Chapter 13

SPOV

My arms were wrapped tightly around Ranger's neck, feeling a slight hesitation before his arms tightened around me. I'd completely forgotten that I was wearing a wig and contacts so maybe he didn't recognize me to start with. My heart was hammering in my chest and tears formed in my eyes as he continued to hold me. It felt so right, it made me feel so safe.

My attention was caught by a low growling sound coming from behind me, so as I loosened my grip from around Ranger's neck my feet hit the floor and I turned around. It seemed the sound had come from Mylo and he was staring at Ranger. I wasn't sure why he felt threatened by Ranger but knew that I needed to assuage his fears.

"Mylo, this is a very dear friend of mine, Ranger. He's here to help us"

Well, I hoped that he was. I watched as Ranger squatted down until he was level with Mylo and held out a hand toward him.

"Hello Mylo"

Mylo didn't move straight away, he was looking at Ranger's face before he looked up to me. I nodded my head, as though saying it was okay and was pleased when he took Ranger's hand and shook it. Mylo seemed to relax, and I was almost certain that Ranger smiled at him. The tension evaporated and Mylo was suddenly running over to the TV and switching it on, before settling on the bean bag which seemed to be his favorite place to sit.

I turned to Ranger, not sure what to say and only one word would come from lips.

"How?"

"I'll always find you Babe"

Was his reply as his fingertips ran down the side of my cheek. I didn't know where to begin in telling him what had happened and was about to start talking when a finger rested over my lips.

"Why don't you go and take off the wig and remove the contacts"

I shrugged my shoulders as I headed toward the bedroom, okay, maybe he needed to actually see me properly before we talked. I changed into some gym wear wanting to be comfortable, making me wonder if Ramos's wife was into exercise, then carefully removed the pins that were holding the wig in position on my head before freeing my hair from the tight plaits that were needed to keep it out of the way. In the bathroom I gingerly removed the contacts before splashing water over my eyes and face and toweling myself dry, wincing slightly as I towel dried my chest. The bruise was visible above the neckline of the T-shirt but I wasn't going to change into anything else, I wanted to get back to see Ranger.

When I went back through to the lounge Ranger was sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him. As I sat down his arm came around my shoulder, pulling me against him. Much as I liked being so close to Ranger, this type of behavior wasn't normal for him. He leaned in close to me, the feel of his breath against my ear sending goose bumps down my back. That's when I heard him, a low soft whisper.

"Cameras, they're watching you"

I felt so annoyed that I was about to get up and I was certain that the expression on my face had changed. Maybe Ranger knew how I would react to that piece of information because he totally threw me when his hand cupped my cheek and his lips pressed down onto mine. As a diversionary tactic it definitely worked, I melted into him as he deepened the kiss, relishing the feel as my mouth opened, and our tongues intertwined. Heat travelled through my body like the traitor that it was.

As he pulled away it occurred to me that we would be seen through the camera and it became obvious to me that was maybe why Ranger had kissed me. I was upset that the kiss was for the sake of whoever was watching us and not because he'd really missed me. I wasn't too sure what to do or say next, yeah, I was speechless.

"Don't react to what I tell you Babe"

Oh shit, what could be that bad?

"Ramos wants to keep you here because he thinks that you can help identify who is causing trouble"

I smiled sweetly at Ranger, but inside I was fuming. How could I have been so stupid to think that Ramos would help me without expecting something in return. I guessed that it had something to do with was going on in Trenton, but what was he expecting from me. Did he know that Charlie had given me the book? I was only thankful that he didn't know what I'd already found out. Maybe I should have listened harder to that voice in my head when I felt uneasy about bringing the book with me. Then it hit me, it wasn't about me finding things out. He was using me to get Ranger to help him.

Feeling a tug on my hand I hadn't realized that Ranger had stood up, but I followed him as he walked toward my bedroom. I so wished we were anyplace other than here because usually being in a bedroom with Ranger led to us being naked together.

Somehow, I didn't think that was going to happen today. I knew Ranger was looking for signs of cameras which had me feeling mortified in case there were any in the bedroom. After a few moments we sat on the bed, leant against the headboard.

"Ramos expects you to solve a puzzle Babe"

I sighed as I realized that Ranger needed to know the truth.

"No, he's using me to get to you, he'd know that you'd figure out where I was. He'd see keeping me here as an added incentive. It's all my fault that he's involved you"

I was waiting for Ranger to agree with me, after all Ranger had always told me that he didn't do relationships for fear of someone getting to him by using me. I dropped my head as I realized that Ramos had proved the point and that the elusive notion that I'd had that maybe Ranger and I might have a someday was slowly disappearing.

"No, it isn't. You needed to find somewhere safe, and you were right about it not being safe to contact me, but not for the reasons that you think. Ramos took advantage of the situation to get me involved but I'm pretty sure that he thinks that you know more than you're saying. We'll work this out together, we both know different sides of the puzzle"

"With me stuck here?"

"There are problems at Rangeman at the moment"

I never gave him chance to say anymore because him saying there were problems at Rangeman had me looking at him.

"What problems?"

"An insider"

The pieces came together as I remembered Jenny telling me about Rangeman security on some of the buildings.

"Putting Rangeman equipment onto buildings"

I saw him raise his eyebrow and couldn't help but smile, maybe I was better at this detective stuff than I thought.

"Give me a day and I'll get you out of here"

Oh no, he was not thinking what I thought he was thinking, was he?

"I won't go to a safe house"

"No. A house that's safe. Babe I know you too well, it wouldn't work. Yes, I want you to be safe but somehow, I think that you know things that will help sort out this whole situation"

Hell, no one had any idea of what I knew and to be honest I wasn't too sure that what I had would particularly help. Yes, Charlie had written down his side of the story but with that and the photos nothing was conclusive. My attention was drawn to Ranger as he started to pull something from his pocket, and I felt as he pushed a phone into my hand.

"There's a tracker in it, keep it on you and only call me if you are in real danger. Don't let Ramos know that you have it"

Okay, so how was he going to let me know when something was going to happen? I didn't get a chance to ask before I felt his hands in my hair and his lips were back on mine. I felt as his hands ran through my hair and down my back making me forget all about the situation with Ramos. All too soon he pulled away and I was cursing him for getting me so worked up.

"Ramos will think we came in here for some fun Babe"

I watched as he moved off the bed wondering what the hell he had meant by that but followed him as left the bedroom. As I passed a mirror, I could see exactly what Ranger had meant and why Ramos would think that. My hair was messed up and my lips looked swollen along with the flush that now covered my face.

Once back in the lounge I noted that Mylo wasn't there anymore and just hoped that he'd gone to his bedroom. I'd expected Ranger to at least say something more, okay I wasn't sure what and I suppose those damn cameras were definitely enough not to say anything. Nothing more was said between us and after one more heart stopping kiss, I was soon watching as Ranger left the house.

I felt a little lost and confused after the visit. I knew that Ranger was going to help me, but I was worried that everything that had happened, the kisses and hugs were all part of the illusion put on for Ramos to see. It made me feel so inadequate and I suppose worthless as a woman. Okay, Ramos would now be convinced that I meant more to Ranger than I did, and Ramos wouldn't expect Ranger to do anything to jeopardize my situation. So why did I feel like I'd been punched in the stomach.

I was very quiet for the rest of the evening. I was thankful not to be summoned up to the big house to eat with Ramos because I wasn't sure that I could cope with pretending to be nice to him. Instead, Maria had prepared a lasagna for Mylo and me, leaving us to eat it on our own. After Mylo had gone to bed I was desperate to get out of the lounge, the idea of someone watching me was making my skin crawl. Plus, I really wanted to see what had been left at the play center.

Once in the bedroom I pulled out my bag and took out the envelope. Inside were several photos of two men who were talking on the street, next to a doorway. I had no idea who they were even after looking at them carefully, though it didn't help when the face of one of them seemed to be in the shadows. They varied in age but were both dressed in suits, so maybe they were important or well off. I needed Ranger to look at them, maybe he'd know who they were, or Hector could use that face recognition program. The problem was that this didn't prove anything, it wasn't evidence showing them doing anything wrong. I pulled the phone out from underneath the pillow, that Ranger had given to me and scrolled through the settings. He'd set up accounts under a different name, Skye Jonquil, giving her an email address as well.

That gave me an idea. I knew that if I went anywhere, that I was really worried that someone might search my room and find them. What I could do though was to photograph everything. Every page and photo and email them, maybe even destroying the book and photos so that Ramos couldn't get hold of them. I set up a different email account, so sue me, if Ranger had someone in Rangeman then I wanted to be sure that this email account couldn't be found. It took me ages to do that, to photograph and email everything and then delete the photos. It was nearly 2 in the morning and time for me to get some sleep. I input a code into the phone and then panicked. The battery was low, and Ranger hadn't left me a charger.

I felt groggy when I woke, probably through lack of sleep but hearing the sound of children laughing from the lounge decided I had no choice but to get up. After showering I dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with a thin sweater over the top and went through to see what the noise was about.

"Morning you two, what are you up to?"

I didn't get an answer because it seemed they'd reached a crucial part in their game. Wandering over to the kitchen I found a plate with some croissants on, so sitting at the breakfast bar I used the butter and jam with them. Thinking as I ate, I knew that I had to find a better hiding place for the book and photos, I couldn't destroy them, they were a timeline for what Charlie had gone through. Okay, I knew that I was being sentimental.

That the photo of that play center was a clue to where Charlie had hidden things made me think of the other photos. It was a perfect day to visit the zoo.

Maria had no option when I mentioned it to Lucas. Mylo gave me a knowing look and was soon joining in with Lucas in pleading with Maria for us to go, okay not actually using words, but man he could certainly put on those puppy dog eyes when he wanted to. They were so keen to go that they both even helped with packing up a picnic. Of course, we used our rucksack and I made sure that the book and photos were inside.

I wasn't sure where Ramos was because Nico never mentioned him being around the house and to be honest, I preferred it that way. I wasn't sure I would manage to contain what I wanted to say to him.

It was the five of us again as we parked in the parking area ready to enter the zoo. As I got out of the car, I was sure though that I was being watched. A quick look around didn't help, there were so many people around us, as they exited their cars and collected their kids and bags, ready to go to the entrance. As Nico paid for our entry, I took a few maps of the zoo from the woman along with our tickets and gave the boys copies, keeping one for myself.

Once inside we let the boys look at the map and decide where they wanted to go, and which animals they were keen to see. I'd pointed out where the spiders were kept to Mylo and he seemed to understand what I was wanting to do. While Mylo stayed close to me, Lucas was running from one enclosure to the next. He had wanted to see the big cats first so that's where we headed for. The enclosures were large so catching sight of anything was difficult hence Lucas's impatience to move to the next one.

I think my favorite was the panther and having spent several minutes waiting and watching we were rewarded by his appearance. He was black and sleek moving so fluidly across the ground before he jumped up and onto a platform. He reminded me so much of Ranger and reading the information plaque only reinforced what I was I thinking. "The black panther is often called 'the ghost of the forest'. It is a smart, stealth-like attacker, its dark coat helps it hide and stalk prey very easily, especially at night"

Yeah, definitely at night, as memories came to me of Ranger during that one night where he stayed until morning.

It was over an hour later when Mylo started to point to the map that Lucas was holding so I hoped that we were about to find the insectarium. Fortunately, Maria decided that being in there wasn't for her, I had to admit that I was with her on that idea but knew that I had to look inside. Nico stayed outside at the entrance, probably vetting people that were going in so for once I was on my own with the boys.

I was hoping that Mylo would have some idea of where Charlie had hidden something, though once inside he and Lucas seemed too interested in the exhibits as we walked around. At least the glass tanks that were used looked secure because the idea of hundreds of ants escaping didn't really appeal to me.

Okay the scorpions were cool, and I enjoyed walking amongst beautiful butterflies, moths and katydids and watching the green and blue dragonflies and black-winged damselflies hover near the pool. It seemed the spiders had an area all to themselves in a dark cave like room. Looking at the first tank I have to say that I was feeling very uncomfortable. The trapdoor spider made me jump when it suddenly appeared from the ground of its tank.

I had no idea how on earth I was supposed to find anything until I walked through a small opening into the next section. Next to the opening was a web made of a fine gossamer and sat to the side was the model of a spider. Was that too obvious? A tug on my arm from Mylo made me hope that he had a better idea. He pulled me toward a smaller case that had lots of smaller spiders inside and looked behind him before pointing to the side of it. I could see that maybe there had been a larger tank there because the side had been enlarged, I carefully pulled at the fiberglass section revealing a space about six inches wide by a foot tall. Bingo.

I felt very revealed to leave the insectarium, and not just because we were leaving the spiders behind, and stepped out into the sunshine smiling. I had a copy of two more photos on my phone and Charlie's book with the other photos were hidden next to the social spiders. Maria deemed that it was time for our picnic, so we found some seats and enjoyed our sandwiches, I wasn't too sure if Maria appreciated the jam and cheese ones, but I loved them.

Looking around I was pleased to see a small van parked up and thought what a better way to finish a picnic than with an ice cream. Turning to the others I was keen to tell them my idea.

"I'll go get the ice creams while the boys visit the wash facilities"

I volunteered, keen to see what flavors would be on offer and turned to ask the boys what they'd prefer.

"What flavor boys?"

"Cookies and cream"

How about chocolate Mylo?"

Mylo seemd to think that flavor was okay, while Maria shook her head declining to have one. I turned to Nico, not wanting to know what flavor ice cream he would want but because I would need some money to pay for them.

"Nico"

"Vanilla sounds good to me"

I continued to look at him not knowing how to broach the subject of money. When we'd come into the zoo it had been Nico who'd used a card to pay for our admission and I didn't want him to feel that he was going to be out of pocket.

"Stéfani?"

"Err, I don't have any money on me"

He smiled as he pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, pushing several notes into my hand.

"Don't worry, Mr Ramos provides well"

I wasn't too sure what he meant by that but seeing several more people join the queue I wasn't going to ask. I joined the queue and was busy looking at the choice of flavors totally unaware of the people now joining the queue after me. Having decided on buttered pecan I was aware of a woman standing very close next to me.

"Are you ready?"

She asked as she looked around.

"Sorry?"

Because I wasn't too sure who she was talking to.

"Carlos asked me to get you away from the people that you're with"

I took another look at the woman wondering if she was serious, a blonde haired, tanned skinned woman who was incredibly beautiful. My brain still hadn't worked out what she meant, then it dawned on me that maybe she was talking about Ranger.

"Who are you?"

Seemed an obvious question for me to ask, after all she could have been anyone trying to get to me and to be honest my nerves were buzzing having her so close to me.

"A friend of Carlos, tall dark handsome man"

I knew that, but then so did any woman who had seen him.

"Who are you?"

"That's not important. We need to get out of here"

I wasn't convinced with what she was saying to me and to be honest I found it hard to believe that he'd send a woman to try and rescue me.

"Who are you, I mean how do you know Carlos?

I hadn't seen her around Rangeman unless she was new.

"I see Carlos when he's in Boston"

The way that she used a dreamy voice to answer me had my brain going into overdrive. Was she someone that Ranger saw, like saw romantically? Was she the version of me up in Boston?

"Okay, I can appreciate you being a bit cautious. He's 34 years old, does covert work for the government, has four sisters and two brothers and a daughter in Miami"

This woman knew a lot about Ranger, which only confirmed to me that maybe she was close to him.

"Look he's more than a friend, he's . . ."

"Stéfani. Is everything alright?"

I turned to see Nico stood behind me and realized that while this woman had been talking to me, I'd missed my place in the queue. Not knowing how to respond I turned to the young man behind the counter and ordered our four ice creams. Nico took two of them as they were handed over, while I paid and collected the last two. What surprised me when I started to walk back to where the boys and Maria were, was that another man was now walking next to me and there was another stood next to Mylo.

I had no idea who they were or where they had appeared from but by the look of them and how Nico was talking to the one next to Mylo I had a horrible feeling that they were with us. How stupid to think that Ramos would entrust my safety to just one man. I had a team of bodyguards with me which meant that it might be impossible for us to get away. That had me realizing that the woman was only interested in me escaping with her and not Mylo, I had no intention of leaving Mylo behind even if that meant escape wouldn't happen. Looking around as I ate my ice cream, I was pleased that the woman seemed to have disappeared, so I headed over to Mylo to sit next to him, hoping that I hadn't been watched whilst I was inside the spider house.

RPOV

I felt like a weight had been lifted from me, knowing that Steph was unharmed and at the moment safe. I was conscious of the bruise and how sensitive her ribs were where she'd been shot but made sure that none of my moves would hurt her. The problem that I was having was that I was still anxious about her which meant that it was important to get her away from Ramos. I had a healthy respect for Ramos, but I didn't trust him. He didn't get to where he was without being ruthless and I was sure that he had other plans that he was working on. I didn't like what he'd inferred about Steph and how she could help him, maybe because I had absolutely no idea what she knew, or how Ramos thought that she could help, with what? That was what concerned me. I didn't think that he'd try to double cross me but that he was using Steph to get me to cooperate didn't sit well.

Steph had rocked my world with how she'd greeted me when she saw me, though for a second, I was thrown by the disguise that she was wearing. The way that she responded to me, the kissing and touching had me acknowledging just how important she was to me. The boy, well his response had been unexpected, but in some ways, it showed a strong determined child who was very protective of Steph. Steph had been quiet as I'd left which I couldn't work out but maybe she was still annoyed with the situation that Ramos had put us in.

Once back at Rangeman Tank reported that the girls were ready to start their surveillance of Manning. Hector had been to see them at the safe house, so they were all set up with any equipment that they needed. The teams had reported finding three more buildings that had our name displayed so I would follow up on those in the morning. Tonight, I needed to catch up on some sleep so with my phone showing me that Steph was still at Ramos's house I managed to fall into a deep sleep.

After an hour in the gym and a very short morning meeting I embarked on finding out which buildings I needed to check up on. I was annoyed to say the least that the warehouse down on Lamberton Road was one of them. I was in two minds to go down there and have it out with Jackson but decided I needed some more information before ruffling feathers and making them aware that I knew what was going on. Three searches later I was comparing the information when my phone blipped. Steph was on the move, maybe this might be an opportunity to remove her from Ramos's care. Tali would be an ideal person to do that, no one would suspect a woman, so I used my phone to contact her.

"Carlos why are you calling me?"

She knew that I didn't like her calling me by my first name, but I was sure that she did it just to annoy me. We had a history together, Tali had been in the army and had been able to weasel her way onto some of the teams that I commanded. She was sassy, attractive and could kick a man to the ground for just looking at her. It was well known that she didn't date, though that had only been a challenge for me at the time. So yes, I had sex with her the one time, that was when I made it very clear to her that it would also be the last. For such a beautiful woman I felt absolutely no attraction to her and only supported the rumors going around the base that she had someone special back home, so eventually the men had left her alone.

"Tali I have a special job for you"

"Just for me Carlos"

Her voice purred over the phone in a very seductive manner. I knew her too well to be distracted by that and she knew me too well to think it would affect me.

"I need you to extract a woman"

"Is she good looking Carlos?"

"Not your type Tali. I'll send a photo, but she'll probably be in disguise. Short brown spiky wig and brown contacts. She'll have company. A young boy and probably a body guard"

"Where will she be"

"Zoo, I'll send the coordinates"

"Where do I take her?"

"Call me when you have her and I'll meet you"

I didn't want to compromise the safe house where the girls were staying and no one else knew of the house where I wanted Steph to go to, that was somewhere that I wanted to take her to myself. I knew that Tali would be able to do the job, how she did it would be up to her. She was good at blending into her surroundings so I would have to wait for her to contact me, knowing that it could take some time for the ideal opportunity to arise.

That arranged I went back to the searches in front of me. Each place was fronted by a different name. Two were private residencies outside of Trenton and were the types of property that we might cover and even the type of people that we might offer security for. The first one that I looked at in more detail was a judge, who had apparently recently moved into the area. Now why the hell would a judge take on Rangeman security when he hadn't met anyone from the company? Or was this another scam from Manning. Was this judge aware that he had security through possibly illegal means? I'd have to speak with our lawyer about that. It could be that this judge was part of the group who were operating in Trenton or he could be totally innocent. The house had been bought with cash, which judging by its size and location would have been very expensive. The judges name, Ernest Donald went into the search and while that was running, I messaged Silvio do a more in depth search on him and the property.

Ernest Donald had moved from the west coast a year ago to take up a position here in Trenton. I knew that judges were appointed by the town's governing body and that terms were for three years. Municipal Court judges could be reappointed, but there is no tenure. In New Jersey, judges and Supreme Court justices are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate. I wasn't too sure how he could be an imposter, but crazier things had happened before. It looked as though his record was clean, no brushes with the law, but prior to his appointment here in Trenton his son had died from a drug overdose and his wife had filed for divorce. I really wouldn't have thought, given the death of his son, that he'd be an advocate for the distribution of drugs.

The second private residence was a rental property with only the dates for when the tenancy had started. No names other than the real estate agent who had been responsible for managing the property. The owner came back to a trust, where the money from renting the property went back to. On looking further into that I discovered that the original owner had died several years ago leaving the property and a large sum of money in a trust for three children and their offspring. It didn't raise any alarm bells for me, so I placed the information in a file and went to the next property.

This was the one that the men had first come across, deeming that it looked to being used for working girls. It had been purchased six months ago for cash and there in black and white was the connection that I was looking for. The company that now owned the building was Anansi Ltd.

I was interrupted by my phone so checking the id breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was Tali calling me, and was waiting for her to say that Steph was now with her.

"Carlos, I'm sorry"

The tone of her voice let me know that the news was bad.

"She was too hesitant in believing me and then there wasn't just one body guard, there were three"

Shit, why was it that anything involving Steph never went according to plan.

"Why was she hesitant?"

Because Steph knew that I was planning to remove her from Ramos's grasp.

"Maybe she didn't believe who I was. I mean I told her I knew you really well, even gave her some of your personal details to prove it"

I suppose some woman turning up who Steph didn't know might have got Steph suspicious. It didn't matter now, the opportunity that had seemed too good to miss had gone.

"Do you want me to try again?"

"Let's see where she goes to next"

Finishing the call, I checked to see where Steph was and determined that she was on her way back to Deal and back to Ramos's house. I was watching the blue circle on my phone when Santos knocked and walked in.

"Everything okay?"

He asked as he sat down in the chair opposite me.

"I know where Steph is and asked Tali to try and get her away from the man guarding her"

From the frown on Santos's face, I realized that I hadn't told him that I'd worked out the whereabouts of Steph.

"She's at Deal, with Ramos. I went there last night"

"He let you in?"

"It seems he has this notion that I'll help the families out and that Steph knows more than she's said"

"Did you talk to Steph?"

I nodded my head not wanting to go into detail of that reunion.

"Why ask Tali?"

"Steph was at the zoo, so I thought that Tali would blend in better"

"I take it that didn't happen then"

I couldn't understand why Santos was shaking his head back and forth, as though I'd done something wrong.

"Is she back at Deal?"

I just nodded my head wondering where he was going with his questions.

"Ram and I can set up surveillance for the night"

I knew that Santos would want to know that Steph was alright, but damnit, that was my job, wasn't it?

"I'll relieve you at 0600hrs"

As he nodded his head it occurred to me that he was the one who had walked into my office.

"You're here because?"

"The shooter. No one could get anything from him and to be honest it wasn't for the lack of trying"

"Where is he?"

"Somewhere in the Chihuahuan desert in Northern Mexico"

I smiled at the ingenuity of that but wasn't going to ask how the hell Santos had managed it, deciding that while he was here I'd update him on what I'd found out.

"I did some research on the properties using our name. The private residencies didn't pan out. One house belongs to a judge and the other is being rented out"

"A judge, maybe someone trying to cash in on our name"

"A warehouse where we refused to take them on"

"Jackson?"

I nodded my head as Santos asked. We already suspected that something was going on there but now I was sure.

"The building where the men thought was being used by working girls happens to be owned by Anansi"

"That's the name that you found with the gambling joint. I looked that name up. Did you know that Anansi is a trickster god originating from the Ashanti tradition and that he's most commonly shown as a spider, and is the god of stories?"

Spider, wasn't that something that Steph had written in her letter, something that Watson had mentioned?

Fortunately, Santos left after that leaving me to continue working, a quick look at my phone had Steph back at Ramos's making me realize that I'd have to work out how the hell to get her out of there.