Chapter 26:

Ranger's POV

Thor pulled up to the emergency room doors, and I climbed out before turning back to gently lift Agent J into my arms. Bobby was beside me in moments, and I was vaguely aware of Agent A joining us as well. The waiting room was nearly vacant when we entered. Brown went up to the desk to let them know what we needed, and seconds later, the doors were swinging open and a gurney was being pushed our way. I was reluctant to turn loose of her. She seemed so small and helpless.

Bobby rested his hand on my arm, his words barely more than a whisper. "You have to let them take her. They need to run some tests so we know if she's okay."

I nodded and reluctantly laid her down on the gurney. It was pushed into the back, and I suddenly felt lost. I hated the feelings going on inside me. I hadn't felt this way since I was a little boy, and there was no room for this kind of emotion here. I clenched my hands into fists and strode over to the huge picture window, situated to overlook a little garden with a waterfall at the center.

I stood there watching the water cascade over the stone. For some reason, I found myself thinking about Celia. No sooner had those thoughts surfaced then I saw two people enter the garden on the other side of the glass: an older woman and a young girl. There was something about the child that seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on just what it was. A voice from behind me had me turning, a blank expression slipping over my face as I saw Louis and Ella walking into the room. What the hell were they doing here?

Before I had the chance to respond, Bobby had stepped forward and wrapped Ella in his arms.

They were too far away for me to hear what they were saying, but if they were talking about Celia or the child, then I wanted no part of it. Even dealing with Ella was a stretch on most days. Every time I saw her, the image of the pain in her eyes when I'd called her a money-grubbing whore was there at the forefront, and try as I might, I couldn't get past it.

I'd just gone to live with Celia after the death of the woman who'd given birth to me. I had woken up and was heading to the kitchen when the sound of voices stopped me in my tracks.

I knew the voices—they belonged to Celia and Ella. As I walked closer, I heard Ella talking about the cat and mouse game she was playing with Louis. She was laughing like some schoolgirl with her first crush.

I was disgusted with what she was doing, and in my mind, she was no better than her sister…my mother. I rushed into the kitchen with my fists clenched, a look of anger on my face that I couldn't hide, and spat, "You filthy whore! You're nothing but a gold-digging bitch, and you don't deserve someone like Louis. He's a decent man, and look at you, all giggly about teasing him."

Ella paled and looked as if I'd just stabbed her in the heart with my words.

I didn't wait for any more before I ran out of the house.

Celia's husband, Reggie,was there, and he caught my arm. His face was cold and his tone of voice matched. "This is my house, and you will not speak to your sister or aunt in that way again while you are under my roof. Understood?"

I stood there staring at him, wanting to say something, yet determined not to. I gave a slight nod of my head.

He released me, turning me back to the house. "Go inside and apologize, now!"

I glared daggers at him, determined that I wasn't going to be the one to give in. He might be willing to be led around by a bitch, but I wasn't like him. I'd never be in that position.

Ella spoke up from the doorway. "That won't be necessary. I don't want an apology that's not meant."

I let out a sigh and made a move to join them, just as the door leading to the garden opened and a whirlwind ran past me straight for Ella. I suddenly realized why the child seemed so familiar to me. She made a beeline for Ella and wrapped her arms around the older woman's legs. The joy on my aunt's face as she placed a hand on the child's head told its own story.

I changed direction and instead made for the desk to ask after Agent J. I frowned as I saw Agent A walking back into the waiting room from the other side of the door leading to the emergency room.

His gaze met mine. "She's going for tests now. She's awake and not happy about being in the hospital, but she's resigned to letting them do their job."

I gave a single nod of my head to acknowledge his words. There was a lot more I wanted to do, but I restrained myself. I was pissed that he'd been allowed back there with her while I was stuck out here. When he headed back toward the door, I decided it was time to speak my mind.

"Where are you going now?"

A turned back, meeting my gaze. "I'm going to wait for my partner to come back and see what the doctor has to say."

"Yeah, well, who said you could go back instead one of us? Brown has medical training, and I'm the one she's working for."

He raised an eyebrow. "She's not working for you, man. She was working with you. And I'm the one who gets to go back there with her because I'm her medical power of attorney. I have been for nearly ten years, since she first moved in with me."

There was an ache in my chest, and I moved my hand up to rub the spot. I didn't know why it bothered me that he had access to her right now and I was stuck out here waiting. He went to move through the door, and I decided I was going with him. If they wanted to try to stop me, they were welcome to try.

Stephanie's POV

As I lay on the cold metal table, trying to be still so they could get the pictures they wanted of my brain, my mind raced with everything that had gone on in the past few hours. The doctor had wanted to make sure there were no bleeders in the brain, so he'd ordered a battery of tests. The look on his face as I'd tried to explain why I'd found it necessary to turn my body into a pretzel and have my head upside down as I'd tried to get the key had him looking at me in a strange way. I'd finally had to explain to him that I was on a case and one of my coworkers thought they were doing me a favor keeping me safe.

When I saw the smile trying to steal over his mouth, I knew I was going to owe Ranger for getting me into this situation in the first place. I hated being the brunt of anyone's joke, and this felt too much like that for my comfort.

Hospitals were my least favorite places to be, and although I knew it was necessary for me to get checked out, I was anxious for the minute when I could get out of here. I was relieved when the last test was done and I was finally being wheeled back to the exam room, where I was hoping that Kye would be waiting for me. Right now, he was the only one I wanted to see me, dressed the way I was.

When the nurse moved me back into the triage room and I saw Ranger standing beside Kye, I was embarrassed as all hell.

Before I had the chance to say anything, he moved close and took my hand in his as he perched on the side of the gurney-style bed. There was an awkward silence as we waited for the doctor to make his way in to let me know what the tests had shown. I couldn't help fidgeting as I waited impatiently. It had been a long day, and because of everything that had happened, I'd missed out on dinner and was now starving. As a matter of fact, my stomach had started making known the fact that it was empty and resented that fact with little rumbling noises while I was getting the last test done. I was losing hope that the doctor would get back in here and release me before my stomach decided to get more vocal with how upset it was at its empty status.

Just as my stomach let loose with a loud growl, the door opened and the emergency room doctor that was handling my case stepped in and came to a surprised halt at the sound.

I couldn't stop the flush that descended on my face as I felt mortified.

Kye, the rat, was standing beside me, his shoulders silently shaking, and I knew he was laughing at my plight. My hand swung out and made contact with the inside of the thigh closest to me, and from the sudden hiss of pain, I knew I'd gotten more than just the tender area of his thigh.

I looked up at him, my eyes narrowed.

Our eyes connected, and he broke into a grin and winked at me.

I folded my arms across my chest and turned to the doctor. "So, when can I get out of here?"

The corner of his mouth tilted into the beginnings of a smile. "Usually, my patients aren't so eager to leave."

I let my hands go to the blanket over my lower body, plucking at the fabric with my hands as I shrugged in answer before saying, "Yeah, well, they're probably more interested in getting a date with a hot guy."

He threw his head back and laughed.

My face heated even more as the realization that my thoughts had just made themselves known in a very big way.

Ranger stood, moving away from the bed. The glimpse I had of his face gave the impression of a black thundercloud as he moved to the tiny window in the room that looked out on the outside world.

The doctor lifted the chart that was in his hands. "From the results of all the tests, it seems you're going to be just fine. You do have a concussion from the fall you took, but if you follow my directions for the next three days, you should be fine and there shouldn't be anymore occurrences like you had earlier today. Of course, I'll need to insist there be someone with you at all times. You'll need to be woken periodically while you're sleeping, and it would be best if you were close to medical facilities just as a precaution. Work will be out of the question for at least a week."

My eyes widened. "But I'm working on a missing person's case. It's very important that I be able to work on it."

He frowned. "Surely there are others working the case as well."

I hesitated. It was enough to give me away.

He smiled. "I'll make you a deal. You can spend thirty minutes twice a day doing desk work. No more than that. Straining your eyes too much at this point will give you blinding headaches, which will make the pain in your head unbearable. The pain medicine I'm giving you won't touch that kind of pain."

I frowned. "I'm not going to win this one, am I?"

He smiled wryly. "No, I'm afraid not."

I gave a sigh and turned to Kye, but before I could say anything, Ranger moved back beside the bed. His face showed nothing of what he was thinking, but there was a definite chill in the air. "Any reason she wouldn't be able to travel back to Trenton?"

The doctor shook his head. "No. I would like to have her close by, though, so I can monitor her condition for the next few days."

Ranger's eyes narrowed. "I have a medic on payroll. He'll be on call twenty-four hours a day and available anytime she needs his assistance. I'll have him confer with you daily."

The doctor's gaze moved to me, and I caught a hint of regret in his eyes before he nodded and told Ranger, "That will be fine. I'd like to talk to him as soon as possible to set up a schedule for—" he looked down at the file in his hand before continuing "—Agent J to follow."

Ranger took out his cell phone and placed a call. He waited a moment and then spoke into the device. "Treatment room four." Then he disconnected the call without so much as a goodbye.

He turned and our eyes met. I shivered at the coldness in his gaze. It reminded me of how he looked when we first met. I bit my lip to keep the tears, which were suddenly burning the backs of my eyes, from falling. Great! Now what had I done to incur his disdain?

I clenched my hands into the blanket on either side of my legs. Thinking he might be upset because he would have to have me staying close to him, I said, "That won't be necessary. Kye and I will be staying with Joe and his family. I wouldn't want to put you out."

Ranger's eyes narrowed. "You're forgetting there's still someone out there after you. I'm sure you wouldn't want to put Detective Morelli's family in harm's way just because you don't want to be near me."

I'd forgotten about Harper. From the tattoos on the guys in the warehouse, it was obvious they'd been working with King Daje. Although their numbers were now down, we still didn't know how many were out there. Plus, I would need Lester's help more than ever if we were going to find Tina before they killed her. I just prayed that she'd survive what they were doing to her until we found her.

I turned to look at Ranger. "I'd be honored to stay with you until we can find these bastards."

A look that I couldn't quite decipher crossed his face before his blank look slammed into place once more.

The door opened and the man I'd met at Mooner's stepped into the room. He nodded to me and turned to the doctor, holding out his hand as he said, "Bobby Brown. I'm the RangeMan medic. I was an Army Ranger and acted as field doctor for my team. I have the same credentials of a nurse practitioner."

The doctor smiled. "Dr. Thaddeus Hunter."

The two men moved off, and their voices were too low for me to hear what was being said. I hated being discussed like I wasn't even in the room. I sighed and turned to Ranger. "I'm sorry you're being put out to have A and me staying with you."

Ranger lifted an eyebrow. "I don't remember mentioning your partner."

I stiffened. "That's non-negotiable."

His gaze studied me for several seconds, and then he gave a miniscule nod. "Very well. I'm sure we can find a space for him in the building."

I felt a measure of relief that Kye would be with me and let the subject drop.

Bobby rejoined us a couple of minutes later and said, "We can go now. She's being released into my care."

All three men turned to look my way. I pulled the covers up to my chin. "Well, if you guys will leave the room, I'll get dressed."

Ranger's eyes heated as his gaze lowered to the blanket covering me. The heat that zinged its way to my doohdah surprised me. Our gazes locked, and I felt my breathing hitch. Just like when we'd been together at his house, I felt those same feelings of desire that were still new to me. He stepped closer to me, and the electricity humming through me grew stronger.

The sound of a throat being cleared acted as a bucket of ice water on my overheated emotions, and I blinked. I turned to see that Kye was looking at me with concern on his face. I gave him a weak smile. The guys left the room, and I wasted no time in getting dressed. I was so ready to get out of here.

I'd just finished dressing when there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and a nurse entered. She grinned, a twinkle in her eyes. "Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Absolutely."

She motioned me into the wheelchair, and as much as I hated this part of the routine, I knew the sooner I got into the chair, the sooner I got out of here. She wheeled me out to the waiting room, and I noticed that the room was nearly deserted, except for an older couple, a young woman, and a child of about ten. The woman was in a wheelchair much like mine, and the child was sitting in her lap, clinging to her for all she was worth. My gaze went to the look on Ranger's face, and my spidey sense went on red alert. I got the feeling there was more going on here than was visible to the eye.

Kye noticed my arrival and made his way over to me. As I watched him head my way, I was also aware of Ranger standing as if frozen, his gaze on the small group of people over by the big window that looked out onto the garden. There was a look in his eyes that I recognized. It was the look of someone being on the outside looking in.

I turned to the people, studying them for several moments before it dawned on me that there was enough of a resemblance that these people could very easily be related to Ranger. The woman in the chair turned at that moment, and there was a look on her face that had my eyes tearing up.

Her voice was barely more than a whisper as she said, "Carlos?"

Ranger stiffened as the group turned to him. The little girl hid her face in the woman's chest, and her little hands clenched the material of the woman's gown. I watched as Ranger strode forward a few steps before coming to a halt. "Celia."

Tears fell on the woman's cheeks, and she lifted a shaky hand to her mouth. "Oh! I'm so glad you came. I've missed you so much. How are you?"

I could see his jaw working as he looked at the woman. She was a good ten years older than he was, and her head was wrapped with bandages. At a guess, I would say that she'd recently had surgery. She was pale and seemed to be struggling, as if her strength was waning.

Ranger looked at the woman for a moment and then turned to the child momentarily before turning back. "I have to get going."

The look of pain on the woman's face broke my heart. I looked up to see that Kye was watching them too.

As if sensing he was being watched, Ranger turned to us. He motioned our way and said, "I have things to take care of." He nodded to the man and said, "Louis, I'll see you back at RangeMan."

The woman hugged the child to her, whispering something, but I was too far away to be able to hear what she had said. Suddenly, the child looked my way, and her eyes seemed to plead for me to do something, but I had no idea what they were pleading for. The older woman stepped forward and took the child's hand. She climbed off the woman's lap and walked away with the older woman, turning to look back at the woman in the wheelchair.

When they'd moved out of earshot, the woman in the wheelchair turned to Ranger. There was so much pain on her face that it hurt to look at her. "Please, Carlos. She's your daughter and needs you right now more than you could know."

Ranger sneered. "You know my feelings on this, Celia."

"She's nothing like Rachel! Damn it, can't you see that what you're doing to that child is just as bad as what your mother did to you? I'm more sorry than you know that I couldn't take you with me to college. Please don't make that little girl pay for past mistakes."

I watched as Ranger turned away from Celia. At the sound of a sob escaping from her, he stilled but continued walking. His glance drifted to where Kye and I were, his voice cold as he said, "Let's go."

He was out of the building before we made it to where the group was. I put a hand up, and Kye stopped the forward motion of the wheelchair I was sitting in. I reached out to Celia and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Tears were streaming down her face. She shook her head before looking at me. "I know nothing about you or even who you are."

As reluctant as I was to give out information about myself, I had a feeling this was something I needed to do. Glancing quickly around to make sure I wouldn't be overheard, I held out my hand and smiled. "My name is Stephanie, but everyone calls me Agent J. I work for the FBI at the American Embassy in London. Right now, I'm on vacation, and due to a concussion, I've been sidelined. I'll be staying with Ranger for a few days." I let my gaze go in the direction where the child and older woman had gone, a melancholy feeling slipping over me as I turned back to the woman Ranger had called Celia. "I really would like to help you. And if it's references that you need, my stepbrother is Joe Morelli, a Trenton police officer."

Celia looked undecided. The older woman was headed back our way with the child. Celia told her what I'd just said. The older woman studied me for several seconds, then smiled and said, "That would be perfect, dear. I can take Julie up in the morning, and if she wouldn't mind keeping an eye on her through the day, I could have Louis bring me here so I can spend the days with you."

They looked at me for approval. My eyes widened as I wondered just what I was getting myself in for. I bit my lip, hoping the pain would wake me up and keep me from doing what I knew I was going to. It didn't work, as I then heard myself saying, "Why doesn't Julie come with us now? She can stay with me, and that way, you won't have to make the trip every day."

The older woman looked worried. "I don't know… He'll have a hard enough time just accepting the daily routine."

I smiled reassuringly before saying, "It'll be okay." Turning to the child, I continued smiling as I held out my hand to her. "Hello, Julie. My name is Stephanie, but my undercover name is Agent J, okay?"

Celia hugged the child close and whispered, "You'll listen to her and be a good girl, won't you, Julie?"

The child reluctantly nodded, then she reached out and shook my hand.

Celia turned to me. "Thank you, Agent J. You don't know how much this means to me."

The three of us headed toward the exit, where Bobby was now standing waiting for us. His eyes widened as he noticed the child walking with us. Julie moved closer to my side, her small hand slipping into mine, and I felt a connection to her that I'd never felt for any other child. I knew this had the potential to blow up in my face, but something inside me was telling me that this child needed me… But more importantly, I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed her even more.