Chapter 15
Carlos was amazed by Stephanie. She readily welcomed her sister and nieces without a second thought. He wondered if Stephanie anticipated an early arrival. Stephanie had set up the bedroom for Valerie and the girls a week earlier than scheduled.
More than ever, he wanted Stephanie to work at Rangeman. Her instincts were superior to any man he knew. Stephanie rolled over until she straddled him. "What's on your mind, Carlos?" she said between kisses.
"Your brilliant mind. I noticed you prepared Valerie's room a week early," Carlos said.
"I had the urge to get the room situated. At the time, I didn't understand the feeling. Now that Dad called, I realized it was my spidey sense guiding me." Stephanie shrugged off the intuition as a twist of fate. Carlos felt she had a rare gift of foresight.
She explained the situation to Carlos. He was furious that Steve was financially hurting his daughters. It wouldn't surprise him if Steve planned to leave Valerie for the babysitter. Ranger had no respect for those types of men. They were selfish cowards.
"Has someone redirected the cash?" Carlos asked.
"Daddy moved the money to a non-disclosed account. He knows how to hide money," Stephanie replied. Ranger raised an eyebrow. Stephanie smiled indulgently and whispered. "I know dad gets money from his army pension. but he only used the pension from the post office. The rest of the money got hidden away for a rainy day. I want to show you something before daddy gets here. Do you have a laptop?"
Ranger leaned out of bed to grab the messenger bag. He opened it to reveal a Rangeman laptop. "This one can access military sites," Ranger replied as he gave her the computer.
She sat up in bed and booted the laptop. Ranger leaned over to enter a username and password. Stephanie waited for the computer to load. She slapped away Ranger's hand when he pointed to the links on the desktop. "I don't need to access the government sites. Everything I need is on an offsite computer," Stephanie said as she entered the IP address. She pulled up pictures of her father at various military gatherings.
"Your father was a lieutenant general?" Ranger asked. He was amazed Stephanie had never mentioned his rank before.
"Yes. Grandpa had one more star, making him a general. Dad never told my mom that he went on missions after they married. Mom always assumed he went on post office conferences," Stephanie explained.
"Some of the deployments last for several months. How did Frank explain those to her?" Ranger asked.
Stephanie giggled as she replied, " Training new office staff. Mom only heard what she wanted to know."
Ranger plucked the laptop off Stephanie's legs and snapped it shut. He tucked Stephanie into his side as he kissed her curls. Stephanie yawned before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
At 0500, Ranger carefully climbed out of bed. He wanted to get a workout completed before the guests arrived. Blaze stood in front of the coffee maker, waiting for his morning java fix. "Morning, boss," he greeted.
"Blaze," Ranger said. He pulled his phone from his waistband. "You're looking for these children with a blond woman."
"That should be easy to do. The younger girl looks like Stephanie," Blaze observed. "Did you give them a code word?"
"Thumbelina," Ranger replied. Blaze nodded before pouring coffee into a travel mug. He opened the back door to let Batman into the house. Batman wagged his tail so hard that it fell over. Ranger smiled as he leaned down to pet the pup.
Blaze quietly left the house to drive to the airport. The trip didn't take long, but he wanted to make sure he got there in time. He parked the SUV in the lot closest to the terminal exit. Blaze went to the baggage claim area and waited for the family to arrive.
"She's gorgeous," Blaze mumbled to himself when he saw Valerie approach with the girls. "It's a shame she's married."
Valerie approached the man standing beside the carousel for the luggage. "Hi, are you here to pick us up?" Valerie asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Blaze replied. "My name is Ben, but everyone calls me Blaze."
"Okay, Ben. What's the password?" she asked.
Blaze leaned down to whisper, "Thumbelina."
"Mom, I'm tired," Mary Alice whined. "I can't walk another step."
"Would you like me to carry you?" Blaze offered. Mary Alice weakly nodded. Blaze lifted her into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.
Valerie shrugged then grabbed the bags off the luggage carousel. Angie pulled the suitcase containing her clothes, leaving Valerie to take the remaining bags. Valerie brushed off Blaze's offer to help. "I've got it," she mumbled.
Blaze guided them to the SUV and sat Mary Alice in the back seat. He buckled her into the spot behind the driver's side of the car. Angie climbed into the seat beside her sister. She waited for her mom and Blaze to place the luggage in the cargo area.
Stephanie, Ranger, Jayden and Julie waited at the front door for their guests to arrive. When Blaze parked the car, Jayden exited the house to grab the luggage. Julie helped her brother pull the bags into the home. Ranger carried a sleeping Angie into the home while Stephanie carried Mary Alice. Blaze unbuckled Valerie and lifted her into his arms. She nuzzled into his neck but didn't wake up.
Ranger motioned for Blaze to follow him up the stairs. He placed Angie on the top bunk of the bed in the room she'd call home for a few weeks. Blaze laid Valerie on the bed across the room. Stephanie had slowly climbed the stairs with Mary Alice. Ranger pulled the sleeping child from her arms then put her on the bottom bunk.
"Mary Alice would have preferred the top bunk," Stephanie whispered.
"They can sort it out when they wake up," Ranger said. He exited the room with Stephanie and closed the door. Ranger noticed Blaze smiled as he carried Valerie. "Give her a few months to divorce her lying, cheating husband," Ranger quietly said as he passed Blaze in the hallway.
"Do you know any good divorce lawyers?" Stephanie asked.
"I have a few friends in LA to help your sister. We'd need to freeze the accounts before Steve bleeds the account dry," Ranger replied.
Blaze heard their exchange and grabbed his phone. "Hi, Jan. Are you still licensed to practice family law in LA?"
"Yes, Ben. Why? Is someone in trouble?" she asked.
"I believe so. The woman is Valerie Sutton. Steve, her husband, siphoned money from their joint account and hid the money offshore. But I don't think that is the issue. He's having an affair with the young babysitter. Valerie left her home last night to bring her two girls to Chicago. They're visiting for a few weeks," Blaze explained.
"Because he's stealing money from his family, you want to make sure he doesn't sell the house from beneath her," Jan finished.
"Yes. The sister said Steve was the type to do that. Steve Sutton is a lawyer," Blaze stated.
"He'll have resources she couldn't begin to tap," Jan added. "Ben, I'll take her case on pro bono if she wants me to represent her."
"No need for that, sis. Stephanie, her sister, offered to cover all legal expenses," Blaze stated.
"It's generous of her sister, but I'll handle the case pro bono. Have her call me," Jan said before hanging up. Jan had sensed her younger brother liked the woman. Their father had done the same thing as Steve. Ben and Jan's mother got stuck raising two young children without financial assistance. Growing up with nearly nothing got her to fight on behalf of the women in the same predicament. Ben joined the Army to get an education while Jan studied to earn the scholarships she had received.
Blaze joined the others in the kitchen for breakfast. Ranger's grandma cooked sausage, eggs, pancakes and hash browns to feed the group. "Man, I'm going to gain weight if we eat like this all week," Stephanie moaned.
Jayden laughed before saying, "There's an exercise room in the basement. You can always run it off later."
Ranger leaned into Stephanie to whisper, "I can think of ways to burn the calories." Rosa smacked Ranger on the knuckles with the spatula when Stephanie blushed.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Mary Alice called from the stairs.
Stephanie rushed to the living room to guide her niece to the kitchen. "Hi, Mary Alice. Are you hungry?" Stephanie asked.
"Starving. I woke up having to go pee. Was it okay to use the bathroom in the big bedroom?" Mary Alice asked.
"Of course. The other washroom is across the hall from your bedroom," Stephanie replied.
"Oh. The door was closed. I thought it was someone's room," Mary Alice said. Jayden took off from the room and thundered up the stairs. "Where did the boy go?"
"The boy is your cousin, Jayden. Shadow must have shut the bathroom door," Julie said. "I'm Julie."
"My name is Mary Alice. Who is Shadow?"
"Shadow is my kitten," Jayden replied when he returned. "She got trapped inside the bathroom. Have you met Batman yet?"
"Batman?" Mary Alice asked when the puppy ran into the room.
"Don't feed him table scraps," Jayden warned. "He eats puppy food."
Mary Alice knew the puppy shouldn't eat table scraps. The kitten jumped on her lap and made itself comfortable. She stroked Shadow as she ate breakfast. When Mary Alice finished eating, Valerie and Angie arrived for food.
Rosa smiled and motioned for them to take a seat at the table. She cooked more eggs, sausage and pancakes for newcomers. "Thank you," Valerie said when Rosa placed a dish in front of her.
Stephanie helped Jayden clear off the table once everyone finished eating. Rosa tried to push her from the kitchen, but Stephanie dug in her heels to help. Ranger knew Stephanie would not permit Rosa to clean after cooking a delicious breakfast.
Once everything got cleaned, Stephanie talked to Rosa about her plan for the wedding. Rosa loved her ideas and wanted to help modify a dress for Stephanie to wear. Stephanie wanted to wear a simple sundress, but Rosa thought she should get lace embossed onto the bodice.
A few days later…
Frank received a text stating the bird got shoved from the nest. Several minutes later, he got another message saying the eagle had landed. Frank smiled at the note from Elsa. She's a remarkable woman working as a medic in the Army. Elsa promised Frank that she'd visit during her next leave.
"Did you send the message?" Hunter asked Elsa.
"I sent the first when you and Dex pushed the crate out the cargo hold. The second was when you announced the landing. He knows everything regarding that kidnapping asshole got handled. Thanks for your help, Dex," Elsa said.
"No problem. I've heard what Dickie did to General Plum's great-grandson. It's the least I could do to honour the man," Dex stated. "I got my buddy to plant an email stating he went on vacation for three months. It got sent to his work and parents."
"Oh my gosh. That is too funny. Nobody will look for him until the three months pass," Elsa said, laughing.
"All traces of his disappearance would get washed away," Hunter added. "Man, Dex. Thank you, buddy."
"All part of the master plan," Dex stated. His blue eyes sparkled as he ran his fingers through his blond hair.
Dickie woke up enclosed in a padded box with his hands and feet hogtied. He felt a sense of panic when he noticed his pee-stained boxers. "Hello!" Dickie shouted. The material inside the crate muffled his voice. He strained his ears to hear beyond the confined space.
A few people in the area saw the crate land into the middle of the camp. They wondered who dropped the three-foot cube from the sky under the cover of night. The men didn't know that the plane was nondescript. "Do you hear something?" Ivan asked his friend.
"Sounds like someone in the box," Igor replied. "I don't recognize the language."
"Open the crate to see what's inside," Ivan suggested. His dark eyes twinkled as he waited for his friend to open the crate. Ivan's dark hair, peppered with grey, was thinning.
Igor used the crowbar to snap the latches off the top. He grinned when he saw the nearly naked man in the box. "We have a playmate," Igor announced.
Neither man spoke in English, meaning Dickie couldn't understand what they said. "Do you speak English?" Dickie asked.
"We don't speak English," Ivan lied. Dickie shook his head, not understanding the man. Ivan grinned at Igor. They would have lots of fun with their toy.
"I want to go home," Dickie cried. The men grinned wider, causing Dickie to cower in fear. Ivan reached into the box to lift Dickie out by his restraints. Dickie screamed in pain. He didn't like to be tied. "I'm sorry for kidnapping the boy. I didn't hurt him. Please, let me go home."
"Do you know of this child the man speaks of?" Ivan asked Igor, speaking in English.
"I know not of any child," Igor stated as he stared at the attractive man with green eyes.
"Where am I?" Dickie asked.
"Siberia," Igor replied. He winked his steel blue eye at his parter, Ivan. Igor was fair to Ivan's dark.
"What city?"
Igor and Ivan laughed as they carried Dickie towards their cabin. "We'll ship you to another destination when we finish our fun," Igor said through his maniacal laughter. Dickie prayed that he'd make it out of Siberia alive.