Chapter 30
SPOV
As we waited in that conference room for Morelli, I could feel myself getting more worried, well almost panicky. I reached out for Ranger's hand hoping that it would give me some way to find an inner strength. It had me thinking through all sorts of things to do with Joe, especially since Ranger had found me.
As those thoughts went through my mind there were things I wanted to know from Joe. I nearly jumped when the door opened and watched as Joe walked in. I could tell from the stiffness of his back that he was annoyed and the look on his face only validated what I was thinking. As soon as Joe saw me, I could tell that he was turning his annoyance on me. Who the hell did he think he was to come here and behave like that?
"Sit down Joe"
He stopped as I said that and as I looked to where Tank was pulling out a chair for him. Joe took a look at me, then Ranger and finally Tank before he made the right choice.
"What the hell do you want Joe?"
I could almost see the shocked reaction cross his face, it was as if he honestly thought I wanted him to be here.
"I wanted to talk to you"
"Go ahead and talk then"
"Alone"
I sat back in the chair, Rangers hand still in mine and looked at Joe, really looked. I suppose he was a good looking guy, wavy hair that framed a good looking face. The scar above his eyebrow seemed more prominent but the eyes that I'd once loved to look into held no attraction for me now. If he thought that he was using a look to entice me then he was clearly mistaken.
"Whatever you have to say then say it Joe"
His hand went through his hair in frustration and then he held his hands together on the table, looking at me intently.
"I want you back Cupcake"
I hated that name and the underlying way it had come about, making me start to hate Joe and his attitude and arrogance. Did he really think I would go running back to him now? No chance. I squeezed Ranger's hand remembering the day that he had confessed to me that his greatest fear was that I would leave him.
"Joe, I told you that we were over, that there wasn't enough between us to continue in a relationship. Why the hell are you here expecting that now?"
"I need you Cupcake, we had something good between us. Or has Manoso brainwashed you already?"
I saw the look Joe gave Ranger, a look of hate that had probably always been simmering in the background.
"Joe, I'm here because I want to be here. Why don't you go back to Terry or even one of your other women?"
"It's not what you think"
That phrase conjured up other times when he'd said that to me and at the time, I'd actually believed him. Hell, I must have been so stupid for ignoring the signs then. Especially the rumors of him leaving a half dressed Terry stood in the window while he made his escape.
The problem was that hearing him say it now made me believe that he'd always lied to me, trying to cite his job as an excuse. I had never been sure just how faithful Joe had been to me in the past, but I knew now. What he said only gave away his guilt, he'd basically just admitted to being with Terry and other women. How naïve I must have been to think that maybe he'd changed his ways as the Italian Stallion.
I plastered a smile on my face as I looked at Joe digging deep as the memory of that photo came into my mind. I had to make this sound right so went for sarcasm as my next weapon of choice.
"Yeah right. You had the nerve to be cuddled up tight with that woman the same night that you told my parents that we were getting married. Hell, you looked so distraught Joe, waiting for her at that motel"
I saw the shock cross his face as he thought about exactly what I'd said, and I think he may just have cottoned on that I'd seen them together.
"Cupcake"
"Forget it Joe. I don't want you anywhere near me and I want you to stop harassing me and the men who work here"
"Is that it, you're just throwing away everything we had between us?"
"I threw it away months ago. Tell me Joe, Terry, why her?"
I saw his eyes move down to his hands and immediately knew that he was going to lie to me.
"I was lonely and upset. She called and offered support"
"Interesting. Any others while we're at it, maybe an escort or two?"
I wasn't too sure if I saw a change in his eyes at that moment, but he'd soon pulled down that blank face of a policeman. He stood up quickly, with the chair crashing to the floor that had me jumping but I stayed seated. He rested his hands onto the table and leant forward, as though he were trying to get as close to me as he could, his eyes staring intently at me.
"This isn't over with Cupcake"
He turned to the door and then we all watched as Joe stormed from the room with Tank quickly following behind him.
I closed my eyes to try and still my rapidly beating heart only to feel myself being lifted up and over to find myself sat on Ranger's lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his arms came around me. I felt at peace, that somehow, I had managed to face Joe and come through it reasonably unscathed, but I was still afraid.
"Don't leave me"
"Never Babe"
Ranger replied as his mouth moved down my neck to my collar.
"It scares me that I need you so much, without you I couldn't go on"
"I'll never leave you. I love you too much to do that"
"I love you too"
As Ranger pulled away, I could see the slight tilt of his lips and wondered what he was thinking.
"You were being very clever with Morelli"
"Did it work?"
"Well I think he sought out Terry and the mention of using an escort didn't go down well"
"Do you think he used the escort agency?"
"Maybe"
I wasn't thinking through what I was asking Joe, only trying to bait him with what we might know. Now though the idea that Joe had known that I was going to be taken felt like ice in my veins.
"Surely he wouldn't"
"No Babe. As much as I hate the man, I don't think he'd play any part in hurting you"
I felt Ranger move and slacken his hold on me so turned to see what had distracted him. Tank came into the room and sat in the chair that I'd been in, then sat back as though thinking something through.
"What is it Tank, did Morelli leave?"
"Yeah, walked out with me. Told me to make sure that we kept Steph safe"
I couldn't work that one out, I mean I knew that Joe had always worried about me, worried that I would get hurt. There had been times when Joe had even been grateful for my friendship with Ranger because he knew that Ranger would do his best to look after me. Maybe Joe was just being concerned, after all he must realize that the people responsible for hurting me would be looking for me. I hadn't even noticed that Tank had left the room when Ranger stood up and put me on my feet. His arms remained around me as his lips swept across mine, whispering ever so quietly as his mouth moved to my ear.
"I will always keep you safe Babe"
Once back on five I went back into Ranger's office while he went in search of Lester
As the search on Sarah Heap ran, I sat on the couch and lent back into the cushions. I needed time to think and to reflect on that conversation with Joe. For some reason I had the feeling that I hadn't seen the last of Joe and was sure that there might be more confrontations.
RPOV
As Steph returned to work on her searches, I knew I needed to catch up with Santos. It was unusual for him not to be around, especially if he knew Steph was on the floor. Walking down the corridor I couldn't help but feel elated with what Steph had said to Morelli. She really was done with him. His comment to Tank though had me worried, of course I would keep her safe, but why had he said that? Was it because he still cared for her or was it because he knew more than we thought? Was he working a case that was overlapping or was he somehow involved?
I couldn't believe that he would get involved with something like this unless he was working undercover. But then would he have known that Steph was in danger and would he jeopardize a case if he knew? I didn't like where my thoughts were taking me and hoped that anything that concerned Morelli was purely coincidence, then again, I never did like coincidences.
I eventually found Santos working in one of the spare offices, looking busy on a computer and with paperwork. As I went into the room and closed the door, he looked up at me before going back to what he was doing.
"Hey. Needed to get caught up with work"
"Good road trip?"
I knew Santos well, too well, we'd been kids together growing up, cousins so had a family tie. So, I knew he was trying to avoid talking.
"What's eating at you?"
"I know how we were picked up"
I was ready to spring at him for knowing and not telling me. My hands balled into fists as I stared at him. His demeanor changed as though he was resigned to what he knew.
"I don't think it was done on purpose"
"You don't think"
"Hell, Ranger, I'm sure she wasn't aware of what she was doing"
"I take it you're talking about Cassie?"
I watched as he slumped in his chair obviously unsure of what to think. I sat down in the chair opposite the desk and waited for him to talk me through what he knew.
"When we got to Atlanta we were still being followed. I called Mat and asked for his help, he was great and didn't ask for an explanation. Once inside the building he loaned us the use of one of the apartments and it was when Cassie was showering that I heard her phone go off. I checked the history. She made a call when we stopped at that rest area"
"Number?"
"I already checked. It was unlisted"
Damn it, I'd trusted that woman with Steph, trusted her enough to let her get close. She'd seemed genuine in how she'd helped Steph and me for that matter.
"Was it her that insisted she came with us?"
"Yeah. I was supposed to meet up with her later that night, so called to cancel. I told her that there was trouble and, okay, I let her talk me into meeting us at that motel. She said that Steph would need her, to calm her down and have someone to talk to"
"Does she know you found her phone?"
"No. I just can't believe that she would do that to Steph, not when she knew what she'd been through"
I suppose I agreed with him, but it didn't do anything to assuage my feelings. Damn it, Steph would need to know, and she'd hate it if she thought she'd been betrayed by someone that she had trusted.
"She doesn't know that you and Steph are back, I told her that I had work to catch up on so wouldn't be seeing her"
"You liked her, didn't you?"
"Yeah"
I could almost hate Cassie just for what she'd done to Santos. He was seen as a lady's man and a player but only because his trust in women was so low. He'd been hurt badly a long time ago and I suppose his defense mechanism was to never to let a woman get too close again. As I stood to leave, I saw Santos get up as well.
"What will you do Ranger?"
"I have no idea. This will devastate Steph, but she needs to know"
I walked out of the office feeling annoyed and definitely pissed off, thinking that Bobby was who I needed to speak to next. I knew he wasn't back yet so headed for my office, I'd need to get a feel for Steph's mood and judge when it was the best time to tell her about Cassie.
I was surprised when I walked into the office that Steph wasn't sat at her desk but a quick look around and I saw her on the couch, fast asleep. I brought the chair up closer to her so that I could watch her. Papers were scattered on the floor that she'd probably been reading so bending down I gathered them up and started to read them.
I placed the papers down on the floor as I saw movement from Steph and decided to wake her before she ended up in the hold of a nightmare. Crouching down in front of her I swept a curl from her face and tucked it behind her ear before starting to place kisses on her cheeks. I watched as her eyelids moved and was then looking into the sleepy blue eyes that I loved so much.
"Hey"
"Hey yourself. I must have fallen asleep"
"You still need to build your strength up"
"I'm feeling better"
"I know you are Babe.
I helped Steph to sit up and then to stand, pulling her to me before I stepped away at the sound of a knock on my office door.
"Enter"
Had the door opening and Bobby stepping in, he looked at Steph before looking at me. I could tell by his face that he had news and it probably wasn't going to be good. But then the death of a young innocent man never was.
"I've just got back from seeing the coroner. I'm sorry Steph, but he thinks by comparing features from that photograph that the young man was Shane Cooper. He'd had a lot of bruising on him and several broken ribs"
It was a good job that I still had a hold of Steph because I felt her sway in my arms so carefully pushed her down onto the couch. As she looked up at Bobby her eyes showed the beginning of tears.
"Have the police been informed?"
"Yeah and guess who's picked up the case"
"Morelli"
Damn it, that didn't sit well with me as I remembered what I'd been thinking earlier but it was something that we'd have to work around. I watched as Bobby left the room, knowing that I needed to talk to him but at the moment I wanted to make sure that Steph was okay.
"I'm okay, I knew that he'd been killed so I suppose it was just a matter of time before his body turned up"
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes. I need to finish what I started earlier"
I left the office in search of Bobby, finding him in his office. His door was open, so I closed the door and then sat down in the chair in front of his desk and just like Santos I waited for Bobby to say something.
"Maybe we should call Cassie and ask her advice"
"It seems it was Cassie who gave away where Steph and I were"
I saw the frown appear on his face, as though he wasn't too sure of what I'd said so I went ahead with my reasoning for that statement.
"Santos found a phone on her that showed an outgoing call to a phone after we'd left Trenton. Not long before we picked up a tail"
"Shit Ranger, Ellery was the one who recommended her"
"I know, but for now I'm just not sure if we can trust her"
"Do you want me to talk to Ellery?"
"No, don't involve him. There are too many things happening that we don't know about"
