Chapter Seven

Neither of them said a word the entire way across the resort. Normal for him. Not normal for Stephanie. As soon as they were closed up in their own cottage, she started to tremble. She gave her hands a shake like it might bring feeling back to them. "Do you think it was them?" she finally managed to say.

Ranger took her hands and kissed her palms before he draped her arms around his neck. She was freaking out more than usual. He'd seen her come down from adrenaline before, and she never handled it well. It was probably even more disorienting on the heels of an orgasm like that one. He pulled her closer. "I think the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong. Probably not that many people bring a Ruger .45 to a five star resort."

"Just fugitives felons and you, right?"

He almost smiled. "I've got a nine mil."

"Well, that makes all the difference."

Her bravado was thin. She was still in shock. Ranger smiled, pulling a twig from her hair. "Maybe we should get you in the shower."

"I can manage," she said. The let down from the adrenaline had taken its toll. Even if he'd been suggesting a sexy shower, she wouldn't have had the energy to go another round. Though the fact she'd assumed that was what he meant suggested she might have been tempted.

Steph turned toward the bathroom and he stopped her, dragging her up against his body. He looked down at her until she met his eye. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded, but it was still numb. "I'll be fine."

"You always are." Yet another reason why he loved her. She could be incredibly resilient.

He leaned down to give her a soft, lingering kiss before he let her go. It wasn't until she was wandering toward the bathroom that he saw the back of her white lace dress. It was torn in places, dirt ground into fabric all the way across the back. He suppressed a smile on the off chance she turned around. She wouldn't be happy when she saw that her dressed was ruined. He just couldn't bring himself to be sorry about it.

He listened to the shower while he changed out of his black suit. His black dress shirt was barely closed when he pulled off his jacket, leaving a gaping trail of mocha abs all the way down to his belt. Steph had popped several buttons off his shirt when she'd tried to rip his clothes off. He smirked and shook his head. He'd seen her excited before, but he'd never seen her quite like that. Not even when she'd been daring enough to want to do the deed in his 911 Turbo.

No matter how well he thought he knew her, she was always able to surprise him.

He changed his slacks for a pair of cargo pants, pulling on a plain black t-shirt. His nylon webbed gun belt was in his luggage, already outfitted with flashlight and cuffs. He buckled it around his waist and fit his Glock into the holster.

Steph came out of the bathroom still wrapped in a towel just as he was pulling a slick black windbreaker over his work clothes. He flipped down the collar and adjusted the jacket over his broad shoulders. "Settle in and watch some television. I'll be back."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Recon."

"And you were going to leave me behind?"

"Babe, it's a narrow window. I don't have time to debate this."

"I thought we were in this together."

"We are. But if that cottage really belongs to The Rug I want to get in and out before he has a chance to finish dinner. On the off chance that doesn't happen, I don't want you in his crosshairs."

"So you're trying to protect me?"

"Yes."

"And you think the way to do that is the drop me here and expect me to stay put while you run off into the night? With no small army of merry men to keep me from running after you?"

He stood there staring at her for a beat. "You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?"

"Damn skippy."

He quickly weighted his options. He'd been banking on her being too tired to want to tag along. The hard stare she was giving him made it only too obvious that wasn't the case. He drew in a slow breath and let it out in a silent stream. "You can be a real pain in the ass sometimes."

"But am a pain in the ass you're still gonna try and leave behind?"

Ranger thought about that a second and then looked down at his watch. "You have ninety seconds and then I'm going, with or without you. And if you're not appropriately dressed, I'll handcuff you to the bed to make you stay put."

She shed the towel before he'd even finished saying it, standing there at the foot of the bed in nothing but skin. It was an appealing sight. She riffled through her open suitcase and started tossing black cloths down on the bed, slipping into them so fast that part of him regretted only giving her ninety seconds. He wouldn't have minded if she'd taken her time.

She stuck her Smith and Wesson into the front hip of her dark jeans with a grimace and then covered it with her shirt, dragging her shoes on one at a time. He looked her over. Couldn't find a single thing to object to. Pity. After watching that, he kinda wanted to handcuff her to the bed anyway.

Ranger let out another breath and gestured to the door.

o o o

He kept up a pretty quick pace all the way back. Steph struggled to keep up. He hadn't pushed her as hard as he could have. Just enough to get them there quickly without making her lose the expensive dinner she'd enjoyed so much. If he'd been on his own he'd have made it in half the time. Ranger was a runner who liked to push hard. Steph, not so much.

She tried her best not to double over when they reached the beach on the other side of the resort. She was still sagging, though, her breathing ragged. He looked over at her without bothering to hide his grin. "How's that steak and lobster sitting?"

She didn't have enough breath left to snipe back with whatever wiseass answer was all over her face. She finally gave in and double over, pride be damned, and settled for flipping him off. He laughed.

"Come on, superstar. Clock's ticking."

When she didn't move he just scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the beach like a babydoll. Set her on the back porch of the cottage, listening for any sign of activity. The place was empty.

Ranger reached into her pants and pulled out her .45. He put it in her hand, and then turned his attention on the deadbolt. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to get it open. He had a special talent with locks. There wasn't a lot that could keep him out of a place he wanted to get into.

He pushed the door open and listened to the silence for a second before he let her in and locked the door behind them, holstering his own weapon. The place was tiny. Just a single room with an en suite bath, a little living area with a television and a bistro table. Very few personal effects were left lying around. A few suitcases beside the bed.

"Keep watch out front," he told her. "This shouldn't take long."

He started searching while she took up a post by the front window, her .45 pointed at the floor. She'd have preferred if he hadn't made her bring it, but sometimes her comfort wasn't as important as necessity. A lesson he hoped he'd be able to teach her before she had to learn it the hard way.

There wasn't much to see in the cottage. An ugly lime green and orange tourist shirt hanging on the back of a chair. A few brochures. Steph looked through those while he moved on to the bedroom and started unzipping the luggage.

The wife was an obsessive over packer. There were enough clothes and ladies shoes to last for three weeks. The husband's bag was more reasonable. The typical shirts and Bermuda shorts you'd expect to see in a middle-aged man's suitcase. At least when he was vacationing with his wife. Men on vacation with their mistresses brought things with more class.

Ranger lifted a cream colored polyester shirt and hit the mother lode. The Ruger wasn't the only hardware this guy was packing. There was a .38 lying at the bottom of his suitcase without a holster, next to a few extra clips for the Ruger and a silencer. Definitely The Rug's vacation cottage. The only other possibility was that they'd just happened upon some other random contract killer.

Where he'd gotten the hardware after flying into the island was anyone's guess. He wasn't likely to have a ground contact like Rico. Probably bought them off the street.

He unzipped the front pouch and started going through the plane tickets and hotel receipts. Documented a few with his cell phone.

Steph went still. She'd been shifting since he started, too uncomfortable holding a loaded gun to stand in one place. Only one thing could have taken her mind off it that much. Someone was coming.

Ranger straightened the rest of the luggage and set it carefully back where he'd found it. He motioned to her and she followed him out the backdoor. He made sure to lock it behind them. The lights went on in the cottage just as they were backing away, unhurried voices filtering out through the windows.

Ranger led Steph down to the shoreline and slowed to a leisurely pace once they passed the yard on 8. They wouldn't be visible from The Rug's windows. And anybody else who happened to look out would just see a husband and wife out for a moonlit stroll.

He put an arm around her neck and pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. "Seems the people in that cottage are calling themselves Martin and Charlotte Terron. Didn't find anything definitive, but there was enough hardware in the husband's luggage to make me think we're on to something."

"Should we go back and pick him up?"

"Not yet. I want to get eyes on him from a distance first. Confirm we have the right target. I'll call Silvio at the Miami office and see what he can run down on these names. Might be able to get the reservation dates from the hotel's system."

"Think Silvio can manage that with all the hotel's security measures?"

Ranger only looked at her, a light smile pulling at his mouth. She rolled her eyes, more at herself than him. She'd met Silvio before, and even though she knew nothing about his history, she'd figured out that he had skills the average person didn't have.

"How does he do all that stuff anyway? Is that even legal?"

"Best not to ask, Babe."

o o o

He called Silvio as soon as they got back to the cottage. The sun would only just be rising on the East coast, but ever since he moved back to Miami to be near family, Silvio liked to get an early start on his day.

Steph had gone straight into their bedroom when they got home. Ranger listened to the phone ring while he watched her strip off her pants through the open door. She folded her legs under her on their bed with the covers over her lap and the remote control in hand. He liked how comfortable she looked. It was nice. Natural. He didn't bother pulling his eyes away when the line opened.

"What do you need, boss?" Silvio asked him. Clearly he'd seen the caller ID. Ranger's men were always more professional and brisk when they knew he was calling. Knew he didn't like to waste time with small talk or pleasantries.

"I want you to run background for me on a Martin and Charlotte Terron. I've sent you images detailing flight records and credit card information, as well as the name of the hotel on Oahu where they've been staying. Dig deep. If these people have any other identities or connections, I want to know about it. I also want you to access the hotel's system and find out how long they're intending to stay."

Silvio started tapping at his keyboard without asking any more questions. Didn't even ask how fast he wanted the information. If it was something that could wait, Ranger wouldn't have called.

None of his men ever asked more questions than were absolutely necessary. Rangeman operated on need-to-know most of the time, and it wasn't just because Ranger was a hardass who didn't like to share. The kind of work they did necessitated it. Every one of his men knew that when Ranger asked for something that didn't make obvious sense, it was best to just follow orders. Knowing more wasn't always a good thing.

After he finished with Silvio, Ranger went into the bedroom with Steph. He unbuckled his gun belt and set it in the top dresser drawer. He set his gun down on the bedside table, the phone next to the gun.

Ranger settled onto his side of the bed and lounged back beside Stephanie. He let his fingers trace down her spine in a casual way. "Silvio had just reached his desk when I called. He said at first glance Martin and Charlotte Terron look like tourists from upstate New York. Martin works in the HR department for an advertising firm, and Charlotte is a sales rep for a makeup company. Could be stolen identities. Could just be a nice couple who like to pack heat on vacation. Either way, he's going to keep digging. We should know a lot more by morning."

"Did he find out anything from the hotel yet?"

"Not while I was on the phone with him. I told him to call me immediately if they're scheduled to check out tomorrow. Otherwise, we should have plenty of time," he said, a lazy smile lifting his face. The edge of her shirt didn't quite meet the bed, showing a couple inches of soft skin above the waistband of her black underwear. "Time we can spend any way we want."

"Did you have something specific in mind?"

She was such a flirt. He liked it when she teased him. Steph was the only person who dared. Almost from the first day he'd met her, she'd refused to take him seriously.

He leaned down and laid a kiss on the small of her back. She drew in a sharp breath, her skin warming. He pushed her shirt up another couple inches and kissed her again. "I've got some ideas."

"Those ideas don't involve handcuffs, do they?"

A small smile surfaced. He pushed her shirt even higher, his lips caressing the middle of her back. "Would that be a deal breaker?"

"Might be. I'm not really the adventurous type."

This time he grinned. "Babe."

She turned to look at him, adorably unaware of just how ridiculous that sounded. "What?"

"Not the adventurous type?"

"What are you saying?"

He lifted her shirt off over her head and followed the line of her body with his hands. "I'm saying you chase felons for a living, and it's not because it pays well. You take more risks than I do with half the backup."

"I thought you hated that."

"I don't love it. But I'm fairly certain it qualifies you for adventurous."

"I guess."

He smiled again. "Not to mention the time you straddled me in my 911."

"That was pretty fun."

Yes. It really was. Especially since he hadn't known, after she spent the night with him the second time, if things would continue between them or if it was just another one night stand. He let his fingers trace along the underwire of her black lace bra until he reached the clasp in the back. One flick and it released, leaving the bra hanging loose on her shoulders. "Speaking of fun," he said, kissing the nape of her neck. "You're covered, huh?"