Chapter 29

"I have somewhere that I need to go"

Did I tense as she said that, definitely? The idea of her going somewhere on her own didn't sit well with me and I was worried where it was that she was thinking of going.

"Babe?"

Hoping that she would tell me.

"This might be one of the things that you won't like. I have to do it"

I turned her around to look at her, to try to work out what she was so intent on doing. Like that was going to happen. I had absolutely no idea what was on her mind.

"Do you trust me?"

I had no hesitation in replying a yes to that, but it didn't make me feel any less worried.

"I'll go with you"

Because I was sure that what she had planned was still to do with Elaina and what they'd been doing in Serbia. Going with her when I had no idea what she planned, that was going to be hard to do. I could only hope that she would eventually tell me what she wanted to do and why, how else could I protect her?

"What about finding Elaina?"

"The others can do that. CJ should have some news for us soon so that might help"

Hell, it didn't take three of us to follow a trail to find her, surely. If they started with the feeds from the mall cameras, then I was pretty sure that with Ethan's skills there would be enough for them to follow her. Once they found her then I'd decide what to do then.

"Okay. Can we leave soon?"

I nodded my head and watched as she left the gym, no doubt to shower and change before we left. I went back through to the den seeing Ethan and Santos watching the feeds from the mall pleased that they were onto that so quickly.

"I'm going with Steph. I'm sure you'll be able to locate Elaina and CJ can help when he gets back"

"Where you going Ranger?"

"No idea"

Was all I could say to the two of them. We spent time establishing a method of communication and the base that they would work from, yeah, they were going to be working out of Rangeman. Why not, it was secure and had any equipment that they would need, plus Tank and Hector looking for Elizabeth might cross paths with them.

An hour later I was driving the truck south away from Trenton. I had my ready bag in the truck but wasn't sure what Steph had packed into a small bag, maybe I needed to give her an opportunity to buy some new clothes. I still had no idea where we were going and was hoping it wasn't going to be Hammonton. Steph had kept our destination to herself so far, using an old paper map that she'd found. As I drove further south, I was more relaxed, knowing that we weren't being followed, but Steph, it seemed the further I drove the more anxious she was getting. As dusk started to fall, I wasn't sure if we were anywhere near our destination and was surprised when Steph suddenly turned to me.

"Can we find a motel to stop at overnight?"

We'd just past Petersburg, so her asking me that had me knowing that we were going to be travelling a lot further. I knew this road, the number of times I had driven this way to get to the Miami office, but I'd never stopped on the way. I had always preferred to just drive and get there as soon as possible. Nowadays I flew. It was quicker and less stressful which was far better mentally for me to prepare myself for the work that I would need to be doing. In fact, flying gave me some extra time to sort through paperwork. At a sign for a motel off the main route that we were travelling on I indicated and pulled onto a smaller road. At least the motel was away from the main route so might be quieter, but it looked like a single story affair with rooms along its length.

I parked outside the reception and walked in, a young boy looking at me from behind his desk.

"Double room for the night"

No words were spoken as he looked behind him and picked up a set of keys. I handed him enough money to cover the cost and was soon back in the truck. I was surprised that he hadn't asked for ID or even a name but maybe me giving him cash might keep that booking off the books. That was better for me knowing that there was no trail to follow even though I knew my alias would be sufficient. I parked outside the room and handed Steph the key before opening up the back of the truck to retrieve our bags.

Entering the room, I found Steph just stood looking around. It was a typical motel room, okay maybe a bit cleaner than most, but the layout was the same. A double bed with small tables at the side with a lamp on each one. A long dresser along the opposite wall and two doors. Opening the first one I came to I found the bathroom. Again, it was clean and smelt of lemons with a toilet, sink and shower in good condition. Back in the bedroom Steph had closed the door and was laid on her back on the bed. Her being so quiet was beginning to worry me, she was never this quiet. I laid down next to her, copying her position and waited.

"You would just let me tell you where to go wouldn't you?"

"Yes. I don't want to lose you again Babe"

Because I would, it might kill me doing it, but I knew I had to in order for her to realize that I did trust her.

"We're going to Miami"

Okay that had me turning my head and looking at her, desperate to ask more but holding back. She'd tell me when she was ready and when she started to talk then I knew everything would come tumbling she sat down on the bed I joined her seeing that she was already beginning to falter, to keep to herself other parts of her story that so far she had omitted.

"Petco was a brilliant scientist and he idolized Einstein. It was the science that first drew him in, and he decided to move into the field of nuclear energy and the possibility of weapons. Then he discovered another side of Einstein. Einstein the pacifist. Petco was adverse to working on a nuclear program but wanted to explore another avenue. He designed and made a prototype, but I suppose had second thoughts. He told me the world wasn't quite ready for what he'd invented. So he hid it, in two parts"

Everything that Steph was saying made perfect sense to me but what worried me was what it was that he'd designed and made.

"I suppose because the three of them were such good friends the others found out what he'd done. Markovic stole some of his designs and ended up in America. Salic, he was too involved with the work at the institute to notice. Petco was confident that Markovic couldn't proceed with what he had because he didn't have the design for the detonator, but then he heard that there were people looking for his prototypes. It was the detonator that worried him the most. So he had another laptop which was a decoy"

"The one in the mausoleum, was that the real one?"

"I don't know"

I wondered if Elaina knew which laptop was the real detonator and which was the decoy? That didn't help me to understand why we were going to Miami. I rolled onto my side propping my head up and looked across at Steph willing her tell me more because I was pretty sure that she had more to say. Feeling me move Steph did the same, mirroring my position so that we were looking at each other.

"I said that you probably wouldn't like what I'd done, so you have the opportunity to walk away"

I was shaking my head before she had even finished her sentence because whatever she'd done, I would stand by her. Hadn't she accepted me for my past sins? So, I was prepared to do the same for her.

"If I tell you then I have to be able to trust that you'll not betray me by telling anyone, not demand an alternative action or try to take over"

If I didn't show her that I would trust her then I knew she would leave here, and I might never see her again. As tests went this was going to be one of the hardest things that I might ever have faced, but the idea of losing her again. No, I would do anything to keep her with me, as long as she didn't put herself in danger.

"I'll be by your side Babe, but if you are in danger then you will be my priority"

I waited a moment as she considered what I'd said, so worried not only for what she would decide but for what I'd agreed to. It meant that whatever happened there would just be the two of us, but maybe Steph wouldn't be adverse to some backup if we really needed it, because I had an awful feeling that I was embarking on something that could be dangerous. I watched Steph's face as she smiled at me, the worry that she'd been carrying around for the last few days evaporating.

"Okay, tomorrow we go get one of the laptops"

If I was shocked by hearing that I never had a chance to react, instead I was reacting to the sweet softness of her lips on mine. The feel of her like a long lost freind coming home, and I suppose that she was. The taste of her and the silken softness of her skin as I worshipped her body brought about an overwhelming love for this woman. Our first joining was was fast and primal, the need that we both had taking control. After that I made sure to show her and to tall her that she was my everything.

Sleep was totally overrated as far as I was concerned. I was extremely relaxed and comfortable as I moved my hand up and down Steph's side. That was when my brain took over pushing away those romantic notions and Steph's last coherent sentence came back to me. We were going to get one of the laptops, a laptop which could very well be the detonator. And in Miami, how the hell had it ended up in Miami and how did Steph know where it was? Unless Petco had told her its whereabouts, but how had he managed to find a hiding place in a city half way around the world.

I felt the slight change in Steph's breathing telling me that she was waking up. It may only have been 0700hrs but it seemed even her body clock had become used to waking up early. I was pretty sure that she'd be ready for something to eat, having missed both lunch and dinner yesterday.

"Hey, sleepyhead. How about finding somewhere for breakfast?"

As I expected, that had her wide awake and from the way she was looking at me I was thinking that maybe I was going to be on the menu.

"Mmm, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and maybe sausages or tomatoes, even some toast"

Okay, I had it all wrong, I'd been relegated by food judging by the look on her face and the sounds coming from her stomach. I admitted defeat and getting up went through to the bathroom, ensuring that the view that Steph would see showed her exactly what she was missing. Once stood under the water I knew that she'd followed me in but to be honest the cubicle was so small even I wasn't too sure that we would both fit in.

"Not happening is it, leave enough water for me, please"

After dressing and finding a local diner for breakfast we were soon back on the road. Knowing that we were heading for Miami I was soon in my zone driving the familiar route. I'd wanted Steph to expand on what she'd started talking about last night, maybe telling me where in Miami we were going to be looking for this device and how she knew where it was. The problem with that happening.

Well, she was fast asleep curled up on the seat with her head on my lap. I suppose I couldn't begrudge her doing that, not after the night that we had spent together. It was like coming home, coming in from the cold and wet to the warmth and comfort that was so familiar. I remembered not long ago the disastrous decision I had made to find some warm honey to sink into, to scratch an itch. I knew now what had happened and why, that woman wasn't Steph. When I'd told Steph that I could ruin her for all other men I'd been wrong, it was her who had ruined me for all other women. Her smell and taste were intoxicating like a drug that I was addicted to. The sounds and movements that she made as I touched her silky skin ran a fire through my blood that was insatiable. I was like a thirsty man whose thirst could only be quenched by her, my Babe.

I drove fast where I knew there wouldn't be any speed cameras being fortunate that the traffic wasn't too busy. What should have been a ten hour drive I reduced to just over eight, only stopping to refill the tank. We were about an hour out from Miami when Steph began to stir, I could feel it as she tried to stretch and then stopped when her feet hit the door. Her eyes looked sleepy, her cheeks flushed and with hair wild around her face she looked perfect to me and as sexy as hell.

"Where are we?"

Came her sleepy voice as she sat up and started to sweep her hair from her face as she looked out of the window.

"Just coming into Miami. I thought we could stay at the apartment at the Rangeman office, is that okay with you?"

All I got was a nod of her head as she continued to scan the streets around us.

"Is it always this busy?"

I suppose that I was used to it, I visited here a lot and had spent my teenage years here.

"Yes, it tends to get busier in the evening with people going home or heading for the bars and clubs"

Steph seemed entranced with watching the people on the sidewalks and the cars on the streets. It was a totally different city to Trenton, more colorful and vibrant, with a variety of people who weren't afraid to say who they were. Maybe I should have brought Steph here before now, Julie was always asking about her and I would love to take her around the area where I used to live, Little Havana. Maybe we would have the time and opportunity for that, to visit some of the Cuban restaurants.

I knew that the men at Rangeman Miami wouldn't recognize the truck and I didn't have my fobs so accessing the garage wouldn't be possible. I stopped the truck outside the main entrance and walked around to open Steph's door, keeping hold of her hand as we walked into the main entrance.

"Gary, get someone to park the truck in the garage and let Marcus know that I'm here"

Placing the keys for the truck on the desk I ignored the looks that Gary was giving to Steph. Yeah, the men here wouldn't have seen me bring a woman in here before, so I needed to discuss with Steph if she wanted to keep her identity a secret. Opening the stairwell door, we started our ascent as I broached the subject.

"Babe, you've never met the men here and they're going to be curious about who you are. Do you want me to introduce you using a different name?"

When she stopped climbing the stairs, I turned to her, not sure if I'd said the right thing or not.

"Why would you want to do that?"

Shit, I had said the wrong thing and needed to talk my way out of that little blunder.

"Only if you want to keep your anonymity. News will travel fast with who you are. I've never brought a woman here before"

"Are you ashamed to say who I am?"

That had never once entered my head and I now knew why she seemed upset.

"No, never. I didn't mean it to sound that way, I was only thinking of you"

I stepped down a step until I was level with her and took her face in my hands before skimming my lips across hers trying to show her that I was in fact very proud to have her here with me. Of course, the cameras would be watching my every move, but I didn't care what anyone thought. As we continued our climb and came to the third floor, I pulled open the door to allow her through and came to a standstill. Half of the men must have been waiting for us to exit the door, to catch a glimpse of who I was with.

"Stephanie, you're here at last"

Looking to where the voice had come from it was Silvio who was pushing his way through the crowd to reach her. I saw the smile cross her face as Silvio lifted her up and swung her around before letting her feet hit the ground.

"Hi Silvio, I'm sorry that I didn't give you warning that I was on my way"

"Are you kidding, it's so good to see you. All of us here were really worried about you"

I was still trying to work out why Steph had said what she had to Silvio when I felt an arm rest on my shoulder and looked around to see Marcus stood next to me, a wide grin on his face.

"About time Bro, that you brought her down here"

It seemed that everyone already knew who Steph was, which actually had me confused. Each of the men were waiting patiently to introduce themselves to her.

"They all know who she is, hell, the stories we get from Trenton have made her a celebrity around here. In fact, the men were trying to decide how to get you to bring her down here so that they could meet her"

I had no idea that was the case but was pleased at how welcoming they'd been to her. I waited until Steph was back by my side and turned to Marcus with the intention of introducing him. It seemed even doing that was taken out of my hands when Marcus moved forward and offered his hand to Steph.

"I'm Marcus, his big brother and manager here"

As Marcus raised Steph's hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, I could see that she was embarrassed though wasn't sure if it was how he had greeted her, or if it was the fact that he was my brother.

"I don't have my fob, can you sort one out for me?"

A nod of his head and Marcus was soon walking toward his office only to return a few moments later. As he passed me a fob, I thanked him and noticed that Steph was in a deep conversation with Silvio, now why was that? I knew that she knew him from when he was at Trenton so maybe they were just catching up with each other. Taking Steph's hand, I wanted to get upstairs before anyone tried to get me involved with any work.

"Marcus, I'm not officially here so give me some time to sort through some things and then I'll catch up with you"

I knew that I was confusing him with what I'd said but I'd made a promise to Steph so wasn't going to let anything come between me being able to do that. This time we took the elevator up two floors before exiting on the floor where my apartment was. For some reason I felt nervous as I opened the door, I suppose wondering how Steph would feel when she saw the apartment here compared to the one in Trenton. As she stepped past me and walked down the hallway, I was waiting for her to say something.

"Wow. This place is so different to Trenton"

It was larger with high ceilings and a large wall of windows that gave an amazing view of the city. There were two bedrooms and an office with two bathrooms, and I suppose the décor was more in keeping with being in Miami. Yes, the kitchen was similar with a breakfast bar but there was a large alcove for dining and the lounge area was bigger. There were items that I suppose depicted my Cuban heritage with colorful rugs and cushions on the leather couch. I wasn't too sure what Steph would make of the master bedroom.

"It's so much bigger. Why live in Trenton when you have a place like this here?"

A good question which before now I had never really looked at like that. Originally Miami was going to be where I was based but then something happened.

"Because there's a woman in Trenton that I can't seem to stay away from"

I saw doubts flash across her face so moved quickly behind her as she turned to look through the window.

"This curly haired brunette with deep blue eyes ensnared me there"

"Me?"

As I kissed her neck and moved her hair out of the way I murmured yes to her, feeling her push back against me. I was definitely having ideas on how I would show her the bedroom when a loud knocking interrupted my thoughts. Internally cursing I approached the door ready to tell Marcus that I would see him when I was ready to, totally surprised to see Silvio stood at the door holding a package in his hands. I was about to ask him what the hell it was that necessitated him interrupting us, when Steph was suddenly by my side taking the box from him.

"Thank you Silvio. I know it was a weird request, but it was important"

"No problem Steph, glad I could help"

He closed the door leaving me looking at Steph wondering what the hell was going on. Another knock on the door had me pulling it open hard and left me feeling guilty when I saw Isabel stood there with a tray in her hands.

Isobel was Miami's equivalent to Trenton's Ella. She was a similar age to Ella and had the same skills to manage the housekeeping here at Rangeman Miami. I saw the shock of how I had opened the door cross her face, so stepped forward to take the tray from her hands.

"Sorry Isobel, I didn't know it was you"

Saying sorry to anyone wasn't usually part of my vocabulary so she knew that I was being sincere. I returned to the kitchen and looked under the domes of the dishes that she'd brought knowing that Steph would appreciate what Isobel had brought up.

"Mmm, that smells good"

Two dishes with lasagna greeted me, one that I knew would be for Steph, seeing that it was covered in cheese. The other would be a vegetarian alternative. I watched as Steph found some cutlery and then as she used an oven glove to pick hers up. It seemed that we were eating first before my curiosity of that package would be sated. I had to bite back the questions I wanted to ask, hadn't I promised to trust her? Wasn't part of trusting her allowing her to control what I knew? It was, but it was taking every ounce of strength that I had not to say anything. I also knew that I was becoming anxious, that tenuous grasp of control near to breaking, so when the bowls were stacked in the dish washer I breathed a sigh of relief when she brought the package over to the dining table.

"This is the laptop that Petco gave to me, for some reason he seemed to trust me"

I watched as Steph very carefully tore the first layer of brown paper from the package revealing a cardboard box.

"I wasn't sure what to do with it. I mean I was pretty sure that there were people after it so hiding it seemed stupid when we kept moving about"

She used a knife to slice at the tape that was wrapped around it opening the flaps to reveal bubble wrap.

"I didn't want to be going through security at the airport with it so I posted it here to Silvio, with strict instructions not to open it further and that I would get here as soon as I could to collect it"

I couldn't fault her for what she had done and if she was unsure which laptop was the real detonator then what she'd done was a clever idea.

"What did Elaina do with the laptop that you found at the mausoleum?"

Because that was one thing that had bugged me. Elaina would only destroy it if she was sure that it wasn't what they were after, then again how would anyone know which was the potential detonator? In some ways Petco had been clever with his deception.

"I don't know. We each took a laptop, not knowing what the other person was going to be doing with it to keep it safe"

I watched as Steph unfolded the bubble wrap and revealed a small dark grey laptop. It wasn't as big as I'd imagined it to be, but it looked heavy and solidly built. As Steph opened it up, I was surprised that the keyboard was in the lid, with a small screen sat on the thicker base. Turning it over so the screen was now facing her she just sat there looking at it.

"Does it have a power lead?"

I had no doubt as to how old this piece of equipment was and to be honest was very dubious that it would even work. Steph never answered me, instead she rummaged through the box eventually pulling a black lead out from amongst the wrapping. Of course, the plug had two round pins so wouldn't fit into any sockets here.

"We need an adapter"

I immediately got up and walked to the phone in the kitchen, calling Silvio on the internal line.

"Do you have an adapter for a two round pin plug?"

"I'll have to take a look through some boxes, I may have one"

I was about to replace the phone when I heard Silvio's voice again.

"You want me to bring one up if I find one?"

"Yes"

Thinking that was a stupid thing to ask, I mean why would I ask if he had one if I didn't want to use it. I returned to the table where Steph was still sat looking at the laptop and for the first time realized that the keys were Querty, just as Elaina had mentioned.

"Did Petco tell you what the password was?"

Because without that we'd have no idea what would be on the laptop, if there was anything to find that was.

"No, but I have an idea"

I knew we couldn't hack the laptop as Hector usually did, that involved running a program from a connected computer that would run through combinations. I was concerned that Elaina had made some sense when she'd said that after five attempts the system would wipe the whole hard drive clean. If Steph had spent time with Petco, then he must have given her some clues to use if he really wanted her to be able to open the program, wouldn't he?

I watched as Steph closed the laptop and then with it in her hands walked over to the couch, not really sure what she was thinking. At the knock on the door, she tucked the laptop behind one of the cushions hiding it from sight. Okay, she was being cautious not wanting anyone to see it. Opening the door, I saw Silvio stood there and took the adapter that he handed to me. At least he didn't seem to want to know why I had needed it which was a good thing because I wouldn't have told him.

Ten minutes later we had the laptop connected to the power and I was waiting for the red light to turn green. I wasn't sure what to expect on the screen but had no preconceptions that it would be anything like a modern computer, when the screen came on with the simple instruction to input the password, I sat back waiting to see what Steph would do.

"Okay, let's do this"

Not knowing what the password would be or even how Steph thought she would know it, was making me very nervous. It looked to be a combination of numbers, each containing two digits, but as she completed each double digit, instead of remaining on the screen a cursor flashed awaiting the next input. A clever idea because it would stop someone from seeing all of the password at once or even photographing it. The last command was to hit the return button. I noticed Steph hesitate with her finger over the button as though she was unsure that she'd entered the correct combination.

"Here goes"