Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns the characters you recognize, I own the others. I do not profit from this work.
Chapter 25
We ate in silence, save the occasional grunt, or in my case moan, and finished our breakfast. Justin ate while Tank manned the helo, and vice versa. I collected the garbage in a bag and stowed it securely in the webbed netting along the rear of the helo. I sat back down and plugged into Les's MP3, drowning out the noise of the helo and enjoyed the AC/DC tune. I woke up with around 20 minutes left before we started our decent into the outskirts of Trenton. I recognized where we were and started to get antsy. Evan noticed and held my hand, I squeezed it in anticipation.
"Lady and Gentlemen, welcome back to Trenton." Tank voiced over the mic, causing smiles to erupt in all the crew members aboard. I was nearly bouncing in my seat, wanting to touch New Jersey soil again. We circled the municipal airport at the edge of Trenton, where Ranger had his other helocopter based out of. Justin asked for and received clearance for him to land the Chinook near the Rangeman hanger. Raider, the current helo pilot, guided us into the appropriate spot, and Justin set us down. I sighed and stretched my arms and legs happy to know I didn't have to get back into the helo for another long leg. Tank flipped the engines off, we unbuckled our belts, and waited to walk off of the helo. Ranger gave the nod and Hal lowered the loading ramp. We strolled off of the helo, I dropped to my knees and against my better judgment, kissed the ground.
Lester was beside me. As he pulled me to my feet, he was laughed, "Beautiful. Why don't I get one of those?"
Evan wiped a smudge of dirt from the tip of my nose and shot back at Lester, "Because, Santos, she's got a real man." He smiled and dipped me into a massive kiss. He righted me a moment later, and gave Les a triumphant look. Lester gave Evan a lopsided smile back and shook his head while he walked around the side of the helo. "Angel, let's get our stuff unloaded." We grabbed our duffles, my overnight case and my purse and headed over to the waiting Rangeman SUV's. Hector leaned against the side of the first SUV. I dropped my bags and ran into his arms.
"Hermana!" He caressed my face with the back of his hand. He held me back at arms length, turned me in a circle and gave me a full once over. "Bueno." He nodded and walked over to fist bump Evan. The two of them loaded our gear into the SUV as I ran over and greeted Woody, who drove the other SUV.
"Woody! I missed you." Wrapping him in a hug, I tweaked his cheek. "Did you miss me?"
Blushing at the attention, he answered, "Bomber, we all missed you. Rangeman wasn't the same without you there. We had to arm wrestle to see who would come and get you." He showed off his incredibly huge biceps. "I won, can you tell?"
I giggled and felt his arm, raising my eyebrows. "So I guess Hector won, too?"
He shook his head, "Nope. He said he had dibs on the second spot. No one wanted to challenge him, so he got it." I laughed harder and smiled, I knew the other guys were terified of Hector, and he used it to his advantage. "Let's load up and headback. Zero is anxious to hand the reins back over to Ranger and Tank."
Evan and I hopped into Hector's SUV and waited as the rest of the guys divided up and got into their respected SUV's. The drive home to Haywood was uneventful. We pulled up to the gates for the underground parking at Haywood and watched the gate rise. After we pulled into parking spots, we finally got out and headed to the elevator. The ride up was agonisingly slow, and I wished I had taken the stairs. The doors popped open on 5 and a sea of black clad Rangemen waited for me. I kissed and hugged as many as I could before Evan led me down the hall to the conference room for the Core Team briefing. "Evan, why am I going? I'm not a Core member."
"Ranger wants you there." He shrugged his shoulders as to why and led my to the door. We entered and sat ourselves in adjacent seats at the huge table. We waited another 10 minutes before the rest of the team arrived.
Ella came in just before Ranger and brought trays of sandwiches and fruits. After setting them down she bent over and hugged me. "Steph, I'm glad you're home, Honey. I missed you."
I smiled and hugged her back, "I missed you too Ella.' My stomach decided it was a good time to growl again. "And so did my stomach." I giggled, patting my middle.
Ranger strode in with Zero right behind him, and they sat at the table. "Zero. Report." Ranger barked.
Zero, looked a little nervous, but spoke with a clear voice, "Bossman, nothing to report. No break ins, no false alarms, no problems. It was very quiet." Zero smiled. Ranger nodded and asked, "Morelli?"
"He hasn't made any waves. In the last week, he drove to work in the mornings, did his usual routine of patrolling Stark Street, investigated two murders and returned back to his house. Ordered a lot of Pino's and that's it. No visits except his mother and Grandma Bella, no trips to the store, no walk with the dog, nothing."
"Any word from Juniak?" Zero shook his head. Searching the faces of the men before me, I noticed they were all somber and quiet. Ranger turned to Evan and asked, "Ram, do you know why she's here?"
Evan shook his head, eyes narrowed and relplied, "No, Sir." Ranger nodded to Tank.
Tank walked over to the both of us and knelt in front of me. "Babygirl. I know you've worked hard to make it in this company. You've worked hard to make it as a BEA. And you've worked hard at breaking through the barriers we here at Rangeman have tried hard to put up around ourselves. You suceeded in winning our friendship, and our love." Tank turned to Evan, "Ram, you've shown that you are a trustworthy and loyal man. You put others above yourself time and time again. Man, you have proven yourself to us over and over." He sighed and patted my knee, "We here, in the Core Team, want to offer you both a place as a Core Member. You will receive part ownership of Rangeman, and a say in all matters." Tank stood and smiled at us with a wide toothy grin.
I turned to Evan, and in a flash had jumped into his arms tears streaming down my face. Evan patted my back, trying to soothe me as he sat with a cheshire cat grin. I wiped my tears and looked at Ranger, "Really? You're really making us both a part of Rangeman?"
"Babe. You and Ram have always been a part of Rangeman. Now it's in an official capacity." I rose out of Evan's lap and wrapped my arms around him, drawing him close.
"Carlos, I'll never forget this. Thank you." I turned to the rest of the Core Team, "Thank you all. I love you guys so much. I really feel like I'm home now." I smiled and hugged myself.
Evan rose and began to shake all their hands, thanking them for our good fortune. "Man, you guys... Thank you. Thank you." His voice had a small hitch in it and he looked at me to calm himself. I slid into his embrace and we stood there hugging each other for a few moments before I excitedly suggested, "Let's celebrate!" Lester, Bobby, Hal and Cal all looked at each other and said in unison, "Pino's!" I smiled and did a little happy dance, making the guys chuckle.
"Babe. Just promise me, no dancing on the tables and no karaoke." I gave Ranger my half assed salute and smiled. "And Babe... we'll work on your salute." Evan's laugh loud and clear, and echoed off the walls of the conference room. I smirked at him and turned to walk out the door. "Babe. Welcome to our little club."
"Thanks guys. I promise I'll try not embarass us." I winked and shot out the door before Lester could throw a paper wad at me.
Two hours later the majority of Rangeman had descened upon Pino's and the whole rear portion was a sea of black clad musclebound bodies. We all waited for Ranger and Tank to arrive, while Evan and I watched the front door. Lula and Connie both walked in the door and waved at us, and made their way back to our tables. "White girl, you said this was a celebration, what we celebrating? We missed you, Girl!"
Connie dropped her purse under her chair and sat, "What's the celebration Steph?" She narrowed her eyes trying to figure me out.
I held my head high and smiled, "Evan and I just made partners in Rangeman."
Puzzled, Lula asked, "Who the hell is Evan?"
Evan piped up, "Me." He sheepshly grinned, "Angel. Don't you have something else to tell them?" He winked and hugged me close. Both Connie and Lula looked at me with perplexed looks, their gaze shifted from my face to Evan's arms wrapped around me.
"Whitegirl, you done got yourself another Rangeman, didn't you! Ram is hot." Evan blushed as Lula looked at me with a tilted head, knowing there was more.
A shriek from Connie brought the laughter and chatter from the Rangemen to a halt, she snaked her hand out and captured my left hand in hers. "Steph! It's true! You got engaged?" She turned my hand back and forth making my ring sparkle and dance in the light. She looked right at Evan, "Ram, are you and Steph engaged?"
He smiled and nodded, "I asked her to marry me, and she said yes." His eyes twinkled with happiness as he looked down at my ring clad hand. He kissed the top of my head, and sighed in contentment.
"Gurl! You gonna have yourself some mini Ram's running around someday aren't you?" She giggled as she hugged me. She lowered her voice and leaned close to me, "What does Batman say about all this?" She looked genuinely nervous, as she scanned the room for him.
"He's good with it, Lula." I answered, "He gave us his blessings." I left it at that, not wanting to delve too deeply into our complicated relationship. "He's happy for us."
"He better be, or Ram here, will kick some Batman ass." She crossed her arms over her chest, "Then I'd kick his ass."
A firm voice sounded from behind Lula, making her jump. "Lula, Rangeman would hire you, if you could do that." She paled and started to stammer, "Batman..uh...I was only jokin'." We turned to see Ranger and Tank standing behind Lula, slight smiles across their faces. Lula scurried into the bathroom with Connie in tow.
"Ranger, be nice." I admonished, trying hard not to smile.
"Babe."
"Angel. We better order, the guys are getting restless." Evan suggested. We waved the waitress over and ordered pizza and beer for all, plus a green salad for Ranger. We sat waiting for our food, chatting, when Lula and Connie returned. They slid into their seats quiet and a little flushed from their blushing.
Evan decided to speak up and ask Connie, "Connie, we know you have your ear out for the Burg gossip. Heard anything about Morelli?" I stilled and turned to look at Connie, hoping for nothing but good news.
"I heard from Francis Hinsky's daughter, Meredith, that he's been paying off some guy to track you down. I don't know why? He knows you work and live at Rangeman." She explained.
"Connie, he's bound and determined to make me his. You saw the video my Grandma made of the last time we had a confrontation. I knew for a long time it was over, he doesn't want to accept it." I focused my attention on tearing up a napkin into a million little pieces, as Evan took my hands into his, squeezing them in reassurance.
"I still have it on my computer." She giggled, "Funniest thing I've seen in a long time. I thought the vein on his forehead was going to burst when your dad stepped in." She was holding her side as she laughed.
Lester asked, "Beautiful. You think he's dumb enough to try anything?" His wary eyes betrayed the smile on his face.
"I hope not." I snuggled into Evan's chest, enjoying the warmth and strength, "I hope not." At that moment two waitress arrived with tray full of pitchers of beer and frozen beer mugs. The men cheered and took it upon themselves to handout the mugs and pour the beer.
Ranger reached over and placed a full pitcher of beer in front of Evan. "Here, you're going to need it." He chuckled and went back to sipping his beer. Evan grinned wide and took up the unspoken challenge, he picked up the pitcher, placed it to his lips and in no time flat had drained it. He slammed it down on the table, making the napkin dispenser jump a little. Evan waved his hand to the waitress, held up five fingers and the pitcher and ordered five more pitchers of beer.
"Baby? I think you better not over do it like you did with Deeter's homebrew." I whispered into his ear.
He smiled and winked, "Angel. I promise I'll be good." He slung his arm over my shoulder as we chatted with the people at our table.
"Steph. Are you moving to Montana?" Connie asked, hoping I would say no.
"Eventually, but not anytime soon. Now that we're partners in Rangeman, it changes the game a little. I think we'll have a house there, but live here in Trenton."
"We need you Whitegirl! Don't leave us." Lula begged, "Don't you love us?"
I giggled, "Lula, I'm not leaving. Not for a long time anyway. Don't worry."
Just then the room became eerily quiet, as all the men in black stood and moved around me. Evan stood as Cal whispered into his ear, a menacing look covered his face. He turned to make sure I was behind him and safe. I grabbed Lula and Connie and pulled them with me totally behind the wall of black. "Morelli must be here." I peeked nervously between the black clad bodies to see that indeed, one Jospeh Morelli had entered Pino's. He stood just in front of the Rangemen, a sneer on his face.
"Where the FUCK is she?" He snarled, "Where is Stephanie?"
I straightened my back and pushed my way to the front, stepping between Morelli and my boys. "Morelli." I said with as much annoyance as I could. "I thought I told you, I want nothing more to do with you! Back off slowly and I won't press charges again for breaking the protection orders."
"Fuck the order. Cupcake, I lov..." He began to beg, holding his hands out in a pleading gesture.
"NO MORE CUPCAKE MORELLI!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "You had your chance. You fucked it up. You can go back to your miserable pathetic life and die for all I care. You made me feel worthless when I was with you. NO MORE! It's over Morelli."
"But Steph..."
"NO BUTS! I am marrying Evan. Period. If you can't get that through your thick skull, then I guess you're as dumb as I think you are. NOW BACK THE FUCK OFF!" I stepped forward into his personal space, I pointed my finger into his face, "Now turn around and get the fuck out!" He arm snaked out and grasped my wrist twisting it behind my back, holding my arm behind my back. The guys made to rush his and save me, but before they could, Morelli snarled, "Get the fuck back. You come at me and I shoot her." He pressed the muzzle of his service weapon into my tample. Evan growled and made his way to the front along with Ranger and Tank.
"Ranger. Ram. You men stay back. She's mine. You brainwashed her. You're never getting her back." He inched his way backwards to the door. Evan began to slowly follow us step by step. I could tell morelli was starting to lose his cool completely, he torqued on my arms making me cry out in pain. At that moment Evan lunged for us, Morelli moved his gunhand, I screamed and threw my weight into his arm. Morelli pulled the trigger. The bullet struck the floor, as Evan's weight knocked the three of us to the ground. I scrambled to my feet and screamed, "NO!" Morelli kicked Evan in the head and made to raise his arm to shoot Evan in the head. With my protective instinct in high gear, I reacted and kicked the gun out of his hand. Snarling, he got to his feet and we circled each other, ready to fight.
Ranger and all his men had their weapons aimed at Morelli and ready to fire if necesarry, but held them back saying, "It's her fight. She can do it. Support only."
I nodded and pushed a lock of stray hair out of my eyes, "He's right, Morelli. This is my fight and you are not going to win." I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes, trying to look as menacing as possible.
"Cupcake..." He taunted with a evil grin. He moved to swing his fist at my face, but I was too fast, I dodged and landed a hard right just under his right arm into his ribs. I heard a crack and he winced. Holding his side, he laughed. "Lucky shot. Your boyfriend show you that one?" I kept my defensive posture, weight on the balls of my feet, arms at the ready. He lunged again, I spun to the left catching him off guard and kicked his back sending him into the wall of black clad men. They turned him around and roughly thrust him back toward me.
"You bastard. You drunk, selfish, egotistical, maniacal, pompus, big-headed, conceited, spiteful piece of shit less than a man. You never deserved me. You never loved me. You loved controlling me. NO MORE YOU ASSHOLE!" I jumped up and gave him a roundhouse kick to the side of his head. He fell against a table knocking it sideways. He righted himself, staggering with the ringing in his ears.
"You frigid bitch. You never could decide who's bed to climb into. You're just a slut and a whore! You're lucky I can overlook that. Let me take you away from them." He pointed to the guys.
"BOBBY! Get Evan!" I shouted over my shoulder. I turned to Morelli, "Morelli, I love Evan. I am marrying Evan. I will never marry you. I do not love you!" The look of rage filled his now purple face, his eyes darkened and his fist balled up. "I will be Stephanie Michelle Ramsey! I will have HIS children, I will live in HIS house, and I will tend to HIS needs. NOT YOURS!" He rushed forward sending us the the ground in a tangled heap. I punched, clawed and scratched him with all I had. I managed to fight my way to the top and had him stradled under me. I punched him in the face as hard as I could for as long as I could. He managed to push me off of him and across the floor. I watched him retreive his service weapon from off the floor. He moved it up and down lightly in his hands feeling the weight of it before his pointed it at me.
"Cupcake. You will never marry that GOON! I won't let you. I'd rather you be dead than marry someone else. I want my face to be the last one you see before you die." He raised his gun at me.
"Joe! Joe! Stop. Don't do this. If you love me, don't do this!" I begged him. My right hand was working the snap open on the holster of my gun. He threw his head back in a laugh, I pulled my gun pointing it straight at his heart. "Joe. My name isn't Cupcake.." He jerked out of his laugh, and raised his gun. We fired simultaneously, my bullet finding it's mark, dead center of his chest, his bullet grazed my left thigh. Loud screams and shouts followed by the sound of scrambling of feet washed over me, as patrons other than Rangeman fled the scene. Ranger barked for Tank to secure Morelli.
Morelli, froze and looked at his chest in disbelief, "Cupcake. You shot me." He sank to his knees, looking back to me, his face twisted in fury, he raised his gun hand. I pulled the trigger again and watched as it tore through his shoulder effectively making his arm useless if he lived. He dropped to the floor face first, his gun skittering away from him. I reached down and grabbed it, making sure it was out of his reach. Strong arms grabbed me, pulled my Glock out of my hands, as I sank onto my knees. Tears streaked my face as I clawed my way to Evan's unconscious body on my hands and knees.
"Evan! EVAN!" I screamed clutching him to my chest. "Baby, wake up!"
"Bomber. Bomber!" Bobby shook me, "He's just unconscious. He'll wake up. Where are you shot?" He shook me again. "Where?" I looked down at myself in a daze. I pointed to my thigh as Bobby did a quick check. He sighed, "It's only a graze. Thank God!" He hugged me close, but I felt nothing. I was numb. I was lost in the fact I had just shot Joe Morelli.
I felt Ranger kneel down next to me. "Babe." I looked at him with a distant stare. "You are alright. Stay with Ram. We'll hold off the PD until you're ready." He stood and ordered the men to back away from the area where Morelli and I had fought. A moment later Carl, Big Dog and Eddie rushed in guns drawn. Ranger updated them on the situation as Carl called for the EMT's. Evan awoke just as the EMT's arrived, he pulled me close and hugged me fiercely.
"Angel. God! Are you shot?" He gave me a once over and noticed my leg.
"Just grazed me. I'm okay." I kissed him and held him close.
Ranger walked away from the cops to stand next to me with all of my Rangeman boys. "Babe. He's dead." I openly wept, not only for the life I had taken, but because Joe had put me in that situation. I had no choice, he was going to kill me. I had to stop him first.
"Angel. You did what you had to do. No one blames you. Your training kicked in and you saved me." Evan whispered, he kissed the shell of my ear. "My hero." I snuggled my face into his chest, absorbing his strength.
"He will never hurt me again." I jutted my chin forward and raised my head.
After Carl and Big Dog gathered the statments from the witnesses, they made their way over to me. "Steph, Honey. I want you to know no one blames you. It was a clear case of self defense. We have 60 witness statements attesting to that fact. You probably saved Ram's life. Now, I know you know how this goes. I need to get your statement." Big Dog said gently.
I automatically recounted the entire situation, from begining to the bitter end. I finished without shedding any tears, I was done crying for Joe Morelli. I sighed and put my hands into my lap, waiting to hear what Carl had to say. "Steph. You did what you had to. He tried to shoot you and Ram. I would have done the same thing. Now don't worry, Juniak will make sure you never get charged with anything over this." He kissed my cheek then shook Evan and Ranger's hands and walked outside.
"Angel. We need to get you back to Haywood to clean out your wound. Can you walk?" He gently raised me to my feet. I nodded and walked out to the SUV we arrived in and climbed into the back seat. A caravan of blacked out SUV's made it's way out of the parking lot and back to Haywood.
Just before we turned onto Haywood, my phone rang. I picked it up and looked at the number on the caller ID, my mother. I groaned and threw the phone onto the seat next to me, and buried my head in my hands. Evan picked it up, noticed the number and answered it by the third ring. "Hi, Mom. It's Evan. Yes, she's alright. No, Mom. No, Mom. She's in shock right now, but she's okay. We'll call you when she feels up to it. Love you too, Mom." He sighed as he snapped the phone shut. "Angel?"
I glanced at him, as he rubbed the top of my hand with his. "I love you, Angel." He leaned against me, placing his head on top of mine.
"I love you too Evan." I smiled and sighed knowing that the worst was over.
"Angel?"
"Hmm?"
"You're my hero."
"Mmm...hmm."
"Can I call you Wonder Woman?" He teased, squeezing my knee with his hand.
"Only if I can call you Superman." I shot back.
"Why Superman. Not that I'm complaining." He chuckled.
"Because you're a man of steel. Although you aren't faster than a speeding bullet, you do shoot a mean sniper rifle. And you can fly." I explained as truthfully as I could.
"I can fly?" He repeated, unsure of why I had said it.
"Yup, when you hung from the rope below the helo. You were flying."
"Alright Wonder Woman." He laughed softly, capturing my lips with his.
I murmured, "My Superman," against him as he fully claimed my lips with his.
Epilogue
So here I am again, on Bobby's exam table getting my boo boo's taken care of. I tugged my cargos off and sat on the cold stainless steel table, as I waited for him to gather his supplies. We had already taken digital photos from several different angles, all with a ruler next to track the bullet took, to show how large the gouge was. Evan held my hand, silent in his support, as he stood next to me. I shifted uncomfortably on the table, it was freezing cold and my little lace thong did nothing to protect my skin from the cold metal. "Angel. What's the matter?"
"I'm cold, and Bobby always takes forever." I whined. I peeled myself off of the table and lowered myself down to the floor. Evan placed a blanket he grabbed from the warmer onto the table and lifted me back up. I covered my lap with the remaining blanket and enjoyed the warmth the blanket radiated. He used an open palm to rub up and down my spine, my eyes closed and I savored the feeling of him. A few minutes later Bobby walked into the exam room and set down a tray with his supplies. Rubbing alcohol, swabs, a sutuer kit, butterfly bandages, and a red lollipop. Evan snickered upon seeing the candy. "What? I always get a lollipop when I'm done. Don't you?" I asked, teasing him.
"Angel, I don't think Bobby would have a jar big enough for the lollipops we would require with all the times he's had to fix us up." He smiled and kissed me gently. "Does it hurt, Angel?"
I tried not to lie to him, "No, well... yeah. It stings like a mother. But Bobby will have me all fixed up in no time flat." I jumped at the feling of rubbing alcohol touching my scratch. "SHIT! Bobby! That hurt!" I gripped Evan's hand tightly as Bobby cleaned out the track left by the bullet. He finished and debated with Evan the right course of treatment to close the gaping gash.
"Sutures. Quick, clean and efficient." Bobby offered, "Besides, she'll only have a faint scar when it's healed."
"Butterfly bandages. You know she'll rip out the stitches by tomorrow, and you'll have to redo them." Evan told him, twirling a lock of my curly hair around his finger.
I rolled my eyes, "Please! Just give me a few stitches and cover the rest with the butterflys." I tapped the tray, "Come on. I don't have all day. I want to get into bed and sleep for the next two weeks!" I huffed out, throwing my hands into the air.
By the time Bobby was done, my last yawn nearly split my head. I was bone tired and Evan noticed me wilt as the minutes ticked by. "Angel. I think it's time for you to hit the hay. We're going to stay in your apartment for a few days, Justin's going to stay in mine. This weekend we'll move your stuff into mine, and make it ours." He smiled and lowered me to the floor. I tugged my cargos over my hips as yet another yawn widened my mouth and made me sigh.
"M'kay." He picked me up in his strong, muscular arms and cradled me against his chest. We made our way to my apartment and he set me down long enough to unlock the door. We stumbled into the bedroom, stripped our clothes off and fell into the bed. I snuggled back into the warm body that lay next to me. I struggled to keep my eyes open, "Baby?"
"Hmm?"
"I need to go shopping tomorrow with my mother and the girls."
"Why?" Evan asked, his voice thick with sleepiness.
"I need to start looking for a wedding dress." I sighed and fell into a deep sleep dreaming of our future together.
THE END
A/N: I hope you liked it. I pretty much like it the way it is, albeit, with some trepidation. I am nervous and a little on edge waiting to see how this story is received. Please R&R, I would love the feedback.
The sequal will be posted as soon as I can finish. I unfortunately have to fight my husband for time on the computer, so I will try to post as often as I can. Thanks for being supportive. -Tiff
A/N 2: FYI: Powderville, Montana is real, it's along the Powder River, although it isn't as big as I made it. Someday I would like to visit.