Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! For those that have Private messages turned off that left Reviews thank you for the reviews! I love reading every one of them so keep them coming.
I want to Thank Margaret Fowler for encouraging this story out of me. When I mentioned it to you 6 – 7 months ago you didn't let it die in my head. You kept pressing for it so here it is finally being written! I hope it is everything you thought it would be.
Standard Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. They belong to JE I just take them out of the box and play with them a little. I have begged to keep Ranger and Lester for myself but I have yet to get a response…
I want to thank you all for the support and understanding I have gotten with this story…it is incredible. I know no one liked having to go to every other day posting, including myself, but I didn't want to compromise the story with trying to push out a chapter a day now that things have gotten hectic. Hopefully when it settles down in a week or so I can go back to daily updates. At least that is the dream and goal. I hope you enjoy today's chapter!
Chapter 25: Next Steps
RPOV
I had sat around in the hospital room for what seemed like forever. I needed to do something better. Ella had told me that she was going to have something brought to the room for me to use and it was cot to sleep in. Fuck that.
One I couldn't get it close enough to Stephanie to sleep and have any peace and two I wasn't some fucking pussy that needed to sleep on a cot in the hospital room. I was tired but I wasn't going to succumb sleeping on a cot.
I needed to get her moved to Rangeman. We could one protect her better, and two Bobby would be there to take care of her. It wasn't like the hospital was really doing anything for her that Bobby couldn't do.
Bobby walked back into the room while Stephanie was sleeping. She had eaten the food that Ella brought and gone back to sleep. "Bobby I want to move her to Rangeman. Can we do that?" I asked him. He looked at her accessing her and then nodded.
"What will it mean for her?" I asked him and he shrugged.
"Well she needs to be a little more mobile as she won't have a catheter. They could release her with it and I could take it out but I don't see her as being comfortable with that option. If they take it out here it would mean that she needs to be more mobile so she can make it to the bathroom." He told me and I nodded. I like option number two better. I knew he would be professional about it and I also knew he had already seen everything but something in me wasn't happy about knowing he would be seeing her again in such an intimate way.
Fuck I needed to get a handle on these feelings. I didn't do these kind of fucked up feelings.
"What else? What do you need?" I asked him. Trying to plan and prepare for her to be moved.
He shrugged. "I have everything we need. I can't think of anything I would have equipment for her therapy there. Anything she would need we have if not we can get it quick enough." He told me and I nodded. Good.
"Good, talk to the doctors attending to her get their thoughts but at this point if you don't see a reason why not plan on moving her to Rangeman as soon as possible." I told him. We needed to get her moved. I didn't want any more trouble with the fucking cop and I didn't want her mother causing any trouble either. I knew we would have to work something out along the lines with her family but I wasn't focusing on that at the moment. Her safety and her health was the primary concern at the moment.
The rest of the assholes could wait until I was ready to deal with them but I hadn't forgotten, I hadn't let them slide. They had fucked with something that was mine and one thing people didn't do was fuck with what was mine. If they were dumb enough to do it the first time they sure as fuck didn't do a second time.
"Ranger, why don't we see how she moves tomorrow and if it is better plan on talking to the doctors about getting her out of here?" Bobby said and I nodded. I didn't like it much it means that I would have to be in the hospital a little longer but I could survive one more night. I still wasn't sleeping on some fucking cot even if Ella had sent it. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
I took the chair beside her bed grabbing her hand in mine my fingers playing with her fingers. It was a habit that I was getting into and half the time I didn't really realize I was doing it until after I had her hand in mine and was toying with her fingers.
The first time I realized it I had the desire to release her fingers drop them as if they burned me but I have come to enjoy it; crave it even. I wasn't sure I really liked where this was headed but once I was back at Rangeman things would become more normal. I would become more normal more myself. Being in this room in this close proximity to her had my mind and body doing things it wouldn't do when we were back at Rangeman.
I would be able to conduct business the way I had all along and know that she is safe within the building. Something about that thought made me very uneasy but I wasn't sure what. I was anxious to get my life back on track.
She began to stir and her eyes fluttered opened. Landing on mine she smiled. I couldn't help return her smile she looked so beautiful so small yet so beautiful.
"Hi" She said sleep falling from her eyes. From the look on her face her pain levels were much better.
"Hi" I said back smiling at her. Such a simple word hi but when I said it my heart leaped in my chest my pulse quickened and somehow the word just held a whole lot more saying it to her. It wasn't a word I said often even to my men at Rangeman, or my family. I didn't even answer the phone with hi or hello.
"How are you feeling?" I asked her
"Okay." She said. Oh so we are back to Okays.
"Do you need anything, can I get you anything?" I asked her and she nodded.
"Water, please I am thirsty" she said. I nodded and grabbed water for her placing it on the table.
I raised her bed so she was sitting up. I saw her wince with pain at the movement but once the bed came to a halt she seemed to have it under control. It seemed better than prior times but that may have been wishful thinking on my part. I want her out of this room. I need out of this room.
"Anything else, are you hungry? I think we have something here you can snack on if you are hungry. Ella will send more food with change of shift." I told her and she nodded. I went in search of food in the boxes that Ella had left.
I found some peanut butter, a jar of olives, some cookies, and white bread. I looked in another box and found chips, crackers, and some kind of fruit bars. Food that was full of sugar, processed foods, or white flour what the hell was Ella thinking. I knew these were for snacks and not our meals but nothing healthy; nothing wholesome. Not to mention fucking crackers as if I needed to be reminder of that.
I am sure they came with one of the boxes delivered before we knew everything we knew now because I sure as fuck wasn't going to give her crackers to eat. I picked up the offending box and discarded it in the trash.
I wanted to call Ella and ask her what was she thinking but I knew better so I refrained. She had brought what she \thought was best and who was I to say differently. I did discover some fruit in another box I found apples, oranges, bananas those were better options I also found some granola, and some dehydrated green bean straws now that was better. I grabbed one of the plates and put a couple pieces of fruit on it. I pealed an orange and used my knife after I washed it to cut up the apple for her to make it easier for her to eat. I went ahead and cut up some banana too the potassium will be good for her.
I then revolted at the thought but grabbed two pieces of white bread and made her a peanut butter sandwich. I looked in the cooler that she had left and retrieved a yogurt along with some carrot sticks and some broccoli florets at least she had that option. All in all not a bad snack if you forget about the white bread that crap she didn't need.
The peanut butter held fat that her body needed along with some protein but it also contains sugar which I tried to overlook. I walked over to her table and placed the plate along with a napkin and her silverware on the table in front of her. She smiled at me but frowned at the food. She picked up the peanut butter sandwich and ignored all of the healthier items.
She didn't seem to mind it was white bread as she dug right into the sandwich. I did have to marvel at her appetite she was half the size of me and ate more than me at any given meal. Those thoughts worried me because I couldn't help but wonder if this was something that had occurred since she was being starved on crackers. Now she would eat herself to an unhealthy weight and cause herself greater health issues with diabetes, high blood pressure, clogged arteries the list just grows.
I found myself frowning at my own thoughts and thought it was odd I was even entertaining these thoughts. It never mattered before to me what a woman ate. I mean I am all about someone keeping themselves healthy, and in shape I worked on it daily for myself, and expected the same from my men but I never thought about in these terms as I was with Stephanie.
"You should eat some of your vegetables." I tell her trying to get her to eat some of the healthier options on the plate and she frowns and scrunches her nose up as if I had just asked her to eat the vilest thing imaginable. You would have thought I said eat shit with her expression.
"They are good for you, your body needs them, now eat." I said a little more forceful trying to impose on her how good it was for her eat the healthier options on her plate. She once again looked at me frowning.
"Carlos, look. I agreed to let you help me mainly because I think it is something you needed as much as I probably need the help. But I agreed and I have for the most part been agreeable and haven't said anything before now. But this I draw the line. You aren't going to tell me what to and what not to eat." She said forcefully biting back at my insistence that she eat her food.
I want to smile but I hold it back. I am not use to having people not do what I tell them. My men I tell them to do something and they fucking do it or I beat their fucking ass on the mats until they agree to do it or were fucking wishing like hell they had done it; most times both. No wasn't something that was told me more than once.
Only special people could get away with telling me no all of them were my family. Apparently I had another name to add to that list even though I wasn't really happy about it. This seemed to be a slippery slope I was on and I was definitely sliding down it. How fast and when I was going to be able to stop well that seemed to be unclear at the moment.
"So you agreed to help me because you think you are helping me as well?" I questioned her. She looked at me and nodded; interesting concept.
"You said your helping me was allowing you to right a wrong in your life. So by me allowing you to help me, I am actually helping you." I shake my head at her logic.
"Babe that isn't the only reason I want you to allow me to help you. I want you to allow me to help you because you need it." I told her and she looked at me narrowing her eyes. Shit I have said something she doesn't like once again. Why can't I just learn to leave good enough alone; fuck.
"Carlos, I appreciate your offer of help but the only way I am going to allow you to help me is if I am able to help you. If that isn't the case then I am not going to allow you to help me. I can't pay you back. The way things are going I have no idea when I will ever be able to pay you back. I can't accept your help if I don't have a way that I am paying you back." She tells me and I am floored.
She had already confessed to how broke she really was. Fact that she had no electricity, no money, single digits in her checking account fucking living off of crackers and she was going to turn my help down unless she was able to help me in return. On one hand my fury rose in me pissed that she wouldn't let me help her for no reason like she thought there was a fucking price for what I would pay to help her. There was no price and I was fucking millionaire anyway.
I had the money in spades to care for her and take care of her the way she deserved the way I craved.
"Okay." I throw my hands up in mock surrender. "Okay Babe you are helping me. You are helping me right the wrong and for that I will forever be indebted to you and thankful." I tell her meaning it and hoping that it will be enough to settle her now agitated state.
She was weak, she was hurting, she was injured yet she found the strength to not only argue with me but win. I was in fucking awe of her strength she was only further proving how truly strong she was. She was quickly living up to what I told her. She was the strongest person I knew.
I wanted her to agree to come back to Rangeman with us once we were able to bust her out of here so I didn't need to upset her to the point that she would refuse to come to Rangeman with us; with me.
She looks at me and narrows her eyes accessing me. I could read her mind and she was trying to decide if she believed me or not. She finally nodded letting me know that whatever it was she was questioning she had gotten her answer and I could only hope that answer was the one I wanted it to be.
I thought I would have a little fun. "So if you don't want me to tell you what to eat, why don't you tell me what you want to eat?" I offered to her. She looked at me narrowing her eyes once again. I was hoping that she would give me some idea of foods she liked.
"I like a lot of food. Pinos Meatball Subs, Cluck in a bucket chicken, McDonalds Big Macs with Fries; supersized. Burger King Whopper with cheese, chick…." I couldn't hear anymore
"Babe, that stuff will kill you." Holy hell did she eat anything that wasn't fried, fattening, or red meat? How the hell was she still living? How the hell was she so small? I know she hadn't eaten for a month but with the food she was spouting out how did she not have a weight problem before she was unable to afford anything but crackers.
"Carlos, you asked me the food I liked I am just telling you." She said.
"Babe do you ever eat salads, or vegetables?" I found myself asking her and she frowned crunching her nose up again as if I had asked her if she ate something hideous.
"The only time I eat salads is when I feel like I am getting fat." I had to control the smile that threatened to burst out on me.
"When is it you feel like you are getting fat Babe?" I found myself asking her. I was unable to keep the words from popping out of my mouth. The humor was clearly evident in my voice and I was glad there was no one else in the room hearing this conversation.
Her eyes cut to me her cheeks flushed and I knew she didn't want to tell me. Maybe I had stepped over the line. I didn't know a whole lot about women but I knew enough that women didn't like talking about their weight and here I was questioning her about her feeling fat. I felt like I was somehow grotesquely stepping over the invisible line of don't go there when it came to talking to women. This is why I don't talk to women. I fuck them not talk to them.
Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper "Well I usually judge it by if I can button my jeans." She said turning even brighter red. I decided to give her an escape route even though I was horrified at the food choices she had listed and mutually humored by her measurement of when she felt fat.
"Babe I don't think we need to worry about that right now." I tell her. She looks at me and blushes again. That's brilliant remind her how thin she has gotten. Fuck I needed to get off of food and weight I wasn't winning any points with this conversation.
She continued to eat. "Do you have anything sweet?" She asked me and I had I had to hold my tongue from asking her if she was kidding. I remembered the cookies and I nodded. Walking over to the box I retrieved the box of cookies and walked back over to her. These wouldn't hurt her after all the food I just heard her rattle off so I just handed her the box. She needed to add weight. I wanted her to do it by eating healthy foods but she obviously had other ideas.
I swallowed my horrific thoughts of the food she was going to consume and put a smile on my face as if I approved. The only silver lining I could find was the fact that eating like that would definitely put some weight on her and quickly. When she was ready we were going to have to introduce her to the gym.
She had eaten the sandwich a little bit of the fruit maybe a spoonful or two of yogurt and now she was tearing into the cookie package. I found myself on one hand being horrified and yet on the other hand I was humored watching her.
I just shook my head as she was focused on the cookie package. I took a seat in the chair beside her bed my hand missing the feel of hers. I balled my fist up to thwart off the thoughts of holding her hand and playing with her fingers. It bothered me that I wanted it as much as I did. I needed to help her but I also needed to remind myself of the dangers of my life. I didn't need to bring her into my fucked up life, my fucked up head, and my heartless body and soul.
"Babe I was talking to Bobby earlier while you were sleeping. Tomorrow depending on how you are moving we may be able to get you dismissed." I told her.
"Really?" She asked and I heard the hope in her voice and I was instantly sorry I had said something. What if she wasn't able to go home tomorrow and now I had given her hope. Damn. There was so much I didn't know about women. Fuck. No wonder it was so much easier to just fuck them and walk away. You never had to worry about disappointing them, doing the wrong thing, breaking their hearts or them breaking yours.
You just fucked them until they weren't able to come anymore and then walked away. They were happy, they were satisfied and I was able to walk away knowing they had a good night without any further thoughts and zero worry. I was seeing there was something to be said for that lifestyle. We weren't anything to each other and I was acting like a pathetic dumbass worrying over what I was saying, how I was acting, and what her reactions are going to be.
"Babe, don't get too excited I don't want you to be disappointed if it can't happen. We will have to wait and see how you are tomorrow, how you are moving." I tell her and she nods the smile slipping from her face and I am sure it is because of the thoughts of having to move more. I knew today was painful for her even though she handled herself extremely well.
I was proud of her. "Proud you Babe" I told her.
"What?" She asked me.
"Babe I am proud of you. You have to be in a lot of pain yet you have done your best to meet every challenge. I know how bad it had to hurt today and yet you walked." I told her.
"Carlos I took all of three steps away from the bed before I had to turn around. I wouldn't classify that as walking." She said downplaying her hard work.
"Babe I know how much that little movement can hurt and I am proud of you for what you did." I told her hopefully negating her negative thoughts of her accomplishments.
"Babe I need to ask you something. I need to ask you to consider something for when you do get discharged." She looked at me letting me know I had her whole attention. Suddenly I felt my throat go dry and I really wished I had a bottle of water right now. I really wanted her to say yes and I didn't realize exactly how much I wanted it until I was ready to ask her and felt the reactions of my body. I cleared my throat swallowing trying desperately to get some moisture to my dry throat so I could speak.
"When you are released I would like for you to think about coming to Rangeman with us. Bobby will be able to continue your care, and be there for your physical therapy. He is probably the best physical therapist on the East Coast." I tell her. I may be buffering Bobby's resume a little to impress her and get her to agree to come to Rangeman but not too much he was damn good.
"Rangeman? That's your company. How can I go to a place of business when I am released?" She asked me and I smiled.
"Babe Rangeman is a business but within the building we have apartments. I live there, my men live there, and Ella and her husband live there." I told her watching the questions fly by her face and smiling when she heard Ella lived there. I suspected she would come to love Ella as much as Ella appeared to love her already.
"How am I going to go there? I am not one of your men I would just take away from your business, your work. I would just be a burden." She said.
"No, actually you being there would make it easier on Bobby." I told her leaving out it would make it easier on me. That is if she agreed to let him be her therapist.
"It seems to me like you just have everything figured out." She said. I wanted to say yes but something told me by her tone that it wasn't actually a good thing. Something told me that I needed to keep quiet and tread lightly because I think somehow I just overstepped one of those fucking imaginary lines.
"Babe I don't know if I have everything figured out but I have been thinking how I could help ensure you got the proper care you needed once you were dismissed from the hospital. I hoped we could talk about it and come up with a solution that was workable." I confessed to her. The whole time I couldn't help but think here I was again giving into her a way that I never would with anyone else.
Anyone else I would just order them to follow my orders and even though I may not order my family I could always typically get them to agree to my way because I could always prove how my way was superior to others that my way typically was the best way. I was hoping she, like my family, would see this is the best option.
I wasn't about to let her be released and let her go back to her home. I couldn't ensure her safety. I had more information I needed to get from her like what exactly happened between her and that fucking cop. I needed her to tell me more there were still just too many questions and not enough answers when it came to Stephanie Plum.
What was it she was running from? What had her spooked and running when I hit her?
Why did she ask me for help and exactly what was it she needed help with? I needed to know the answer to this question. I needed to know what made her pull in front of me. What was it that had her so focused on running away that she was unable to see what she was running to or in this case running in front of.
"Carlos can I just think about it and let you know?" She asked me her voice sounded exhausted. I knew if she said no, it was going to be difficult to keep from trying to force her to come to Rangeman with us and I didn't want that. I wanted her to agree on her own for it to be her decision and not mine.
"Yeah Babe you can think about it. Just know that you are welcomed. You have Ella, me, the guys to help you if you come to Rangeman. I don't know if the hospital will allow you to go home on your own right now. I don't think they will deem that is safe enough for you. But I guess you could decide to go somewhere else to stay with a friend, family, etc." I told her. I know mentioning family was pretty low considering she already said she didn't want to deal with her mother but I wanted to give her further reasons why Rangeman was the better choice.
It was clearly time to change the subject once again I could only hope she made the decision I wanted her to make.
I picked up the plate and discarded the food she hadn't touched. I then moved her bed back down until she was lying back. Once again she winced in pain but it didn't seem as bad as before but again that could be total wishful thinking on my part.
I hated to see her in pain it hurt me in a way I hadn't hurt before. I would do anything to take the pain from her but I can't so I have to bare it and pretend it doesn't feel like someone is trying to rip my heart out of my chest. Guess it is a good thing I didn't actually have a heart.
"Babe you sound exhausted why don't you rest some more." I told her and she nodded her eyes heavy.
The more she rested the more her body was able to work at healing itself she didn't need to push herself to stay awake or stay up right now she needed to allow her body to focus on healing itself. I picked up her hand and started playing with her fingers. Happy about feeling her hand within mine once again I sat and watched her fall asleep.
She had been sleep maybe close to two hours when Lester came back into the room. "What do you want?" I whispered to keep from waking her up but annoyed that he was back. He had kept out Morelli and her mother, and he had apologized for his comments to her what else could he want?
"Hey man it's all good. I am just checking on our little patient here." He told me. Yeah I bet just checking on her.
"She's fine now you know you can go." I said you could feel the irritation in my voice.
"Man look I got it, she is yours hands off. I am just checking on her." He said defending his actions and hearing him say she was mine I wanted to retort damn straight she is mine but I held back shocked almost at my immediate gut reaction to his comment. Fuck I needed to get this under control.
"Man she isn't mine but I don't want you hound dogging her either. Remember I know you." I told him reminding him I knew all about his reputation. It was no different than mine only he did it a whole lot more than me.
"I told you man it's all good." I heard a little humor in his voice and I started to ask him what it was he found so damn funny and that maybe we needed to work that shit out of him on the mats but my attention was brought back to Stephanie when she jerked awake gasping for air.
I had dropped her hand when I stood to allow Lester to enter the room and I hadn't picked it back up. She was gasping and I knew that had to be killing her ribs. You could see the fear on her face and I wondered what it was she was suddenly afraid of.
"Babe it's okay. Calm down it's just Lester and I no one else is here." I assured her as she had started to get her breath back under control. She nodded her head.
"What's going on Babe, you want to tell us what's got you so worked up?" I offered picking her hand back up gently playing with her fingers to try to reassure her she is safe, I have been watching over her that nothing was going to happen to her on my watch.
"It was just a dream its nothing to worry about." She finally said.
"Hey Beautiful I just came to check on you. What were you dreaming about Beautiful that has you worried?" Lester asked her and I felt a surge of jealousy wash over me and I wanted to shove my fist along with his sentence down his throat. I wanted to be the one asking the questions taking care of her; not him. Fucker.
"It's nothing I would rather not talk about it." She said and I wanted to smile that she wasn't going to open up to him but I also wanted to know about the dream this was the second time she had woken up afraid because of a dream. I was wondering how much of this was because of a dream versus how much of it was possibly her brain trying to remember something that happened.
"Babe, tell us about it, please. It is possible that this isn't so much a dream as it is a memory. It may be a way that your subconscious is trying to make you remember." I told her. Hoping it would give her a reason to open up to us.
I once again play with her fingers feeling the feelings of peace wash over me. Her touching me makes me feel at peace. Lester sits down on the foot of her bed careful not to jar or hurt her.
"It's the second time I have had this dream. This time it wasn't as bad as first time. But there is a man I don't know who is trying to get me to…um…errr…um….you …..you know…" she says blushing and then moves her good hand in a jerky motion breaking our contact.
"Babe, no I don't know what is he trying to make you do?" I asked her knowing what her answer was going to be but before I decide to hunt some mother fucker down I need to know exactly what he was trying to make her do and if it was real or just a dream. I had this dreadful feeling it was real and the monster within me was glaring and roaring to life.
"Well in my dream I am dressed in a suit so I think I may be looking for a job or something I am not certain though. The man doesn't really do anything other than grab me and hold me and is saying things like having me take care of him. I ask him to let me go and he doesn't. He doesn't do anything else but hold me and force my hand down the front of him to let me know what part of him he expects me to take care of. So it is really nothing. It's just a dream." She says dismissing it. I am ready to kill someone and she says it's just a dream its nothing. It is something to me if this really happened.
Lester speaks up "Beautiful, I am not sure that it is just a dream." And her mouth flies open at his comment. Shock registers through her along with a shiver of fear. Way to go asshole scare the fuck out of her why don't you. I glare at him and I can see regret in his eyes. Stupid fucker should be sorry for scaring her.
"Babe it's okay you are safe." I pick up her hand. She nods.
"Beautiful what does the guy look like?" Lester asks her and she describes the guy to him. He's shorter, heavier balding has fat fingers and was wearing a suit she recalls.
"Beautiful I don't think it was dream I think it is a memory." Lester said. Fuck. The monster within me roars to life and in that moment I want blood. This room is too small and I need to move. I need room. I want to leave but I can't. The part of me that is drawn to her doesn't want to leave her but the monster within me needs the hunt, needs the kill. He needs action.
I pick her hand back up and the monster within settles my breathing is rough as I try to once again regain control.
"What do you mean Lester?" She asked him.
"I retraced your steps from the other day. The places you interviewed. I came across this company an accountant firm. The man you spoke with fits your description and when I spoke with him I had a feeling by the things he said that he had come on to you. He just seemed the type." Lester said shrugging.
"I think you are remembering the encounter you had with him." Lester added. Stephanie look shocked almost bewildered that it could be true. I couldn't help but think about the fingertip bruises on her and once again the monster within me flared but her touching me us holding hands kept him from demanding the man's life at least for this moment.
Tomorrow couldn't get here soon enough. I just hoped she would decide to come to Rangeman with us; with me.
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