Chapter 8

"Excuse me sir, but there's a woman here in reception who insists on speaking to you"

"Did she give you a name?"

Wondering who would be calling here at Rangeman. It wasn't as if clients would need to see me, they'd phone to make an appointment. My curiosity was piqued now.

"Connie Rosolli, sir"

Yeah, definitely piqued.

"I'll be right down"

I took the stairs down the five flights, wondering why Connie would be coming here to see me. Coming out into the reception area I saw Connie leant against the desk talking to the man on duty. I watched for a moment until at last the man noticed me watching and then he was quick to step away from the desk. Of course, Connie was aware of his sudden movement, so she turned toward me.

"Connie. You wanted to talk to me. Let's take this to one of the rooms that's more private"

I opened the door that led to the ground floor conference room often used for client meetings and holding the door open watched as Connie walked past me trying to judge her mood. She looked the same with her tight skirt that reached her knee and the blouse that revealed a little too much cleavage for my liking. Beneath her perfectly coiffed hair her face revealed a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and even as she passed me, she was looking down at the ground. Telltale signs that told me that she really didn't want to be here and was nervous.

Once inside the room I held a chair for Connie before sitting down a few feet away from her and turning to her.

"Connie, you wanted to talk to me?"

I watched as she turned toward me, her eyes still averted, trying to be patient while she collected herself.

"I promised Steph that I wouldn't say anything but, well, she should have been back by now, so I'm worried about her"

I expected her to say something like that, after all her and Lula were good friends to Steph.

"When exactly did she leave?"

Because at the moment I wasn't even sure of that. Tank had said that he hadn't been aware of any problems for a few weeks so did that mean that was how long she'd been away for?

"It was a Monday, because Vinnie doesn't usually come in until lunchtime and Lula, well she comes in when it suits her"

I waited as Connie frowned and hoped that she was thinking through exactly when that had been.

"Monday, it must have been two and half weeks ago. Yeah, because Vinnie was pissed off that Crotchet was still outstanding"

I hadn't realized that it was that long ago, damn it, why hadn't Tank realized that Steph had left Trenton. I had to tamp down my emotions before I scared Connie so went with the other thing that had been bothering me.

"Why did you have Steph's bag at the Bonds office?"

Deciding that maybe Connie would feel easier if I asked her the questions.

"She came in really early that morning, really nervous, asking me to keep it for her. She'd locked up her apartment and wasn't keen to leave her things there knowing how easily people broke in and wrecked the place"

Which I suppose accounted for why Steph's apartment keys were in her bag. It reminded me that I'd need to retrieve her bag from my car and have a better look through it. Then a sudden thought came to my mind.

"Didn't Steph keep her wallet and cards in her bag?"

Surely if she was travelling then she would need them.

"That was a question that I asked her, but she said that she had what she needed and didn't want anyone to know who she was. Ranger, I don't even know why she was leaving town and there are so many rumors floating around. I know Morelli left the same day and that's fueling the gossip, but she avoided answering me"

Okay, that was a new situation that I hadn't counted on.

"So did she say where she was headed for?"

Connie sighed out loud as though she was now relieved to be able to tell someone and hopefully, I was the one that she would tell.

"No. Only that she was leaving her possessions with me for safe keeping and if you came back before her to pass her bag to you, that you would keep it safe"

A shrug of her shoulders told me that she had no idea why Steph had done that.

"I don't know, I didn't really think about it at the time. I came because I'm worried. She should have been back by now and I hate to think that she's in trouble"

Connie's eyes had tears in them as she looked up at me and to be honest, I didn't have the heart to ask her anything else. I knew that there was more, just from how Lula had reacted when I was in the bonds office but eventually they'd tell me. Hell, Lula was terrible at staying quiet. I waited for Connie to compose herself before leading her to the front door and out to her car. As I watched her drive away, I had one thought go through my mind, where the hell are you, Babe.

Looking at my watch as I climbed the stairs to five, I realized that I needed to prepare for the meeting with the core team. Just as they all arrived at my office, I'd just finished printing off the reams of information from Ashworth and placed them in piles onto the table. Even as the three men sat down, they were picking up the papers which had me hoping that they'd managed to read the information before they'd got here.

"Not an easy job, and a lot of the work will be looking over this data to find what was missed"

I took on board what Santos was saying because he was right. The FBI had made several blunders when they knew that the man was on his way here and their communication with an agency like Interpol may not have been easy.

"I agree. It was sloppy. A man like that isn't going to walk into the arms of a welcoming committee. He'd have arrived on a different flight or even one into a different city and made sure he had a distraction working for him"

I was pleased that Santos and Bobby had already started to put together ideas which to me implied that they were up for taking on this job. I looked at Tank hoping he would give his opinion because for a job like this we all needed to be in agreement.

"Hey, I agree. We have the men who could do the research and that's where most of the work will happen"

I nodded my head at him because his opinion was important for us if we were to work as a team.

"I'll let Ashworth know. Tank, who do you have in mind to do the grunt work?"

"Flynn and Ajax. Little Girl asked them some very astute questions at their interview, gave them scenarios and how they would resolve them. Ajax was very detail orientated, while Flynn had a different way of looking at things. It's worth giving them a try"

I was surprised with Tank's choice but wasn't going to argue with him. It wouldn't be pulling other men away from their routines so business wouldn't be affected.

"Do we need to bring in a couple of contractors?"

"I'll sort it"

Was Tank's response. It seemed that we'd made some decisions quickly, so I was going to reply to Ashworth and have him email the contract over to us to formalize our employment as the men left.

"Tank, have the two men meet with me in the conference room next door after the morning meeting"

I added as Tank left my office. I stayed sat at the table wondering what else I could do to find out more about where Steph was when I noticed Santos sit back down again. I'd honestly thought that he'd left with the other two guys.

"Okay, spit it out. What else is going on?"

I looked at him wondering what he was asking about because I'd given them all the information that I'd had from Ashworth.

"I saw that Connie was here earlier and that she seemed upset when she left"

Those damn cameras around the building. I knew they were an aspect of Rangeman that we'd all agreed on. It ensured the safety of the building but also some degree of surveillance. Anyone who worked here were aware of them and generally ignored that they were there, but it was times like now when I regretted that Santos had been watching my interaction with Connie.

"I'm worried about Steph. Connie said that she should have been home by now"

I'd expected some quick witted comment from Santos so was surprised when he remained serious and leant forward with his elbows on the table.

"Steph isn't stupid. Okay she can be a bit of a lose canon but only because she's following her instincts, which are usually right"

I suppose that he was right which wasn't helping the way that I was worrying about her.

"I'm not sure where she even went. For some reason Steph left any id here in Trenton"

"Maybe she knew that she was heading into the unknown and being a bounty hunter wouldn't be in her best interests"

Smart thinking from Santos and I had to agree with him and thought that maybe Steph was right in her thinking, but that wouldn't help to locate her.

"What did Connie say?"

"That she had no idea why Steph would leave her bag with her and that she should have been back by now"

"Her bag? That is strange. Didn't she say something else, maybe an idea of where she was going?"

I shook my head and closed my eyes for a second as I recalled exactly what Connie had said.

"I know that the kid called Steph asking for help, so I'll ask Hector if he can find that call and backtrack its origin"

The only thing left to do was to get Hector to get into Steph's phone records and look for a call that came from out of state. At least that might give us a location to start from. It was me with my phone out now as I sent that request to Hector hoping that he'd be able to do it, though how long it would take him was another matter.

The frustration and worry were getting to me, but at least Santos had the sense to leave me on my own. I had no ideas to follow up on with regard to where Steph had gone and could only hope that she was safe. As a last ditch attempt, I pulled up the security that Rangeman had covering the Bonds office putting in the date for the Monday that Connie had mentioned. I knew that Connie opened the office at 0800 hours so started to watch the recording from that time stamp. Connie appeared on the screen as she unlocked the door and walked inside but I was surprised when a few minutes later Steph came into view. She was wearing jeans and a thick hoodie along with boots with her bag over her shoulder.

As she approached the door Morelli appeared from behind her. From how Steph turned around to face him I could see just how annoyed she was. There was my Babe I thought. How I wished that there was audio because from how Steph was stood with her hands on her hips, I was sure that she was shouting at him. Even as Morelli moved toward her, he was looking around probably concerned that Steph would attract attention. Steph threw her arms up in the air before she walked into the office and Morelli moved out of sight. Did that mean that they had left together? Had Morelli realized that Steph was leaving town? Shit. I felt so confused right now and totally at a loss with what to believe.

Had I learnt anything from watching this? No not really. Whatever vehicle Steph was using wasn't within the range of the camera, she'd know that the office was monitored so had parked further away. Damn it. There were no records that showed that Steph had bought another vehicle, though knowing Steph she could have paid for it with cash from some backstreet garage. That put paid to being able to pick up the vehicle that she was using on any street cams. Though I was sure that Mary Lou had said that she was going to be driving a truck. Didn't stop me from trying though. I spent hours combing through views from cameras but to be honest, while I found a few trucks that might have matched, I lost any of them as they left Trenton. Another dead end but I wasn't going to be giving up. I was supposed to be the best at finding people, so damnit, I was going to find my Babe.

I have to admit that even after working for so many hours sleep illuded me, at least sleep that was deep and without dreams. I eventually got up from bed with the memories that had plagued me during the night and not the ones that you would think. Yes, they included Steph, but they were of her face and the myriad of expressions that said more than her words could. Smiles and laughter when she was trying to tease me, frowns when she was lost in thought and of course how her eyes seemed to change color with her moods. It was weird but I actually missed her, her energy and enthusiasm, and the lightness that she brought with her.

I realized that I'd probably taken those characteristics for granted, maybe even taken those emotions that she showed me for granted. I'd told Steph that I loved her but had qualified what that love meant. I knew why I'd done that, because I could never see myself with one woman, especially a woman like Steph. She was too good for someone like me, a mercenary that followed the orders of my superiors, never questioning the outcome. A man who thrived in the dangerous areas of humanity. I honestly believed that Morelli was the better man for her and when the novelty of being a bounty hunter and associating with me wore off, I was sure that she'd slot into the life that was destined from her upbringing. So why was I concerned that she might be with Morelli?

As those thoughts went through my mind I showered and dressed for the day ahead. I was almost regretting having agreed to take on the contract from Ashworth because I really wasn't wanting to have to spend valuable time finding some man that may or may not be in the country. I made my way down to level five knowing that Tank was expecting me to speak with those two men. Maybe their research would delay me having to go after the man, but eventually I knew I'd have to because that was what was expected of me.

After attending the morning meeting, I made my way into the conference room to start the research of Ashworth's man. The two men, Flynn and Ajax stood up as I entered the room to which I raised my hand indicating for them to sit back down. They were young and I suppose nervous with having me being the one to debrief them. Ajax, as he preferred to be called, was probably the same height as me with the muscle definition that came from working out. He had dark brown hair that looked to be growing out from a crew cut and light brown eyes making his appearance less intimidating. Flynn was almost the opposite, blonde and pale blue eyes and being the smaller of the two. I was pleased to see that Tank had already provided both of them with the information that Ashworth had passed on, so now all that I had to do was to tell them my expectations.

"We've been contracted to find a man who goes by the name, Chevré. A man who specializes in making and providing explosives for the right price. What I need from you is that you acquaint yourselves with the information that's come through from the FBI and provide us with something that will help us to do that"

I wasn't sure what else I could say because if Tank was right with how he'd judged these two men, then they would need to work through the evidence and find the clues, clues that had so far eluded both Interpol and the FBI. Not asking much really and I wanted to see how they would work through the problem without me having to hold their hands every step of the way.

"On it, boss"

Came from Ajax as he looked back down at the papers. Flynn just nodded his head as he started to hit the keys on the laptop in front of him. I'd expected questions or even excuses so was pleasantly surprised with how they seemed so focused on their task.

"If you need anything, even its help, advice or a sounding board then ask Tank or me"

"Can we have sole use of this room to work in?"

"Yes. Use the boards if you need to, but ensure the door is locked when you're not here"

I rose from my chair when no other questions were asked and made my way from the room. A quick text to Ella had me asking her to ensure that they had refreshments because I could envisage them spending a lot of time in that room. Stepping into my office I was surprised to find Santos sat on the couch as though waiting for me. A look at him told me that he seemed tired, as though he hadn't slept well. I wasn't aware of any break ins during the night and was sure that Santos hadn't been on duty.

"A rough night Santos?"

Assuming that maybe he'd hit the clubs and found himself a willing woman. The look that he gave me implied that wasn't the case which had me curious as to why he looked so rough.

"No, not really. I couldn't stop thinking about Beautiful and what Connie had told you. If Steph mentioned something to Connie, then I was trying to work out what it could be, so I ended up going over to her apartment"

I'd been there though hadn't really looked around searching for anything. Hell, the place was tidier than I'd ever seen it before.

"I get on great with Steph. We have similar tastes, so I spent an age looking through her apartment for any clues. I couldn't find anything, which to be honest surprised me, in fact the place was tidier than I've ever seen it. No phone or laptop though"

I appreciated what Santos had done and it was a good route to follow up on. I hated to admit to myself that it should have been me who had done that. I was about to thank him for trying when he surprised me by continuing to talk.

"Look, I know you feel that you need to find her, but you've got to trust her"

I heard what he was saying and had to concede that he could be right though the idea that Morelli might be with her annoyed me.

"This feels different"

Was all that I could say because this was different. It wasn't that I didn't trust Steph, but Morelli? I mean he was a good cop, but he was also an arrogant bastard when dealing with people. I knew that Steph would try to mediate his interactions, but would that be enough to find that boy and then get them home. That was if Morelli was even with her.

"This isn't about her safety though, is it? When you find her, you'd better tell her how important she is to you because there's a line of men here that would be there to catch her when Morelli and you screw up again"

Santos made a quick exit from my office which was probably a good thing. I wasn't sure which part of what he'd said annoyed me the most. That he was assuming what I felt for Steph or that any of my men would dare to make a pass at her. As I looked at the closed door, I came to the conclusion that it didn't matter what he'd said. At this moment in time, I'd be more than happy just to know that she was okay.

To keep myself occupied I remained in my office and focused on the mountain of paperwork that Tank had accumulated for me. I now knew why I hated paperwork and also why Steph hated being sat at a computer all day. There had to be a better way of dealing with it because I still had to look through financial reports. Maybe we needed to hire accountants rather than just submitting the end of year books. That would certainly alleviate my frustration and allow me to do the things that I wanted to do.

Standing up I stretched trying to rid the aches that had developed from sitting so long. I needed a session in the gym in order to stretch out my muscles and relax my brain.