Wow, are you along for the ride? Chapter number 20! I am unable to say how many more there will be, there is no end in sight…
I appreciate all your reviews and suggestions, you guys are so nice to me!
Spoilers: None. It's its own universe, I blame it all on the gin
Rating: Could be anywhere from PG13 to R. Who knows anymore?
Disclaimer: They're all JE's characters, except for Sandra. And no one would pay me for Sandra.
Out of my Mind Chapter 20
Tank was driving, Lester was sitting next to me, telling me the details of the evening. Ranger had seen me to the car, then he had disappeared, presumably to be the wind. Whatever that meant. Lester had introduced himself to me with a smile and I had found him easy to warm up to. He was handsome, which seemed to be a prerequisite to working at RangeMan, in an almost Hispanic way, sort of exotic.
Whether he made an effort or it came naturally, he didn't use military-speak, I understood what he was saying. Also, it was a simple plan: Tank and Lester were going to take me out to dinner. In case anyone saw me before I went to the club, they would only ever see me with the two. As a concession to the 'civilian' activities, both were dressed in slacks and shirts, rather than their RangeMan uniform. After dinner, we'd make our way over to the Senor's club, 'El Diablo'. Najar owned the club legally, but police suspected that he used it for anything from money laundering to gun running, they just couldn't prove anything. RangeMan had been hired to find something on the Senor that would stick in a court room when I had come along. Now they needed me to cause some waves, maybe get lucky and arrest one of Najar's men who would cooperate.
Once at the club, I was to mingle, make my presence known. Hopefully provoke a reaction. That was it.
Lester showed me a picture so I would be able to identify the target: the Senor reminded me of Edward James Olmos, slim built, black hair and brown eyes, a mustache. Not ugly, not attractive, no super-mean eyes or something.
We stopped at a Bertucci's for dinner. All heads turned in our direction as we entered. I couldn't imagine an environment where Tank wouldn't stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. He was taller and wider than anyone. Lester was shorter than Tank but still over 6' tall.
We talked a little over dinner, but mostly Lester and Tank exchanged work related information.
When Tank excused himself to use the men's room or save the world, I couldn't wait any longer.
"Did Tank really pick out this dress?" I asked Lester.
He
almost sprayed the sip of water he had just taken over the table in
amusement. "Is that what he told you?"
I nodded.
"He picked the dress up, it's true. He picked it up from Ella, the housekeeper! As far as I know, she was the one who bought it."
I laughed. That made a lot more sense actually. The act of Tank picking through racks of dresses and shoes was hard to imagine.
"I had only my reflection to judge, what do you think of it?" I turned a little in my seat to let him judge and blushed as his eyes traveled from my face down my body.
"I like it, but if you were my girl, I wouldn't let you out the door in it." He said and drank some more water.
"Why not?"
"Well, for starters, there's not enough dress to leave anything to the imagination. Like I said, I don't mind that, but…and you are not wearing any underwear…"
I was glad I was already beet-red, at least it couldn't get any worse. Tank returned at that moment and must have caught the end of the conversation but didn't say anything.
"Tank, you be the judge." Lester offered "Would Lin wear this dress if she were here with you?"
I so regretted I had asked Lester for his opinion. I was going to parade in this dress in less than an hour and it would have helped to have some self-confidence left.
"I'd sure hope so." Tank said "It's sexy!"
"Yeah, but…" and then they got into a discussion about the sexiness of dresses and women in general.
By the time the check was paid, I thought we had established that I looked good in the dress and I was sure I wouldn't miss the dress if it meant to be Lester's girl. That led me to an internal debate about Joe and Ranger. I couldn't figure out why Ranger was giving me mixed signals, warm and friendly one moment, then stone cold the next. I was deep in my thoughts when we arrived at the El Diablo, successfully distracted.
Lester gave me some last minute instructions about everybody's location (except for Ranger's), checked that I had my panic button on me, and wished me luck. The panic button was on me, all right, but I didn't disclose where exactly it was. Tough to hide a gizmo when you're not wearing panties.
I got out of the car and Tank left; he was supposed to stay in the parked car unless there was a problem, while Lester's job was to monitor the surveillance equipment from a van parked in the back.
Making sure that my dress was covering everything it could, I took a deep breath and stepped into the club. 'Showtime' was the cheesy line I had in mind.
El Diablo was definitely upscale, not the kind of club I usually frequent. Considering that I normally only go clubbing when I'm visiting Jess in New York, that wasn't saying much.
My attire definitely fit right in, women were dressed in mini-skirts and cocktail dresses, men wore suits or silk shirts with dress slacks. Lasers were illuminating the dance floor, but very few couples were dancing, it was too early for that.
I made my way over to one of the bars, it was backlit with blue lights and the stools in front of it looked trendy but uncomfortable. There were two more bars in the club, and I had tried to spot Bobby or Hal around them, but if they were there, I didn't see them. Maybe I should have taken the time to get to know them beforehand, I was looking mostly for men that looked like the worked for RangeMan.
Booths were lining the dance floor, and small round tables dotted the adjacent areas.
The club was about half-full, and since it wasn't even 10 PM on a Friday night, I was guessing it would fill up to capacity.
On the far wall, an area was curtained off ceiling to floor, only vague shapes were visible behind it and a guy in a black suit was standing where two curtains met, his hands crossed over his groin. He looked like a bodyguard.
I ordered a gin and tonic, plastered a wide smile on my face and swiveled my stool to see and be seen.
A middle-aged man arrived shortly after my drink. He took my smile as in invitation and sat down next to me. He was a little overweight, about 5'10' with receding blond hair and deep acne scars on his reddish face. He was wearing a dark blue suit and a crisp white shirt with the tie a little loose.
"Hi." He yelled to be heard over the music, "Come here often?"
I had to resist an eye roll. That was about the oldest line in the book. If I hadn't been 'on the job', I would have left him behind in a heartbeat. But I was supposed to mingle.
"Hi." I smiled back, "It's my first time here."
He nodded at that. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"New York." I confirmed.
"I'm Sam." And he stuck his hand out. "Melanie." No reason to share my real or made-up persona du jour.
His grip was firm and lasted a little too long for my taste.
"Can I buy you a drink?" I raised my glass, indicating that I had a full drink, thank you.
Trying to find out if he was anyone of interest I asked him what he did for a living.
"I'm a lawyer." He said simply. And he looked like he was pretty proud of it. I didn't have anything witty to say to that, so I nodded again.
"Do you come here a lot?" Okay, that was sort of lame, but I really didn't want to talk to him.
"My client owns this club."
Hello. Sam the lawyer worked for the Senor. Bingo on the first try!
"Wow!" I said, hoping I had sounded impressed.
"Yeah." He nodded, obviously very impressed with himself.
I took a look around to show interest. "You must be very good." As if the interior of a nightclub could be any indication of his talents.
Sam seemed to buy it though, he looked pleased. I was pleased too, meeting him meant I didn't have to throw myself at a number of random men, hoping they'd lead me to Najar.
Unfortunately it meant I had to throw myself at Sam, and I wasn't nearly drunk enough for that.
I turned to face Sam and crossed my legs, leaning a little closer so he'd have full view of my cleavage and I didn't have to continue shouting. "It's going to be busy here tonight, don't you think?"
He took his eyes off my chest and smiled. "Don't worry. If it gets too crowded, there's a VIP room in the back. With me, you won't have a problem getting in." He put his hand on my knee and I almost slapped him. Ick!
Fortunately, my purse vibrated at that moment, so I excused myself to answer the phone.
It was Joe, apologizing for the late call back.
"I had to work until just now. Where are you?"
"At a club with some friends, I don't know the name of the place." I didn't want him to show up. As much as I wanted to see him, I had to play my part first.
"Well, it sounds like a good time. I'll call you tomorrow. Be careful!" And he disconnected. The club's atmosphere didn't really lend itself to intimate conversations, but I had still hoped for more from Joe. I decided to call him once I got back to the apartment and slid the phone back into my purse.
"Jealous boyfriend?" Sam asked, winking.
"No, just a friend." Unfortunately, that was the truth. I emptied my drink and turned towards Sam. "About that drink…"
A half hour later, Sam had bought me two cocktails and I was beginning to relax. He had pointed out various people in the crowd; apparently the who-is-who of Trenton was present.
Several men and some couples had approached Sam but didn't stay long after an initial greeting.
Sam's hand was resting on my knee and I was sure I was going to break out in hives. It wasn't him so much as the gesture, I didn't like to be fondled by strangers. I'd make an exception for Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp, but Sam was neither. And Joe and Ranger weren't strangers; they could have fondled me any time. I tried to imagine it was Ranger's hand on my knee, and that worked for a little bit.
"Would you like to dance?" Sam asked close to my ear when a slow song started, and I almost flinched.
"I thought you'd never ask." I purred, and Sam led me to the dance floor.
He didn't hold me as close as I had feared, but it was still uncomfortable. His dancing skills consisted of a slow two-step shuffle, but that was fine by me. I prayed his hand wouldn't wander down to my butt and tried to relax to the music.
The club was now pretty full, and between the music and the many voices, talking seemed impossible. I wondered if anything could be heard over my microphone, especially since my chest was pretty close to Sam's and due to the low neckline, the mike was pretty far down.
"Wanna get some air?" Sam shouted into my ear. I did, but not with him. The thought of his lips on mine made my skin crawl, and there was no doubt that was what he had in mind.
I shook my head "I like it here."
The song finally ended and was followed by the rhythmic thumping of a techno beat.
Sam took my hand and walked us off the floor, thankfully towards the back and not the door.
He led me to a small table close to the back area and held out a chair for me.
"It's a little quieter back here. Tom there," he nodded towards the goon at the entrance by the curtains "keeps an eye out for who gets to sit here. I get to sit wherever I want." He beamed at that and I felt a little sorry for him. There couldn't be much going on his life if he got a kick out of seating privileges at a nightclub. I wondered if they'd even let him in if he wasn't working for the boss. From what I had seen of the clientele, they preferred a younger, much more hip kind to be slurping down their overpriced drinks. But I played my part and smiled admiringly.
A young, skinny waitress appeared and Sam ordered champagne. Sam may be icky, I thought, but he wasn't cheap. Probably, that's what got him to talk to girls, if they'd let him get that far. It certainly wasn't his looks or his charms. Or his witty conversation, for that matter.
"The boss is not here yet." Sam said importantly. "I'll introduce you when he gets here."
I swallowed. I didn't know if I was to let it come that far, mostly my task was to be spotted by the Senor's goons, hoping word would carry back to him.
Being in a room with him might be pushing it.
The drinks arrived and I made a show of my excitement. Sam looked very pleased as he poured the glasses.
Lester had asked me to pick a safety word. Were I to mention the word, Tank would pull up in front of the entrance and Hal or Bobby would see to my safe exit. I didn't hesitate to pick 'rhubarb cake'. Whenever I was out with my friends, 'rhubarb cake' was the code to get you out of an uncomfortable situation. If a guy got too fresh, for example, you'd turn to your friend and say 'So, tell me about this new recipe for rhubarb cake you have.' That way, we would appear to be having an animated conversation, but we didn't have to think about what we said. It always worked. My choice made Lester's eyebrows rise slightly, but he didn't say anything.
I was thinking I'd utter the word if Sam suggested we join the Senor in the back room.
Sam was telling me about his fancy car and I was getting tired of faking interest.
"So the dealer told me his price, and I said 'It's a $250.000 car, who're ya gonna sell it to? You know I'm your only customer for it, you better sweeten the deal.' So he did."
"You have amazing powers of persuasion!" I gushed and thought 'gag me with a spoon'.
"What kind of car is it?"
Sam leaned back in his chair. "It's a Lamborghini…"
"Are you serious?" I bunched my hands to my chest theatrically "That's my favorite car!"
In the beginning, I was trying not to overdo it, but I quickly learned that Sam was clueless. He seemed to genuinely believe I was interested in him. Maybe I was just that good. Or maybe he was desperate, but I felt safe enough to lead the conversation to more interesting topics.
"So…what do you do for your boss? Are there a lot of law suits?" I was playing with the rim of my glass at looked at Sam through lowered lashes.
He laughed. "No, no, nothing like that. It's contract negotiation and a lot of other legal matters I wouldn't want to bore you with!" He took my hand away from the glass and held it.
"A beautiful girl like you should spend her time trying to think of ways to spend money, not worrying about where it comes from."
Since the only money I had came from where I made it, I cared about its origin a whole lot. But I pretended Sam had just shared some great wisdom and pushed on.
"That sounds mysterious! Are you saying I wouldn't want to spend it if I knew where it came from?"
He had begun to stroke my hand, and I was hoping he wouldn't turn it around and discover my rug burn-y palms.
"I'm asking why you would care. Would you like a diamond necklace less because you hadn't bought it with the fruit of hard labor?"
I would, actually. I felt bad if the checkout person gave me back too much change!
"Of course not!" I lied "I'd be too busy putting it on and showing it off!" And I let my finger glide over my bare collarbone. Sam's eyes followed the movement. "If anything, it's more exciting to imagine it came from a pirate's booty!"
"There are no pirates, Sweetheart." Sam said, as if he was telling me the Easter Bunny didn't lay eggs. "There are much more lucrative ways to get rich!"
Okay, it had been a long shot, and it hadn't worked. He wasn't going to let me in on a big dark secret. So I just smiled and nodded.
A small drove of men in the middle of the club caught my attention.
They were walking two-by-two, four of them altogether, with someone in their midst. They were moving towards the back. If I had to guess, I'd said the boss had arrived.
Sam noticed it too and stood.
"Ah, here he is. Come on, I'll introduce you!"
A nervous knot formed in my stomach as the group approached. I was torn between playing along and running like hell.
Sam straightened himself and smiled broadly. "Alejandro!" He yelled out, standing on the tips of his toes to be seen over the crowd. Shit! I tried to melt into the chair.
The goon in the front caught my eye, and I thought I saw him narrow his eyes. I got up slowly to stand in Sam's shadow, so that he would block me.
Sam must have thought I was jockeying for a better position, he half-turned and took me by the elbow.
"You know what?" I asked, gently pulling my arm out of his grip "I have to powder my nose real quick!"
It was the best I could think of and it took Sam by surprise, he had 'but' face, but released me. The man at the center of the drove was Najar and our eyes met when I was planning my speedy getaway. There was no recognition in his eyes, but when I turned to walk (not run, as I reminded myself) to safety, I thought I saw goon #1 lean down towards Najar. I didn't wait to find out if it he'd say something like 'This is the little senorita we've been trying to kill', I dove into the crowd.
"I'm leaving." I said into my cleavage, trying to get to the exit without running into any of the Senor's men, or Sam.
It was wall-to-wall people, and most were taller than me, but I had made some progress when and arm settled around my shoulder.
"Leaving so soon?" A voice spoke into my ear and I panicked as I turned to face the owner of the arm.
His big smile faltered when he saw the obviously disturbing look on my face. "Lindsay, I'm Bobby! Just thought you could use some help to find your way out."
Well, yeah, I could, but he had almost given me a heart attack! I had been focusing on putting as much distance between me and the Senor as possible, my worst fear was one of his bodyguards catching up to me. And Bobby chose that moment to get friendly! Probably I would have recognized Lester's voice, but I didn't even know Bobby!
He didn't wait for me to calm down, guiding me through the crowd. It was a lot easier for him to part the waves of people, the fact that he was about a foot taller than me probably helped.
We got to the exit and I almost ran the short distance to the waiting SUV.
Tank took off before I had closed the door, and I sunk into my seat with a sigh of relief, closing my eyes.
My heart was pounding wildly and I had started to sweat, but I was safe now, they couldn't get to me. With any luck, my exit hadn't been witnessed and they hadn't made Bobby.
My cell phone buzzed a few minutes into the ride, but I was too wired to answer it. I was trying to concentrate on breathing evenly and not giggle uncontrollably or something. Tank was driving and he checked the rearview mirror every so often. Probably to make sure I wasn't freaking out.
"I'm taking you home." He finally said and I jumped at his voice. "Debriefing will be at your place."
Aha. I didn't think of the place as 'my house', so it took me a moment to understand Tank. Oh, did he mean, like, everybody would gather at the apartment to review the evening? Oh please, no! I really didn't want to go through everything right away! The next morning, maybe, or possibly much later would be better.
Tank double-parked in front of the apartment building and opened the door for me. He saw me to the elevator, but didn't come in with me.
"Aren't you coming up?"
"The boss wants to see you." He said simply, nodded and took off.
Oh goody, a debriefing with Ranger. Lucky me!
Ranger pulled my door open when I had just inserted the key.
"How did it go?" He asked, his eyes traveling down my body in that way that made me blush again.
"Didn't you hear?" I was sure that if he hadn't been listening to the live show, he had been told everything there was to know by a merry man.
"I did, I want your version."
"Okay. Open up a beer for me, I'm just going to change into something more comfortable." And I went to the bedroom. I needed to use the bathroom and really take the shoes off. They were sexy, but not comfortable. I had been lucky not to trip in them.
I took off the dress, slipped into a RangeMan t-shirt and workout pants, and released my hair from the clip to pull it into a ponytail. Then I checked my make-up to make sure nothing was running. I was dressing down, not getting ready for bed!
"Feel better?" Ranger asked when I joined him in the living room and took my beer off the coffee table.
"Much." I admitted
We sat down next to each other facing the television and enjoyed our beers for a moment. Ranger turned on the TV and found a basketball game. And slowly, I calmed down.
A part of me dreaded the conversation about the evening's events, so I didn't say anything. I needed some time to sort it all in my head first.
Ranger surprised me by putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close.
"You did good tonight." He said, kissing my temple and resting his face on my head.
The compliment felt good, the kiss felt even better. I smiled and leaned into him.
"Thanks. I had help."
I felt him smile. "So did I." he said, and I wasn't quite sure how to take that.
The beer mixed with the champagne and the gin and made me feel quite happy now that the panic was gone; Ranger's body so close to mine helped even more.
I let my hand slip onto his thigh.
"There's this one thing I really need your help with…" I whispered as I lifted my head and closed the distance between our heads. He met me halfway and fireworks exploded behind my closed eyelids when his mouth opened and our tongues met.
