Author's Note: The response to chapter 10 floored me! Thank you so so much! You readers are just absolutely amazing! Please enjoy chapter 11... :-)

Chapter Ten
Forgotten Is Forgiven

A black combat boot came into view then another one before legs encased in black camo pants came into view. Steph watched as the man came into view.

She stared in utter surprise, horror, delight, fear, and anger as the black obsidian eyes she thought she never see again crinkled in pleasure and the corners of his mouth tilted into that two hundred watt smile. And she couldn't move as came closer and closer until he said that one word.

"Babe."

Steph swallowed; hard. She licked her lips. She blinked her eyes several times. But she couldn't speak. She just stared at the man in front of her. He looked damn good. Too good for a fucking dead man. His dark brown silky hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. His eyes were clear and his skin was glowing. He hadn't lost any muscle tone or any weight at all. So he was able to work out and keep fit. So he couldn't have been injured or hurt. He just watched her closely, waiting to see her reaction. She didn't know what her reaction should be.

She was relieved, definitely. She wanted to hug him, kiss him, let him know that she was happy he was alive. At the same time, she wanted to shove that grin up his ass and maybe use this stun gun on him. She wanted to yell at him, scream at him about unfair his death was. His death… his death… He was supposed to be dead. Why wasn't he dead? Why was he here in front of her, breathing the same air as her? Giving her that smile and calling her babe?

"Babe?" The word was a question as he took a step closer to her.

Steph immediately held up her hands and took a step back. "Don't come any closer." She told him.

That made him frown. "Babe?" Another question. And he took another step.

Steph backed up. "Stop."

Ranger gave a slight shake of his head and took another step. "Babe, let me explain."

"You can explain all you want eventually but right now I don't want to talk to you."

Ranger reached out to touch her and Steph held up the only weapon she had; the stun gun. "If you touch me, I'll stun you."

"Babe." That was Ranger's way to say 'I don't believe you'd do that'. Well he was wrong because she would. She was that upset right now. She really didn't even know what to think. And right now, she didn't want hear his excuses.

Just then Dale moaned, breaking their eye contact with each other. They looked at Dale who was slowly coming around. Steph motioned towards Dale. "Help me get him tied up." She told him. She didn't ask him, she pretty much ordered him to help her. He didn't say anything and his blank face was up as he slowly nodded and began to tie Dale's hands behind his back. Steph didn't ask him where his handcuffs were. She didn't care at this moment in time. Ranger sat him down in the chair just as Dale started to come around. He moaned and opened his eyes.

"What the fuck?" Dale murmured.

Ranger punched him, blood spurted everywhere and Dale screamed in outrage. "What the fuck?" He repeated in an outraged shriek.

They both ignored him as they once again faced each other. Steph was still in denial that Ranger –who was supposed to be dead– was standing in front of her. Denial land was the only thing that was keeping her from breaking down into tears and welcoming him with opened arms. She needed to get her emotions in check before she confronted Ranger and demanded answers. And she could not, under in any circumstance let Ranger touch her. If he did, she would be gone.

"Babe, we need to talk." He said reaching out to touch her, grab her, she didn't know but she did the only thing she could think of, she stunned him. It registered on his face just as the prongs touched his skin. His eyes met hers just as they rolled back in his head and he slumped to the floor. Lucky for him, she helped slowly guide his body to the hard concrete so he didn't hurt himself. She knew she didn't have much time, so she leaned close to Ranger's ear so Dale wouldn't hear her.

"I'm glad you're alive, but you have a lot of explaining to do. Oh and I love you." She choked back a sob and faced Dale. "Get up." She ordered him.

He flashed her a dirty look through a blood covered face. "Fuck you."

She picked up the empty gun and pointed it at him, maybe he wouldn't remember it wasn't loaded. She hated guns, especially loaded ones.

Dale smirked at her. "It's not loaded, dumbass."

Too bad he remembered what an idiot he was. Steph tossed the gun and narrowed her eyes, thinking how she was going to get his ass up the stairs on his own and quickly before Ranger came to. There was no way she could stun him again. The first time was hard enough. She grinned as she thought of Ranger. She quickly took noticed of the gun tucked into his pants at his back, she would leave that one for him. She pulled his spare weapon from his ankle holster and leveled it at Dale.

"This one is loaded. Want me to prove it?" She asked with an evil grin. "I dare you."

Dale's eyes widened, shaking his head as he got to his feet. After that it didn't take no time at all. She used Dale's ragged piece of shit truck to drive him to the cop shop. After a quick explanation of what took place, she drove herself back to her hotel room. She panicked when she realized she didn't have any way to get into her hotel room, but quickly saw how Dale got into her room. The door was shut but the window had a small circle cut out of the glass pane, right next to the lock. She sighed. He had better hope nothing was missing because if there was jail wouldn't protect him from her.

Since the window was unlocked, she pushed it back and climbed through the window and sighed heavily with relief when she saw that nothing was missing. She didn't take time do anything but pack everything she had out. Lucky for her, she mostly kept everything packed up. She put everything in her car and drove several miles before stopping at another hotel. This time she was on the second floor. She unpacked her car, taking care to feed Rex once she got everything settled. She gathered up a clean set of clothes and went to take a shower.

She only booked this hotel for two nights and she didn't check out from the other hotel. She wouldn't stay here long, just long enough for her to get her emotions under control. She needed to do that before talking to Ranger about anything. Most especially about why he was suddenly alive and breathing.

"Oh my God, he's alive." Steph said out loud, just to hear the words. She barely managed to finish washing her hair before she collapsed into a ball on the tub floor and cried. She just didn't understand how he could be alive. She had went to his funeral. Okay, so his casket had been empty, but Tank had told her it was because nothing was left of Ranger to bury. Did that mean that Tank knew Ranger wasn't dead? Or did Ranger keep everyone in the dark as he faked his own death. Did he know about the explosion so he took advantage of it or did he plan the explosion himself? After all, he was always aware of his surroundings. He had lied to her, to his family, and his friends. Or did he only lie to her? Steph shook her head at that thought. She knew he had lied to his family. She had seen them that day at the funeral. They had been terribly upset and no one could fake that kind of agony. She would know. So maybe Ranger only lied to her and his family. But why? Why did he lie to her? And why did it hurt so much knowing that he did? He had never lied to her before. And the first time he did, she wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him.

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When Steph finally emerged from her shower/break down, clad only in a towel, she shrieked when she came face to face with Ranger. And he wasn't happy. Well good, because she wasn't either. She grabbed her clothes, completely ignoring him. When she came out of the bathroom for the second time, dressed in a pair of heather gray yoga pants and a pink camisole top, she felt much better. She was ready to confront Ranger with everything she had.

His dark eyes met hers and he frowned. "You stunned me." He stated in disbelief.

"How did you find me at Dale's?" She asked, ignoring his question.

Ranger was lounging in a straight back chair, his feet spread apart and his arms were resting on the arms of the chair. He looked laid back and relaxed, but Steph knew better. She could see the intense look in his eyes even though his face was void of emotion.

"You stunned me." He said again, his teeth clenched.

Her eyes narrowed. "You deserved it. I told you not to touch me. Now how did you find me at Dale's?"

After a minute of silence, Ranger spoke. "I had a tracker on Dale's truck." He replied slowly.

"Why?"

"He was following you. I wanted to be able to find him."

Steph felt a wave of anger wash over her. "You knew he was following me, but you didn't do anything?"

"You knew he was following you as well so you were aware of your surroundings and you were prepared. I couldn't make my presence known, Steph. Not yet."

"But you did." Steph stated.

Ranger slowly nodded. "When I got to your hotel room this morning and saw the window cut-out and you were gone, I assumed Dale had somehow grabbed you so I pulled up Dale's tracker."

"If you were following the both of us, why did it take you so long to find me in his damn basement?"

"As soon as I got to your hotel and saw you were gone, I tracked you both down, but you didn't need my help. You saved yourself, Babe. Proud of ya."

Steph started to shake. Those three little words shook her to the core. She swallowed hard and gripped the wall next to her. "Fuck you, Ranger. Just fuck you." She spat, trying her damnedest to hold the tears at bay.

Ranger sighed and stood up. "Babe, let me explain."

Steph shook her head, tears now falling down her face. "You died. You're supposed to be dead. Tank said you were caught in explosion and that you had died."

Ranger nodded and took a very slow step towards her. "Remember I told you about the man that killed some of my family?" Steph nodded, watching Ranger through watery eyes. Ranger took another step. "He was watching me, my family and friends, and my business. He knew things that he shouldn't have known, Steph."

As Ranger took another step closer, Steph took a step back. "You lied to me."

Ranger nodded in agreement. "I did, but I had to. I didn't have a choice, Steph."

"You could have told me. No, you should have told me."

Ranger ran a hand through his hair, messing up its perfect arrangement. "Babe, I couldn't. He was watching my mom and he was watching you. Closely. Too close. He had information on the two of you that only someone watching so close would have had. He knew about Hawaii and the time we had sex in that closet and in the car. He knew how close we were and he made sure that I knew that he knew how damned close we were."

"You could have told me."

Ranger shook his head. "No I couldn't, Stephanie. Get that through your fucking head. He watched you for months before my so-called death and he watched you for another month after it. If he had noticed one little off thing, he would have known I wasn't dead and he would have killed you as revenge for my lie."

Steph swallowed, swiping at her tears angrily. "How come I didn't know he was following me? I knew Dale was. Why not this guy, whatever his name is?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shook his head. "I don't know, Babe. I don't have an explanation for that. But I know he was watching you because I saw the before and after pictures."

"So you couldn't trust me enough to help you?" Steph asked trying desperately to understand.

"Steph, it had nothing to do with trust. I did it for your safety and my family's safety."

"So there really was a man killing your family?"

Ranger let out a deep exasperated sigh. "Yes and he wasn't going to stop at a distant uncle and cousin. He was going after you and my mother."

"Why just the two of us?"

His shoulders slightly moved in a shrug. "You two and my daughter are the most important women/people in my life."

Steph almost melted at that. Almost. "How many people knew?"

"About my death?"

Steph winced, but nodded. "Just the core team and then Ram because we needed his sniper skills. And Chief Juniak."

Steph's eyes widened and her breathing hitched. "Chief Joe Juniak knew? So the whole police force must have known…"

Steph trailed off as Ranger gripped her upper arms, giving her a slight shake. "No! Only the Chief knew. Because it was necessary. He had to have known."

Steph shook off his hands and walked across the room. "So the core team knew?" She turned to face him, fresh tears welling in her eyes. She was such an idiot. The whole time, Tank, Lester and Bobby knew that Ranger was alive and they didn't tell her. She sank onto to the bed and tried to focus her attention on the matter at hand and not her heart. Or the fact that she felt like her insides were being ripped apart and torn to shreds.

Ranger nodded. "The core team had to know. They helped."

Steph looked up. "Helped?"

Again he nodded. "With the explosion and … everything."

"The explosion was planned?" Steph hissed, getting to her feet.

Ranger sighed. "We picked this safe house for a reason in the beginning, five years ago when we bought it. It has an underground tunnel that leads to a sewer drain down the street. We spent several challenging hours running little tests about how long it would take me to get into the door and into the underground tunnel before the house exploded. We made the explosion go off when I slammed the door. It took me ten seconds, if I slammed the door, to get to the underground tunnel with the trapdoor shut. Since the tunnel was lined in –thanks to us– metal that won't melt under extreme heat, I was safe."

"That sounds totally stupid. How could you have known you had ten seconds? What if something happened and you only had a few seconds."

Ranger shrugged. "It was a ballsy move, but we had to do something."

"So Tank, Lester, and Bobby lied to me."

He nodded. "They didn't have a choice. I made them. It had to look real."

Steph shook her head. "They had a choice and they picked the wrong one."

"No, they did what they did for your safety." Ranger forced the issue.

Steph let that go. She would deal with those three later. "Was there every a will?"

Ranger shook his head. "No. I had Tank send my family money and even Julie got a new car and some money. And you –."

"I got the whole goddamned enchilada." Steph sneered. Ranger nodded. "Why? Why did you give me everything?"

"Because I know you so well and I trust you with everything. You wouldn't have spent the money on something stupid, hell you wouldn't have spent any of it, I knew. I also knew you wouldn't give it away. And I knew once I returned you wouldn't have any problem signing it all back over to me. I trusted you with my whole life."

Steph ignored the trust comment. She couldn't go all mushy on him. "Did you bring the papers to do just that?" Steph asked curious.

Ranger shook his head. "No. The papers are still at RangeMan."

Steph wasn't sure what to say to that. "How did you know I was here?"

"In St. Louis? Or this hotel?"

She shrugged. "Both."

Ranger shook his head. "We have a tracker on you."

Steph shook her head in denial. "I checked before I left and got rid of them all."

"They put a tracker in Rex's cage while you were at RangeMan saying goodbye." He admitted with a grin.

Steph gave him a dirty look. "Those assholes."

Ranger shrugged still grinning. "It needed to be done."

She rolled her eyes. "How long have you been following me?"

"Not for too long. Finding your hotel was easy because that's where Rex was, but finding you when you weren't in the hotel was a little harder. I discovered you at the gym and I have to say I'm impressed, Babe." He told her with his two hundred watt grin.

"So why now and where have you been all this time?" Steph asked, giving the wall her attention and ignoring his sexy ass grin.

"I've been staying mostly in safe houses. I had to stay on seven for a few days when the safe house I was staying at had to be used."

Steph inhaled sharply. No, he couldn't have been there that day and heard her confession. She would have known, right? She didn't check his office. Maybe he had been there. "Were you there that day I came?" She questioned in a whisper.

Ranger shook his head. "I had just left. Tank said it was a close call too."

She let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't there and he didn't hear her confession. "So why show yourself now?"

He frowned. "You were in trouble, Babe. I could never let anything happen to you, rather it's a risk to my safety or not."

"Are you safe now?"

He nodded. "He's dead. And because I did fake my death and it was in a lot of newspapers, more of my enemies believe that I am dead. I was able to take out several more."

"So if Dale hadn't managed to kidnap me this morning and all, would I even know you're alive now."

Ranger nodded. "I was coming to your hotel to tell you this morning. I just came from my family to let them know that I'm alive and well."

"Did they understand? Were they mad?"

"They were upset, but they understood that I had to do what I had to do."

"So that's it? You go back to Trenton like nothing has happened?" Steph finally looked up to meet Ranger's eyes to find him casually leaning against the wall, ankles crossed.

"Not quite like that, but yes. I've got to slowly push my way back into Trenton life and let others know that I'm alive."

Steph didn't know want to say about any of this. She was mad, but she couldn't find the oomph to yell at him. She was too hurt to consider why he had to do it this way. All she could think about was herself and for once she didn't care. The last few months have been pure hell for her. The hurting, the grieving, the anger, all because he lied about his death. And Tank lied. Lester and Bobby too. They had lied to her. They had held her in their arms to comfort her and the whole time they were lying.

"I'm sorry, Babe. But I'm glad you've forgiven me."

Steph snapped out of whatever trance she had been in and faced Ranger head on, hands on her hips, and all the Jersey attitude she could muster up.

"Forgive you?" She questioned. "FORGIVE YOU!" She yelled. "You want me to forgive me?" At Ranger's slow nod, she screeched. "Have you lost your mother-fucking mind?! I don't forgive you! I don't know if I can ever forgive you because saying I forgive you is like saying I've forgotten the last few months and I can't do that." She ranted at him.

Ranger cocked an eyebrow. "Babe." That babe told her he didn't believe her. He had another thing coming.

Steph narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was in full rhino mode and she was ready for a fight. "You had your three friends come to my apartment on April fucking fool's day and tell me that you were caught in a fucking explosion. That there was nothing left of you for me to see; for me to say good bye. I was so fucking upset, Ranger that they had to sedate me. All I could do was cry. CRY! Then Tank came by. The first time with a damned envelope with just gobs and gobs of money telling me to fly. Then the second time he came by, it was to sign your company over to me."

"Babe, I had to do that to make it look real."

Steph shrieked her displeasure. "I DIDN'T WANT YOUR FUCKING COMPANY OR FUCKING MONEY OR FUCKING CARS, RANGER! I WANTED YOU!" She took a deep breath and lowered her breath. "I just wanted you."

"Babe, I'm here now. Please." He pleaded with those dark brown eyes.

She shook her head. "You don't get to say that, Ranger. Not this time."

"Tell me what I need to do, Babe and I'll do it. But understand this, I'm not going to apologize for doing what I had to do. And if I hadn't faked my own fucking death, he would have killed my mother, my daughter, and you. He wouldn't have done it with a quick bullet either. He would have taken his time and shipped you three back to me in fucking pieces, Stephanie. So yes I faked my death to make everyone believe that I was gone. Because I did, Raoul relaxed and called off his many bodyguards, making it easy for me to sneak in and kill him. And I did KILL him, Babe." Steph gasped when Ranger smiled at her. But it wasn't his usually smile. This one scared her. "I tortured the son of a bitch to make him pay for putting everyone I love and care about through what you had to go through."

By the time Ranger was finished, he had backed her against the wall and was in her face. Steph placed her palms on his chest and gave him a giant shove. Taken off guard, he stumbled back. Shock registered in his eyes and then slowly, pride.

"I understand why you did it. I even get it, but right now I can't forgive you. The pain was so unbearable and so strong that I couldn't do anything but stay curled under the covers, hoping with everything that I am that it wasn't true, and I cried. Oh God, I cried until I couldn't breathe and I would choke and eventually make myself sick as hell. So no, I can't forgive you. Oh don't get me wrong, I'm so happy that you're alive and well and standing in front of me that I just want to lose myself in you. But I want to punch you so bad, I can taste it. And if I stay here a moment longer, I'm going to."

Steph slipped on a pair of flip flops, grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. Ranger grabbed her arm and swung her around.

"Where are you going?" He barked out harshly, his eyes narrowed and flashing anger.

Steph jerked her arm free. "None of your business, Ranger."

She turned once more only to have Ranger grab her once again. This time she didn't hold back, she reared back her right arm and punched Ranger right square in the nose. She was pretty sure it hurt her more than it hurt him, but it did shock him. He stared at her in stunned silence. He wasn't bleeding or anything and Steph was glad she didn't make him bleed. She would have felt guilty as hell. But since he wasn't, she didn't.

"Back off, Ricardo Carlos Manoso. I need my damned space right now." She opened the door, but turned back to him. "And you can tell Tank, Lester, and Bobby that I'm going to kick all their fucking asses once I return to Trenton." She gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes and it wasn't friendly. "And trust me, I can do it too."

With that, she slammed the hotel door and headed for her car. The only person she knew she could trust was Harley. And that was exactly where she was headed.