6. Him
At 1355 on the dot, Tanks booming knock echoed across the apartment. He schooled his features when Lil opened the door. She was rocking a long maroon paisley skirt and a yellow baby tee proclaiming 'disco sucks'. Her boho look was complete with a stylishly messy ponytail and flip flops. Tilde was sporting tiny denim pants and a golden yellow sweater. The midget moccasins were adorable. Little suede feet were on the move as soon as she spied Tank. Then she was up in his arms before he could register he had lifted her. It was worth it. Her smile was almost as large as her beautiful eyes. Lil hollered a command to Magnus to follow. "If we aren't leaving the building I don't need to put him on a leash." Tank eyed the canine. "If you say so." The elevator ride from four to one was quick. Tilde spent the whole time giving Tank kisses with Pua. Loud wet kisses. When the doors opened to the first floor, Tank was blushing enough to show over his dark complexion. Tilde hid a self-satisfied smile. Thankfully, the only people watching the monitors were contract workers. Tank led their little procession to the largest conference room on the floor. As he opened the door the rumble of noise inside ceased. Lil's eyes swept over the room in a method that was second nature to her own security training. She subconsciously positioned the men she knew at the large mahogany table, the location of any windows or doors, and the overall vibe of the people in the room. Life and work had taught her to value her instincts, and she always did. This was all accomplished in a matter of seconds, but Ranger caught it. So did Tank. With a small smile she took an open seat. Two new men on either side of her, both exceptionally sexy. Each member of Rangeman had a small file in front of them. Lil imagined it was about her. At least it looked to be only the information on the casino shooting and reports from the LVPD/FBI. Tank used his free arm to shut the door. Magnus took up post in front of it. If anyone needed to pee, they'd need to go through the dog. Good Luck.
The only Rangemen who weren't shocked to see Tank carrying a happy Tilde were the other Core Team members. The rest were dumbfounded. They were polar opposites, him being so huge and stone faced. When Matilda placed another exaggerated kiss on his cheek, he actually smiled. Cal's chest vibrated with silent laughter. Ranger was frowning. Until that point, some of the men weren't even sure if Tank COULD smile. Tank took the seat to Ranger's left. Hector, who was on Ranger's other side made a psst noise to draw Tilde's attention. When she looked up, he held up a ridiculous stuffed chicken. Her eyes doubled in size. "Heihei!" The little munchkin voice carried through the room. She placed her pig on Tanks lap with a very serious, "hold Pua please" and wiggled her way down to the floor. Ranger had just enough time to roll his chair back before she launched herself at Hector. Every man watched the exchange between their badass ex-gangbanger and the petite toddler. She had one arm around Heihei and the other around Hectors neck. She alternated kisses on them both. Lil cleared her throat in a motherly fashion. "Thank you sir." Matilda was a well mannered little girl. Hector was happy as a clam. His smile was even more shocking than Tank's.
Rolling forward, Ranger addressed the group in his CEO voice. "Men, this is Lillith Peyton. She is Cal's sister and she has temporarily moved into an apartment on four." A silent murmur moved through the room. "Ms. Peyton has relocated from Nevada for safety reasons. She may be a target of the Mob, thanks to her own work in security and an incident four years ago. She and her daughter Matilda, along with their dog, will be under our protection until we can determine if there is a threat and how to handle it." Ranger leaned back. That was a little too many words at once. A few of the men raised their hands but were cut short by Lil. "Gentlemen, it's very nice to meet you." She tapped her finger on the table in a staccato rhythm long enough to get Tilde's attention. They held eyes for a moment before Tilde placed the chicken in Hector's lap and sat up straight. Now everyone was paying her full attention. "As Mr. Manoso said, my name is Lillith and this is Matilda." She indicated her sweet daughter. "You can call us Lil and Tilde if you prefer. Magnus (his black eyes swung to her) is very well trained and will not cause you any grief." She paused, gathering her thoughts and how she would like to proceed. "I want to thank all of you now for allowing us to butt into your daily routine. I know you all stay very busy, we will try to be easy clients and neighbors. So again, thanks."
The men shifted uncomfortably. They weren't used to being addressed with such endearing respect, especially not from the likes of Lil. She hadn't seemed frightened by their size or number. Was not in the least intimidated by their masculinity or obvious lack of regular social interaction. She spoke to them like they were human beings. That was different. "If you could please give me your names I would appreciate it." Lil turned to the man on her right. Binkie raised his eyebrows, cheeks pink. "I'm Binkie ma'am." Lil smiled warmly. From there, Junior, Manny, and Zero finished off that side of the table. Ace, Zip, and Woody occupied the far end. Woody's southern drawl gave her pause. "Texas or Oklahoma Cowboy?" His eyes sparkled, "Austin, Little Lady." The men across from her included Slick and a beet red Hal before coming to the Core Team members who took up all of the remaining seats but one. Lester made a point to wink and blow her a kiss. Lil raised an eyebrow and chuckled. She turned to her left and smiled at Mr. Hunky McMuscles sitting next to her. "I'm Vince". Just his voice was a turn-on. Ooof, Lil could really get used to this scenery. It had been a long time since her hormones had been this activated. She needed to calm down. Ya, Good Luck.
Ranger watched as his men introduced themselves. He kept having that nagging feeling that he was being watched, but all eyes were on Lil or the other men. As Lester was making an ass of himself, Ranger looked to the door to find the Rottweiler boring holes into him. Luckily, the overly flirtatious sound of Vince's voice drew him away from the menacing stare. Cujo was unnerving.
Needing to take back control of the meeting he looked at Tank, "Report". Having a second-in-command was useful. "You've all had a chance to read the file. Until further notice, Lil will have a shadow whenever she leaves the building. I will post the schedule at the end of the meeting. One man for now, on an eight hour shift. A tracker will be placed on her vehicle, the Nissan downstairs. If possible, use one of the Explorers. Hector has a personal tracker and a panic button for her, and trackers for Tilde and Magnus." Tank took a breath, damn Ranger making him talk so much. "A second sheet will be posted for volunteers to walk the dog. Luis has been fencing an area south of the garage. Again, this is volunteer only." They all knew they would each sign-up no matter what. It wasn't like they had to take a chihuahua out to poop. Tank was making eye contact with the men as he spoke, then turned to Lil. "Cal will give you a tour of the building later today, and a fob that allows you to access the common areas. Any questions?"
"I think I should speak to someone with the local police department, inform them of the possible threat. I have copies of the police reports to give them. Could someone take me tomorrow?" Ranger and Tank exchanged a look. Her easy acceptance of the new procedures was a relief. Tank scanned the schedule in front of him. "Yes, that will be Woody." At the mention of his name he sat up a little straighter and winked at her. Vince, the member of Rangeman with the most Mob experience was intrigued. "Do we have ANY idea which Family might be involved here? Or at least who this Erikson might work for?" Cal and Ranger looked frustrated, apparently they had been trying to figure that out already. Lil gave a shrug, "This is probably not the best time to get into too many details." She looked pointedly at her daughter. "But I was able to use a few contacts out west who think Sal Maggio is the Boss at the top of that particular pyramid. Not the biggest shark in the sea, but sharp teeth nonetheless." Vince nodded knowingly, making himself a note on her file. Ranger was obviously annoyed she had found answers before him. It didn't matter that he had only been looking for two days, he should have had that name.
"When would be a better time to discuss this?" The blatant sarcasm was a slap in her face. Lil would like nothing more than to rip that raised eyebrow off his sexy head. "If you haven't noticed, Mr. Manoso, my daughter is in the room. She may be young, but she is very observant." He snorted. Ranger actually snorted in disbelief. He was being an ass, he knew it. He couldn't seem to help it. Lil sighed. "Peanut, how many people are in the room?" Tilde looked at her mommy for a moment. "Twenty-two Ma'am", her voice was quiet but strong. Ranger smirked, obviously the child was guessing. "Tilde, name everyone please." Her daughters eyes widened and she hugged the chicken to her chest. Just as the men were starting to doubt her ability to answer, Tilde crawled from Hectors lap to stand on the table. With one hand on her hip she pointed with the other. "That's Pua, this is Heihei, then Mr. Hector, Mr. Vince, Mommy, Mr. Blankie, Mr. Junior, Magnus, Mr. Manny, Mr. Zero, Mr. Ace, Mr. Zippy, Cowboy Woody, Mr. Slick, Mr. Hal, Mr. Ram, Uncle Cal, Mr. Bobby, Mr. Tank, Tilde, and Him." She hopped back down onto the lap of an astonished Hector, proud of herself. Most of the men were hurting themselves from holding in their laughter. It was hard to tell what was funnier, the obvious name changes Tilde made, or that fact that Ranger was simply known as 'Him'. "As you can see, Mr. Manoso, now might not be the best time to discuss topics that are inappropriate for small ears." Ranger nodded once while standing abruptly. Dismissed."
Hector snapped his fingers to call Magnus just as Ranger approached the door. He flung it open and stomped out. Tilde's luminous eyes fell on the rest of the men. "He needs a nap!" That was it, they all lost it. Lester had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. "Yes Peanut, he is a bit cranky. But we need to be nice. Now, what's his name?" Tilde lowered her eyes, "Mr. Manoso." Ah, so her daughter was just fucking with him. Figures. She was too smart for her own good. Lil got Bobby's attention as the men started to file out of the conference room. Cal picked up his niece, who was gladly reclaiming Pua from Tank. "Hey Doc, I need a favor. First, if you could help me find a Pediatrician for Tilde I would really appreciate it. Also, I guess we should talk about my PT. Cal said you would be able to work with me, but I don't want to be a bother." Bobby placed his hand on her shoulder, "It's no problem Lil. If you're comfortable with me, I'm already set up for you to start tomorrow. I've reviewed your file and spoken to a few other therapists to make sure we have all your bases covered. I'll make a few more calls and find the best Pede in the area for Tilde." Lil was taken aback, she wasn't expecting him to be ready for her so quickly. But she was glad, the sooner she could work on the neuropathy, the better. "Well Dr. Feelgood, I'm ready when you are."