Just as Tank was about to say something, the blonde reached across the table for Ranger's hand and said loud enough for all to hear. "Oh Ricardo, I love you too."

Steph In The Right Direction

Chapter Fifteen

Tank, Lester, Bobby and Ranger froze stiff while Stephanie bolted through the restaurant in search of some fresh air. By the time she reached the parking lot her face was soaked with tears and she was nearly gasping for breath.

She was halfway to the street when someone grabbed her arm and flung her around. When she turned she found herself staring into the flaming black eyes of Ranger.

"Babe, wait." He said as he too panted for breath.

Stephanie's instincts kicked in as she flung her hand in the direction of his face. The contact was quick and hard, causing the sound of the slap to echo across the parking lot.

"Don't you fucking Babe me, Ranger. Finally after all this time I understand what's going on, so just let me be." Stephanie spat as she jerked her arm free of his hold.

"No Ba.. Stephanie. Please let me explain." yelled Ranger as he once again reached for her.

Stephanie took a step away from him and glared through her tear stained eyes. "There's nothing to explain Ranger. I get it. I know what I saw and what I heard. Hell we all heard it. I just wish you had been honest with me."

Ranger cut her off, "Steph I've always told you nothing but the truth."

"Bullshit Ranger. Bullshit! When you said you didn't do relationships you lied. What you should have said was that you didn't do relationships with me! This whole time I thought you were just denying your feelings for me because you were a afraid of commitment or something. But I couldn't have been more wrong, could I?" Stephanie was shouting and moving closer to Ranger as she pressed her hands into his chest, shoving him backwards. "But what I didn't get until now was that I was nothing but a piece of pussy to you. You don't have a problem with relationships, you just have a problem with me!"

Ranger regained his footing and grabbed her wrists. "Stephanie that's not it, please let me explain."

"I believe she's heard enough for one night Ricardo. Get your hands off of her." Tank's voice was filled with an intensity that made Stephanie shutter.

Lester and Bobby took control of Ranger's arms and pulled him backwards. Tank grabbed for Stephanie and curled her into his chest. "Bobby, Les you see that he gets home. I'm getting Stephanie out of here."

"No problem Tank. Leave it to us." growled Lester.

Ranger sulked slowly to his knees as he watched Tank and Stephanie rush out of the parking lot in the SUV.

-------------------------

Stephanie was still crying when Tank pulled the SUV to a stop in front of the house. When he pulled her from the vehicle he practically had to carry her to the front door which opened just as approached the porch.

A pretty brunette around Stephanie's age had opened the door and ushered them inside.

"I made up a bed for her in the guest room. Get her settled in there and I'll give her a sedative to help her calm down.

Tank did as the woman said and pulled the covers back from the bed and nudge Stephanie into place. He tucked her in and soon the woman reappeared with a needle.

Tank left for the bathroom as the woman whispered to Stephanie that she was going to give her a shot to help her sleep. Stephanie merely shook her head because she was still too upset to speak.

When Tank returned he was carrying a damp washcloth. He took a seat on the bed next to Stephanie and carefully began wiping her face with the cloth. When he was assured that she was calm and indeed asleep he rose from the bed and joined the woman in the living room.

"Thanks for the help Carrie."

"No problem Tank. So tell me what happened." she asked.

"Ranger and Amanda were at the restaurant tonight. We had no clue they would be there and well, Amanda was nothing short of her normal bitch self."

Carrie snorted then shook her head, "Like we should expect anything less?"

Tank took a step closer to the woman and gathered her into his arms. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then whispered, "Thank God I have you woman."

Carrie smiled into his chest. "And thank God I have you but more importantly I'm thankful that right now, Stephanie has you. She's going to need it."

Tank shook his head in agreement as they tightened their embrace. They parted only after his pocket began to buzz.

"Yeah." he snapped into the phone.

"Ric's secured at home, where are you?" asked Bobby.

"At Carrie's. She gave Stephanie a sedative so she's sleeping right now." explained Tank.

"Good, we're on our way." Bobby said before disconnecting.

"Bobby and Les are coming over." Tank said to Carrie.

"I'll go put on some coffee then, looks like it might be a long night."

Chapter Sixteen

Ranger tossed and turned in bed as he replayed the events of the day over and over again in his head.

He knew when he found Amanda in his office that nothing but trouble would come of it. But as usual, she fluttered her eyelashes at him and once again he fell back into the same pattern with her as always.

"What do you want Amanda?" he scowled.

"Well a cup of coffee would be nice." she said softly.

When he had returned with the coffee he found Tank standing in the doorway. He knew his friend had his best interests in mind, but Amanda was his problem, and his alone. After Tank slammed from the room he turned his attention back to the woman sitting across from him, looking more attractive than ever.

"Now you have coffee. So tell me what you are really doing here." he asked.

"Come on Ric. Is that anyway to treat your wife?" she purred.

"Ex-wife Amanda. And I know you better than most so cut the act and tell me why you're here."

Amanda placed the coffee on a nearby table and walked around to join Ranger on his side of the desk. She reached down and placed a hand on his leg causing him to immediately go tense.

"I miss you Ricky. I just came here to see if you would go out to dinner with me."

He knew it was a bad idea the moment she mentioned it, but as usual she gave him that look and he caved. That's how they had ended up at Rossini's and that's how the night had ended up with Stephanie running away from him.

He shook his head and rolled over in the bed, the night still pounding away at his thoughts.

"I think we should give it another try Ric. You know how much it would mean to Erica. She misses having her father around."

"I miss her as well, but you know it can't work between us Amanda. I still love you and I probably always will, but only God knows why. You're a horrible woman Amanda and you have succeeded in making the last 10 years of my life a living hell. You can't keep showing up like this and begging me to come back to you. It's not fair to me and it's definitely not fair to Erica."

"But I love you Ric." she whined.

"No you don't Amanda. You love the thought of me but more importantly you love my money. I won't let you destroy me again the way have done in the past. I've had enough of your games." Ranger said through clenched teeth.

It was then that Amanda had noticed the group walking towards them. She recognized the three men but had never seen the woman before. She knew immediately that this woman was going to be trouble. Their eyes had met and their gaze held for only a moment before the woman's eyes cut to Ric. And when she watched Ric's eyes grow dark at the sight of the strange woman Amanda knew her plan was slowly fading away, so she did the only thing she could do.

"Oh Ricardo, I love you too."

"Fuck." Ranger mumbled as he slung the covers off his body. There was no chance of him sleeping tonight so he got up and padded into the kitchen. After throwing back three shots of Scotch he pounded his fist on the counter and said out loud to his empty apartment. "I have to make Stephanie understand."

To Be Continued…