I know everyone was worried about Steph's reaction. Remember this is a strong Steph story.

At this point I'm not even sorry about the angst...

Chapter 12

Carlos POV:

My whole world stopped when doors of that elevator closed with Steph inside. I knew I had fucked up. I knew it and I didn't do anything about it.

She would be back, she had to get clothes at least. Where was she going? Where was she going to sleep tonight? How was she going to take care of Magnum? Ten minutes later, I was pulling out my phone. Tank answered on the second ring.

"What's up man?"

"I fucked up," I told him.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I've been pushing Steph away. Tonight, she left."
I heard him mutter something under his breath. "What the hell is your problem man?" he asked me.

"How am I supposed to tell her what happened? She's going to look at me different. She's going to leave me, Tank."

"She's going to leave you if you don't stop this shit, not talking to her," he growled at me over the phone.

"Help me find her so I can talk to her!"

He hung up and I knew he was going to try and find her. Ten minutes later he called to say he was picking me up.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"She's more upset than anything. She's at her office. Let me talk to her first and then you can talk to her."

That's how I ended up here. Sitting across the couch from my woman, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Tell me the whole story," she said, softly.

"Babe..."

"Damnit Carlos! Tell me!" she yelled at me.

"Bryan and I were the last men heading out. We were on our way to catch up to the rest of our team. We were ambushed with by group of insurgents. Bryan ended up with a gunshot in his gut. I carried him to the rendezvous site. The rest of the team was there.

"The medic tried to patch him up. Bryan was laying there bleeding, blood oozing from his stomach. He was on his death bed, and he asked me to kill him. I sent the team ahead and made sure it was really what he wanted. I knew he wouldn't make it back to the states alive if we tried to take him back. So, I put a bullet through his skull," I finished. I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my hands. I couldn't bear to see the look on her face, in her eyes.

Her hands wrapped around my wrist. I looked up at her and she moved closer to me. "Carino, Carlos did you want to do it?"

My head shot up and I locked eyes with her. "Of course not!" I answered, shocked she would ask that.

She smiled softly. "Then you're not a bad guy." She said softly, cupping my cheek. "You ended his suffering. If you hadn't, he would have had a slow painful death. Carlos, if I was suffering, there was nothing anybody could do to help me, I was in pain, I would ask somebody the same thing."

"Steph..."

"Don't call me Steph," she said.

I smiled softly. "Babe."

"That's more like it," she said, kissing me softly.

She pulled back to study me. "Have you seen a doctor?"

"I'm on administrative leave. I've got to visit one multiple times a week and be cleared."

"Is it helping?"

I shook my head. She took my hands in hers. "Will they allow you to see one if they have the security clearance?"

I nodded not knowing where she was heading. "A friend of mine is a shrink. He's comes into the shop all the time to shop for his wife. We're all really good friends. He specializes in treating PTSD and traumatic events. Those are the ones he prefers to take on. He's ex-navy."

"Do you trust him?" I asked her.

"Almost as much as I do you," she said.

"If I can get it cleared, I'll go see your friend." She kissed me softly. Mag jumped onto the couch and began licking me in the face. When Mag jumped down, and I pulled Steph into my lap, and she tucked her face into my neck.

"Will you come home with me?" I asked her, softly.

"Do you promise you're done holding yourself at arm's length?" she asked in answer.

"Babe, I'll get as close as you'll let me." I growled.

She laughed softly and kissed me. We walked out and Tank raised an eyebrow to her. She nodded to him. We followed her out and she loaded Mag up. I slid into the passenger's seat and she got into the driver's seat. Driving back to the building, we took the elevator up. Steph looked exhausted.

"Let's get to bed, Babe." I suggested. She nodded and I took her hand. She followed me up the stairs and I helped undress her and then before undressing myself. Sliding into bed, she pressed against me, wrapping her arms around me. She tucked her face into my neck, holding her close to me.

"I love you," she said softly against my neck.

"I love you too, Babe," I whispered back. I felt her look up at me.

"I would love to show you how much I love you," she said. "But right now, I'm just too tired. Raincheck?"

"In the morning," I told her. She kissed my neck before settling back down. Mag jumped onto the bed and settled at our feet. I shook my head.

I woke up in the morning, Steph was curled into me; Mag's head rested on her hip. He stared at me, and I reached down to pet him. He nuzzled into my hand as Steph stirred.

She peppered kisses against my neck, and across my jaw. I grabbed her hip, pulling her on top of me. My lips found hers and she moaned softly. My hand grabbed her ass, bringing her farther up my body. She straddled me, and I deepened the kiss.

Mag jumped off the bed and ran into his crate. I looked up to see him covering his eyes. I laughed and Steph looked at what I was looking at. She shook her head at him. I kissed her again smiling; she sat up and I let my hands move up her hips and sides to cup her breast. My fingers tweaked her nipples. She moaned softly.

Sitting up, she grabbed me and sank down on me. She gasped and I growled. "Babe."

She started to rotate her hips, raising and lowering on me, grinding her clit against me with each thrust. I rotated my hips with hers, driving deep into her. Her nails dug into my chest with each thrust. "Carlos!" she gasped.

I flipped us; her back hit the bed and I drove deep into her. Her hands clutched the sheets. I brought her leg around my waist, bracing my knees to drive deeper into her. I pistoned in and out of her, my hand finding her clit.

"Come with me, Babe!" I growled.

She grasped me tight, coming around me, clenching around me, pulling me deeper, causing me to come inside her. My thrusts slowed; I tried to pull out and she clenched me tight. She wrapped her arms around my body and pulled me down on top of her. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled out and rolled us to the side.

"I've missed that," she whispered against my neck.

"I've missed that, too," I said against the top of her head. "I'm sorry I've been such an ass."

She sighed. "It's okay as long as your done being one."

I kissed her temple. "I promise, Babe."

Steph and I spent most of the morning in bed, holding each other mostly. We made love a few times, but her stomach was growling by eleven and Mag was getting impatient. We got dressed and went into the kitchen. Steph started on Mag's food, and I made ours. She watched as I made the first thing I had ever made for her: Cuban French Toast. She grinned, obviously recognizing it.

I set a plate in front of her and walked around to sit on the one next to her. She leaned against my shoulder as she ate. When she was finished, she smiled at me. I leaned down and kissed her softly and Mag barked at us. I rolled my eyes.

"You want to come with me to walk him?"

I nodded. "Let's get some shoes on."

We walked around the building Mag sniffed around. I wrapped my arm around her waist. She let me pull her to me. Mag finished up and Steph handed me a bag; I rolled my eyes and she grinned.

We walked back into the condo and Steph checked the time. "I need to get some work done."

"What do you have to do?"

"I've got to get a few sketches finished."

"Sketches?" I asked.

"You've been living here, and you have never seen my office." She grinned. She motioned for me to follow her.

I followed her down the hallway. She opened the door to reveal another bedroom. It had a drawing table looking out the window, sketches were plastered over the walls. The other desk had a computer on it, and more papers spread out.

"Babe," I said walking further into the room. Looking at the designs on the walls I recognized a few of them as ones she had worn for me.

She watched me. I turned to the drawing table and looked at the sketch she was working on. It was a bodysuit. "If you produce this, are you going to wear it for me?" I asked, grinning at her.

She smiled. "If you play your cards right."

I pulled her into me. "I knew you were talented, but this, Babe..." I started. "You always surprise me."

She smiled at me, and I leaned down to kiss her. "I'll let you get to work. You mind if I have Tank come over? I want to talk to him about Rangeman."

She nodded. "Let me know when Tank gets here," she said, leaning up to kiss me again.

I let her go and she settled in at her seat. I left the door cracked and walked into the living room. Mag laid on the couch watching me. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed one of his favorite chews out of his cabinet. I sat down next to him and held it up. "No hard feelings?"

He pawed at my leg, and I gave it to him. "We good?"

With a bark, I was confident he didn't feel like killing me anymore. He jammed the chew under my leg and used my leg as leverage to chew on it. I shook my head and pulled out my phone.

I texted Tank for him to come over and turned on the TV. Ten minutes later the elevators opened, and Tank walked into the living room. "Where's Steph?"

"Babe?" I called.

"Yeah, Carlos?"

"Tank is here." I answered.

She walked out of her office and grinned at him. She hugged him and he picked her up, kissing her cheek, before setting her down. "Want a drink?"

"You want coffee?"

"Always," he answered. She walked into the kitchen and poured him a cup and brought it back.

"Have you found any buildings?" I asked as Steph left. I was surprised she didn't stick around but she did have work to do.

"I've found a few that I think will work. They fit all of your parameters," Tank said.

"Did you happen to bring the files on them over?" I asked.

"No, I rushed my ass over here because I thought something was wrong. Dude, my socks don't match and neither do my shoes," he pointed out. That was the truth. Looking down, he wore one long black sock and one short sock, one black tennis shoe and one white one. I chuckled.

"I haven't fucked up yet."

I heard Steph's phone ring and she answered it. I turned back to the TV; Tank settled into his cushion. "How are we on recruiting men?"

"We've got a lot of interest from a lot of former military men, men on the last couple months of their tours, former spec ops, and a few ex-cops."

I nodded. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Steph walked towards us, tears running down her cheeks.

I stood and made my way over to her. "Babe, what's wrong?" I asked, pulling her into my arms. She pressed her face into my neck.

"Babe?" I asked softly, my hand rubbing up and down her back.

"My grandpa Harry had a heart attack," she whispered.

"Where is he?"

"St. Francis in Trenton. They say he doesn't have long."

"Go pack a bag, Babe. I'll book a flight." I said, kissing her forehead.

"You're coming with me, right?" she asked, clutching my forearms.

"Of course, Babe."