Lester's POV

In two days, we're relocating to New Jersey. Huh. Whoever would have thought that we'd leave Miami for New Jersey. I always thought our next branch would be in DC, Atlanta, or New York. I never imagined Trenton, mainly because of Stephanie. But the fact that she pushed for this, well, we'd never deny her anything. The two dogs, Duchess and King, are great family dogs and guard dogs. They are both fiercely protective of Julie, and never leave Ranger or Steph's sides. Considering they're still under a year shows that they have great potential. Julie is excited to be closer to her cousins. All in all, this will be a good business move.

Stephanie and Ranger found a beautiful home in Cream Ridge, which is about 19 miles away from Trenton. It's a little further than they wanted to be, but the house and property were everything they were looking for. Their home is over 3,700 square feet, sitting on a little over two and a half acres. The house is new, built four years ago. The couple who originally purchased the home was recently relocated to Chicago. Aside from adding a fence around the property, adding a six-car garage, and installing security, nothing needed to be done. For $700,000 cash, they bought themselves a house. I still can't believe how far we've come.

As for me, I'm renting an apartment in an upscale building in Trenton. Once we have our headquarters built, I'll move into an apartment there. Ranger and Stephanie are going to have a penthouse apartment there, in the event they need to stay in headquarters, or if Ranger is away. Stephanie doesn't like staying by herself when Ranger is gone. I've offered to stay at the house with her, but she rather stay in their penthouse at our office building. I know it's because she's afraid that she won't be able to protect Julie by herself. I don't blame her. No one knows better than us what trouble we can be in.

Next Saturday, the Core team, Bobby, Tank, Ranger, Stephanie, and I will be dining at Senator Juniak's home with Mayor Orr, his fucking idiot of a son, Dickie, and Police Chief Filippelli with their wives. It's a 'Welcome to Trenton' dinner, guaranteed to piss off the Mayor and hopefully, get us an in with TPD. For our Miami office, we have Eagle who will take over and run things. Eagle was in basic training with me, then went into the SEALs. He retired two years ago, coming to us to work. He's a good leader and will do well in Miami in our absence. Marco will be his SIC and the medic. We have a team of 20 who will be opening Trenton. Five are the Core team, six are from either Boston or Miami, and the other nine are new hires who have been training with the Boston crew or here with us in Miami.

Ranger reached out to Calvin Wittman, Ram, and Jay, who prefers Woody, to work with us in Trenton. They all accepted. We think that Cal, as a former SEAL as well, could be the perfect person to run Trenton when we return to Miami. We hope to be in New Jersey for eighteen months, two years on the outside. After that, we will return here to the home base. Ram, Cal, and Woody all have European ancestry, so they will be better accepted by the Burg. We decided that they will lead any teams that are forced to go into the Burg, at least initially. We feel that once we get ourselves established, the community may be more open to seeing and embracing our diversity.

We were surprised when Hector said that he would come with us to Trenton. We are thrilled because he is by far the best electronics guy we have, but he has a history in Jersey. I hope Filippelli doesn't try to give Hector a hard time. Somewhere along the line, and I'm not quite sure when it happened, Hector has taken to guarding Beautiful as his personal mission. I know Ranger appreciates the extra mile he goes to keep her safe. And, believe it or not, he's the only one that she will allow to act as her bodyguard. They truly have a special relationship and bond.

"Les, did the movers leave on time?"

"Yes, Tank, they left on time, with everything they needed to take. We only have to leave whenever Ranger and Steph give their go-ahead. I'm sure Julie is holding them up, as any six-year-old would."

"Are they meeting us here, at Headquarters, or do we have to meet them at the house?'

"They are coming here. Ella and Luis are flying up, Marco is driving them to the airport. The dogs are traveling with them in the Jet. Steph didn't want them cooped up in the car for so long. That's part of the reason why the jet is going. Then, the dogs can have free reign after takeoff."

Tank nods in agreement. "Any word on if they are on their way here yet?"

"No, I was about to text him."

At that moment, my phone ring. "Yo."

"We're on the move. ETA fifteen minutes. Be ready to roll out."

"Gotcha," I reply before I hear dead air. "That was Ranger. They'll be here in fifteen minutes."

Now, we know Ranger, and we know him well. He wants us in the cars, with them idling, ready to roll the moment he arrives. He won't be happy if he must wait for us. So, we call Bobby and tell him to get his ass down to the garage. Tank and I then both go to take a final leak. We make sure that we have water, nuts, fruit, and some other healthy snacks. Ranger isn't one to stop often, but we know that with Stephanie and Julie riding along, we will stop more frequently.

Ranger is driving his Cayenne while Tank, Bobby, and I are driving up in Tank's Hummer. We'll stop in North Carolina tonight to sleep, then will make the rest of the trip to Jersey tomorrow night. We hope to pull into their house by eight. Exactly fifteen minutes after the text, Ranger pulls into the garage, but surprisingly, he parks the car. The passenger door opens, with Stephanie taking Julie out of the backseat. I roll down my window.

"What's going on? Is the munchkin okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She wants to say one final goodbye to everyone." Steph and Julie then head for the elevator. I guess it will be at least another ten to fifteen minutes.

"I should have made you guys meet us at the house. Julie and Steph have been driving me crazy. Not only did Julie want to say goodbye, but so did Stephanie. Stephanie has our route planned and asked me to give you this. As you see, we are frequently stopping. Steph says that Julie shouldn't sit in her car seat for so long. We're never going to get there."

"Ranger, we're not on a time schedule. We're not set to open until next Monday. The rest of the team is already there, getting things ready. It will be fine. They know what they're doing. Ella and Luis will have our temporary office space set up. We have enough rooms at the hotel secured so that the staff all has a place to stay. It will be fine. The building is expected to be completed in two months. Everything will be fine." Tank reassures our leader.

Ranger sighs. "I'm not concerned about business; I'm concerned about Stephanie. She's been dragging the last couple of days. When she doesn't think I'm watching, I've seen her trying to give herself a pep talk. She's been getting up in the middle of the night when she thinks I'm sleeping to sneak into the bathroom to cry. As much as she says she's ready to face the Burg and her past, I don't think she really is. I'm afraid that she's going to revert back to that abused girl she was when I met her. She's so much more than that, such a strong woman, I hate seeing her hurting. I've tried to talk to her, but she's shutting me out. I don't know what to do." He finishes, running his hand through his hair, his nervous tell that he's usually able to hide.

"Carlos, Steph will be fine. We won't let anyone hurt her. She's come too far to revert back. We'll insulate her. You don't need to worry. We got her back."

"I just hope I don't get called soon. My contract expires at the end of the year. I'm not signing a new contract, but as far as the brass is concerned, I'm going to re-up. I'm afraid if the brass knows I'm done that I'll be sent on a suicide mission. Les, what about you? Are you retiring?"

"No, not yet. I think I want one more go."

"Bro, don't you think you're getting too old for this shit? I mean, you're thirty-two. If you re-sign, you won't be finished until you're thirty-six. You need to rethink things, man. The next generation isn't as good as we were."

"I know, but what do I have? I don't have a wife and kid to worry about. I'm on my own."

"But you have a family who loves you and worries about you. Les, Steph worries about you. You know it would destroy her if anything happened to you, almost as much as if it were me."

"I'll think about it, but no promises."

At that moment, we hear the ding of the elevator and watch as Steph and Julie emerge. Both have tears in their eyes. I watch as Ranger walks over to his girls, wrapping his arms around them. I feel a pang of jealousy. Why can't I have what he has? I think back to Sydney, who I try not to think about, and wonder what could have been. If I'm honest with myself, I'll admit that she is the only woman I love. I am in love with her. Why couldn't I have kept in touch after that night? Why did I treat her like a whore? She's so much better than that. I often wonder if I should look her up, but what would I say? I shake my head. It's no use thinking about what could have been. I just need to focus on the future.


A/N: Thank you for all the comments after the last chapter. It really brightened my day and help to destress me. I appreciate all your love and support. I am so humbled at how much you are enjoying this story. I hope I can continue to meet your high expectations. Stay safe and healthy!