Freedom
Chapter 14
SPOV
Oh my god! I ache everywhere. What were we thinking continuing with the engagement party tonight? I must have had so much adrenaline running through me yesterday agree to this… or it could have been all the pain relievers Dr. Albritt gave me at the clinic. Either way, today is a much different story. As I attempt to get up from the bed, I must have been groaning which alerted Carlos to me being awake. He came through the doorway quickly and was at my side asking how I was feeling this morning. I took one look at him knowing the pain I was feeling reflected in my eyes and he disappeared, coming back with orange juice and one of my prescription pain relievers.
"Here you go, Babe. Take it easy getting up, your body was jostled around a lot yesterday in the accident and then closing up your wound. It's going to take some time to warm up your muscles and get rid of the soreness you're feeling."
"Thank you. Do you think you could give me a massage to help relieve some of the pain?"
"You bet. Let's get you into the bathroom to take care of business, then come back to bed and I'll rub ya down."
I went to the bathroom, and freshened up before crawling back on the bed, laying on my stomach, careful to not hurt my stitches. Carlos came back to our bedroom and I heard him take in a sharp breath. Guess he didn't think he'd come back in to find me naked on top of the bed. I buried my face in the pillow, a huge smile on my face knowing I'd surprised him, something I'm rarely able to pull off, at least when I'm trying that is.
I heard Carlos rubbing massage oil between his hands to warm it before it touched my skin and as soon as his hands made contact with my body, the electricity had me tingling. His hands are pure magic, turning each set of muscles he works into goo. I know I was moaning and when he asked me to turn over onto my back and I looked up at him, his eyes were black with lust.
"Carlos, please…"
"Please what, querida?" The sides of his lips were turned up ever so slightly and I knew he knew what I want.
"Please, make love to me. I need to feel connected to you, to have you fill me with love."
"Babe, are you sure? I don't want you hurting any worse than you already are."
I stood up and pushed him on the middle of the bed. Looking slightly confused, it registered what I was doing when I pulled his pants off and straddled him. I wanted, no, I needed to feel alive, to feel some power, have some control over something. And what better way to feel that power than riding the man I love for all I'm worth!
Carlos decided to work from the apartment today, probably just to keep an eye on me, and I can't say I mind. I like being close to him. And after our life-affirming love making, I was grateful he didn't leave me alone. Being so intimate with him has caused some self-reflection that I wasn't aware I needed to be making and having him here while I processed it in my head helps keep me centered.
This last 24 hours have been torture. So happy to be alive but so angry about how Hal, Hector and myself were treated yesterday. I know something happened to Joe months ago to turn him into the sick bastard he is today. He was never like this when we were together. Self centered and egotistical, yes, but not a raving madman. All I know is he was on an undercover assignment for a couple of months and only back a short time when I broke it off. Something may have happened on that assignment and my breaking off our relationship was the final straw. But still, willing to let Vince have me for a night before returning me to Joe? Allowing the woman you profess your love for and claim you want to marry and mother your children to be raped? That's sick on a really fucked up level.
Carlos said he wanted to discuss some things in regards to Joe after the engagement party. Apparently he has a plan that will bring this all to a head. I can honestly say I'm a bit scared to hear what said plan is. But that's something to worry about later. For now, I just want to enjoy this special day anticipating the party Ella and I worked so hard to plan. Unfortunately, with the pain relievers in my system now, and having eaten a small breakfast burrito from Ella, I'm finding it harder and harder to keep my eyes open.
RPOV
I'm an incredibly lucky man. The woman I love is safe by my side, and we were able to make love this morning, reaffirming our connection. When I walked into the bedroom to see her lying naked, arms at her side and legs apart, I thanked God for the gift of sparing her life yesterday. I will spend the rest of my life protecting her and loving her. Today is about celebrating our decision to join our lives. I'm trying desperately to get some work done on my laptop here on the sofa next to Steph, but my eyes keep gravitating to her beautiful face, peacefully sleeping. She's got to be exhausted after yesterday and as much as I question if she's physically up for this party tonight, I know she needs a heaping dose of happy as she likes to put it and to be surrounded by the love of her friends and family. I've already talked with Tank this morning, and security has been tightened even more if possible. He and I have a little visit we need to make later this morning, then the rest of the day will be devoted to doting on my fiancé. I've got a few surprises up my sleeve which I'm hoping she'll like.
Needing to meet Tank downstairs, I call Hal to come up and sit with Steph and I leave her a note. As much as I hate leaving her here while she's sleeping, I know it will be better this way. I don't want her worrying about where I'm going.
Tank and I met in his office to go over some paperwork and then we suited up and are heading out to make a social visit. We decided last minute to bring Hector in with us to have someone keep an eye out and scramble any devices that may be surveillancing the house. Morelli isn't going to know what hit him. His punishment has been a long time coming. This is beyond personal. He's still going down for the crimes he's committed, but that will happen in due time. For now, he needs a little lesson on what happens when you fuck with me and my woman.
We pulled up to the local junkyard and switch vehicles. Mike at Mike's Salvage Yard owes me a favor and today I'm collecting by borrowing a nondescript delivery truck. We have jackets that have a plumbing company emblem on the back and ball-caps to match. No one should question our being at Morelli's.
Arriving at Morelli's just a little before 11am, the house is quiet, but we know he's home from the surveillance we've had on him. Hector led our team to the door and pretended to ring the doorbell while picking the lock, to keep up appearances. Letting ourselves in, the house was quiet, but we heard grunting in the basement. Hector activated the scrambling device and we silently descended the basement stairs, guns drawn. Morelli was around the corner, in his make-shift work out area, punching the crap out of a punching bag. I walked up behind him, putting my gun to his temple and told him to turn around. When he did, his eyes noticeably widened and he tried to fight me. I holstered my gun, and while Tank held him back by his arms, I took off my gun belt. This fight is on.
Twenty minutes. I beat the crap out of him while he tried to defend himself for twenty minutes. Besides a couple of shots I let him get on me, Morelli is the declared loser of this match. His eye is swelling shut, lip busted open in several places, nose broken, ribs more than likely bruised if not a few broken, and his private parts non-functioning for a while. That last kick to 'his boys' I got off for Steph. Morelli would be out of commission for a few days. When I was done, I gave Hector the chance to get in a few blows. I've never seen Hector smile during a fight, but today was about more than a beat down for him. He was taken down when protecting Steph whom he loves as a sister and that's not something he knows how to handle.
Today was about punishing Morelli for what he's done to Steph over the last several months. For letting another man, my former employee kidnap and try to rape her. Sooner than later, he's going to get his ultimate punishment, but that one I cannot deliver, at least not today. This one I could and I did.
We left Morelli downstairs, weak and unable to move, but still alive. Hector checked out the house, just to make sure no one else was there that could've seen us and what he found in Morelli's office was beyond disturbing. He had pictures covering an entire wall, all of Stephanie. They were of her doing take downs, a few while doing distractions for me, but most were candids of her just in her everyday life. What disturbed me was he had a few pictures of her naked while she slept in the bed in her old apartment. Knowing Steph would never allow him to do so, I was enraged that he would degrade her privacy like this. We took pictures documenting the wall, careful to not disturb anything as it would be used as evidence against him later, showing his obsession with Steph.
I need to get out of this bastard's house, to get back to my babe. I need to see her, to feel her, to know she's safe.
SPOV
I've been awake for about an hour now and something doesn't feel right. Carlos left me a note that said 'I have some business to take care of, be back shortly, love, Carlos.' I know something's up and my appointed babysitter, Hal, won't say a word about it. Hal keeps trying to distract me by playing cards or watching tv, but I see through him and I'm pissed.
"Please Hal, something doesn't feel right, I need to talk to Carlos."
"He'll be back any minute now, just trust him and don't worry."
"Ya, famous last words, 'don't worry'. Don't you know that every time someone tells you not to worry, it means you best be worrying your heart out because something isn't right?" I didn't realize I was yelling until Carlos burst through the door and demanded to know what the hell was going on. I ran to him and jumped in his arms.
"Where were you? I had a bad feeling while you were gone that something bad was happening and Hal wouldn't let me call you!"
"Babe, I'll tell you all about it, but first, let's eat. Tank, Hector and I paid someone a visit this morning and we picked up Pino's pizza on our way back home. Let's eat and then we'll talk, ok?"
"Ok, if you promise me you'll tell me everything. Wait, you brought home Pino's pizza? Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I miss their pizza so much, I know what he's going to tell me is bad now, he never brings home pizza.
We ate a nice lunch, with Tank telling us some stories about Carlos and his early days with the Rangers. I know he was just distracting me, but I appreciated knowing a little more about each of them. After lunch, we went to the living room. Carlos and I took the sofa, Tank took the recliner, Hector the ottoman and Hal sat on the coffee table.
"Babe, we paid Morelli a visit today. I don't want to give you too many details, and I don't want to upset you, but I couldn't take it anymore. Watching the torment he was unleashing on you, I'd had enough and I needed to kick his ass."
"Wait, you went to Joe's today? How could you?"
"You're mad that I hurt Morelli?"
"God no, I'm mad that you could've been seen, that you could go to jail for assaulting an officer, that you could… you could…"
RPOV
I made her cry. She's crying and my men are looking at me like I'm a jackass. "What babe, I could what?"
She was barely speaking in a whisper when she said "You could be taken from me."
"Oh, babe, no, no, no one will ever take me from you. We were careful."
Hector spoke up and was rubbing her leg, letting her know he was close. "Bonita, we scramble all electronics in house, we dress as plumbers and go in plumbers truck. We not seen by no one."
"Why?" She wants to know, "why today?"
Tank saved me from this one. "Steph, this man beside you that loves you more than life, has been through hell these last 24 hours. You were kidnapped, would've been raped if we hadn't found you in time, almost killed in a car accident right before our eyes, in surgery, unresponsive for a while. We almost lost you yesterday, multiple times. Ranger was beside himself with worry and anger. Not only did Morelli need to be punished old school style, but we needed to know that tonight of all nights, he wouldn't be capable of trying anything."
"Is he… is he… alive?" She asked between sobs.
"Ya, babe, he's alive. Hurting, but alive."
"Oh my god! Are you guys alright? Did he hurt you?" She sat up quickly looking the three of us over, running her hands down my torso.
"No, babe, we're good." I couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Morelli getting in any punches that would actually cause damage. He just isn't that good.
"Steph, we need to tell you about something we found in his office upstairs." I glared at Tank. I don't know if now's the time to do this. "He has an entire wall collaged with pictures of you. He's obsessed with you."
"What kind of pictures?" She asked rather sheepishly.
"Mostly of you while working, shopping, with friends. A few… I'm sorry, honey, but a few were of you naked while you were sleeping in the bed back at your old apartment."
I wasn't expecting her reaction to Tank's words. She jumped up and screamed, "What? That bastard!" She started pacing.
Tank stepped in front of her. "We didn't look at the naked pictures, when we saw what they were, we turned away, respecting your privacy. Ranger was the only one that looked at them."
"Thanks Tank. That's ok. I'm not worried about that so much as that he's looking at me naked! He took them without my permission and now he's doing god knows what with me naked on paper!"
"Guys, let's wrap this up. Steph and I need to talk alone."
I let my men out of the apartment and sat Steph on the kitchen bar, pulling her legs apart and stepping inside them. "Babe, there were four pictures. Besides your naked form, nothing too revealing was visible if you know what I mean."
"I appreciate that, it's just…how many more ways can I feel violated by this man?" She hung her head and lowered her voice and said, "and why does he want to hurt me so badly?"
"He wants to possess you, to own you, to have you all to himself. He sees you as an object. He doesn't even know the real you. Try not to let him get to you."
"Well, he's doing a damn good job of making me feel dirty every chance he gets."
"Babe, you are not dirty. You are the most precious, valuable, untainted, beautiful people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. And you're mine."
She smiled and replied, "and you're mine."
"And don't you forget it." She looked up at me and I saw the sparkle return to her gorgeous blue eyes when I gave her one of my full smiles.
"Babe, our party is in four hours. Connie and Lula are coming over in two hours to help you get ready. Do you want to take a nap or watch a movie before they get here?"
"Connie and Lula are coming? You did that for me?"
"Babe, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. I want to see you happy, and I thought a little time with the girls who you haven't seen much of lately would help with that. They were really excited when I called. Tank took them both shopping yesterday and they each bought a new dress, shoes and accessories. They can't wait to spend time just the three of you like old times."
"Thank you Carlos! You're the best. I don't deserve you and all you do for me. I hope you know how much everything you do for and give me means. You make me feel cherished and loved. I can't wait to become your wife and show you my love every day."
"Nor can I, babe. But you're wrong about one thing. You do deserve what I can do for you, and so much more. You haven't had an easy life, and I plan on fixing that."
Somehow, the thought of watching a move together didn't appeal to either of us. Instead, just cuddling on the sofa, feeling each other's warm embrace, that was all we needed to pass the time, each of us lost in our own thoughts, no doubt of each other.
Up next… the engagement party! Sorry, I just thought we'd gone too long without Joe getting a little of what he deserves. And poor Ranger just needed to vent… all over Joe's sorry self!
Lori