Stephanie
Bobby apologized multiple times for taking such an extreme action, but he didn't have an epiPen, epinephrine injections, antihistamines or glucocorticoids in his medic bag. Though antihistamines and glucocorticoids don't work as fast, they would have been better than nothing. The epinephrine was something he promised to have on hand from now on. Bobby also explained that he put me in a supine position with my feet up to open my airway, but it didn't work. He had to stop apologizing for something beyond his control. In the heat of the moment, he made the right decision. Supine? It took me a second to remember that was face up.
I did not get discharged from the hospital on the first day. They wanted me to stay for several days until they could close the tracheostomy and remove the feeding tube from my nose. Why do I have a feeding tube? It was too hard to swallow with the tracheostomy.
The epinephrine worked, but I had an IV bag containing steroids and allergy medication. I was stuck until I no longer reacted to the shrimp I ate. They could have pumped my stomach, but the doctors thought it was best for my body to work through the reactions. Whatever. It was my idea of living hell. I metabolized the allergy medication faster than expected which necessitated my extended stay.
For three days, Ranger attempted to have me look at him. He apologized while I ignored him. I learned about the core team, Bobby, Tank and Lester. Ranger explained the company directive and how he could utilize my skills in their search and apprehension department. Sitting behind a desk for eight hours a day sounded butt-numbing. It was a hard pass.
Several nurses entered my private hospital room to record their names on the whiteboard. Janet, Gina, Paulina, Gertrude, Tracy and Carol were my nurses during the week. They tripped over their feet whenever they saw Carlos. I rolled my eyes. Have they not seen a Cuban Adonis before?
After her Friday shift on the third day, Janet said, "You will have a new set of nurses for the weekend and next week. Do you mind signing this for me?" I shrugged. She gave me a copy of Allure magazine. Janet had it opened to the centre page where my picture advertised a new perfume by Chanel. She gave me a fine tip marker to sign my name. I watched as she waved the page for the ink to dry before she closed and tucked the magazine behind the clipboard.
Ranger waited until Janet left before laughing. Man, his laugh resonated in my body. I would do anything to hear it for the rest of my life. It could have been worse. Janet could have asked to take a selfie with me. I didn't want photographs of me with a tube sticking from my throat. It wasn't attractive.
By the fourth day, I gave up the silent treatment toward Ranger. Technically, I was giving everyone the silent treatment, but I could talk to Ranger without saying a word. Those sign language courses came in handy. Though, it surprised me when Ranger could understand my communication. Cussing him out in sign language proved to be ineffective. Was there anything he couldn't do?
I could see he felt remorse for hurting me. It didn't change my attitude. He knew I was furious with him, and I acted like a bitch. I stopped blaming Lester for the shrimp. It could have happened anywhere at any time. But the allergic reaction had exacerbated the swelling from Ranger pressing against my throat, which is why I was still pissed off at Ranger. I know he only reacted to how he trained in the military. He disabled the threat, then interrogated. I should have expected his reaction, but I didn't weigh the consequences before opening my big mouth. It got me into a lot of trouble in my youth.
I'm a strong woman. I didn't endure so much emotional pain as a child to fall victim to my insecurity now. Ranger… I mean, Carlos… was my soulmate. He didn't betray me, though it was a nagging thought. Sometimes you have to give a little to get a little. Great! Now the movie Beaches is stuck in my mind.
Regardless of my inner strength and resilience, I still fell into the emotional trap set by Helen during my childhood. Those parent tapes were muted in the background, but a stupid event caused the volume to turn up loud enough to make me falter and crash into the emotional hell I had escaped.
Ranger refused to leave my side. I didn't understand why he'd bother. It wasn't like anyone stuck up for me in the past. Helen, Joe, Valerie and Frank didn't think twice before throwing me under the bus or abandoning me when I needed them the most. Frank - my biological father - what was he thinking? I don't need protection. Sure, I know there's a threat on my life, but Ranger had yet to explain why Frank gave a damn. Wait a second. How was Ranger able to stay with me all night? Visiting hours ended at 8 pm. I asked him, but he deflected.
During my first few days in the hospital, Ranger had asked to see the letters from Mary Lou and Edna. I refused to show him. However, by the fifth day, I passed them over. I knew I could trust him. My heart and mind disagreed, but I had to offer him an olive branch. When I asked why he didn't read them while I was asleep, he said it was about rebuilding my trust. Be still, my heart. Ranger understood what it meant to trust.
He silently read the letter from my childhood best friend first. "I've met Mary Lou and her husband. Lenny reworked the plumbing in Rangeman. He's a hard worker and devoted to his family," Ranger said when he returned the letter.
I missed Mary Lou. She helped me with Isabelle after her birth. I couldn't possibly repay the kindness. Only one thing prevented me from maintaining contact. She lived smack centre in the Burg. Mary Lou would know all the rumours, and I couldn't trust that she'd still have my back. I left that life and our friendship behind when I lost Isabelle. My baby. My reason for living.
Ranger's jaw clenched when he read the letter from Grandma Mazur. His fingers gently stroked my hand, setting my body on fire. The need to claim him ratcheted up to an insane level. I was ready to self-combust. "Your grandmother is on your side," Ranger said. He refolded the letter and handed it back to me. I shoved it inside my bag with the other one. "Are you really that intuitive? Don't get me wrong, I know you're intuitive, but this is beyond anything I witnessed."
"I'm not sure if it's to that level," I confessed. "As you know, I still get what I call my spidey sense. Names and events do appear in my mind, but I have to be in close proximity to the person involved. Otherwise, I won't receive any subliminal messages from the universe. The way Edna explained it in her letter, the ability was much stronger, and I could pick up the clues from any distance. It gives me a headache whenever I attempt to concentrate on a flicker of a message. I don't remember visiting the hypnotist with my mother."
"Those memories will resurface once someone lifts the hypnotic trance. What about me?" Ranger asked. My fingers were sore from signing. Do they have ways to strengthen your fingers? I wracked my brain for the exercises the gym teacher described for playing volleyball. "Stress balls work to build finger strength. We can write on a tablet if you're tired of signing." Did Batman just ESP me? His lip curled in amusement.
"I know Grandma Edna spoke the truth. It's going to take time for me to forgive you," I replied.
"We have all the time in the world for me to make it up to you." Now, didn't that just melt a girl's heart?
On my sixth day in the hospital, the nurse entered the room to check on my IV and throat. Why haven't they removed that tracheostomy? It was annoying and unnecessary at this point. She smiled and wrote her name on the whiteboard hanging on the wall. I checked the name of the nurse du jour.
Annette smiled when she removed the bandages. "Good news, Mrs. Manoso. The swelling in your throat went down. I bet we can remove the tube and give you soft foods," she said. She was the first nurse to call me by that name. The rest called me Steph. "Your husband could take you home as early as tomorrow." I wondered how Ranger was able to stay with me during the nights. Mystery solved. I glared at Ranger when the nurse called me Mrs. Manoso. The arrogant prick grinned.
I rapidly signed that I was not his wife. We didn't have a wedding ceremony, and I was not wearing his rings. He replied that it was the only way to justify his staying in the room with me overnight. I needed a guard inside the room for protection. I couldn't argue with that logic. You couldn't be legally married without exchanging vows, right? It wouldn't surprise me if Ranger arranged for a fake certificate.
Ranger grinned and signed that it provided another level of anonymity. "Thank you, Annette," Ranger said when the nurse added a new bag of steroids.
Annette leaned down to whisper, "You're so lucky. He's hot and learned to speak sign language to communicate with you. Though, we both know there's nothing wrong with your hearing." She smiled at Ranger. "The doctor will be in later to check your wife's throat. It's her last steroid infusion." Annette pointed to the bag. Thank goodness because the steroids were making me jumpy. The weight I gained was settling around my hips. My treadmill was waiting for me to dust if off.
I waited until she left the room before shooting Ranger the bird. He laughed. Damn. Ranger is sexy when he laughs. I could feel it resonate through my body to my crotch. God. It's been so long since I've had an orgasm. "Babe, I can help you with that." I bet he could.
The doctor arrived before Ranger could climb into my bed to help with my arousal problem. "Good morning, Mrs. Manoso. How did you sleep?" he asked.
Ranger replied, "She had a few nightmares but didn't wake up." I furrowed my brow and looked at Ranger. I had nightmares? I don't remember. "Babe, I climbed into the bed beside you. It didn't take long for you to settle once in my arms." Well, I guess that explains why I didn't wake up screaming.
"I'm glad you were here for your wife. She could have caused more trauma to her trachea. Now, Stephanie, I need to look inside your throat," he said. I opened my mouth wide as he shone a light into my throat. "Everything looks good. The bruising and swelling are gone. If it looks the same tomorrow morning, I'll remove the tube and discharge you into your husband's care."
I smiled and mouthed, "Thank you." I asked Ranger if General Plum knew he had injured me.
"No." I followed his answer by asking if General Plum knew Ranger was posing as a doting husband. He grinned before replying, "No, but I can digitally file the certificate to make it legal." I rolled my eyes at him. He had better be joking.
Ranger passed me the phone after it charged. I opened the voicemail to hear Wendy Masters apologize for my unfortunate accident. "Your friend called to inform us of your hospital situation. Due to the surgery you required on your neck, I'm afraid you are no longer on our shortlist for the magazine ad. I wish you a speedy recovery. Thank you for expressing your interest in working for Cosmopolitan, Miss Lewis," Wendy said.
I wiped the tears from my face when her voice cut off. Ranger grabbed my phone to replay the message. "I'm sorry, Babe," he whispered. Ranger climbed onto the bed after removing his shoes. He tucked me into his side and let me cry. "Is your modelling career over?" I nodded. "I really am sorry. Please, let me make this up to you."
There was nothing he could do to make up for the lost income. I knew Cosmopolitan planned to hire me. The interview was merely a formality. "No," I whispered. "Too late. Not safe if someone's trying to kill me." I could see my logic pleased Ranger.
"Babe," he whispered. He kissed my forehead. I lifted my head off his shoulder. Ranger brushed the curls off my cheek and tucked them behind my ear. I wanted to be angry at him, but it's hard to stay mad at your soulmate, especially when he's affectionate. "You make me feel things I have no right to feel."
"As long as you don't feel like killing me, then I guess it's okay," I whispered. The corner of his lip showed a slight hint of a smile.
"I am sorry for choking you," he apologized for the hundredth time. "And ruin your career. I acted on instinct. Please, forgive me."
I was tired of his apologies. "We can't do anything to change the past or predict that I was allergic to shrimp. It's time for you to move on," I signed. "Next time, do better research on your charge." Ranger grinned. Great! I was amusing him again.
Someone knocked on the door to interrupt our conversation. Ranger told the person to enter. Bobby walked through the door with Tank and Lester flanking him. "I have Cal and Hector on the door," Tank announced. "Vince and Hal are on second shift."
"And I have cards. Anyone up for strip poker?" Lester asked, waggling his eyebrows. I gave him an Italian gesture to go fuck himself. "I'll take that as a no." Smart man. Losing one hand would render me naked. There was nothing beneath the hideous hospital gown.
I signed to Ranger, making him growl. "What did she say?" Bobby asked Ranger.
"She said her body wasn't much to look at, but she wouldn't say no if we wanted to strip naked for her entertainment," Ranger replied.
Lester snorted. He couldn't resist saying, "Beautiful, I've seen your magazine spreads. I know what you're hiding beneath the hospital gown." I rolled my eyes. Bobby smacked the back of Lester's head. Nice. Thanks, Bobby.
"Ignore Santos," Bobby said. "He always says inappropriate things."
Tank grabbed the bedside table. He moved it to sit over my lap. Lester shuffled and dealt the cards while Bobby doled out the poker chips. "Money or fun?" I quietly asked.
"Money," Tank and Bobby replied. I shrugged since it didn't matter to me.
We played a few hands to acclimate to each other's poker style. I knew they were assessing me to determine when I was bluffing or serious. I'm a model. Rearranging my facial expressions to play a role was as easy as eating cake. Mmm, cake. I could use a slice of chocolate cake right about now. It's a soft food, right?
A few hours later, I had all the poker chips stacked in front of me. Suckers. They didn't see it coming. I let them think I was a poor poker player. When I got to my last few hundred dollar chips, I wiped the floor with the men.
"Shit! She's a card shark," Lester whined. I was a few thousand dollars richer. Twenty thousand, to the curious folks.
"I want to see her school Hal and Vince," Bobby said.
Lester laughed, "Lombardi will not like getting bested by a woman."
"What are Lombardi's name and rank?" I asked Ranger, assuming Vince was one of his ex-military employees.
"Vince, Army Corporal," he replied. Shit! The world just got smaller. Vince Lombardi was my cousin on the Plum side of the family. Maybe it wasn't the same man. He was my age and responsible for teaching me to play poker. We were close friends growing up. I don't need my life shared with the vipers of the Burg. My heart raced, setting off the monitors. I could feel the invisible walls closing in on me. Ranger leaned over to whisper, "I know Vince is a relative, and he's on your side." Someone had done his research.
"Breathe, baby," Bobby said. What is with the fucking nicknames? Someone growled. I think it was Ranger. Bobby held my face between his chocolate brown hands. "Steph, look at me." I looked into his brown eyes. He encouraged me to take smaller breaths until my heart rate decreased.
Ranger grabbed his phone to send a message. I didn't care what he did as long as it didn't involve General Frank Plum or that viper, Helen, arriving at the hospital.
My nurse, Annette, bustled into the room. She watched as Bobby got me to catch my breath and lower my heart rate. After taking my vitals, she told the men to behave. She winked at me before leaving. I had caught her staring at Lester's ass.
What felt like hours later, but was probably only minutes, another knock sounded on my door. Lester rose from his perch at the foot of my bed to let the person inside the room. My cousin, Vince, entered the room. "Stephie? Is that really you?" Vince asked. I nodded.
Vince watched Ranger's reaction as he hugged me. "I missed you," I whispered.
"Me too," he replied. "I'm not telling Uncle Frank or Aunt Helen where you are. Your secret is safe with me." Ranger relaxed when he learned Vince was my cousin. Seriously? Did the security expert not run a background check on his employees before hiring them? Or did he rely on their military records?
"And Ranger would beat you senseless if you narked," I added.
"Yup. So why are you in the hospital wearing the neck accessory?" he asked, referring to the tube. I glared at Ranger. "What the fuck did you do?"
"I thought she was a spy for an enemy, and she had an allergic reaction to shrimp which made it worse," Ranger replied. Vince nodded as though it made perfect sense. Men are weird. Violence, in any form, against a woman should not be tolerated or justified.
"You touch her like that again, and I'll kill you," Vince warned.
"Roger," Ranger replied.
"Why are you, Bobby, Tank and Lester here?" Vince asked.
"General Plum hired Rangeman to protect Stephanie," Ranger replied. "He received a threat on her life." Woah. That was news to me. Ranger asked about stalkers and anyone I knew who would want me dead, but he never outright said that Frank received a threat on my life. I saw the photographs with targets, but nobody mentioned they got delivered to Frank.
"Steph doesn't like other people keeping her in the dark," Vince warned. He knew me better than anyone. "What do you know?"
Lester asked Hector to keep everyone out of the room. He didn't want the doctors or nurses to overhear our discussion. I knew the room was free of listening devices, or we wouldn't have this casual but confidential conversation.