. I was excited, and could not wait to tell Louis. He was less than thrilled, and adamant that I let someone else take charge the event. I thought it was because I was pregnant, but he insisted that was not the reason. Louis ask me to trust to him , and just do as he ask this time. He would not let up, so I lied and told him I had let someone else handle the event. That day I got up and dressed for work. Louis, he begged me to stay home, but I could not because this was my event, he had no idea that I was still in charge. We argued , and I went to the hotel after he left. What I did not know was , that the politician who was hosting the event, had been the target of an assassin and was receiving threats. Louis had been privy to this information, but it was classified and he could not tell me. Someone detonated a bomb that day. I was injured and lost our baby along with any chance of ever having a child", Ella Confessed.

"Was he angry with you?", I ask.

"I expected him to be, instead he said he was grateful to still have me, but if he was angry , he never showed it. I thought he would go back to the States alone , and leave me in Argentina, but he did not. Louis cried with me , he comforted me , took care of me ,but he never blamed me. I learned a few things from that experience , the first is that it is not necessary to be so head strong all the time. Next , to trust the people in your life that love you, even when you don't have all the pieces to the puzzle , there are others who can see the picture when you can't. Most importantly, I learned that my husband LOVES me, and the thought of being apart is what scares him the most. He worries because he cares", Ella shared with me.

I took a moment to think about what Ella was trying to tell me. Then Louis came in. He picked up Ella's cup and finished the rest of her coffee , then she playfully punched his arm. Louis kissed Ella on the lips, and then went to the refrigerator. He poured himself a glass of milk , and sat down at the table next to me .

"I am hiding from Ranger, today he is in a mood. Are you hiding in here too ?", Louis ask.

He never took his eyes off his wife, they were full of love as he continued to stare at Ella.

"No silly, she is not hiding ,we are having girl talk , now go away", she jested. Louis stood up kissed Ella again , and then walked out of the door.

"When he looks at you his eyes a filled with so much love , like you are his world", I said to Ella.

Ella reclined in her chair and eyed me, her lips curled in to smile.

"You have no idea do you , Carlos looks at you the same way", Ella said.

"No , I think you are mistaken", I replied. "Ranger has told me he loves me, but not he kind of love that comes with a ring , no the kind of love you and Louis share", I told her.

"Men" she chuckled , don't let him fool you, that man would walk though auxiliary gun fire for you", Ella laughed. "Your Tormenting that man, making him worry", she continued.

"I guess I could give him a break ,and the rest of Range man too " ,I agreed.

"Good girl", she said patting my hand as she walked me to the door.

I took the elevator up to Ranger's office, and knocked on the door.

"WHAT", he bark.

I opened the door and slumped into a seat. Ranger cut his eyes at me, but did not say anything.

"Can we talk?", I ask.

Ranger narrowed his eyes at me , and folded his arms across his chest.

"I am sorry ", I whined.

"Continue", Ranger grumbled.

"I understand you are trying to help me ,and I appreciate it , even if it does not seem like I do", I explained.

"And ", he said his tone now softening.

"I trust you Ranger", I said firmly.

"Soooo ?", Ranger ask.

"What time do I need to be ready to go to the club tonight ? "

"Babe"