Chapter 30

I managed to keep myself occupied for the first hour by tidying and packing the things that Ranger had brought to the house. Any clothes I'd worn I bundled up and put into a trash bag and left it next to the one we'd been using in the kitchen. Once that task was completed, I picked up the file that Les had brought with him and walked outside to sit on the seat outside.

Looking through it I'd forgotten that I'd run a search through newspaper archives for missing women who'd been found dead and where their death was unsolved. Having nothing better to do I started to look at the printouts. They were far more detailed than anything I'd found. The mention of Trenton caught my eye as where a young woman had come from and that reminded me that she'd been one I'd seen that for some reason I felt was important, even though there was nothing to support that idea.

Alice Brien had been 27 years old when she went missing, but her body had only been discovered 9 months ago having been missing for nearly 5 years. I wracked my brain to see if I could remember her, she was the same age as me so should have been in the same year group as me, so why the hell couldn't I remember her?

She'd been described as a red head, her hair falling down her back in curls, and that her parents were travelers. Maybe that's why I didn't remember her if she came to Trenton when she was older. She'd been found north east of Trenton in a forested area that was probably too far for day trippers to go to for walking and cycling but wild camping had taken in places like that.

I suppose with the rotting leaves and animals out there, there might not have been much left of her. Five years was a long time. According to the newspaper the police didn't have much to go on and as she'd often just disappeared to travel, they probably didn't even take the parents seriously when they reported her missing. I felt sure that Alice was someone who might fit the pattern I was beginning to see.

As I decided we'd need more information on Alice I was aware that Ranger was here and looked up as he walked through the door. He was dressed in blue jeans, though still wore a black T-shirt that showed the muscles in his arms and chest. I packed the papers away and stood to walk toward him, pleased when he opened his arms to me. He stood back slightly and ran his hand down my cheek, making me feel so special.

"You look tired"

"I, err, didn't sleep very well"

"Nightmares?"

Was this when I opened up to him, told him what had happened and who it was that now had the power to scare me? I nodded my head but didn't look at him as I did it. I felt him pull me to him and as he pressed his face to mine.

"Talk to me Babe. I promise I won't do anything you don't want me to do, I want to help you overcome the fear you're carrying around"

The name came from my mouth without really thing about it hoping if I said it quickly then it wouldn't sound as bad as it was.

"It was Jack"

His hands now cupped my face as he looked intently into my eyes, eyes that were slowly filling with tears.

"Jack Richards?"

I nodded my head but felt the need to explain what had happened that night, as though I had to defend how Jack had behaved toward me.

"He was drunk, he'd been drinking all night, and I think he must have had a keycard for my room. He came in with the money I needed for the exchange the next morning. But, when he saw me, he started to act strangely. He kept calling me Rosa, I think he thought that I was her"

Once again, his arms came around me, holding me tightly to him. I could feel the tension running through him, the tightness in his muscles. He was angry, really angry and it started to frighten me. Was he angry at me, did he think I was lying?

"I'm so sorry Babe, it never even crossed my mind that it was Jack"

"I didn't encourage him"

"I know, I know you Babe and I know you wouldn't have done anything to warrant that type of behavior"

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

"No, I could never be mad at you. Though I can't say the same for Jack"

"Please don't kill him"

I waited for an answer, but I only got silence. In the end I pulled my head back from him to look at his face. His breathing was faster than normal and from the way he had his eyes closed I could tell that he was trying very hard to compose himself.

"Ranger?"

"I won't kill him"

"He doesn't remember attacking me"

His eyes were open now looking straight at me. He still wasn't relaxed and maybe a bit angry.

"That doesn't make it right Babe, because you still have those memories"

"Then help me to forget them"

I reached up onto my toes and slowly ran my tongue across his closed mouth.

"I'd do anything for you Babe"

As his mouth came down onto mine, I felt myself being lifted, not really aware that we were moving inside of the house. As he placed my feet on the floor our mouths continued to tease and taste each other gently and slowly. I felt his hand undo my jeans and the caress on my legs as they fell to the floor his other hand firmly held in the small of my back. As the kiss ended, he looked at me, concern across his face.

"Are you sure?"

I'd never been so sure as I was right now so nodded my head in response.

"Talk to me Babe and if you need me to stop I will"

"No, I'm okay with this"

I felt my leg being lifted and my foot being placed on the edge of the couch and soft feather light kisses tracing from my knee up my inner thigh to my mound. Even though I still had my panties on the feeling that went through me felt exquisite. As his mouth rubbed against my mound, I pushed my hips forward desperate for his movements to touch against my folds. How my panties disappeared I didn't know but as he swirled his tongue against me, I could feel myself respond. I held tightly onto his shoulders as my head went back and my eyes closed.

The feel of his tongue and fingers inside of me sent me over the edge, never once allowing any other thoughts to invade my mind. As my mind cleared, I felt him sit on the couch so that I was now straddling across his hips, his erection caught between my wet curls. His hands lifted my T-shirt above my head and his mouth now started to sweetly lick and kiss around the outline of my bra. When he stopped his movement, I looked into his face. It was as though he was asking if I was still sure about this.

"Don't stop"

Was all it took for my bra to be unfastened and for his mouth to tweak and tease against my nipples. I rubbed myself against him and pushed him to lean back and then lifted myself so that I could feel and stroke his erection, using the wetness from me to lubricate and massage him. I saw him move and reach to his side and a condom appeared in his hand ready to roll it on, but I shook my head and pushed his hand away.

"I'm on the pill"

I didn't want anything between us, I wanted to experience the feel of him inside of me. As I slowly lowered myself, I guided him inside. Ever so slowly, relishing the move that having him inside of me brought. I felt him rub against my clit as I settled onto him, the movement exploding another orgasm through me.

My clenching muscles were obviously a detraction for Ranger because as I arched my back and threw my head back to scream his name, I felt my hips being lifted once, then twice before he pushed up inside of me. My orgasm rolled into a second wave tumbling me through feelings I'd never had before. The feel of his skin rubbing inside of me and him coming inside of me, was something I'd never experienced before.

As my awareness came back to me, I fell forward onto Ranger, resting my cheek against his chest. I was pleased that his heart was racing as much as mine. His hand was slowly caressing my back whilst he brushed my hair from my face making the experience definitely one to remember.

"Thank you"

"You have no need to thank me Babe"

I disagreed but wasn't going to push it any further. I knew that Ranger had done everything he could to make sure that I felt comfortable and safe, from his touches and movements to allowing me to have control over how we made love. I certainly had no feelings or thoughts that had made me feel scared or overpowered. As I recounted how I felt I suddenly became very aware of where we were, and my eyes shot open in panic.

"Babe, did I hurt you?"

"Hector, please tell me Hector isn't here"

"He isn't here Babe. He left when I got here"

Okay, that allowed me to relax again and as I felt a cover being pulled over me my eyes began to slowly close.

It was the feather like kisses on my face that had me opening my eyes. I was laid on my stomach on the couch but could see Ranger sat next to me.

"We need to leave soon Babe"

"Kay. Are we going to Rangeman?"

"No. I don't want Morelli questioning you yet"

"Did you talk to him?"

"Yes. He was very official in what he wanted to see but he did want to know where you were"

"I'm worried about what he'll ask me"

"Just tell him the truth. They found the two bullets that were fired at Hayes and you, and the coroner also determined that the shot from your gun came when he was laid on the floor"

"After the shot to his neck?"

"Yes, so don't worry. No one thinks you killed him, not even Morelli"

I believed what Ranger had said to me but was still unsure of having to talk to Joe. I suppose I was still suspicious of Joe after that whole marriage fiasco and his behavior afterwards.

"Babe, you mentioned visiting where the last woman was from, do you still want to do that?"

"Yeah. That was Boston wasn't it?"

"Ashburnham State Forest, an isolated place north west of Boston"

"Okay, let me get dressed and ready to go"

As I got up from the couch, I wrapped the cover around me and then picked up my clothes that were now laid across the arm of the couch. Once in the bathroom I quickly showered before putting on the clothes. I know I stopped for a second as I pulled on the panties and bra, not recognizing them. I found Ranger stood at the table placing the laptop and phone from Hector into a large bag. As he saw me, he picked up some papers from the table and handed them to me.

"We need to travel incognito, so these are your papers"

Looking at the new driving license I recognized my photo and even part of the name.

"Senna Pardo. I recognize that name"

"That was the one I used when we were looking for Scrogg"

To be honest I already knew that, everything about the whole incident with Scrogg was forever engraved in my brain. From the arrival and murder of Carmen to Ranger being shot in the hallway of my apartment. Blinking I looked up to see Ranger watching me, his head cocked to the side as though waiting for an explanation. I didn't know if Ranger knew how upset I'd been after that, the anguish that I felt as I waited for news of him in the hospital.

He'd left for Miami soon after leaving the hospital, and me? Well let's just say that Joe took the opportunity to try and shake me from the revelation that hit me that night. I wasn't going there at the moment so knew I needed to change the subject.
As I put my new id into my jacket pocket, I remembered the work I'd done just before Ranger arrived.

"Is it possible to find some information on a dead woman?"

"One that we know about?"

"No, I think I found one that the FBI didn't tie into their case. Alice Brien found 5 years after being reported missing and found 9 months ago. She lived in Trenton"

"I'll get Santos on it. How did you find her?"

"I'm not sure why but for some reason I'd printed out some searches from newspaper articles on unsolved murders, when she went missing seemed to fit in the timeline"

"Did you know her?"

"No, and I can't remember anything about a woman who disappeared. Her family were travelers so maybe she was older when they came to Trenton"

"You ready to leave?"

I nodded my head as I mentally checked what I had on me. My id, the file, the phone and the gun that Dax had given to me were in my jacket pockets. I had no trackers on me so hoped that Ranger and I didn't get separated, though knowing Hector was somewhere near us was good to know.

Ranger guided me out of the front door, with a hand to my back, and walked us over to a deep blue Cayenne SUV. I raised my eyebrows at his choice of color. It was a beautiful car. As Ranger drove away from the house I looked back at where I'd been staying and I silently thanked Dax for giving me refuge and a place where I had regained a part of myself that I thought I had lost.

Driving from the cottage to Boston took us just over four hours. To start with I tried to take in where we were, I tried to get Ranger to talk. That didn't last very long because he was being super vigilant with his driving, yeah in his zone. In the end I gave up and took out the file from my bag and went through the spreadsheet I'd put together along with the files.

As the light faded, I had to pack everything away but realized that maybe we were close to where we were heading. I was beginning to ache with sitting so long and had to really concentrate on keeping still and keeping quiet. It was late evening when it seemed we were heading from the main routes and through the streets of Boston.

"We're just east of Boston city, so there shouldn't be any possibility of anyone from Boston Rangeman spotting us"

"You could call in to verify that you were away from Trenton visiting the other offices"

"That would mean leaving you on your own"

I thought about that and decided that I would rather he stayed with me. Hell, with my luck anything could happen.

"What do you want to do here?"

"I'd like to talk to her parents, after all they were the ones who reported her missing"

"Do you want to go to Ashburnham State Forest?"

"Yes. I don't know why but I think we're missing something that would tie the women to their murderer"

"Babe, there'll be nothing there now"

"I know"

And I did know that, it was just that the description of the women and possibly how their bodies were left felt important. Ranger pulled into the parking lot of a hotel, so I didn't have time to explain myself. As we stepped into the hotel and up to the reception desk, I felt hungry, so as Ranger booked us in, I picked up a menu from the desk. I was surprised when the man on the desk addressed me and then looked at Ranger for the answer.

"Would you like me to reserve you a table in the restaurant Mr Pardo?"

"Yes. I think we're probably ready for something to eat"

"Certainly sir, should I allow you an hour to settle into your room?"

I watched as Ranger nodded to him and took the keycard from the desk but refused to the let the porter carry the bags he'd brought in from the car. Our room was on the second floor and as per Ranger, consisted of a lounge area and a separate bedroom. I disappeared into the bathroom, desperate for a shower to ease the aches in my body.

Was I surprised when the door opened, and Ranger walked in? Not really, he'd always said how good he was in the shower. As he came in behind me, I felt his hands massaging my shoulders, I wasn't sure if the moan from my mouth was because the massage felt so good or because I was so turned on.

Exactly an hour later I was choosing from the menu in the restaurant. I felt relaxed and hungry, yet for some reason what Hector had said about my eating habits was niggling away in my head.

"Babe, what do you want?"

"What are you having?"

"Grilled fish with roast veg and brown rice"

Maybe it didn't seem so bad, I mean I had enjoyed the meal we'd had in that Cuban restaurant in Washington, at least until that woman had shown up.

"I think I'll have the same"

If he was surprised, he didn't show it and ordered us both the same meal. As we waited, he laid his hand on my thigh and wrapped his other arm over my shoulder. It was intimate especially as he nuzzled my neck.

"I'm sorry if I seemed a bit distant while we drove"

"I understand, you needed to focus on what you were doing"

"It wasn't that. It seemed strange having you with me and I know you felt ignored"

I turned to look at Ranger as he said that, I had to admit that during the journey I was worrying if what he'd said to me the day before was true, that he wasn't regretting it and had reverted to the man of mystery. Was that what he was trying to say to me now, that he'd spent the entire journey trying to formulate a way of telling me that he'd made a mistake and we were better off as friends. Then why did he come into the shower or was that how he saw a relationship with me, a friend with benefits?

"Babe, I'm not good at saying how I feel but today as you were sat there next to me, I realized that it doesn't matter as long as I say it"

I couldn't help it as he said that, all sorts of things started to whizz through my brain, what excuses he might use as to why any relationship with me wasn't going to happen. I felt my entire body deflate waiting for him to say something, I mean come on, he'd given me an id that said I was Senna Pardo but for all I knew it was a name for the sister of Marc Pardo not his wife. I didn't even have a ring on my finger, so I'd obviously jumped to conclusions about that one.

"Hey, what did I say wrong?"

"It's okay, I understand. Your life doesn't have room for a relationship"

Suddenly my face was being held between his hands and I was getting the full glare from Ranger. I blinked quickly to stop the tears from forming in my eyes, what was it that I'd said before, oh yeah. "I had a friend who believed in me and I didn't have the heart to let her down."

"Where did that come from? I would never let you down. I may not say a lot but when I do say something then I mean it. Babe, you are everything to me, I don't think I'd exist if you weren't with me. I love you and want our someday"

As I looked at him, just to be sure he wasn't joking with me, his hands left my face and he was holding my left hand in his. I looked down to see what he was doing, shocked because being held between his fingers of his other hand was a ring, and not just any ring. It had three diamonds that were set at an angle so that each end was secured to the white band that seemed to protect the stones, almost like a Z shape. It was exquisite and looked vaguely familiar.

"Marry me Babe"

I looked up at his face and was sure he looked slightly nervous, though it wasn't a look I was familiar with. The tears that had threatened to form before slowly slipped down my cheek.

"I love you as well, I never expected this"

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, it is a yes"

As he slipped the ring onto my finger, I felt so happy, and definitely relieved and couldn't help just looking at it. I lifted my head to look at him again and gently kissed him on his lips.

"I love you"

"I spent today trying to figure out how to do this, what to say to you and whether I needed to organize a special moment. In the end I decided that it didn't matter as long I said what I wanted you to hear. Then I started to wonder if it was something you'd want as well. I know before now the idea of marriage wasn't something you wanted"

"This is just right and to be honest the last thing I expected. I just need to hear the words and know that they are sincere. There are still moments when I think you've changed your mind"

"That's my fault, so I guess I'll just have to keep reminding you of my feelings for you"

"I know I avoided the whole marriage thing, but it wasn't the idea of being married to someone that scared me, it was the idea that I'd be marrying the wrong man"

"Am I the right man Babe?"

"Yes. I couldn't tell Joe that I loved him, in fact I don't think I ever actually said it to him. It was after you were shot by Scrogg that I realized that it was you who held my heart and I think Joe realized it then. The problem was that you and I weren't in the right place with each other, which was when he started to push me for a commitment"

"He still wants you Babe"

"Well he's not going to get me, I'm yours like you are mine"

"I like the sound of that, mine"

It was then that the waiter coughed and placed our plates in front of us, quickly disappearing to leave us alone. I think maybe he'd been hovering for a while but didn't dare interrupt us. We both used a fork to start sampling the fish, veg and rice in front of us, our hands entwined between us.

"Why this choice for your meal Babe?"

Shit, did I really want to tell him about what Hector had said to me this morning? Maybe I should do because it was out of character for me to choose something healthy to eat and I didn't want Ranger to worry.

"Hector"

"Hector? He mentioned you didn't sleep very well. How does Hector fit into what you eat?"

"He, err, cooked up a big breakfast this morning and then started to ask me how I was feeling. To be honest until he asked, I'd never really taken notice before, but he made me realize that my stomach didn't feel too good"

"Hector doesn't usually say much, he tends to keep his feelings to himself, but I think he has a soft spot for you"

"Yeah I know, he said I was like a little sister"

"What did he tell you?"

"About his sister and what happened"

"He hit a low point in his life after that, I think having you around has helped him to start to put it behind him"

"You helped him, you must have seen something in him"

"I did. I was too close to one of the gangs in Newark and knew what the pressures could do to you. I suppose I was fortunate at the time because after being caught for auto theft and a stint in juvie my parents sent me to Miami to live with my Grandmother. I hated it, but I can see now that it removed me from getting in too deep with the gang. I saw in Hector how I could have ended up, so knew I had to help him"

By now we'd finished our meal and I had to say I did enjoy it. It was as though the flavors of the ingredients were fresher and unique. Maybe the sauces and cheese, and let's not forget the fats, masked what I was eating before. I looked over to Ranger as he told me a bit of his background, though it was something I'd heard before I was pleased that he was opening up to me.

"How about fruit for dessert?"

Before I could answer the waiter collected our plates and was stood facing Ranger with his notepad in his hand and heard Ranger decline anything else.

"I think I'll have my favorite dessert in the room"

I wasn't too sure if the waiter heard that or not but probably from the blush that crept up my face, he had a pretty good idea of what Ranger had meant.