Chapter 20

Luci's POV

Stephanie and I arrived at Pino's, where we were meeting Lester and Ranger for lunch. After spending the morning on a shopping marathon, we needed some reenergizing. When we walked into the restaurant, I relaxed the minute I spotted Les in the back with Ranger. I was a bit shocked to see my dad and Elana sitting with them. Although I'd known they'd be meeting us here, I hadn't realized they'd beaten us here.

Once we made our way over to the table, I set Ali's car seat on a chair beside Lester and sat down on the other side of her.

Stephanie took the last seat between Ranger and my dad, and we got down to the business of ordering.

With that out of the way, I looked around the table and took a deep breath.

Suddenly, Ranger and Lester were hailedfrom across the room, and they made their way over toward the bar at that end of the room. Elana and Stephanie headed to the bathroom, and then my dad leaned over and whispered in my ear before he stood and headed over to the bar closest to where we were seated.

I got a whiff of sickeningly sweet perfume and placed a hand on my stomach. It was so strong I felt like I was aboutto be ill. The chair where Les had been sitting scraped back, and I turned to see my arch nemesis, Sheryl, taking the seat as if she'd been invited to join us.

She gave me a gleaming look as she said, "I just wanted to see the baby." Then she gave a fake-sounding giggle and continued, "Too bad you're not going to be around long enough to watch her grow up. Don't even think about taking her anywhere, because I have eyes everywhere. I know where you are at all times. Just because Daddy has his tails on you doesn't mean things are as they seem."

I swallowed down the bile in my throat and forced myself not to lunge for her and take her out right then and there.

About that time, Stephanie joined us, demanding, "What's going on here?"

I said, "Sheryl was just leaving," Then I turned and glared at her before continuing, "Isn't that right?"

Stephanie glared at Sheryl. Without taking her eyes off the older woman, she said, "I'll be right back, Luci."

She motioned her head in the direction where Les and Ranger were, and I nodded.

After she left, Sheryl grinned and said, "Good. Now that she's given us a bit more time to discuss things, I want you to listen carefully." Sheryl's gaze was glued to Ali's sleeping form. Her hand went for the handle of the car seat, and I couldn't take it anymore.

I tackled her, taking her down to the ground as I punched her and screamed. Shestarted screaming as well, but I hadn't a clue what she was saying as nothing registered. I only knew I had to keep punching her.

Hands took hold of me from behind, and I started fighting them instead. My only thoughts were of my baby and making sure she stayed safe.

I finally heard my father say, "What the fuck?"

The next thing I knew, Lester was throwing me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and hauling me to the door, and I was struggling to get down.

Just before Lester headed out of the door with me, he stopped and murmured something to my father, but I was so incensed I couldn't make out what he said, only that my dad answered, "You'll definitely have a part."

We got outside to where Stephanie was buckling Ali into the car, all the while I was buckingto get down.

Lester swatted my ass and said, "As much as it turns me on to see you beating the shit out of Sheryl, it's time for us to get out of here." He placed me in the front seat and then said, "Buckle yourself in." He gave me a swift kiss before backing out.

Lester turned to Stephanie and said, "Thank you."

Stephanie had a huge smile on her face. Giving us a finger wave, she turned and headed back inside Pino's.

I waited till Lester was in the vehicle before asking, "What did you say to my dad?"

He put the SUV into reverse and checked the mirror before starting to speak. When he stopped, I looked back to see what he was looking at and saw Vinny stuffing Sheryl into a cage that was kept in the back of his Hummer for when he took his Rottweilers to the vets.

I frowned. "She isn't dead, isshe?"

Lester laughed. "No, but that doesn't really mean anything at this point, now does it? You know who your father is."

I smacked his arm and glared. "Be serious! I don't want her to have died from what I did to her."

"You didn't kill her, baby. We both know how pissed your dad is though. With everything Stephanie found out…" He shook his head.

I thought back to what Sheryl had said and asked Lester. "Is that enough to do what's planned?"

Lester nodded. "They've both dug their own graves. Our part in this is over, and Alessandro was sending Elana home with Giorgio. The rest is up to the others."

I nodded. "I'm just glad I won't have to deal with either one of them again." I shuddered. "What they were planning for my baby…"

Lester reached out and took hold of my hand. "You won't have to worry about any of them after today."

Stephanie's POV

I took a relieved breath and made my way back inside Pino's. Now that we had Sheryl, all we had to do was get the rest of the sting in motion. I was a little squeamish, knowing that three people were going to lose their lives and my actions were going to have a part in that. Ranger had made sure I knew that I could leave when Les took Luci and Ali home. But when I thought of what they'd been planning to do to the two of them, my resolve hardened, and I was determined to be part of this operation.

Ranger nodded to the others as I joined them and reached out to take my hand as he said, "Come on, Babe. Let's get you set up for the next phase."

Once again I stepped out to the parking lot as he led us to the Turbo. We were headed to RangeMan, whereI was going to undergo a metamorphosis. Tank's girlfriend, Lula, was going to help me so that Gavino wouldn't recognize me. I just hoped everything went off the way we'd planned it.

It didn't take us long before Ranger was pulling into the garage of his building, and then he led me up to Tank's apartment, where Lula would be waiting. To say she was a unique individual would be putting it mildly. Lula was a five-foot-four-inch plus-sized woman in a spandex outfit three sizes too small. I tried not to get too close because I thought her dress was going to snap at any moment from the stress of holding Lula's ample curves inside and I'd be smothered.

Lula was a talker, and I didn't have a chance to get a word in edgewise as she talked through getting me ready for the next phase of our operation. When she was finally done and I was able to look in the mirror, I was stunned. Although Sheryl had twenty pounds on me, I knew I could pass for her. That's how good Lula was at her job.

About thirty minutes into our session, there'd been a knock on the door and a bag with the exact same outfit Sheryl had been wearing was passed in to us, along with a pair of shoes. I was stunned to see everything was the size I wore.

There wasn't time for the butterflies to settle in my stomach, because no sooner had Lula finished then there was another knock on the door. This time when it was opened, Ranger stood on the other side of the door. He lifted an eyebrow and asked, "You ready, Babe?"

I nodded.

We made our way down to the garage, and this time Ranger led me to an F150 pickup truck that was all tricked out. He helped me into the passenger seat, and then we headed to the meeting place.

At first, I was surprised to see Sheryl's car parked in the lot, but then when I thought about it, I knew it made sense because Gavino would expect to see it there and might get suspicious if he didn't.I quickly went through the scenario in my head and then went to open the door.

Ranger placed a hand on my arm and said, "You'll need this."

He handed me a blanket-wrapped bundle that was actually moving.

My eyes widened. "You're not using a real baby for this, are you?"

Ranger grinned. "This is a new-generation robot. It looks real, and we have the benefit of being able to see and hear everything through the live feed."

I was a little freaked out by how real the thing looked as I took it from Ranger.

He got out and came around to help me out of the truck, and then he moved into position.

I waited the five minutes that was deemed necessary before I made my way into the building. It was easy enough to find Sheryl's apartment, and I unlocked the door and headed inside.

A gasp escaped as the two men I wasn't expecting to be there for another twenty minutes were already inside waiting for me.

Gavino smiled. "You have any trouble?"

I smiled and shook my head.

He laughed. "Good." Then after turning to Rasputen, he said, "That will be two hundred and fifty thousand."

Rasputen tilted his head to the side. "What about the mother? After all, I want to hurt Beretti where it'll do the most good."

Gavino put a hand up. "Don't worry. I'll get her in a few days. I'll tell her I know where the kid is, and I'm sure she'll follow me anywhere. Then we can both have our revenge."

Rasputen nodded. "All right." He took out an envelope and tossed it to Gavino. Then his gaze moved to me, and he gave me a leering look. "What about this one?"

Gavino growled. "She belongs to me."

Rasputen laughed. "Too bad. She'd bring me a pretty penny as well."

It was all I could do not to shudder.

Rasputen motioned toward a baby carrier and said, "Put the kid in there. I got a lot of things to do before heading back. Call me when you're going after the mother, and I'll be back."

Gavino grinned. "You got it. Where are you off to now?"

"I'm meeting with a private eye I hired to dig up information on Manoso. One of these days I'm hoping to pay him back for everything he's taken from me. As much as I want to hurt Beretti, I want to hurt Manoso even more."

Gavino laughed. "Well, if your P.I. comes up with any women the guy is into, let me know, andmaybe we can do some more business."

Rasputen grinned so that his blackened teeth were showing and replied, "Now you're talking."

The whole time the two of them had been talking, I'd eased my way so that I was as far away from them as it was possible to be. Glass shattered, just as Ranger had timed it, and both men spun around with their weapons drawn. It did them no good, however,because two shots from the dart pistol I had in my hand had been fired, and both men dropped.

I moved over to the door and opened it, letting in the others.

Vinny shook his head. "You took all the fun out of it."

I grinned. "But just think how much more fun it's going to be when they come around and see who has them."

He smiled. "You have a point." He turned to Ranger. "Thank you for the assist."

Ranger nodded. "Just don't let them get away."

Vinny's eyes gleamed. "Oh...no worries there. These two and the woman… They won't be getting free ever again."

Ranger held out his hand, andI took hold of it and allowed him to lead me out to his truck. Once I was situated inside and he'd climbed into the driver's seat, he turned to me and said, "We really need to talk about your working situation, Babe."

Epilogue: Five years later

Stephanie's POV

The doorbell chimed, and running feet sounded overhead, so I knew Matt would be barreling down the stairs in about two seconds. I shook my head as I moved through to the entryway so that I could answer the door. Although Mark was there ahead of me, I knew he wouldn't answer the door. It was a firm rule in our house that only the grownups could open the door to let people in, even if it was friends and family.

Before I was able to take another step, Matt was there beside his twin and they were both looking eagerly toward the door.

When I opened the door, Luci waddled in carrying an oblong pan that was filling the air with its heavenly scents.

"Where can I put this thing? It's heavy."

I frowned as I quickly reached for the dish. "So why are you carrying it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because Les was trying to get everything with one trip, and I figured if I wanted this to make it into the house, I'd best be the one carrying it. He's already lost half thestuff along the way, so he'll have to make another trip or two to gather up the rest."

I moved over to see what she was referring to and couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "Mark, Matt, go help your Uncle Lester."

Both boys shot out of the house without needing a second prompt.

I smiled as I saw Ranger getting out of the Cayenne he'd just pulled up in.

He lifted a hand to acknowledge me and then moved to help Lester, Ali, and the boys with the trail of stuff from their vehicle.

Luci followed me into the kitchen. "We really appreciate you guys taking Ali for a few days."

I waved her away. "We love having her. And the boys are thrilled beyond belief. They've been talking about nothing else since they found out."

Luci laughed.

I set the casserole pan on the counter, and we headed back into the family room.

Luci groaned. "I love that chair. Of course, I'll need a forklift to pry me out of it if I sit down."

Smiling, I told her, "Make yourself comfortable. Between Les and Ranger, they'll be able to get you on your feet again."

She laughed. "By the way, Dad said to be sure and tell you if you need anything, he and Elana are only a phone call away."

I rolled my eyes. "And how many visits can we expect this time?"

Luci's eyes widened. "How many did you get last time?"

"Well, Alexander came by three times, and your dad and Elana came over four times, and then your dad came another eight times."

"Shit! We were only gone three days!"

"Yeah...I know." I gave her a palms-up gesture.

She shook her head. "Well, since it's going to be a week this time, probably double that."

My tone was dry as I replied, "Oh, goody!"

Once again she laughed. "The one good thing about this visit is that when we come to get Ali, she'll have a baby brother or sister."

"Have you and Lester had any luck on deciding on a name?"

Luci sighed. "Well, I vetoed Beauregard, Reginald, and Matilda. Lester vetoed Cameron, Nancy, and Jerome."

I winced. "Well, that works."

Luci placed her hand on her hip. "Are you insinuating those aren't the best names?"

Shaking my head, I lifted a hand and said, "All I'm saying is the power of the veto is working."

We both laughed at that one.

Luci's eyes went wide, and she looked down.

I followed her gaze to see her water had broken. "Don't move!"

Running to the front door, I hollered out, "Lester, get in here. Luci's water broke."

Pandemonium reigned as Les rushed to get to Luci. I corralled the kids as Ranger helped Les get Luci to their vehicle, and then we were waving them off.

Ali looked up and sighed. "I sure hope they don't name my baby brother or sister without me."

I placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Have you been giving them name suggestions?"

Ali nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not sure they were too thrilled with the names."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, Dad didn't like Cameron, Nancy, or Jerome, and Mom didn't like Beauregard, Reginald, or Matilda."

I widened my eyes. "Oh."

Ali grinned and then put a finger up to her lips. "Shh. Don't tell them, but I really don't like those names. I wanted to make sure my new brother or sister had a kick-ass name like mine."

I laughed. "Ali, you're a treasure!"

She hugged me and ran off to find the boys.

It was the early hours of the morning when the phone rang.

Ranger reached out and lifted his cell phone off the bedside table. "Yo." He paused as he listened to the caller speak, andafter several minutes he said, "I'll let her know."

Once he replaced the phone, he turned to me and said, "Luci had a baby boy. He's doing well. She'd like us to take Ali up to see her tomorrow so she can help them come up with a name."

I grinned. "Ali will be thrilled."

With that, thoughts of Luci and the baby left my mind as Ranger pulled me to him and we spent the next several hours making each other happy.

THE END

I've enjoyed my time at fanfiction, creating the stories I've posted here. This is my swan song as I will no longer be posting stories on fanfiction. At this time I have no intention of pulling the stories. I don't know if that will change in the future or not.