There was a sharp knock on the door, and Tank let himself in, followed by Vinnie. "You too almost ready? He's driving me nuts."
Ranger checked his watch. "We sent him away ten minutes ago."
"Yeah. Doesn't take long does it." Tank glanced at Vinnie, and Vinnie cowered lower.
"Yeah, were almost ready." I said, checking myself out in the mirror. I looked fine in the dark.
"What happened to your lights?" Vinnie asked.
I looked to Ranger, who took a step into the hall. Tank followed. So, I assumed I should follow. "Hey, wait! You didn't answer me!" Vinnie said and trailed us.
We took one car, with me sandwiched between Tank and Ranger in the front and Vinnie all alone in the back. We took one car because Tank and Vinnie were planning on getting hammered. I wasn't planning on it, but it was going to happen. And Ranger never got hammered. Actually, I'd never seen Ranger drink anything but a single glass of wine.
Ranger was driving in his zone. Tank was also in a zone, but his brain was still pounding against his skull, so he had his head propped against the window. "Do you know where you're going?" I asked after a long silence.
Ranger looked down at me and smiled. Not the usual Ranger smile. The kind a man gives when he's lost. Great.
"Why don't we ask for directions?" I asked.
"Babe." Ranger said, his eyes peeled to the road again.
We made it to the convention center on the dot of seven. Here, in the summer time, the sun was still up in the sky and blinding the residents of Arizona. There was a table reserved for us. We were waved at by a few of the not-so known bondsmen out of Trenton, and Les Sebring got up and gave Vinnie a hard handshake.
Drink orders were taken, and a short, round guy got on stage and began a speech. "There's a question many of you face daily. Why are you a bondsmen? Or, why are you a apprehension agent? What makes you any different from everyone else."
This is where I lost focus. I was different because I blew up cars and buildings, and an occasional person. I'm an agent because I have nothing else to be. The job as wonder woman was taken.
Ranger was sitting in front of me, his back turned to me and he was listening to the man on stage. He turned around. "Are you hearing any of this?" He whispered.
"What?" I whispered back.
He smiled, tucked my hair behind my ear again, and turned back around. So, I tried again. "The main reason to being an apprehension agent is to protect civilians. You are riding the streets of criminals." He was saying.
"I don't protect civilians, I blow them up!" I whispered to Ranger.
He leaned backwards so that I could hear him, but he was still watching the man. "Never a civilian, babe."
That was true. Tank beside me got the hiccups and sloshed a little Jack Daniels down my arm. He tried to apologize but he hiccuped again. Then again. And again. He stood up and left the room.
We endured the two hour sermon while dinner was served. Herb roasted chicken with a bean substance and a baked potato. By the time my plate was clear, the rounded man was saying his final words. "Being a bondsmen or apprehension agent isn't a bad thing. It is a blessing."
I rolled my eyes and chewed the last of my beans. By this time, Vinnie was tipsy of happy, and Tank was full out drunk. I was on the verge of being happy. And I wasn't going to drink anymore.
It was a little past eleven when we left. We packed Tank and Vinnie in the back of the truck, and me and Ranger in the front seat. The sun had gone down, but the air was still hot and sticky.
We pulled into the hotel lot at a quarter till midnight. Ranger herded Tank and Vinnie to their room, and I split to our room. I drew the blinds closed to the streetlight and unbuttoned my jeans. I crawled into bed. I heard Ranger come in, quiet as a mouse. He stripped into his boxers and crawled into the adjacent bed.
I couldn't sleep. The sudden change in temperature, the change in environment, the change in company. Underneath the sheets, I was getting sweaty and sticky and gross. I sat up, peeled off my shorts, then slipped back into bed. I was still getting sweaty, but it felt better now.
I was asleep for a good hour or so, when I was awoken by a loud cursing. I looked up, and Ranger had gotten out of bed, and was now searching it with his mag light in hand. "What are you doing?" I asked, my voice still laced with sleep.
He brought the flashlight down and slammed on the bed. "Gotcha, you little bugger." He said, then looked at me. "Sorry babe. Just a scorpion. Go to bed."
"Scorpion!" The sleep was gone from my voice, replace with raw fear. "Where? Are there anymore?"
I brought my knees to my chin, and curled into a ball. Ranger walked around his bed and sat on the edge of mine. "It's alright. I got him. I'm sure there was just one."
"Did he get you?" I asked, realizing that I sounded like Mary Alice, Valerie's little girl.
"Yeah. I'll be fine. Like a gunshot wound." He laid me back down in bed.
"Ranger, what if there's one in my bed?" I shot back up.
So, we did a very thorough under my covers, and came to the conclusion that there was no longer any scorpions in our room. I was tucked into my bed, and Ranger tucked himself into his. I hated scorpions worse than spiders, snakes, and guns. Okay, not worse than guns, but worse than not finding a parking spot on a kick ass sale.
"Ranger, what if there's little baby scorpions in your bed still?" I asked, not sure if he'd fallen back asleep.
He gave a defeated sigh, and I heard the covers ruffle. Then the coils on the side of my bed squeaked. I rolled over, and stared up into his face. For once, the defense he worked hard to put up was gone. He looked tired, defeated and amused. Definitely amused.
"Would it make you feel better if I slept in your bed?"
"Yes." I stammered and rolled back on my side.
He gave another sigh and curled up around me. "Where'd he get you?" I asked.
"Babe." Ranger said, in an almost whiny voice. It was almost whiny because Ranger didn't do whiny. "In the back. Now get to sleep."