Disclaimer: See Ch. 1
Spoilers: Through 14
A/N: First and foremost, thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Really sorry for all the cliffies lately. I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow, but I've got a lot of homework to do tomorrow and I'm working (oh yeah, and I felt a little bad), so here it is. Enjoy!
It was only about ten o'clock when Ranger dropped me off, so I took a shower, heated up a can of Spaghetti-o's and called Mary Lou. I hadn't talked to her in a few days and I really needed my best girlfriend after the night I'd had.
"Hey, Mare," I said when she answered. "Are the kids in bed?"
"Oh yeah. I had Lenny put them to bed an hour ago. Mommy needs some quiet time."
I laughed halfheartedly. "I'm not interrupting anything with Lenny, am I?"
"Steph, would I have answered if you were? Lenny's in the other room watching that new shoot 'em up movie. He's only allowed to watch them once the kids are in bed."
"Good."
"Steph, are you okay? You sound a little down."
I sighed and filled her in on the whole Morelli mess; the realizations I'd come to regarding our relationship, the cheating, the blow-up tonight. I even told her about the stalker.
"You sound kind of relieved that it was Morelli and not Ranger," she remarked once I'd finished.
I hesitated before answering honestly. "I guess I am. I already knew it was over, I guess this was just the final nail in the coffin."
"And Ranger?" Mary Lou asked.
I took a deep breath. "I'm pretty sure he's seeing someone," I admitted. "Besides, he doesn't do relationships." I snorted. "At least not with me."
Mary Lou was silent for a moment. "You're pretty sure?" She asked.
"Umm, yeah."
"So you don't know."
"No, I guess not."
"My best friend advice here: don't jump to conclusions. Do you want a relationship with him?"
I didn't know what I wanted with him. I loved him, I wanted to be with him, but I wasn't sure what that meant in Ranger-land. I told Mary Lou this, leaving out the love part.
"Maybe you should just talk to him," Mare said.
"He wants to have breakfast tomorrow and talk," I told her. "He probably just wants to tell me about his new girl and ask me to back off so she won't get jealous."
"Stephanie," she sighed. "Just talk to the man. The worst that can happen is that he proves you right. What's the best that can happen?"
I contemplated the answer to that question an hour later as I lay in bed unable to sleep. The best that could happen would be that Batman realized he loved me back and wanted a relationship with me. I didn't really care what kind of relationship. I didn't particularly want a ring, so that wouldn't be an issue. All I really wanted was love and respect and commitment. If I got a few Ranger-induced orgasms in the process, so be it.
I rolled over and stared at the wall. But Ranger was with someone else and he didn't want me. That one night had been about convenience. I had been a warm, willing body and Ranger had finally given in to temptation. He'd obviously gotten over his infatuation, however, because he hadn't been back. Would you have let him? Logical Stephanie asked. No. I'd been with Joe. And emotional entanglement with Ranger scared the hell out of me. Because it would be emotional. There was no way I could ever have casual sex with Ranger, there was just too much at stake now; our friendship, our working relationship, my heart.
He loved me…in his own way. There were all kinds of love, after all. This kind of love came with a condom, not a ring. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for the consideration, and I didn't want a ring anyway, but…it did hurt. It didn't feel like condom-love to me.
I was entertainment; a line-item on his budget. He kept me around for shits and giggles. That had hurt a little, too. I mean, it wasn't the worst thing ever to be a source of happiness for him and his men, but I'd been hoping I was more than that. He never said you weren't, Logical Stephanie cut in. I guess he hadn't. And he was a man of few words. His actions said that I was more. Did you give cars to or walk in front of a bullet for entertainment?
He'd sent me back to Morelli. That had been the biggest hurt of all. I wasn't so self-absorbed to think that he'd hurt me on purpose. Ranger might be good at reading people, but I just couldn't make myself believe that he'd known sending me back would be like a knife in my heart. How could he know that I was already emotionally attached? How could he know that I'd been secretly harboring the hope that he'd want me for his own, to keep?
I sighed and rolled back over. Most of the issues here were caused by lack of communication. But how did you communicate with the master of one word sentences? That was one question I'd yet to find an answer to. Maybe I'd take Mary Lou's advice, maybe I'd…
Something dark passed behind my curtains. My heart skipped a beat, then began pounding. Someone was on my fire escape. I took a few seconds to debate the merits of screaming, decided that it'd be counterproductive really, and jumped silently out of bed. I crept across the room, as far from the window as possible, and hurried out into the living room. I crossed the room at a silent run and headed for the kitchen. My gun was in my cookie jar where I'd left it. I'd emptied it after that night I'd spent alone worrying about piggy feet. The bullets were in a drawer by the sink. I should really start listening to Ranger and keep my gun loaded.
I heard a light tapping on the glass from the bedroom and my hands shook as I loaded my gun. There were a few more taps, then silence. I stood there in my kitchen, absolutely quaking with fear, for about fifteen minutes. There were no other sounds from the bedroom.
One foot in front of the other, I told myself as I made my way back to the bedroom, gun held out in front of me. I flicked the light on and swung back and forth, looking for monsters in the shadows. The room was empty. The curtains were still closed, so I stepped to one side of the window and slowly pulled them back. I took a deep breath and peered out the window. Probably I was being stupid, probably it was just the wind. Probably I was going to get shot and Ranger was going stand up at my funeral and say 'Well, I told her to be more aware of her surroundings.'
There was no one on my fire escape. What was on my fire escape seemed so out of place I almost laughed. Sitting there, innocently in the middle of the platform, was a margarita in a little crystal glass, complete with salt and lime.
I slumped down onto the floor. I thought I'd just gotten rid of my stalker. This was too much. There was usually at least a week break between catastrophes. I let out a laugh, then another. I was pretty sure I was hysterical, but I didn't know what to do about it. I knew I needed to call someone. I mean, a person leaving an alcoholic beverage on your fire escape isn't normal, is it? I hated to admit that I had no idea what normal was anymore.
I glanced at the clock. 11:57. Probably Ranger's job was over by now, right? Because I suddenly found myself optionless when it came to who to call in case of emergency. Joe had been taken off my I.C.E. list indefinitely.
I wasn't sure I wanted to see Ranger right now either, but the hysteria was receding and the fear was trickling in, cold and menacing.
I retrieved my cell phone from the night stand and pressed number one.
The phone rang three times before he picked up.
"Yo," he whispered.
"Yo yourself."
"Babe, what do you need?" He was speaking quietly, like he was trying not to wake someone. My heart clenched uncomfortably.
"I…I'm sorry. I just…It's nothing. I'll let you get back to…"
"Babe," he said softly. "You wouldn't have called at midnight for nothing. Now what's wrong?"
I gulped in a few deep breaths. Now that the shock was wearing off, I was shaking again. "I…I don't really know. There was a…a shadow on my fire escape, so I got up and got my gun and…"
I heard him speaking softly to someone, then he was back. "I'm sending someone over, Steph. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Oh, God. This was so wrong. He was with another woman and I was calling him to…
"Babe, are you there?"
"Yeah."
"Did you check your fire escape?"
"Yes."
"What was on it?" He sounded like he was expecting something awful, something like a dead body or an axe murderer.
"A margarita," I told him.
"A…a what?"
"A margarita. With a little slice of lime in it."
He was silent for a moment. "Lester and Bobby should be there any minute." Batman had nothing to say about the alcoholic beverage on my fire escape.
I peeked out the window, trying my hardest to ignore the drink. Lester and Bobby were climbing out of a black Explorer.
"They're here," I told Ranger.
"Check the peep hole before you let them in. I'll be there soon." Then he hung up.
Five minutes later, Bobby, Lester and I were staring out my bedroom window.
"Damn, bombshell, I know you're hot, but can't they at least wait till you get to the bar to start buying you drinks?" Lester said.
I rolled my eyes at him.
Bobby looked like he was going to laugh, then he looked behind us and his face sobered. I knew it was nothing dangerous, because his hand hadn't moved to his gun. I'd also started feeling the telltale tingles about a half a minute ago.
"Santos," Ranger growled.
Lester spun around, hand flying to his gun before he realized who was speaking.
"Jesus, Ranger, you trying to get shot?"
Ranger's eyes twinkled with mirth. "You couldn't shoot me if you had me tied to a pole with a target taped to my forehead."
Lester's mouth opened to retort, but Ranger's attention had shifted to me, and Lester shut his mouth again, clearly deciding that the moment had passed.
"You okay?" Ranger asked, placing a hand lightly on the nape of my neck and pulling me closer. He peered into my eyes. "Looking a little crazy there, babe."
"I think I might be a bit hysterical," I told him. The shaking had calmed as soon as Lester and Bobby had showed up, but the hysteria was still there lingering beneath the surface. "I thought we got rid of the stalker. I'm sorry I interrupted your night." I left the statement at that, I wasn't exactly sure what I'd interrupted.
Ranger placed a soft kiss on my forehead. "It's okay, babe. Ram and Cal took over the stakeout for Tank and I."
I closed my eyes and leaned into his chest. Tank. He'd been with Tank.
He kissed the top of my head and tucked me under his arm.
"So, what do we have?" He asked Bobby.
"It's a margarita, boss. Or, at least, that's what it appears to be."
Ranger's hand was stroking slowly up and down my arm and it was doing nothing to calm me. In fact, it was stirring my Hungarian hormones into quite the frenzy.
"Anyone been on the platform yet?" Ranger asked.
"Negative, boss," Bobby answered.
Ranger squeezed me one more time, then set me down on the bed. Ranger plus me plus bed equals….I think I had a hot flash. Then I remembered Bobby and Lester.
"Babe," Ranger whispered against the top of my head.
He stepped away from me and went to the window. The rest of us watched as he opened it and stuck his head out. He looked up, then down. Apparently, he didn't find anything worth mentioning, because he said nothing until he was standing on the fire escape, hands on hips, staring down at the drink. He shook his head slowly, an almost-smile tipping his lips up at the corners.
"You never disappoint, babe."
He reached down and picked the drink up carefully, then handed it through the window to Bobby.
"Get that back to Haywood. I want the lab to test a sample first thing in the morning."
Bobby nodded. "You want us to give it to the cops after that?"
Ranger didn't answer. He was staring down at something by his feet.
"Ranger?" Lester said. "You want the cops to have this, man?"
Ranger shook his head. "No." He reached down and picked something up. It was white. It looked like a piece of paper. Then he held it up in the light pouring from my window. It was a cocktail napkin printed with the Marriot logo. "No. No cops." He handed the napkin to Lester and climbed back through the window.
"Shit," Les said. He handed it to me.
On the back of the napkin, in black marker, was a note:
I know you're not just some whore. You're his whore. You'll both pay.
I didn't notice the dizziness until I was half-lying, half-sitting on my bed, the note on the floor in front of me.
"Babe." Ranger was across the room in a second, kneeling down in front of me. He pushed my head between my knees.
"Push against my hand," he told me.
I did as he said and felt the dizziness recede, only to be replaced by a nauseous roiling in my stomach.
I shoved myself out from under his hand and ran past the three guys to the bathroom.
Ranger found me ten minutes later sitting on the edge of the tub with a cool washcloth to my forehead.
"You okay, babe?"
I nodded. "Just a little overwhelmed. First, the Joe thing, then catching the other stalker, now this." I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
He sat beside me on the edge of the tub and rubbed the back of my neck gently.
"At least we know who this guy is. We'll find him, babe. I promise." He kissed me just above my ear and I leaned into his touch. "Are you ready to go back in the other room?" He whispered.
"Yeah, I think so."
We came out into the living room to find Tank propped up in the doorway to the kitchen and Lester sitting on the couch.
"Bobby took the drink and the note back to Rangeman," Ranger said from close beside me. "We need to discuss your options."
I glanced up at him. "Options?"
One side of his lips tipped up. "Yeah, babe, options."
"What options?"
"About where you're going to stay, babe."
I began to protest, but he placed a finger to my lips. "Just listen for a minute, Steph." His eyes pleaded with me, though he didn't speak the magic word.
I nodded.
"Option one, you can stay here," he said, his eyes flashed black as he added, "with me."
I swallowed hard.
"Option two, you can stay here with Rangeman guards. Option three, you can stay at Rangeman with me, or you can stay on 4."
God, how did he expect me to choose? I had a brief thought that if this had been Joe, there wouldn't have been options, he would have dragged me to his house and locked me in the bedroom. I appreciated that Ranger was letting me choose, but these choices were impossible. Of course I wanted to stay with him. I'd have heavenly sheets, a god-like man, and Ella's cooking. But I couldn't risk my heart. What if his girlfriend showed up? What if she had left something there and I came across it? What if he said her name in his sleep? I cringed inwardly. But why would he have invited me there in the first place if there was a chance of his girl showing up? I was almost certain that Ranger would be faithful in a relationship, and while I would make sure that nothing happened, he wouldn't take the risk that she would find out. I didn't know what to think anymore. What I really needed right now was to be alone with my convoluted feelings.
"I'd like to stay here," I told the room in general. I felt Ranger's hand tighten on the nape of my neck. "Alone," I clarified.
It was silent for a few moments. Tank was looking determinedly uninterested, but Lester was staring quite openly at Ranger, probably anticipating some sort of argument.
"Alright," Ranger said. His voice was low and flat. I squirmed against his hand. "I'll put men in front and in the back parking lot." He stepped away from me and walked into the kitchen to make a call.
"You sure you want to be alone tonight, beautiful?" Lester asked from the couch.
I looked down at him. Of course I didn't want to be alone, but I needed to figure out what was going on in my head before I could have any kind of discussion with Ranger. I needed to prepare myself for the inevitable. Batman wasn't mine, and he never would be.
"Yes," I said.
Ranger came back into the room then. "Manny and Zero are out front, Hector's in the lot. You've got their numbers, call them if anything happens."
He nodded his head at Tank and Lester. Tank left with a quiet "Night, Bombshell."
Lester stood from the couch and walked over to me. "Take care, beautiful." He kissed the top of my head, then turned and walked past Ranger and out the door.
I couldn't look at Ranger. I was afraid that if I did, I'd break down and ask him to stay.
"Babe," he said quietly as he walked towards me. "You sure you don't want me to stay?" There was a hint of seduction in his voice. I couldn't look up into his eyes to see if they were black with desire or not. He shouldn't be looking at me like that when he had a girlfriend, anyway.
"I'm sure, Ranger."
A strong, warm finger under my chin tilted my head up and suddenly I was looking him straight in the face. His eyes were a soft, chocolate brown.
"We're still having breakfast," he told me. "I'll let you sleep in. How's ten?"
I nodded, unable to pull myself out of the depths of his eyes. My chin tingled where he still touched it.
He leaned down and placed a slow, gentle kiss across my lips. "Call me." His lips met mine again. "If you need anything." He pulled me against him and kissed me tenderly; a kiss filled with comfort and longing and…I wasn't going to go there.
"I will," I whispered as he pulled back.
He tangled his hand in my hair and brought our foreheads together. "Be safe," he said, then he pulled away, smiled gently at me, and disappeared, magically locking the door behind him. Batman.
Come on, Stephanie, there's no one in your apartment. Your fire escape is psycho-free. The Merry Men are guarding you. You're fine.
I'd repeated this to myself about a hundred times since Ranger left, but I still couldn't sleep. I was jumpy and anxious and I kept hearing noises. First, it had been Rex running on his wheel, so I'd brought him into the bedroom. Then, it had been the motor in the refrigerator, so I'd unplugged it. Next, it had been the leaky faucet in the bathroom. I'd tried to find a wrench to attempt to fix it, but I'd never owned one, so I wasn't sure why I'd even looked.
Every light in the apartment was on, because I kept seeing Edwin Mortars in the shadows, green eyes glowing like those of a demon. I contemplated calling Ranger about six times, but every time I convinced myself that he was probably busy with something…or someone…else.
He told you to call him, Logical Stephanie said. He knows I won't, Stupid Stephanie replied, sticking out her tongue.
I went into the living room and turned on the TV, hoping that it would distract me, but the first thing to pop up was Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so I switched it back off. No way was that going to help me.
I walked into the, now silent, kitchen. It was then that I finally looked at my refrigerator. Only it wasn't my refrigerator. It was one of those new-fangled silver contraptions with the water and ice dispenser on the door and the freezer drawer underneath. I tiptoed over to it and pulled the door open. It was full of food. Milk and eggs and bread, grapes and carrots and cucumbers. I pulled out the freezer drawer; four different kinds of Ben and Jerry's. Two guesses who filled my refrigerator. Only Ranger would give me rabbit food. I wanted to cry at the fact that he'd been thoughtful enough to include ice cream. I let out a small sigh and plugged the refrigerator back in, no reason to let all that food go to waste. I'd just feed all the vegetables to Rex.
I had my head in the fridge, looking for something edible when the locks tumbled on my door. I glanced over at it in alarm. The security chain was undone. I'd never replaced it after Ranger had left. I was about to lunge for the cookie jar when the door opened. I didn't think, I threw myself across the small space and grabbed the guy around the waist. He made a low "oof" sound and grabbed me by the arms. No way was I letting this guy get me without a fight. I struggled to pull my arms from his grasp, but he wasn't letting go. He pushed me into the wall and melded his body to mine.
"Stephanie."
I tried to get my knee back far enough to kick him in the boys, but he had me pinned.
"Steph."
I was shaking now, and the tremors were making me weak. He was just so strong. Where was Hector? Where were Manny and Zero?
"Babe, it's me," the man said.
I froze in my struggles and looked up into Ranger's worried brown eyes. His grip loosened on my arms and he ran his hands down to mine.
"It's just me, babe. You're okay."
I fell forward and sobbed into his shirt. His arms came around me and he held me so tight against his chest that he might have been trying to pull me inside of him.
"Shhh, I've got you. You're fine, bebé. I'm here. I'm right here." His hands stroked my hair, my back, every inch of me that he could reach. I clutched his shirt in my fists and kept my face buried in his shoulder.
I felt the world tip and realized that he'd scooped me up in his arms. He moved us through the apartment, flicking off lights as he went.
"Wha…what are you doing?" I managed to sniffle.
"We're going to bed, babe. You're done in."
He settled me gently on the bed, then stepped back to take off his shoes and t-shirt. Once he was settled beside me, he pulled me into him and nuzzled my hair.
"Why are you here, Ranger?" I asked, not really caring why, just rejoicing in the fact that he was.
"Hector called and told me that every light in the place was on. He'd seen you walk by the window about six times. I was worried, babe."
I was silent for a moment. The feeling of Ranger so warm and solid against my back was already lulling me into a feeling of safety and contentment. "Did he tell you in Spanish?"
I felt him smile against my hair. "Sí, bebé, en español."
I wasn't sure what he'd just said, but the soft cadences of his voice washed over me and my eyes drooped a bit. Maybe I shouldn't have Ranger teach me Spanish. Probably understanding it would ruin the sweet beauty of the language. Or maybe it was just Ranger's voice.
"I couldn't sleep," I told him quietly.
"I know, babe. I'm here now, sleep."
I wanted to tell him that he was an arrogant jerk for thinking that his presence would allow me to sleep, but I was already slipping into unconsciousness.
"Ranger," I whispered into his chest.
"Babe."
"Thanks for the refrigerator."
I could hear the smile in his voice as he replied. "Babe."
A/N: Ta-da! For anyone who's confused: Yes, there is a second stalker. Yes, they're pretty sure it's Edwin Mortars. Yes, Edwin Mortars was the bad guy who Steph lured up to a hotel room for Ranger. Yes, you can go back and read chapter 2 (aptly titled Distracted) if you don't remember him. Yes, you'll have to wait some more for "the talk". Yes, you're allowed to hate me now. Yes! Spanish!Ranger is hot! Plenty more of him to come ;)
Let me know what you thought!
Translation:
"Sí, bebé, en español."
"Yes, babe, in Spanish."
