No profit made by me - Only playing with Ranger for fun.
Thanks for all the views, follows and comments - they keep me motivated.
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"Ranger!"
I pulled the phone away from my ear at the shriek. Stephanie sounded just on the verge of losing her sanity.
"Not a good time, Babe." The gang member under the pressure of my size twelve combat boot twisted and tried to wiggle away. Tank gave him a light kick in the ribs and he quit moving.
"There isn't any food in your fridge. And don't say anything about the fruit and yogurt. That is not real food. And what is with your television? I feel like I need an engineering degree to work the remote. When are you going to be back? Will you bring Pino's? And dessert? I need sugar, Ranger. You don't even want to know what I'm capable of if I don't get enough sugar."
Tank was grinning at me. Dick. I'd had Stephanie confined to the Rangeman building for less than twenty four hours and she was already going nuts.
"We talked about this," I reminded her. "Ella will make you whatever you want, just call her. And if you're feeling claustrophobic, you have free reign of the place – did you try out the gym yet?"
Tank barked out a laugh and I shot him a glare.
"Was that a joke?" she asked.
"I gotta go, Steph. Call Ella."
I disconnected and stared at Tank over the top of our prey, daring him to say something.
He got his smiling under control and looked down at the man pinned by my foot. "I think we got all we're going to get from this asshole," he said.
I reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him to his feet. I spun him around to face me and leveled by best pants wetting gaze at him. "You know who I am?"
He swallowed hard and nodded his head.
"Then you know what I'll do if I find out you've been less than truthful."
He nodded again and I turned to Tank before heading to the Explorer. "Make sure he doesn't forget."
I heard a loud grunt and the unmistakable sound of air being forcibly expelled from lungs as I walked away.
"You ever heard of this Junkman guy?" Tank asked as I eased the SUV away from the curb. I hadn't, but he'd accepted a contract on Stephanie's life so I wouldn't stop until I found him and eliminated the threat.
"No, but I'll find out what I need to know."
We rode in silence while I mentally went through the list of people I should contact to get the information I needed.
"What are you going to do about your other problem?" Tank asked interrupting my internal musings.
I turned and looked at him. "I wasn't aware I had another problem."
"Stephanie seems a little on edge," he understated. "If we don't find this guy, and quickly, I'm a little worried about what she might do to you."
His lips held a ghost of smile and I felt a strong urge to kick his ass, but he was right. I needed to find something to distract her. The idea struck when we entered the Vinnie's office a half an hour later.
I wish I'd had a camera to capture the look on Tank's face when I asked to speak to Lula privately.
#######
Tank was finishing up a sandwich while I checked my voice messages. Most of them were inconsequential and I would deal with them later but the last one made my spine stiffen and Tank froze with his food half way to his mouth when he saw my posture.
I erased all the messages and returned the phone to its place on my hip.
"What is it?" He asked.
I finished off my iced tea and tossed a twenty onto the table to cover our bill. "Morelli is requesting the honor of my presence."
"At the station?"
"No. At the Goat Hill Tavern in Hamilton Township."
"When?"
I glanced at my watch. "An hour."
"I'm assuming your house guest might have something to do with this?"
"That's probably a fair assessment. Let's roll."
He took one last bite of his sandwich and we hit the road.
We pulled into the parking lot of the tavern fifteen minutes early. I'd hoped to get the jump on Morelli, but his green SUV was parked three spaces down from the door.
"Great minds and all that," Tank commented as I eased in next to Joe's truck. "How do you want to do this? You want me inside or out?"
"Out. I'm pretty sure the good detective will perceive us going in together as aggressive behavior."
Tank dug around in the center console and brought out a wire and earpiece. "I can't stop you from killing him if I can't hear what's going on in there," he said at my questioning eyebrow raise.
He had a point. I secured the wire under my shirt and did a quick sound check. "There is a chance this is business related," he said as he confirmed the earpiece was working.
"No, there isn't." I exited the vehicle and headed into the building.
The place was dark – the tables, the floor, and the lights were dim. I observed exactly four patrons, including Joseph Morelli. He was the only one sitting at the bar and he had his back to the door. I thought it was a surprising mistake for a veteran cop, but then saw the mirror above the rows of alcohol bottles. You could see everyone who entered in the mirror. His head came up and we locked eyes. His were red-rimmed and the pupils were large. I surmised he was well on his way to being drunk.
I slid onto the stool next to him and ordered a club soda with lime from the bored looking bartender.
Joe took a long pull on the bottle of Samuel Adams in his hand and then said, "You're fucking my girlfriend and you can't even have a beer with me?"
So that's how this conversation was going to go. Alright then. I almost smiled thinking about Tank listening in. He was probably already right outside the door, gun in hand.
I changed my order to a Corona with lime and the bartender set it down in front of me with a look that clearly said, 'please take this outside, I'm not in the mood to have my bar trashed.'
"Not even going to try and deny it, huh?"
I cut my eyes to him as I squeezed the lime inside the bottle. I held my thumb over the top and turned it upside down so the fruit floated to the bottom and then back up to the neck. "No, but I was under the distinct impression that she's no longer attached to you in any committed way."
"She told you that?"
"She didn't have to. Stephanie's not the cheating kind."
"How long has this been going on?"
He was gripping the neck of his beer bottle so tightly his knuckles were turning white. I felt the bartender's eyes on us. "Wouldn't you rather have this conversation when you're a little more clear-headed?"
"I'm not drunk," he defended testily.
"I didn't say you were. I intimated that you're not exactly sober. If I were a betting man, I'd say you're about six beers in."
"Seven," the bartender chimed in unhelpfully and Joe tried to kill him with a look. The man sensibly moved down to the other end of the bar.
Joe turned sideways on his stool to face me fully. "She's living with you now, right? I want to know how long you've been fucking her."
Jesus. I stood up and threw some bills down next to my untouched beer. "Give me a call when you haven't been drinking and we'll discuss this like rational adults."
His hand shot out and clamped onto my wrist with a vise like grip. I had to use all my self-control not to put my fist through his face. "You're smarter than this, Morelli," I said. My voice was even and calm but I knew my nostrils were flaring.
He removed his hand slowly and let it drop to his side. "I assume you heard about the contract out on her," he said like nothing had just happened.
I searched his eyes. The anger wasn't gone but he'd tempered it enough where I was confident we wouldn't be getting into a bar fight.
"Yeah, I heard," I said and sat back onto the stool. The bartender blew out a sigh of relief and went back to polishing glasses.
"Is she safe inside your building?"
"There isn't a safer place in the city."
He nodded, finished off his beer and slid the folder sitting next to him over to me. I held his gaze ignoring the folder. "Everything we have on Junkman is in there."
This was a serious infraction. He'd lose his badge if anyone found out he'd leaked the information. "Why?" I asked.
He signaled the bartender for another beer. Probably not the wisest move but I kept my mouth shut. "You know why."
I did know why. Although it could never be proven, Joe knew what I'd done the last time someone threatened Stephanie's life. I nodded and slipped the folder into the pocket inside my jacket. "I won't let anything happen to her," I said and then took a drink of my Corona.
"I know," he said.
I got up again and added a hundred to the bills I'd dropped on the bar. That should be enough to cover Morelli's tab with a nice tip to make up for the stress we caused the bartender.
"You won't ever be able to give her everything she wants," Joe said softly. "She'll come back to me when she figures that out."
I gave him a full smile that didn't hold an ounce of joviality. Tank says that smile scares the crap out of people. "You're a good guy, Joe. And a good cop, but you don't know the first thing about what Stephanie wants."
I turned on my heel and walked out of the bar without looking back.
######
"You gonna tell her about Morelli?" Tank asked as we rode the elevator to the fifth floor. I shifted on my feet, adjusting the bag of Pino's takeout and the grocery bag full of TastyKakes.
"Do I look insane?"
"Yeah," he said immediately. "Sometimes."
The elevator door opened on five and Tank hopped out. "Asshole," I called after him as the door slid shut and I continued up to my apartment.
As I inserted the key into the lock, I thought about the distraction I orchestrated today and assumed it had been successful as she hadn't called me back.
I dropped my keys into the silver tray and made my way to the kitchen with the bags of what Stephanie calls "food." Soft music was coming from the living room and I hoped that meant she was relaxed and calm.
There was evidence that she had finally called Ella. The kitchen smelled faintly of Mexican food and there were a bunch of dirty dishes and silverware in the sink.
I set the bags down on the counter, turned to look into the living room and fell through a portal into an alternate universe.
That has to be the only explanation because there is no way what I was seeing would be happening in my real life.
There were multicolored streamers hanging from the ceiling and draped over all the lamps. What appeared to be the remains of a piñata were scattered across the floor and there was an empty pitcher and four empty margarita glasses on the coffee table. Various articles of clothing were scattered over nearly every surface and Stephanie was standing in the middle of the room dressed only in a bra and panties. Lula stood next to her wearing a spandex hot pink mini skirt and nothing else. The two of them were holding hands and staring intently at Hector and Lester who both had on only boxer shorts and looked about a second away from kissing each other.
The only thing not horrifying to look at was Stephanie in her lacy black underwear so I focused on her and calmly asked, "What the hell is going on?"
At least I think I asked it calmly. I couldn't really tell as my brain was in the middle of a mini meltdown.
Hector and Lester jumped apart and Stephanie's face lit up in a grin when she saw me. "Hi!" she called. "Want to play truth or dare with us? We just dared Hector and Lester to kiss."
"With tongue!" Lula added.
Oh holy hell. Well, that explains one thing but there are so many other questions…
"Hey man," Lester drawled and I wondered exactly how many Margaritas they'd consumed. I also wondered what the fuck he was doing here. I'd invited Hector and Lula over to keep Steph company, not Lester. "I bet you're curious as to why we're half dressed."
"Oh shit!" Lula exclaimed as if just realizing she was standing in front of me topless. She scrambled around the room looking for her shirt. I studiously avoided watching her.
"Yeah," I told Lester. "The thought crossed my mind."
"We were playing strip poker," Stephanie said. "And that turned into truth or dare – I forget how. You interrupted the dare. I really wanted to see them kiss!"
"Me too," Lula concurred and thankfully she was now fully dressed. I glanced at Hector who was putting on his pants with a slight smile on his face and then he winked at me. Fucking winked at me. This had to be some sort of dream.
I think it might have been the first time in my life that I was rendered completely speechless. There were thoughts on my tongue but I couldn't make them form into actual words.
"I think it's time for us to hit the road," Lester said as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. He scanned the room until he found his pants and then put them on as well. Thank God.
I just stood there, still not speaking as everyone, with the exception of Stephanie got themselves clothed. Hector and Lester each hugged her and kissed her lightly right on the lips. I felt my hands clench into fists but I stayed rooted to the floor. Lula hugged her and then whispered something in her ear that made her smile.
"Bye Batman!" Lula called over her shoulder as they made their way out the door. "Thanks for letting us party with your girl."
Stephanie made her way over to me and slid her arms around my waist. When she lifted herself up on her toes and covered my mouth with hers, I momentarily forgot about what I'd just witnessed. She probed my lips with her tongue and I granted her access, tasting margaritas and enchiladas. "I'm glad you're back," she said when she broke the kiss.
"Me too. I'm afraid you all would have been naked if I'd been any later. Do I even want to know any of the details of what went on here today?"
Stephanie gave me an unbelievably sexy smile and then took a step away from me. "I can be naked in a second," she said, completely ignoring my question. She reached around, unhooked her bra and let it slide down her arms to the floor.
"How many margaritas did you have, Babe?"
She raised an eyebrow and then shimmied out of her panties. My now rock-hard cock decided I didn't really care about the margaritas or about anything else that had transpired.
"I want you inside me, Ranger."
I picked her up, hefted her over my shoulder and carried her to my bedroom. I turned off my cell phone, took the land line off the hook and stripped out of my clothes.
Finally, I was able to ravish her without being interrupted.