Chapter 12 Forced Family
The girls walked through the mall when they found Ranger and the other adults near the Apple store. "Hey, we were looking for you guys," Valerie told them as they approached.
"Hey, dad, we saw Helen, and she was arguing with somebody," Julie said.
"Somebody creepy," Mary Alice added.
"Julie took a picture," Angie said, not wanting to be left out.
"Here is a picture," Julie said and held her phone to her dad. Ranger looked at the man on the phone. He took deep breaths to stop himself from tracking down Helen.
"You are right, Julie. He is very creepy," Ranger calmly said. Stephanie looked over Ranger's shoulder and took a deep breath. Her hand reflectively rubbed her baby bump in an attempt to calm herself.
"Dad, who is he?" Julie asked. Ranger raised a finger as he got on the phone. He needed to handle the situation before the man got away.
"Yeah, Boss?" Tank asked when he answered the phone.
"Tank, I need you at the Sunny Side Mall and hurry," Ranger demanded before ending the call.
"Julie, this man arguing with Helen had held Stephanie, Detective Morelli and me for a month and a half. He is the reason Detective Morelli is dead," Ranger explained, unwilling to sugarcoat the situation to the girls.
"So, he is a bad guy," Mary Alice said.
"Yeah, Mary Alice, he is a bad guy. What he is doing with your grandma, I don't know. But I will find out. I promise everyone," Ranger said, softening his voice. Inside, Ranger was bubbling with fury.
A few minutes later, Tank, Lester and Hal entered the mall. It didn't take long for them to find the group standing near the Apple store. "Hey, Boss, what is going on?" Tank asked.
Stephanie wisely took Valerie, Albert and the girls into the Apple store for Ranger to take care of business. She didn't want the girls to get frightened. Valerie wondered what would happen next, but Stephanie shook her head and mouthed, "Be patient." Valerie nodded as she kept her girls occupied by looking at the newest iPad.
Once Ranger determined the girls were out of earshot, he showed his men the picture of Stevens on Julie's phone. "Tank, that's Stevens talking to Helen Plum," Ranger said.
"It looks like he is at the south entrance. Lester, Hal, go to the North and go around. I will take the south," Tank ordered. Tank thought Ranger should remain with Stephanie and the others to protect them.
"Right, I will get everybody back to Rangeman. I can brief Albert, and Valerie," Ranger replied as he correctly read Tank's thoughts. Stephanie watched Ranger. When he made the motion for them to rejoin him outside the store, Stephanie gently tugged Julie's arm. Valerie, Albert and the girls followed.
"Okay, if you want to follow us to Rangeman, we can brief you," Ranger told Albert and Valerie. "Don't worry, we have a place where the tweens and teens can go," Ranger added.
"It is a hang-out for teenagers and kids around my age," Julie said. Everyone followed Ranger, Stephanie and Julie back to Rangeman.
Ranger used his key card, and everyone followed them. Everyone walked into the elevator. Ranger hit seven, and Julie pressed five. It stopped at five first. Julie, Mary Alice, and Angie got off at five. The elevator continued to seven after the children exited the elevator. Ranger used his keys to unlock the door. He held it open until the adults walked into the penthouse.
Once the grownups were alone, Stephanie started to talk. "I was given the file for an FTA named Shawn Stevens. He was too dangerous for me to capture on my own, so I asked both Joe and Ranger to assist. We chased him into some type of tunnel or cave. It was more like a labyrinth. Before we could locate his lair, we got hit with a concussion grenade. When we all came too, Ranger and Morelli were in shackles. Morelli and I were the only two clothed. None of us had weapons or lock picks."
Ranger continued the story. "Stephanie was tied to the bed using soft restraints. Stevens entered the room and gave us a choice. Either I could get Stephanie pregnant," Ranger paused to place his hand on Stephanie's expanding baby bump. "Or Stevens could impregnate her. But would not get released until Stephanie conceived. He gave Morelli, Stephanie and I two minutes to decide who would father the baby. The three of us had decided that I should impregnate Stephanie. Stevens returned to the room and tore off Stephanie's clothes."
Stephanie decided to finish the story. "Stevens only released me from the restraints to take a pregnancy test. After a month and a half, the pregnancy test gave a positive result. Stevens set Ranger and me free. But he did not let Joe live because he was a witness."
"The man arguing with Helen is Stevens," Ranger said. He pulled Julie's phone from his pocket to show Albert and Valerie the picture.
"Okay, it makes sense why mom has not been all over Stephanie," Valerie surmised. She felt slightly nauseous from her mother's actions.
"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked, not making the connection between her mother's lack of interest in her pregnancy and Stevens.
"When I was pregnant with Angie, mom would be a pain in the ass. I would not get a moment's peace," Valerie explained further.
"You don't think mom had something to do with this?" Stephanie asked in shock, finally connecting the dots.
"Yeah, I do, Steph, because it makes sense and would explain her behaviour. Why is she all of a sudden welcoming Carlos into the family? Why is she not all over you, asking how you're feeling? Why isn't she asking you daily if you have morning sickness? It's your first pregnancy. Has she asked how much weight you gained?" Valerie asked.
Stephanie shook her head. Her mother never bothered her once about the pregnancy. She confessed as much to Valerie.
"I think mom and Stevens had some twisted plan to get you pregnant and married so you would quit your job to become a housewife," Valerie said. She thought a second before adding, "You are so free-spirited and do whatever makes you happy regardless of what mom thinks. It's what makes you special, Steph. I am proud of you for not bending to mom's wishes like I did." Valerie hugged Stephanie.
Just then, the penthouse door opened. "Wow, you should see this teen's room. It has everything a teenager could want," Angie excitedly told Valerie.
"Don't worry, because when Albert starts to work here, the girls will have access to that room. We even have tutors to help with school work," Ranger said, motioning to Albert that they had business to complete.
Everyone watches Albert get up. "Where are you going?" Valerie asked her husband.
"I am going with him to fill out the hiring paperwork immediately. I want this job, and I think it will be good for us all if I accept Carlos' offer." Albert kissed Valerie's forehead before following Ranger out of the apartment door.