Chapter 24
When I woke the sun was slowly sinking into the sea, it was beautiful to watch as the sky turned red and the water shimmered with reflections.
"It's beautiful isn't it?"
I opened my eyes surprised to see that Juan was back, reclined in the chair opposite me.
"Yes, but where exactly are we?"
"We're still in Cambodia, on the Gulf of Thailand. South west of Siem Reap"
"How safe are we?"
"Safe for now, though we'll need to move soon"
I didn't want to ask it out loud, but in my head, I was asking the question to myself. What if they had kept Ranger alive? Ranger had never said it, but I now understood what he was implying when he'd said that there could never be anything between us. The reason why he'd kept me at arms length in the past was that I could be his weakness, be used against him. Was that what Juan was trying to do, use me to get information?
As I stood up and walked over the rough wooden section to where the table and chairs were, Juan was chatting with Maia as she brought things to the table. I was surprised when Maia sat with us to eat but it helped to have an everyday conversation at the table. The food was simple but tasty and I found that my stomach was coping better with larger portions of food. I found that I enjoyed the taste of the food that she'd prepared.
"That was amazing Maia"
"Maybe you could try some of our recipes when you get back home"
Yeah right, she had no idea just how bad I was in the kitchen.
"The recipe is simple, though I'm not too sure that you'd be able to get all of the fresh ingredients"
"What do you use?"
I was curious now and thought maybe that Ella would be able to source things out. In fact, knowing how good Ella was at cooking she could probably reproduce the dish.
"Banana blossom, so maybe not easy to find. The rest I'm sure you have, fresh lemon juice, chicken breast, mint and basil leaves, mung bean sprouts, roasted and ground peanuts and pepper"
"It's simple to do"
I turned to Juân as he said that and raised my eyebrows.
"Okay, I admit I like Asian food. It's in the blood"
That answered the assumption that I'd had that Juân had ties to this part of the world.
"So you speak the language as well?"
"Yeah, though I have to say it helped to learn some of the other languages over here and comes in handy when I'm working"
"So what do you do?"
"Mainly bodyguard work. I have three other guys who work for me so we're an elite business mainly working with rich folk who want to travel in Asia"
"That must be interesting"
"Not really, but it pays the bills"
"How do you know Ranger?"
"We go back a long way, to bootcamp. He moved across to the rangers and I went into special forces. I still do work for the government and occasionally Ranger has asked me for support, usually in the background as back up when he aint too happy with the mission"
I was glad when Maia interrupted the conversation by standing and as she started to pick up some of the dishes and place them onto a tray, I helped her. As she started to lift the tray, that looked really heavy, Juân took it from her.
"I'll carry that for you, it's too heavy for you"
Maia smiled as she bid me good night, then walked from the decking and led the way for Juân to follow her. From the way that Maia smiled at him I was sure there was something going on between the two of them though they sure tried to keep that from me. He returned quickly and stood by the table, obviously waiting for me to move.
"The insects are out so we need to get inside before we're bitten to death"
I hadn't really noticed any insects, though I had been using the insect repellant while in Cambodia, not so much here. As we walked into the room, I noticed that a large net had been pulled down surrounding the bed making it look an enticing place to be.
"I'm in the next shack if you need me"
I heard the door close as he left and saw a nightdress laid on the bed. To be honest I still felt very weary and welcomed the idea of sleeping. Nestled under the sheet, with the net surrounding me made me feel safe and it didn't seem long before my head emptied, and sleep engulfed me.
The dreams that came felt so real, so comforting as though Ranger were there with me and I didn't want him to leave me. It took my breath away, the feel of his mouth licking and sucking at my nipples, the sensation sending tingles through me. The feel of a hand snaking down my stomach and resting on my mound. It had been so long since I'd had an orgasm that his fingers rubbing against me and the thrust of his fingers inside me had me writhing like a cat against the pressure. The orgasm rolled through me with an unquenchable force, prolonged by his continued movements.
As the shuddering stopped, I opened my eyes to see the blackness all around me and suddenly realized that it was my own hand between my legs, the juices sticky on my fingers. I wasn't sure if a dream like that was welcome or not because it only intensified the feelings of loss. But I knew I had welcomed it, welcomed that feeling of him being there with me.
I didn't think there was a need to think through what it meant so with a smile across my face I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
When I finally woke, I was aware that I hadn't moved since last waking but now the light from the sun lit up the room where I was. As I stretched, I moved my arm pleased when it didn't seem to be hurting as much. After using the bathroom and deciding to shower I found another sundress and set of pants to wear in the small area curtained off. Then on an impulse rinsed out the clothes that I'd been wearing the day before, sure that there wasn't really a lot here for me. As I went outside, I draped them over the wooden banister that surrounded the decked area. I'd only been sat for a few minutes when I saw Maia and Juan crossing the sand toward me, a tray in Juan's hand. As he set the tray onto the table, I could see bowls of fruit and bread.
"You look better this morning"
I looked up to see Maia looking at me, as though she were looking for any signs of a relapse.
"I feel much better this morning"
"Good, you can walk with me along the beach"
I didn't reply to Juan because that was what I had intended to do. I wanted to get as fit as possible so that I could cope better. After eating some bread and fruit I stepped down from the wooden decking.
The sand was cool under my feet as the sun hadn't reached it yet, so I started to walk down to water's edge. I heard Juan behind me only because he was running, his feet pounding on the sand. As I started to walk along the beach, he ran ahead of me, sprinting fast then slow before dropping to the floor to do some pushups. I felt exhausted just watching him. We soon came to the end of the bay of sand, rocks stopping us going any further.
Juan was sweating, a sheen of sweat glistening over his body. He was so much like the Merry Men with muscles on his body showing that he obviously exercised regularly. That thought brought a pang of guilt to me. I hoped that they were okay and not running around trying to find me and that the hassle they seemed to be getting from the FBI was over with. As Juan came back toward me, I had a feeling that he was up to something and squealed as he picked me up and started to wade into the water. At least he didn't throw me in or push me under the water instead he gently lowered me until my feet were firmly on the sand below.
"Swimming or walking through water are good forms of exercise"
"I can swim"
Hell, I'd spent many summers at Point Pleasant swimming in the sea so knew I was a confident and fairly strong swimmer. I pushed off, going parallel to the beach and slowly moved my legs and arms to do a sedate breaststroke. My leg was fine, no pain there at all, but my shoulder wasn't too happy with being stretched too far. I turned slightly putting more pressure onto my good arm and found that helped. I was lost in focusing on my strokes and the feel of the sun on my skin when I realized I couldn't see Juan anywhere. I stopped and stood looking around me, a feeling of panic crawling through me. Insane ideas going through my mind. What if he disappeared, or if he wasn't coming back? What if we'd been followed here? When he suddenly broke out of the water in front of me a smile across his face, I was close to crying.
"Steph, what's wrong?"
"I couldn't see you, I lost where you were"
For some reason I was still feeling very edgy, even though Juan was stood in front of me. I wasn't sure if it was Juan that made me feel that way or something else that I wasn't aware of.
We were soon walking back along the beach, neither of us saying anything but I was still reeling from how I'd reacted in the way that I had.
Once inside the shack I showered, washing my hair, finding it much easier to do and then with a towel around me returned to the room to look for something to wear. I wasn't surprised that there wasn't anything so resorted to the dress that I'd been wearing yesterday. Surprisingly the dress and panties outside were dry. I did find the rucksack that I'd had with me at Ronteah so checked out my hidden contents to make sure they were still there. Everything seemed to be as I remembered so leaving it under the bed I went and sat outside.
I felt Juan arrive and sit down beside me and looked over to where he was sat. Seeing him sit forward with his elbows on his knees made me realize that he was thinking about something serious. I wasn't too sure if I was going to like it but needed to refrain from interrupting him until I knew exactly what he was planning.
"We need to leave tomorrow"
"Where will we go?"
He raised his head and looked at me, oh boy, somehow I didn't think I was going to like this.
"Back to the States"
"I don't understand"
"We'll fly there under aliases but then we'll need to split up. I'll find somewhere safe for you to stay and then I need to start and ask questions"
I stood up and walked to the banister at the edge of the decking, looking down over the beach, trying to get my emotions in check before I said something I'd regret. I suppose in some ways it made sense, but it didn't mean that I had to like it.
"Then what?"
"Once I get this whole situation under control then you can go back home. Maybe get the guys at Rangeman to take you back to Trenton, so you can act as though you just went away to get over losing Ranger"
"How long?"
"As long as it takes"
Maybe that would work but somehow, I wasn't too sure about it. Besides if Juan thought I was going to hide out and then return to Trenton as though nothing had happened then he didn't know me at all. I had got this far and had every intention of finishing what I'd started. I was also getting a funny feeling about Juan and what he'd suggested. Did he want me out of the way from other people finding me so that he could get the information from me or did he think that because I didn't tell him anything then it was because I had no information to give. Or worse, if Ranger was alive would he use me to get to Ranger. Shit, there were so many possibilities and none of them felt good to me.
"Did those two other men who were with Ranger know whether or not he was given the information?"
"I see where you're going. I don't even know if they made it out of there"
"So they could have told someone what happened or even reported that back to their boss"
"They could have yes, but they wouldn't know what the information was or where it is"
"Where will you start?"
"I'll come back here and start in Pnohm Pehn. Look into whether or not those two guys made it out and see if I can find out what happened to Ranger"
I suppose Juan had it all worked out in his head, what he would say and how much he would reveal. Losing Ranger once was enough for me and I was still clinging to the hope that he was still alive, somewhere. Losing him twice, well it was too much to think about. Maybe it would have been better if Maia hadn't been such a good doctor, then I wouldn't have to listen to these thoughts.
I moved to the side away from Juan and went through to the bathroom. I needed some time to think on my own but didn't want to alert Juan to how I was feeling, he had too much to think about already.
The day passed slowly with me sleeping and walking. I knew both were needed if I was to get myself healthy. Walking allowed me to think, though I did get to the point of going around in circles. Juan and Maia were still a mystery to me and the more I thought about it the less I trusted Juan. That he had come to Trenton and then followed me made me very wary of what his intentions were. To me it seemed as though he was trying to find out exactly how much I knew and by following me he maybe thought I would lead him to the information he was after. Then again it also made me wonder if he was protective of me to make sure that no one else could get to me. I was thankful for that because I had no idea who to trust or who the bad guys were.
As far as what to do next I wasn't too sure. I'd achieved some payback by getting into Ronteah and sabotaging their systems and in a roundabout way had also helped the men who were being held there to escape. It hadn't helped me in finding out what had happened to Ranger though or whether or not he was still alive somewhere and that was what was plaguing me the most. The decision I'd need to make was whether to stay with Juan and let him take me back to the States or maybe even get in touch with Les or Tank.
As the day progressed, I was aware of constantly being watched by Juan, to the point where it was driving me insane. As the sun started to move down in the sky, I headed back to the shack ready for food and probably sleep. As we sat around the table and Maia served out some sort of stir fry I tensed as Juan started up with his questions again.
"How long have you known Ranger for?"
"About four years. He mentored me when I first began bounty hunting"
"A strange occupation for someone like you"
"Why would you say that?"
"You don't look like you'd cope well with any violent skips"
"That's when Ranger would help me out"
"So, he's what, a friend, boyfriend, work colleague?"
"A good friend"
No way was I going to tell Juan just how much I felt about Ranger or that he'd confessed his love for me through a letter. Maybe if Juan saw us as just being friends then he'd back off with the interrogating questions.
"He must trust you, I read that you helped get his daughter back when she was kidnapped"
"Yeah, I helped, just like he had always helped me. He needed a woman to get close to the kidnapper, so I was the obvious choice"
"How else did you help him out?"
"I'd do distractions to help capture skips and sometimes did bodyguarding where a woman was involved"
"All low key then?"
"Yes, all low key"
"So why were those Rangeman all over you?"
"I don't know, maybe because his death hit me hard and they wanted to support me somehow"
"So the rumors that you were his woman?"
"It helped me out when I was in the rougher areas of Trenton. My boyfriend didn't like that very much"
"Boyfriend?"
"Yeah, he's a detective with the Trenton PD"
I wanted to confuse Juan and hoped by saying that he would begin to question how close Ranger and I were. By the look on his face I could see that he was confused so decided to push forward with that line of conversation.
"My boyfriend and I, well we've had our ups and down over the years. I think the pressure from parents scared the shit out of both of us. Neither of us are ready to settle down into a suburban lifestyle"
"I never saw you with him"
"Yeah, he was around. Both of us were busy with work but we'd see each other regularly"
"Steph, why the hell did you come to Cambodia?"
Shit that was the one question I was dreading him asking.
"Ranger would have done the same for me"
"Gone after someone who hurt you?"
I just nodded my head as I thought about Abruzzi, knowing in my heart that it had been Ranger who'd made sure his death looked like a suicide. I knew that Ranger was getting frustrated at what Abruzzi was doing to me and although I hated the idea that maybe it was Ranger's doing, I was eternally grateful at hearing the news of Abruzzi's death.
The conversation effectively came to an end with me not too sure what Juan thought he knew or suspected. Maia though was quick to fill in the silence and changed the subject to talking about travelling in the morning.
"Maia, is there any chance that there are other clothes that I can wear if we're travelling?"
I didn't feel comfortable wearing a skimpy dress, especially if we were travelling through where people would see me.
"Sure, I washed the top that you were wearing and the trousers, mending the hole from the bullet. I'll fetch everything over for you and change your dressings then you'll be ready for the morning"
"What time do we leave Juan?"
"I have a truck parked further back, so I'll bring it down here about 8am"
I suppose I should have realized he'd have a vehicle of some description in order to get me here and then realized that I'd never explored behind the shacks to see what was there and felt stupid for that oversight.
Once we'd finished eating Juan again carried the tray of dishes away for Maia. I waited where I was sat knowing that Maia would be returning soon and was pleased that I didn't have long to wait.
"Okay Steph?"
I jumped at the sound of Maia's voice and stood up to go into the shack, sitting down on the edge of the bed for her to check the injuries on my thigh and shoulder. I watched in horror as she started to remove the stitches from my leg wound but then remembered that she'd said that it needed doing.
"The injury to your leg is healing nicely, maybe keep the dressing on for another day. How does your shoulder feel?"
"Better, certain movement causes some pain"
As she tended to the wound, removing the stitches on my shoulder, I saw that my clothes were on the bed, neatly folded so I could wear them in the morning. As soon as she'd finished, she pulled back the sheet and released the netting around the bed. Throwing the old dressings in a bag she looked around before saying goodnight. I suppose that was her way of saying that I needed to get ready for bed. After showering I stood in the bedroom, with a thin towel wrapped around me.
I was looking at the clothes on the bed and made an impulsive decision. I dressed in the clean underwear, actually relieved that the bra didn't rub against my shoulder wound and then pulled on the sleeveless T-shirt pleased that it hadn't been damaged but it did mean that the dressing on my shoulder was visible. The cargos had been carefully stitched across the hole where the bullet had hit my thigh, but the repair had been done carefully so wasn't obvious. The last garment was the shirt and this one did show a repair to the shoulder. I knew I needed footwear and could remember that I'd been wearing my boots that day when I was with Arun so started to search the shack for them. I was so pleased when I found them underneath the bed, along with the socks that were tucked neatly inside. I knew in my heart that I couldn't leave Cambodia, I had to find Ranger and staying with Juan wasn't going to help me to do that.
I hadn't really thought what I was doing by getting dressed but I felt a need to leave the shack and explore. I pulled my rucksack over my shoulders and clipped it at the front. Making sure that the lights were switched off in the shack I quietly opened the door and stepped outside. The sound of the waves came to me, gently lapping against the shore with the white reflecting in the moonlight. There were stars as I looked up, their view unhindered from clouds. I took a deep breath, as my nerves settled, and I closed the door quietly behind me. Once on the wooden porch the silence around me gave me the confidence so I went to my right and ducked down under the wooden handrail, landing quietly in the soft sand. I was surprised at how much I could see and walked keeping to the wall of the shack to the end.
