Chapter 7

Lester and Tank were waiting for us at the airfield. I exited the plane and ran straight to Lester, jumping into his arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you too Beautiful," he kissed my cheek. After setting me back on my feet, I ran to Tank and jumped into his arms.

He laughed while he caught me. "You look happy Little Girl. I missed you."

"I am happy. I missed you too big guy." I gave him a huge kiss on the lips. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Diesel smiling. He was obviously secure with our new relationship. Tank's face was bright red. I love embarrassing this man because it's just so much fun. Diesel pulled me from Tank's arms and kissed me.

"Les, grab our bags," he pointed over his shoulder. This wasn't how I wanted them to learn about me and Diesel, but the damage is already done.

"How long?" Tank barked.

"It's a recent development... as in today," I sternly answered. He nodded, unable to speak his concern. I had a feeling he was worried about boss man. We silently entered the car and buckled in. Within 10 minutes I had to say something. "He can't give me what I need. We talked already. Ranger offered me a job at Rangeman. Is that still an option?"

"Absolutely Beautiful," Lester was quick to answer. "He's aware we were picking you up today. I have a contract for you." Lester reached into his bag and passed me the contract.

Diesel and I quietly discussed the contents as Tank drove us home. I was offered a reasonable salary and I was confident I could easily pass the entry physical exam. My contract states I have at least 3 months to pass the entrance tests. I have an additional 6 months to pass the final physical tests. An outline of the requirements was included in the file.

"Hey Tank? Can you take us to Rangeman first? I want to see Bobby, Ram and Ranger." He raised an eyebrow and turned the car around. Lester turned in his seat to look at me.

"Are you sure Beautiful?" His smile indicating he knew I was more than ready.

"Yup. I'll even let the other guys watch." I was extremely confident in my new skills. Diesel taught me moves I doubt Ranger even knew.

"Look at you Little Girl," Tank said through a smile. "Are you confident enough to take on Lester?" I knew Lester was the one I needed to fight for my entry test.

"You'll see. I'm sure I can manage," I confidently answered.

We parked in the Rangeman garage and I followed Tank and Lester to the gym. Lester cleared the men's change room so I could change into my yoga pants and sports bra. The men whistled when they saw my toned body. I did a few stretches before removing my shoes and climbing into the sparring ring.

Lester quickly changed and removed his shoes, leaving them beside the ring. He climbed in and took his position. I held my hands out towards Bobby for him to wrap them while Junior wrapped Lester's hands. Lester had a tendency to use the same combinations. It didn't take too long to recognize the pattern. After sparring for 30 minutes, I was able to knock him out using one of the combinations Diesel taught me. I was reserving my special combination for my sparring match against Ranger.

Bobby had Hal unwrap my hands while he tended to Lester. "I would never have believed it," I heard various men say. They were surprised I was able to beat Lester. A well timed punch to the sweet spot on the jaw instantly knocked him out.

"Where did you learn that move?" Tank asked. I raised both eyebrows in attempt of raising just one. "Oh." He quickly realized who taught me. Only one person could teach me how to hit with such precision.

"There's more. I'll meet you in the gun range Ram," I called over my shoulder. I pulled my T-shirt over my head and laced my shoes. Bobby, Lester and Tank followed me to the gun range. I could hear more guys talking about watching the cameras to prevent crowding me.

Ram opened the gun range and selected several weapons for me to dismantle and reassemble. I noticed he timed my progress. After he confirmed they were properly assembled, he gave me several magazines. It was my responsibility to determine which magazine belonged to each weapon. He placed several boxes of ammunition at the side of my lane.

A target was placed 6 feet away from me. I was tasked to empty one magazine into the smallest inner circle over the heart. It was almost too easy for me to do. I quickly emptied the magazine then released it from the gun. The next target was set further away. I used a total of 5 weapons and managed to hit every target in the place Ram ordered.

"She passed the half the requirements," I heard Bobby tell Tank.

"What are the other ones?" I asked knowing I had to run a 9 minute mile and do a series of strength and stamina exercises.

"Back to the gym?" Bobby asked.

"Sure, we may as well get these tests completed today." I was excited to show off the new me. We entered the gym to finish my requirements. Ranger was on the equipment lifting weights to strengthen his arms. "Boss and I need to talk too," I told Tank. He nodded before making his way to Ranger. I moved to the mats and completed 50 sit ups and 30 push ups.

Tank came back to lift me up to the bar to do 30 pull ups. Bobby was timing me. He offered me some time to recover, but it wasn't necessary. When I complete the next test in 3 months, I'll take the breaks offered to all Rangeman staff. No special treatment for my entry test.

I dropped from the bar and moved to the treadmill where I was told to run for 10 minutes. Pushing everything else from my mind, I focussed on Diesel who was talking to Lester. I ran faster than I ever had before, pushing past the slight burn in my muscles. After a few minutes, I felt sweat pouring down my face and neck. An alarm sounded to indicate time was up. Bobby's jaw dropped when he saw I ran nearly 2 miles.

"The average woman runs a mile in 10 minutes. I've seen female athletes push it to 7 or 8 minutes. You surpassed the basic requirements in each category. Have you signed the contract?" Bobby asked excitedly.

Ranger was obviously listening for my answer. He rubbed his temple indicating he had a headache. Glancing at Diesel, I saw a huge smile on his face. I completely forgot when Diesel is near Ranger, the latter suffers from headaches. I've initialed all the exercise components on the contract. I needed to be sure Ranger really wanted me here, knowing we couldn't have a relationship other than friendship... if he still wanted to be my best friend that is. "It's as good as signed," I said as I looked into Ranger's eyes. I just need to talk to the boss.

He nodded and raised his chin towards the door. I used the offered towel to wipe off my face and neck. Ranger led me to the elevators. When the car arrived, he looked at me before pressing the button for the seventh floor. I guess he wanted to have this conversation in private. The air in the elevator felt heavy, but not suffocating. His presence didn't affect me as it used to. I was very comfortable in my own body and secure in my budding relationship with Diesel... something else we needed to discuss.

The elevator opened on his floor. Out of habit, he placed his hand on my lower back to guide me. I was surprised I didn't feel the tingling sensation in the back of my neck anymore. He waited until we were in his apartment before talking. "I'm sorry Babe." I watched him pull a few bottles of water from the refrigerator. He passed me one and indicated I should sit on the couch.

"Sorry for what exactly?" I was curious to know where this conversation was going.

"Everything," he whispered. "I had no right to take you to bed. You willingly gave yourself to me and I just took everything I could."

"Why did you qualify it with the 'I love you in my own way' crap? At first I wasn't sure what I wanted. The times we had sex was magical. You made me feel things I never thought I'd feel. It hurt every time you sent me back to Joe," I was finally being honest with him about my feelings.

"I didn't know," he claimed. Was this man serious? He honestly didn't know I fell in love with him? "I'm too damaged to deserve your love."

"Okay, I can understand why you feel that way. You've trained for many years to be the badass man you are today. Every time you killed a man for your country, it took away a piece of you. I get it. I may not have fought to keep America free, but I do know how it feels to have pieces of you chipped away. It's why I had to leave," I confessed.

"My mistake," he began. I waited patiently for him to continue. It took a few minutes, but he finally decided to talk. "I made you believe that we had a chance at a relationship. I do love you Stephanie, just not enough to give you everything you want. My biggest mistake was sending you back to Morelli. When I read your email, I thought I lost your friendship forever. I can't live a day without having in my life. We already decided we can't be lovers, but I still need my best friend. You keep me grounded and help me find my centre."

Wow... he's very chatty today. He's not going to be happy when he learns I want a relationship with his cousin Diesel. "I was hoping we could still be friends. You're my best friend. Knowing Batman would come to my rescue gave me peace of mind. It allowed me to continue putting one foot in front of the other." I reached over to grab his hand. Stroking his fingers, I continued, "I'm not the same person I was before I left."

"I can see how much you've changed. Morelli out of the picture?" He wanted to know if I would run back to that cheater.

"Joe is completely out of the picture. Cheating on me by screwing Terry was the final straw. You came to my rescue that day, but you quickly brushed me off. I was expecting at least a phone call from you. It was time for me to gain control over my life.

"Diesel?" Ranger wanted to know why he was hanging around.

"Expect to see more of him around here. We just started dating today," I admitted. "Before you ask, he'll be living with me." Ranger looked a bit sad, but mostly defeated. "I'm going to sign the contract..." I trailed off.

"But you wanted to clarify our relationship status," he finished for me.

"Exactly. Are we okay now?"

"Babe," he answered before pulling me onto his lap. He lightly kissed my lips. I didn't feel the tingling in my lips from his kiss. It felt like I was kissing my brother. A small smile appeared on his lips. "Babe, kissing you just now felt like kissing my sister."

"I agree... like kissing my brother." I linked our fingers together, feeling completely at peace. "I'll always need you," I whispered. "No more running away."

"Can I still call you Babe?"

"Always. You only say my name when you're angry at me."

"Your time away was for self improvement?"

"It was part of the reason. Mostly it was to break free of my usual habits. I exercised daily and talked to a therapist too."

"No more running away for either of us," he finally said. "Even if your new boyfriend gives me headaches."

I started laughing, "I love when you joke with me. Let's go and sign my contract."

He allowed me to move off his lap. We took the elevator to the fifth floor. Ranger directed me to his office where Lester, Bobby, Ram, Tank and Diesel were waiting for us. I took the contract from Diesel and finished reading the content before adding my signature to the back page. Ranger and Tank signed as witnesses.

After taking his seat behind his desk, Ranger barked, "Report."

Bobby shared the results of my physical strength and stamina tests. Ram gave Ranger the results of my range test. His eyebrow lifted when he saw my accuracy level. "Just below mine," he said with amusement.

"I want to train her on long range weapons," Ram said to the room. I was alright with learning more skills. Ranger nodded in agreement.

"She needs to train on the obstacle course," Lester added.

"Her business degree will help streamline our paperwork." Tank sounded hopeful.

"Babe?"

"Yes to all of it," I beamed.