Chapter 29

SPOV

The outfit that I was wearing made me feel very sophisticated and certainly different to my normal attire. How Ella could find clothes for me that looked so good, totally mystified me. I didn't normally wear a bright red color but the way the V neck skirted my breasts to my shoulders, well just off my shoulders, and how the fabric clung to my waist and hips before following my legs down to just above the knee, worked. It had long sleeves and was made from a fine knit material so wearing a waist length fitted jacket would be all that I would need. As I put some things into a black bag Ranger came through from the bedroom, my breath catching as he approached me wearing his black Armani suit. Each time that I saw him looking intently at me my heart would speed up because I still found it so hard to believe that he wanted me.

"You look beautiful Babe"

After looking down at my hands I raised my eyes to look back at him.

"No, you'll be the one everyone looks at"

I saw him shake his head before he leant forward and brushed his lips across mine, I think so that he wouldn't get bright red lipstick on his lips. We never said a word as we left the apartment and took the elevator down to the garage. Ranger stood behind me with his hands around my stomach the reflection showing him bending down to my neck. My hair was on top of my head with only a few strands pulled down to frame my face, so my neck was an open invitation. I tilted my head to one side to really appreciate the attention as his mouth nuzzled the top of my shoulder sending goosebumps up and down my spine. All too soon the doors slid open and as we stepped out, I was greeted by Les whose eyes just about popped out of his head.

"Beautiful, you'll knock them out"

I really hoped not but I knew what Ranger was wanting of me. Most people knew me as the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, a woman who wore jeans and T-shirts and tended to bumble her way through her job causing mayhem and explosions behind her. Today I was going to be smart and sophisticated as Ranger's? I wasn't too sure how he would introduce me to people, so I was going to leave that up to him.

Les linked my arm through his, pulling me away from Ranger, and led me to one of the SUVs opening the door and lifting me onto the seat. I have to admit that one of the drawbacks of this dress was that it limited my movement, I just hoped that I didn't have the need to run anywhere. Ranger was with me in the back because Cal was also with us so I assumed that he and Cal would be part of our backup team.

Les stopped the car in front of the Riverside Hotel. It wasn't a place that I had been to before, especially as it was an up market place. I waited for Ranger to open my door and was grateful as he lifted me down onto the ground. After the car door closed Les pulled away but I knew that he and Cal would stay close by once the car was parked. I linked my arm though Ranger's as we began our ascent of the stone steps and through the front entrance. There was a board to one side of the reception desk giving directions for the Commerce function. Looking around it seemed to be a very functional place to me. The colors were a mixture of creams and brown from the carpet to the furniture. There were a few couches by the windows, but the place didn't invite you to stay for long.

As we made our along a hallway the place seemed unusually quiet, that is until Ranger pushed open a set of double doors. That was when the sound of conversations reached me and looking into the room, I was surprised at just how many people were here. It was a large room with a bar on the left hand side and a long table with food laid out, just sat there waiting for someone to taste its delights.

At the far end of the room was a square cut out from the carpet covered in wood, making me wonder if the place could be used for a wedding reception. There were men in white shirts moving chairs, that seemed to be set in rows, around small tables in the center of the room so I assumed people were waiting for that to be completed before they started to help themselves to the buffet.

Ranger led me across to the bar where he ordered two glasses of wine, but I could tell that he was scanning the room through the reflection of the mirrors. As the glasses were placed in front of us, I looked up and said a thank you, surprised to see Ram smiling back at me. I wasn't surprised as I took a sip of the wine to discover it was apple juice.

"Lewis is over there by the window talking to another man"

I turned with my back to the bar and casually scanned the room, looking over to the man we knew as Lewis. My immediate reaction was that he looked different to how I'd seen him at the museum. He was taller and maybe broader than I remembered with the start of a gut pushing forward through his shirt. The suit looked expensive and was probably made for him giving him an appearance of being important. He seemed engrossed in a conversation with an older man who from his attire was also an important business man. I found myself being guided by Ranger with his hand gentle but firm on my back.

To say I was disappointed that we were going in the opposite direction to the food was an understatement, I was so looking forward to trying out the buffet. We approached Lewis from behind him, not giving him the opportunity to see us coming, but as we neared the two men, I saw the other man look up and smile at us.

"Manoso, this must be a first for you. How's business going?"

By now we had Lewis turning around looking at Ranger and trying very hard to look for a way to leave us.

"Business is good, Bryan. I'll catch up with you later. I need a private word with Mr Lewis"

As a dismissal it had Bryan realizing that his company wasn't wanted, and he was soon turning away from us to find someone else to talk to. I turned my attention back to Ranger and Lewis, who by now was staring daggers at Ranger.

"I don't appreciate being interrupted Mr Manoso, so if you don't mind, I have other people that I need to talk to"

I raised my eyebrows at how brazen he sounded and couldn't wait for Ranger to put him in his place.

"I don't appreciate you and your little group of people trying to use me Mr Lewis, or that you kidnapped and endangered Miss Plum"

As Ranger said that he pulled me to his side so that Lewis would notice me because before now he'd hardly looked my way. His voice was hardly above a whisper as his eyes fell on me and said my name but then he decided to try and talk himself out of what we were accusing him of.

"Miss Plum. I have no idea what you're talking about. You've obviously made a huge mistake"

I watched as Ranger brought out a paper from the inside pocket of his jacket and turned it so that Lewis could see it. I caught a glimpse of several pictures on the paper so assumed they were from the night of the museum as Lewis had left the building. I was thinking that maybe Lewis wouldn't think that those photos would prove anything and was actually beginning to worry that this confrontation might have been a bad idea. I needed him to know that I'd eavesdropped into their meeting.

"Mr Lewis, I saw and heard you at that meeting that you had at the museum. The one with Mr Denby, Mr Garner, Mr Donald and Dr Nazari. Oh and of course detective Rosbourne. I heard everything that you said and everything that you were planning"

As I spoke Lewis was looking around, I suppose hoping that no one was interested in listening to what I was saying.

"We, I, we're only trying to make Trenton a safer place to live in"

"Let's find somewhere more private Mr Lewis"

I linked my arm through a very surprised Lewis and with Ranger on his other side we walked through a door into what looked like a small lounge area. As the door closed, I could have sworn that I saw Hal come and stand in front of it and acknowledged that Ranger would never have attended this function without several teams for backup, something that I actually felt relieved with. Ranger led us to an area at the back of the room but away from windows allowing us to sit down on three upholstered chairs surrounding a coffee table. Ranger made sure that he was sat opposite Lewis with me by his side before he continued the conversation. To me Lewis looked far too confident as he sat there, almost as though he'd thought through his excuses.

"Mr Lewis I appreciate that the Mob bosses have a tight hold on what happens in Trenton and are probably responsible for a lot of the violence. But you are no better, murdering people and putting a lethal drug onto the streets makes you just as bad if not worse than them"

I saw the frown cross Lewis's face making me wonder if he actually knew what his little group were responsible for.

"Did you have to have Jenny murdered? I mean what possible reason could you have for that?"

I added because to me her murder was pointless and ruthless.

"Jenny? But she took vacation time and then I was told that she'd been mugged"

Seriously! He never thought anything about why she had disappeared or that she was dead? What world did this man live in?

"She was scared and in hiding because she believed that someone would kill her"

I watched as another paper appeared in Ranger's hand and as he held it in front of Lewis. That Lewis went white when he looked at it had me pleased that I couldn't see it, yeah, that particular memory of her laid on the floor with a hole on her head from being shot was pushed deep down in my brain.

"Oh god no, not Jenny"

I watched as Lewis placed the photo face down on the table and if I didn't know better it looked to me as though his eyes were watering. He sat back and wiped his hands down his face as though trying to pull his emotions back into control. As Ranger placed more photos on the table, I was sure that Lewis was going to break down. I'd seen the one of Katy Jerome, Mylo's mother, before, but in the bright light the starkness of the bruising on her face and body stood out against her white skin. Others followed but I had no idea who they were, some beaten badly while others had been shot.

"Maybe you need to read the report on the drug that you were going to put out on the streets"

"But it's similar to what Grizolli supplies now"

Ranger raised an eyebrow and placed yet another paper on the table and then sat back when Lewis picked it up and began to read it.

"I don't understand. Jackson said there was an ingredient that would make the punters like it better. What the hell is this, this Erythrina velutina?"

"A very potent synthesized drug that will kill people. The drugs that you had at the museum were laced with it"

Again, the frown came across Lewis's face as though he didn't quite believe what Ranger was telling him.

"That can't be right. We were supposed to flood the market with it so that Grizolli went out of business and then reduce the supply coming into the city"

Like that would happen. Even I knew that there would always be a way for someone to see a niche in the market and fill it. Was he mad? Delusional or did he really think that this would work?

"Mr Lewis some of those murdered are working girls and pimps, people who objected to how they were being treated. Did you think that you could just get rid of them or were you considering reskilling and providing employment opportunities for them when you got into office?"

As I looked at Ranger's face, I could see how angry he was becoming. Maybe he was thinking on the same lines as me about Lewis, that he really was stupid.

"It's finished now. All of the merchandise went up in smoke at the museum. Nazari messaged me this morning to say that he'd had enough and was going away to do his humanitarian work"

"It isn't over Mr Lewis, it's just beginning. You've been manipulated and played, plus the people who are really in charge have a set of fall guys, you, to lay the blame with"

"But, how?"

It was nice to see this man lost for words as he fully comprehended what Ranger was saying and I thought, why not lay it on the line for him.

"You don't know what Garner, Jackson or even Denby were really up to. They get their orders from someone else, someone who has a much more dangerous agenda"

For the first time Lewis actually looked at me, studying me before he actually directed a question to me.

"Is that what Charlie Watson knew? Did he tell you that?"

I answered honestly because I actually wanted Lewis to know just how much my life had been fucked up by him.

"No. I met Charlie because he was FTA and ended up running for my life because someone decided to shoot him. I've been shot at, kidnapped, drugged and now you think that you can manipulate for me to be charged for a crime that I didn't do, that you are responsible for"

I was so pissed at him, so annoyed at what had happened especially as I was only trying to do my job. I felt Ranger take hold of my hand and squeeze it as though doing that would make everything go away.

"I'm sorry. I only knew that Garner was worried that Charlie had something that could destroy what we were doing. He was supposed to get that information, it was never intended for Charlie to be hurt. I suppose knowing that you'd talked to him and then disappeared, well we just assumed you knew everything as well"

"Who shot Charlie?"

Just came out from me. Hell, the way he tried to explain away what had happened was as though he had nothing to do with it. Charlie had been shot and I was taking the wrap for that, I really wanted to know who had done it.

"I, I don't know. Garner said that he would sort that out"

The silence that followed that statement was so overpowering that I had to move away from Lewis. I stood up and walked across the room trying to stop the tears from falling. I had to get a grip on myself but to be honest I almost felt as though we were no further forward. Or was it because we hadn't asked the right questions? Turning I was aware that the two men were watching me, I was probably like an unexploded bomb at the moment, the tension and worry winding me up ready to snap. I walked back to the table and sat down, looking directly at Lewis.

"We need some answers from you so let's start at the beginning. How did this start?"

Yeah, he was definitely wary of me now, good, I hoped he was more than wary because one way or another he was going to talk.

"I received a series phone calls, supposedly from a concerned citizen, asking me how I felt about the power that the Mob seemed to wield in Trenton. Each call became more of a discussion until I realized that I actually wanted to do something, be proactive. I was asked to attend a discussion group and that's where I met the Donald, Nazari, Rosbourne and Cutler"

Cutler was a new name to me so I was hoping that Lewis had given us the name of the person from the newspaper.

"We talked, we'd all been contacted in the same way, and we found that we all felt the same. A couple of weeks later I received a message to meet up again except this time there were three other men there. Jackson, Denby and Garner. The three new men were offering us a means to put our words into action"

I could follow what he was saying but there was a link that was missing somewhere and he hadn't given me the connection yet.

"You referred to the bosses, in fact you said, our bosses will be very pleased with that outcome, a town free of drugs, weapons and gambling on the streets. Who are the bosses?"

That seemed to confuse Lewis though why I had no idea after all it was him who had referred to them.

"I don't know who they are. I suppose it was Jackson, Denby and Garner who used that expression. They'd say the bosses want this to happen so that's what we'd do. Jackson once explained that the money had to come from somewhere, though we all contributed. I was responsible for purchasing property, but I only have so much free capitol, the rest came from the bosses"

Which meant that these bosses could never be tied into anything. As I was thinking that I saw Lewis close his eyes and rest his head back on the chair.

"Shit. All of the properties are in my name. I'd be totally screwed if the authorities started to nosey around"

Well at least he was beginning wise up to the position that he was now in.

"Why bring Rangeman into it?"

I asked before Ranger even had the chance to ask. I felt as though I was on a roll now and Lewis seemed to be singing like a canary.

"I'm not sure, someone suggested that having a man like Manoso on our side with his company would show solidarity. I argued that, knowing that you wouldn't go for it, so Garner suggested giving the impression that we had you on board. He had Manning who worked for you on his side, so it wasn't hard for him to add Rangeman units to buildings and start rumors"

"Dress your men in black"

Came from Ranger next to me. It seemed that Lewis had no idea if there was an ulterior motive for targeting Rangeman, or Ranger. I inwardly sighed as the extent of my questions came to an end and I looked over to Ranger to see what he wanted to do now.

RPOV

I knew that Steph felt disheartened at what we'd heard. Hell, we hadn't really learnt anything new but if the outcome of confronting Lewis meant him understanding what he'd done and how much violence he'd been a part of then maybe that would be enough.

I was surprised that he had no idea that Steph was in the museum but grateful that he didn't try to blame her for the fire, even I knew that explosions and fires could follow her around, but she had never been responsible for any of them. Hell, everyone tried to blame her for burning Stivas down, but I knew it was actually her grandmother who fired the lethal shot.

"What will you do now Mr Lewis?"

"You're not going to turn me in?"

I shook my head as I continued to look at Lewis. It wouldn't do any good, I mean I wasn't even sure that we could prove anything against Lewis, especially as all of the incriminating evidence had been destroyed. Okay there were the properties that he owned but I doubted there would be anything in them and whilst it was Lewis's name on the contracts, hadn't he also used money from the bosses.

"I'm not sure what to do. If I'm seen making a move against them then they might have evidence that would finish me. They might even kill me"

I suppose he had a point but let's face it he had tried to swim with the sharks and only now was he realizing that they could very well turn on him.

"I think maybe our role in this is over anyhow. Maybe Nazari has it right. Maybe it's time I took some vacation time and took myself out of here"

"What will you tell the others?"

Yeah, I was interested to know that hoping that maybe Lewis could disband this amateur group of men.

"The merchandise has been destroyed so we failed with what we were trying to do. There has to be other ways, legal ways, to make the Mob accountable for how they behave"

"The properties?"

Lewis sighed as I asked that, I suppose a large sum of money was riding in those, money that wasn't all his.

"Sell them and return the money"

It made me wonder just how successful Lewis would be to untangle himself from this, but at the end of the day he'd made his choices and would now have to live with whatever fallout came his way. What I really needed to know was that as far as he was concerned, that he and his group would leave Steph alone.

"Mr Lewis, I won't tolerate anyone trying to hurt Steph or threatening her. What she knows I know"

I watched as Lewis looked at Steph and felt that he knew exactly what I was saying, that Steph was no longer a threat to them.

"I understand Mr Manoso, and I'll tell people that, but I have no control over those three men or the people that they answer to"

I nodded my head at his answer, knowing that what he was saying was true. Had I just put myself and Rangeman into their sights? Possibly but I would do anything to make sure that Steph was safe.

"Mr Lewis, if I were you, I wouldn't repeat this conversation. If people knew that you'd talked to me, then it wouldn't look good"

"I know and believe it or not I appreciate having had this conversation. I won't do anything to implicate you or Miss Plum, I promise"

I felt that the conversation had come to an end so standing up I brought Steph to her feet next to me. I offered my hand to Lewis because for me I didn't want to see him again and hoped that he felt the same. After that formality Steph and I returned to the main function room although it seemed that a lot of people had already left.

"Damn, we missed the best of the buffet"

Came from Steph as she started to steer me toward it. I had to agree with what she was saying though, there were only damaged pieces of food left, nothing that looked fit to eat.

"I'll take you somewhere for lunch. Where would you like to go"

I watched her as she considered my question as though she was struggling to come up with somewhere. Then it hit me, the places that she would normally frequent she would feel wouldn't be suitable.

"How does a meatball sub sound?"

I asked because there was no reason that she couldn't go there. Okay she was out on bail but that didn't restrict where she could go, and I knew that most of the cops who frequented there wouldn't give her any trouble. Hell, they'd probably be pleased to see her.

"Is it safe?"

I saw the concern cross her face as she asked me that. If that was where she wanted to go then I'd make sure that it was safe for her.

"Of course, though I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with some of the men with us"

And some at the front and rear keeping surveillance.

Twenty minutes later I was watching Steph as she tried to make her way to the booth that we normally used in Pinos. I was pleased just watching her face as some of the cops came over to her and gave her a hug and some whispered words. The look of relief and joy washed through her as she started to relax but I could see that she was constantly seeking me out.

She looked stunning in the red dress and I could see several of the cops giving her an appreciative once over. I think that both of us felt some calm when we eventually took our seats and as Santos and Tank came to join us. Tank tapped his ear letting me know that he was in touch with the teams outside who would give us advance warning if there was a sign of any trouble.

I wasn't surprised when Steph ordered meatball subs, I suppose it had been weeks since she'd been in here. Of course, I ordered my usual salad, and Tank and Santos went for pizzas.

"You know, I think they taste better than I remember"

I slipped an arm around her waist as she continued eating, hell I was sure that the sounds that she was making were louder than usual.

"Beautiful, maybe it's because you haven't tasted one for an age"

"Probably, but you know I haven't even missed being here, how strange is that"

As Steph continued eating, occasionally using the napkin to wipe her mouth, Tank leant close to me and I heard the name that I was dreading. Morelli had just parked outside and was on his way in. I wasn't going to alert Steph to his imminent arrival and was watching as the door opened, but what happened next surprised me.

There was movement that started with Eddie walking over toward us and then pulling over a chair and table to just in front of us. That had other cops moving, bringing chairs and tables with them until the whole area around us was totally blocked.

"Ranger what are they doing?"

"Showing a solid front Babe"

It was then that Steph looked past the tables and saw Morelli as he stood looking at her. He was maybe going to say something, probably something rude to Steph when the cops stood up forming a human wall between us and Morelli.

"You need to turn around and leave Morelli, we don't want the likes of you in here"

I struggled to see Morelli's reaction but caught glimpses of him looking back and forth between Eddie and Big Dawg.

"I just want to talk to Stephanie so move will you Eddie"

As Morelli made to move between the men, they stood shoulder to shoulder stopping any forward motion of Morelli as he tried to get closer to Steph. After a few minutes Tank spoke out loud enough for us all to hear.

"He's going, just backed his truck out of the parking area"

I was surprised when Steph never said anything in fact throughout the whole encounter she'd carried on eating and her plate was now clean. Chairs and tables started to move back to their original positions and within minutes it was as if nothing had happened.

"I won't be a minute"

I turned as Steph spoke and then watched as she walked over to Eddie and whispered something in his ear. She went around every cop in the place repeating her embrace of them and speaking with them before she returned to her seat next to me.

"Babe, what the hell is going on?"

"The guys assured me that they would keep Joe away from me"

"I take it they don't like him?"

As she shook her head and I looked at her it came to me, those men loved her, enough to protect her and enough to keep Morelli away from her. What they had also done was to give her something, they'd given her the feeling of belonging and believing in her.

The rest of our stay at Pinos went without any other incidents and we were soon pulling into the garage at Rangeman. There was a core group meeting in the apartment when I hoped that we would have some news to work from.

"Thank you for today"

I looked at Steph's reflection in the door of the elevator as she said that, knowing that she really meant it, but also knowing that she didn't need to say it.

"You did really well with Lewis, getting him to talk. I know it cost you emotionally. As for lunch, well I think you have some very loyal friends who love you and believe in you"

All I got was a slight nod of her head as she looked down at the floor obviously slightly embarrassed. Her doing that exposed her neck which to be honest was too much of a temptation for me to ignore. As I trailed kisses down her neck toward her shoulder, I was almost annoyed that we had a meeting to attend.

"Babe, stay in your dress until after the meeting"

I could almost hear her thoughts running through her mind so decided to preempt a response from her.

"I would really like to be there to remove this dress"

I felt a shiver go through her so knew that she would readily agree, hell, my body was already reacting to the idea of what was to come.

As the elevator opened, I watched as the men came through the stairwell door, almost as if they were waiting for me to arrive. Once inside it was Steph who brought each of us a bottle of water as we settled around the dining table. Of course, Santos just had to bring up what had happened at Pinos.

"Beautiful, what happened today at Pinos was beyond magic to watch. Those cops sure showed Morelli his . "

"Santos!"

"I was only saying how pissed Morelli looked when they . "

"Les, I know, I was there, remember"

"Sorry Beautiful. The guys thought it was a hoot"

I watched as Steph's whipped up to look at Santos and was expecting her to be upset or annoyed because it seemed he'd videoed the whole thing.

"Send me a copy Les, because I was focused on my sub and to be honest couldn't see much of what happened"

"Sure"

Came from a very surprised Santos. I wasn't for wasting any more time so a look to Santos had him sitting back and being quiet.

"Hector, anything from that photo?"

"It was JFK, terminal 4. I verified the date from the newspaper and from the one of the overhead boards which flights had landed. There were several disembarking one from Miami, Washington, Toronto and Los Angeles. I have the manifest for each of those flights but to be honest I have no idea who I'm looking for"

If only Watson had stayed a bit longer then maybe we would know who Jackson had met with. I wasn't sure that we could do any more in following that lead.

"Any comments from the recording of our meeting with Lewis?"

I knew that they would have listened to it as it happened but had made sure that we had a copy for the future. As I looked at Hector, he shook his head, but Tank looked as though he wanted to say something.

"Can we trust him?"

I nodded my head understanding what Tank was implying.

"As much as we can. We have the recording if he thinks that he can somehow double cross us. The problem is that he really didn't know very much, certainly nothing that was new to us"

"So we're going to have to focus on Jackson, Garner and McCann"

I wasn't too sure how to get a handle on McCann, after all he was part of a government agency so it would be more difficult to set up any type of surveillance on him without him knowing.

"Any ideas on where Garner is?"

Shakes of the head confirmed that we had absolutely no idea where he'd be, and I wouldn't be surprised if Jackson had disappeared as well.

"Ranger, maybe now that they've lost everything, they'll crawl back into the holes that they came from"

It was a possibility, but I had a feeling that when they felt that we'd relaxed that they'd be back. Only I wasn't at all sure how they would come at us.

"Let's stay on alert because I don't think we've heard the last of them. It may take them a few weeks to regroup but I think they'll turn up again"

"We'll make sure the teams keep a look out for them and the patrols still include the properties"

I nodded my head at Tank's suggestion knowing that it could be a tense few weeks and stood up to indicate that the meeting was over. As I returned to the lounge Steph was still sat at the table, her elbows on the table and her chin resting in her hands. She looked up as I started to walk toward her and smiled, though it never reached her eyes. I knew that she would be feeling helpless now that we had run out of leads to follow and that she was probably scared shitless of going to court.

I took hold of her hands and pulled her to her feet wrapping my arms around her as I started to move us back and forth to imaginary music. Within a few moments she was pressed hard up against me, and I had my opportunity to return my lips to her neck. As we danced, I led her through to the bedroom but had to hold her hands still when she thought that she could speed up the proceedings.

"Not yet"

I whispered as I turned her so her back was pulled tight to my front. I'd positioned us so that we were facing the mirror, so that I could watch her face as I kissed my way down her neck to her shoulder. I watched as she raised her head giving me better access to her soft delicate skin and as her eyes closed. The feel of her trembling and the small moans coming from her were nearly my undoing. I tamped down the arousal that was engulfing me, because this was all about her.