Unapologize
By: PricklySare
A/N: I have been so amazed with the support and enthusiasm that this story has gotten. You guys are the best! As always, thanks goes out to Stayce for helping me polish this chapter up. She's my hero. :)
Sare
Chapter Forty-Six: Steph Meets Tracto
Steph's POV
I woke up wrapped in sinfully soft sheets, and it took a moment for me to remember where I was. I was bone tired when we finally returned to Rangeman, and headed straight up to the seventh floor apartment. Even though our relationship was still undefined, I'd decided to crash in Ranger's bed, and highly doubted he'd care anymore now, than he had the first time I'd done it. I'd fought a losing battle with myself about stopping on five to say hi to the guys, but sleep won out. Morning would be soon enough. Now that morning was here, I'd just have to convince myself to leave the warm confines of the bed. Easier said than done.
Twenty minutes later I'd forced myself to stumble to the bathroom and take care of business. I showered, luxuriating in the essence of Man o' Mystery, then hopped out and dressed in my usual uniform. I left my hair in its curly disarray, pulling it back in a loose ponytail to keep it out of my face. I still had bruises that no amount of makeup was going to cover. They looked better now, but that wasn't saying much. I swiped on some mascara to direct the focus to my eyes rather than the rest of my face, and called it good.
When I stepped off the elevator onto five all eyes snapped to me like a precision drill movement. "Impressive, guys. Been practicing that?" I asked, smiling as I headed to my cubicle. I didn't get an answer, and I hadn't been expecting one. I greeted, hugged, laughed and joked with each of the guys before I'd reached my computer. It was nice to be cared about. I'd barely sat down when the spare chair was filled with Lester's massive frame. "Morning, Les," I said as I began organizing the files that were filling my inbox.
"Morning, Beautiful. Sleep well?"
"Of course. It's impossible to NOT sleep well with sheets like the ones on Ranger's bed," I told him. "That, and it was nice to be back in familiar surroundings again."
"That's good. I for one am glad you're back here. Maybe now, things will relax a little." I stopped sorting the files and looked at him. His words were saying one thing, and his voice was saying something different. I turned my chair so I could face him and leaned forward, placing my hand on his cheek.
"Les, how did you sleep?" I asked him. He looked like he was coming off a bender.
"Actually, I haven't slept yet."
"Why? Deputy Dumbfuck is in lock up, and I'm home safe. You need to sleep," I told him.
"You're right, but we still don't know who is pulling the strings. Until we do I don't think I'll be getting much sleep."
The guys had decided to let Lemprik stew for a while in the holding cell. In this case, a while was going to be a few days instead of a few hours. Honestly, I didn't care. I thought it was poetic justice for him to experience even a little of what I went through for those two days. I looked at the clock on my computer, it was just after nine. "Lester, you need to get some sleep. Go take a nap, and we'll do Pino's for lunch. I'd like to have a nice relaxing meal with my guys today, and I can't have one of those if you're falling asleep in the pizza and ruining a perfectly good pie," I told him.
His lips twitched into a dim version of his usual smile and he said, "Yes, Mother."
"That's right. Be a good little boy and listen to Momma Steph," I said shooing him away. "I don't want to see you back on this floor until noon. Now go." I picked up the phone and dialed Tank's extension.
"Yo, Bombshell, what's up?" His gruff voice answered.
"I just wanted to give you the heads up that I sent Lester to bed. He hasn't slept yet."
"Fuck," he responded.
"Oh, and we're doing Pino's at noon so clear your schedule."
"Good to go," he replied and then hung up. The phone manners around this place, though short and to the point, were atrocious. Not that I had any room to point fingers anymore. I was just as bad.
By the time noon rolled around I'd finished all the searches that had been piled in my inbox, and spent an unproductive amount of time trying to figure out what the hell had happened in my life recently to make me the target of someone like the jackass downstairs. I was pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with my skips, but I couldn't figure out what else it could be. Something was niggling at me, but it kept skipping out of reach each time tried to focus on it. I decided to think more on it later, and shut down my computer before gathering my purse, gun, and cell phone.
I met Tank and Bobby at the elevators, and Lester boarded on four as we made our way to the garage. Piling into one of the black SUVs we pulled onto the street headed toward Pino's. I turned around to look at Lester who was sitting behind Tank and smiled at him. "You feeling better?" I asked.
"Yeah, I got some sleep," he replied.
"Now, aren't you glad you listened to Momma Steph?" He leaned forward in his seat, pulling on the seatbelt to give him more room, and kissed me on the forehead.
"What would I do without you?" he asked.
"Probably get shot at and arrested," I replied, with a huge smile. We joked and laughed for the remainder of the short ride to the restaurant. The tension we'd been carrying around with us slowly disappearing.
The smell of pizza and beer saturated the air of the small restaurant hit my nose and made my stomach growl. The scarred wooden bar was lined with guys from the police department, guys I'd known forever. I did a quick scan to make sure that Joe wasn't there, and relaxed when I realized I'd get a reprieve. I really didn't want to deal with the inevitable argument or the drama it would cause in my life. I just wanted to sit down with my friends and enjoy food loaded with saturated fats. With a wave and smile to everyone, we slid into our seats at the back of the restaurant. It was our standard booth, and it gave us an unobstructed view of all the entries and exits.
Everything about Pino's was broken in, and it was obvious the last time it had been renovated was during the cold war. The seats were comfortable, but worn, and the tables sported burn marks from a time before smoking was prohibited in eating establishments. We didn't bother looking at the menus, just ordered three large supreme pizzas when the waitress dropped off our sodas. I'd barely taken a sip of mine when the guys stiffened up. Great, now what?
"Shit," Tank said.
"What is he doing here?" Bobby asked.
"That chick he's with looks familiar," Lester added.
I glanced around expecting to see Joe with some new girl draped all over him. When I didn't, I let out a quiet breath, until my eyes fell on Hades. "Well, Fuck me," I said. The guys looked at me, quick smiles flashing across each of their faces. "What? He's not my favorite person."
"Ours either, Beautiful."
Hades had joined Rangeman about six months ago, and I still couldn't figure out why he was hired. He didn't fit the typical Rangeman mold, he wasn't buff, didn't look like a walking Adonis, and he really didn't seem to have a way with women. He was tall and pasty white with red hair and, in my opinion, shifty eyes. The first time I'd met him he'd given me the heebie-jeebies, and that impression had just been reaffirmed time and time again. I knew that he used to be a Marine, and acted like the world revolved around him. I'd managed to avoid him most of the time he'd been employed at Rangeman, but there were a few times that scheduling didn't permit it.
I'd made sure that when I started working at Ranger's company, that I would be treated just like a regular employee. Special treatment, while nice, wasn't conducive to a friendly work environment. Since I was the only female employee, I needed to be able to take care of myself without running to Ranger whenever a problem arose.
The last time I was scheduled to partner with Hades, he didn't get the hint that I was not interested in seeing what he referred to as his 'attributes' and his balls had ended up rearranged somewhere near his throat. I'd never said anything to the guys or Ranger about it, but I'd never been partnered with Hades since then. The Man of Mystery and his Merry Men were an impressive lot, and I knew they had their ways of finding out things. I didn't ask, and they didn't tell.
"I'm surprised he found a woman who would put up with his shit," I said while my eyes took in everything about the mystery woman hanging on his arm.
"Why's that, Bomber?" Bobby asked.
"Well, come on," I said. "Have you seen the way he treats women?"
"Yeah, we have," Tank said, and I felt his displeasure from across the table. It was almost like a physical sensation.
When Hades and his mystery woman, who I couldn't help but feel sorry for, headed toward our table, the temperature dropped and I thought briefly about the need for a parka. I decided to ignore him and drink my soda. He hadn't exactly been cordial, let alone friendly, since I'd helped him sing soprano. That's why I almost snorted carbonated beverage through my nose when he completely ignored the guys and said, "Stephanie, this is my girlfriend, Rissa. She'll be visiting for a while, and doesn't know anyone. Maybe you could show her around?"
"Nice to meet you, Stephanie," she said holding her hand out to me. The way she held her hand out and looked down her nose at me, felt like she expected me to kiss her hand instead of shake it. Physically she was beautiful with long, thick black hair that looked like silk, and green eyes. Her cheek bones spoke of Hispanic heritage and I realized that she looked like Demi Moore, if Demi were Hispanic. The clothes she wore were expensive and sexy. Too sexy for a lunch a Pino's. She was wearing pants so tight there was no way she could fit panties on beneath them, and her shirt dipped into a provocative vee, damn near to her naval. I'd bet money that it was backless as well. I didn't even bother looking at her shoes. I knew they'd be expensive, high, and sexy as hell.
There was something about her that was sending my nerves twitching. I didn't know what it was, but it was a gut feeling that she wasn't what she appeared to be. Putting on a friendly face I accepted her outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you. Is Rissa short for Marissa?" Something flashed in her eyes that looked like panic, but it was gone so quickly I could have imagined it.
Hades began opening and closing his mouth in an unattractive impersonation of a fish, and I wanted to laugh out loud. It didn't look like he knew much about his girlfriend. Then again, I doubted if he actually spent enough time paying attention to anything that didn't revolve around him and his greatness. Rissa rolled her eyes and said, "Yes. My name is Marissa Santiago." She ran a well manicured hand through her hair and looked around the restaurant. Her nose crinkled in what I assumed was disdain, and I wanted to smack her head into the wall. My momentary daydream was interrupted when she said, "So, when are you going to show me around?"
I bit back the scathing retort that was on the tip of my tongue, and took a drink to buy me some time. I could have really used a Twix, but was saved from answering by the next best thing. Hot, steaming pizza. The aroma hit my nose and made my mouth water. I reached for a slice, burning my fingers in the process, completely ignoring Hades and his perfectly put together girlfriend. Tank grabbed a slice as well and looked at Hades. "We're going to eat, and I'm sure your girlfriend would probably like to find a seat somewhere else," he said before turning his attention back to the pizza on his plate. Matching looks of anger flashed across their faces as the turned away to find their own table. Ms. Santiago had a temper, and I'd bet a years worth of birthday cake that she wasn't who or what she appeared to be.
We ate our pizza in relative silence, none of us mentioning what had just happened. When the food was gone, and we had pushed our plates away, I was sure I would need a forklift to get me out the door. Looking around the table, laughter suddenly bubbled out and I couldn't stop it. The whole thing with Hades and Rissa was just too strange to not be funny. The guys looked at me for a minute before they started chuckling as well. "What the hell just happened?" I asked.
"Looks like you've taken on a new job at Rangeman, Bomber," Bobby said.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked, still laughing.
"Girlfriend entertainer," he said laughing. "Apparently, it's your job to help him make his girlfriend happy."
"Yeah, well I think he's asking the wrong person," I said. "I don't think I have what it takes to make her happy," I said, my voice showing my disgust.
"She does seem to be a little...high maintenance for someone like Hades," Tank said.
"I'm telling you, man, she looks familiar. Really familiar, but I don't know where I've seen her before," Lester said.
"Knowing you, Santos, you probably saw her at a club. Right before you took her friend home," Bobby joked.
"Give me some credit, man. I would have taken home more than just one of her friends," he said laughing. I reached up and smacked Lester on the back of the head, rolling my eyes at him. "What was that for?" he asked, trying to look innocent.
"Lester Santos, behave."
"Yes, Mother." We all laughed and got up to leave, tossing down cash to cover our food. I noticed Rissa out of the corner of my eye as we headed to the door, and the look on her face was anything but happy. She looked like she was ready to tear the place apart. Suddenly, I wasn't feeling so sorry for her.
I'd been sitting at my computer for three hours, working on the searches that had multiplied while I was at lunch, when Lester came up to my desk. His face was blank of any expression, and my heart dropped into my toes. "Les, what's wrong?" I asked, the words barely coming out of my mouth.
"We need to go into Tank's office," he said. When I opened my mouth to ask why, he held up his hand, "Please, Beautiful." I nodded, shut down my computer and stood up. I had a really bad feeling about this, and I wished that I hadn't gotten out of bed today.
Bobby and Tank were already in the office when we walked in, and their blank faces told me that something really, really, bad had happened. Lester sat down on the couch and pulled me down next to him, keeping his arm around my waist.
"Stephanie," Tank said, his eyes showing the emotion that the rest of his face was hiding.
"No. You just stop right there, Tank. Don't you even say what I know you're going to. He is not dead." I felt tears pricking my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I would know if Ranger were dead. I'd be able to feel it.
"Bombshell, we just received this," he said, handing me a legal looking document. I tried to focus on it, but even though I was reading the words, they weren't making sense. Words like Killed In Action, and Hero, jumped out at me before swimming away.
"What is this?" I asked.
"It's from the...people Ranger works for," Tank said.
"Don't you mean, the people you work for? Or at least, worked for?" I asked, anger and pain roughening my words. If he was going to sit there and tell me Ranger was dead, then he was going to be honest with me, damn it. Tank was silent, watching me, his face still blank.
"You know what, Tank? I don't care what that paper says. Ranger's not dead. Something isn't right, but I know he's not dead. I'll believe he's dead when his body is in front of me, and not a minute before. You can give up on him if you want, but I'll be damned if I'm going to." I stood up and with the tears still pricking at my eyes walked out the door, closing it quietly behind me.