Chapter 60
RPOV
Watching Steph sleep centered me, calmed me enough to consider everything I could do in order to keep her safe. I had to somehow persuade the powers to be that Steph didn't know where Buckley's program was. The problem I was having was that knowing Steph she could already know or could work it out. For now, as the day began, and light filtered through the drapes I was content to lay here and watch her again. I knew the minute she was starting to wake up. From the small movements of her eyelids and the expression on her face.
"Morning Babe"
"Morning, is it morning already?"
"Just about"
"Are you okay?"
"Why do ask that?"
"You seemed deep in thought"
"I probably was"
"What's wrong?"
"We need to talk"
I felt her body go tense as I said that and privately chastised myself. She hated me saying that expression because what usually followed was me pushing her away.
"Babe, it's serious, but has nothing to do with us or how I feel about you"
"Thanks for saying that because you had me worried"
"Go get a shower while I call Ella for breakfast, she may not know I'm back"
"Okay"
I watched as she slowly rolled over and moved into the bathroom and then I quickly got up and dressed in my Rangeman uniform. I would have loved to stay in bed longer, but I still felt tense. I needed to explain to her what had happened in Washington. Once we'd finished breakfast, I led her to the couch and sat down with her across my lap.
"I need to tell you what happened in Washington"
"Why?"
"Because it has to do with you"
"Me?"
"I was asked to speak with Ash to find out more information for the Colonel and for myself"
"Is he okay?"
"I don't know, even he doesn't know what will happen to him"
"Not good then"
"No. I was given an ultimatum by the Colonel. He's my commanding officer who calls me up for missions. I don't have many more missions to do but he implied he'd find ones that are very high risk"
"Why would he want to do that to you?"
"Babe he gave me the focus of my mission and told me if I didn't do it he'd send me out on a suicide mission right away. He also said that he'd just get another team in to fulfil the target of my mission"
"It's that bad?"
"Yes. He wants me to terminate someone"
"And you don't want to?"
"Definitely not. I'll do anything I can to keep that person alive"
"Like what?"
"Fake their death and start a new life with them"
"I don't understand"
"You're the one he's after"
"But why me?"
"He thinks you know or could work out where Buckley's program is"
"But why's that so bad?"
"He says it's an order from the White House and is a threat to national security"
I turned Steph to face me because she'd suddenly gone very quiet and still. Her face was pale and she was shaking, dear god surely she wouldn't think I would kill her.
"What happens if you don't follow orders?"
"He'll send another team"
"And you?"
"I don't care about me, it's you I care about"
"So an idea would be to disappear and live somewhere else?"
"Yes, what do you think about that?"
"I don't like it. I'm annoyed at him and I think we'd be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. That's no way to live"
"Okay, so what other ideas do you have?"
"There has to be someone who has contacts above this stupid Colonel"
"Then what?"
"I'll trade our lives for the program"
"You know where it is?"
"I might do, well I think so. I have an idea"
I turned her on my knee so that she was facing me. What I saw confused me, yes she was worried, her eyes were looking down and she was biting her bottom lip. A frown appeared causing lines to appear on her forehead.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I was going to and then I started to think that maybe it was better if it was never found. I mean Buckley put it somewhere so it could maybe be found in the future. Then I thought maybe it should be destroyed because if it was found too soon it could be dangerous, change the future for the worse"
I held her face in my hands, lifting it so that I could look into her eyes.
"You should have told me, you shouldn't have been worrying about it on your own"
"I didn't want you carrying the burden of knowing"
Hell the fact that she was so sincere as she said that cut through me. It wasn't that she didn't trust me it was so that she could protect me, not have me worrying what to do.
"Babe, my loyalty will always be with you. Whatever you think is the right way to go then I'll support you, but don't take something like this on your own"
"Okay. Maybe I need to talk to you about something else that's happened as well, but I don't want you to get annoyed at me"
"Is it bad?"
"Well not really. I went by my apartment yesterday and found a letter from Joe"
I really wasn't happy that he'd been there and why the hell hadn't Santos intercepted it from her?
"The charges from whatever happened in New York have been dropped, some woman was trying to get some payback from him. Anyway, he says he's sorry for what he did and wants to get his life back. He can't do that if he's charged with kidnapping"
"Am I understanding this correctly. He's asked you to drop the charges?"
"He knows that what he did was wrong but did it for the right reasons. He'd had Gannon telling him I wasn't safe and needed to be saved"
I had to fight down the anger that was growing inside of me. How he'd behaved at Pinos had nothing to do with Gannon, in fact he also came here to Rangeman ranting at Steph. Setting up the bikers as a diversion was totally reckless and some of my men had been injured with that little stunt.
"What else did he say?"
"That he isn't the little boy or teenager I knew and that he was planning on moving over to the west coast to start again"
"Is that what you want?"
I wasn't sure I would cope with having Morelli around. He would always have some hold over Steph that I could never fathom out. Maybe it was as he'd said. He'd abused her as a little girl and then taken her virginity when she was a teenager. Maybe their history was what had always attracted them together.
"Babe, I know you and how you think. I know you want to help him. Maybe if you go ahead and drop the charges you ask that there is a condition included"
"I don't want him anywhere near me"
"Then the condition would be that he stays on the west coast and he never makes any attempt to see you. Could you live with that?"
"Yes, could that work?"
"Babe if I see him anywhere near you, I would be tempted to make sure his body was never found"
"I can live with that"
"Good. How about we go visit your parents and tell them our news and then call in at the police station and talk with Eddie?"
"That sounds like a plan. Connie noticed my ring yesterday, but I made her promise not to tell anyone until I'd seen my family. So, the sooner we do that the better"
"I'm gonna head down to my office, why don't you get yourself ready and see me down there in 30 minutes"
I took the stairs down to five and into my office. I had a phone call to make before we left. Hopefully the person I wanted to speak with might have some ideas as to how we could elude the directive from the Colonel.
SPOV
For some reason I felt I needed to change into something a bit smarter than my usual jeans or cargos. I chose a denim pencil skirt with a high-necked sweater. The marks on my neck, whilst healing, were still visible and I didn't want my mother to focus in on them. My hair was tied back in a ponytail and my concession to makeup had been a couple of coats of mascara and lip gloss. I had my bag with me but decided not to take any of my bounty hunter stuff. Carlos would be armed, and I wasn't sure if carrying weapons would be a good idea at the police station.
I found Carlos in the control room talking to Hal and Miguel who were watching the monitors.
"You ready Babe"
I wasn't really, the idea of telling my mother that Carlos and I had got engaged was making my stomach churn. I didn't want her to spoil how happy I felt to be with him with any snide comments. I was quiet and fidgeted on the journey to the Burg not really taking notice of anything around me. It was only as I got out of the car that I noticed another black SUV park behind us. Given how worried Carlos was with the things that had happened in Washington, I wasn't surprised. What did surprise me was when my father opened the door to the house as we approached. He never took any notice of when people arrived.
"Pumpkin, it's really nice to see you"
I followed my Dad through the house toward the kitchen with Carlos behind me.
"Ellen, Stephanie and Carlos are here"
Carlos, since when did Dad call him Carlos, when had that happened?
My Mum was just wiping her hands on the apron around her waist, a questioning look on her face. Obviously, she had no idea who my Dad was referring to. I saw her give Carlos a look and was pleased when she didn't say anything about him.
"Would you like a coffee?"
Obviously her Burg manners weren't on the blitz. I remained standing next to Carlos my hand holding tightly on to his. I wasn't comfortable with sitting down.
"Mum, I have some good news for you"
"Well that makes a change. I hear Joseph was looking for you, did he find you?"
"He has nothing to do with me anymore"
"Mrs. Plum, I asked Steph to marry me and she said yes"
I was glad Carlos had stepped in to tell her the news because it allowed me to watch her reaction. Boy she didn't look happy.
"Are you pregnant? You don't have to marry him if you are"
"Ellen, for once will you be pleased for Stephanie. They're in love and I for one am really happy for them"
"You knew?"
"Of course. Carlos spoke to me last week and I was pleased to give them my blessing"
Okay, so that explained why my Dad was calling him Carlos. My Mum was still just stood there looking between us when my Dad decided to break the silence.
"Carlos, how's about we leave the two women to talk"
Really, they were going to leave me on my own? As they left the room I went to the cupboard and got two mugs from the shelf and put them on the table. That spurred my Mum into action to fetch the coffee pot over along with a jug of milk and some sugar. As she poured the coffee, she still hadn't said anything. I wasn't too sure what to say, so went with something normal.
"Where's Grandma?"
"She's gone to a coffee morning with Mavis"
"That's nice for her"
"Is it what you want?"
"Yes it is"
"What about Joseph, he's so much better suited for you"
"No he isn't Mum and he never has been. That's why we broke up when he went to New York"
"But I hear he's back"
"Mum. I don't really care what you think of Joseph. I'm going to marry Carlos"
"Does he love you?"
"Yes he does"
"Does he make you happy?"
"Yes"
"Will he look after you, you know, keep you safe"
"He always has done Mum"
"Can he provide for you, a home and money?"
"Yes Mum. In fact, I've already moved in with him, but we're going to decide together where we'll eventually live"
"I know I've been hard on you, but I worry about you. If this is truly what you want then I'm happy for you as well"
"Thanks Mum"
"So do you have a date for the wedding?"
"Mum, we've only just got engaged"
"Well if I'm going to plan the wedding I'll need plenty of notice. The hall is always booked up well in advance"
"No Mum. You planned my first marriage so Carlos and I will be planning this one"
"But that's what mothers do, they plan their daughters weddings. What does Carlos's mother say?"
"We haven't told them yet, we came here to tell you first"
"Well maybe I should talk with her then and get together"
"Mother, don't you dare"
Shit his parents. I hadn't even met them. What if they didn't like me or felt I wasn't suitable to marry their son? The last thing I needed was for mother to start interfering and I especially didn't want her talking to Carlos's parents before I'd met them.
"Mum, will you please let us talk with his parents first. I'll let you know when that happens, but don't think of weddings. We haven't even talked about that yet, we need time to think things through"
"I suppose, but"
"Mum, I know you're only trying to help, but I want to do this my way, not yours"
"Alright, but don't leave it too long"
"I won't"
I was thankful to focus on my coffee because it seemed our conversation had come to an end. I knew she wasn't happy with how we'd left it but there was no way I was letting her get involved. I was pleased to hear the voices of my Dad and Carlos, that meant they were on their way back inside.
"You ready to go Babe?"
"Yes. Mum I'll speak with you soon"
"Aren't you coming to dinner on Sunday, Valerie and your Grandmother will be here"
"Not this week. I'll call when we're not so busy"
"Oh, alright, but I will expect both of you here regularly"
"Ellen, give it a break. They'll come when they want to not when it suits you"
I was beginning to wonder what had happened to my Dad. It was though he'd been taken over by aliens or something. He's never before been so vocal and I'd never heard him reprimand my Mum before. We said our goodbyes and then headed outside. As we walked toward the car the nerves came back. Now I had to get through going to the police station. I wasn't looking forward to this at all.
"Babe, I thought maybe we could meet my parents for dinner and then you can get to know them"
"I'd like that"
It was far better than me having to go to their house and let's face it everyone usually behaved politely at restaurants. At least if they didn't like me it wouldn't feel as bad. I didn't have long to think about that before we were suddenly coming to a stop. I know I was trying to put off doing this even though I knew it was probably the right thing to do.
"Babe"
I looked over to Carlos as he stood waiting for me with the car door open.
"It won't be as bad as you think"
I wasn't too sure of that. Once inside I was surprised that Eddie was there to meet us, had he known I was going to be coming in?
"Hi Steph. Ranger called and warned me that you'd be coming"
"Thanks for seeing us Eddie. Can we talk somewhere private?"
"Sure"
We followed him up the stairs and into an empty office and whilst Eddie took the chair behind the desk Carlos and I sat opposite him.
"What's the problem Steph"
"Well, the charges against Joe Morelli"
"Everything was fine with your statement and we have plenty of witnesses"
"I want to drop the charges"
I saw his expression change as he looked from me to Carlos and back again.
"Why, has he threatened you. Because if he has"
"No Eddie. I understand the incident in New York has been resolved?"
"Yeah, all the accusations were withdrawn. What's that got to do with this?"
"Eddie, I can't do it to him"
"Do what?"
"If he's charged and found guilty, he could go to prison. He'll lose his job and any chance of still being a policeman"
"Steph you shouldn't feel guilty"
"Eddie you know he and I have a history. Hell, we've never been good for each other. He's asked me if I would forgive him for what he's done, and not just this kidnapping incident, other things as well. He said he wanted to have a fresh start over on the west coast, well away from Trenton. He's an asshole, but he's a good cop"
"Ranger?"
"We've talked about it and if him staying well away from Steph is a condition of her dropping the charges then maybe we can live with that"
"Are you sure Steph?"
"Yeah, everyone deserves a second chance. Anything he does from now on then he'll just have to live with it"
"Okay then, I'll inform the DA to set up the conditions before the charges are dropped"
"Thanks Eddie"
"Steph, you are just too kind hearted with people"
"Nah, others would have done the same"
I felt lighter as we left the station, for some reason I just knew everything would work out for Morelli. He'd been a bad boy as a youth, but he was working hard at avoiding the behaviors associated with his name because of his father. Maybe he'd take that next step by moving away, somewhere where no one knew him. Well it was down to him now because I would never have anything to do with him again. Which in some ways was sad because we had loved each other in our own way.
As we headed back to Rangeman Carlos held my hand in his, making small circles on the top of my wrist. I sensed that he was more relaxed now, though I couldn't work out why. Maybe the thoughts of my mother and what she could say and then Morelli being out of the way were reason enough. Carlos had to work a late shift on surveillance, so tonight I would spend some time talking with friends and telling them the news and catching up with gossip, hoping for once I wasn't the subject of it.
