The Missing Piece in Ranger's Life

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Chapter 17

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Ranger's POV

"Welcome home, Babe."

I opened my apartment door and led her inside. Our apartment now.

Stephanie beamed at me. "Home. I like the sound of that."

"Visualising this day has kept me going over the past months. I still can't believe it. Finally, finally we can get on with our lives."

"Yess," she purred. "I have been hanging out for this day as well."

I slowly backed her up against the wall, holding her in place with my arms on either side of her shoulders. Those blue eyes captured mine, so beautiful. Her hands reached out to grab my shirt but I lightly stopped her motion. With both hands gently holding her face, I looked at her pouty lips and smiled.

"No need to pout, Stephanie. You really are the most amazing woman. I don't know if I deserve you. Or if I am worthy -"

She stopped me with a gentle finger to my lips.

"Hush. Stop that line of thinking. Besides, you're talking too much. And, you have too many clothes on. I want you, Carlos. Now. Skin to skin. Heart to heart. Lips to lips -"

That was enough. I took her lips in a sweet, tender kiss, before I scooped her up, walking her to the bedroom, our bedroom. I kicked the door shut and placed her gently on the ground in a standing position. After removing our weapons and phones, slowly, as we faced each other, we toed off our boots and socks. Together we removed our t-shirts and then our cargos. She stood there grinning, appreciating what she saw since I was already completely naked. She knew I was going commando. Dios. She looked gorgeous. After all my night manoeuvres, I only got to see her in her bedroom, in the dim moonlight, or that one night when she lit a few votive candles. Her navy and black lace-trimmed lingerie set looked sexy as hell. Her eyes sparkled with confident mischief.

"They've got to go, Babe. No fair," I deadpanned.

She grinned. "I might need some help, Carlos," she purred. Dios. Love this woman so much.

"I can do that," I smirked, my voice dropping another octave.

Yes! Skin to skin, heart to heart, lips to lips, our afternoon delight left us panting and breathless, exhilarated, euphoric. There was no rush, and we were not bound by any time restraints this time. Now, as we lay facing each other, gently caressing one another, my heart still pounding, she smiled and sighed. Me too.

"Wow! You know, what the best part is?" she said after catching her breath.

I looked at her, wondering where she was going with this.

"You get to stay, all night. You don't have to sneak off into the darkness to head back to the safe house." She chuckled, "and, best of all?"

"Best of all?" I asked curiously.

"Best of all, we get to wake up, next to each other, together, in the same bed, in this bed," she sighed with a wistful smile.

"In our bed, in our bedroom," I agreed. Wholeheartedly. I look forward to that with her body half draped over mine, her legs wrapped around mine.

After a shower and refuelling with a delicious Ella made meal, we spent the rest of the evening in each other's arms, cuddling and snuggling on the couch, just enjoying the closeness and soaking up each other's company. The lighting was low and ambient with soft music playing in the background. Ambient and relaxing. As Stephanie said, we had all the time in the world.

"You know, I figured something out while I was on that FUBARed mission," I confessed while looking into her eyes as I ran one finger along her face and jaw line, resting below her lips. Her eyebrows raised in curiosity, and her chin lifted up, so I gave her lips a chaste kiss. I smiled at her silent go ahead motion.

"You are my Missing Piece. That part, that important essential part which makes me feel whole. You complete me. I love you Stephanie Plum, so much, in every way possible. I was hoping that you'd still be waiting for me and it gave me faith and strength while we were stuck in that jungle, that I had something worth living for. I have to admit, even though we planned your move into here by the time I was due back, I was … I was really worried that Morelli and your mother might overwhelm you with their crazy vision of your Burg future with him."

I let out a deep breath, glad to have it out there, declaring my fears. She smiled sweetly at me and snuggled closer, but then decided to sit on my lap, straddling me. Her hands held my face and she gave me a chaste kiss.

"Oh, Carlos," she soothed as she looked me in the eye.

"I was alright. I was holding the line and standing firm. Ella and Tank kept me grounded with our secret endgame plan. Rangeman too with all my Merry Men. But, you were so right. My mother and Morelli really tried to interfere and disrupt my life. Morelli was frequently loitering at the Bonds Office. So, I grabbed all the files from Connie to deliver to Rangeman. I purposefully didn't take Lula with me to make my hasty escape. Connie was cool with that and had the files ready for me to collect and go. Lula was pissy about it but she had been acting kind of weird lately. Pfft. I now know why. She wanted me to hook up with Officer Hottie again. Subtle is not in her vocabulary nor her manner. She was getting very cosy with him and trying all that matchmaker shit, but not with any sincerity. Ick! And to think they actually got married! In Brunswick Junction according to the paperwork."

She shuddered with that revelation.

"Summonses to dinner were there, but Tank came with me. Not surprisingly, Morelli arrived and they, my mother and Morelli, tag-teamed with their vitriol and the usual diatribe. The words were the same but they desperately tried a new tactic, heavy on the usual scandalous scrutiny of what the neighbours might say. Of course, it backfired when I refused to succumb to their demands by ignoring them and not responding. Anyway, I just got up mid Morelli's pathetic, ingratiatingly gross rant of how he was willing to make an honest woman of me, since according to my mother, no one would want me."

She rolled her eyes as she jabbed two fingers into her open mouth to show the gag reflex. I had to laugh.

"Ugh! It was so puke-worthy. Tank stood up with me and we left, only saying goodnight to Daddy and Grandma. I didn't even respond to either of them nor the promise of cake. Pfft. I no longer like pineapple upside-down cake, just like cupcakes. No more of either. They are on my shit list. I can live without them. Besides, there are so many wonderful delicious possibilities. Ella has helped me replace them with better options."

She chuckled with that last part, as she wriggled on my lap. Dios.

"I ignored all the rest of the commands and when she started remonstrating and scolding me like I was still a child, I just interrupted her enough to say, "No. Not interested. Not coming. I have plenty to eat." And then I hung up before she could protest at my rebellious behaviour. Ha! I just didn't rise to her irritation and kept my cool. Tank would give me the thumbs up and grin. The guys couldn't believe her relentless attacks."

Another wriggle of excitement at her own retaliation.

"Proud of you, Babe. You have become stronger. I can see that, standing up for yourself. My three mission team mates were very impressed with you in so many ways."

She wriggled again. That was it. I lifted her up and her legs circled around my waist as we made our way to our bedroom for more cardio. Who am I kidding? We made love, in the most wonderful ways.

Next morning early, much to my surprise, Stephanie joined me in the gym at the same time, something I never expected, especially after our active night of passion and, you know, extra cardio. Evidently, she had been training and I watched, enthralled, with a degree of pride, as she sparred with her partner Cal. Running, stretching, working through a weights routine, and sparring, all with a smile, willingly. I smiled. I was impressed. Cal had taught her yoga. Her cool down stretches were mesmerising. I was ready to scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder for a different exercise routine when Tank tapped my shoulder.

"Steady soldier. She's been diligent with her training, which has helped her immensely. It was her decision and I can tell you we were all stoked that she took it so seriously. She conceded the need but also admitted it was a great strategy to keep her grounded and stop her going crazy while your mission went to shit. Redirecting her pent up nervous energy into something controlled and practical was a good way to channel her "inner Ranger", as she called it. Showing her how yoga exercises can help build her core strength was a coup from Cal. She gets into such a zone of serenity, her Zen, which we all admire."

He thumped me on the shoulder as he made his way to the showers. I wiped my face with the towel and drained the rest of my water bottle. I waited for Stephanie to emerge from her zone of serenity, her eyes still closed, with a final graceful stretch. She caught my watchful eye and smiled and shrugged her shoulders as she approached. I smiled.

"That was an awesome routine, Babe." I said as I handed her a bottle of water.

"Mmm," she beamed, "I really like my yoga stretches. They feel so good."

"Mm-mm. Me too, Babe."

She elbowed me playfully.

"I'm going to shower down here, I have a breakfast core meeting."

"K." With a sweet kiss, she turned away from me and sashayed out of the gym.

Lester nudged me while I watched her cute ass go through the door. I couldn't hide my goofy grin in time before he burst out laughing. Meh! I'm cool. I just let it roll. My Missing Piece makes me whole and it feels fucking fantastic.

The core team meeting was my first in months. It felt so good to be back. Tank gave a report on the company's overall progress including the other branches; Bobby on the physicals of personnel, including workplace injuries and recovery programs; while Lester reported on FTAs and the crime scene overview for the past six months.

The next item on the agenda, the main event, was a debrief of the hunt and the capture and reporting to the General. On the video call he congratulated Rangeman's acumen and success. He was impressed with the solid and irrefutable evidence collected from the four traitors.

"All this information will be processed efficiently, but it won't hit the media yet until all the charges, both federal and crimes under state laws, are finalised. I can confirm that Lula Morelli will be transferred to Fort Leavenworth as well for her involvement in the acts of treason. There will be a court-martial and they will all be tried under military law. My two aides went AWOL since they left the state while under suspension. For impersonating an officer, Mancuso will also be charged under the Stolen Valour Laws because he actually made money from his deception.

Since Morelli was in the navy he is aware of how the criminal system in the military is governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). As a police detective, regardless that he was under suspension, he should know and be above the law. He has broken multiple state and federal laws of treason and espionage, including leaking and disclosing confidential military information, and conspiracy to murder, just like his two cohorts. More will be added once we have viewed all the evidence.

Lula Morelli will also be charged with treason and conspiracy, due to her direct involvement and financing their treachery. These civilians will be tried in military courts because their crimes were a threat to national security. Her other charges will be taken up in a civilian court, just like Morelli. And, of course, the IRS will be after them especially the Morelli pair. In fact. Lula Morelli has multiple charges to answer, likewise Morelli.

Since there are separate incidents, courts are more likely to order they will run cumulatively. In other words, their charges will be served one after the other, starting with the military sentencing first. None of that concurrent bullshit for these traitors. Imprisonment and fines are expected, and a dishonourable discharge for the two aides."

"Well," I said once the General signed off, "That was very comprehensive. Those idiots have no idea about the big picture and the full length and breadth of their crimes."

"Sucks to be Morelli. Cops don't do well in prison. Once he has served his military sentences, he will be sent to jail in the state system," Tank remarked.

"Yeah. That should be fun," sneered Lester.

"Not at all sorry. I hope they throw the book at them." Bobby muttered.

The General had promised we would get notification before it hit the Trenton Times. He has a solid connection with the legal editor. This will be a monumental scoop, worthy of a full front page report of Trenton's finest and dirtiest. The two aides will only be mentioned in connection to being related to Morelli, but all four of them as conspiracy to murder, treason and disclosing military secrets for financial gains.

I presented my case for considering Miguel, Rex and Thiago for potential Rangeman status. They fit the profile and the image we like to project and have the skills and fitness that are required. That is, of course, unless they had already considered a different path for their immediate future. We know the transition to civilian life can take some adjustment. It was agreed. Since I had already done a thorough background search, as part of my team protocol strategy, I was confident we could offer them a position here at Trenton, or one of our other offices. Rodriguez will do an independent background search, as per company protocol.

Before we finished, Tank received a call from Eddie Gazarra at the TPD. Putting his phone on speaker, we listened with interest.

"Just a heads up, Tank. Lula Morelli – I still can't believe they got hitched. Anyway, Lula tried the teary sob story routine, claiming wrongful arrest and then we had the tears. She obviously forgot about the charges for illegal use of an unlicensed firearm, shooting at our police car and resisting arrest. Jeez, it was pathetic, thinking that would work in trying to gain our sympathy. Robin was awesome dealing with Lula. Since her wardrobe malfunction we had to issue her one of the men's extra-large standard t-shirts. As soon as the Feds arrived, she was issued a brown uniform for Fort Leavenworth. She totally freaked out. Robin had enough of her and with assistance, they had no option but to stun gun her into submission.

In her interview with the federal agents, she went off again, spraying abuse at them and all the TPD officers. They didn't rise to her diatribe. She made a huge hysterical scene as she was dragged off to the Feds prison van. Blissful silence followed. Man, she was ferocious. And Morelli is married to that? I guess there is no honeymoon for them. Ha! No conjugal visits either."

We all laughed at those remarks. Not likely.

"Let me know if we can assist in any other way. Rangeman has helped us immensely and the Police Chief said to say he will be in touch once all the evidence has been catalogued. Most of us appreciate what you guys do. Cheers."

Shaking my head, I thought about Lula, Lula Morelli losing her shit.

"All that sass and attitude will go against her at Leavenworth. Regardless of rank or position, civilian or officers, whatever, they are all lowly prisoners. She has a lot to learn. No one is going to put up with that kind of shit. Morelli too. Once she has served her time there, she will then have to face the state system for sentencing for all those other crimes. Lula is not likely to see the outside at all for a long time, if ever."

After some breakfast and coffee, we went into our offices. Cal and Hal had run the general morning meeting. At 0900 I called in my team and discussed their exit plans and options. All three of them were keen to be considered for Rangeman, and were quite relieved to be given a month to make their decisions, while they acclimatised to civilian life. Since they all had fixed accommodation, they made the decision to go to their respective homes. Catching up and reconnecting with their pets was an essential part of their recovery and decompression. Pet therapy is never to be underestimated.

A gentle knock at the door had me smiling.

"Come in, Babe."

I sat with her on the couch and held her hand, kissing her wrist first. I looked into her eyes and asked an all important question.

"Have you considered a name change?"

She grinned.

"I might have. What are you suggesting?"

"I reckon you should ditch the Plum part."

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"Yep. Stephanie Michelle Manoso has a nice sound to it, don't you think? Stephanie, Babe, will you marry me?"

She didn't answer with a yes or a no. Uh oh.

However, after a pause, what she did say was, "When?"

"Whenever."

"Hm. Okay. I think I am free this week …"

She laughed as I grabbed her and stood up to swing her around me. I was so happy. Such a wonderful sound before I sealed her lips with a toe-curling kiss.

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TBC

There you go. And the Trenton Times is next. Oh how exciting that news will be. Hahaha!