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Chapter 10

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Ranger was confused when their truck turned the corner and he could see four other black trucks all stopped in a line outside of the entrance to the garage. He had Rafael turn around immediately and they sped away from the scene. Pulling his phone out, he called Tank.

"What the hell is going on there?" he asked in a low voice that barely concealed his irritation.

Tank had received a complete report of all that they knew about the incident the second that he had arrived. He concisely relayed the information to Ranger.

"It has been cleared and is safe for you to bring Stephanie home," he said.

Moments later, all of the black trucks were pulling into the garage. The area surrounding the building had been secured, and several patrols had been set up to keep guard. None of the men were happy with the situation. Their frustration showing only in the intensity with which they continued to search every possible lead to find the person responsible for Stephanie's recent attack.

"This was supposed to be the safe place to bring her Tank," Ranger said, pacing his office. "I told her that it was the only place we could keep trouble away from her." He stopped and looked at his friend. "You saw her face, Steph has never been this scared."

"It still is the safest place for her to be," insisted Tank. "The situation is under control, he won't ever have the chance to get anywhere near her again."

Upstairs, in Ranger's apartment, Stephanie was resting. Ghostbusters was playing in the background, but she was not paying any real attention to it. Images of the chaos that they had come home to kept playing in her mind. The residual haze of the smoke bombs had left an eerie taint to the atmosphere. The pile of sophisticated equipment, that the guys had gathered up from the area, told her that the man behind this probably had a lot more up his sleeve and she did not even want to know what else he had in store for her.

Most troubling of all had been the large puddle of blood she had seen on the street. Bobby had tried to explain to her that head injuries typically bled a lot, and that the girl who had been hurt was recovering just fine now. She was resting in his office.

Although she was still in pain and was supposed to be resting herself, Stephanie could not stay up here not knowing what had happened to the poor girl. Moving carefully, she grabbed the key fob from the side table in the hall, and left the apartment. The elevator doors opened and she headed down to visit Bobby. It was suddenly very important to her to see the girl who had gotten stuck in the middle of all the mayhem today. She knew it was a long shot, but she was hoping that maybe this girl could hold the key to some of this craziness.

Of course, her moves did not go unnoticed. Ranger was informed that she was heading to the infirmary. His first thoughts left his chest clenched in panic. What was wrong? Was she in pain? Did the wounds start bleeding? Was she sick? Was there an infection? All the possible questions played in his mind as he rushed down, himself, to find the answers.

Taking steps two or three at a time, he reached the door of Bobby's office only seconds after Stephanie had gone in. He opened the door to see Stephanie standing in the outer office talking to Bobby. Through the open door to the examination room, Vince and the injured girl could be seen sitting together on the exam table. Details of every kind were taken in and filed away, but his focus remained on Stephanie. She turned when she heard him enter the room.

"Steph," he said as he reached out to her, drawing her into his arms. Above her head he looked at Bobby seeking the answers. Bobby smiled and nodded, confirming that she was okay.

"Steph," he repeated pulling her back enough to look into her face. "What are you doing down here?"

In that moment Stephanie realized several important things. One - she had wanted to be here to be safe, and now that she was, she knew that she needed to respect Ranger's need to protect her. She should have let him know why she was coming down to see Bobby, she should have known that he would be worried. She would have been in his place. Two – he loved her, the look in his eyes told her more than any words ever could. Her love for him filled her heart and made it hard to breathe. She wanted to tell him that she loved him. He needed to hear that from her. Three - they had not yet had a chance to talk. It was time that they shared some words. It couldn't wait any longer.

Stephanie nodded at Bobby and pulled Ranger from the room by his hand. He followed willingly, stepping into the elevator and pulling her into a gentle embrace as they made their way to his apartment. She leaned her head on his broad chest, a soft sigh escaping from her lips. Her good arm encircled his waist and she held on tight. They were almost reluctant to move when the door opened on seven. Finally he led her into the living room and helped her as she sat down on the sofa.

Sitting to face her, he smiled and reached out to take her hands in his. She squeezed his hands and lifted her gaze to his and was about to speak. The look in his eyes stopped her. She could tell that there was something that he wanted to say and she was ready to hear it.

"Babe," he started, squeezing her hands. "I said some things to you before I left…" he seemed to hesitate, needing to know that she remembered that night. Stephanie smiled and nodded. He released the breath, that he had barely been aware that he was holding in, as she answered him.

"I have thought of little else since the night you left," she said. Stephanie pulled his hands up to her lips and kissed them, before holding them to her heart. The look on his face nearly made her cry for the joy it filled her with.

"I meant those words Stephanie," he said, moving in closer. "Every word." The look on her face encouraged him to continue speaking. "I want to be with you, I never want you to leave my side." Lifting one hand he cupped her face, his thumb smoothing along her jaw in an unconscious movement. "I want to say that I love you, Miss Stephanie Plum." He kissed her lips gently. "I will always love you!"

The kiss was returned and Stephanie reached out her arm, hooking his neck to pull him even closer to her. These were the words she imagined. The words she had wanted so desperately to hear. Now that he had spoken them to her, she knew it was her turn to let him know how she felt.

Before she got a chance, he lifted her around and settled her onto his lap, taking care not to disturb the bandages on her side and shoulder. The need to be closer to her was an instinct that he could not resist. Her contented look told him all that he needed to know, but when she started talking, he realized that hearing her say the words meant more to him than he ever imagined.

"Ranger," she started, but was immediately interrupted.

"Carlos," he whispered. She looked up into his face with such wonder, and admiration and love, it nearly took his breath away again.

"Carlos," she said with such tenderness, it filled his heart to over flowing.

"Carlos," she repeated, "I think I have loved you from the first moment that I saw you," she suddenly became shy and ducked her head.

"Really?" he questioned, lifting her chin so that he could look into her eyes.

With glistening tears threatening to fall, she nodded. "I'm so sorry it seemed to take me so long to realize it."

He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin, wrapping both arms around her.

"Oh Babe," he said softly. "We both took too long to figure it out completely." He kissed her forehead. "But now that we have, you need to know something."

Pulling back to look into his face again, Stephanie waited for him to continue. "Now that we have," he said again. "I will never let you go!"

That was what she needed to hear. It was as if her heart started beating for the first time. As if her life had been hanging in the balance, needing those words to start up again. Everything about her world was different now. All for the love of this man.

Her arm reached up and she gently pulled his head to her. The kiss they shared was tender and passionate, leaving them both breathless, when they finally parted. His arms kept her in his embrace as they settled in to say a few more words to each other.

The beginning of their new life together was surrounded with the power of their love. Nothing could penetrate it and mar the perfect beauty of these moments.

Outside their blissful cocoon, however, the rangemen were tirelessly searching for the man who had caused such chaos in Stephanie's life. They would not rest until they found him.

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