Chapter 36

I wasn't sure whether I was awake or not. I felt comfortable and warm and to be honest didn't want to wake up but knew I would have to. I was laid on my stomach and to be honest couldn't understand why. Then as I moved slightly the memory from the pain I'd felt came back to me. It didn't feel so bad, so I tentatively opened my eyes, blinking as they got used to the bright light. I looked at what I could see recognizing the windows in front of me, the drapes as they moved with a breeze. Shit, I was in the beach house in Miami. I could almost believe I'd dreamt everything that had happened except for the ache when I breathed. Then I remembered the last time I'd been brought here, and that Ranger had decided to leave me. Had he done the same again? Had he decided again that I was too much of a liability because I was always getting hurt. Movement from the corner of the room caught my attention and a tear fell from my eye. He was here, he'd stayed with me. But he'd done that before and then left when he knew I was going to be alright. Ranger squatted down in front of me and wiped the tear from cheek with the pad of his thumb, he looked worried as he bent forward and kissed the cheek.

"Are you still in pain?"
"No"
I whispered back.

"Why the tears Babe?"
"You won't leave me will you?"

"Never. Para siempre, como mi pareja, amante y esposa. Mi alma gemela"

"Te amo con todo mi corazón Carlos" "How are feeling, seriously"
"I ache a bit. I could do to visit the bathroom though" "I'll help you"
I turned onto my side and then rolled slowly onto my back, yeah, the ache got worse doing that. I felt Rangers arms support my back as he carefully lifted me to sitting and then he carefully brought my legs over the edge of the bed until my feet were touching the ground. "This is going to hurt the most"
I would agree with that as I winced at the pain, but at last I was stood up. Walking wasn't too bad and with support at my elbow I made it into the bathroom. I was glad the sink was next to the toilet so that I could use my arms to help pull myself up. As I came out of the bathroom Ranger was stood there holding some clothes for me to change into. Getting my shorts up proved to be a real pain, literally, but I was pleased with how I'd managed so far. I had help with a large T-shirt from Ranger but was pleased that he'd missed out me having to wear a bra, it would have cut right across where I hurt the most. I walked up to him and put my arms around his waist. He was careful where he held me, one hand on my hip and the other in my hair as he pulled me into his body. "I'm so sorry Babe" "Why are you sorry?"
"I just assumed you'd moved to one side and slipped. I had no idea what happened" "What did happen to me?" "Hell Babe, you were so lucky. Two bullets hit your back but because of the books in the rucksack they didn't penetrate through. You've bruised the ribs on your back badly, so it'll hurt if it's touched. Bobby said not to twist your body and try not to take deep breaths.
No wonder I ended up flying through the air, I could remember something hitting my back as though I was being punched but after that things got vague. Well except for not being able to breathe as I started to fall. How the hell had we not heard someone behind us? "The rest of the men?"
"They're fine. Ram got caught in his leg and Cal took one in his shoulder, but both have been treated"
"Where's Isai?"
Ranger didn't answer right away which had me worried, I pulled away slightly to look at his face. A waste of time because his blank face was firmly in place. "Ranger?"
"He didn't come with us. He told me he couldn't leave his mother on her own"
"So he went back to the compound?"
"I assume so"
"What else aren't you telling me"
"We lost contact with Caleb"
"Someone got to him?"
"I don't think so, he switched off his mic"
"Why would he do that?"
Ranger didn't answer instead he pulled my head back into the crook of his neck and stroked his hand down through my hair. I knew he wouldn't have an answer and that he would be worried about Caleb. Hell, I was worried about him as well. After a few minutes I was gently turned to face the door and without saying a word Ranger led me to the kitchen. I was surprised to see Les and Bones sat at the breakfast bar each with a mug in their hands. As Les looked up he smiled and stood up to come over to me. Holding my shoulders as he kissed the top of my head. "How are you feeling Beautiful?"
"Okay, I suppose" "You want a coffee?"
"Please. Err, Les is it good coffee?"
"If I make it then it will be"
"Can you miss adding cream"
I saw the look he gave me but chose to ignore him taking the mug of hot coffee and adding sugar to it. It was good coffee but not as good as what I'd been drinking down in Colombia. Thinking of Colombia made me think about Isai. I hoped he was alright and that nothing had happened to his mother. The face of his mother came to me as she'd walked in on Ranger and me in the office. She'd looked frail as she'd stood there wringing her hands together, so confused and totally lost in her memories. I felt so sorry for her and the way her mind had deteriorated to the point that all she had were memories from so long ago. Maybe she was better off not knowing that her husband was dead. Everyone thought that Aran was dead and maybe for a long time he was, in his own land of denial. I felt my chin being lifted and looked into Ranger's eyes. "Babe, you look lost"
"Sorry. I was thinking about Isai's mother when she found us in that office"
"Her dementia is probably worse on the people around her. She'll struggle with remembering anything, especially more recent events"
He was probably right, I mean it must heartbreaking when your own mother wouldn't be able to recognize or remember you. "I know, I couldn't imagine what it would be like if grandma ended up like that"
"What would you like to eat?"
That pulled me away from what I was thinking as I realized that I was actually hungry. I looked at Ranger and smiled, letting him know that I appreciated him trying to pull me from the mood I was sinking into. "Whatever's going, I'm sure I'll love it"
I found it easier to stand at the breakfast bar and eat, I didn't have to bend my back or use any muscles that might cause it to hurt. Feeling sufficiently full of omelet I wondered to the doors in the lounge that led outside, taking in the smell of the sea and the sound of the waves. Bones had followed me out and was stood quietly next to me. "You'll need to take some pain killers Steph. Don't fight me on it, the less pain the less your muscles tense up and the easier you'll feel"
"How long?"
"After a week you'll feel much easier but it can be 2 to 3 weeks to be totally back to normal"
I knew I'd been lucky, hell if it hadn't been for those books I'd probably be dead. A bit of discomfort was something I'd have to cope with. "Icepacks can help as well"
"I just find it hard to find a position to get comfortable in"
"Maybe laid on your stomach or better yet curled onto something. You'll work it out"
"Thanks for being here Bones"
"No problem, though it would be nice to see you fit and healthy"
I smiled as he said that and watched as he walked away. "Call me if you have any pain that is stronger than usual"
"Will do"
I looked around at the chairs out here on the deck and then started to collect together the cushions from each of them. Once they were piled up, I sank to my knees and then using my arms allowed my body to lay over them. I probably looked stupid like this, with my but stuck up in the air, but I didn't care. As I hugged the cushions under my chest and head, I felt myself drifting into sleep.
When I came awake, I panicked slightly, until I caught the smell of Bulgari around me. My cushions seemed harder than they had been, and I realized that some of them seemed to have been replaced with a hard, warm body. I could feel a hand on my hip and looked up to see Ranger looking back down at me. "You were in danger of toppling over" "It felt more comfortable to lay like that. Why's my back cold?"
"I put some ice packs on it" "How long have I been asleep?"
"A couple of hours"
"Any news?"
"No. Don't worry everyone will be okay"
"Who attacked us?"
"From what we could find out they were a group of rebels that had been based further north"
"Why would they attack us?"
"I don't know and that worries me"
Yeah it worried me as well. How would rebels know that we were there? I was certain that no one would have seen Ranger or his men and from what I could see at the compound being attacked wasn't a normal occurrence. The only explanation was that someone had told them, but who would do that? The only person who was missing that day had been Lina and Isai had said it was her day off. In fact, Lina had always been around in the house, she just didn't seem to be anywhere else. I wondered who she actually was. Had she always worked there or had she only been there when Isai and I came to the compound. The more I thought about Lina the more unsettled I became and the more I wanted to find out about her. I also wanted to do some research on that other man that Aran had mentioned, one of the men who Aran remembered as helping him get out of the mine. "Babe, what's got you thinking so hard?"
"I want to do some searches"
"You're meant to be resting"
"I have been resting"
"You're going to fight me on this aren't you?"
"Probably"
"Okay, how about I work with you, that way whatever it is that's whizzing round that brain of yours we can get it sorted through quicker"
"Deal" He helped me to sit up after removing some of the cushions and to be honest sitting wasn't too bad. I saw Ranger return with a bottle of water and a laptop and watched as he removed a bottle of pills from his pocket. I took the bottle from him and shook out two pills then swallowed them with some water. As he sat down next to me, he opened the laptop and it wasn't long before he had opened up the search program. "Who first?" "Tomás Lorenzo"
"I thought he died?"
"Not everyone who died is dead"
I watched as he input the name into the search along with some search parameters. As the results came up, I started to read as did Ranger, but he was reading it much faster than me. I thought I saw a name that had my spidey senses tingling, but he was already scrolling down the sheet until he came to the end where it told us he'd died in a mining accident. "Go back up" "Where to?"
"Parents"
I read the name of his parents, recognizing the father's name José but I was focused on the mother's name. Shit, how had I missed that? The name of his mother was Adelina. "Open another search on the mother, Adelina Lorenzo" I watched as he did as I'd asked and put in the parameters of age, location and other close family, then watched and waited for the results to come up. There were options of women with the same name so one by one we went through them. The woman I was looking for wasn't there, how was that? Then I remembered Ranger saying that he couldn't find anything on Isai Falla either. "Someone's good at trying to cover their tracks"
"Why are you trying to find info on the mother Babe?"
"Because I think she was the housekeeper at the house where we were" "How does that fit in with what we need to know?"
"I don't know, but don't you think it's strange that both Isai and Lina's records have been erased?" "Who else do you want to look at?" "Can you pull up the search I saved on Luis Varela. It said he'd died in the mine but Aran was sure he was one of the men who helped to get him out" Luis Varela would be 45 years old by now if he had survived and somehow, I was sure that he was out there somewhere. The search was as I remembered, no wife or children, nothing to suggest that he was still alive or where he might be now. I needed photos of these people because names weren't bringing anything up, let's be honest a change of name would be the best way to get lost in the system. I sighed as I acknowledged that we weren't finding anything useful. "I'm sorry Babe. Let's eat then maybe a walk on the beach might help you to relax"
I wasn't sure where the meals were coming from, but they were as good as what Ella might have provided. Afterwards we walked down to the waters edge and then along the beach, Ranger keeping my hand tightly in his as I walked through the shallow water as the waves came in. Somehow, I knew that we were being watched so as we turned to the house I had to ask. Ranger would have been aware if it were someone he didn't know about. "Why are there men watching us?" He smiled as he stopped and brought me to him. "They're supposed to stay out of sight"
"Like ninjas?"
"Something like that"
"So why?"
"Because I need to keep you safe"
"You think I'm still in danger?"
"Babe. You've disappeared too often for my liking. I worry that someone will think you know more than you think"
"But that means more people know about this house"
"A small price to pay and it means I can relax when I know there are men out here watching our backs"
"Who's here?"
"Santos and Slick, Hal and Binkie"
"So only Trenton guys?"
"Yes, my brother and Bones know we're here as well"
"Won't he expect you to go into work?" "I can remotely access what I need to do" "Then tomorrow you need to work, you must be inundated with a backlog of paperwork"
"Babe when I'm in the wind they manage fine without me, but I'll make contact just to get reports" Once back at the house Ranger took me into the bathroom and started up the shower. Once undressed I carefully stepped under the spray pleased when a naked Ranger came in behind me. As he soaped up a sponge and began to wash me, I couldn't help feeling my skin begin to warm up and that only spread through my body. I heard Ranger laugh behind me. "No Babe. This injury needs time to heal more"
Shit, how long could I last when he was so close to me doing things to my body? I sighed as I tried to tamp down the emotions moving through me. Once dry and changed into a thin strapped top and shorts I literally crawled onto the bed. "Tablets first"
I looked up to see three pills in his hand. "Why three?"
"Pain killers and Bones wants you to take a muscle relaxant at night"
As I lay on my stomach, I could hear Ranger beside the bed, and it wasn't long before he was in the bed with me. I moved so my head was laid on his chest and with the comfort of him being close and probably the pills taking effect it wasn't long before I was asleep.
Over the next four days we fell into a routine. Ranger would be up and gone by the time I woke. I felt a bit groggy in the mornings and decided the muscle relaxant was probably responsible. I knew Ranger was getting some time in exercising because he would return to the bedroom showered and changed to help me dress. I was eating well enough but was really missing my doughnuts, though all the food was tasty and probably healthy. When Ranger was working on his laptop I'd sit outside and read. Les had provided me with a e reader so it helped pass the time. Ranger would walk with me along the beach in the afternoon and then after dinner we'd sit and watch a movie or sometimes just listen to music and talk. Yeah, he was opening up a lot more than he had ever done in the past. I now knew more about his family, his brothers and sisters, though I did get a bit lost with their husbands and children. I was feeling relaxed and my back was definitely getting better. After the fourth day though I was feeling antsy. I hadn't done any more research and felt that I was getting detached from what was happening. The morning of the fifth day I said as much to Ranger because I was sure there were things he hadn't told me so I wouldn't worry. As we walked along the beach, I decided it was time to get my feelings out, let him know I was ready to get back to working. "Ranger it's been days since you told me anything, have you heard from Caleb?"
I knew he didn't want to say anything, I could tell from his expression but that only heightened my sense of being worried. "Please, I need to know. I'm feeling a lot better"
"I know, I just wanted you to feel that you could relax and not worry"
"No, you promised you wouldn't keep anything from me" "Caleb got in touch yesterday. He brought Nic in to work with him. Between them they discovered that the compound was empty"
"You mean no one was there?"
"It seems the old lady, Isai's mother was moved to a center near to Bogota. Her health had declined so much she needed constant care"
"I remember Isai saying she wasn't well. What about Aran and Isai?"
"They looked but can't find either of them"
Oh no, did that mean they were both killed, that the rebels or whoever had attacked us had got to them? But why, there was nothing at the compound that would interest anyone. Aran couldn't be a threat, his body was too injured for anyone to hurt him. "What about Anna?"
"Hector managed to get into the system but there's very little there. I expected as much because the agency would see that the identity of agents was kept under wraps"
"Where is she now?"
"I spoke with Agent Denito, he's hit a brick wall and says she's out in the streets. He thinks the supply of the drugs has diminished"
"As though they're running out?"
"Maybe, or they've swapped out how it's coming into the country" "I think we need to be in Trenton"
"Is that where you want to be?"
Did I? I wasn't sure about that anymore. I loved being down here in Miami, but I also needed to be doing something. At this rate I wouldn't have a job back home and I hated to think what my mother was thinking. "I like it here but I want to get this whole mess behind us"
"So you'd consider living down here?"
"I'll live where ever you are"
"Miami was always going to be the head office"
"Why isn't it then?"
"Probably because a certain curly haired, blue eyed woman changed my mind" "But you, why did you?"
I couldn't get the words out fast enough. If I was the reason that he was still in Trenton then why had he continued to make me think there could never be anything between us, why had he always seemed to push me back to Joe? "I just couldn't leave you no matter how much I tried to talk myself into doing it. Had it worked out between you and Morelli I would have left knowing you were happy. Plus I wasn't sure whether you could really accept me for who I was"
"I accept you for who you are. Never doubt that. I know there's a dark side to your life, one you keep hidden but I'm here for you to light up those darker times and memories"
"I know that now"
"You know the guys in Trenton would hate it if we abandoned them"
"I can always mix up the teams for those who want a change"
I could with live that, because I think of all the people I would miss the most would be my Merry Men. Then I thought of Lula and Mary Lou and my sister and nieces. And what would I do here? I felt myself being turned and seeing Ranger's serious face looking at me. "It's not a decision for now, it's an option we have for the future. We're only a few hours away from Trenton so you'd still see the people you love"
"Could I work down here?"
"Babe you would always have a job at Rangeman, you could go after skips like you do now or help the teams with the higher bond ones"
As we started to walk again I thought through what he'd said, maybe I could do that, who knew what tomorrow would bring. "For now though are we going to go home?"
"I'll set it up for tomorrow" With that said I felt I could relax and enjoy the rest of our walk. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.