Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me, I'm just playing with them for a little bit. I promise to return them to JE when I am finished.
I need to thank my wonderful Beta, Rangergirl1234. She spent time making this story more enjoyable. I also need to thank EVERYONE who reviewed and/or added this story to their follow/favorite list. I'm so glad that you're enjoying my story.
Lifetime of Love
Chapter 6
Zero and I spent the rest of that day in bed together. We got up to use the restroom and to get water, but never stayed apart too long. We made sure to stay in constant contact, both craving each others touch. We finally gave into sleep sometime later in the afternoon after I lost count of all the orgasms that I had. My back was a little sore, but Zero was always very conscious about it and never twisted me like a pretzel. He promised me that those positions were for when I was healed. I couldn't wait for those nights.
We were lying in bed after yet another round of love-making, me with my head on his chest, lightly running my fingertips over the tattoos that he had on his gorgeous skin. I've never been into getting inked, but I must admit that the designs on his body were exquisite.
"Do these have a special meaning?" I asked as I rubbed the symbols above his heart. I found them intriguing but was really asking about any or all of them.
"The symbols above my heart are Chinese. They say, 'my life for yours'. When I joined the Army, I honestly thought that I would never make it out. I thought that I would die in a war zone one day. I was prepared to die for my country. The tattoo just felt necessary. I'm willing to die protecting others." I placed a gentle kiss over the ink. It always amazes me to hear the guys talk about their willingness to die for someone who they've never met. As I lay there thinking, I realized that the thought of losing him scared the bejeezus out of me.
"Thank you for being willing to sacrifice yourself for me and other people. I'm glad you made it out though." He hugged me closer and continued talking to me.
"The tattoo on my right bicep is in memory of a good friend. We grew up together, went to high school together and joined the Army together. He died in combat three months after we first got deployed. He had a son at home that he never got to meet. I went to see his widow when I got back and got to meet his son. She named him after his father. We still keep in contact even after all these years. She's been a good mom and he's a really good kid." I could tell the loss of his friend still hurt him.
"What about the words across your shoulder blades. I don't know what it is, but it's beautiful. I love the Celtic design around the words. It's amazing work."
"Mura bhfuil tú i do chónaí as rud éigin, ansin beidh tú bás do rud ar bith. That's Irish for, If you don't live for something, then you'll die for nothing. It's just a reminder to live my life the right way. I don't want to die never accomplishing anything important." Sounds like a good way to live to me.
"So your second language is Irish? Most of the guys speak Spanish, but I'm not sure what other foreign languages you guys speak." I chuckled.
"Irish is my second language. I love the language and studied it while I was deployed. Basically I taught myself, but I can hold conversations with the most Irish person you know. I even spent some time in Dublin after I got out of the Army. I'll take you there someday." He kissed the top of my head and I snuggled down into his embrace more.
"I can also speak Spanish, Italian, French, and some Mandarin Chinese. I'm working on my Chinese skills and once that's done, I'll move on to something else." I was amazed. I barely spoke English well, and here he is speaking six different languages. A thought dawned on me about the nickname he gave me so I asked the question that had been plaguing me.
"So Breá is one of those languages? I'm closer to finding out what it means." He chuckled.
"Sounds like I'm helping the enemy. I need to keep my big-mouth shut." I playfully slapped his chest. I didn't want him to stop talking. I wanted to know everything about him.
"What about the other tattoos. The arm sleeve is intricate and I love the design inside of it." I was running my fingers lightly down his arm, tracing the patterns.
"The others don't really mean anything. I got them because they looked cool. I don't regret any of them like so many people do and will probably get more. Do they bother you?" He sounded worried about asking me that question.
"They don't bother me. I think they're sexy as hell. You've done a good job with the designs. The first time I met you I wanted to strip you down and inspect where else you had tattoos. I could see your arms, but I knew there had to be more." He laughed and kissed my head.
"You can inspect me anytime you want to, Breá." I laughed. I wanted to inspect more, but I was too damn tired right now. I felt him laugh again. I guess I said that out loud.
"Sleep, Steph. I'll be here when you wake up." Hearing that promise, I let myself fall asleep. As long as this man was with me, I felt complete.
I woke up a couple of hours later and I was alone in bed. I glanced toward the bathroom, but it stood empty. I started to get out of bed when the voices from the kitchen stopped me. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but they sounded angry and were getting louder. I grabbed a shirt and threw it on to see what was going on.
I walked out to the kitchen to see Zero and Les standing toe to toe. Both had their fists clenched at their sides and they were yelling at each other. Unfortunately it was all in Spanish, so I couldn't understand them. I did understand their tone though and it wasn't pleasant. I knew they were talking about me and when I recognized the word, "puta", I was pissed. I took Spanish in high school, but I don't remember any of it except the dirty words and being called a whore was not something I could overlook.
"Excuse me? Who are you calling a whore? You best not be talking about me?" Zero and Les both flipped to face me with surprised looks on their faces. I guess they were focused on each other and not on their surroundings. Way to go guys.
"You understand Spanish?" Les looked sick and then I understood that 'whore' probably wasn't the worst thing they had said about me.
"Not all of it. I know the dirty words and I know 'puta' means whore. So tell me, Lester Santos, were you calling me a whore?" I was rapidly approaching rhino mode and it wasn't going to be pretty.
Les stuttered and stammered a few seconds before Zero stepped in to help him out.
"He wasn't calling you a whore, Breá. We were having a disagreement and Les decided to attack me verbally. He was just leaving." The last part was said with Zero staring daggers into Les. I didn't want anyone to leave until I knew what was wrong. I hated to see two friends fighting, and I hated it even more to think it's because of me.
"No one is leaving until I get some answers. I want to know what is going on. You guys are friends and you're about to kill each other." I looked from Zero who still looked pissed to Les who looked sheepish. Neither of them was talking and I was getting even more pissed off.
"Either of you have anything to say?" Crickets. Rhino mode in 5, 4, 3...oh fuck it!
"Fine! Both of you can get the fuck out. I want to know what is going on and since neither of you will open your fucking mouths to tell me, then you can just leave. Go to the mats and beat each other senseless." I turned and stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door. I grabbed some jeans and threw them on with the T-shirt. I ran a brush through my hair and pulled the mess back into a pony tail. I needed to get the hell out of the building and away from macho men who were acting stupid. I slipped on my tennis shoes and grabbed my coat.
I walked back out into the kitchen and both men were still standing there staring at each other. Neither of them had moved. I didn't say a word to them because they wouldn't of heard me anyway. I opened my door and walked out. I needed to find Tank and ask him for a set of keys to an SUV since my car was still parked at my apartment.
I exited the elevator on the fifth floor and saw Tank talking to the guys watching the monitors. He looked tired and stressed out.
"Tank, can I get a set of keys to an SUV, I need to get out of this building." I knew my tone of voice was pleading, but I didn't care. Tank looked at me worried and I could see his eyes searching the control room for something.
"Why don't you let me drive you wherever you need to go? I was just headed out to see Lula, so I can drop you off and pick you back up." Why the hell couldn't I drive myself? I didn't care at this point. I just wanted to leave.
"Fine! Can we go now, though?" I was impatiently tapping my foot. Tank noticed my impatience and ran to his office to grab his coat and keys. He reappeared a second later and led me to the elevator. As I was climbing into his giant SUV, I saw the door to the stairs open and Zero came running out. He noticed me with Tank and I recognized a flash of relief appear on his face. What the hell was that about?
Tank pulled out of the garage before Zero could get close to the vehicle. I let out a sigh of relief when we got a few blocks away from Haywood.
"Where to?" Tank kept his eyes on the road, but kept reaching down to where his phone was attached to his hip.
"Take me to Joe's house, please." He shot me a look and then focused back on the road. I knew what that look meant and frankly it pissed me off even more.
"Joe is a friend. That. is. all. What is with all the macho bull shit tonight with you guys? Zero and Les were in my apartment about ready to kill each other and now you're acting all possessive. I don't belong to RangeMan. I can have my own friends." I knew he didn't deserve to get both barrels, but once I started I just couldn't stop.
"I don't think you belong to us, and I don't know what's going on between Santos and Zero, but I intend to find out. I'm glad Joe's a friend. I just don't want you to fall into the same old patterns as before. The boss can't take that again." I assumed the patterns were my hopping in and out of bed with Joe. We had an on/off relationship that mostly consisted of sex. Why did Ranger care if I screwed the entire eastern shore?
"Your boss doesn't get to have a say about who I spend my time with. I don't question his free time so he doesn't get to question mine." Tank let out a small breath. Coming from him, that was huge. It was just like a full fledge hissy fit from me.
The rest of the trip to Joe's was done in silence, thank the Lord. I didn't want to hear anymore bullshit from Tank or anyone else tonight. The lights were on in the living room when we pulled up and I was out of the door before Tank even stopped the SUV.
"Thanks, I'll have Joe bring me back or I might just stay here tonight." I had no intention of spending the night WITH Joe, but I might sleep in the guest room to piss off the idiots back at Haywood.
I shut the door to the SUV and made my way to the front door. I could hear the TV on in the living room and I could picture the scene. I would find Joe on the couch with Bob lying on the floor in front of him. Pizza or Chinese take out boxes were sure to be spread out on the coffee table. There would probably be a game on the TV.
I didn't bother knocking, I just let myself in and could immediately smell the pizza. The scene however was different. Joe was on the couch, but he wasn't alone. His tongue was shoved down a petite blond woman's throat and her hand was fisted in his hair. They didn't heard me so I tried to sneak back out, but Bob ruined that plan. He noticed me backing out of the room and barked before he charged at me. That was enough to break Joe and his date's make out session. They both looked at me and I blushed. Joe was the first to break the awkward silence.
"Steph? Something wrong?" Hmmm, no 'Cupcake'. He must really like this woman.
"Nothing's wrong. I just needed a friend, but I can see that you're busy so I'll let myself out. I'm sorry for interrupting." I started to turn again, but was stopped by the woman's voice.
"Stephanie? Oh my God. You're THE Stephanie that Joey always talks about? It's so good to finally meet you." She stood and adjusted her disheveled clothes. She approached me and gave me a hug. I'm not a very touchy-feely person and I guess my unease showed on my face because I heard Joe laugh from his place on the couch.
"Yes, Karen. This is Stephanie Plum. Steph, the woman hugging you is Karen Holmes." I tried to pull away from the small woman, but she had a grasp on me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Karen. I can guarantee whatever Joe has told you about me were not all my fault." She laughed a rich infectious laugh and pulled away.
"He told me that you would say that." She looked back at Joe with a mischievous look. "I'm going to go and let you two talk. I've already broken every 'first date' rule that I have." She gathered her coat and purse and I watched as Joe walked her to the front door. He gave her a gentle kiss with a promise to call her the next day.
When he walked back past me he pulled me to the couch with him and we sat down together. I was leaning on his chest and our legs were both stretched out in front of us. This was how we always watched TV when we were together. It was comfortable.
"Wow, Joey. You're still quite the charmer aren't you?" I felt him chuckle behind me. He was always able to make girls forget their rules.
"What can I say, I have the gift!" I slapped his leg, but it was true. He did have a gift.
"So what's going on, Cupcake? You look like someone killed your dog." I didn't know I looked that bad. I didn't want to tell Joe about Zero and I, it felt entirely too weird.
"Same shit different day." I sighed. He didn't buy my lame excuse for my mood, but he didn't push for more either. We sat enjoying the silence until his phone beeped. I heard him cuss under his breath and knew that he got called into work.
"You gotta go?" I began to sit up so he could get off the couch.
"Yeah. Are you staying here or would you like a ride back to your apartment?" Hmm, I never thought about going home. I could get my car so I wouldn't feel as trapped at RangeMan.
"You wouldn't mind taking me home?" I stood off the couch with Joe's help.
"Nope. The crime scene is that direction anyway." We both put our coats on and walked out into the crisp night air. It was February so it was still a little bit nippily outside.
Joe let his SUV warm up before we took off toward my apartment building. He drove in silence and I stared out the window at all the passing houses and businesses. For once in my life, I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was quite happy with the silence in the car. I was able to get lost in my thoughts, but I guess I got a little too lost because Joe's voice broke me from my trance.
"You sure everything's okay, Steph? We've sat in your parking lot for five minutes." I turned toward him and smiled. It wasn't my normal smile, but it would work for now.
"Everything's fine. Thanks for the lift Joe." I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you tomorrow. You need to tell me about Karen." He blushed when I closed the door and watched him drive off toward the newest crime scene that needed his expert detective skills.
I walked slowly up to my apartment. I didn't really need anything from here, but I just wanted some time to myself. The attitude around RangeMan was bothering me and I wasn't entirely sure why. It was like they were all trying to protect me, but I didn't know from what. I haven't had any stalkers lately so they shouldn't be worried about that.
I walked into my dark apartment and flipped on the lights. I had messages that I assumed were from my mother. I didn't want to deal with her right then, so I left those alone. I grabbed a bag and a few more clothes to work in. Maybe I would see if I could help Tank out with paperwork or something. I really didn't want to spend another week locked in the apartment.
I was too concerned about getting all my RangeMan uniforms in the bag and I didn't hear the front door open and close. I had no idea someone else was in my apartment until I heard him speak.
"Well, well, well. Looks like I don't have to go fishing for you, you landed right in my lap." I turned around abruptly and looked at the stranger occupying the doorway to my bedroom.
"Who the hell are you and what the fuck do you want?" I didn't stutter, so that surprised me. I was scared as hell, but I wasn't letting it show. I discretely reached into my pocket and pressed the panic button that I always make sure to carry. I might have been independent, but I wasn't stupid.
"Let's just say that we have a mutual friend and I need you to give him a message for me. As for who I am..." In a second, he was across the room and I was thrown against the wall. He pushed himself into me and white hot pain shot through my back bringing tears to my eyes. "I'm your worst fucking nightmare. You will wish for death by the time I'm done with you." His hands roughly grabbed my breasts and I started to count seconds. I knew RangeMan was coming so I just had to hold on to my sanity for a little bit. The guys would rescue me, they always did before.
A/N - Sorry this is late getting out today, but I promised an update on Monday and I've got 2.5 hours to spare. I hope you enjoyed it. The next one will be out on Wednesday!