Chapter 19

In the history of weird days, this day had to be the weirdest. Ever. Cally looked at the other occupants of the living room of her mother's condo. She was sitting next to Luke, a man she hadn't known more than a week, but who had become very important to her. Finally, there was someone with whom she could discuss her secrets. And now he was part of it. He'd told Carlos he was in for the duration.

Tank had just returned from the airport, where he'd seen Althea off. She left to get started on the investigation of the present whereabouts of Brian Gregg. He'd recently retired from the Federal government, with only a P.O. box as a forwarding address. Althea had the security clearance to hopefully be able to put a street address alongside the P.O. box which was in Virginia. Once she did that, Tank was going to pay him a visit.

Cally smiled when she recalled the exchange between Carlos and Tank. Carlos had said he'd go. He wanted to be the one to deal with Brian Gregg. Tank had told him, "Not this time, Rangeman. You're too emotionally involved. I can handle it better."

"This is my problem," Carlos had responded. "I'll deal with it."

"Yup, it's your problem," Tank agreed. "But it's my girlfriend collecting the information and she reports to me."

Even across the room Cally had seen the momentary surprise in Carlos' eyes when Tank called Althea his girlfriend. The surprise was quickly hidden as Tank continued. "I will personally interview Mr. Gregg, and I can guarantee I'll get the story out of him."

Cally thought Tank's words must have had an underlying meaning for Carlos. The two men stared at one another for a long time until Carlos nodded his acceptance.

Her mother was also in the room, lost deeply in thoughts that Cally didn't want to interrupt. She had so many questions to ask her mother. About her father. About her relationship with Carlos. About her bounty hunting career. Although it seemed crazy considering all the things that had been hidden from her, Cally felt that she and her mom had a mostly open relationship. There would be time for questioning later, Cally knew, so she would have to exercise patience.

One thing was for certain, she couldn't sit in the room any longer. She had to get up and out. Maybe her mom would want some private time with Carlos and Tank.

"Mom, can Luke and I borrow your car again?" she asked. "I think it might do Luke and me some good to get out and about for a while."

"Yes, you can," Stephanie said. "I'm going to need it later, though. I'm going to see Alan this evening."

"Where are you going?" Tank asked. "You need to be vigilant."

"I know that," Cally told him. "That's why I'm taking my babysitter with me."

"Hey!" Luke said.

Cally punched him softly on the arm. "Nothing personal. I just thought you might want to visit some of my old haunts. It beats sitting around here."

Carlos had been sitting at the table for most of the day, Cally had noticed. He seemed completely lost in his thoughts, and so far, no one had bothered him. It was obvious something that he'd heard today had given him cause to think. Cally was surprised when he stood and walked over to the couple sitting on the sofa. He pulled car keys out of his pocket.

"There is a Mercedes parked at the corner two blocks over. It's my rental. Use it today so your mother can have her car." He dropped the keys into Cally's hands.

"Thanks, Carlos."

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face. "Be careful, mi querida." Then he turned to Luke. "I think the possibility of someone being out there is slim, but it is a real possibility. So, keep watch."

Luke nodded his response and they left. As they walked to the car Cally asked, "Why would he park his car so far away? There were places on the street in front of the condo."

"I think it's an old surveillance habit," Luke told her. "My dad does it, too. I'd love to be telling him all this…"

"You can't!" Cally interjected.

"As I was saying," Luke continued. "I'd like to be telling him all this, but I understand the need for secrecy. And there is the possibility that your mother may never want to let people know she's alive."

"Yeah, her reaction today surprised me," Cally said. "When I stop and think how hard all this must be for her, I'm amazed she's still functional. She scared me this morning. I thought she was losing it. These panic attacks are getting worse."

"I'm not sure what happened this morning was a panic attack," Luke said. "Have you ever had a patient with PTSD?"

"No, I don't think I have," Cally said.

"I've had experience with it, professionally as a medic, and…personally as in me."

"You have PTSD?"

"I did. Mild symptoms, and I got counseling. I don't know if it ever goes away, but for the most part I have no problem with it. I recognize it though, and I think you're right. Today was hard on your mom. This may be a delayed reaction to what happened years ago."

They were silent as they got into the car, both wondering how the situation would be resolved.

Inside the condo, Tank looked from Stephanie to his friend and shook his head. He knew exactly what was going on in Ranger's mind, but he didn't think Ranger would appreciate being called out in front of Stephanie. Ranger and Stephanie needed to be alone, he knew that for certain.

"I'm going back to the hotel," Tank told them. "Tomorrow I'm leaving for San Juan and by the time I'm finished there Althea should have tracked Gregg down."

"Silvio?" Ranger questioned.

"Yeah," Tank said. "If we're going to move aggressively on this, I thought I should be in residence. I doubt if I can help him, but I can start going through what he gets as soon as he gets it. Althea will let me know if she can pinpoint Gregg's whereabouts. That will be my next stop."

"I need you to follow Stephanie tonight," Ranger said. "She's going out and I don't think I'm the best person to monitor that situation."

"Monitor what situation?" Stephanie demanded. She was suddenly fully present in the conversation.

"Your date."

"It's not a date, Ranger. Alan is my friend."

"Alan is your lover," Ranger said.

Tank knew he should leave the two of them alone, but this was good stuff and he didn't want to miss a word.

"What if he is my lover?" Stephanie asked. "This is my life. I've done the best I can to make something of it and now my old life is butting in to screw this one up."

"Babe…"

"Don't!" she shouted. "Don't hassle me on this. I owe it to Alan to give him some explanation. And more than owe him, I want to tell him that what's happening is something I never expected. He is my lover. It took me years to get to the point where I could even imagine myself in a relationship, and now I might have to leave this place and start all over again. If I have to testify everything will be ruined. I…I don't think I can do it."

The sob she had been fighting back took over and both men watched helplessly as she collapsed onto the sofa.

Tank was the first to respond. He went to her and squatted in front of her. He pulled his old nickname for her out of the recesses of his mind. "Little girl, I won't let that happen. I know what Althea said, but I won't let it go that far. I'll protect what you have here. Do you understand?"

She shook her head no but held her arms out and Tank reciprocated. He reached out and pulled her into a big hug, leaning forward to slide in next to her on the sofa. Ranger watched the strangely intimate scene with detachment. He knew exactly what Tank meant. The investigation would never come to the point where Stephanie would have to testify because the primary suspects wouldn't live for long once they and their plan was identified. Tank would do that for him, just as he would do that for Stephanie and Cally.

"Can you follow her tonight?" Ranger asked again.

Her voice muffled from Tank's big arms wrapped around her, she said, "I don't need anyone to follow me. Brian Gregg, if he is responsible for all this, knows where I am. If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead."

"That might have changed now that we both realize one another is alive," Ranger said matter-of-factly.

"Ranger's right," Tank said, "but how about this. You text Ranger when you get to Alan's place to let us know you're safe. And then you text him when you're leaving so that he can watch for you to get home safely. You are planning on coming back here tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said. "I think I'm coming home. I guess I could do that."

"I'll put my number in your phone," Ranger said.

Stephanie nodded her acceptance. "I'm going upstairs for a while," she said. "I need some alone time." Both men watched as she made her way up the stairs. She moved slowly. Tank would have thought the presence of Ranger would have filled her with joy, but she seemed enveloped in a cloud of sadness. This reunion was going to be an ongoing complicated process.

"Text me her safe arrival?" Ranger asked.

"It seemed like a reasonable compromise," Tank said.

"We're going to follow her, then," Ranger said.

Tank smiled. "Fuck, yeah."

The next time Ranger saw Stephanie it was as she came down the stairs, purse slung over her shoulder and car keys in her hand. She was getting ready to go see her lover, and she looked beautiful. He wouldn't allow himself to name the gut-wrenching emotion that was coursing through him. He had no reason to be jealous. There had been women since he'd lost her. He had no reason to begrudge her the same life experience. But from the things she'd said, he didn't think there had been many men. That's what made this one so dangerous. Karma was screwing with him. The same fates that had given her back to him were now taunting him with the fear that she might not want him back.

She stopped in the foyer and turned to find him behind her.

"This is awkward," she said. "I'm leaving you here alone, but I have to go. Alan deserves some sort of explanation. Cally and Luke should be back soon. I'm a little surprised they're not here by now."

"You don't have to worry, and you don't need to get Cally back here to babysit me. Tank is coming back over. He and I have things to discuss and this will be a good time to do so. Don't forget to text me that you've arrived safely."

"I won't."

He reached out a hand and touched a wayward curl. "You look beautiful. Today, you told me not to hassle you. I wasn't going to. I only want you to be safe."

"Th-thank you," she said. "I probably overreacted. This has been an emotional day." She stared at him for a moment and then turned and walked through the door. She was sad. He could see it in the way she moved, in the way she carried herself. This wasn't what he'd hoped for with their reunion.

Thirty seconds later, he followed. Tank pulled to the curb and Ranger slid into the passenger seat as Tank pulled from the curb.

"Do you know where she's going?" Ranger asked.

"Calm down, man. I won't lose her." Tank held up his phone and showed the blinking green light to Ranger. "I installed the tracker before I left earlier. She'll never know we're on her tail."