Life for One

Chapter 2

I stood in my office looking out the window at the morning traffic plowing through the frozen slush. The sky was leaden with the foreshadowing of a winter storm. Perfect weather for my mood.

It had been three weeks since I saw Stephanie and Morelli at Pino's. I had been far to busy with work to see her. In a way I was glad, I had been able to pull everything into perspective. I couldn't believe that I actually contemplated offering her a commitment. I shook my head, I must be getting soft, I needed a mission to pull me back into focus. I called my commander but discovered I had missed the last round of deployment. The next contract wouldn't be offered until the present mission was completed, and that could take months.

I sighed when I heard a knock on my office door.

"Come in."

I turned and watched Tank walk into the office.

I saw his eyes take in my appearance and for a fleeting second, I saw a glimmer of anger.

"You ready to tackle the Redmond account?" I asked.

"Is the plan to wire the entire mansion or just the monstrosity they call a garage?"

I had to admit I had never seen a garage with the capacity to hold twenty automobiles, but then again in my business you saw a little of everything.

"Just the garage for right now, Redmond is still playing hardball with the estimate I quoted him on security for the house."

"What's your schedule today?" he asked.

I knew he was baiting me, trying to see if I would trust him with installing a security system of that magnitude without supervision. I knew he could do the job and do it well, but my morning was free and besides going by Vinnie's and taking the risk of running into Stephanie I had nothing better to do.

"I'm going with you."

He gave a terse nod and turned to walk out.

"Tank."

He sighed and turned back to look at me.

"You have a problem?"

"I could ask you the same question."

I tried to act as if I hadn't a clue what he was referring to, but I knew it probably wouldn't fly.

"I don't have a problem with you installing the system with your own crew, but I have nothing else scheduled for this morning."

"Connie called earlier, she has some files for you, and Vinnie has an out of state skip that needs apprehended."

"I'll go over later today."

He gave me a pointed stare. "You avoiding someone?"

"No, I just want to get the Redmond job underway."

He looked at me as if he was waiting for a better explanation. Then he smiled.

"You spend the night with that little brunette you left with?"

I was still wearing the clothes I went out in last night, and he knew it.

"Tell me why it would be your business?"

"Man it's not, but I'll warn you, Lula was pissed as hell."

I stared at him hoping I could intimidate him enough to drop the subject and high tail it out of my office. The pathetic thing was a part of me wanted Lula to fill Stephanie in on last night's activities.

"You're right it's none of your concern, so get your crew together and I'll meet you in an hour at the Redmond's."

He still wasn't budging.

"I admire you for trying to move on with your life but, you can sleep with every woman in Trenton, and you still aren't going to forget her."

No truer words had ever been spoken, but they stung enough to ignite my fuse.

"Drop it."

"What you do in your life is your business, and you know I feel the same way you do about commitments and women. But you can't use another woman to forget fuck ups. It doesn't work man, it might for about fifteen minutes but then the truth settles in, and the reality bites."

"And just what do you think I fucked up?"

"You're fucking up your life over someone you know you're never going to have. Move on, she has Morelli, you knew that going in."

"I've slept with other women since I've met her, I didn't sleep with the woman I left with last night."

"Whatever you say."

I had wanted to; I wanted to hold another woman and try to become the man I was before I met her. A man that used sex as an outlet for a physical need. The shocking truth had slapped me in the face. I may not be verbally committed to her but in my mind I already was.

He looked at me and shook his head.

"How many times have we talked each other out of stupid ass mistakes where woman are concerned? It's a matter of time before she's hitched to Morelli, and then he will definitely not stand for the shit that goes on between you two."

I turned away from him and walked over to the window. I let the words sink in and hated the truth they held.

"She knows I don't want a committed relationship."

"What you tell her and your actions are two different things."

Where they really? If she didn't know the extent of my feelings for her after what we had been through in the past few months she never would. Of course, other than sending her the rose on Valentine's Day I hadn't exactly voiced any desire for things to change between us. I had promised her a talk after I returned to Trenton, but the talk never happened.

I turned and brushed past him as I made my way to the door of the office. I heard his voice and I stopped.

"Ranger man don't walk away pissed."

It was too late for that.

I walked out and slammed the door.

I watched as Tank threaded the wires from the ceiling above us to the garage floor below. Cal started connecting them to the control box on the wall. I looked up at Tank and I noticed his eyes were focused on something behind me. I turned and saw Jennifer Redmond standing a few feet away. She was a beautiful woman that carried herself with a confident air that reeked of money and conceit. She smiled, and took a step toward me.

"Mr. Manoso I need a word with you."

I extended my hand in a motion for her to step into another room. I followed her into the unused portion of the garage.

She turned and looked at me, her eyes scanning me from head to toe.

"My husband is still undecided on accepting the estimate you provided for him. Our home is older as I'm sure you are aware, and the security system is obsolete. I'm trying to persuade him to sign a contract with your company. I'm very good with persuasion."

She took a step toward me, and I could feel the persuasion she was directing at me loud and clear.

"I understand that he wants to obtain other estimates from security firms in the area. He is entitled to do that, we've discussed the issue."

She smiled as she grabbed the front of her coat and pulled it tighter around her as she shivered.

She smiled coyly. "I think getting more estimates is a waste of time. I don't want to waste your time; I want to make every minute count."

Shit.

There had been a time in my life that I would have gladly made time with her. She was the perfect woman to have an affair with. She was married to a man who had four times the money I had and she had no desire to leave him. All she wanted was a roll in the sheets. But the only thing I felt for her was pity, and the desire to get as far away from her as I possibly could.

I saw Tank step through the doorway behind her and I knew he read her like a book.

"Excuse me, boss I need a word with you."

I looked at her. "Please excuse me, I'll be sure to speak to Mr. Redmond this evening."

I stepped around her and followed Tank into the other portion of the garage.

He turned and looked at me.

"Thanks man you were right on time." I said.

A slow smile spread across his face. "Shit, I thought she had that look about her."

"I thought you interrupted us because you knew that."

"No I just got a call from Ram in the control room. Stephanie's car just disappeared off the GPS grid. He thought you would want to know."

I felt the muscles in my shoulders start to tense. "Where was she?"

"The corner of Ratcliff and Belmont."

"I'm going to go check on her. Call me if you run into any problems."

I couldn't get within a block of the accident. I parked the Cayenne and jogged to the scene. I felt my heart start to race as I saw them loading Stephanie in the back of an ambulance. Morelli was beside her. I walked over to them and Morelli looked at me. His face was pale and he looked like he could use a drink of Maalox. I looked down at Stephanie and she smiled a weak smile.

"Hey."

"Babe."

"It wasn't my fault."

I smiled and squeezed her hand.

I looked over at Morelli.

"She was chasing a skip in her car and she lost them. She went through the alley over there to cut them off and they rammed her and knocked her into a street lamp. It punctured her gas tank and the car ignited."

'I got my man though."

I looked down at her, and if Morelli hadn't been standing there I would have kissed her.

She had a large laceration on her forehead and cuts and abrasions on the side of her neck.

"They think I have a concussion but I told them I was fine." she said.

"Babe, you have a large cut on your forehead that needs stitches; you need to go to the hospital."

I stepped away as they placed her in the ambulance. Morelli jumped in beside her. She looked at me.

"I'll meet you at the hospital."

She nodded and smiled.

I stepped away as they closed the doors to the ambulance and watched as it drove away.

I sat in the waiting area wondering why I was here. Morelli sat in the row of chairs across from me and he kept giving me a look that asked the same question. She was fine, they were scanning her head and going to stitch her up, end of story, but the look she gave me from the back of the ambulance said she wanted me here. Why I had no idea, with Steph I just somehow knew when she needed me.

I saw a nurse come out to the waiting area and walk toward us. She stopped in front of Joe and he looked up at her.

"Hey Carol"

"Hey Joe. You can come in and see her now."

She looked over at me.

"Ranger she was asking if you were still here, you can come back with Joe."

I glanced over at Morelli and he glared at me. I hid a smile and followed him.

We stepped around a curtain and saw Stephanie laying on a stretcher looking lost and pitiful. Her hair was matted to her head, caked with blood and her face was as pale as I had ever seen it. She wasn't the same Steph that they loaded into the ambulance; I assumed it made her nauseated when they stitched her forehead.

Morelli stepped over to her and took her hand in his. She looked up at him and a tear ran down her cheek.

I knew something was wrong; I clenched my teeth when Morelli didn't brush the tear away.

"Cupcake what's the matter are you hurting?"

She glanced at me and my eyes met hers, I had seen that look before. It was a plead for support.

I stepped closer to her and put my hand on the sheet covering her foot.

She looked back at Joe.

"They drew some blood and the Doctor told me that I'm pregnant."

Morelli looked as stunned as I felt.

He turned his head and looked at me.

"Get out of here now."