SPOV
It's been over a week since we went to the fortress. The days were filled with more self defense lessons, range shooting, and practice reading people among the various tourist places and the beach. Thankfully we haven't kidnapped and interrogated anyone yet.
Tomorrow morning Ranger has to make the call to see if we will go home so this maybe the last day in Crete. Over the last week I tried to fit in the highlights of the island in case I never got a chance to come back, but it's barely the surface of where I wanted to go. Among my favorite spots had to be the Aquaworld Aquarium, the open air museum and old Venetian Harbor.
Ranger seemed to like the Herakleion Archaeological museum, the natural history Museum of Crete, and the Holy Trinity Monastery. He is always trying to work on his Karma and I think by visiting there he received a little peace. We went to a few other places but they were no match to our favorites so far. I've been very vigilant with taking my gun everywhere with me and if I don't screw up today then I get to ask Ranger three questions tomorrow.
The plan today is to make sure the place is clean and then we can go out for the day. If Ranger gets the code to return home then we will have to leave within a few hours. Part of me misses Trenton. I miss the pineapple upside down cake, the Boston cremes, the jelly donuts, most of Pino's menu and of course my hamster son Rex. I also kinda miss Lula's loud voice or Grandma Mazur causing trouble at the funeral home.
I miss my Mom's cooking and her doing my laundry but not the constant phone calls. I know I'm increasing my debts by Rangeman covering my living expenses while away and I'll have to work extra hard when I get back, probably picking up a second job but at the same time I hope we don't go home tomorrow. My birthday is in a few weeks and I was hoping to see Athens or maybe go to Italy.
I'm sure Ranger wants to go home, he has a business and a life to get back too, but I don't want our fake marriage to end. I've never been happier and he is very easy to live with. I know I'm more of a slob with my closet side but I try to be conscious of when it gets out of control, but he never has made a comment. His training is helping me too. I'm starting to feel more confident in how I approach people and I think it will improve my captures so I don't roll around in garbage as much.
I even distracted Ranger enough with my boobs to knock him down once. Right now I'm folding laundry and trying to decide if I can take anything back with me. I think my suitcase will be just full of shoes and that rain coat from Paris. Ranger told me I could take anything I want with me as long as it doesn't lead anyone back to Greece, so those clothes and shoes I put on one side of the closet and thankfully it wasn't too many. I think the best plan is to stay local today so we aren't exhausted if we have to leave tomorrow.
"Everything is looking clean, what do you want to do today?"
"Simple stuff, let's make up most of the stuff in the fridge for lunch and eat on the beach and then we can go out to dinner tonight. Then come home and relax with a book tonight or a movie."
"Sounds good." Ranger sat down with me and helped me fold the last of the laundry to put away."
"It's still a mind trip for me to see you so domestic at times, you once told me you didn't have many domestic instincts."
"I didn't always have Ella and I do have to fend for myself on the weekends when she is off."
"Who cooks for you and the men on the weekends?"
"She prepares things on Friday that just need to be reheated or put out Saturday and Sunday. And she leaves me things in my freezer or fridge too."
"She is a goddess." I started to get my bikini on, grabbed my beach bag, towel and water. Ranger was shirtless in his swim trunks grabbing everything out of the fridge.
He started cutting and chopping vegetables for a salad and sandwiches, while I started preparing the fruit to go with us. Ranger cooked up the rest of the rice and meat with some kind of dressing and then put everything in a large shopping bag to take with us. All we needed was forks, more water and napkins. I ran to grab our hats, sunglasses and my sun screen.
"I'm jealous you tan so much and I burn. I seem to be getting darker but I still get touches of pink in places." Ranger smiled at me.
"I'll be sure to pay close attention when I rub the lotion on you while your topless at the beach."
"Hmm are you going to go commando yourself and start a riot today?"
"No. The bathing suit is for your protection. If we're both naked we'll start a show and be arrested because I'll probably take you right on the beach. Jail is not in my plans today." I was getting really turned on by that thought. I put my arms around his neck and got close to his lips.
"Maybe I'll let you take me deep in the water."
"Playing with fire Babe." Ranger kissed me deeply and gave me a playful swat on my ass. "Let's go before I don't let us leave for the rest of the night."
Tank POV
In over a week Silvio hasn't found much. Edna called me back a few days later after our dinner at Shorty's saying she was fighting with Frank and Helen Plum about staying out of there business. She said both of them have said nothing happened during that time and are not speaking to her.
She has decided to move into Steph's apartment while she is away but couldn't get in. I sent Manuel to get her and help her break into Steph's place. I had a key made up for her as well and informed Dillon. He seemed fine with it and promised to keep on eye on her.
Last I heard Edna was making friends with all the residents and having a bunch of parties at Steph's place. Edna told me she has never been happier and gets rides with different neighbors to the grocery store and funeral home. She was concerned at first with paying the rent but when I told her all the bills were covered while Steph was away she was pleased to stay and look after the place.
Binkie eventually got the Bank manager's key and I opened an account with a box in my name to access Frank Plum's box in the vault. The manger showed me my box and helped me remove it then left the room. Security wasn't very high here and there wasn't a camera in the vault room so I left my box on the table and found Frank's. I used both Keys and removed the box. Inside I found birth certificates, wedding certificates, deeds, will's, life and home insurance policies, divorce certificates from Valerie and Steph but nothing more.
I took pictures of everything and then secured the box back into place. At this point I was frustrated. I thought I would find something in this box. We had been following Frank Plum for a month and nothing was coming out of that time. The phone taps were just more gossip and other then Valerie being pregnant again with her fifth child and making Albert Kloughn get a vasectomy, the information wasn't panning out.
A few days after that I created an information board in one of the smaller conference rooms and put up everything I had. Pictures, times and dates I received information with the coordinating information. I didn't use real names because I didn't want anyone looking at the board to be skewed in there thinking. Anytime any Rangeman has had to work with Steph or deal with anything relating to her, the men get weary in making decisions for fear to piss off Ranger.
So I just used initials for everyone involved. I mapped up two zones one for Steph's disappearance and the second for Helen Plum's medical history with Steph's initials in the middle connecting the two.
I had a few men come in and look over the information. None of them had any good theories. I brought in Rodriquez. He mostly worked in sales but he had an out of the box mind at times and was known for seeing small details. Ella dropped off some papers for me to sign and noticed the board.
"Hard case?"
"Yeah we're missing something."
"Mind if I take a look?" I shook my head no. I started signing off on the purchases for the month, looked over the estimate for next month and new vendors she wanted to use for our clothing and supplies. I heard Ella say something."
"What did you say?"
"O... I was just thinking out loud. What makes you think the child born belongs to the mother other then a birth certificate and hospital bill for the child? There is missing time here for the mother before the birth."
"Why do you say that?"
"I don't know it just seems unusual. There is a medical problem but no record from the mother receiving it. When my sister had a baby she went to the doctor every month, more as it got closer to the due date and I don't see any doctor's notes from 6 months on until after a month the baby was born. Usually new mother's get a 6 week check up to be signed off for activity, I don't see that.
She could have went to a different doctor during that time but it doesn't make sense when the notes show the complications were noted by her doctor from the beginning of the pregnancy. If she didn't like him, she wouldn't have gone back to him if she chose a new doctor. I know I wouldn't."
I had how many people look at this board and not one of them thought of this. This is why we need more women on staff when Steph was unavailable to take a look.
"Your right Ella we don't know. Do you see anything else?"
"No. But let me know when you solve your mystery, I love a good story. Bye Boys. I left some stew in the break room and I think it's my best by far. Let me know what you think." I need to tell Ranger to give her a raise. She is worth every penny. I let it sink it. Steph may not be the biological child of Helen and Frank Plum. Damn. I'm betting she doesn't know and would freak out on everyone if she found out.
Why wasn't there adoption records then or a trail of where Steph came from? I need to check everyone's DNA to be sure of Ella's theory. I'll stop by Valerie's house tonight pretending to check on her and her family for Steph. I'll say Steph wanted to make sure everyone was ok because was out of town on assignment and asked me to. I'll pretend to use the bathroom then take some hairs from her brush. I'll also have to go to Grandma Mazur's and hope she isn't home so I can grab Steph's hair from her brush.
I'll send Hal to the Plum's and grab hairs from there brushes as well since he has been Frank Plum's shadow. DNA matching will take up to 24 to 48 hours so hopefully I'll have my answer by then. This is so messed up. I just wanted to know how Frank knew about his daughter and now I might have discovered Steph isn't really there daughter. Maybe once I find out the truth after the DNA test I can sit down with them and make them a deal. I'll let them know what I know and ask for the truth. Maybe he will just come clean at that point for fear I out them. I'd never black mail them but they don't know that.
I sat at the table and rubbed my hands over my face a few times. Tomorrow Ranger checks in and hopeful will be home to take this mess off my hands. He can decide if Steph needs to know or not. I haven't heard from Connie so I guess those three names from Philly and New York have been working out for her for now but I'm curious for how long. The money isn't enough to keep them interested for long, it was more for them to have some fun for a while.
RPOV
Tomorrow I have to call in to see if we go home. A part of me wants to go back to Trenton, catch up on work and the other part of me wants to stay here with Steph. She has really stepped up with trying to better herself and I feel like she wouldn't have bothered to ask me if we were back home for fear I'd say no.
She has also surprised me that she is willing to try so many new things and travel all over Greece. I'm actually enjoying seeing the sights with her and watching her experience different food. It doesn't hurt that we have sex constantly either. In the past I've thought about what it would be like to be married to her, but it has been even better. She thinks she is hard to live with because of what Morelli has told her, but she isn't.
She is just at times disorganized. Usually when we have sex in Trenton we wake up the next day and go on with our lives. We usually eat breakfast and work together but I like waking up with her and spending time with her, that I don't know how we would go back to the way it was before. I still don't know if she wants to get back to Morelli. She hasn't mentioned him and I haven't seen her suffer any guilt.
Spending so much time with her makes me want to put marriage back on my bucket list even though I've taken it off and on many times, most recently off because of the danger my life puts Steph's in, but maybe we can date when we return. Date. That seems so high school. I haven't dated since high school. I think whenever we get on that plane home is when we will have to have this conversation. I don't want to ruin our time together if we are here for another month.
"How is this spot? We're further out then before but there are still some people about 80 feet away."
"Looks good Babe." She smiles at me and throws down a blanket and starts unloading our lunch bag. She plops down and starts rubbing lotion on her legs. I take the bottle and takeover. I want my hands on her as much as I can because tomorrow might be a crappy day for the both of us after we talk, if we talk.
SPOV
I started to lotion my legs and Ranger came to take over. He would rub a little and continue to look around. Luckily mostly everyone was nude so he didn't seem concerned about any hidden weapons. A lot of the women on the beach took notice of Ranger but he didn't give them more then a glance. He flipped me over and straddled me.
He untied my bikini top then worked on my entire back and arms. It felt so good the way he rubbed his fingers and palms in small circles all over my body. He flipped me over again and then rubbed my thighs and just around the edge of my bikini bottoms slowly. I was getting very turned on and by the looks of Ranger's swim trunks so was he.
He moved up my stomach making sure inside my belly button wasn't missed and then around my breasts. My nipples were hard pebbles and Ranger was giving me a big smile. He finished my arms and then got off me. I decided to return the favor and straddled him while I fed him pieces of fruit. Sometimes some of the fruit juice would spill down his chin and chest so I would lick it off. We fed each other lunch and then Ranger picked me up and placed me over his shoulder and ran me into the water.
He walked us deep into the ocean where I could barely reach the bottom but he still could stand. He checked out the beach and positioned himself towards the shore to see the view of everyone. There wasn't anyone remotely around us so I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him. He kissed me back just as fiercely.
One of his hands was on my back moving down to my ass while the other was in my hair. When I was running out of breath I started to lightly kiss and suck on his neck. I could feel Ranger grind into me so I slipped my hand down to massage him. He groaned.
"Your being bad Babe. If you keep playing with fire you will get burned."
I whispered into his ear "I want you" while I kissed and sucked his earlobe. He crashed his mouth back into mine and used his tongue to rub against mine.
"We have to be quiet, no screaming and keep your whole body under the water except for your head."
He sunk lower into the water and from the shore it looked like we were just embracing and kissing when it was much hotter. Ranger took off my bottoms and placed it in his swim trunks pocket and then opened his Velcro slit down the front of his bathing suit trunks while they were still tied around his waist. I sunk down onto him and moved my hips while he pulled me into him deeper. I tightened my legs around his ass and we just kept kissing the whole time. Just when I felt like I was going to see stars I hid my mouth and face into his neck to muffle myself. Ranger hugged me closer and moaned a little into my ear as he came. He was still inside me when I looked into his eyes.
"Don't stop, I want to remember this for the rest of my life, please don't stop." I started moving my hips again, feeling him thicken again. He kissed my necks and shoulders, pinched and rubbed my breasts until we shattered together again. Eventually Ranger put my bottoms back on and I got on Ranger's back while he just floated around in the water. We didn't talk we just floated until the sun started to set. We got back onto the beach and watched the sunset. It was one of the most romantic days of my life and I never wanted it to end.
"Dinner out? I heard some people at the bakery yesterday talk about a new place a few blocks from the house. They said there was entertainment too, can we go there?"
Ranger just kissed my forehead and helped me get off the blanket and clean up. We showered together but we just washed ourselves and enjoyed our time together. Ranger's washing was a bit more extensive then mine but we eventually got clean and dressed to go out. While he takes 10 minutes to get ready, I need at least a good hour. I picked one of my new dresses from Spain that was cut very low in the back but the skirt fanned out if I spin really fast. I threw on some of my more risque panties for the evening that Ranger could enjoy later tonight.
I paired it with a pair of pumps and a matching clutch and checked my hair. It was a warm day so I decided to place it in a simple up do with just a basic clip. When I went to find Ranger he was in the living room reading. He saw me and got up and gave me a sweet kiss. "Breath taking Babe."
"Thanks Batman." Even after all these weeks he still leaves me breathless. He was in a nice dress shirt and slacks that should be illegal, he looked good.
We walked a few blocks and after a few wrong turns found the place. It was definitely a younger crowd and lively, it made Ranger a little leery.
"Come on Batman, there is suppose to be entertainment and good food, its the perfect night for us." I grabbed his hand and spoke to the waiter in my poorly learned Greek that Ranger was trying to teach me as well as Rosetta Stone Cd's I listen to at night sometimes.
Mostly I could order food now or ask for a table, along with please and thank you. Otherwise I was lost. We were in luck to secure a table next to the wall and Ranger took his watch position. Since this might be our last night I ordered us a few appetizers and some ice teas and then Ranger's customary salad and my lasagna that wasn't really lasagna. Ranger let me practice my Greek and the waiter was really patient and great with me.
I started to hear some singing from the stage and realized we were in a karaoke restaurant. Ranger's eyebrows shot up and then he had his patent blank face on. While I had the biggest smile imaginable.
"You should sing! I'd love to hear you sing!" Ranger just shook his head no.
"Please, I bet your fine, no one here is a professional, it's just for fun."
"No."
Most of the people were decent, a few really bad ones and you could see this really wasn't Ranger's scene. I have never seen him so uncomfortable it was actually making my evening more enjoyable. At one point the list of people stopped and the host would just pick random people from tables to go up and sing. By then we were only just finishing our appetizers and hadn't had our entrees yet or dessert. I could see Ranger getting more uncomfortable. Anytime the guy came remotely near Ranger he'd give him a glare. To the host's credit he ignored him mostly.
We had just taken a few bites of our dinner when I felt Ranger tense. The host was inviting him up to sing and Ranger just said No and shook his head while glaring. The host started to try and convince him and get the rest of the restaurant involved too by cheering and clapping for him to go up.
I started uncontrollably laughing and trying to nudge him up. He turned his glare to me and shook his head. After a few minutes I just took the microphone and went up. I didn't get to pick the song so I just looked at the screen. Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" O I know this one!
I started singing with the music and following the screen with the lyrics that would tell me the cues but I knew most of the words already, so I just started singing out to the audience. Some people were singing along and dancing while I shook my butt to the beat and occasionally my shoulders too. I sang to Ranger at times and pointed to him when I sang "maybe I'm crazy, maybe your crazy, probably." I had the biggest smile on my face while he just kept searching for people in the crowd to attack me but focused on the stage at times and seemed surprised I could sing.
He even had a grin at times when I would point to him. After the song ended I took my bow and walked back to the table. People gave me high fives and pats on the back and told me they loved my voice. I felt Ranger come up next to me and get me back to the table to finish eating.
"You were amazing Babe. I was surprised, I never heard you sing before not even in the shower."
"I usually sing in the car alone only. Thanks. You should go up, we can sing together." He made a uncomfortable face.
"No." I started laughing at him.
"It's fun, I haven't karaoke since College at Rutgers. There use to be contests for the best singer and you'd get a gift card for food and drinks. I didn't win too often but I did on occasion." We finished eating and had a small dessert of ice cream, well I ate the ice cream and Ranger would kiss me to have some too. It was really a fun night. Ranger walked us back home and carried me into the bedroom once we got in the front door after he set the alarm.
Ranger took his clothes off and removed mine. We made love to each other like it was our last night on this earth. Over and over until we saw the sun come up.
I felt the bed dip hours later and Ranger coming back into bed. He took me into his arms and kissed my head.
"Go back to sleep Babe, I made the call we aren't going anywhere yet." Inside I was jumping up and down and cheering. I didn't want my time with Ranger to end.
"Are you happy about that Carlos?"
"Yes. I like being here with you. It feels like a vacation although it's work. I don't vacation often."
"Are you happy to be here or are you missing home?"
"No I love it here. I was hoping to still be here for my birthday. I'm thinking Rome or Athens." Ranger lightly kissed me on the lips.
"Anywhere you want." And then we went back to sleep.
