Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde
This takes place after "It's a new day, it's a new dawn, it's a new year"
A/N Thank you so much for reading along and for all your wonderful reviews. They really do keep me going. :) Thank you :)
M rating (mostly for language)
Thank you Margaret for reading ahead as my Beta. :) I much appreciate :)
And her insistence that Joe is just a man 'ho, spurred me on :)
Don't own the characters (except for Clyde), just playing :)
Chapter 11—The OMG Aspect
Stephanie POV
I was confused. Yes I knew Joe and I had so many ons and offs that even I lost count, but Terri was the last straw. We were off. And off for good. Why would I even entertain going back with him again? Ever.
"So Ranger do you want me to pretend I'm interested if Joe calls me? Are you planning on using me to get some information out of him?"
"No Babe. I think we have a better secret weapon. I just want you to be prepared for the call."
"Oh. What's the better secret weapon?"
"Morelli's invisible houseguest. Obviously he can go anywhere undetected. He could probably follow Terri home and report back to you if it came down to it. But right now I'm thinking he could gather just as much information by sitting in Morelli's kitchen and listening in on his phone calls."
"Do you want me to let him know what's going on and to keep his eyes and ears open?"
"Give it a day. See if he picks up on anything on his own and volunteers his help. I'd rather not be indebted to a spirit if I had my druthers."
"Ok but remember…he was a bootlegger. He may not think there is anything wrong with the stuff he might overhear between Joe and Terri. I think I should give him a little background. He won't feel indebted to me. He feels some kind of kinship. Obviously now he knows the difference, but I think whatever it was that he felt for Hedy, he feels for me. Well, just because I resemble her."
"Yeah. And I'm not too happy with that convoluted piece of information."
"Ranger." Yeah I could do one-word sentences when it suited me too.
"I just want to send him a quick text," I added taking my phone out of my bag.
"Anything going on there?" I texted to Clyde.
"He just came back with an awful-smelling sandwich. The bag says Pinos. It should be condemned."
"Probably a meatball sub. It's my favorite."
"Sub?"
"It's a sandwich. It's shaped like a submarine."
"Oh. It still smells.
"Did they have submarines in your day?" I asked because I wasn't quite sure if I needed to explain them further.
"The sandwich or the submersible?"
"Smart ass."
"Yes. Submarines have been around since I was a boy."
"I wanted to give you a little information. A woman named Terri may call, or stop by."
"She called already."
"Her family are the Grizolli's. Organized crime. Joe is a vice detective. They are a couple that shouldn't B. Joe was using me to take eyes off of their relationship. She could have given him the STD for all I know."
"He didn't tell her. At least not on this call."
"Ranger said her family is plotting something. All the crime family heads are at their compound in Princeton."
"Want me to follow her if she comes around?"
"Ranger said to just listen. And if you hear anything interesting, let us know. Just don't get caught."
"What can they do to me? They can't see me and I'm already dead, remember? They can't kill me again. "
"U R funny for a ghost."
"Yeah. Ha ha."
"The texting symbol for smile or laugh is this :) a colon and a closed parenthesis."
"Is that what were doing? Texting?"
"What do you think we're doing?"
"I am mentally sending messages to that radio contraption in your hand. You can read it, and we can communicate."
"It's an iPhone. Stands for intelligent phone, I think."
"It operates on radio frequencies. Joe's doorbell just rang."
"Who is it?"
"Slim blonde woman."
"Terri."
"I'll get in touch with U later."
I told Ranger what I knew, which wasn't a lot. Only that Terri was there and Clyde said he'd let us know if he heard anything. Oh, and that Joe hadn't told Terri yet about his STD. That was just disgusting as far as I was concerned.
I looked down at my phone and saw I had one more text.
"Good night :)."
"Ah," I said to Ranger. "Look at this, he just wished me a good night."
"If he wasn't dead already, I'd kill him."
"Ranger, I told you before, there is no need for you to be jealous. I love you." And to prove I was serious, I climbed onto his lap and pulled him in for a kiss. Well it was a lot more than just a kiss.
When we broke apart we were breathless. And I could feel Ranger's 'happy' pressing against me.
"Ranger?"
"Babe, no words…but the clothes have to go."
"Mmmm. Bedroom?"
"Anywhere Babe."
I looked up at him and his eyes were black with desire.
"Dios. You are so beautiful," he said softly, staring at my lips and finally kissing them.
His kisses trailed down my neck and over to my ear. Then he found that sensitive spot where my neck meets my shoulder and he kissed and licked his way around, sending shivers down my spine. He was going to be the death of me
Ranger began an assault on my body, kissing, licking and removing clothes as they got in his way. He pulled my top over my head. My bra followed.
"I want to make love to you," he whispered.
"Oh God. Ranger now."
"In time. Let me enjoy you first."
His hands were everywhere and his mouth followed. He found a place, a dip in the small of my back, that made me moan and he paid extra attention to it. Oh my God, then his tongue traveled to that sensitive area between my ass and the promised land. Finally his mouth was directly over where I wanted him and then he was inside of me. Oh my God.
The next six hours were a blur. Not that we fucked for six hours, but we slept here, slept there and made love during all of the in-betweens. I was going to be walking funny tomorrow. I wondered how Ranger would fare. Maybe we didn't need to set foot out of the apartment. Unfortunately then I remembered my appointment.
"Ranger, I love you," I said after yet another interlude of bliss.
"I love you too Babe. Let's get married."
"Ranger?"
"Carlos."
"Carlos." I tried it on for size. "Would you prefer Carlos?" I added not knowing if he wanted me to call him that or not.
He nodded and then looked sad. "If you don't like it you can still use Ranger. My family calls me Carlos.
"We can get married surrounded by family and friends or we can elope," he continued easily, as though he'd been thinking about this for a while.
"I don't want my mother taking over—no Knights of Columbus hall, but I want our families and friends to be with us. How could we get married without Tank and Lester or Hal or Bobby? No, we can't elope. Your parents…they'd be hurt. We have to have some kind of ceremony. Carlos I love you."
"I love you too Babe. More than you'll ever know."
"I have an idea. Why don't we wait until the spring? The house will be demolished by then and I think we have a beautiful rose garden on our property. We could bring in a few large tents and some heat lamps in case the weather doesn't cooperate."
"Perfect," Carlos said. "Just like you," and he kissed me again.
I guessed we were getting married. Holy shit.
"Should we ask Ella to be our caterer?"
"Carlos, you have a big family and there are over fifty Rangemen here that feel like family to us. Then there's my family, Mary Lou, Lula and Connie. That's a lot of people for Ella to cook for. Maybe we should just hire a caterer?"
"I think Ella would be hurt if we didn't ask her. I'm pretty sure she has resources that she could bring in to help. And you've seen the size of the kitchen on four. It's huge. We could fit multiple chefs in there."
"Ok then we'll ask her. But give her an out in case it's just too much. Ok?"
We agreed and then we fell to sleep in each other's arms. Exhausted.
I woke up somewhere around 8:30 because I was cold. I reached over for Ranger, no Carlos, but he wasn't in the bed. I knew he didn't need as much sleep as I did, so I just assumed he went down to the gym to get in a workout. As if we didn't work out enough last night. Jeez.
I had to meet Artemis at the house at eleven, so I went into the bathroom for a quick shower. Hopefully the hot water would help my aching limbs too. I guessed we played kind of hard last night.
After I showered and got my hair to cooperate I padded out the kitchen to see if Carlos was around. I could smell coffee…what a caring man, but there was no Carlos. Then I saw the note on the refrigerator:
"Babe, There was a break in at Campbell's Soup last night. Tank and I were invited over there for a meeting. They want to switch security companies. I made you coffee. Enjoy your day. I should be home around 4. Love, C."
How sweet.
I saw that he left me the keys to the Cayenne, so after I made myself some breakfast and got dressed, I went down to the garage. Something made me check my phone before heading out. I had three texts from Clyde.
"You didn't tell me I'd have to listen to them all night."
"It's midnight, I'm heading back to the house. She's a screamer."
"Text me before you come. I have a surprise for you."
I felt bad. I didn't expect Terri to spend the night with Joe. Poor Clyde. Well at least he left and he seems to know how to come and go now. I picked up my phone and responded to his last text.
"I'm sorry Clyde. I wish I could bring you a donut or something to make it up to you. You don't eat, do you?"
"Are you on your way?"
"Yes. What's your surprise?"
"While Joe and Terri were upstairs I took her phone. It's just like yours so I was able to intercept the radio frequency. I have some information for you."
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Is Artemis there yet?"
"No."
I wondered what he had. Carlos probably had all the Grizolli phone numbers, so I hoped it was something different. Maybe there was an email from Uncle Vito to Terri letting her know why all the mafia heads were going to the compound in Princeton. Well, maybe not.
I fobbed myself into the estate. As I drove up the hill I took in the mature Linden trees that Elena pointed out. It looked like they might be growing buds. Or maybe I was just anticipating an early spring.
When I got up to the house, Clyde was right, Artemis hadn't arrived yet.
I wasn't sure if Clyde could see me approach or if I needed to let him somehow know I was here. I took out my phone to text him. I saw another text from the 454-545 number and knew Clyde beat me to it.
"I watched you approach. When you get out of your car I'll be right in front of you. Try to touch me. I'll reach for your hand."
I wasn't sure what to do, so I parked and slowly made my way out of the car. Clyde said to try to touch him. The only sense I got of a ghostly presence before was cold air, so I was expectlng that when I extended my hand. I didn't expect to feel something take it. Something warm, perhaps. Pressure is how I could explain it. Like a handshake.
"Clyde?"
"Stephanie," a voice said. "Pleased to meet you."
"Can I greet you? Can I hug you?"
"You may go though me. I can generate just enough energy for a handshake. I don't have enough energy to talk for too long. I rather text."
"Clyde. I am so happy to make your acquaintance."
"Your iPhone," he said and I could tell it took most of his energy. His voice sounded distant.
I took my phone out of my bag as I knew Clyde had something important to tell me.
"Terri is not the meeter/greeter or whatever it is you thought she did for the Grizolli's," the text that popped up in front of me said.
"She's not? I know she works for them."
"She's their council. The family lawyer. She holds a lot of power."
"Holy shit," I said, not expecting that at all.