Over the course of the next month, I made the apartment on Four my own. Much to Lester and Bobby's dismay. Having a solid wall between me and the men I was slowly coming to love, helped give me some distance and time to think. Yet, despite the barrier, it felt as if the three of us were spending more and more time together.
Being the more hyper, and activity oriented of the two, Lester ended up being the one to take me indoor rock climbing. He also talked me into going go karting, but the best was a hiking trip he planned.
We got up early and with a picnic lunch packed, Lester drove us to the Northern part of New Jersey. On the way he asked. "Now you're not afraid of getting dirty or going out into the woods, are you, cutie?"
"I'm a mid-western girl," I replied and adjusted the baseball cap on my head. "I grew up in the country and used to go horseback riding in the woods all the time."
The almost two-hour drive took us to the near tip of North-Western part of the state, where we parked, then climbed stairs to a beautiful waterfall. Afterward, we took a hike through the forest to a place called Crater Lake. The scenery was beautiful and so peaceful. It reminded me just a bit of home.
When we returned later that evening, filthy and exhausted, we each had to go through a mandatory tick check and after my shower, Bobby iced my slightly swollen ankle. Still, the day spent with Lester was worth the swollen ankle and inspection.
Bobby, being the more artistic oriented of the two, took me to Grounds for Sculpture, where we had a lovely and romantic picnic in the gardens. Followed by a leisurely stroll of the property. Then, we took a day trip to Wildwood, where we walked the boardwalk, rode rides, and ate all kinds of junk food that Ranger would never allow in the building. Before we left, he made sure to win me a stuffed dog from the shooting game. "Lester bought you that penguin. So, it's only right that I win you something instead," he said.
On the way back we stopped at Historic Smithville, where we grabbed dinner and perused the various shops. I found a great little store with all natural soaps and body scrubs, and a fantastic peanut butter shop where they sold handmade peanut butter in various flavors and peanut butter dog treats, which I promptly picked up for Ruger.
The core team then decided it would be fun to hold a paint ball tournament as a team building event and I was invited to play. With only a handful of lessons with Ram on the gun range, I was easily the least experienced player on Ranger's team. Honestly, I had absolutely no business playing at all, but the idea of being the only one sitting on the sidelines wasn't nearly as palatable as getting out there and playing.
So, I did, and it didn't take me long to figure out I was in way over my head. We played with four teams of six, over four rounds, so each of the teams could face each other. Highest combined score won.
Thank God Lester's sexy sharpshooter ass was on my team, otherwise I'm sure I wouldn't have lasted even as long as I did. To add insult to injury (no pun intended), Ram and Cal both got off at least two shots each, leaving welts and bruises on me for Bobby to treat. Though Les did volunteer to kiss every bruise and welt away. I'll admit, for a moment, I considered letting him try.
Somehow, without me really contributing anything substantial to the team, we'd still managed to win. Since winners got to pick where we were eating dinner, Ranger, Lester, Bobby, and Tank allowed Steph and I to pick the place. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that we ended up at Pinos.
We were seated at our table with Ranger against the wall facing the room, and me sandwiched between Lester and Bobby opposite him, Steph, and Tank. Steph took a drink of her beer and smirked at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You look like hell."
I lifted a hand to touch the bruise I knew was forming on my cheek. "So, I'm a klutz," I replied. "After the concussion and broken ankle, this really shouldn't come as a surprise to you."
She grinned. "It doesn't. I'm just happy that for once I'm not the one who is the walking disaster area."
"Babe," Ranger said, and her look turned sheepish as she lifted her glass.
"Well, I'm just glad that this injury didn't result in another concussion," Bobby said.
"You needed to be more aware of your surroundings," Tank admonished.
"I was," I replied. "Which is why I pushed Lester out of the way. I knew Hal had his sight trained on Les."
"But you didn't notice the support brace for the barrier," Tank said.
I sighed. "Yeah, I know. I should have seen the brace, but I was more concerned about taking the shot for Les. Honestly, my getting out wasn't much of a loss, since the only person the entire day I managed to hit was Manny."
Ranger smirked. "If Manny had been more aware of his surroundings you wouldn't have gotten a hit on him either."
"And that's kinda my point," I continued. "Being the newbie, I contributed the only way I knew how. Which was to take the hits for you guys when I could, so you could keep playing."
Lester curled a finger beneath my chin and studied my face. "I just wish you hadn't slammed face first into a rock while doing it. I hate that your beautiful face is all bruised up."
My heart swelled at his statement. "It will heal, and in a few days, you'll never know the difference."
"Just promise me, if you're ever in a real-life situation like that with me or Bobby, you won't put yourself in the path of the bullet." His words were soft, but his look was one I couldn't quite interpret. Yet, the idea of him being shot for real made my heart hurt so bad I nearly teared up right there in front of him.
I gave a slight shake of my head. "I'm not promising anything."
His eyes narrowed at my statement, but before he could reply, Steph let out a groan. "I wonder which one of the burg shrews ratted us out?"
Confused by her statement, I turned to look at her, then followed her attention to where Detective Morelli was making his way toward us. Just great.
"Well, it looks like Trenton is safe for at least the next hour," Morelli began as he looked around the restaurant, taking in all the tables filled with our men. Then he turned his attention back to Steph. "Since you and all your thugs are here."
"Hardly," Steph replied. "After all, you're still on the loose."
"Funny," he deadpanned. "What's the occasion that nearly all of Rangeman is gracing Pino's with its presence."
"Since you're not paying the bill, I'm thinking that's none of your business," she shot back. "Why are you here?"
"I decided that I wanted a meatball sub for lunch," he replied.
"What you really mean, is one of the burg shrews or a daughter of said shrew, spotted us coming in here and called your mother, who then called to tell you that the Burg was being invaded by those men again." She air quoted those men with her fingers.
He started to reply, then his attention shifted and landed on me. "Ms. Stapleton?"
"Detective Morelli," I replied.
"I see Cupcake has successfully pulled you down into the insanity that is her life." His eyes narrowed and I steeled myself. At this point I'm sure he was looking at my bruise and cuts. "How did you end up with that bruise on your face?" he asked. His eyes scanned me now, obviously looking for other injuries. I didn't dare move to try and hide the red marks on my arms for fear of drawing his attention to them even more. His gaze landed there anyway and remained. "And what happened to your arms? Are you being abused?"
At his question, Lester stiffened, and I placed a hand over his in reassurance.
"Why the reaction, Santos?" He shifted his attention between me and Lester. "Are they holding you against your will?"
"No, detective. Nobody is…" the rest of my sentence instantly died as Morelli shifted and reached for Lester.
"Lester Santos, you're under arrest for assault and battery."
"Hey!" I shouted as I jumped to my feet.
Lester rolled his eyes, but stood and without a fight, allowed Morelli to begin handcuffing him.
"What are you doing?" I shouted at Morelli.
Amazingly, everyone around me was somehow remaining calm, as if this was a regular occurrence.
Steph pulled out her phone. "You've gone too far this time, Joe. I'm calling Uncle Juniak," she said.
Ranger was already on the phone and from what I could tell he was talking to his lawyer.
Well, I wasn't going to allow this to stand. "Uncuff him, detective. Right this minute."
"Sienna, don't-" Lester started to say, and I held up a hand cutting him off.
"You, hush," I said to Lester, then turned my attention back to the dumbass detective.
Morelli shook his head. "If he's abusing you, he needs to be held responsible."
"I don't know if you're deaf or just stupid," I shot back. "Listen to me…Nobody is abusing me," I shouted as I stepped in front of him.
"I'm sorry, but your bruises tell a different story," Morelli replied.
"My bruises are from a paintball game, you jackass," I spat.
"Sienna," Bobby called out, right before I felt him place a hand on my arm. I turned to look at him, shock coursing through me.
"We're not just going to let him haul Lester to jail on false charges."
"It's easier this way," Bobby said. "Ranger is on the phone with his lawyer as we speak. He'll get the charges dropped and Lester won't spend any time in jail."
"That's right he won't, because he didn't do anything," I replied, then shook free of Bobby's grip and turned back to Morelli.
"Listen here, Detective," I said as I stabbed a finger toward him, making sure not to actually touch him. It didn't take much to realize if I touched him in any way, he'd try and haul my ass in on assault charges. "And I use that term loosely, since you seem to suck at your job. I don't know what you've been able to get away with before, but I'm not going to stand for this. Once again, you need to shut your mouth, open your ears, and listen. I was in a paintball tournament earlier today, where I received not only the welts on my arm, but this black eye."
He narrowed his gaze on me. "How do I know you're not lying to defend him?"
"You really are an arrogant asshole," I replied as frustration coursed through me. What in the hell had Steph ever seen in this guy? "See the paint in my hair?" I asked holding out my ponytail for him to inspect. "We also have video of the game, where you can clearly see me taking the shots that caused the welts and the fall that caused this." I pointed to the bruise on my cheek. "Now, unless you want me to call my lawyer and have him file the biggest lawsuit ever seen in the history of Trenton PD, then I suggest you release my boyfriend right this instant."
For a moment the entire room appeared to suck in a breath and hold it as Morelli's eyes widened. Up to this point, I'd yet to openly acknowledge my relationship with Bobby and Lester.
"Boyfriend? Dear God, they really have corrupted you too," he said.
Choosing to ignore his cheap shot, I went in for the kill. "I'm warning you for the last time, Detective. If you pursue this, I will do everything within my power to make sure your rank is busted so far down that you'll be saying yes ma'am to the PTO's. Now. Let. Him. Go."
He sighed and after a moment he began unlocking the cuffs. "Wait…" His eyes narrowed on me. "Word through the grapevine is that Santos and Brown are together. So, how can he be your boyfriend?"
I had already reached for Lester, as Morelli was releasing him, and felt him immediately tense beneath my touch. Then I glanced behind me and noted the look on Bobby's face, as I reached to grab him by the wrist. It was obvious neither man was happy about being publicly outed. Still, Bobby stepped up so that my men created a wall behind me. The message we were sending was unmistakable, even to a dimwit like Morelli.
He ran a hand over his face, then looked at Steph. "Just when I thought things with you guys couldn't get any more fucked up." He glanced back to us, visibly shuddered, then turned on his heel and walked out.
After a moment, Tank spoke. "And now that the douche has left, let's eat."
Lester, Bobby, and I returned to our seats, but suddenly the food I was so excited about just minutes ago, now turned my stomach. It wasn't just my elevated stress level that was now bothering me. I could feel the tension radiating off my two men. The problem was, I didn't know if it was being outed that bother my boys or the reaction Morelli had to the three of us.
The guys watched me with concerned expressions as I pushed my sandwich away and leaned my head against Lester's shoulder. "What's wrong, cutie?" I could hear the strain in his voice as he spoke.
"I'm not feeling very well now." I replied.
Boy was that the wrong thing to say. Within second's Bobby had one hand on my forehead, checking for a fever while the other wrapped around my wrist, taking my pulse. "What kind of don't feel good," he asked.
"My stomach is bothering me," I said. It wasn't a lie, at least not entirely. My stomach was bothering me, but the issue ran so much deeper and at that moment, I wasn't convinced it was something we'd be able to overcome.