All familiar characters belong to Janet. Mistakes are solely mine.
"Maybe I should go down ahead of you guys and smooth the way for Atlas," Steph suggested, as she and I looked back at the camera feed trained on the entrance of the building.
My cell is linked to the control room so I can access any and all of the monitors from here in our apartment. The woman who could make or break Atlas had driven through the front gate Gene had opened for her on my orders, but her nerves are clear as she parked but has yet to get out of her Mercedes SUV.
"I've already spoken to Amari, Babe. She at least knows who I am. You're still a stranger to her."
"Yeah, and you obviously intimidated her otherwise she would've tried to follow you back here to find her man, not wait until Atlas called her up and issued an invitation. That's what I would've done, actually did try to do with Lula when we first met you. We were hoping to find the Bat Cave."
"She may not be afraid of me, but is just not as fearless as you are."
"I doubt that given her battle attire. Guess the tailored business suit says she means business." Steph suddenly sighed in what sounded like envy, as the woman finally convinced herself to exit her vehicle. "She's who I wanted to look like after an entire summer spent on a beach at Point Pleasant."
"You, your body, and your skin tone are perfect as is, Steph."
She rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, if you're into vampires that have junk food addictions."
"The blood aspect does nothing for me, but I don't mind biting your neck … if you ask me nicely."
"Focus, Bossman."
"I am," I said, nosing her ponytail aside to brush my lips across the nape of her neck.
"Hmmm … maybe we can reschedule Atlas' love life and work on ours again," she murmured, as I scraped my teeth along her skin.
"Mama, doggy door," Olivia said, popping up in the kitchen and then pointing down the hall towards the front door where Mo and Gunny had run to.
Our baby girl is all girl today, looking like a walking, talking flower patch until you reached her tiny black Timberland boots. Her skirt is covered with red, fuchsia, and light pink flower bundles filling the white fabric. Her top is bright red with a bow-style belt. Steph even added a butterfly-shaped clip to keep Olivia's hair out of her eyes. It's a cute look for a kid, but I got the distinct impression Stephanie wanted to enjoy a burst of Spring in what felt like a 'Fuck You' gesture towards another rapidly-approaching Jersey Winter.
I knew the knock was coming, even without Gunner, Ammo, and Olivia alerting us to it. Mado was actually awake and in the mix, but she didn't seem nearly as eager to see who's at the door as our dogs are. I could've told them ten minutes ago that it would be Atlas. Steph and I had both predicted he'd freak once Amari arrived. And he didn't disappoint.
"That will be Uncle Atlas," Steph told our baby. "He's going to want us to go meet someone. Are you ready to make a new friend?"
"Meddy fend," Olivia answered, lifting her arms straight up in the air to get picked up.
Steph handled her while I fielded the other baby.
"She's freakin' here!" Atlas all but shouted as soon as I opened the door.
"That's usually what happens when you invite a woman who's still in love with you over to your new place," I informed him.
Our fur-family spilled out into the hall and I motioned for Gunny and Mo to herd Ahumado back into the apartment with them. Steph and Olive had followed me to the door so as soon as the three beasts were back on the other side of the door, I quickly closed and locked it. I signaled for my ladies to go ahead of us to the elevator.
"What the "F" was I thinking?" Atlas was saying. "I shouldn't have called her."
"You wouldn't have if you didn't want to see her," my wife reminded him. "Don't worry, Ranger and I will help you get through this."
"That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered.
Thankfully, Olivia decided to distract him in her own way. "I goed potty," she told him.
His eyes flicked from Olivia to Stephanie. "Ah … shouldn't you take care of that before we go downstairs"
"It's already been dealt with," she replied. "Didn't you hear her past tense on the word 'go'? Olive's just really proud of the fact that she keeps making it to the potty chair in time."
"Oh, cool. High-five," he said, holding his hand up for our daughter to smack. Only after she did, with surprising force I was proud to note, did his expression suddenly appear concerned. "She washed her hands after, right?"
Steph tried hard not to laugh at his sudden discomfort. I've pointed out many times that Atlas is a tad on the germophobic side, but she still finds it interesting that a feared gang-assassin can be afraid of germs. Living on the street can fuck you up good in all kinds of ways.
"Don't worry," my wife assured him, "her Supergirl soap kicks ninety-nine-point-nine percent of germ-butt. And we take extra time, every time, to get in-between those ten little fingers. Don't we, Olive? Just so I can nibble on them."
Steph did exactly that, which caused our baby to break out in a laughing fit while in her Mama's arms.
"I can guess why you don't have a litter of kids by now … when you won't leave that one alone," Atlas said to me.
"Do you hear Olivia complaining about our attention?" I asked him.
"No. Kid's damn lucky if you ask me."
"I didn't, but we're even luckier for having her and Julie in our lives."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Family's good … yada, yada, yada."
Having heard what he said, Steph was all too willing to include our daughter in putting the screws to One Shot when we were about to step out onto the ground floor.
"Uh, Olive, I think Uncle Atlas is going to have trouble finding his way to where Uncle Gene is usually standing. Do you want to help him find his way to the front door?"
Always ready to lend a hand or two, when the elevator door reopened Olivia positioned herself behind Atlas' body and started pushing his legs forward until he had no choice but to move towards Amari if he didn't want to disappoint our daughter by refusing her assistance.
Amari hadn't strayed far from the front desk as she waited to see Atlas again. Her eyes said she was surprised to see Steph and I following behind him, but almost immediately they returned to One Shot, raking over him from head to toe and then right back up again. There was nothing hesitant or bashful about that full-body scan. Her lips were in the process of tipping up into a smile at the sight of him, until she spotted Olive peeking out from behind his legs. Her look and smile changed in an instant.
"I didn't know there was a baby," she whispered. "Is she yo …?"
"If you don't want me dead, don't finish that question," he said, cutting her off with a nod in our direction. "She's their pint-sized bulldozer. Ranger'd kill anyone who'd try to claim her."
Steph shrugged in apology. "I'd like to say Atlas is kidding, but Olive is the epitome and definition of a Daddy's girl."
"She's pushy like her Mama though," Atlas noted.
Amari came close to smiling. "Some things never change. You're still the charmer."
"More like he's still blunt to the point of stupidity," I corrected.
"Either way, he's stuck with us helping him to fix his past mistakes."
"Subtle, Babe."
"I wasn't trying to be. Come on in and get comfortable," my wife said, pointing to one of the more welcoming meeting rooms. "Ranger, Olive, and I will leave you two alone in a minute, but I'd like to plead his case for him before we go. Your boy's likely to shoot himself in the foot without some guidance."
"Plead my case?" Said 'boy' asked, turning around to look at my wife with his hands jammed on his hips. "She's the one who lied and scared the sh … stuff … out of me as a result."
"Lose the attitude," I warned Atlas. "Or I'm ending this and you'll be on your own."
"I don't suggest you go it alone," Steph told him, bending to lift Olivia up again so our baby could get a bead on our visitor from an eye-to-eye vantage point. "I may not mind you as much these days, but you do act without thinking most of the time. You need us watching your back when it comes to the important stuff."
Amari's gaze flicked from Steph, to me, then Atlas, and back to Stephanie and Olivia. "Thank you for taking care of him. Saying I've been worried wouldn't do my ulcer justice."
"Don't start with that again," he told her. "You're as healthy as a horse, but much better lookin'."
Steph rolled her eyes, but Amari definitely had a blush forming. "There's that charm again," she teased.
"If she says so," my wife whispered to me.
"He's trying," I said back.
"I know. And it seems to be working for him."
We both glanced back at the couple. "Maybe we should cut our aid short," I suggested.
She nodded, the movement having Olivia agreeing with us too. "In a minute, though. I need to return a favor first." She and our daughter turned to Amari. "Since Atlas doesn't have parents that deserve him, Ranger and I are happy to fill that role …"
"We're about equal in age, how does that work exactly?" He asked my wife.
"Would you shut up and let me do the same for you that you did for me with my Mom?" She sighed, but didn't take her blue eyes off Amari. "I encouraged Atlas to reach out to you, because my gut tells me that you have actual feelings for the man, despite him being reeeeally annoying …"
"I'm standing right here, Mrs. Manoso," Atlas muttered.
"I know you are, and you should stop interrupting and be busy taking notes so you'll know what you need to work on." Her eyebrows stayed raised as she turned back to Amari. "As I was saying, I believe you love Atlas and that's why you did what you did, but he's one of ours now … and if you hurt him, or lie to him or us again, you will see a side of us I guarantee you won't like or ever forget."
"Don't pay any attention to her," Atlas tried. "Steph has taken the Mama Bear thing to a whole other level. She enjoys mother-henning the crap out of all the guys here. None of us escapes her notice."
"You're welcome. And I'm not going to apologize for caring about everybody here. You wanted me to like you, and though it's taken me a while, I kinda do … most days. Ranger will be the first one to agree with me on this ... you don't get to decide how much I feel, or how I act to show it. If you're important to me, I'm going to go to bat for you, even if you want to stand in the way of me doing that."
He held both hands up in surrender. "Don't let me stop you," he said, with a sarcastic edge to his tone.
"Like you could," I told him. "Bigger men have tried and failed spectacularly."
"Ranger's not putting himself in that category," Steph informed him. "He's the only one besides our girls who can 'handle' me. It'd be smart to let me say what I need to. You may have a hope of getting me out of your business afterwards."
He flicked the fingers of both hands in a 'Go ahead' gesture while shooting Amari a "I'm sorry about her" look.
Steph kept her gloating to a minimum. "You see what you're dealing with here, don't you?" She asked the woman.
"Yes. I wouldn't have come here if I weren't serious about convincing Atlas that it was a mistake to cut me out of his life."
"Spreading a rumor that you and his friends may be in danger wasn't the best way of getting your foot back in his door," I reminded her. "A lot of people could've gotten hurt."
Even Olivia was suddenly still as my words settled.
"I know. And I'm not proud of my actions," Amari admitted, before addressing Atlas directly. "But I didn't know what else to do. I kissed you goodbye before I left for work ... I didn't know it was an actual 'goodbye' for you. You were gone before I made it to the shop for our lunch together. Everyone told me that I was better off without you, that it'll hurt less as time goes by, but it hasn't felt that way. I miss you. Not the 'you' you tried to be in front of them and my Dad, but who you were when we were alone. I've never met anyone like you. And honestly … I don't want or need to."
I could feel Steph's eyes slide my way. "Can I change what I said to you years back, about how much you mean to me, and include some of what she just said?"
"No. I heard everything I needed to, Babe. Then and every day after."
"I may have even more to say later," she teased.
"Promises, promises," was my reply.
"I think Daddy needs a big kiss, Olive," she said to our baby, allowing me to take her when she stretched her little arms out to me.
She kissed me as instructed, causing both Atlas and Amari to try to stifle their smiles at Olivia's reaction.
"I'll wrap this up so you two can talk," Steph told them. "Amari, if you treat Atlas like he's 'It' for you, you have my family's full support. If you're here just to screw with him, I'll personally make sure you regret ever making contact. I'm hoping for the best here, because I want Atlas to be happy, but I am prepared for the worst …"
"And I promise that you don't want my wife angry with you," I added. "She can be even scarier than I am."
"I didn't come here to anger anyone, or to make anybody defensive," Amari stated. "I just wanted to talk to Atlas again. I appreciate your caution, and I want to thank you for it, but it's not necessary when it comes to my intentions. I got my foot in the door, as you said Mr. Manoso, and I intend to use this opportunity to explain why I should be let all the way inside again."
"Did you catch that, Atlas?" Steph asked him. "You've got a fighter on your hands, which is exactly what you need."
"Don't you have plans?" He asked.
I had to hide a grin at how quickly he went from scared to annoyingly-confident.
"We could," Steph answered, "if you play your cards right. Be a pain, and we'll stick around."
Now he sighed. "What do you want?"
"Like I told Amari … for you to be happy," my wife answered.
He cut his eyes to Amari before responding. "I'll work on it."
Steph nodded. "Good. Let us know how your date goes. Olivia is due for a nap soon, so we'll let you two reconnect."
Everyone involved understood that Stephanie expects a call from one or both of them to let her know if another Rangeguy has officially bitten the dust.
"Steph?" Atlas called, as we turned towards the elevator.
"Yeah?" My wife answered.
"Thanks for butting in."
Her smile was an automatic one. "We take care of each other here. You should know that by now."
"I'm a slow learner, but I do catch onto the 'important stuff' eventually."
"I know you do. Enjoy your visit. We'll see you later."
I nodded to the couple before following my ladies out of the room and back to the elevator. We stepped inside and I swear our relaxing momentarily caused Steph's cell to ring. She grinned at Olivia, who was happily stretching out and using my arm as her own personal hammock, and then she checked her screen's readout.
"I love my life," Steph informed us.
"What's going on now?" I asked.
"According to the information displayed, Tank's lady friend is calling me."