Well, this is it. It took me almost a year to get back to it and now I'm sorry to see ADAD end, but I think I left Ranger and Stephanie in a good place here until we see them again in 'Gotcha'. I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for the reviews, alerts, and for not completely giving up on this story. And also for coming back to it when I did start updating again. I hope the new chapters were worth waiting for. Anything familiar belongs to Janet.
Chapter 6
Ranger caught up to me at the front door.
"I will get even, Babe," he warned me.
"I'm counting on it."
He locked up behind us and his hand went automatically to my hip as we headed to the elevator. We stepped out of it a few seconds later and ran into Tank in the garage. Looks like he was leaving, too. I was starting to think that Tank worked almost as much as Ranger did.
"You going after Cortiz's brother?" Tank asked Ranger.
"Yes."
"You need another gun hand?"
"Hey," I said to him."I've got a gun on me."
Tank looked like he was struggling not to say something.
"Babe, you hate your gun almost as much as you hate using it."
"Yeah, so?" I said to him."The point is ... I can use it if I have to."
"Okay ... if you're sure you don't need me," Tank said,"I'm gonna take off."
"Something I need to know about?" Ranger asked him.
Ranger was in charge of everything involving Rangeman, but he did let Tank handle the crap that he didn't want to deal with personally. Ranger's a smart businessman that way.
"No," Tank told him."Client wants one of us to explain step-by-step how his new system works."
"Craigson?" Ranger asked.
"Yeah. He's a real pain in my ass," Tank said."You owe me."
"I gave you a job," Ranger said to him."I don't owe you anything."
Tank surprised me by grinning at Ranger before walking away to the employee side of the garage while Ranger and I made our way over to where his Cayenne was parked.
"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" I asked Ranger.
"You have to keep your employees in line, Babe."
I narrowed my eyes at him. I had a rant all set to go about how these people were more than just employees, but Ranger smiled at me before I could really let him have it.
"It's okay, Steph. Tank knew I was kidding," Ranger said, brushing at the frown line that had suddenly appeared near my mouth."You don't live through what Tank and I have together without getting to know each other well. We don't sit around talking about who had what work done while eating cookies like you and Mary Lou are known to do, but Tank and I are close. Which is why he gave me a cocky grin instead of trying to kick my ass. He can't do it, but he didn't even try because he knew I was just messing with him."
I got myself settled into the Cayenne before I spoke again."You are a very strange man," I told him."You're not suppose to threaten your friends. But, then again, Tank went along with it, so maybe all men are strange."
Ranger started the car and turned to me."Didn't you just say something about your friends down at the station?" Ranger asked.
Crap. He had me there.
"Can't you be one of those men who never listen to their girlfriends?" I didn't want Ranger to ignore me, but it would be nice if he didn't have the memory of an elephant when it comes to what I say and do. Especially when it could be used against me.
"Where are we going to look for Quentin first?" I asked him, after Ranger pulled onto Haywood.
"We'll take a drive down Stark to see if he's buying anything today," Ranger said.
"He makes deals right there on the street?" I asked."Isn't that a little risky?"
"Quentin isn't as seasoned as some of the guys we usually catch. He only buys stuff when he wants it. And a street corner is a good way of getting a small amount of something quickly."
"And that means there's a chance Marcus won't be with him today," I said.
"Yes," Ranger said."Which will make things easier for us."
Ranger turned down Stark ten minutes later. There was some activity on the street, less than what I usually see when I come here with Lula. Ranger doesn't draw crazies to him like Lula and I do. Two hookers were talking in front of one of the many dilapidated buildings that take up the majority of this neighborhood. A small group of gangster wannabes were standing around taking turns sipping something from a brown paper bag instead of being inside a classroom somewhere. Stark Street always made me want to go home and immediately take a shower. There was such a feeling of hopelessness encompassing the place, and the people who were forced to call it home. I still like to think that no one wants to live this way, selling their souls for a temporary high or small wad of cash. Not for the first time have I thought that Lula was lucky to have survived this place.
As Ranger passed by the gym Benito had used, two men standing by the open door of it looked at the Cayenne and quickly disappeared back into the building, not wanting to chance Ranger coming after them. It's probably hard to decide who you would rather piss off, Ranger if they didn't cough up the information he wanted from you, or the dealer, pimp, or gang leader, who would be looking for you the second you did. Not a situation I envied.
Ranger stopped next to a man who was walking on the side of the street coming in our direction. He was probably in his mid-twenties. His clothes weren't expensive, but they were clean. And his baby face seemed oddly out of place on this particular street where rapists, hollow-eyed addicts, and hired killers, were the norm. Ranger powered his window down, but didn't pull out his Glock, so I figured he knew the guy.
"Javier," Ranger said to the guy.
"Fuck man, I didn't do nothin'."
"Didn't say you did."
"What do you want then?" Javier asked."People find out I'm talkin' to you without you cuffin' me and I'm screwed."
"Then I suggest you tell me what I want to know quickly," Ranger told him.
Javier looked around to see if anyone was watching before leaning into Ranger's window. His eyes ran over my face and what he could see of my body that wasn't hidden by my jacket.
"Nice piece," he told Ranger.
Ranger gave Javier an open-handed smack to the side of his head. Hard."Show some respect. You don't speak that way to a lady."
"Oh, sorry," Javier said."She yours?"
"Yes," Ranger said."Remember that."
Javier looked me over again, but without the smarmyness this time.
"I'll pass it on," he said. And I had a feeling I was just offered another layer of protection for when I had to come back here alone."Who're you lookin' for?"
"Quentin Cortiz," Ranger told him.
"Quentin? Yeah, he was down here this morning scoring some shit from Morsi."
"He back home?" Ranger asked.
"I can't say for sure," Javier said,"but considering what Morsi is said to be mixin', Cortiz should be feelin' real good by now."
"What about Marcus? He been around?"
I saw the look of disgust cross Javier's face. Guess Marcus isn't a real popular guy.
"That prick? Thought he got himself locked up again."
"No."
Javier shrugged."Haven't seen him," he said to Ranger.
"Thanks for the information, Javier," Ranger said, and started to raise his window back up.
"Wait. That's it? What do I get for helping you?"
"You get me being nice and not busting you for what you have on you right now?"
He took a step away from the Cayenne and Ranger continued down the street. I could see in the mirror that Javier was standing where we left him, watching us drive away.
"First Tank," I said to Ranger,"and now this guy. You seem to be cranky this afternoon."
"Cranky, Babe?"
"Yes, cranky," I told him.
Ranger smiled at me."I needed information and I got it, Steph. Seems like cranky works."
"I would have at least bought him a coffee or something."
"I know you would have, Babe," Ranger said."And that's why I love you, because you're nothing like me."
"I could be," I told him. With a lot of guidance, training, and the Justice League as partners.
"I wouldn't want you to be, Steph," Ranger said quietly."I was attracted to you for a reason, and only a small percentage of that was based on how you looked."
"I knew it!" I said to him."It was my charming personality, witty banter, and my sense of humor that won you over, right?"
Ranger didn't disagree with me. I could see that the people he surrounds himself with don't exactly act like I do. And maybe Ranger was missing out by not having someone like me around. I never would have considered that before now. Ranger seemed like he had all his crap together, but maybe he was thinking, just like I'd been, that his life was missing something, too.
Ranger reached over and squeezed my thigh, like he knew what I was thinking. Since he probably did, I finished my thoughts out loud.
"And now you've got me, Lula, and Grandma Mazur."
"One out of three isn't bad," Ranger said, putting his hand back on the wheel.
"Grandma will be happy to hear it."
"Your grandmother and Lula are fine in very small doses," he told me,"but you're the one that I can't seem to stay away from."
"Do you want to?" I asked him.
"No. In fact, I'm thinking of giving Tank a little more responsibility so I don't have to be away from you as much."
I stretched the seat belt as I leaned towards his side of the car to kiss his cheek."That's sweet, but I don't think Tank would agree with me."
Ranger looked over at me."He doesn't have to."
I laughed."And we're back to cranky again."
I could tell that he wanted to roll his eyes, and probably only the fact that I'd say something about it stopped him from doing it. Looks like I had some influence over Batman, too.
"Are we going to Quentin's house?" I asked.
"Yes."
"And he lives where?"
"In a house off Broad Street."
Houses were usually better than apartments when trying to apprehend someone. At least from the experiences I've had hunting people down they were. There wouldn't be as many nosy neighbors poking their heads out, trying to see what was going on. Or pulling out a gun like the seniors in my building did repeatedly. Even though I've tried, I still couldn't forget about that first job I did with Tank where the building got blown up because of an idiot who broke in with a bomb strapped to him and a 'helpful' neighbor. And strangely enough, that's one of the reasons why I like living in an apartment building instead of a house. I've needed those armed neighbors to get me out of a few sticky situations in the past.
When Ranger stopped for a light, I asked him what I was really interested in knowing.
"How are we going to do this?"
I didn't want to be left in the car twiddling my thumbs while Ranger captured my skip for me. Yes, I wanted help to get Cortiz, but I didn't want Ranger to do it for me. Or for him to think he had to do it for me. The fact that Ranger often asked my opinion, and even for my help, meant a lot to me. Knowing that he thought I was capable was one of the reasons I could trust him easier than anyone else in my life. If someone with Ranger's reputation saw potential in me, then I should believe I have some myself. At first I thought it was only because he wanted to sleep with me, but I quickly realized that wasn't it. I may not be the best at defending myself, but I'm very good at reading people. I have a scary kind of luck, even if that same luck causes me to get in over my head. And I have such an unassuming presence that people tend to tell me anything I want to know. That and I've perfected my lying skills over the years so I can manipulate people when I need to, which helps almost as much as a short skirt when it came to distraction jobs. Maybe I'm not a bad bounty hunter after all. Just one that uses a more unusual approach to getting the job done. I couldn't kick someone's ass to get answers like Ranger does, but I can buy them coffee and sweet talk them into giving me what I was after. Different methods, sure, but it got the same results in the end. And maybe that was the important part to remember.
The light changed to green, and Ranger's eyes went from me to the road again."How do you want to do this?"
"I'm open to suggestions," I told him."I just want to be in on it."
"You will be in on it, Babe," Ranger said to me."But making sure you're okay takes precedence over anything else for me. If I think something is wrong, I need you to do what I tell you."
"Yes, sir," I said, trying to imitate Hal.
Ranger's lips curved, but his voice held no amusement."I'm serious, Steph. I don't care if Cortiz is caught today, next week, or next year. All I care about is you coming home with me without anymore scratches on you."
"I'm sorry," I told him as I brushed at the sudden tension in his jaw."I'm serious, too, Ranger. And I promise I'll listen to everything you say. But we're probably overreacting. Marcus is most likely gone and Quentin will be passed out on his couch in a drug-induced stupor."
"That's also possible." Ranger said.
"I suppose it is. I was just hoping that if I said it out loud it would actually happen like that, but I think I've filled my quota of easy captures for this year," I told him."Remind me to tell you about Dewy later."
Ranger pulled up to a one-story, slightly rundown looking house. I bet when the house was built it's brand new shingles were painted a bright hopeful white, but looking at them now, years later, they've turned a dull gray from both mildew and age. There was a hole in the eave near the front door, possibly containing wildlife of some kind. And the little fence that separated the street from the sidewalk had lost most of it's pickets. It still had the makings of a cute house but someone with money to burn and a lot of time on their hands would have to be the one to buy it.
"Is he supposed to be living here with Marcus?" I asked Ranger.
"The house belonged to Quentin and Marcus' grandmother," Ranger told me."She died and left it to their mother. The mother disappeared with a boyfriend and Marcus was left to fend for himself and Quentin."
"If Marcus cared so much for him, he should have kept Quentin away from drugs in the first place, and the people who use and sell them."
"Steph," Ranger said,"some people don't have a choice. You do what you have to do to survive."
"It just seems sad," I said to him."Marcus obviously loves his brother, but he still can't give him a better life or, at the very least, keep him out of the illegal parts of his."
"They made their choices, Babe."
"I know, stop feeling sorry for them ..."
"I didn't say that. That's one of the things that initially drew me to you, Steph. That you're capable of caring about people who don't usually inspire a lot of warm feelings."
"Believe me, Ranger, if you can put up with me then you aren't a lost cause in the caring department."
"There's nothing to 'put up' with, Babe," Ranger said,"only things to enjoy."
I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn't stop the 'warm' feelings he mentioned from making me suddenly happier than a person ought to be when they were about to go into that house.
Ranger pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned to me."We'll both go to the front door."
"I can take the back door if you need me to."
"No. I can't keep you safe if I can't see you," Ranger told me.
Jeez, guess I don't have to wonder where Tank got that line. Ranger probably told him that right before he sent Tank out with me. Since that's exactly what Tank said five minutes before he got his leg broken. I hope something bad wasn't about to happen after the same words were said again.
"Ready?" Ranger asked.
"Yes," I said.
I got out of the passenger's side and followed Ranger up the cracked sidewalk, keeping an eye above the door for anything larger than a mouse. Who was I trying to kid? If a mouse, even a baby one, landed in my hair I'd lock myself in the Cayenne and let Ranger do whatever the heck he wanted to with Quentin.
I stood off to the side as Ranger pulled out his gun and knocked on the door. No one answered. He knocked one more time and, when there was no response, tried the handle. Unlocked.
"Stay here," Ranger told me and slipped inside.
I had to fight the urge to tell him not to go in, but this is his job. And if I expected him to let me do mine, he deserved the same respect. I dug around my bag for my own gun while I listened for any hint of Ranger or a struggle. I was so focused on the house that I didn't notice that Marcus had come up behind me until I heard the distinct sound of a clip being inserted into his gun. Damn it, Stephanie! Why didn't you pull out your weapon at the same time as Ranger? Because I'm a dope, that's why. All that talk about me being able to shoot if I need to, and I end up without a gun in my hand at all. Well, that wasn't completely true. My hand did just brush against it inside my shoulder bag, but I wouldn't be able to get it now with Marcus pointing his own at me. Jeez, it was Harlo all over again.
"What the fuck do you want?" Marcus asked me.
"Umm ... I'm looking for Quentin."
"He ain't here."
"Do you know when he'll be back?" I asked.
He didn't say anything about Ranger so he must have just gotten here and thought I was alone. Good. Maybe he'd leave before Ranger saw him, or maybe I should be distracting Marcus so he wouldn't notice Ranger if he picked now to walk out of the house. Surprising a guy with a gun isn't a smart move unless you planned on doing it.
"I was hoping to talk to him," I told Marcus, slowly turning my body away from the house so Marcus would have his back to it in order to keep an eye on me.
"What the fuck do you have to talk to Quentin about?" Marcus said."You obviously ain't from around here."
"It's sort of personal," I told him.
"He didn't knock you up, did he? I fucking told him condoms were more important than drugs."
Well, that was sound advice even if it was coming out of a dealers mouth.
"No. It's nothing like that."
The gun came up towards my chest.
"Then what the hell do you want?" He asked."I'm not in the mood to play twenty questions."
Jeez, it looks like everyone was cranky today. I still didn't see Ranger, but at least I'd managed to get in front of Marcus without freaking him out, and could now see straight through the open door into the house.
"Actually, I work for the bonds ..."
I didn't get any further than that.
"Quentin isn't going back to jail," Marcus said, his voice deadly serious.
"He has to," I told him."If he doesn't get picked up today, he'll just get caught tomorrow."
"You're not paying attention," Marcus said."He's. Not. Going. Back. To. Jail."
God, men really were babies. First Macary and now this one. And Marcus wasn't even the one going to jail.
"Look, it'll only take an hour," I told Marcus."Vinnie will probably bail him right out again since he hasn't broken any new laws or tried to run. And if he does end up in jail, it'll only be for a night."
"He's not spending anymore time behind bars."
"If you were that concerned about him staying out of jail, you probably should have kept him away from the freakin' drugs to begin with."
That wasn't the smartest thing I could have said to him. His arm came up and it looked like he was trying to decide where to shoot me. In my head or my chest. I followed the barrel with my eyes as it moved up and down slightly between my heart and between my eyes.
"You don't know a fucking thing about us," Marcus said, his face turning a very angry shade of red.
"I know the best way to not get arrested is to not do anything illegal," I told him.
"Shut up!" Marcus shouted, and I could see his finger twitching on the trigger.
Crap. I pushed him too far. Stupid Stephanie strikes again. You never tell a guy who is trying to raise his little brother without help that he'd fucked up big time.
"I'm sorry," I told Marcus, trying to calm him down. Seems like I've been doing that a lot lately. Pissing people off and then trying to make them feel better after I did. Well, I didn't try making Macary feel better. He deserved to eat his own nuts. The jerk."You're right, I don't know anything about you. You probably did everything you could for him. Everyone knows that it's hard to control what kids do once they reach a certain age.
"I said shut up," Marcus bit out.
I didn't know anything at all about raising children and it showed, because it looked like Marcus had decided on a chest shot. But he couldn't shoot me right out here in the open, could he? No one was outside, but that didn't mean the neighbors weren't watching us from their living room windows while they were talking to a 911 operator. Of course I'd just called most neighbors nosy, so maybe this was just karma having some fun at my expense.
"Maybe you should put the gun down," I said, trying to reason with him."It might give people the idea that you're thinking of using it on me." Me being one of those people.
"I am thinking about using this gun on you," Marcus said.
"You can't just go around shooting people on your front lawn," I told him.
"Watch me."
My knees almost gave out in relief when I finally saw Ranger creeping up behind Marcus. I knew Ranger would be waiting for the right moment to act, but it seemed to take a lot longer than it should have. I flicked my eyes briefly to him hoping that Marcus wouldn't notice. Ranger gave his head a slight jerk to the right. I took that to mean that I should be jumping in that direction as soon as he told me to. Luckily, Ranger was in line with Marcus so I could keep watching Ranger's mouth while he counted without it being too obvious what I was doing.
"One," Ranger mouthed,"two." And before he finished saying three, I was already halfway to the ground praying that no one owned a large dog in the neighborhood. I didn't want to end up face-planting into a pile of doggy-processed food.
As soon as I was out of the line of fire, Ranger lunged forward and grabbed Marcus' right arm, bringing it down hard across his knee. The crack of his bone was drowned out by the gunshot. Marcus cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Ranger was on him half a second later, checking him for more weapons. I didn't hear any other screaming so I figured the shot that Marcus fired hadn't hit anyone.
"Babe," Ranger said, while he was still going through Marcus' pockets,"you all right?"
I checked myself out. My hands were dirty, and I might have a scrape on my cheek from the rock I landed on, but those were minor considering the bullet that Marcus had just fired could have been lodged inside of me right now.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I told him.
I headed to where Marcus' gun fell from his hand. Jeez, I couldn't even make it four days without someone aiming a gun at me. I picked up the gun and walked over to Ranger. His eyes scanned my body for any signs of injury and lingered for an extra second on my cheek. Guess I was right in assuming I'd had an unfortunate encounter with a rock. Marcus was fighting back tears and looked a little shocky, but seeing as how I would have looked a lot worse if he would have shot me, I was having a hard time feeling bad for him. I couldn't tell exactly what part of his arm was the problem because Marcus was cradling it protectively against his body.
"Did you have to break something?" I asked Ranger, handing him Marcus' gun. I hope my prints being on it wasn't going to affect anything, but I trusted Ranger to remove them if he needed to."You know, I'm getting a little tired of people thinking it's okay to shoot me."
He pocketed the gun for the time being and looked at me."Me, too, Babe."
"At least it was different this time, since he pointed the gun at my chest instead of my head."
"Stephanie," Ranger said, his eyes narrowed in warning.
Uh-oh, my full name."Okay, this one was really too soon for jokes. Got it," I told him, remembering what he said at my parents' house.
Ranger hauled Marcus up to his feet and Marcus whimpered.
"Shouldn't we be calling an ambulance or getting him to the hospital?" I asked Ranger.
"In a minute. Where's Quentin?" Ranger asked Marcus.
"Fuck off," Marcus said, in between gulps of air.
Not a smart move, Marcus, I thought. I've seen Ranger in action with the Slayer Connie, Lula, and I had kidnapped, and I knew that this could end badly for him.
"I've got plenty of time," Ranger said in that icy voice that was very different from the one he uses on me. This one made me almost wet my pants, but not in the fun way.
Since Ranger had said that he didn't care about apprehending Quentin, I had a feeling this was more about Marcus threatening me. I was almost positive that Ranger would listen to me if I told him to take Marcus to the hospital, so I was willing to wait a minute to see if Marcus would give up his brother before I stepped in.
"If you want that arm fixed up you're going to have to tell me where Quentin is," Ranger told Marcus."Keep in mind that I've seen what happens to limbs that haven't been treated correctly. Infection can set in and you could lose it. Or it could heal improperly, leaving you unable to use it at all. The choice is yours. Most people lead normal lives after losing part of their body."
I knew he was saying this for Marcus' benefit, but it was making me a little queasy. This Ranger is the one I know the least about. I could see this Ranger in an enemy infested jungle, leading men through deserts, or jumping out of helicopters. This particular Ranger was alarming, impressive, and magnificent, but also more than a little frightening. My nipples noticed all this, too, and responded to him like all the other Rangers they've had the pleasure of being exposed to. I was still more comfortable around my gentler Ranger, the one I was able to play with, but I love the man and every facet of him that make up the incredible package that he is.
"I'm not selling out my brother," Marcus said, obviously in pain.
"Your loyalty is commendable," Ranger told him, still in that detached tone,"but you're not that stupid. You're willing to endure weeks, if not months, of pain just so your brother won't spend a night in jail? And that's even if it will come to that. I'm going to ask you again. Where's Quentin? You tell me and we'll be at the hospital in fifteen minutes. They have something that can help with the pain."
I didn't know if Ranger was only telling him that to get him to cooperate, or if the hospital still gave pain killers to known drug addicts or dealers when something like this happened. Maybe they only gave them a small dose when they were setting the bone or wrapping a cast around it. In any case, I could see the pain was starting to wear him down. I was just about to tell Ranger that we should come back for Quentin later and take Marcus to the hospital now, but Marcus broke before I could open my mouth.
"He's staying at a friend's house."
"What friend?" Ranger asked him."I want a name and an address."
"Devon Thawyer," Marcus said."He lives on Main Street. Green house with a chain link fence in front."
"You'll be staying at the hospital with one of my men until we have Quentin in custody," Ranger told him."And if I find out you're lying to me, I'm going to break something else of yours that won't be as easily fixed."
Remind me never to piss off Ranger, I thought to myself. I like all my parts the way they are. Fortunately for me, Ranger does, too.
Ranger cut his eyes to me and gave me a small smile. He could switch between emotions faster than I could even on my worst PMS day. Going from intimidating to kind in an instant.
"Your parts are always safe with me, Babe," he said, changing his tone to the one I was familiar with.
"That's a load off my mind," I said, smiling at him.
He took Marcus to the Cayenne and since he couldn't cuff his hands together, Ranger cuffed his left arm to the bar near the back window behind the driver's seat. He went to the trunk and bagged Marcus' gun before putting it back inside his jacket pocket. He got out the first aid kit and took an alcohol wipe and some antibiotic cream from it before coming over to me.
"Ranger, I'm fine," I told him."It's only a scrape."
Ranger ignored me, cleaned my cheek, and gently put ointment on it. When he was done, he cupped my face in his hand and pressed a kiss close to my 'injury'. Okay, so maybe a little medical care, when administered by Ranger, wasn't so bad after all.
"All done, Babe," Ranger said, and tossed the stuff back into the trunk of the car.
"Are you sure?" I asked."If you give me a second I'm sure I can find something else that needs a little TLC."
Ranger flashed me the 100-watt smile and pulled out his phone before we buckled ourselves in to take Marcus to Saint Francis.
"Hal," Ranger said into his cell,"send someone to Saint Francis. We're dropping Marcus Cortiz off at the emergency room and then going after Quentin. I want someone to wait with Marcus until we have the brother, and who will also be free to take him to the TPD afterwards. Marcus threatened Stephanie and I want him locked up for it. It'll be better for everyone if I'm not the one bringing him in. We're about ten minutes from the hospital and someone better be there to take him off our hands." He listened to Hal for a beat then disconnected.
"And?" I asked when Ranger didn't say anything.
"Vince and Ramon are in the area and they'll be there before us," Ranger told me before he pulled away from the curb and drove to the ER.
Marcus was quiet the whole way there and I couldn't help feeling sorry for him now. He tried to kill me, but he was only trying to protect his brother. God, I was such a wuss. He's sells drugs, threatens to kill people regularly, the residents of Stark don't even like him, and here I am feeling bad for the guy. I rolled my eyes at myself this time.
We pulled into the lot of the emergency room and Ramon came over to us.
"Hey, Steph," Ramon said, after he'd opened up the back door.
Ranger got out of the Cayenne and went to fill Vince in. I could guess as to what was being said. Broken arm, brother to pick up, don't let him out of your sight ...
"Hey, Ramon," I said."Funny meeting you here."
He smiled as he uncuffed Marcus' wrist."We were out riding a standard patrol. It was pretty boring until Hal called.
"I'd kill for boring right about now," I told him.
"I hope you don't mind," Ramon said,"but I'm asking Vince to tell me everything that happened as soon as Ranger is back in the car."
"Knock yourself out," I told him. News flew through Rangeman almost as quickly as it did through the Burg. The only difference is that the guys are better at keeping their sources, and the fact that they know something, a secret.
Ramon helped Marcus out and closed the door. Ranger was back in the driver's seat a minute later.
"You think Marcus was lying?" I asked Ranger.
"No," Ranger said.
Ranger was good at telling when someone wasn't being honest with him. He was even better at sniffing out a fib than my mother.
He drove through the Burg and down Main Street. The green house Marcus told us about was easy to spot. Ranger parked right in front of it, not even trying to hide the fact that we were there.
"I want you to stay in the car for this one," Ranger said me.
"Sure."
I wasn't going to argue with him. Ranger didn't like it when people tried to hurt me, and Harlo was still too fresh in his mind to see something similar happen again. He'd also made me tell him about Macary, so even though he hadn't seen Macary attack me, he knew about it. Staying in the safety of the car was the most compassionate thing I could think of to do for him right now. I turned in the passenger seat and watched while Ranger knocked on the door.
It took five minutes from the time the door opened to the time he walked a cuffed Quentin to the Cayenne. He secured him in the back and then angled behind the wheel.
"Show off," I whispered under my breath.
Ranger looked over at me and gave me a small smile before calling Vince."We have Quentin," Ranger said to him."When he's released, you can bring Marcus in." He hung up and reclipped his cell before heading to the station.
"Are you talking about my brother Marcus?" Quentin asked.
He seemed a little glassy-eyed, but not completely out of it like Javier thought he'd be.
Ranger wasn't in a chatty mood, so I looked back at Quentin and answered his question.
"Yes," I told him.
"How bad is? What'd he do?" Quentin asked."Was it because of me?"
The tiny amount of maternal instincts that I do possess kicked in, but I squelched them. Marcus and Quentin were old enough to decide what they wanted out of life. And if it was to stay out of the system, then now would be the perfect time to start working on it.
"He got himself into a little trouble," I said to Quentin."You may have the opportunity to ask him what he did yourself at the station. And I'm betting you'll be out of there way before he is. You may want to start thinking about how to keep yourself from spending the rest of your life there, too."
Ranger made the drive to the Trenton PD in silence. I couldn't blame him. It's been a rough week for him. I always thought it was harder to watch a person you love go through something difficult than to go through it yourself. And I was getting real sick of ending up at the station because of them.
"You coming in with me?" Ranger asked.
"Nope," I said."I'm good."
"You'll most likely have to talk to them about Marcus," Ranger said.
I blew out a sigh."Fine," I told him."It's probably better just to get everything over with all at once."
Ranger and I stowed all of our toys in the lockbox under his seat before left the car. Ranger took care of Quentin and Marcus' gun while I talked to Eddie about my most recent altercation. I knew he was looking out for his brother so my heart wasn't really into sticking it to Marcus, but he did try to kill me and I couldn't exactly let that go.
Twenty-five minutes later, I was done. But during those minutes, Eddie managed to restore my faith in friendship, since he was more concerned and sympathetic than exasperating today.
"All set?" Ranger asked me when I met him at the door.
"Yes. And I'm turning off my phone before Connie calls me with someone else."
"Good plan, Babe."
"You're only saying that because you're with me," I said to him,"otherwise you'd be more pissed than Connie."
Ranger smiled and kissed the top of my head. His hand rested gently on my back when he opened the door for me. As he did I happened to catch a glimpse of Joe standing ten feet away watching us, but by then Ranger was moving me into the not-so-fresh Jersey air so I didn't have a chance to say anything to him even if I had wanted to.
Ranger stopped next to the Cayenne and dangled the keys to it in front of me."Want to drive?"
I could feel my eyes almost pop out of my head. Ranger never let me drive unless my butt was already in the driver's seat and I was picking him up somewhere.
"You're going to let me drive back to Rangeman?" I asked, sensing I was being set up. For what, I didn't know.
"No."
See, I knew it! "But you just said ..."
"Our day isn't over yet, Babe," Ranger told me.
"It isn't?" I asked.
"No. We have one more stop to make."
"Do you have someone to pick up for Rangeman?" I asked, since I knew Connie hadn't called me.
"No."
"Are we going to drop off my receipt at the bonds office?" I was hoping to wait until Monday to deal with Connie and Lula, knowing that by tonight my close call with Marcus will be all everyone is talking about. Once Eddie gets home and tells my cousin Shirley-the-Whiner, who also happens to be his wife, what happened my mother will be the first person called.
"No."
"Okay," I said, blowing out a breath,"stop with the one word answers. Where are we going?"
"Quakerbridge."
I was so shocked by what he said that I didn't even whack him for giving me another one word answer.
"Quakerbridge?" I repeated."Why are we going there? You don't like to go shopping." And, at the moment, neither did I.
"Steph," Ranger said softly,"do you honestly think I wouldn't notice that you're nervous about going back there?"
"Yes!" I said to him."There's no way you could have known."
"If you didn't have an issue with Quakerbridge, you would have chosen to go after your skip while she was there and used her as an excuse to check out the sale at Macy's."
Damn. He knew me too well.
"It was much easier to find her at her house than at a crowded mall," I told him. That at least sounded plausible.
"Babe."
"Okay," I said,"so I'm a little weirded out by the place. I'll get over it."
"Yes, you will," Ranger said, opening my hand and curling my fingers around the keys."In about twenty minutes." I took a deep breath and walked around to the driver's door. Ranger followed to get his Glock and he handed me my gun, pepper spray, and stun gun, before shutting the door and sliding into the passenger's seat.
"If I'm the one in control of the car," I said to him before starting the Cayenne,"what makes you think I won't just drive to the bakery instead?"
"Because you don't like to be afraid of anything, Babe," Ranger said."And it's driving you crazy that you're letting someone like Harlo have power over you, even in this small way."
I didn't know how to respond to his perceptiveness, or to his knowing that I hated letting Harlo get to me like he has. I settled on not saying anything, gave Ranger a tight smile, and reluctantly drove to Quakerbridge.
I pulled off Route One and drove around looking for parking space. I wasn't quite ready to park by Macy's yet, so I found a spot at the mall entrance. We got out of the Porsche and Ranger wrapped his arm around my waist as we headed into the building. Ranger kept his arm tight around me while we retraced the route Harlo had dragged me. Having Ranger by my side, and his strength to draw from, helped me a lot. And it wasn't long before I started noticing the clothes instead of reliving what was going through my mind that day. A half hour into it, I was trying on shoes and scanning the new shipment of dresses that must have just come in, since they weren't here when Lula and I were shopping.
"That took less time than I thought it would," Ranger said to me, after I made him stop at yet another sale rack.
"Yeah," I said to him,"who knew it was like riding a bike? I'm back in action." Now it was only my credit card that was cringing.
Ranger was tolerating the mall air well. And he wasn't pulling a gun on anyone who stepped too close to where I was looking, so I think this trip helped both of us. We had dinner at the food court, and I could almost forget about seeing Harlo's gun pointed at me as I coaxed Ranger into eating a french fry. I knew he'd go along with anything I wanted if it helped me get past what had happened here. And I loved him even more for it. Even in my wildest dreams, and fantasies, I never would have pictured Ranger walking hand in hand with me through the mall, but here he was doing it. He didn't complain that I took too long. And he didn't continually ask when we were leaving. He was giving me whatever time I needed to work through this.
I was just about to tell him that I was ready to go back to Rangeman, when Victoria's Secret came into sight.
"You can wait here," I told Ranger, when we stopped in front of the store.
"Why?"
"So you won't see what I buy before I'm wearing it," I told him. Wasn't that obvious? It was like not seeing the wedding dress before the wedding, only naughtier.
"It's called Victoria's Secret, Babe," Ranger informed me."Not Stephanie's Secret."
I rolled my eyes at him."Stay." I said, and quickly walked into the store.
It didn't take me very long. I already had my eye on something when I was here last time so I only needed to find the color I wanted in my size and pay for it. In minutes I was back with Ranger. He offered to carry the bag for me, but I had a feeling the only reason he did was to sneak a peek at my purchase, so I carried the bag myself. The pj's were sexy, but modest compared to what Lula was going to buy. They were a silkier, much skimpier, version of my usual tank top and shorts. I chose a pale blue color because Lula told me that blue would make my eyes stand out more, which would in turn make a part of Ranger stand out more when he saw me in them.
I didn't end up buying anything else, but I felt like I came away from this with something more than just pajamas. Instead of hearing Harlo yelling at me, I would now hear Ranger laugh as I poked a french fry into his mouth. The image of Harlo's gun was replaced with the pink shopping bag Ranger had made a grab for. And the fear I'd felt the day I thought I was going to lose half my head, was now replaced with so much love for Ranger that I thought my head would explode from trying to contain it all.
We walked back to Ranger's car, and I turned to him to brush my lips across his.
"Thank you for today, Ranger," I told him."For coming to my rescue twice."
"Your welcome, Babe," Ranger said, pulling me close."I'll always be there when you need me. I hope you know that."
I leaned back and looked up at him."I do," I said, and handed the keys to him."You can drive back. I wouldn't want you to snoop while I'm busy trying keep us from crashing."
"I'm hurt, Steph," he said to me."Are you saying you don't trust me?"
"With everything else, yes," I told him."With my lingerie, no."
He smiled at me before taking the driver's seat. Ranger pointed the Cayenne towards Rangeman. In less than a half an hour, we were out of the car. When we got to the elevator, I avoided looking at the camera since I could feel a blush starting. Everybody knew what a Victoria's Secret bag looked like. And a control room full of over-testosteroned men would know exactly what that bag meant.
We made it up to Ranger's apartment after an excruciatingly long minute. Okay, it was less than a minute. I knew it was less because I'd been counting to give myself something to do besides think about what the men were saying about us, and the doors opened on the sixteenth Mississippi. But I swear it felt like it'd taken a lot longer. Ranger unlocked his front door and waited only long enough for the door to be locked behind us before catching me, and the bag I was still holding onto, up into his arms.
"Now about that handcuff idea ..." Ranger said, his voice trailing off.
I buried my still burning face into his neck as he carried me to his room. The night didn't exactly include handcuffs, but Ranger definitely got even. Many, many times. And I got my money's worth from Victoria's Secret even for the short amount of time my new pj's were technically on me. And any thoughts of Harlo, Macary, and Marcus, vanished the second Ranger touched me. Ranger had told me when we picked up Marcus that I was safe with him. And both my body and my mind reveled in the feeling.
A/N: I looked online to see if it was possible to break an arm like Ranger did here. I couldn't find the exact answer I was looking for so I'm going to play the creative license card in this case and say that I most likely exaggerated the injury for the sake of my story.