Chapter 35

It was only mid afternoon, but I had no desire to do any more searches. I needed to clear my mind from the meeting with Mr Ryman and knew what would do that.

"Am I okay to go down to the gym?"

I saw the way that Ranger raised an eyebrow at me, I suppose surprised that I would be asking but he never made a sarcastic comment.

"Any time, you know that. How about some company?"

I'd never enjoyed being in the gym here at Rangeman before because I felt so incompetent at trying to pretend that I was enjoying exercising. Plus, there were too many distractions around me, namely the hot sweaty bodies of the Merry Men with Ranger specifically. Now I knew my limitations and how to use some of the machines. I would still avoid running but maybe a steady jog on a treadmill would be okay.

After changing into gym gear, we went down to the gym together with Ranger hitting the treadmill first. I knew better and found a machine that would exercise my legs, in a similar way to the one at Jenson's. I hadn't realized just how unfit I'd become until I couldn't do the number of repetitions that I'd been doing. Sitting up and taking a swig from a bottle of water I looked around to identify the next machine that I wanted to use. That was when Ranger stepped off the treadmill and came over toward me.

"Have you finished?"

I shook my head as I continued to peruse the rest of the equipment, but I just couldn't see how I would manage on the large machines.

"Jenson had this machine that I could use for leg exercises, like this one here, but it also had an upper section where I could exercise my arms and torso. Those are just too big for me"

Yeah, he was looking at the machines now, I suppose trying to work out if I was right.

"So, let's try something different"

I rolled my eyes just thinking about what he might have in mind. No way was I doing pushups, I just couldn't hold my body straight, I'd tried it. What I didn't expect was for him to take my hand and lead me over this weird looking machine that to be honest I had no idea what it did. It had a screen in the middle at eye level and four pads down each side. I didn't say anything as Ranger fastened padded gloves onto my hands and then watched as he turned on the screen.

"See the man in the middle?"

I probably looked skeptical, but I nodded my head, of course I could see him. Another fiddle of the screen and I was seeing red lights flashing down the side of the man.

"The red light is telling you which pad to punch. A clean shot and it turns green so that you can go onto the next one. The four at the bottom use kicks. I'll set it onto the basic workout which goes slowly and requires minimum force"

I had doubted how I was possibly going to get a workout from punching some pads, but I actually enjoyed it and okay, my arms ached in a similar way to using a machine. Once my time was over, I sat and watched as Ranger reset the machine and then was fascinated as the lights flashed to red quickly followed by Ranger punching at the pads. His speed and accuracy were hypnotic and all too soon he had finished.

"Wow"

Was all that I could say, but secretly I wanted to be able to do that. I accepted a towel that Ranger placed around my neck, and it was me that took a hold of his hand and led him from the gym to head upstairs. What could I say, that we needed to save water? I didn't think that Ranger would go along with that idea, but he didn't hesitate as he followed me into the shower. I stripped my sweaty clothes off as the water heated up before being pulled into the cubicle by a very naked Ranger.

What I didn't expect was to be turned around and feel a sponge running across my shoulders and neck gently washing my skin, the fragrance of Bulgari mingling with the steam to tantalize me. The feel as Ranger's hands came over my shoulders had me stepping back into him loving the feel of his mouth as he caressed my neck and shoulders. He was an expert in the shower as his movements slid down my front and the feelings around my breasts and over my stomach were sending me crazy.

My first climax rolled through me with the ministrations of his hands rubbing against me before his fingers entered me coaxing me with exquisite movements. As my body calmed, I could feel how hard he was against my back so did something that I had never dared to do before. I knelt down with my arm under my head and rested it on the small shelf at the end of the shower, basically offering myself for Ranger. I thought I felt some hesitation before he was kneeling behind me and felt his chest lean down along my back with his face next to mine.

"Babe, are you sure. I don't want to hurt you"

"Never surer"

I have to say, him moving away from me wasn't what I expected until I felt his tongue against me. This man was poetry in motion as he licked and sucked and once again, I was shouting out his name. All I wanted now was the feel of him inside me and wasn't disappointed as he nudged my legs apart and slowly started to edge his way inside. One of his hands was supporting under my ribs while the other was below my hips. His movement was fluid and lazy to start with going deeper with each stroke lighting a fire within me that reached my core. When his arm moved from under me, I never gave it a second thought until I felt pressure at my other opening.

"Babe, if you're uncomfortable with this then tell me to stop"

Surprisingly I wasn't, it felt weird to start with but as the rhythm of his movement deepened and synched with the movement of him inside of me, I felt sensations that I'd never had before. At his final thrust I don't know what he did but the climax that came felt like an earthquake sweeping through my body.

When the shaking had calmed, and my senses came back to me I was wrapped in a towel curled up on Ranger's knee. I looked around to find that we were now out of the shower with Ranger leant against a wall, his hand gently caressing my face. Boneless was an understatement but the peace and happiness that surged through me had tears coming to my eyes.

"Babe?"

"I feel so contented and relaxed and happy. I love you with every breath that I take, and heart beat that I make"

"Te amo querida"

I was lifted from the floor and carried through to the bedroom where the bed seemed to be our final destination. It was hours later when I just couldn't fight the exhaustion that came over me from our lovemaking and allowed myself to succumb to sleep.

It was still dark when I came awake which surprised me. I didn't think that I'd woken from a nightmare, in fact from memory I hadn't even dreamed. I could feel Ranger behind me, and he wasn't moving so it couldn't have been him. Then I felt it, a low rumbling in the pit of my stomach that told me that I was starving. We'd missed eating any dinner and the last thing that I'd eaten was a sandwich at lunchtime. I slowly inched away from Ranger and slipped from the bed, finding a robe hung on the door, before making a beeline for the fridge.

I sat on the couch with a plate of cheese and biscuits, memories from the day before going through my head. After making love in the shower, I felt so liberated that saying what I did just seemed like the right thing to say. Did I regret it? No, not really, because it had come from my heart and maybe I needed to take the risk of being honest with Ranger. Certainly his words as we'd laid on the bed between making love had repeated my words back to me. What I wasn't too sure of was where we would go next.

I internally sighed as I had that thought. At the moment it didn't matter because there were too many things happening around me that I needed to sort out first. Then I'd begin to look at my future. Today I needed to get to the bank and find out what was inside my grandma's safety deposit box and then I'd spend time looking at that man Zeneman. To be honest the idea of a large amount of money didn't sway me from what I wanted to do. To me, okay having enough money to pay the bills had been important but I had never yearned for anything more and what was the point of money? Being happy was far more important.

Yeah, you guessed, I wasn't aware that Ranger had got up and positively screamed when his hands came down on my shoulders.

"I was worried when you weren't in bed. Are you okay?"

From the way that he was kneading my shoulders I certainly felt okay but then realized that maybe he had been worried about me.

"I'm fine, I woke up hungry and didn't want to disturb you"

"I'll get dressed and start planning how to visit the bank. Why don't you meet me down in my office when you're ready?"

I had to admit that I was wide awake now so after finishing everything on my plate I went and showered thinking about what to wear. I needed some sort of disguise but wasn't sure what would be suitable.

I knocked lightly and walked into Ranger's office on five, noticing the looks that the men sat there gave me. I'd gone for easy and obvious, mainly because I didn't have a lot of options really. Being dressed in a skirt would be too obvious as would jeans and a sweater so seeing as it was normal to see men in black going in and out of the building that was what I went with. I had on black cargos and a black T-shirt with a black vest over the top. A utility belt that I'd found on Ranger's side of the closet and enough weapons in his bedside cabinet to fill the belt. I'd even found some thick soled boots that gave me some height and had then struggled with what to do with my hair.

None of the men ever wore hats so I'd used a shit load of hair gel and combed my hair away from my forehead and flat to my head. Then I'd used an eyebrow pencil to thicken and darken my eyebrows and dotted it around my face.

"Looking good Beautiful. If I was into men, then you'd be my first choice"

I stuck my tongue out at Les as I walked over to the table and sat down, keen to know what the plan was for getting to the bank.

"New plan, we just drive out of here as though we were doing a routine patrol"

Came from Ranger as he looked over to me.

"I still say that you need to be in a different location to where Beautiful is"

"He's right Ranger. Anyone will be on alert for where you go"

I listened as Les and Tank gave Ranger their opinion and I had to admit that they were probably right, but no way was I going to say that.

"Okay, Les, you go with Steph but be sure that you're both fitted out with a tracker, mic and ear bud. Have Miguel and Ram shadow you. As soon as you're on your way back here let me know"

I could tell that Ranger wasn't pleased with his decision but knew that it was the best way for this to happen.

"Thirty minutes Beautiful"

I was looking at Ranger as Les and Tank walked from the office, waiting for what he might say. I knew that it didn't have to be me walking into the bank this morning, anyone could have done it as long as they had a key, couldn't they?

"Babe, you'll need some ID at the bank and much as I appreciate the effort that you've gone to, you'll need to lose some of the disguise"

"I knew that. That's why I have a pack of wipes in my pocket"

Was that quick thinking or what? The problem wasn't that though, the problem was that I didn't have any ID that proved that I was Stephanie Plum.

I watched as Ranger stood up and walked over to his desk thinking that he was getting a mic and earbud. He came back with those but also a passport that he placed in front of me. Opening it I was seeing the photo and details for me, Stephanie Plum. Born October 12th, 1988, light skin, naturally curly brown hair and blue eyes, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and roughly 130 pounds. I suppose I looked the same, same face and eyes and women changed their hairstyle all of the time, didn't they?

"How do you have this?"

The answer was a raised eyebrow, so I was pretty sure that I was holding a very good forgery, though I had to admit that I had no idea where the original went. Or was this the original and Les had found it when he was looking through my apartment?

"It's not a forgery Babe, Les retrieved it from your apartment so I kept it safe here"

At least that answered my question so pushing the passport into a pocket I stood in front of Ranger as he looked at the mic and earbud. Wearing what I was made it impossible for Ranger to attach the mic as he usually would, which I had to admit to being grateful for. Had he tried to to attach it under my breast then Les would have had to wait a lot longer than 30 minutes. It ended being pinned to the top of the T-shirt and since my was hair slicked back he decided that having an ear bud was going to be too obvious.

Thirty minutes didn't seem long enough as he took my face in his hands and gave me a bone melting kiss. As he pulled away, I was left holding a small material bag, not like a handbag but made from a stiff black material.

"Empty the contents into that and leave straight away. Just be careful"

Were his last words as he ushered me out of his office. Les was waiting for me in the garage, and we were soon driving up the ramp, a black SUV in front of us and one behind. Even I was trying to keep pace with the cars around us and watched as the two SUVs disappeared from sight. Les took twice as long to reach the bank than it would normally take, probably due to the detours that we made. Though I was aware that each time that he stopped we were parked outside a building that had a Rangeman security box attached to the wall.

"We're clear Beautiful. I'll head to the bank now"

Which was my cue to use the wipes and remove the black gunk from my face. I even managed to tease some of the gel from my hair and give myself a reasonable hairstyle. My utility belt with all of the weapons was secured in the lock box underneath my seat so as Les pulled up to park the car, I felt reasonably confident with going inside. The whole process was easier than I thought it would be and I was soon being led by a middle aged gentleman down some steps towards the room that housed the safety deposit boxes. At least grandma had chosen a bank outside of Trenton where no one would know us. I used my key as the man used his and was soon stood on my own in a small room next to a table. The metal box was maybe slightly longer than a shoe box, but I felt so nervous as I lifted the lid on its hinge.

I didn't know what to expect, this was something that my grandma had put together, so I paused as I looked down onto the contents. Everything inside was arranged neatly with some cloth bags laying on top of some envelopes. Ranger had told me to empty the contents into the bag that I was now carrying and walk out, straight back to where Les was waiting for me in the main entrance. That was exactly what I did, and I passed the bag for him to carry as we made our way toward the front door.

"Well, well, look who we have hear"

I closed my eyes cursing that I'd been recognized by someone, then turned to see who it was. To be honest I didn't instantly recognize her, and it took a few moments to register who it was.

"Stella"

Was all that I was prepared to say as I stood looking at Anthony Morelli's wife. I had never had much to do with her so had no idea what she was thinking and was about to turn around and find Les when I felt her touch on my arm.

"I was real sorry to hear about your grandma, Steph, and I hated how Joe was treating you. Them Morelli men are all the same. I wish I had the courage to do what you did and just leave"

I was speechless at hearing what Stella had said to me and had never really thought about what her life was like being married to Anthony. I knew that she had two boys, but Anthony was more often than not drunk so probably wasn't much help. I smiled at her and turned away looking for Les. I honestly didn't know how to respond to her. Say that she was right about the Morelli men, but how would that help her? She was stuck in that marriage to Anthony and would probably never escape from it. Just as Angie, her mother in law, had never been able escape from her abusive husband. Is that what my life would have been like if I'd succumbed to marrying Joe? Probably, which made me glad that I had escaped when I did.

"Who was that, Beautiful?"

I noticed that Les was watching Stella even as he opened the door for me.

"Stella, she's Anthony Morelli's wife. She was nice to me when she saw me"

I think that Les was too concerned with getting us back into the car, so didn't push for more on Stella, which to be honest suited me fine because I had no idea if Stella was there on her own or not. Les wasted no time returning to Rangeman but being cautious I slunk down low in the seat as we approached the building. I knew that he'd taken a route that had us arriving with me closest to the building and hopefully out of sight from a man watching from over the road, but to be honest that company, Zeneman, worried me. Maybe I'd picked up the vibes from Ranger, but Usman wasn't someone that I wanted to come face to face with.

That I was back inside the building both comforted me and at the same time frustrated me. I hated that I was staying inside and that it was my decision to do that, because I was starting to feel restless. I went straight up to seven to shower the gunk out of my hair and to change into more comfortable clothes. I felt that I needed to be comfortable before I opened that bag and looked at what grandma had left in her safety deposit box.

I had just sat down on the couch with the contents of the bag laid out on the coffee table when I heard the door open and turned to see Ranger walking in. I was glad that I didn't have long to wait because I had wanted him to be with me when I looked at the contents, not that they would be contentious. I decided to start with the small cloth bags first, having no idea of what the contents might be. As I gently tipped them out into my hand, I recognized the small pieces of jewelry. A string of pearls, a pair of clip on earrings made from gold with a pearl set in the center, a hair slide, again with pearls inset into the metal, a bracelet and finally a pearl ring.

"I remember grandma showing me these when I was little. She said that they were an heirloom that had come from her mother from Hungary"

I had honestly forgotten about them because she never wore them, saying that they were only for very special occasions. That grandma had intended for me to have them brought an overwhelming sense of love for her. I'd assumed as a child that my mother would have taken them and eventually Valerie, seeing as she was the eldest sister.

"They are very beautiful Babe. Something from your grandmother to cherish"

I nodded as I replaced them back into their protective bags and picked up one of the envelopes. Inside were a collection of photographs, all black and white and looking quite old. Writing on the back told me who I was looking at. Photos of grandma with her parents ranging from when she was a toddler to her as a teenager. Even from the photos I could see that she'd been a beautiful woman.

"You have her hair and I think a look that is common to the both of you"

To me she looked a cheeky little girl as she stood upright smiling at the camera. Is that what I looked like? I wasn't sure if what Ranger had said was a compliment or not. The next envelope had another range of photos but this time she was with a young man who I assumed was my grandfather.

"She wore the pearls for her wedding"

I said as I recognized them on her. Her dress was simple, almost modern by today's standards and exemplified her figure. Long white material hugged the contours of her hips before falling to the ground and the bodice appeared to have a round neck, the style though was covered with what looked like a lace bolero top. She even had white lace gloves on. More of the photos from that envelope showed her with a small child, who I assumed was my mother. Even as a child my mother had looked serious. These photos depicted her adult life and the milestones that her and grandpa had reached. There were ones of them at the beach, possibly Point Pleasant before it had become so commercial and one of my grandpa stood in front of a train when he'd worked on the railway. Another had them stood in front of her house as I remembered it, the last one that they had lived in.

I was almost dreading the next envelope because I had a feeling that these photos would show the next generation. I wasn't wrong but what surprised me was how many there were of me. There was an odd one with Val in it as well and only one of my grandparents, parents and me and Val. Val was sat on my mother's knee with my mother looking down at her, both of them sat up straight and looking so serious, while I was sat on my grandma's knee, both of us smiling. I could maybe see that resemblance now between me and my grandma when she'd been a child. I certainly took after her. My father and grandpa had been stood behind their respective wives both looking straight into the camera.

Sighing I replaced the photos into the envelope wondering what would be the best thing to do with them. Maybe I could scan them and that way I'd have a more permanent copy of them. Maybe in the future I could even add my own envelope? I shrugged that off as I picked up the next envelope because I wasn't too sure what would be inside this one. There were a number of oblong shaped sheets, that all looked the same, so I knew that these were probably the bond certificates that Mr Ryman had told me about. They didn't make a lot of sense to me, so I passed them over to Ranger for him to look at.

"These are the bond certificates that you mentioned and just by looking at them I'd say that there is large quantity of money involved. What do you want to do with them?"

I shrugged my shoulders because I had no idea.

"Mr Ryman said that I could cash them in or have them transferred into my name"

At the moment I wasn't sure what to do for the best.

"How about I arrange a meeting between you and my lawyer and then he can give you some options?"

That meant that I wouldn't have to think about them so nodded my head in agreement and replaced them back into the envelope.

The last envelope was quite thick so obviously had more papers inside so again being careful I slid the contents out onto the table.

Official papers, or maybe copies of them. Her birth and marriage certificates along with old driving licenses. A health card, an old ration card and copies of house purchases. Prices seemed so cheap when those properties were bought which I suppose grandma reaped the benefit of after grandpa had died and she sold their house. One receipt had me rolling my eyes, payment and details of the casket that she had wanted and the document with regard to her and grandpa's burial sites at the cemetery. The last receipt that I looked at was from a stone mason with the order for headstones that would be erected at the head of their graves. I recognized the words that were now inscribed at grandpa's grave.

"I lie with angels

That keep me safe

Until my soul

Is complete again"

What surprised me though was that there was also a verse that had been assigned to grandma. It wasn't the cold uncaring inscription that I'd read at the cemetery it was totally different and absolutely fitting.

"I lie with my soulmate

Safe in the hands of angels

Forever in love

Forever together"

I frowned as I realized that this was what she had wanted written on her tomb stone. Had my mother not known about this, or had she chosen to ignore it and instead have words that she felt were more appropriate? I hadn't really appreciated what a romantic my grandma had been. Those words were beautiful.

"Your grandma was a very unique woman, Babe. She certainly seemed to live her life to the full while I knew her, but she had a very caring and loving side to her that she kept hidden from most people. I think that she showed that side of herself to you, especially through these things that she wanted you to have. She left you a legacy through memories that she knew would be important to you"

Had I taken her for granted as she got older? I didn't think so. I mean I knew that she could drive me insane at times, but she had always made me smile and I knew that she had always supported me. I'd do my best to ensure that her words that immortalized the love that she'd felt for grandpa were where they should be. As I imagined how I might do that or even where a stone could go that was when a picture came into my mind.

"I know where she hid it"