Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you recognize, they all belong to the wonderful Janet Evanovich. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: I know this story has been slow going, but on the bright side it is about finished, I think. To keep the plot the way I have in mind it would have to be longer, but I'm thinking the other part will be a sequel, so four, maybe five more chapters.
We sat outside in silence for a few minutes before standing and heading back into the house. Julie was sitting on the couch facing Mrs. Manoso who was sitting in her chair. They were still arguing over Ranger's job. Ah, almost like being home.
"Mama," Ranger said, moving towards her seat, "It was good to see you but we've got to get going. I need to get to the airport and I want Julie to come for the ride. I need to talk to you too Steph," he added glancing at me.
"It's just like you, come in here, disrupt my home and then storm off before anything is solved." I could see the muscles in his jaw working.
"I love you too, mama." He said before walking out of the house causing me to shake my head. I looked back at his mother and had no clue what to say.
"It was nice meeting you Mrs. Manoso. Julie," I added, gesturing for her to say goodbye and come out to the car. Where had Tank and Lester gone off to? Julie looked at her out of the corner and muttered a syllable that I'm pretty sure was 'bye' before walking out the door. I shrugged and followed her, hoping I didn't seem rude.
"I don't know why you always have to go there!" Was the first thing Julie said when she climbed into the back seat of the SUV.
"Jules, I'd rather not fight with you right before I leave, too."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to fight." She sounded so sincere too, despite the fact that she rolled her eyes as she said it. "Are you going to bring us by the house, or have Stephanie drive home from the airport?" Ranger glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, not looking entirely happy.
"Jules, I don't know how long I'm going to be gone. I think that I should bring you to your mothers." I hadn't really thought about where Julie was going to go, and from the look on her face, neither had she.
"I don't want to go there! I hate it, I hate Ron's stupid career! It's ruining my life." I couldn't help but smile. Being kidnapping her wasn't ruining her life, but Ron making her switch to private school was. The joys of being a teenager.
"Julie, I'm leaving the country for an undefined amount of time. Your mother isn't going to want you staying alone."
"Stephanie will be there! And Tank, and Lester! You know I'll never get to Bobby's funeral if I'm staying with my mother!" I saw Ranger stiffen at the mention of Bobby's funeral, probably not having thought about how he would miss it until Julie brought it up.
"How about this?" I asked, trying to even out the tension that was rising in the car. "Go home Julie, spend some time with your mother. She was worried about you, and she's glad you're safe. Friday morning, I'll pick you up before Bobby's funeral and you can spend the weekend with me and the guys, assuming they don't have to get back to work." I wasn't sure how long I was planning to stay in Miami, but with Ranger in the wind, there was no reason for me to rush back to Trenton. Especially since I still wasn't entirely sure this whole mess was over and done.
"Fine," she sighed, still not looking entirely thrilled. Ranger looked at me out of the corner of his eye again, paying more attention to Julie in the back seat.
"Tank has everything you're going to need. Codes, keycards and a gate opener, he'll also program your eye and thumb into the scanners." Scanners? I'd seen them in Trenton, but hadn't noticed them here. "For the third floor. It has separate security; I keep all my weapons and other things up there." I'd be curious to know what 'other things' were. "Will you be able to find your way back to the house? There's a GPS." I had noticed the screen that was following our route, but I decided not to say so.
"Of course. I'll be fine. You don't mind if I stay there?" I really didn't think he would, but it was polite to ask. Unlike the time I thought I was cleverly sneaking into his apartment.
"Babe." We pulled into the driveway of a huge house that still wasn't as big as Ranger's was. "Come on babe, you can go with me to talk to Rachel." I made a face that I was hoping came out as more of a grin that a wince, but stepped out of the car anyway. Chatting with a recently scared to death mother was not on the top of my to do list. We followed Julie through the door, and I watched as she stomped past her mother and presumably up to her room. I thought about following her, but this wasn't Ranger's house, and I didn't want to be rude.
"Rachel." Ranger greeted, not looking any happier to be here than me. "Julie, wasn't exactly thrilled about coming back here. It took a lot of convincing, and only on the terms that she gets to go to Bobby's funeral. It's being held down here. Stephanie's agreed to pick Julie up so you don't have to go, then Julie wants to spend the weekend with Stephanie."
"Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie," she said turning to me and adding "No offense, to you of course." Her eyes returned to Ranger, "But I noticed you didn't say she wanted to spend the weekend with you."
"I have to leave."
"I don't like this Ric. If anything happens to my girl I'll kill you." He narrowed his eyes. I don't remember things being this tense between the two of them last time I met Rachel.
"Stephanie is more than competent to protect her, and I assure you, scarier people than you have tried to kill me." This was about as much fun as going to his mothers for dinner. I'd almost take The Governors back . . . at least I could shoot them.
"The funeral is at eleven. I could stop by and pick her up around ten?" I asked, trying to sound as nice as possible. "She doesn't have to spend the whole weekend with me if you aren't comfortable with it." But I would sure hate to be Rachel when she told Julie.
"Ten is fine, and keep her the weekend if she wants to stay, I just don't understand why you put up with it, and I hate that my daughter has to." I wanted to comment that Julie had no problem putting up with Ranger, but I bit my tongue. My eyes widened as Ranger headed up the stairs, what was I supposed to say to Rachel.
"I talked to Tank. I know you played a big role in getting my daughter back. I just want you to know that I do appreciate it. This is the second time."
"Of course. How are you holding up?" I asked, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm fine. You seem different." Now I know where Julie learned to evade questions, and actually, that could have been either parent.
"I spent some time making sure I was as competent as I would have liked to believe I was." I stood there in silence for what seemed like forever until Ranger came back down stairs.
"Julie said ten is fine babe, and I wouldn't suggest going up to see her right now, she'd not very happy." He told Rachel.
"I have to leave anyway. Ron is giving a speech this evening. Carina's going to stop by in a little while and stay with Julie until we're back." I bit the inside of my lip. I try to convince Julie to spend some time with her mother, only to have her whisk out the door at the first opportunity. "Come on babe," he said, placing his hand at the small of my back and guiding me to the door.
"I'll see you Friday." I said, waving over my shoulder. I could see some of the tension ease from his shoulders once we were through the door. "Was she ok?"
"She's fine, but when I get back I'm going to have to sit down with Rachel. I know my career hasn't been the easiest to put up with, but she seems especially upset about Ron's career. I'm not sure what can be done, but I think they're going to have to come to some kind of compromise with her."
"I'm sure it will all work out."
"I need to ask you another favor babe. I'm going to call the station, see if Julie's statement can wait until Friday. Can you take her down there for me, I know Rachel will never do it." I frowned, wasn't there some kind of rule that the parent had to be there. Or maybe they just needed to consent. Or maybe, Ranger knows what he's talking about, and I should just agree.
"Of course, we can swing by there after the funeral." I looked at him. "I know you aren't happy about leaving, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked, knowing that there wasn't. I may have an unbelievable security clearance thanks to the CIA, but it wasn't earned and no one knew my name. And if they had wanted me, they wouldn't have called Ranger.
"As long as no one is lying, I should be back in two weeks max. I didn't want to say anything in front of Julie because there's always the possibility I'll be delayed. Just, stay here, for a while, if you can. I think Julie would like having you around."
"I'll be here when you get back." I said, as we pulled into a private airstrip. He got out of the SUV and I walked around to the other side, pushing him against it. I leaned forward, pressing against his body, not caring who was looking. I leaned down and softly slid my lips back and forth against his before he deepened the kiss, caressing my tongue with his. I was reluctant to pull away, but when I heard him groan, I knew I had to or we'd both be in trouble. "I'll be here when you get back." I repeated, as he grabbed his pack out of the back. He glanced at me one last time before heading towards the waiting jet. Just before he boarded the plane, he turned to look at me one more time. I couldn't see his expression from this far away, but I waved quickly, wondering if he was going to catch hell for bringing me to the strip with him.
Now I just had to find Tank, and make it through the next two weeks, then maybe I could finally take a vacation. Hopefully.