This is the final chapter for this story... there are no sequels.
Chapter 37
We were glad to be home. Carlos and I entered our children's rooms to watch them sleep. He sat in the chair with me on his lap as we watched Julie's chest rise and fall from breathing. I heard Hector's door open a few seconds before Ricky's door opened. Ricky was fussing. The diaper genie lid opened and closed after the dirty diaper was disposed. I moved off Carlos' lap to go watch Hector. Jeanne Ellen came up the stairs and smiled. She passed me the bottle before retreating to her room. I entered Ricky's room to find Hector in the rocking chair singing to Ricky.
"That was beautiful," I said as I entered the room. Ricky smiled when he saw me.
"Angel, welcome home," he started standing up to pass me Ricky.
"You feed him Hec. I need more time to heal," I lifted my shirt and pulled down my pyjama bottoms to show him the bandage. "The doctor told me not to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs." Ricky was at least 20 lbs now, so I couldn't lift him.
"He's a dead man," Hector growled.
"Yes he is. Babe took him out," Carlos said with pride.
Hector took the bottle to feed Ricky. My beautiful baby smiled at me as he ate. "He looks happy," I observed.
"Ricky is a very happy baby. He missed his momma and papa, but Tio Hec and Tia Jee Jee told him you'd be home soon," Hector stated. When Ricky finished his bottle, Carlos took him to burp. Hector gave me a kiss before leaving us alone with our son.
"Sit in the chair," Carlos ordered. He placed our boy in my arms so I could rock him to sleep. Ricky nuzzled into my neck and fell asleep quickly. I held him for a few more minutes before Carlos lifted him from my arms and lay him in the crib.
We moved to our bedroom and cuddled for a few minutes before I decided to give Carlos some sexual release. "Stand up," I ordered. Carlos got out of bed and stood next to it. I rolled to the edge and swung my legs over so I could sit in front of him. He moaned as I stroked his length. I took him into my mouth and swirled my tongue around the tip. His head fell back as I felt him release into my mouth from the small motion.
"Sorry Babe. I couldn't hold it back," he apologized.
"It's okay Batman. You can't be a superhero all the time," I joked. He moved me to the centre of the bed and kissed his way down my neck to my chest. Carlos spent a lot of time sucking and pinching my nipples. I could feel myself building, but I couldn't tip over the edge. He reached into my panties and applied pressure to my clit as he sucked on a nipple. I quickly tipped over before groaning in pain. When I lifted my hips, I pressed my recently stitched incision into his left side.
He shifted lower to place a tender kiss on the bandage. "I love you Babe. When I saw you collapse in Lester's arms, I thought I lost you."
"I'm not going anywhere Batman. I wasn't aware he stabbed me," I told him.
"Didn't you feel it?" he asked.
"Not at all. I felt him cut down my arm. He had me restrained to the chair."
"You stabbed him Babe."
"How? My hands were tied behind my back and my legs cuffed to the metal chair rungs."
"Babe, when Tank entered the room, he saw you break the flexi-cuffs and wrestle the knife from his hands. It was just after Lester cut open the glass window and saw him stab you. Lester said you didn't flinch or utter a sound."
"I don't remember any of that," I stated honestly. "In fact, I don't remember anything past him cutting down my arm."
"With all the trauma you've experienced, I'm not surprised you retreated into your mind," he reasoned.
"I'll need to speak to a therapist," I admitted. He readily agreed. I cuddled into Carlos and fell asleep. My dreams were filled with happy memories.
We woke up the next morning in our typical position. "Don't move Babe," Carlos said as he carefully shifted me off him.
"Sorry Carlos, I'm honestly not aware I use you as my personal body pillow."
"I don't normally mind, but the doctors still need to clear you for physical activity," he reminded me.
The next few weeks progressed in the same manner. I was getting stronger and my stitches were finally removed last week. As long as I listened to my body and stopped when movement became uncomfortable, I was cleared for all physical activity.
I received a phone call from our Trenton office. They were given Morelli's file when he went FTA. It was considered a conflict of interest so Rangeman asked my cousin Vinnie to reassign the case. Unfortunately it landed on Jeanne Ellen's stack. She contacted me saying even though she didn't like Morelli, she believed he was telling the truth. I started reviewing the police report and complaints about the boxer and agreed with her.
"Don't take the case Jeanne," I begged.
"I have to. If I don't, more women are going to die," she attempted to convince me.
"Do you have back up?" I asked.
"Yes. The guys are helping. I'll be careful," she promised. I knew she could handle herself.
When I looked into the owner of the gym where Benito Ramirez boxed, I felt something was off with Jimmy Alpha. I started looking into his background and noticed Ziggy Kulesza worked for him as an enforcer. It felt like Alpha had Kulesza kill the women who accused his prized fighter of aggravated assault.
The following week, Jeanne Ellen found the hooker she interviewed, Lula, half dead on her back porch. Lula survived her injuries because Jeanne got her medical attention in time. Ramirez started stalking Jeanne Ellen. When he broke into her house, Marnie Ashton shot and killed him when he attacked Jeanne with a broken bottle.
A few days later, Ashton stumbled across Alpha and uncovered a drug smuggling ring. There was a refrigerated truck at the marina and Jeanne Ellen managed to trap Morelli in the back with a few dead men and a barrel with white powder on the lid. The TPD found Morelli's CI dead in the barrel with Kulesza's weapon. When the gun was processed, they discovered it had misfired as Morelli stated.
Alpha entered Jeanne Ellen's house after Morelli was cleared of all charges and pulled a gun on her. He didn't notice Marnie when he walked past her towards Jeanne Ellen. As he fired his weapon at Jeanne, Ashton fired her gun, emptying it into his chest. It was pure luck neither woman was shot by Alpha.
Morelli sent a letter to me through Rangeman Trenton. He apologized for everything he did to me over the years. The case with Carmen made him reevaluate his life and confess his crimes. He accepted a job suspension for his involvement for kidnapping me. When his suspension is over, Joe would be moved to crimes against people. Most of his cases involve women who were raped or assaulted.
Because Helen Plum was the one responsible for tasing me, she was put on a two year probation. Her time was served working at the women's abuse shelter. Every day she was face with women who suffered just as I had. Hearing their stories didn't mellow her though. He said Helen was leaving the woman's shelter late at night and stopped at a local 7-Eleven for alcohol. She was pulled behind the building and raped just as I had been when I was sixteen. For once in her life, Helen was truly repentant. I forgave her for everything she did or said to me, but I still didn't want her in my life, or my children's lives. She signed over those rights when I was sixteen. Frank Plum divorced her when she was handed her probation sentence.
Saint Valerie and her husband Steven divorced when Angie was nine and Mary Alice was seven. They were living in Trenton with Helen. I pray to God every day that she's nicer to them than she was to me.
A few months later, rumours spread through Trenton. It didn't take long for everyone to discover what really happened to me when I was sixteen. Officer Joe Morelli died in the line of duty. After hearing the true story behind his poems, Trenton residents didn't give him an honourable burial. His family was forced to move out of state. As for Dickie Orr, all aspirations for becoming a politician went up in flames along with his job as a corporate lawyer. He was found in his house dead. TPD couldn't determine if it was suicide or a hit.
Helen was extremely jumpy because everything scared her. She was seeing a therapist to help with deal with the rape. Saint Valerie didn't know how to help her. Helen started using alcohol to get through each day. Eventually it caught up with her. If you ask me, I think she died too fast. Unfortunately, Valerie died in the same car accident. Thankfully, the girls were at school. Angie and Mary Alice were living with Frank Plum in Boston.
Four years later...
I was watching my nine year old daughter walk around Rangeman Trenton's control room looking for her almost four year old brother Ricky. They were playing hide and go seek. He was hiding under Uncle Neil's desk. When she got closer to his hiding spot, he shot out from under the desk and ran in the opposite direction. She immediately chased after him.
My stomach was getting larger every day. I've only gained 15 lbs so far, but I looked ready to give birth. I was only twenty-two weeks pregnant... with twin boys. Little Hector Michael was sitting on top of his brother Neil Manuel and both were on top of my bladder.
As I walked around the office to talk to my favourite brothers, I realized I've finally found my home. We loved living in Miami, but despite everything I endured, Trenton was my home.
A few months ago, we made the rounds to the other Rangeman offices. We decided it was time to sell our Atlanta office. The core team and most of the men in that office were very resistant to change and refused to increase their revenue from bounty hunting. It was a very difficult decision to make, but a necessary one. Atlanta was bleeding Rangeman resources. The men requesting a transfer were moved to other offices. Sabrina Simpson transferred to Trenton six months ago. She didn't like the atmosphere at the Atlantic office. It was the primary reason we decided to make rounds to the other offices.
Our Boston office was thriving, performing as well as our Miami office. Trenton was a very profitable office. Jeanne Ellen and Marnie were running the BEA department and completely kicking ass. They got married when we visited Trenton. Carlos and I wanted to be closer to the Manoso clan so we moved back to Trenton. After some shifting around, my guys moved with us. With Morelli and Helen gone, I felt it was safe enough to come home. Not to mention DC is closer to Trenton than Miami.
Rangeman signed a contract with the Army to complete searches for potential special ops recruits. They also hired Rangeman to assist with intel for their special op missions. With my spidey sense and Carlos' tactical skills, we were able to assist with high end intel, resulting in successful mission with very low injuries. Carlos assisted training the new Ranger recruits as time allowed. He would be gone for several months at a time, but it was necessary until his contract ended.
The weeks flew by as my pregnancy progressed. I was thirty-five weeks pregnant when I had another appointment with my OB. When I entered the office, I noticed a very familiar woman in the waiting room. I heard the name, "Mary Lou Stankovic," being called. The familiar woman stood for her appointment. She stopped when she saw me. I haven't seen her since I was sixteen.
"I'm so sorry for not staying in contact with you," she quietly said. She looked to be around six months pregnant.
"It's alright. If you called, I would have pushed you away. It took awhile until I was comfortable in my own shoes," I said letting her off the hook.
"This one's another little boy. His older brother, Michael, is at home with Lenny. Is it possible for us to be friends again?" she asked.
"I don't see why not," I honestly answered. She quickly excused herself to follow the impatient nurse.
I was called to my appointment next. "You're already five centimetres dilated," the doctor announced. "Have you been experiencing labour pains?"
"Not at all. I've been feeling a pain in my lower back all day," I quickly added.
"That would be back labour." He waited a few minutes before adding, "Is your husband with you today?"
"No, just Mike and Kyle, why?" I asked.
"You're in active labour. They need to take you to the hospital," he calmly told me.
"Okay. I'll call Carlos to tell him. I guess I'll see you in a few hours?" He nodded and asked the nurse to escort me to the waiting room. On my way, I felt my water break. "Mike, Kyle!" I hollered. "I could use your help right about now."
Mike came running towards me and saw my wet pants. "It's time?" he asked.
"No. I just pissed myself," I sarcastically answered. He smiled before carefully lifting me into his arms. Kyle cleared our path as he contacted Carlos.
Three hours later, on April 17, 2017, I gave birth to Hector Michael Manoso and Neil Manuel Manoso. Hector weighed 4 lbs 6 oz and Neil weighed 5 lbs 2 oz. Both were 17 inches long. Their namesakes were in the waiting room to see their nephews. Julie was excited to have more brothers. I thought she'd be upset not having a sister, but she said it was better for Papa's sanity to only have one girl.
We remained in the hospital for a few days before we were released. I was taken back to Rangeman to give the guys a chance to hold their nephews. As I watched them pass all four of my children and Robbie around the room, I smiled. I'm exactly where I belong.