A/N: Thank you to all my readers and reviewers! I love hearing your thoughts. I hope these two chapters brought a little levity to the story. I plan to continue posting weekly as long as I have the chapters ready. As always, please let me know what your thoughts are! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters nor make any profit off of weaving this tale.
Plum & Prejudice
Chapter 20:
"...[Elizabeth] felt how improbable it was that they should ever see each other again on such terms of cordiality... and as she threw a retrospective glance over the whole of their acquaintance, so full of contradictions and varieties…"
The burning building makes the chilly January night feel warm. The fire trucks and police finally arrived after the entire building is burning away in the night. Stiva is on his knees in the grass, sobbing and cursing. No one is attempting to console him.
I'm staring at Ranger. His jaw is chiseled, and his black shirt is tight. I can see the outline of his muscles. His black hair is tied neatly back at the nape of his neck, and his one diamond stud sparkles in the firelight. Honestly, I'm so surprised to see him here. I'd expect him to want to stay far away from me after my rejection. I know he agreed to have a security detail following me after Morelli, but I figured that was just shrewd business. Uncle Joe assured me that he would pay for it whether I wanted it or not.
He's chatting with Manny. The Black SUV door opens, and Hal steps out. My untrained eyes zero in on the cookie crumble left on his black shirt. I step closer to the gentleman, hoping that maybe I can save Hal from three unnecessary miles. Manny takes a step back behind Ranger and tries to communicate that Hal needs to brush off his shirt, but Hal just tilts his head, comprehension not dawning.
I see Ranger raise an eyebrow at his man. I have to cover my mouth to keep from snickering. If sugar is indeed banned, Hal should have done a better job at hiding the evidence.
"Are those cookie crumbs on your shirt, Bertrand?" Ranger questions as he crosses his arms over his chest. I'm almost distracted by his muscles, but I feel bad for Hal. I see him pale and look down at his chest quickly. Then, finally, he brushes them off, and I can see him mentally decide whether to lie or not.
"Yes, sir," he replies, his eyes darting quickly to me. I see Ranger glance over at me and is about to reply before I cut him off.
"It was my fault!" I yelp, trying to help Hal, "I brought him cookies as a snack. I practically forced them on him." I can see Ranger's lip twitch like he's thinking about smiling. Maybe he does have a sense of humor.
"In lieu of the mats, I think you just added three miles to your run tomorrow," Ranger comments, "now, what do we know about the explosion?"
The cookie crumbs and Ranger had made me forget about the explosion momentarily. My car exploded-my beloved Mazda. And somehow, it caught the entire funeral home on fire. Yeesh. I see Grandma Mazur and Desmond necking like teenagers. Yeesh. I roll my eyes. She gets more action than I do. Many of the onlookers have left. I see a police officer strolling to our little group. I smile when I realize it's my childhood friend Eddie Gazarra. We grew up together, and he ended up marrying my cousin Shirley also known as Shirley the Whiner. God bless Eddie for putting up with her.
He has a grim set to his face as he approaches. Eddie is about two inches taller than me, with a darker olive complexion with dark hair, and eyes. He nods at Ranger and his men.
"Steph, how ya doing?" he questions, tipping his hat back. I shrug because, really, how am I? My car just exploded into the night.
"Well, I'm alright but hoping this is one giant accident?" I say, changing my tone at the end to ask a question—Eddie shifts from foot to foot.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that way," he starts, "thanks to these guys, we called in the bomb squad. Looks like it was a bomb and not just a molotov cocktail. I'm waiting for more information from them." I swallow and nod, trying to make sure I understand.
"Is there anyone who would be targeting you?" he questions as he grabs his little notepad. I glance over at Ranger, and his face is blank. I let out a deep breath. No one else is around.
"I mean...maybe Joe Morelli…." I state, "and then there is the ongoing FBI investigation at E.E. Martin, but I don't think they'd know a reason to target me." E.E. Martin would have a reason to come after me, but they shouldn't know it was me unless someone leaked information to them. It seems unlikely.
"Besides, no one knew I was going to be here tonight," I continue, "heck, I didn't even know I was coming until I went to dinner with my parents."
Eddie doesn't look optimistic. He takes our statements of the events of the evening before letting us know we're free to go. I'm the last to realize I'm stranded with no wheels. Desmond already wished Grandma farewell and promised to pick her up for an overnight date tomorrow. Too much information for me.
"This is your protection detail, Steph?" Grandma asks, her eyes gleaming as she gets closer to Hal, "they sure are lookers." I chuckle but don't think much of it.
"Well, do you guys mind giving us a ride?" I question, "otherwise, I can just call my dad for a ride."
"It's no problem," Manny responds with a smile, "let me just have a word with Ranger." The two of them collude while I hear my cell phone ringing. Probably my mom. A second later, Hal lets out an unintelligible sound and seems to jump three feet into the air. My brow furrows as I try to figure out what just happened. Manny and Ranger both have their guns drawn.
Grandma is cackling. As Hal returns to the ground, I see him rubbing his tush. Oh jeez.
"She pinched my ass!" Hal exclaims, his face bright red, "you got bony fingers, lady." My jaw drops, and I can't stop the laughter that escapes me. I double over, clutching my stomach. My abs are sore from my time at the gym, but I can't believe my Grandma just assaulted a badass RangeMan. I feel a tear coming from my eye. I try to control myself, but I realize Manny is also laughing, and my laughter bubbles up again. I finally get ahold of myself. Grandma is looking much too pleased with herself.
"Get in the car," I tell her, pointing to the SUV. She grins like the cat who ate the canary and does as I tell her. I look at Hal, who is standing silently, face still red as a beet. I walk over and pat his arm.
"Sorry," I say lamely, not able to wipe the grin off my face. Ranger is shaking his head.
"Bertrand, mats tomorrow zero five hundred," Ranger states with his blank face back in place, "obviously you need some practice since an old lady got one over on you." Ranger can be scary. I look up at Hal, and he just looks resigned.
"Yes, sir," he replies like a good soldier. Manny is still fighting a laugh, as evident by his silly grin. I should feel worse, but I think Ranger has a bit of a point. Of course, the guys wouldn't assume my Grandma is a threat. Ranger pins me with a look, his brown eyes unreadable.
"I think it would be best for you to stay at the RangeMan building until we can determine who bombed your car," he says as though it's already determined. I place my hands on my hips and narrow my eyes.
"It could have just been an accident! Who bombs an empty car?" I rebut, not wanting to give up any more independence.
"Likely, this was just a warning," Ranger replies, arms crossed over his chest again, "next time, they might try to bomb something with you in it. Unfortunately, this explosion was big enough that the entire funeral home torched, and we have no idea who's behind it."
I stay with my hands on my hips, defiant. I take a deep breath, and the acrid smell of smoke and charred funeral home fills my nostrils. Damn, he's right.
"Fine, but I'll need some items from my apartment." Ranger nods and looks at Manny.
"Manny and Hal will escort you."
On the drive back to my parent's house, I check my phone and see my mom called at least ten times. I wonder if it's about gossip or to make sure we're okay. Grandma is grinning in the seat beside me.
"Tonight sure was action-packed! Hal, there has quite the bum," Grandma hoots, "maybe I need to hang out with ya more, granddaughter." I roll my eyes. Manny laughs from the front seat but promptly shuts up as Hal slugs him in the arm.
"It wasn't my fault!" I say indignantly. No way am I having this pinned on me. We pull up to the duplex, and my mother is immediately on the porch.
"Give me a minute," I say to Manny and Hal as I follow Grandma out of the car.
"Oh, thank God!" Mom exclaims upon seeing us both, "couldn't you have answered the phone, Stephanie? I thought you two were caught in the parlor."
"We were a bit busy," I reply as she takes in Grandma's disheveled appearance. Mom purses her lips.
"Thank you for taking her," Mom says stiffly, "be careful." I nod, surprised she didn't even ask about the car. Or I should say lack of a vehicle—my poor Miata. Grandma gives me a tight hug before disappearing into the house. I sigh and then get back into the SUV.
"So, I guess this is exciting for you two, huh?" I question from the backseat as we head towards my apartment.
"The best part was your little Granny pinching Hal," Manny says, turning to block a hit he anticipates, "wish I caught that on camera." Hal stays silent, but I see him give Manny a side-eye.
"We're not too happy that your car blew up on our watch," Hal says, diverting the attention from his embarrassing moment. I let out a long sigh. I think I'm in disbelief. I can't wrap my mind around someone being so upset with me that they purposefully blew up my car. Who knows, maybe we'll find out it was just an accident. My Spidey-Sense tingles, and I know that it's just my wishful thinking.
"Hey Steph," Manny says quietly from my side, "we're here. I'll escort you up." I blink blearily. I must have fallen asleep on the ride. And, no nightmare. That makes me smile. I follow Manny upstairs, and he does a sweep of the apartment first with his gun drawn. He gives me the all-clear, so I head straight to the bedroom to pack a bag.
We arrive at the RangeMan building before I realize it. I spent most of the car ride wondering what the company would be like. Unfortunately, it's dark out and almost eleven, so I can't see anything as we pull up to a gate. It opens slowly, and we roll into an underground parking garage. The garage is well lit, and there are rows of shiny black cars.
Hal adeptly maneuvers the car into an empty space beside a Porsche Turbo and another SUV. I get out to look around, but there's not much to see other than the cars. Manny points towards an elevator.
"Do you want a quick tour?" Hal questions, "I know it's late. Lester and Hector will be your detail in the morning and can give you a ride to work."
"Might as well get the ten-cent tour, so I know where to find them in the morning," I reply with a small smile and shrug. Hal and Manny nod in unison. They click floor three. The doors open to an immaculate gym that rivals the one at Double X.
"This here's the gym. You'll be welcome to use it anytime while you're here," Manny explains, "just beware that you will be the only woman in the building besides Ella." I look at him with both eyebrows raised because I still haven't mastered the one arch yet. He grins.
"Ella and her husband Louis live on-site here, floor six, as the caretakers of the building. Ella does light cleaning, cooking, and whatever is needed day to day. Louis does maintenance," Manny continues, "I think we'll enjoy having you here." I roll my eyes. I'm surprised that I will be the only woman here. Interesting.
"Floor one is the lobby and Hector's computer command center, and floor two is the gun range," Hal says as he clicks floor five once we've stepped back into the elevator. The doors open into a long hallway.
"Floor five is all of the offices, conference room, and control room," Hal explains as he walks forward. To the right is a long room with two chairs and a bunch of monitors. I realize I know Vince as one of the men there. I don't recognize the other one. They turn when they hear us.
"Hey guys, Stephanie will be staying with us for a while," Manny tells them, "Steph, this is Vince and Binkie." I wave and say hello. What kind of name is Binkie? I wonder as I study the man. Then, they all burst out laughing. My eyes widen, and I realize I must have said that out loud.
"Sorry," I mumble, my face flushing with embarrassment. Binkie grins. He has a large gap between his two front teeth, a smattering of light freckles across his nose and cheeks. He has thick bushy eyebrows and a short buzz cut.
"No worries, ma'am," he says in a deep rumbly voice, "I get that question all the time. I got the name back in the Seals. No real reason behind it, but it stuck."
"Please don't call me ma'am," I say, cringing, "Steph or Stephanie." They all nod. Being called ma'am makes me feel old. They show me around the rest of the floor. There are five large offices which they explained are for the core owners. Manny explained that Ranger, Tank, Ram, Lester, and Bobby each own part of the company. The rest of the floor includes a break room, two conference rooms, and cubicles for the guys.
"Now, we'll head down to four," Hal relays as we once again troop back into the elevator, "Four is all the apartments. A lot of the RangeMan live on-site, and we also use them as safe houses if the need arises." I nod as I take all of this in. My eyes are drooping, and I am exhausted. The day is finally catching up with me.
"So, there's a total of six floors? Plus the garage," I question as we step out into a long hallway. Hal and Manny exchange a glance.
"Seven, actually. Each RangeMan site has a penthouse on the top floor for Ranger since he owns the majority of the company and its CEO," Manny informs me, "he usually lives in whatever building he's at."
"Oh," I say eloquently; I was not expecting that response. I guess Ranger is a rolling stone. Never really settling down. They show me into apartment number twenty and take their exit. The apartment is friendly, cozy, and welcoming. I barely complete my evening routine before setting my alarm and drifting off.