Chapter 7

Even as I left the safety of Joe's backyard, I realized the mistake that I'd made. I watched as the snow began to fall, twisting and turning with the wind before eventually the large white flakes made to settle on the ground. It looked as though we were in for a heavy fall, something that no one around here would be too happy about. The roads would be blocked not just with the snow but with cars whose drivers crawled slowly along the streets and with those who just didn't know how to control their vehicles.

I had totally forgotten to get a jacket and looking down at my feet I could see how totally inappropriate my flat pumps were going to be. No way was I going back so once on the street I pulled the hood up and began to make my way along the sidewalk. Any other time and I would have been so happy to be out in the snow. There was something magical when it snowed. The silence that filled the air overwhelmed me and I stopped to watch the large flakes as they fell, lifting my face to allow some of them to fall on my skin. That was a mistake and as the dizziness hit me, I was suddenly holding onto a garden fence. I had to keep moving. Using the fence to support me I felt the cold air hitting my lungs and doubled over with the pain that came with breathing heavily. I really needed to get myself back to the keep fit class and keep trying to get myself fitter.

My head was down to keep the deluge of snow from my face, but I knew that I was struggling to keep up any pace. I was walking a lot slower and was almost in tears at the thought of how far I needed to go to get to Lou's house. What totally surprised me was when I walked into someone and the force of that pushing me backwards onto my backside.

"Sorry"

Was all I could think to say as I looked ahead of me.

"Steph? What the hell are you doing out here?"

I couldn't stop the tears from erupting when I looked up to see a large man dressed in black crouching down in front of me. Even through the tears I recognized the uniform and the face.

"Miguel? Please take me home, please"

I saw a look of confusion on his face, and I know that I cringed when his arms came around me, but I pushed that fissure of fear down knowing that I would be taken home. He helped me into the back seat of the black SUV that was idling by the side of the street welcoming the feel of the warm air that surrounded me. I hadn't realized just how cold it had been outside on the street. As the car started to move along the street and then stopped in front of Joe's house I couldn't understand why. This was the last place that I wanted to be. I could feel my heart beating rapidly and a slow panic building up inside of me, so I probably shocked poor Miguel when I started to shout and scream at him.

"No, I want to go to my apartment, I don't want to be here. Please take me to my building"

I could feel the tears running down my cheeks and tried to implore to Miguel to do as I asked. I'm sure that I heard him sigh and say something to the man sat next to him before the car started to move away from Joe's house. I tried to calm myself but to be honest I was finding that hard to do. I felt like shit with a throbbing headache, ribs that felt as though they were on fire and muscles that were now aching badly. All I could do was to stare out of the window and watch the swirling snow lit up beneath the streetlights. What I wouldn't give for a magic door to open that led to somewhere like Narnia, somewhere where I could escape the turmoil that seemed to be plaguing me.

It was warm inside the car and as it began to slowly drive down the streets, I rested my head back and closed my eyes because for the first time since I'd woken up, I was feeling safer.

The images were there again, the shadows that seemed to haunt me and to be honest frightened me. Voices and faces were just a blur as they continued to taunt me. Hands moved toward me, but I just couldn't move away from them. It was as though I was frozen or caught up in quicksand. It was the feel of the touch on my shoulder that seemed to kick start me and my arm flew out to protect myself. I realized that I could move so I did, but then I had that horrible feeling of falling. That was when my eyes flew open as I tried to control the fear raging through me. I just wasn't seeing what I thought I would, I wasn't where I thought I would be. I should have been in my apartment.

"Steph?"

Oh God, how could Bobby be in my dream and why was I dreaming of being at Rangeman? That had never happened before. I closed my eyes hoping to wake myself up, to stop the panic that I was feeling but it was a touch to my cheek that had me frowning. It felt so real that I just needed to see for myself.

"Steph, I'm going to pick you up"

I felt arms under my legs and across my shoulders that had a feeling of uncertainty skittering through me before I inhaled the smell that surrounded me. I felt myself being laid down and almost moaned as I sank down onto the bed, before I felt someone holding my hand. Opening my eyes, I was seeing Bobby's concerned face looking down at me. Immediately I began to calm down, my breathing slowing down and the drumming from my head quieting. I hadn't been here to Rangeman since Ranger had to leave town. That was before I'd had that meeting with Joe, before the skips that I'd caught and taken in and before that horrendous episode at the bank.

"How are you feeling?"

Like shit was my first thought, but I would never say that to Bobby. I needed for him to believe that I was okay and not show the weakness of feeling totally broken. You might ask why, and I suppose I was asking the same thing myself, maybe it was because I just wanted to be by myself in my own apartment, where I could at least try to sort through what had happened to me.

"Okay"

Was my glib reply as I looked down at my hands and studied the edge of the sheet that I was holding.

"Do you want me to call Morelli?"

That had my eyes quickly looking up at him and I was sure that I was frowning. Why the hell would I want Joe to know where I was? Was Bobby nuts or what?

"No. Why would I want you to do that?"

I couldn't understand why Bobby would ask me that because no way did I want to go anywhere near Joe. The thought of that brought that weird feeling coming back to me. I could call Mary Lou or even Lula, they'd help me out and give me a lift to my apartment if I wasn't welcome here.

"Steph, I'm sure he'll be worried about you. I get that you're feeling a bit nervous but you two argue all of the time and get back together"

My breath hitched at hearing Bobby say that. Did he really think that I was out on the street because of some stupid argument with Joe? Did he really think that I would go back to him just because he was saying that?

"Fuck you Bobby"

This time I was royally pissed so threw the sheet from me and swung my legs over the side of the bed. No way was I going to stay here and let Bobby dictate what I should do. To say that Bobby was surprised was an understatement and if this had been under different circumstances then I would have been distracted by the show of emotion across his normally blank face. The problem was that while mentally I wanted to stomp out of the room and maintain some dignity, physically my body just wasn't having any of that. Maybe it was the quick movement or even trying to stand up because my legs began to give way, and a pain in my head resulted in tiny black spots taking over my vision.

Waking up wasn't easy, not just because of the headache but also because of the way that my stomach was doing flip flops. I sat up quickly remembering the last time that I'd thrown up and didn't want to cover myself in sick again. What surprised me was the feel of an arm around my shoulder helping me and the appearance of a paper bowl in front of me. I suppose my stomach must have been empty, but it didn't stop it from retching.

"Take it easy Steph"

A look to the side had me seeing Bobby stood over me with the usual look of concern that I was used to when he had need to look after me. Bobby was the medic here at Rangeman and he had a lot of experience tending any small injuries that befell me. I felt embarrassed with the state that I was in, and that Bobby was having to look after me, yet again. This was different though and that nagging question was there at the back of my head.

"Why do I feel like shit Bobby?"

Ever the medic Bobby began his speech as though his answer would seem to make sense to me.

"You took a hell of a blow to your head Steph and have a concussion. Feeling sick and dizzy are all part of that. That head's still hurting, isn't it?"

I suppose he must have seen that just from looking at me or did he know something that I didn't? I mean I can't remember hitting my head so why would Bobby use that as a reason for me not feeling well and why did I hurt everywhere else and feel like I was so weak? I'd hit my head before and had never felt like this.

"Maybe I need to take something, you know, to dull the ache"

I watched as Bobby nodded his head agreeing with me and walked over to a cabinet on the other side of the room. Two minutes later he was handing me a couple of tablets and a bottle of water. I have to admit that I looked at those tablets with some trepidation not sure whether to take them or not. In the end I knew that I needed to trust Bobby.

Five minutes later I'd finished off the bottle of water and swallowed the tablets that Bobby had given to me, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Bobby was freaking me out a bit when he just stood there looking at me.

"Steph. Why don't you rest and try to sleep? Maybe, when you wake up, you'll feel better"

The lights were dimmed as Bobby left me on my own, but I just wasn't going to allow myself to sleep. There were too many questions racing through my head and to be honest too many blank spaces that I needed filling in. One thing was obvious though, Ranger hadn't got back from doing whatever it was that he had to do. He would have been here with me, listening to me and trying to help me to sort out what was going on. Rangeman just wasn't the same when he wasn't here.

Thinking of Ranger had a feeling of sadness come over me. Ranger or Carlos Manoso was CEO of Rangeman, a company that specialized in security. They also brought in high bonded skips which was how I'd first met Ranger. He'd agreed to help me to learn the job of being a bounty hunter a few years ago and had been helping me ever since. If I said that he was my best friend, then that would have been an understatement. My feelings for him ran much deeper than that but I had to keep those feelings locked up tight. Ranger was still a man of mystery to me and whilst we sometimes indulged in a physical relationship, he had made it very clear to me that that was all that he could ever offer me.

He was a man who was focused on his business, on being a soldier for the government and a leader whose life was not suited to relationships. Whatever he meant by that. I suppose he was way out of my league anyway, being a very good looking man who oozed sexuality, while I was this naive white girl from the Burg muddling her way through life. But it didn't stop me from wanting more than my upbringing dictated.

Okay, the other guys who worked with Ranger were always nice to me and welcomed me, but I always felt that my presence was a bit of a distraction and any work that I was offered was more of a pity position. Ranger had always told me to call Tank, his second in command, if I needed any help but I suppose I was too proud to do that. It wasn't that I didn't trust Ranger's men but as I said I wanted to show that I could do my job on my own.

I lay there wide awake with no feeling of tiredness and surprisingly the tablets that Bobby had given to me seemed to be dulling my headache. In fact, I was actually starting to feel more alert, so much so that I was aware of voices just outside the door. I recognized Bobby and I was sure that Tank and Les were there as well but as I strained to hear what they were saying a cold feeling began to come over me.

"We need to let Morelli know that she's here"

I cringed when I heard Tank say that almost disbelieving that I'd heard him right.

"What about Ranger?"

"No way can we disturb him, not now that he's down in Miami"

Did that mean that Ranger had come back from being in the wind, from doing whatever job he'd been doing for the government? But why wouldn't Tank call Ranger and let him know that I was here. Why was Ranger down in Miami, did that mean that he wasn't coming back? Did that mean that I'd lost my best friend without him even talking to me?

"That doesn't sound right to me Tank. Hell, Miguel said that she was desperate to get away from Morelli's house"

"Not our call Santos. He'll probably be here anyway when he realizes that she's missing"

"She's resting now. Give her a couple of hours before we do anything"

Oh shit, was Tank right? Would Joe come here looking for me? I suppose that Joe might jump to that conclusion because I had always come to Rangeman in the past when I thought that I was in trouble. I was almost certain from what I'd overheard that Joe would be allowed to see me and even be allowed to remove me back to his house. Would Tank, Bobby and Les let that happen? Maybe, hadn't Bobby said that I was just being nervous and would patch things up with Joe. No way was that going to be happening which meant that I needed to get out of here and quickly. Hopefully no one would call Joe until they felt that I'd slept and was being more reasonably behaved.

The voices seemed to quieten down with Bobby being the last to speak, saying to give me a couple of hours to rest before anything was done. Two hours was plenty of time to make my departure, though how I would do that I wasn't too sure of.