Chapter 3: Scared of Joe
He said he would help so he canceled all his appointments for the rest of the day. He was bound and determined to help me with anything that he could. Ranger is going to help me find Abby. I was still sitting on the floor in front of him when he told me he would help. When I realized that he was going to help me I immediately hugged him and told him thank you over and over.
He pulled me onto the sofa and sat me next to him. I finally let go of him, but he kept his left arm around my waist while his right one held my left hand.
"Okay Babe, tell Tank and I who it is that you are living with and why he got rid of your baby."
"Joe Morelli with the TPD and he sold my daughter for $50,000 to a couple that wanted a child. He said that he didn't want a child in his house that was not his and that he didn't have room for 3 people in his house." I choked on the last part because I still couldn't believe he did that to me and sold my child.
"That bastard." Ranger's face was covered in fury, and he looked like he was ready to kill someone.
"Do you know Joe?" I asked because he seemed like he did.
"Oh yes, we all know Joe. He is a thorn in our asses that we have been trying to get rid of for years. He can't stand us, especially Ranger, and thinks we are all thugs and mercenaries. Also thinks, that we do nothing but kill everyone we see." Tank crossed his arms over his chest after he said this with a murderous look on his face.
"There are things that I could tell you that he has done, but I won't get into that now. Things that I'm not proud of. Things that Joe has made me do. All I care about right now is my baby and getting out of his house."
"We have an apartment on 4 that is vacant. You can move in here. You don't need to stay at Joe's house. The apartment is yours if you want it. We can take you by Joe's house so you can get your things if you want us to." Ranger questioned as he stood in front of me with his hands on my shoulders.
"Yes, that's fine. Joe will be home at about 3 pm. All I have to get are my clothes and a couple of other things. Thank you so much for the apartment, Ranger. I really appreciate it."
"Come on Babe, Tank and I will take you over there now." He grabbed my hand and we walked out the door with Tank trailing behind us.
We piled into one of the black SUVs and headed over to Joe's house. Thank God Joe's truck wasn't there when we pulled up to his house. I had my key, so I unlocked the door and ran upstairs to start getting my clothes and things together. I shoved everything I could in duffle bags that Ranger handed to me. I wondered where he got them from, when I asked, he just said he keeps some in every one of the fleet vehicles in case they are ever needed. I went into the bathroom and grabbed all my toiletries.
I realized I wouldn't be able to grab Abby's furniture. I did get her clothes and whatever else I could get of hers. When I came back downstairs the guys were waiting on me. I got to looking around and I glanced down at the tv cabinet. I forgot that is where Joe kept the file on Ranger.
I had Ranger pick the lock. I grabbed the manila envelope that was in there and shoved it in my bag. I would show it to Ranger later.
The 3 of us left and not a minute too soon because as soon as we pulled off the street that Joe lived on, he turned on the street to go to his house. Phew... that was a close call.
We got back to Rangeman and Ranger showed me my apartment. It was a cute 2-bedroom 1 bathroom with a small kitchen and living room. It was perfect for me and would be able to accommodate Abby if I ever found her.
Ranger and Tank were helping me bring in my things. As Ranger set the last bag down, I walked over to him and hugged him. "Thank you, Ranger, so much for everything that you have done. I appreciate it.'
"Anytime Babe." He hugged me back then kissed the top of my head. "Tank and I are going to leave you to unpack. Ella, the housekeeper, and cook will come around and bring you dinner in a couple of hours. It's currently 2:47 p.m. We can meet up on 5 in my office, say around 6 pm if that's enough time for you to get settled. That way we can get some information on your daughter and get that into motion."
"Sure, Ranger that works. Thanks to both of you for your help today." I hugged Tank and they both walked out of my apartment.
"No problem Little Girl, we don't mind helping you. See you later."
Wow! Everything happened so fast today. One minute I'm at Joe's the next I'm here. I have a job and I found Ranger. I can't freaking believe it! I. FOUND. RANGER. I was looking for him, but I never thought I would find him at a job interview.
I didn't have a whole lot of time to unpack, so I figured I better get to it. I started putting my clothes in the closet. It wasn't big or walk-in, but it was a closet with a sliding door that slid on either end depending on the end you needed something out of.
I hung up all my clothes. There was a shelf at the top, so I put purses and other items that I wanted to keep but didn't want to display there. I lined up my shoes at the bottom. I put all of Abby's things in the second bedroom. I hung her clothes up in a closet identical to mine and set up her pack and play. I arranged her toys on top of the chest of drawers.
I miss her so much. There are times when all I do is cry. I want to hold her and tell her how much I love her. She is my heart. She will be 3 months old in 2 weeks and it is killing me not knowing if she is okay or not. I hoped Ranger could find her for me.
I decided to change what I was wearing. I dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt. I saw everyone else wearing black so I figured I might as well too, right?
After everything was put up where I wanted it and I was dressed Ella showed up around 5 with my meal. It was fabulous. Roasted potatoes, grilled salmon glazed in lemon peppers along with a side salad and piece of chocolate cake for dessert. I am a dessert junkie, so you know I love cake. It is my favorite dessert.
After eating, I went in search of Ranger. I had to think about what floor I was on this morning for the interview. When I remember that Ranger said his office was on 5, I took the elevator up to that floor. When I got off, all eyes were on me as I walked onto the floor.
I walked over to Ranger's office and knocked on the door.
"Enter"
"Hey Ranger, is it okay if I come in?"
"Yeah, Babe. Tank and I are ready to take any information you can give to us about your daughter." He pulled out some paper and grabbed a pen.
"Okay, so my daughter's name is Abbygail Grace Plum. She was born on August 12th. She has a birthmark on the left side of her neck about the size of a dime. She has wavy black hair; beautiful blue eyes and her skin is darker than mine but lighter than yours. If that makes sense. Her father was of Spanish descent. Her eyes are the color of aquamarine."
"Wait, Abby's birthday is August 12th?" Tank looked at Ranger then at me when he said it.
"Yes, why is that a bad thing?" I was looking from one to the other.
"No. Babe, that's my birthday, too." Ranger smiled his 200-watt smile.
"Well. Now that's cool. I guess that means two great people were born on the same day."
"Thanks. Now, I'm going to call a PI that I know and give him this information and get him to start looking." Ranger smiled and picked up his phone and started dialing.
I leaned back in my chair and watched him. I must say he is very sexy. Jack never told me how sexy Ranger was. Then again guys usually don't compare their appearances to other guys.
I knew Ranger probably got any woman that he wanted. I was sure he had women lined up. Which is none of my business, but still. It was sometimes hard to be in his presence without drooling. It took a lot of effort not to.
"Okay so my PI, Pat Jimenez, has all the information, and he is going to start now. When he finds something, he will let us know." Ranger hung up the phone as he said this.
"Thank you so much for your help with this Ranger, I appreciate it. Please take out whatever the PI is charging out of my check every pay period. I want to make sure that I'm not wasting your money."
"Woah, Babe. Rangeman does not mind helping you. You are a part of the family now and we take care of our family. So, no price for anything that we give to each other, remember that." Tank was nodding right along with what Ranger was saying.
"Okay, I appreciate everything you two are doing for me. I know it's only a little after 7 pm but I'm exhausted. So, if it's okay with you, I'm going to go to bed. Tomorrow is Saturday so I will get up early and go running then come and go to the gym." I stood up and hugged Tank then turned and hugged Ranger.
"Sleep well gentlemen" I called over my shoulder while walking to the door. I then opened the door and headed to my apartment.
I walked into my apartment, but I knew it was too early for me to go to sleep. If I went to sleep now, I would be up in 2 hours due to nightmares. So, I needed to make sure that I at least went to bed around 11 or 12.
I took a quick shower and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. I decided to sit and watch movies for a while. I choose my favorite Ghostbusters to watch first, then I choose Rambo to watch next.
I grabbed some popcorn and popped in my first movie. I knew I would get through this movie but wasn't sure about the second one. At 12:37 am I got tired of watching movies, so I turned off the tv and brushed my teeth then headed for bed.
As I lay in bed, I was scared, like really scared to go to sleep. I knew that when I sleep there would be nightmares. I was just so tired that I could hardly keep my eyes open. I needed sleep but I was just so scared…
***Nightmare***
Damn you, Joe, what did you do with my baby?
Abby is gone Steph. You don't need her. I got $50,000 for her and all I have to say is good riddance!
"How could you do that to me? I need to find Ranger. I knew he can help me get her back."
His face was covered with rage. He grabbed me by the arm and threw me to the ground. He kicked me over and over. He slapped me and hit me the whole time saying, "I did it because I don't want you having anyone else's child but mine."
Please stop Joe, please…
***End Nightmare***
I bolted upright with sweat all over me. The sheets were drenched.
"Ranger, Oh God. Please don't let him hurt me please. Ranger!" I was dazed and confused and couldn't remember where I was.
I was crying and screaming. I needed Ranger.
Hal lived next door in the apartment next to mine. I heard him say, "Steph, open the door it's Hal. I called Ranger. He is on his way down."
Just then Ranger came barreling through the door after he unlocked it with a master key and ran to my bed.
He grabbed me in his arms and started to rub circles on my back. He spoke to me in Spanish. I couldn't make out what he was saying but the words were soothing to me.
"Ranger, please don't let him hurt me please." I clung to him like he was my life raft. He was my oxygen and I needed him to breathe.
He picked me up bridal style and carried me out of my apartment. "Babe, no one will hurt you I promise. I'm going to take you up to 7. Just relax." We stepped into the elevator, and key fobbed us up to 7.
He kicked the door to his apartment closed with his foot and sat down on the sofa with me in his arms. He talked to me in Spanish and continued to rub circles on my back.
"Babe, I'm going to call Tank, Lester, and Bobby up here. I know it's late, but I want them to be here. Can you tell us all about the nightmares and what they were about if I get them up here?" He looked questioningly into my eyes.
I didn't know Bobby and I remembered Lester from meeting him earlier in the day, but I figured that if Ranger trusted them so could I. I nodded as I hid my face in his shoulder. One arm was around his neck and the other was behind his back around his waist. I was still crying but not as bad as I was when he first saw me.
Tank, Bobby, and Lester came strolling in a little after 1 am. As each strolled in, each one asked if I was okay because they saw me on Ranger's lap and the fact that I was crying didn't help matters either.
"Babe, can you tell us what the nightmare was about?" He shifted me so I was sitting on the sofa next to him with his left arm around my waist and my back to his front.
I told them about the nightmare and about how Joe beat me at the end for asking why he sold Abby. I also proceeded to tell them all the things that Joe wanted me to do for him. Things that weren't in the nightmare, but things I think they should know about. Such as the daily blowjob and getting permission to eat. I told them about the time Joe would hit me if I asked to find Ranger to get help. I wanted to tell them everything but held back.
Ranger sensed my hesitation, "Babe, what are you not telling us?"
Dammit, he isn't supposed to be able to read my mind. I was too ashamed to let him know what happened to me. I should have been able to defend myself. I figured I might as well tell him the last 2 things before I chickened out.
"Fine, right after I had Abby, 4 weeks to be exact, Joe forced me to have sex with him, and then 4 days ago I found out I was pregnant. However, I miscarried because... Shit! Ranger, can I just not tell this part to you all?" I was shaking and trying not to cry anymore
All the guys were pissed by what I had already told them but now they were even madder. Ranger is flexing his fist on his right hand because his left one is still holding me.
"Babe?"
"Fine, When I found out I was pregnant. He got mad at me for something I did and pushed me down the stairs at his house and I miscarried. I knew I miscarried because I started bleeding and he had someone that works at the hospital come over to check me out. When Joe found out I was pregnant with his child and I miscarried, he was beyond pissed. He backhanded me and told me that the next time I got pregnant with his child I better let him know immediately. He then threw a folder on the table and said that if I asked for you one more time or if I told anyone about what he did to me, he would have you locked up because he had enough evidence to do so. I was scared. I didn't want you to get into any trouble, so I didn't say anything to anyone about the things that he made me do or things he did to me.
"I'm sorry Ranger. I was scared of Joe. Heck, I'm still scared of Joe. That man is crazy and dangerous." I was staring off in the distance because I don't want to look at the pity in any of their faces.
All the guys, Ranger included, looked like they were ready to kill Joe.
Taking a deep breath, "Babe, do you know what was in the file and where it's at?"
"I don't know what was in the file because I never read it or looked at it. I figured it wasn't my business and the file is in my purse. It's the manila envelope that you got from the cabinet. You know the lock that you picked. If someone will go to my apartment and look in my bag, you will find it there."
Les stood up and exited the apartment without saying a word. Ranger told me that Bobby was the medic when he first came into the room that's why I asked him this next question. "Bobby, I'm so tired. Can you give me something to help me sleep? I know if I don't have something to help, I will not be able to sleep and will be up all night. I'm used to only getting about 2 or 3 hours of sleep. Please can you help me?"
"Sure Steph, I can give you something to help you sleep. Hang on, let me go and get something."
As he left the apartment, Les was returning with the envelope.
I waited until Bobby came back before I removed myself from Ranger's lap and stood up. "Guys, I'm going to go to sleep. I don't need to know what is in the file. It's not my business. If you will excuse me, I'm going to go to my apartment." I turned to walk to the door.
"Babe, sleep in my bed. It's closer and more comfortable. Come on." He stood up and grabbed my hands and pulled me into his bedroom. Bobby came in after and gave me a sedative.
Ranger tucked me in and kissed my forehead, "dulces sueños mi amor." (Sweet dreams my love)
That was the last thing I remember as I dozed off with no nightmares in the making…
