RPOV

"Are you really going to wear that?" Tank motioned to the back seat.

After flying up from Miami to attend Mayor Juniak's masquerade birthday party, we'd arrived at Rangeman Trenton a little less than an hour ago. I'd gone straight to Seven to grab a quick shower while Tank commandeered Lester's apartment.

Now, I pulled out of my parking spot at Haywood and headed for the Trenton Country Club.

"Joe Juniak sent it to me with a request that I wear it as a favor to him."

Tank smirked as his gaze cut from me to the nauseatingly bold jacket and back. "Really? That's how he decides to cash in his favor?"

I agreed it was a weird request. While most of the costume appeared more like a suit and fell into my typical attire of black on black, the jacket was beyond extravagant. It was bad enough that the shape of the coat gave it a steampunk feel, but the vibrant butterfly designed into it made me want to retch. The colors bled from a predominantly light blue into shifting shades of purple, yellow, and red. Intricate swirl patterns in varying colors filled in the rest of the jacket and the entire thing was trimmed in gold.

If anyone else had asked me to wear it, I would have turned them down in an instant, but over the years, Joe Juniak never failed to have my back when I needed something. If wearing the damn coat to this event would make him happy, who was I to argue?

Thankfully the mask that went with it was a simple design of black and gold.

At the stop light, I cut a glance at Tank, then back to the road. "Forget about me for a second. Who exactly are you supposed to be?"

He picked up his hat and placed it over the black bandana on his head. "I'm Zorro."

I continued to stare out the windshield as I smirked. "You do know Zorro wasn't black."

"And you're not really a butterfly," he shot back. "Who cares?"

Touché

I took Broad Street up to State and made a left before Tank broke the silence once more. "I'm kinda surprised that you were willing to come back to Trenton for this. I mean after everything that happened."

"Juniak called in a favor, and I always repay my debts." That didn't mean I hadn't thought long and hard about it before I agreed. Knowing Stephanie was his Goddaughter, and how much she adores him, there wasn't any way she wouldn't come back for this event. After two years of no contact, did I have it in me to face her again?

The truth was, I still wasn't sure. Honestly, I missed her more than I'd ever admit to anyone. At the time, I thought I was doing what was right for both of us. It was only after the damage was done; did I see the error of my ways. If I only ever get this one chance, I wanted the opportunity to apologize to her. She deserved so much more than just a pitiful, I'm sorry, but she had to be willing to accept those words before I could give her more.

"You know there's a good chance that Stephanie is going to be there, right?"

I nodded. "That's my hope."

"Ranger." I didn't miss the warning tone in Tank's voice. "It's been two years. What exactly do you expect to accomplish by confronting her?"

"I'm not confronting her," I argued as I turned down the long lane leading to the country club. "I've been carrying this guilt since the day it happened. I just want the opportunity to apologize to her. Then, if she still doesn't want to talk to me, I'll walk away and leave her alone, but she at least deserves my contrition."

"Might I remind you that she's not a completely innocent party? I know how much her back and forth with Morelli hurt you. So, don't you dare take all the blame."

Too late for that, pal.

Leave it to Tank to once again have my back. That wasn't to say he didn't love Stephanie like a little sister, but he also wasn't willing to let her off the blame hook either.

"So, maybe we both fucked up," I admitted. "It still doesn't change the fact that one of us has to be willing to swallow our pride and be the first to apologize."

"And you think that person should be you?" Tank asked.

I shrugged. "When it came to communication, I sucked just as much as she did. So, why not?"

I pulled up to the front of the mansion and put the Porsche in park, stepped out, and handed the key to the valet. He gave me a receipt, which I dropped into my pocket. Once the valet drove away, I turned my attention to the entrance. Not for the first time since I decided to come, I felt the familiar flare of nerves. What if she decided not to come?

Worse yet, what if she came but brought someone with her? Wait! Juniak made the stipulation about if you weren't married or engaged you couldn't bring a partner. From the intel I kept on her, I knew Steph still wasn't married or engaged, but it had been hard to pinpoint if she was seeing someone.

What if she refused to hear me out?

While I might deserve her shunning me, I couldn't get past how horrible these last two years without her had been. I'm not sure I could go on without her being part of my life again.

Tank slapped me on the back, pulling my thoughts back to the present. "You have the same look on your face you used to get when you thought we were heading into a suicide mission."

"In some ways, this feels like it," I muttered.

Tank's face screwed into a look of concern. "Should I be worried?"

"Maybe?" I finally replied after several long and silent seconds passed.

"Shit." He shook his head. "I hope for both our sakes this works out tonight. I don't want to have to be on perpetual suicide watch."

I glanced from the door to him. "You won't. The Government will handle that for me."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're done with your contract, Ric."

"That doesn't mean they wouldn't take me back if I changed my mind," I replied as I took a step forward.

I'd only made it a few feet when he pulled me to a stop and stepped in front of me; his large frame towering over me. "What about Rangeman?"

"You, Lester, and Bobby are more than capable of running Rangeman without me."

"What about your family?"

"They've been preparing to lose me to combat for years."

"Still." He shook his head. "You don't think they'd miss you? That they'd grieve for you?"

"They probably would," I replied as I kept my eyes trained on where Zip and Zero stood manning the front door. "They'd eventually learn to live with it."

When he opened his mouth to protest, I held up a hand. "You and the guys would learn to live with it too."

"Ranger," he said, the tone in his voice a clear warning.

Knowing I had no choice but to face him or create a scene trying to get past him, I lifted my gaze to meet his. "Look…I thought I could live without her, but I can't. These last two years have been so empty and lonely, Tank. I know now that she's my soulmate. Without her, I'm half a man who is just going through the motions. I can't and won't do that any longer. One day when you find your soulmate, you'll understand."

Tank held my gaze for a moment longer, before he gave a nearly imperceptible nod and stepped out of the way. I know it's hard for him to understand why I feel the way I do, but he of all people knows how deep my love for Stephanie runs.

I made my way up to where my men were guarding the door. "Zip. Zero."

"Boss," Zip said. "It's good to see you again."

"You too," I replied. "Anything to report?"

Zip shook his head. "All is quiet. Everyone that has arrived so far has been on the guest list and has presented the printed invitation to us."

"Good." My attention drifted to the open door. "Santos and Brown inside?"

Zip nodded. "They're manning the main ballroom."

"Who else is here?"

"Woody and Vince are in the smaller ballroom. Junior and Slick are working as wait staff and are mingling through the main floor. Cal, Manny, Raphael, and Binkie are patrolling the grounds outside. Hal and Ram are upstairs."

Sounds like Lester and Bobby did a good job with coverage. "Good. I'll let you get back to work."

Before I could step forward, Zero reached out and touched my arm. "Sir, you should probably know that Bomber is here."

I stiffened at his words then forced myself to relax as I slammed my blank face in place behind the mask. "How long ago did she arrive?"

"About twenty minutes, give or take," he said, then leveled a look at me that had my skin prickling with awareness. Why did I have a feeling I wasn't going to like what he said next?

"You should also know she arrived on the arm of Dickie Orr."

WTF? Before I could stop it, my body jerked from his statement. What in the hell was she doing here with her ex-husband? "Thank you for letting me know," I replied, then headed into the building.

Tank caught up with me as I made my way through the foyer. "Did I just hear Zero say that Stephanie came with the dick?"

"Yes."

"Well, that was unexpected."

I snorted at his statement. "To say the least. Knowing how much she hates him, there must be a good reason behind why she'd agree to be seen with him."

"So, you don't believe that they're together again?"

"Not in the least." If I allowed myself to go down that path, I'd be eating my gun before the end of the night. Besides, I know how volatile their breakup was and how much she despises the asshole. The last thing I needed to do was jump to conclusions without having all the facts.

I felt the tingle up my spine a moment before I stepped through the doorway to the main ballroom. She was close. I couldn't help but wonder if she could still feel me in the same manner. My unasked question was answered a moment after I spotted her. Without the dick in tow, she stood on the other side of the room talking with Lester, Bobby, and Joe Juniak. She stopped, lifted a hand to the back of her neck then began to scan the room.

The moment our eyes locked I'm positive my heart slammed to a stop. God, she was more beautiful than I remembered. Even from across the room, I could feel the connection and the energy that we always generated when we were together. She held my gaze for only a moment, but it was long enough for me to see the pain flash in her eyes. Knowing I'd caused that pain caused guilt to course through me with lightning speed.

Though, if she was still hurting, I'd venture to guess that meant she wasn't over me either. Hopefully, that would work to my advantage.

In my peripheral vision, I caught Tank looking from Steph to me and back. "She's dressed as a butterfly," he murmured.

Yeah, I caught that fact straight away. "How much you wanna bet Juniak sent her that dress to wear?"

Tank's attention drifted back to me. "I know better than to take that bet. No way is it a coincidence."

Smart man.

"Just what in the hell is Juniak up to?" he asked.

I wasn't sure, but I was damn well going to find out.