For you, Lynda, so you don't "nudge" me!
Chapter 49
"How is she doing?" Tank asked Lester.
"Don't know. Bobby came out about an hour ago and said they finally got her stable. Should be in surgery now." Lester sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "We shouldn't have let her go. It's all our fault."
Tank handed him a cup of coffee and sank into the chair next to him and said, "It is not our fault. Not even a bomb would have kept her away. We underestimated Hernandez."
"No shit," Ram groaned. "There was nothing we could do. Never saw him until he had her. We didn't have a shot. He had her too close to him. I wish I had tried it, though. It couldn't have been any worse than what happened."
"Don't blame yourself," Tank said. "None of us thought he'd get out of that house. Should have left someone with her. Can't believe we were that stupid."
"How did he get out?" Cal asked.
"Fucking bomb shelter in the basement. Had a cellar door to the back yard." Ram answered him grimly.
"Bobby said we almost lost her in the ambulance," Binkie said. "He said he's never heard Hector pray until today. All the way here."
"Damn," Lester sighed. "Heard from Ranger?"
Tank ran his hand over his head. "No. He's probably in the gym killing everything inanimate."
"How'd you get him to stay away?" Ram asked.
"We had a talk," Tank replied. "Told him I didn't give a rat's ass if he was still part owner of RangeMan, I wouldn't put up with his shit in the office." Tank sighed. "Told him if he didn't leave little girl alone, I'd kill him myself."
Lester snorted. "Right, that ought to do it. We need to buy him out."
Tank nodded his head slowly. "Yeah." He drained his coffee cup and stared into bottom. He looked up at Lester. "When is that baby due anyway?"
"Hell, I don't know," Lester said. "Soon. I've been trying to figure it out. You know, when he started going to Miami so much."
Tank grunted and returned to staring into the empty coffee cup. "Where's Hector?" he asked quietly.
"There's a private waiting room just down the hall. For family." Ram said.
Lester stood up. "Fuck that shit. We're family."
Five men in black stood up next to Lester. "Damn straight." Tank said and crumpled his coffee cup, tossing it into a trash can.
The nurse at the desk tried to stop them but froze with just one look from Tank. She was familiar with these men and the curly haired woman in surgery. Gina was one of her close friends. She nodded toward the room across the hall and busied herself with some files.
Hector stood as the men walked in. His t-shirt and cargos were blood soaked. Tank winced at the sight and swallowed hard. Vince was seated on a sofa with mama. His arm was wrapped around her and she had her head on his shoulder. He looked up and nodded at the men.
"Hey, man," Lester said and grasped Hector's hand firmly and gripped his shoulder with his left hand.
Hector's eyes were red rimmed as he greeted each of them with manly fist bumps and man hugs.
Each man sank into a chair, not sure what to say.
After a few minutes, Lester spoke up. "How long has it been?"
"Three hours and forty eight minutes," Hector said evenly, staring at the floor.
Silence filled the room again. One in a while a cell phone vibrated and was promptly shut off.
After an hour, Cal cleared his throat and asked "Anyone talk to Bergen?"
"I did," Joe said from the doorway. He strode over to Hector and put his hand on his shoulder. He spoke quietly and Hector nodded.
Tank rose slightly from his chair and shook hands with Joe. "Thanks for coming, Joe."
Joe plopped down into a chair and blew out a deep breath. "I talked to him at the scene. After the ambulance left. He felt bad about what happened but was more concerned about his dog. The mutt was next door on the porch, scared to death. When Bergen went to get him, he peed all over the porch."
There were a few soft chuckles in the room.
Just then Manny walked in. "Ella sent food." He put a cooler on the coffee table and set a duffle bag next to Hector and nodded. "She thought you might need some things, hermano."
"God bless her," Lester said as they passed around the sandwiches and bottles of water. "We need to give her a raise."
The room got deathly still when Bobby walked in. He was dressed in light blue hospital scrubs, a sharp contrast to the usual RangeMan black. "She's out of surgery and in her room. Everything went well. Hector, you can go in now. She may still be a little out of it. The rest of you, one at a time. Keep it brief."
Bobby's voice was low and controlled. Tank narrowed his eyes. He knew this man well and he knew Bobby was angry. Really angry. He realized how close they must have gotten to losing little girl today. Things were going to change. He would see to that.
Hector followed Bobby out of the room. Mama could be heard whispering her prayers. When she finished, a soft chorus of amen followed. Mama smiled at them, grateful her son had so many friends that cared about him and the woman he loved. "Thank you, all of you," she whispered.
Joe excused himself from the room. "I'm going to go call her parents. Talk to you later, Tank."
Tank got up and walked out into the hall. He pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial. "She's out of surgery. It went well."
He listened for a few minutes and then growled into the phone, "We talked about this, man. Stay away."
Tank closed his eyes and swore under his breath as the call abruptly disconnected.
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Bobby held the door to Stephanie's room for Hector. A pleasant looking nurse looked up and smiled. "She's not very awake right now. Mr. Brown, would you like to check her chart? I'm getting ready to change out the IV."
Hector swallowed hard and looked at his beautiful Estephania, pale and lifeless lying in the bed. His breath caught and he made a strangled sound.
Bobby put his hand on Hector's shoulder, "Hey, man. She's just asleep." He nodded toward the bathroom and said quietly, "Why don't you go in for a quick shower and get into some clean clothes while I check things? You know she'll give you hell when she wakes up because you look like shit." Bobby had picked up the duffle bag that Manny brought.
Wordlessly, Hector nodded and took the bag into the bathroom.
The nurse handed Bobby the chart and he quickly read through it. The surgery had gone surprisingly well once the surgeon had removed the slugs and repaired the damage to her right lung. She had lost a lot of blood. Her vitals evened out and some color came back to her face. Thankfully none of her ribs were broken but it was still going to be painful as hell once she woke up. The third bullet had passed right through the shoulder and only took a few stitches to close both the entry and exit wounds. Stephanie wasn't going to be a happy camper with the restrictions she would be under until everything healed.
Satisfied with her chart, he handed it back to the nurse and she left the room.
Bobby sat down in one of the chairs and stared out the window. It had been one hell of a day. He let out a deep sigh and was shocked when his hands began to tremble. Someone getting shot or stabbed was normal for him. Once in a while, injuries were more severe but nothing that couldn't be fixed. But Stephanie getting hurt cut through the very core of RangeMan.
The bathroom door opened and Hector stepped out. He had showered and changed into a gray t-shirt and jeans. He dropped the duffle bag by the door.
Bobby turned his head and said, "You look a lot better. I'll stay on this side by the monitors. You sit over there so you can be on her good side when she wakes up. Maybe she won't take a swing at you." Stephanie's hatred of hospitals was well known for three counties around.
Hector smiled slightly and moved toward the chair on Stephanie's left side. He carefully leaned over and kissed her forehead. Tears sprang to his eyes as he picked up her hand and held it tightly. Dios.
"She is OK?" he asked softly. He absently began stroking her hair as he sat down.
Bobby nodded, "Yeah, she's OK."
"Thank you, Bobby. For everything you have done for her. I know all of you care about her. But to me, she is my life," Hector said.
"Hey, man. Just doing my job," Bobby said. "You've changed her, you know. She's not the stubborn, reckless little girl from the Burg anymore. She's turned into an amazing, vibrant woman."
Hector looked at Stephanie for a few moments and said, "I did not change her. I just let her grow."
"Hey, guys," Gina said quietly from the door. "How is she doing?"
"She's doing very well. She woke up briefly when we got her settled in here but she's asleep now." Bobby pulled Gina into his arms tightly. More tightly than he intended. Gina squeaked as he practically squeezed the air out of her.
Gina playfully smacked his shoulder. "What was that for?"
"Marry me. Please?" Bobby's voice was low and husky. He cupped her face with his hands and searched her eyes.
Gina looked into his eyes, now almost black with emotion. She knew what had triggered this proposal. Fear, love, concern, anger. All of the above. She touched his cheek and nodded slowly. "Yes," she whispered. "It's time."
Bobby wrapped her in his arms again and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you, too, honey," she replied. "Scared me to death when I heard what happened."
"Scared the shit out of me, too," Bobby said.
Gina walked over to Hector and hugged him. "You are the best medicine, you know. Pretty soon she'll be awake, pissed off and swearing. Your job is to make her behave so she can go home."
Hector smiled, "I will. I will take good care of her. Congratulations."
Gina giggled her thanks and headed for the door. "I'm hungry. Can you leave for a bit?" she asked Bobby.
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Hector closed the curtains and turned the overhead lights off, leaving the soft light over Stephanie's bed on. He settled back in his chair, watching Stephanie carefully. He glanced at the monitors, not sure of what he was looking at but nothing had changed since Bobby and Gina left. Mama and Vince had come in for a few minutes, then followed by Tank and Lester.
One by one, each of the Merry Men came in and assured themselves that Stephanie was OK and quietly left. Bobby and Gina had come back and brought him something to eat and drink. He told them to go home. If anything changed he would call.
Another nurse came in, checked Stephanie carefully and made notes on the chart. She glanced at Hector over her glasses and said, "There are two very large men outside the door. Friends of yours?"
He smiled, "Si, they will not leave. More will come."
She rolled her eyes and left the room.
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The door opened abruptly. Ranger pushed past Tank and Lester and stalked into the darkened room.
Hector looked up and growled, "Get out."
"What do you mean, get out?" Ranger demanded.
"You have no right to be here."
Ranger glared at Hector. "I have every right to be here. I have her power of attorney."
"No longer. She changed it to me," Hector said.
"Who do you think you are?" Ranger snapped at him.
Hector stood up and leveled his gaze at Ranger, "I am her partner and her lover. She is mine. I will not let you hurt her again. Now get out."
Ranger let out a laugh. "You are crazy. She will always be mine. She will never love you."
Hector stepped toward Ranger and gave him a shove. "You do not know what love is. You think that giving her cars and expensive things mean you love her? You dressed her up like a whore and sent her into danger. You told her no price. There was a price. It was her heart. Then you left her. I love her and she loves me. Stay away from her."
Ranger took a step back and narrowed his eyes at Hector. "Do you really think you can give her what she wants?" he growled.
"I am giving her what she wants." Hector stepped toward Ranger again. "I will marry her and take care of her for the rest of my life. I will not tell you again. You need to leave."
"I want to talk to her."
"No. Leave her alone. Go back to Miami, Ranger. Go back to your wife and children," Hector hissed at him.
Ranger's jaw clenched as he studied the man standing in front of him. He looked at the sleeping Stephanie and his face softened. "Tell her I am sorry."
"I will tell her nothing. You were never here."
I fought to wake up and opened my eyes slowly. I could barely see Ranger standing by the door. His face was as hard as stone. He opened the door and silently slipped through it, the door swishing closed behind him.
I turned my head and reached for the hand of the man I loved. "Hector," I croaked.
