Unapologize

By: PricklySare

Chapter Fifty-Four: Ranger is Back in Business

Ranger's POV

Coming down to the gym probably wasn't the wisest course of action, especially since I was supposed to be dead. I knew this, but wasn't particularly worried about it. I had control of the cameras, and the fact was, I'd needed an outlet. When Steph headed down to work this morning, I'd gone into my home office and booted up the computer, accessing the cameras and audio throughout the building. I wasn't used to sitting on the sidelines while others did the work. I delegated, but it wasn't often that my men would be working while I was essentially hiding out. It didn't sit well.

With the live feed from the cameras I was able to follow Steph's movements, keeping an eye on the actions and reactions of my employees. Her interaction with Hades caught my attention, and I couldn't help but smile. She was definitely up to something, and it would be interesting to see exactly what it was. The changes she'd made in herself since the show down at Diablo were amazing, and the fact that she had already put so much together regarding this current SNAFU filled me with pride. I'd always known she'd had it in her, but to see it was something else.

She sat at her desk, staring at the piece of paper Hades had given her, and she was mumbling to herself. It was too soft for the audio to pick up, but I figured she was giving herself a pep talk. When she picked up her cell phone and began punching buttons, I programmed the system to copy the messages to my phone as well. With phone in hand I headed down to the gym, scrambling the cameras as I went. I knew the gym was currently empty, and I needed a workout.

When the final text came in, I smiled. Suddenly, I needed another type of workout. I sent her a text.

Nice job. Gym? I feel like a workout.

What about the cameras?

Scrambled. I'm waiting.

Twenty minutes later, my heartbeat was slowing down as I rubbed my hand gently along Steph's back. The sex we'd just had was intense, powerful, and had me just shy of becoming a caveman. Her head was resting on my chest, and a sigh escaped her lips, tickling my still sensitive skin. It wasn't the most romantic spot I could have picked, but neither of us seemed to have needed soft lighting and love songs to make our feelings known. Looking at the camera I blinked, trying to focus. Shit. It was being repositioned. "Impossible," I said.

"What's impossible?" Steph asked.

I really didn't want to tell her that we'd been recorded, but I wasn't willing to lie to her either. Everyday she proved how strong she was, and I wasn't going to treat her like she was weak, so knowing the cameras had audio I kept my voice low and said, "The camera."

She didn't even bother to look, instead she groaned and whispered her response, "I thought you'd scrambled them."

"I did." I was still looking at the camera and noticed the moment it stopped moving. "Looks like we were being monitored. The camera was just repositioned."

"You sure?"

"Babe," I said. Of course I was sure.

"Okay, fine. You think it could it be Hades?"

"I'm supposed to be the only person with the ability to scramble the cameras," I said. "However, Hector has the ability to override it because he's the one who helped design the upgrade."

"Hector wouldn't spy, Ranger. I'd bet a night of surveillance that it was Hades."

"I know, and that's a sucker bet," I said, getting to my feet, and bringing her up with me. I didn't know how he'd managed it, but I knew that Hades was behind it.

With a jerk, I wrenched my pants up and looked around for my shirt. Steph, clothed in just a shirt, her panties torn away during our frantic coupling, reached out and gently cupped my chin, smoothing her thumb along my jaw. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath and unclenched my teeth. Her big, blue eyes were wide and I pulled her against my chest, "Sorry, Babe."

"It's okay," she said, stepping away and bending down to grab her pants. "We'll deal with it together. That's what partners do."

She handed me my shirt and I pulled it over my head. "Are you okay?" she asked, following my lead and keeping her voice low.

I wasn't too concerned with people knowing I was alive, though it could undoubtedly make things difficult if we didn't get our current fucked up situation taken care of soon. However, someone deliberately breaching internal security and watching our private interlude made me seethe. If they could do this, what other information could they compromise? Positioning us so that my back was to the camera I pressed my body against hers backing her against the wall. I kept my voice low, and in between kisses I said, "I need to contact Tank."

"Good idea," she said.

"Reach into my left pocket and get my phone for me. You're going to send Tank a text while I cover you. It's possible we're still being monitored, this way it will look like we can't keep our hands off each other."

She slid her hand slowly down my side, slipping it into the pocket of my cargoes and removed the phone. "I don't think that's too much of a stretch," she said as I nibbled on her neck, causing her to arch it and a moan slipped out of her mouth. "What do you want me to say?" she asked, her voice soft and breathless.

"Tell him there is a security breach and to put eyes on Hades."

She tapped a few keys and said, "Done." Her eyes were bright and calm. She looked like she was taking everything in stride, and I couldn't help but be amazed at the many complicated layers that made her who she was.

"We should head back upstairs," I said.

"Okay. I've got some major planning and research to do before tomorrow."

"What are you planning?" I asked.

"A way to end this once and for all."

"Care to share?"

"Actually, yes. Let's get the guys together so we can figure out the best way to make it work."

Two hours later we were back in the penthouse with the core team. Steph had called Ella and placed an order for enough food to feed an entire third world country. She knew the guys well, and I was pretty sure there wouldn't be any leftovers. I opened the door when Ella arrived with the food, and her smile was blinding. "Ranger, you're home!"

"I am," I told her, returning her smile.

"Good to see that word of your death was premature." I nodded at her and smiled. "I'd heard a rumor that you were still alive," she said.

Well, shit. "Actually, no one but Steph and the core team is supposed to know I'm still among the living."

Her eyebrows raised and her forehead furrowed, "Then you've got a problem."

"I'm aware of that. What have you heard?"

"Nothing much. I just overheard that man, Hades, saying something about how you were alive and playing everyone for fools." The way she spit out the name, Hades, made it sound like it left a nasty taste in her mouth.

I decided that the best thing to do was get the meeting started and get this shit finished. "Thanks for the information, Ella." I knew I didn't need to tell her to keep my presence to herself. She'd been with me a long time, and I knew I could trust her.

"I'll just put the food in the kitchen and get out of here. Keep your head down, that Hades is a miserable excuse for a man."

After everyone had filled their plates with food Steph said, "I'm meeting with Rissa tomorrow."

"Where?" Tank asked. Since I'd had copies of the texts sent to my phone I already knew the answer to that, and honestly, I was proud of the way she'd set it up.

"Here in the lobby at noon," she said.

"Nice, Bombshell."

"Well, if she's who we think she is, I wasn't about to take a stupid chance and meet her someplace I don't have control over."

"Good idea," Santos said. "So, what's the plan?"

I sat back and watched how my core team and the woman I loved interacted together. Cassidy had been right. They were incredibly dedicated, and she was truly amazing. Breaking into the ranks of my team was damn near impossible, yet, Steph had managed it. They not only liked her, but they respected her as well.

"I'm gonna stun her ass, and then we're going to destroy her," Steph said.

I don't know if the surprise showed on my face or not, but her words had floored me. "You sure you want to do that?" I asked.

"Ranger, she tried to make sure you died in Mexico. She's plotting to destroy me because of some screwed up sense of self -importance. The old Stephanie might have turned the other cheek, but the new Stephanie is going to kick her psychotic fucking ass." She grinned at me and said, "Besides, I'm not planning on getting blood on my hands. I'll leave that to you. My brand of torture will be much more...vindictive."

"Do I even want to know?" Bobby asked.

"Probably not," she said. "But, trust me, it'll be effective."

"So, once you stun her, what happens next?" Tank asked.

"That's where my favorite men come in," she said, looking at each of us. "You're going to take her to this address," she handed Tank a slip of paper, "and when I'm done with her, she's all yours."

Tank's eyebrows shot up, and he looked over at me before passing me the paper. One look at the address had my eyebrows mimicking his. "Where did you find this address, Babe?"

"Research, Ranger. It's what you pay me for. Besides, this address is buried so deep, even if anyone questions her disappearance, the building will never be tied to this company, or any of us."

I was truly impressed. Surprised, no doubt about it, but impressed none the less. "You sound like you don't expect her to survive," I said.

She looked at me and sighed while absently playing with a loose curl. "Ranger, do you really expect me to believe that you're just going to let her live when she's hell bent on destroying you?" I didn't say anything, just continued to look in her eyes. I wasn't going to lie to her, and if I denied it I would be.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. I may not want to be an active part in the 'getting dead' aspect, but I have no concerns about her demise. If you don't do it, then we'll be right back here in a month, or six months, or hell, maybe a year. I'm familiar with crazies and so are you. They never go away. Either they end up dead, or you do. I have no intention of dying anytime soon, and I hope you don't either."

"She has a point, Boss," Tank said, before looking down at his cell phone and pressing a few buttons.

I nodded. There wasn't really anything else for me to say about it. She was right, and even though I wanted to lock her up so she wouldn't have to be part of it, I knew I couldn't. She was a part of it, and it was her plan. If we were going to get married and be partners for life, then I needed to start treating her like a partner, not like someone who would break. It was a hard pill to swallow.

"It's a good plan," I said. "Are you sure that Rissa and Tracto are the same person?" I asked.

Steph looked down at her hands, and said, "Not one hundred percent, no. I know she is, but we have no solid proof. All we know is that her name is fake, and that she's hanging around with our company leak."

"How are you going to handle this then?" I asked.

"The smart way," she said. "I'm going to wear an ear piece, and you're going to man the monitors. You'll be able to let me know if it's her before I even get close."

I nodded my head again. It was a damn good plan, even in its simplicity, or maybe because of it. "What have we learned about Hades, and when are we taking him into custody?"

"We've been monitoring his mail and phone, and we got a hit this morning. Two of them, actually," Bobby said. I raised an eyebrow, and he continued. "He sent a video file to a web based email account."

My stomach tightened up, and I had to remind myself to relax my hands. If he sent the video of Steph and me in the gym I was going to tear him apart. "What video?" I asked, my voice harsher than I intended.

"You and Bomber," he said never flinching or looking away.

"Sonofabitch," I growled, standing up. I knew he'd been watching us in the gym this morning, but the fact that he sent the video out made me see red. I've always prided myself on looking at all the possibilities, and the fact that I hadn't even considered this made me see red. "He's dead, he just doesn't know it yet."

"Ranger," Steph said, standing up. Her voice was steady, and strong. She placed her hand on my arm halting my movement. "It doesn't matter anymore. You can deal with him after he's answered our questions."

I stopped and took a deep breath. It was unusual for me to lose my temper, or my control, but lately it seemed to be a precarious thing. The guys were watching our interaction with obvious shock, and I wasn't sure if it was directed at me, or at Steph.

"When did you get so smart?" I asked her, letting a smile cross my face.

"I'm not sure, but I'll let you know when I find out," she said.

Her hand was still on my arm, and the light sparkled on the diamond she wore on her finger. She was mine. Or, at least she would be as soon as I could make it legally binding and permanent. My eyes remained locked on the ring until Santos cleared his throat. I shook my head a little, trying to bring it back to the problem at hand and said, "Were we able to get a trace on the email address?"

"No, but Hector was able to trace the IP address that was used to check it," Tank said picking up the conversation.

"Where?" I asked, sitting back down and pulling Steph with me.

Tank smiled, and it wasn't a pleasant smile. "The Agency."

"I'll be damned." Looked like my handler wasn't as smart as she thought she was. I'd always known that, but her ego was going to be her downfall.

"Since she's got the video, she'll inevitably see it before she's supposed to meet with me tomorrow," Steph said. "It will be interesting to see how she reacts to me since she'll know you're still alive, Ranger."

"She's too self involved to be concerned with her own safety," I said. "She'll be focused on getting back at us, and she'll be sloppy. But, don't underestimate her, Stephanie."

"I won't, Ranger. I'll be damned if she gets one finger on me. Besides, I've got the best team backing me up."

Wrapping my arm around her, I kissed her forehead and smiled. "You said you had two hits this morning. Is there another one?" I asked.

"Turns out that Hades also made a phone call to Morelli," Santos said, his voice hard.

I felt Steph tense beside me, and she said, "Is that right? I think I need to go have a little chat with Hades." Her voice had dropped several degrees in temperature, and I could feel her quivering beneath my arm. "You know what? Maybe I was too hasty. Maybe we should just kill Hades now," she said.

"Agreed," Santos said.

"Later, Babe. Remember, it doesn't matter. Morelli will get his soon enough too."

"Fine, but can we at least lock Hades up now?" she asked.

I looked to each of my men, communicating silently. "I don't have a problem with that," I said.

"Good. He deserves to spend some quality time by himself."

Since my cover was already blown, I joined my core team and Stephanie in the elevator. When we stepped off, the floor grew quiet, and we calmly surrounded Hades.

"What the fuck is this all about?" he asked.

"Seems like you've got a problem with privacy, Hades," I said.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Did you know that people have been killed for less?" I asked, my tone conversational. "I'm an extremely private person, and I take great offense to anyone who deliberately violates that privacy."

He puffed out his chest and looked at me with derision. "You don't scare me. You're nothing, just a pussy-whipped has-been. The Mighty Manoso, controlled by a fucking cunt. Just like the rest of the guys she's blowing."

Rage was boiling in my veins, and I was seconds away from tearing his throat out with my bare hands. My muscles were tense, ready for the fight, and my jaw was clenched so tightly I could feel the muscle pulse.

"Awww, is poor Hades jealous?" came Steph's voice as she stepped into Hades' view.

"I'm not jealous of anyone. Especially not you, you stupid bitch."

"I don't know, I'd venture a guess that you're upset because I won't blow you," she said. "I'm good, I'll admit, but even I couldn't blow something that isn't there. I'm not a miracle worker."

"I have more cock than you'd ever be able to handle!" Spit flew from his mouth, and she backed up with a look of disgust on her face.

"Perhaps you should swallow some of that spit before talking next time? I know it's a hard concept to grasp, given your minimal brain cells, but I'm sure with time and a lot of practice you'll get it down."

The rage I'd felt at his words had started to bank, and I started to find humor in her come backs. Steph had this under control, and wasn't even showing what she must have truly been feeling. Her show was impressive, so I stayed silent, and didn't rip his throat out...yet. I wondered what she had in mind for him, whatever it was Hades would never expect it.

The guys and I were surrounding them both, and nothing would happen to Steph. The rest of the guys who had been working in the control room were all silently watching the show. I saw a few hands exchange money and decided to ignore it for the time being.

"You're nothing but a whore. What do you know about brain cells? The only thing you're good for is spreading your legs."

Steph smiled and nodded her head, "Okay, Hades. I'll agree with you. I am very good at spreading my legs. It's a shame you'll never be man enough to enjoy it. Is Rissa your beard? Does she know that you're batting for the other team?"

That was all it took. One second he was standing there getting ready to launch himself at her, and the next second he was twitching on the floor. "That should do it, boys," she said. "I think this little puppy will work just fine for tomorrow." It was then that I noticed she had what looked like a tube of lipstick in her hand.

"What is that?" Tank asked.

"This," she said holding up the tube of lipstick, "is a lipstick stun gun. It might be tiny, but it's powerful enough to take down even the biggest moron."

"Remind me not to piss you off, Beautiful," Santos said. "I'd hate to be on the wrong end of that."

"Don't worry, Les. I wouldn't stun you. Taffeta is a much scarier weapon."

"Shit. You're right," he said with a shudder. Steph just laughed and leaned back against me.

"Let's get him down to holding," I said before turning around to look at the rest of the men standing around. "Two things." I didn't raise my voice, but the tone was commanding, "Whoever won the bet will be putting the full amount toward a wedding gift for Steph and me." I made eye contact with each of the men I'd seen exchanging money. "Second, I'm obviously still alive, which means play time is over. Get back to work."

There was a chorus of "Yes, Sir!" before everyone went back to their assigned tasks.

"You've been pretty calm about all of this," I said.

"Here's my thought," she said, watching the guys lift Hades off the floor. "I'm done being embarrassed about my feelings for you. The physical need is just another aspect of our feelings, and if some fucker wants to get his jollies by watching us, let him." She removed a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair into a quick ponytail. "I'm not ashamed of you, or what you do to me."

Leaning into me she gave me a deep kiss, and I slid my arms around her, pulling her close. We were both breathing heavily when she pulled back, a breath away from my lips and said, "I'm done apologizing for who I am and what I feel. If people don't like it, they can just pound sand."

"You amaze me," I said, looking into her eyes. "You've finally started seeing the strong person I've always seen when I look at you."

She shook her head. "It's not that exactly. I've just finally started accepting who I am. For better or for worse, this is me. I'm not perfect, I'm not proper, and you know what... I'm okay with that."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I wouldn't want you any other way. You might not see yourself as strong, but the people who love and care about you do. Strength shows itself differently in each person. You might not have the same physical strength as the guys and I do, but you've got an inner strength that would put most people to shame."

"Well, that inner strength has other ideas for what it could be doing right now," she said giving me a seductive smile.

"Let's order in, and make it an early night," I said leading Steph to the elevator.

"Now that's what I call a good plan," she said with a smile, just as the doors slid open.