Chapter 16

RPOV

It was seven hours later when we stepped off the jet at the private airfield outside Trenton. I noticed that Tank was one of the men who had driven over to collect us so made my way with my bags toward where he was stood. Brett, Bones and Ram seemed to appreciate that they would be travelling back in the other car so as they made to place their luggage in the trunk of their SUV, I reminded them to meet with me after the morning meeting.

"Ajax and Flynn want to see you when you get in"

I looked to Tank as I heard what he said and was wondering why Ajax hadn't called me if he had an update. I wasn't about to ask Tank because had he known what that was about then he would have told me. It was dark as we travelled through the streets, and I watched the passing buildings. It felt familiar being back in Trenton and once again I was feeling that sense of coming home. Strange really because my plan had been to locate back to Miami once Trenton was up and running. It never happened like that, and I was remembering why that was. I smiled to myself as I realized that a certain curly haired, blue eyed bounty hunter had something to do with it when she'd literally blown into my life. Her not being here dampened my spirit a bit, making me sigh. Shit, since when did I sigh? Fortunately, Tank didn't seem to notice because he was listening to Santos tell him what we'd been doing down in Missouri, though I was very much aware that he never once mentioned us having Mac there to help us.

Once in the Rangeman garage I took the stairs up to level five and made my way to the conference room where Ajax and Flynn were working. Ever since Tank had mentioned that they'd wanted to see me I was slowly feeling the adrenaline move around my body ready for the next stage in finding our man.

"If he left Missouri then he either drove a different vehicle or he used another alias that we've not come across yet. Flynn checked through every single man that flew out starting with any that would connect to New York. Hell, he even tried the private charters"

Not good news, so why the hell was it so important for me to see them straight away?

"Ajax you said that you needed to see me. What was so important?"

I watched as Ajax looked over to Flynn and they exchanged a look. To me that implied that whatever it was that they were about to say wasn't good. I followed Ajax as he sat down next to Flynn so sat down next to him. It seemed that maybe it was Flynn who had stumbled onto something, something that maybe he wasn't too sure about.

"Erm, I know it wasn't what I was supposed to do, but"

I wasn't sure what he was talking about and couldn't imagine what it was that he wasn't supposed to do. I hadn't given any limits on what they researched. I continued to look at Flynn and could see that he was becoming very nervous.

"I haven't put anything off limits, so tell me what it is that you've found"

I kept my voice low in the hope that Flynn wouldn't feel threatened by telling me what he'd been working on.

"Well, I went back to the beginning. I took the information that had come from Ashcroft but delved deeper"

I was probably frowning internally but tried very hard to maintain a neutral face.

"Why?'

Just automatically came from me because I couldn't understand the need to do that.

"Something felt hinky"

I'd heard that word being used before by none other than Steph. I trusted her instincts and most of the time they were justified. Again, I was waiting even though I was wanting to shout out for him to just get on with telling me.

"I relooked at what Ashcroft had sent and did some research of my own. Maybe that man was responsible for some of the devices that caused explosions but not for all of them. Before, when I was serving, well I. I was caught up in an ambush. Sorry, I'm getting there. Anyway, there was a disposal expert that I got to know really well, and he knows his stuff, so I got in touch with him. That suicide bomber, well it used a dead man's switch with a mercury float. He knew because he'd been the one asked to look at the remnants. No way was that device the work of this man"

I sat back in my chair as I considered what Flynn had said. Was someone being overzealous and trying to clear their cases by blaming that explosion on our man? It was a possibility, but why hadn't Ashcroft picked that up or was he relying too much on the evidence from Interpol?

"Flynn, keep on it. Maybe it will give us something else to work with"

I had no idea how that information might help us, but I wasn't about to question the direction that Flynn's thoughts were taking him. As I left the room to go up to my apartment, I knew that I needed to look at Flynn's records. Tank had said that he'd experienced PTSD and that was why he'd been retired out of the service, but I wanted to know what had happened to him for him to have been so badly affected. That would mean logging onto the secure network at the Pentagon which I hoped I still had access to.

Entering the apartment didn't have me feeling settled as it usually did. What Flynn had said was unsettling because we had always trusted the information that came through from Ashcroft. Now I wasn't too sure about that if Flynn was right. I found a plate in the fridge that Ella had left and removed the waxed cover to find a salad. She was doing her best to reduce our use of plastic so was now using the reusable waxed material. Taking the plate into my office I powered up my laptop and as I ate filled in my login for the site that I needed to be in, pleased that I still had access. Moments later I was reading the reports that made up Flynn's background.

Flynn had been part of a forward surveillance team consisting of three armored vehicles. It seemed that they'd driven into an area that was infested with landmines so when the first vehicle took a direct hit to its underside the other vehicles had come to a stop. Flynn had told the men with him not to move because he was sure that there were more IEDs around them. Of course his team mates didn't believe him and he'd watched as two of them had left the safety of the vehicle and been blown to pieces. The third man was stood on an IED panicking as to what to do. Move and he was history along with Flynn. Flynn was grabbed by men from the third vehicle, and he'd watched as his friend moved and blew himself to pieces. When support had arrived, there was only Flynn and two men left alive, all too frightened to move away from the vehicles. Flynn was incoherent but kept rambling on that there were more devices around them. A Captain Jordon had painstakingly neutralized the devices that were left.

Flynn's medical report concluded that he had flashbacks and a real fear of anyone coming too close to him and that his irrational behavior was a threat to other soldiers. I had no doubt that at the time Flynn had been sensing more devices around him and was scared enough that he didn't want to see any other men killed, something that the army wouldn't understand. I felt awful that I'd submerged him into a case where explosions were the focus, then again, maybe he was beginning to cope with what had happened to him. From reading his history I felt a new sense of admiration for this man, and I was also confident of what he'd uncovered.

All the reading made me feel weary, so after closing down my laptop I pondered what to do next. Since when did I ponder anything? What the hell was wrong with me? I needed to get myself to bed and hoped for a new development in the morning.

The next day went in a blur with me once again catching up on paperwork. The only reprieve was my usual time in the gym. Tank had put together a couple of job descriptions for the roles that we'd spoken about, a financial assistant and an office manager, which I'd looked at several times. In the end after a couple of subtle changes I sent the adverts to the recruitment site that we used. By the second day I was getting restless so decided to tag onto Cal who was going after an FTA.

Restless probably wasn't the word that any of my men were using. That they avoided me was pretty obvious. Even Santos had stayed away from me which in the whole scheme of things didn't bother me. Was the reason for my foul mood us not being able to find the FBI unsub, no, like I could give a fuck about that. I felt lost without my Babe. Not knowing where she was or if she was hurt or in danger. I'd convinced myself that Morelli hadn't gone with Steph, though I couldn't discover where the hell he was. I felt more than frustrated so needed a distraction and what better way than going after an FTA.

As usual for Cal he'd done his research well and the man in question had been found in the bed of his favorite ho passed out. It was a textbook apprehension with no opportunity or need for me to flex my muscles. So much for venting my frustration. Maybe a visit to the police station might glean some answers but I doubted it. It was when we entered the station, and I was casually scanning the sea of faces that were loitering around that I did a double take. Stood at the back of the room talking to Eddie was Mac, his appearance similar to how I'd remembered from our time down in Missouri.

It was a strange encounter as he walked past me, totally ignoring me, so I made my way over to Eddie to see if he would be forthcoming with some information.

"Who was that, Eddie?"

Nodding over to Mac's retreating back and wanting anyone within earshot to assume that I had no idea who Mac was.

"Henry. He's the new bounty hunter for Vinnie, seeing as Steph hasn't come back"

Was I surprised that Mac had turned up here in Trenton? Of course, I was. The last time that I'd seen him he was walking away from us with no indication that he would be heading to Trenton. That had me wondering why he was here. Did he know something, because I'd never mentioned to him Steph disappearing or a way for him to insert himself into the community. Yet here he was chatting away to Cal and Binkie as they waited for their body receipt. Santos. That devious cousin of mine, it had to be. Getting some control back I turned away from watching Mac, wouldn't be good for someone to think that I had my eye on him.

"I heard that the boy had come home. Any news on Steph or Morelli?"

"No, but the kid's lying. I spoke to him the day after, and he was coy with his answers. Stuck to his story and even had some old bus tickets that he was showing to everyone"

That was easy enough to do. All he had to do was to go through some garbage cans at the bus terminal and he'd find the old tickets that people threw away. Smart kid. Maybe he might be a Morelli who would escape that dysfunctional family. I had the feeling that Eddie had nothing new to tell me so was surprised that when I turned to walk back over to the exit his hand shot out and caught hold of my arm. I turned surprised that he was stood so close to me but then immediately knew that he was wanting to tell me something that only I would hear.

"I've made a habit of driving past Steph's apartment. You know, just in case. Anyway, this morning, Dillon was emptying some rubbish out and he came over to see me. Said that Steph would be back soon because he'd received cash under his door during the night and a note to cover her rent for the next month"

I was left stood there watching as Eddie walked away from me completely at a loss. Who would pay Steph's rent other than her and sometimes me when she was struggling with her finances. Had Steph come back to Trenton but was hiding out somewhere? Why wouldn't she come to me? Because she'd said that she couldn't talk to Connie, Tank or anyone at Rangeman. She might not even realize that I was back in town.

"You ready Ranger?"

Came from Cal as he looked at me. He probably thought that I was losing it as I'd been totally unaware of his presence. Even as Cal drove us back to Rangeman I was trying to work out what the hell was going on. First Mac had turned up here and was obviously working undercover and then there was the mystery of Steph's rent being paid.

Back at Rangeman I ensconced myself in my office because I was sure that Mac would be calling me, and I didn't have long to wait before my phone was ringing.

"Meet me tonight at the all night café, 1161 Lawrenceville Road, 2200hrs"

The phone went dead before I'd had a chance to even ask who it was, fortunately, I'd recognized Mac's number and his voice. That left me with the afternoon and evening before discovering if he'd managed to find out anything. In the meantime, I needed a private conversation with Santos because I had a suspicion that Santos must have spoken with Mac, and I needed to know what had been said. Looking at the rosta I discovered that he was overseeing a site installation so decided to go to him, yeah, that was how worried I was with what Mac knew. Would Santos have told him just how worried I was about Steph's disappearance, hell I hoped not.

I took the turbo as I knew there was no tracker in the car and no cameras or surveillance equipment installed. This was my personal vehicle, and I wasn't prepared to have my life an open book for anyone to see. After letting Bobby know where I was going, I was soon speeding out of the garage. The client was Harlech Industries which I remembered him mentioning before now. It was on a new industrial unit down river in a subdivision that had been earmarked for development. Finding the place, I was aware of the two SUVs parked up, so made my way into the building. Fortunately, Santos was at the reception desk, unfortunately he looked to be chatting up the blonde woman.

It was when the woman looked toward me and smiled that Santos turned around. He frowned before he slipped a piece of paper toward her and then was quick to come over toward me.

"You may just have cost me a date. Did you see how she looked at you instead of me?"

To be honest I was totally unaware of that happening.

"Not my type Santos"

Which was true. I wasn't into busty blondes, in fact as I thought about it, I wasn't into any woman who seemed to flirt and throw themselves at me. No there was only one woman that I craved for.

"We need to talk. My car"

Was all that I said as I walked out of the building. Santos was quick to follow with a serious expression on his face. He must have thought that I had news or something, but it was him who I wanted to talk. I waited until he was settled in the passenger seat and the door was closed before getting straight to the point for my impromptu visit.

"What have you told Mac?"

Deciding to be blunt and to the point with what I wanted to know. If Santos was surprised that I knew that he'd spoken with Mac, he didn't show it.

"He called implying that he hated it when he left a job unfinished, so I asked if he was up for some undercover work. I told him that we were worried that we might have a leak at Rangeman which meant that I told him why we suspected that"

I contemplated that trying to decide if I needed to take Santos to the mats.

"Look, he called and asked if there was something specific that he could do. I know that you're worried about what Steph said so I told him about her being gone and what she'd said. I filled him in on how he could use Vinnie as a way of snooping around, you know ask questions about our men and maybe introduce himself to them"

"What exactly did you tell him about Steph?"

Because if Santos had implied my personal interest in Steph, he was dead meat.

"Nothing, I just said that she was someone who worked with us, so gave him the gist of her conversation"

Okay that was reasonable, and anyone knew that she did that. Hopefully Mac might have some information on Rangeman that would help me to understand why Steph was worried about calling Tank or Rangeman. Plus if he was working for Vinnie, he might be able to work out why Connie was included as well.

"I saw him at the station this morning and then he called asking me to meet him"

Was all that I was going to say to Santos. I nodded to Santos as he pulled himself from the Porsche hoping that he understood why I'd come all the way out here to talk to him. I felt more composed as I drove back to Trenton and made my way to the second place that I needed to visit.

I found Dillon downstairs in the basement working on one of the washing machines. Looking around I appreciated why Steph tended to take her washing to her parents. It was a dark and dingy place with the smell of damp that came from rooms that were underground and poorly ventilated. As I approached him, he looked over to me and then was getting to his feet.

"Ranger. I got the money last night for Steph's rent, do you want me to return that money that you forwarded to me?"

I shook my head not interested in that. Knowing how much difficulty Steph had in keeping her head above water with money it would be a buffer for when she got back.

"No. I was curious how the money arrived"

"Weird. The envelope must have been pushed under my door sometime during the night. Steph isn't back though so I have no idea why she would do that"

I debated for a moment whether or not to continuing asking Dillon for answers and decided that I wanted to know. Something felt very off with that money turning up and if it hadn't been Steph then who the hell had it been?

"Was there a note with it?"

Hoping that maybe Dillon still had it.

"No, only writing on the envelope, but it just had Steph's name on it and the words, rent money"

"Was it her writing, do you still have the envelope?"

I tried to keep my voice low and not scare the poor bastard to death but the way that his eyes opened wider, and he looked at me, it seemed that I'd failed miserably.

"Is she in trouble? The apartment, well I checked to see if she was there just to thank her for paying the rent, but it was empty"

"The note Dillon"

I asked trying to get him back to my original question.

"Sorry. No not her writing, I don't think and I, err, threw it away with the rest of the rubbish"

I had what I came for so was soon making my way upstairs and out to the back of the building. Walking across to the skip I was close to punching it when I saw that it had been emptied. Damn, the one piece of evidence that could have helped to work out where Steph was had gone.