Round Robin

Chapter 9 (Erdi99)

STEPHANIE

"You okay, Babe?" Ranger asked, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at me.

"Yes..." I sighed. "Actually, no. I cannot believe what just happened. This seems like a bad dream, or maybe we traveled back in time and are now in the 1800s? Because that would be the only explanation for all of this."

"We are most certainly not in the 1800s," Ranger replied with a chuckle.

"Then why does my mother think it's okay to marry me off to a man I can't stand, and she knows it, without first talking to me? I mean, that is some next-level shit. I may find arranged marriages hot in some of the romance novels Mary Lou lends me, but not in real life. The last time I checked, we were not the Royal Family or the mafia. " I threw up my hands in frustration. "Seriously fucked up."

"It is."

The rest of the drive passed in silence, and once we got to Haywood, there was no question asked about where I wanted to go when he swiped his card in the elevator and pressed seven.

I remembered his message from earlier that day and braced myself for the talk to come. But suddenly I remembered what I overheard him say to Morelli in front of my parents' place and stopped dead in my tracks. "Why did you call me your girlfriend when you spoke to Morelli?"

"You heard that, huh?" Was the only answer I receive as he pushed open the door to his apartment. When I still hadn't moved from my spot seconds later, he turned and added, "Come on, there is a lot we have to talk about, and I don't have much time. I told your dad, I would meet him in an hour."

Nodding, I followed him inside, where we were greeted by a table set with candles and a mountain of food. Not sure what to make of all of this, I, for once, kept my mouth shut and just stripped out of my jacket and shoes, before I joined Ranger at the table.

After we stuffed our faces with food, Ranger sat back in his chair and glared at me with a serious expression. "I have not dated anyone since high school and only stuck to one-night stands after that." There he goes and rams the knife right into my heart. "I never brought a woman up here. I never introduced a woman to any of my guys or family. But for some reason, I threw all my carefully scripted ways of living out the window the moment you called me for help. I like spending time with you. I like our dinners together and I especially enjoyed the sex. You are mine now. That is why I called you, my girlfriend."

It took me a few seconds to get my brain and tongue back up and running after being stunned speechless by the many words that just came out of his mouth. "I don't get a say in this. After all, we are not in the 1800s'"

"You may have some say." His words were accompanied by a smirk on his handsome face.

"So, you didn't sleep with me to offset your karmic debt?"

"What would make you think that?" His smirk disappeared the second the words came out of my mouth, almost making me regret them. But I needed to know, or my head was going to be a mess.

I shrugged. "You just said so yourself, you don't date. Since I saved your life, maybe you see it as an obligation to show me a good time."

"Definitely not the case here, and I will prove this to you later. I don't need Karma to get laid." After a moment of silence, during which we just stared at each other, he continued. "What you do not get a say in, is your protection from now on."

"What do you mean?"

"When I texted you earlier…" I cringe at his pointed look. "I wanted to tell you about Morelli. We unsealed his military records and found that he assaulted, battered, and stalked a naval nurse. He was our prime suspect beforehand, but we are definitely keeping an eye on him now. And after what happened at your parents' place, it will be a very close eye. Until then, you cannot go to work anymore."

Indignation rose within me while he talked, and now I am angry. "No!"

"No?"

"I cannot afford to miss work. I will continue to do my job. People have already made bookings with me for the coming weeks, I cannot let them down. They count on me."

"They will get over it."

"The answer is no!"

Ranger and I stared at each other until he closed his eyes with a sigh. "Fine! You will not leave RangeMan without two of my men being right there with you, and we are going to install cameras at your work."

"You mean I will be watched constantly? He may be crazy, but surely he isn't going to harm me."

"Babe, can I remind you of what we found in your bedroom?"

With a sigh, I deflated. "No."

"Good. This will be temporary. As soon as we can prove this is Morelli's doing and he is locked up or six feet under, you will only have one guard."

"Why would I need a guard when Joe is no longer a problem? There is no reason for it."

"I will tell you when the time comes. There are a lot of things you don't know about me yet."

And vice versa. We got to know each other since I started staying at RangeMan, but we did not yet know everything about each other. I suppose time will tell if we are compatible or not.

"I will tell you all of this another time, and there will be a lot that I cannot tell you, but I will always be honest with you. I don't play games, what you see is what you get."

I did not know what to answer, so I kept quiet. Ranger looked at his watch and then stood. "I need to meet your father. Stay here, make yourself at home." He leaned over, pressed a kiss to my lips, and then he was already out the door.

I cleaned up the remainder of our dinner and when I could not find anything to do that held my attention for longer than two seconds, I decided on making jam. Mind made up, I made my way into Ella's industrial kitchen and got started. This would help me sort through my conversation with Ranger and what happened at my parents' place.

Ranger's POV

I met Frank Plum, a graying man in his 50s and a head and a half smaller than me, in the diner the guys and I frequented. It is the best in this city. The food isn't covered in grease and the coffee is always fresh. It is open twenty-four-seven, something that my men and I appreciated having a job that didn't have regular hours. Especially after some really bad nights. There is nothing better than a burger and fries after being shot at.

"Son." Frank stood and offered me his hand. "We have not been properly introduced. I am Frank Plum."

"Ranger Manoso." I took his hand and shook it.

"Coffee, Ranger?" The waitress, a young woman named Mary, shouted across the diner.

I just nodded and then sat down in the booth opposite Stephanie's father. "Mr. Plum…"

"Frank."

"Frank, I am sorry for the scene earlier today, but it was necessary. Stephanie has a stalker, which we have reason to believe is Joseph Morelli. He stalked, battered, and assaulted a woman during his time in the Navy, where it was swept under the rug."

"I always knew there was something off about that boy, and I knew there must have been a reason for Stephanie to run him over with Big Blue." Frank shook his head.

Before I could add anything, Mary set two cups in front of us and filled them to the brim with coffee. "Any food today?"

"Not today, thank you." I look at Frank and he too shook his head.

"What is your plan?"

"Stephanie has been staying with me, where she is safe. She agreed to have two guards accompany her whenever she leaves the house, and we will also install cameras at her workplace. Today was unexpected and Morelli now knows of my relationship with your daughter. A setup will take some time to work out. In the meantime, we will have Morelli followed as well. Unfortunately, all the gifts Stephanie received were purchased in cash through a porter service, so we have no chance of tracking that." Morelli really went to great lengths to cover his tracks.

"If there is anything I can do, let me know."

"Tell all of this to your wife and tell her to not say anything to anyone. When Morelli gets wind of it, he will be gone."

"Noted."

From what I could gather, Helen Plum loves gossip, but I have hope that she loves her daughter more.

When I returned to RangeMan after my meeting, Stephanie was already fast asleep, with jam stuck to her face. Looking at the many jars on my counter, she must have kept busy after I left.

I quickly undressed and then joined her under the covers. I was planning to spoon her, but, as if on instinct, Steph rolled over and curled into my side. I had never been a big cuddler, but for some reason, I couldn't help the big smile on my face when I fell asleep.

The next morning, I insisted on driving her to the salon, with Cal and Brett tailing us. When we got to the salon, Shelly greeted Stephanie with a worried smile on her face. "This came for you as soon as I opened the door."

Before Steph could even touch it, I covered my hand with my sleeve and took the DVD from Shelly. "I will take care of that, and I will see you later." After a kiss that had its intended effect and swiped the worried look off Stephanie's face, I walked out of the shop.

After Hec ran a scan on the disk, he turned his screen for me to look at. After pressing play, I leaned back in my chair, braced for what sick thing Morelli had sent her. My eyebrows hit my hairline when the black screen disappears and is replaced with Morelli strapped to a chair, bleeding from his temple.

"What do you want?"

"You cannot have her." A distorted voice off-camera answered.

"Who?"

"You cannot hurt her any longer."

"WHO?"

"She doesn't want you. She said so. You treated her like a whore, taking her virginity at Tasty Pastry."

"You mean Stephanie?"

"You don't deserve her. She is mine. She loves me."

"Buddy, I got bad news for you!"

"I have some bad news for you too. Your engagement is over." And with that, a gloved hand holding a gun appears on the screen, pointing directly at Morelli.