Unapologize
By: PricklySare
A/N: Usual disclaimers. Thank you for everyone who is showing their support for this story. Real life is crazy with classes and children so I haven't had as much time as I would like to be able to respond to the reviews, but I appreciate the time you take to leave them! :)
As always, thanks to M and Stayce. You guys have been a huge help. Meg, I'm missing you, Babe! Don't be a stranger.
Sare
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Cassidy Shares a Secret
Today had already been a long day, and it didn't look like it was going to be over anytime soon. I had just pulled my SUV into the garage of the safe house that Stephanie had referred to as the Spook Lair. There were three Rangeman SUVs parked around the perimeter of the house, which meant that I was going to be spending the foreseeable future with seven highly pissed off, overly protective mercenaries and their sharp shooting lawyer. I couldn't even put into words how much I wasn't looking forward to this.
As soon as we had pulled out of the gas station I'd made a call to have the scene contained and cleaned up. The last thing we needed was to have the local police department arrive and start an investigation into what had gone down there. It was easier to just take care of it myself and avoid the hassle later. If I could keep Stephanie safe by making a phone call and keeping her name away from the locals, then it seemed like a small thing. Too bad no good deed goes unpunished.
I met Ranger Manoso eight years ago when he'd led the extraction team responsible for saving not only my life, but the lives of four other Navy Seals as well. We'd had orders to infiltrate a secured compound located in the heart of some third world shit hole, nobody ever heard of. Two days into what was supposed to be a week long mission of mercy we were captured by American mercenaries who had no morals, and who didn't bat their eye at torturing and killing fellow Americans as long as they were paid for their trouble.
By the time we were rescued I was delirious from starvation and dehydration; I had broken ribs, a broken leg, and little skin remaining on either my chest or my groin. When the door to my cell was thrown open I accepted that I was going to be beaten again so I didn't bother to open my eyes. I was beyond caring, and was just waiting for them to decide to stop playing with me. When my shackles were removed and I was placed over a shoulder in a fireman's carry I couldn't speak, and wasn't sure if it would matter if I could. Before I passed out I remember hearing a voice say, "We're Army Rangers and we're going to take you home."
It took me two years of jumping through more hoops than a circus animal, pulling strings, making threats, and pretty much selling my soul to the Devil, to find out who was responsible for getting me out of that cell. When I finally had a name, I took leave and hopped on the first plane to Fort Bragg. By the time my plane had landed, the man who had pulled me from that dungeon was gone… deployed to yet another unknown location. I knew the drill, and I never bothered trying to meet him again; however, I decided that no matter what, someday I would repay my debt to him. It looked like it was finally 'someday'.
Stephanie had fallen asleep leaning against her self-proclaimed bodyguard, Santos, not long after we'd gotten back on the road. She was looking a little rough, and I didn't blame her. I'd had concussions before, so I didn't doubt that she was feeling like shit. The last few days must have been hell for her, and the last few hours hadn't helped. She'd held up under pressure even while dealing with her obvious physical pain, and it was just one more thing about her that I found remarkable.
Removing my seatbelt I turned around and looked at the man who was currently being used as a pillow and said, "I would love to let her sleep, but we're running out of time. We need to talk, and she needs to get medical treatment. Let's get her inside and I'll make a call. I know a doctor who will come here and not ask any questions." I didn't get a response, and I didn't expect one. Instead, I watched as the lawyer climbed out of the car and opened the back door. Santos slowly removed Stephanie's seatbelt and gently gathered her into his arms before climbing out of the SUV. She never once showed any sign of waking. I knew that she needed to wake up so that we could get the question and answer period of our day taken care of, but I was hesitant to be the one to force the issue. Ranger Manoso had some pretty impressive men working for him, and one woman had them all tightly wound around her little finger. I guessed a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.
I opened the door leading into the house, disarmed the alarm system and motioned them inside. "Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to let in the rest of your team before they break down the door," I said as I headed toward the front of the house. When I opened the front door there were six very large mercenaries with smiles on their faces and a general feeling of revelry among them. I didn't bother saying anything, just opened the door all the way and stepped aside for the men to enter.
"Yo, Santos! Where's our girl at?" Tank hollered as he stepped inside.
"In here, Tank," came Stephanie's voice. I watched as the five other men I'd met earlier followed him into the living room, smiles still on their faces. I understood their good humor, and at one point would have joined in with them. Their mission today had been completed without casualties, and they were in a celebratory mood. They were a tight knit team, a dynamic that was hard to fit into, especially when they weren't sure about you. I gave myself a silent pep talk, and then made a call to the doctor, giving the guys time to check on their friend, and relax for a few minutes before I followed them in. Suck it up Cassidy. Do what you need to do, and then call it good.
All talking and laughing stopped when I stepped into the room. I looked Stephanie in the eye as I walked toward her. She was sitting on the couch, Santos on one side of her, the lawyer on the other, and Tank standing behind her with his arms crossed over his massive chest. The rest of the men were scattered around on various seats; their faces held no expression, and their eyes were hard and cold. These men were no longer reveling in their success, but were in mercenary mode. Keeping my eyes locked on Stephanie's, I ignored everyone else.
"I think it's time we talk, Ms. Plum," I told her.
"You think?" She asked, her voice laced with sarcasm. I stayed silent and just looked at her for a few moments, waiting to see if she'd break under my scrutiny. When she returned my stare with one of her own, I smiled.
"What I'm about to tell you, I've never talked to anyone about before. Unfortunately, because of the situation, I think you have a right to know," I said. I would have preferred to have told this to Stephanie in private, but I knew that there was no use trying. Her guard dogs were going to be with us each and every step of the way, and that meant they needed to know as well. With a mental sigh I began telling the room about how I'd met Ranger Manoso, and the promise I'd made to myself.
"Holy Shit, man," Santos said, breaking the silence that had permeated the room when I'd finished my tale. I noticed him looking at Tank and Brown before he continued. "So, aside from that one time, you've never seen, met, or worked with Ranger?" he asked me.
"No," I said.
Another look was shared between the three men before Tank asked, "You're doing all this to help Stephanie just because Ranger is acquainted with her?"
I looked the man in the eye and thought about my response before saying, "No. I'm helping Ms Plum, because she's more than just an acquaintance of Ranger's. I'm helping her because if anything happened to her it would kill him."
"Where would you get an idea like that, Agent Cassidy?" Stephanie asked me.
"Are you denying it?" I countered.
"Ranger doesn't get emotionally involved with people, Agent Cassidy. He and I are friends, just like I am friends with every guy in this room. Except you."
"Ms. Plum, if you believe that, then you are the only person who does."
She looked over at her lawyer before locking her eyes back on mine in challenge. "My relationship with Ranger is of little importance to you or anyone else. While I appreciate your desire to help me, I've seen little sign that you're actually doing that."
I could tell that she was in pain, and that she was fighting not to give into it. Her resilience amazed me. I sighed and resisted the urge to run my hands through my hair. "I've helped you more than you seem to be aware of."
She snorted and said, "Then why don't you enlighten me?"
"What do you know about the reason for your arrest?" I asked her.
Once again she looked at her lawyer and nodded once almost imperceptibly before saying, "Not a whole hell of a lot."
"Okay, let's trying this. Tell me about the day you got arrested."
She stared at me for a moment and then said, "What part?"
"The whole day. Try not to leave anything out."
She looked at her lawyer again, but this time he actually spoke, "Cooperate, Steph."
"I woke up, showered, got ready for work, and headed to Rangeman," she told me. I nodded indicating she should continue. "I worked on searches for a few hours and then stopped at the bonds office to pick up any new files."
"Were there any new files?"
"Yes, six. Nothing major. Pretty small time as far as Rangeman goes, and unlikely to have anything to do with my getting arrested," she said.
"You're probably right, but I think I'd like a list of those files and anything else you've worked on recently."
"You'll have them," Tank said from his position behind the couch.
"What happened after you returned to Rangeman?"
Something that looked like anger sparked through her eyes right before it was replaced with a tight grin. Shifting her gaze to Santos she said, "My grandmother called."
Santos snorted and grabbed for her hand, twining their fingers together. That's interesting. I wonder if anyone else realizes that he's in love with her. I made sure I kept my face impassive and asked, "Was it an unusual call?"
Another small smile crossed her face, "All calls from my grandmother are unusual. She's hard to explain. You'd have to meet her in order to truly understand her uniqueness."
"What did you guys talk about?"
Santos' hand quickly squeezed her hand before she answered, "She was calling to tell me that I'm getting married next month."
I raised a single eyebrow at her in question. "I take it you were unaware of this fact?"
"Came as a surprise to me," she replied. "Though, Lester has agreed to be my maid of honor. We figure he'll look great in taffeta."
There were snickers throughout the room and Santos said, "I can make anything look good."
"Yeah, maybe you should model a straight jacket for us. I bet you'd look great in one of those," chuckled Brown from across the room.
Santos flipped him off and said, "You're just jealous, Brown."
"It's okay, Bobby. You can be the flower girl. I'm sure Morelli wouldn't mind," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes.
I watched her rubbing her temple with the palm of her hand and knew it was time to get this conversation back on track. "Morelli is a cop, right?"
Stephanie sighed and looked down at her hands. "Yeah, and my ex-something."
A person can learn a lot from digging into a person's past, the people they know, the places they've been, but no amount of research could give you the insight that a simple conversation would. My research hadn't shown me the interactions of the men with Stephanie, it hadn't clued me into the deeper feelings that Santos had for her. I knew all about her relationship with the Trenton cop, Joseph Morelli, but I didn't know the intimate details. I was about to find out.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"I guess you'd say we were friends with benefits. He once told me that there was him and there was me, and sometimes we were together, but there wasn't an us."
"Yet, you're supposed to be marrying him in a month? That doesn't sound like friends with benefits."
"Yeah, well, apparently he changed his mind and figured I'd just jump on board that train," she said, rolling her eyes. "He's spent the last two years alternately bitching at me about my job, or telling me to quit. My mother is convinced that he's my last chance at a stable home life, with two point five children, a dog, and pot roast on the table at six each night."
I decided to switch topics, "Did you know the deceased?" She looked confused at my change in topic and it took her a moment to process what I said.
"No." She said it with such conviction that I was sure she had no idea who the murdered girl was.
"Do you know anyone by the name of Bonnie Abrams?" I asked her.
She appeared to think for a moment and then her face clouded over. "I had a roommate in college named Bonnie Abrams."
"Was she the same Bonnie Abrams that slept with your ex-husband the night before you got married?" I watched her face and body language closely, and wasn't surprised at the anger that flared in her eyes.
"You've done your homework, Agent Cassidy," her voice had dropped several degrees and I noted that the room had suddenly turned a little more hostile. "Though I don't know what one of my ex-husband's many indiscretions could possibly have to do with me."
"Bonnie McMillan used to be Bonnie Abrams, Ms. Plum," I told her. I heard her sharp intake of breath before scrunching her eyes together. I continued, "That's why it was so easy to pin the murder on you. You had a past with her, and it would be easy to believe that you might want to kill someone who had slept with you husband."
The anger that had flared in her eyes was visible in the tenseness of her muscles. Her voice cracked out like a whip and I caught myself checking to see if I'd been cut. "First of all, he's my ex-husband for a reason. We were married all of ten minutes, and that was years ago. Second, why would I choose to kill her, when the bitch who I caught fucking him on my dinning room table is still walking around wrecking other marriages?"
I sat silently watching her. Her demeanor had changed, there was anger beneath the surface, but she was in control of it now. It wasn't controlling her. Impressive.
"Let me ask you something, Agent Cassidy. What excuse did you use with the local yahoos that led them to believe her death, and therefore my apprehension, was of National security?"
"Bonnie McMillan was the assistant to a Director of Asset Management for a federal agency. It was easy enough to convince the locals that her death could be linked to the security of our country." I watched as Tank, Santos and Brown exchanged glances at each other. Wonder what that's all about.
"They bought that story? She was what, a glorified secretary?" Santos asked, his voice incredulous. Stephanie hadn't said anything, she was just sitting there, her eyes locked on mine.
"I honestly don't know what her actual job was, but best guess, yes."
"Unbelievable," Santos said.
"Are the charges going to stick?" Stephanie asked, her eyes never leaving mine.
"Did you do it?" I asked her.
"No."
"Then you shouldn't have any problem. I'm going to make sure of that."
She seemed to think about that for a few moments before she said, "Do you have any idea what was so important that someone wanted to frame me for a murder I didn't commit?"
The phone on my hip vibrated, and instead of replying, I answered the call. "Cassidy."
"I'm pulling up outside," the doctor said.
"I'll let you in," I said before hanging up. "The doctor is here. Let's get you checked out, and then we'll get back to this." She didn't say anything just laid her head on Santos' shoulder and closed her eyes.