Everybody and anything familiar belongs to Janet. Mistakes are mine alone.
"Can you do me a favor, Babe, and scale back your glare a little?" I asked my wife. "Atlas has suffered enough."
If a beam of pissed-off blue could skewer someone from orifice to orifice, Stephanie's unblinking and unflinching stare down would have rendered One Shot completely gutted in less than one eye-blink.
After a few tense seconds, those beautiful blue eyes swung towards me and softened in a way that had me really wishing we were alone with a few free hours on our hands so I could use mine on her.
"He may have suffered, but that was before he met me and casually described how he rolled out of bed one morning, ate a bowl of Froot Loops, and then went about trying to kill the man I love. So that previous pain doesn't count," she reasoned.
"I didn't mention breakfast, but if you wanna know ... I was more of a Capt'n Crunch lover. Ranger said I'd understand why he turned to a family life ... and I do," Atlas said, interrupting our moment. "I wouldn't mind someone gettin' so pissed on my account."
Just like that, her glare returned and so did her attention on him. "If you weren't so busy killing people for money, maybe that would've happened for you already."
"Steph ..." I said, trying to get her focused back on me and less on Atlas' past.
"It's okay," One Shot told me. "What she's saying is true. I did kill people for a living and a place to belong to. Thing is ... I ain't gonna apologize for it. Not ever. I kept myself alive however I could. Anyone else would've done the same."
I sent him a 'When did you turn stupid?' look and got comfortable. I leaned back in my chair as my wife leaned in. There's no saving him now until after Stephanie gets what she wants from him. I might as well just sit back and enjoy the show.
"You're literally dead wrong there," my warrior woman stated. "I know three buildings full of guys who didn't have great childhoods, some even worse than yours, but they used that pain to drive them to a better life where they get up everyday and try to keep it from happening to someone else by choosing to work for the company Ranger started to help protect the cities his buildings are in. What became of the families left behind by whoever you killed? Have you ever thought about the hell they'll go through for the rest of their lives? I know for a fact that my in-laws wouldn't have recovered if you hadn't been so bad at your job and Ranger had been killed that day. I'm going to warn you, I love those people almost as much as I love my husband, and a large chunk of me hates you for what you almost did to them ... could have done to me. I wouldn't have two daughters and a life I love more than anything if you hadn't been totally played that day. And if my guy wasn't The Best, the world would have suffered even more than us, considering how many people Ranger has saved when he could've done what you did and only thought of his own survival."
My gut twisted at her words, as they're so similar to what I'd been thinking. Had I died, a piece of my family would have gone with me. After enlisting, I had to battle that same demon. The thought that drove me going early-on is that dying in battle would bring honor to my family, whereas being caught in the middle of a gang war would only perpetuate a stereotype about families like mine that should have long since been dead already.
"Look, I get it," Atlas was saying. "Ranger's a stellar guy and I'm the bad one in this tale ... and I do agree with you there. I can't change the past. And even if I could, I wouldn't wanna change how I met your husband, since he gave me the reality check I didn't know I needed, but you gotta see that I'm not that desperate kid anymore."
"I don't have to do anything I don't want to do," she said, informing him of something we all already know around here. "Ranger values my opinion and actually listens to it whether he agrees with me or not. And I'm a hundred percent sure that if I told him I don't feel comfortable with you in the same building as our daughter, he'll boot your butt outta here before I even finish the request. But I don't need him to act as my enforcer on this one. I'll give you one shot, One Shot, because I understand more than anyone that second chances are often times total lifesavers, but if you blow this, or you living here poses a threat to my family … I'm going to blow you away in every way possible instead of asking Ranger to do the dirty work for me."
He shrugged, like my wife's words aren't new to him, but the flick of his eyes towards me said otherwise. Amusement and respect were lurking beneath the two hues. He gets why I'm so proud to say I'm married to her. I had no choice in the matter when it came to a woman like Stephanie.
"This won't be the first time I've had to prove myself," Atlas told her.
Steph nodded. "Good. That means you have plenty of practice in not screwing a good thing up. Don't disappoint me. I look and sometimes sound like a soft touch, but my husband and kids come before anyone else. You mess with or endanger them … and I'll live three lifetimes and hunt you down in every one just so I can return the pain with plenty of interest."
I cut my eyes to him. "Still willing to chance a new start here?" I asked. "Or should I just shoot you now and spare you the hours of torture my wife clearly has in store for you?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I got out of Dodge just to avoid trouble. I think I can handle myself and my odds here."
The narrowing of Steph's eyes said he's full of shit and should take her far more seriously than he is. "Is this 'trouble' going to follow you here and become ours?"
He shook his head before deciding my wife wouldn't be happy with just that for an answer. "No, Ma'am. I made sure I made a clean break before selling my shop and heading East."
She glanced at me, no less irritated with our guest than she was when I first introduced them. "Did he just call me 'Ma'am'?"
"Only as a sign of respect, Babe. I promise."
She relaxed her features a little, but I could still feel the anger humming in her veins.
"Does this clean 'break' involve someone's neck?" She asked him.
"A gentleman never kills and tells, Mrs. Manoso."
Steph covered my left hand with both of her own and squeezed as if she's about to deliver some bad news.
"I tried, but I still don't like him," she told me, like Atlas was out of hearing range and not sitting at the same table only inches away from us.
"You tolerate Kane, Steph. I'd even go so far as to say you like him," I pointed out. "If you can stomach him, Atlas should grow on you too."
"Like mold maybe ... something I'll need to scrub off or spray with disinfectant."
Proving that he isn't as bad as he seems, One Shot laughed at that comment right along with me.
"You're forgetting that Kane came with Harper," Steph pointed out, "and her somewhat mystifying seal of approval on Kane being an annoying but good guy. And I got to know him better because he came here looking to get help for someone he and Harp care about. Mr. All About Me here showed up looking to help only himself and to tell me he tried to murder you in cold blood on top of it."
"Kane also tried to bribe you with unlimited vacation options and homemade baked goods," I added, still amused at how quickly she cares for people even against her better judgment.
"That showed what a smart man he is." She jerked her thumb in One Shot's direction. "The jury's still out on this one. Plus Kane is Angel's Daddy, so I love him just for helping to make Olive's future Mary Lou."
"Are these names I'm gonna need to know?" Atlas asked me.
Steph answered for me. "No. You might not be here long enough to need them or meet the people they belong to."
"I did suggest that today likely wasn't the best day for the two of you to meet," I said to Stephanie, sliding my hand along her thigh under the table to try to soothe her out of attack mode.
"Why? I'm fine. I met the guy who tried to kill you, I warned him what would happen if he tried something like that again, and I listened to a little of his backstory without stabbing him. What more is there?"
Seeing how she is with every man she calls a friend in those three buildings she'd brought up, I know there's a hell of a lot more she wants to have with the people in our life. This particular one will just take a little more time and effort. But I already know what the outcome will be. She could have resented Frank's assumed disinterest and left him behind with Helen on the outskirts of her and Olivia's life, but she reached a hand back and pulled him to safety instead. I have no doubt that once she gets past our initial introduction, she'll see beyond the unapologetic man in front of her to the damaged little boy who's still searching for what he can never replace.
She and I, and everyone we're surrounded by, have been in Atlas' shoes at one time or another, and all we needed was someone to believe we deserved a chance to redeem ourselves. A friendship will develop between these two, or Atlas will die trying. Her kind of support will help him almost more than mine will.
"For what it's worth," he shared in the silence, "I think Ranger picked a good one."
The smile she gave him was leaning more towards a polite snarl than anything accepting. "It's not worth much. And how do you know it wasn't me who picked the good one?"
Just to kill the tension, I picked up her left hand and slid her engagement and wedding rings off. As expected, that got her attention fast.
"What are you doing? You can't unmarry me for not immediately loving your friend."
I leaned forward in my chair so I could kiss her. "I wouldn't 'unmarry' you for any reason, least of all him. I was just concerned that since you're currently unarmed, as you're talking you're also trying to figure out how to use your jewelry to off him."
Atlas snorted when he really should be taking notes on what to do - or avoid doing - when it comes to Stephanie since I was only partially kidding.
"See, you are the best, but you probably should've taken this one too," she replied, fingering the diamond letter 'O' I'd given her in Olivia's honor not long after she'd been born. "I bet I could split an artery with it, or even dig out an eye, if I had enough time."
I reached for her right hand, but she presented her left one to me instead.
"I'll play nice if you put them back on," she told me as I did just that. I suddenly realized how much her bare ring finger unsettled me. "For now. But I'm not kidding, if Olive doesn't like him, or he does something that puts you in a position I don't feel good about, I'll use more than these rings on him."
She thought my smile was due to her promise not to kill a potentially beneficial RangeMan, but in reality ... I was picturing what expression would be on her face if she opened a birthday present and discovered that the butt of her backup Sig Sauer had been diamond encrusted.
