Chapter 9

My heart hitched when Hector told me that Ranger had been injured but hearing that maybe something had gone wrong while he was in the wind had me closing my eyes at the enormity of the impact that had had on him. I knew that Ranger would always seek me out when he came home, though I was never too sure why. Sometimes it was just to see me, to touch base with me but at other times I noticed that he would sometimes sneak into my apartment when I slept. All he would do was to sit in the chair in the corner of the room and watch me. I had no idea why he would do that and after a few times of him doing it I appreciated him being there and how just his presence would make me feel safe. I had no idea how that worked. If Ranger had already been in a dark place when he returned home, then had the news of me and Joe done further damage? Okay I wasn't naive enough to think that I meant anything to him other than a very close friend, but would he see what happened as me somehow betraying him?

I wanted to see him in person but if he was down in Miami then that was unlikely to happen. Unless he was living at the Rangeman office down there then I wouldn't have a clue where to start looking. Trying to talk to him on the phone would only work if he answered it and somehow, I doubted that he would want to talk to me now.

"Estefania let's establish some facts first. I will ask around on the street for what Morelli is up to"

That only had me mumbling what I thought that Joe would be doing based on past knowledge.

"He'll be seeing Rita, the nurse, amongst others"

I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it was obvious that Hector had heard me. If Hector was shocked at me saying that then he didn't show it, instead he just shook his head as though in disbelief. Was that because he didn't think that I knew what Joe had been up to?

"I know that he was seeing her and someone else. That wasn't why I broke up with him. To be honest knowing that didn't have me feeling jealous, I suppose just relief. I wasn't going to let him know that I knew because I didn't want him to think that I was jealous or had any strong feelings for him. I broke up with him on the grounds that whatever we had just wasn't working, that we wanted different things from life, and I wasn't prepared to change to fit in with him and his wants"

The problem with doing it that way was that Joe just never understood or realized that I was being serious. The weeks following that meeting at the restaurant resulted in him harassing me to the point where I could easily have reported him for stalking me and that didn't include the escalation of the tactics he'd used.

"He didn't take the hint, did he?"

Even as I shook my head Hector's hand was on my shoulder and pushing the neck of my blouse down to reveal the nasty scar at the base of my neck. That had been the result of Joe biting down through my skin in a fit of temper. I hadn't told anyone about that, so was confused how Hector had worked it out, but I wasn't about to ask.

"Hector. Why are you doing this for me?"

I felt myself being turned by Hector's hands on my shoulders having no choice but to look at him.

"When I look at you, I see a woman who is beautiful but fiery, intuitive and determined with a heart that touched me. You are someone that draws a man to protect you. As I got to understand you better, I determined that when Ranger wasn't there for you that I would be. Nuestra angel de luz"

I didn't know what to say because Hector sounded so sincere as he spoke to me. I would never see myself as he was describing me and could easily have refuted what he'd said. I didn't, instead I leant toward him and kissed the tear drop tattoo underneath his eye. I had no idea what he'd added in Spanish, but the sentiment had tears coming to my eyes.

"I will be here early in the morning so get some rest, then we decide what to do"

After Hector left, I went back through to the kitchen to let Reina know that I was tired and going to bed.

Morning came soon enough, sooner than usual for me. Dreams had plagued me, though I couldn't remember what they were about, so I decided that I didn't want to go back to sleep. The problem was that I felt more tired than I had done when I went to bed. I showered and dressed before heading downstairs to the kitchen, hoping that I didn't wake anyone up. I was surprised to be able to smell the aroma of coffee before I even got there. Paloma was inside working at the stove and as she saw me, she held up a mug. I nodded my head assuming that she was asking me if I wanted a coffee.

I was soon sat at the table in the quiet of the kitchen on my own, sipping the delicious coffee. It was dark and strong which was exactly what I needed. I was eager for Hector to arrive and yet at the same time nervous. Maybe because I really couldn't see what the best thing would be to do next. I wasn't going to stay hidden in this house, I couldn't impose on the family here anymore, yet at the same time the idea of going back to my apartment didn't have the appeal that it had before. The thought of bumping into Joe terrified me and what if he was right and I was danger from those bank robbers?

I wasn't sure how I felt anymore. Okay, I felt relieved that I felt safe inside this house but couldn't chase away that feeling of fear that was there in the background. So much had changed in such a short time, none of which I felt I had any control over. I couldn't get in touch with my friends at Rangeman because to be honest I didn't quite trust them that they wouldn't hand me over to Joe. Ranger was gone leaving me feeling so guilty and I couldn't risk contacting Lula, Connie or Mary Lou.

I wasn't prepared to even speak to my mother because the idea of her lecturing me over leaving Joe's house made me feel as though I'd be blamed. Yeah, I could just hear what she would say to me. That Joe was my last chance and how I needed to grow up and do the right thing. To me that wasn't the right thing to do. Just because it was expected as the Burg way of life and how much she wanted it, wasn't enough for me. I hated the way she pressured me to conform to her ways. I absent mindedly ran the tips of my fingers over the scar on my shoulder, for the first time wondering if it had been my fault that Joe had lost it the evening that it had happened.

"What has upset you?"

I almost jumped at the sound of Hector's voice, hell, when will any of the Merry Men start to make a noise instead of sneaking up on me. For some reason my finger was resting on my neck, probably because I'd been thinking about that whole incident, which didn't go unnoticed by Hector.

"Memories, bad memories"

Was as much as I was prepared to admit to.

"Did he hurt you after he did that?"

I shook my head and then realized that the incident with Joe that night had been the last time that he'd come anywhere near to me, until this week. Yeah, he might have been stood in the background to where I was, watching me like a predator stalks its prey. That had me looking over to Hector with a question on the tip of my tongue. Had Hector had something to do with Joe staying away from me? Surely not, I mean how would Hector have known what Joe did?

"Hector, how, what?"

I stumbled over my words not sure if asking Hector was the right thing to do. Maybe I was wrong, and he had been making assumptions, I mean how else would he have known?

"I watched as he left your apartment with blood on his face then observed and noticed the dressing on your neck. So I made sure that the Bastardo was aware that I knew what he had done"

I wasn't sure what to say to that. I knew that Lula had noticed the dressing, but I'd used the excuse of a skip scratching me. I had never been aware that Hector had been looking out for me. Maybe him helping me with that skip should have given me the heads up. Normally I would have been annoyed at his intrusion into my privacy, but I wasn't.

"Bien. We're going on a trip for a few days"

I just looked at Hector, unsure if I'd heard him right. Did he say that we were going on a trip, because there was no way that was going to happen if I didn't know why or where.

"The boss, he needs you and I know where he is"

I assumed that he meant Ranger but was confused with why he would need me. I suppose I had nothing else planned and being out of Trenton felt like a good idea because at least I wouldn't be having to avoid Joe, my mother or those robbers. That was definitely a good enough reason for me, and as I thought about it the idea of being able to see Ranger grew on me. I felt elated that Hector was prepared to take me to Ranger. I pushed any questions that I might have had to the back of my mind.

"I don't have anything here"

Thinking that any clothes that I had were at my apartment. Would we be going to my apartment first?

"All done"

Was all that Hector would say. I'm sure that I was acting a bit befuddled at his response but decided to just go along with what he was saying.

"Here, go change into these and then meet me in the kitchen"

I took the small bag from Hector and was looking inside as I made my way upstairs curious as to what he had brought for me. Once inside the bedroom I was pulling out a pair of brand new jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt. Okay I was a little confused as to how Hector had these clothes when I spied a pair of panties and a matching bra. Once again, I was pushing that thought to the back of my mind as I began to change.

Once down in the kitchen I was made to sit down and had a plate with omelet on it placed in front of me by Paloma. It wasn't any ordinary omelet but full of peppers, onions and a variety of veg that I couldn't identify. It tasted amazing and I was as surprised as anyone that my plate was clean. Okay, I was as ready for this as I was ever going to be, so pulling on a hoodie followed Hector out of the front of the building and into a car that was parked across the street. I was full of questions as we pulled away from the sidewalk in a dirty green saloon car being driven by a total stranger. The man driving looked younger than Hector but from their conversation in Spanish I assumed that Hector knew and trusted him.

An hour later I was lost for words as we pulled up at the departure area at Mercer airport. Hector spoke to the man as he pulled two bags from the trunk and then I was watching as the car drove away. That was when my mouth connected to my brain.

"Hector where are we going, who was that?"

I was really hoping that he was taking me to Miami, to where Ranger was. I never got a word from Hector as we passed through security. Maybe he was as nervous as I was as we manhandled our bags through the X ray machines. I hated the things because there always seemed to be a reason for one of the uniformed men to paw through my bags. I think I sighed a breath of relief once we were through, but Hector still seemed on hyper alert. Maybe the fact that he had no weapons on him was causing him to be anxious. I hoped that was it and it wasn't the impending visit we were going to be making to Ranger. Once we'd taken our seats on the plane and I'd braced myself for the takeoff, I felt ready for a conversation because I really needed to know what I was letting myself in for so that at least I was prepared.

"Does Ranger know that we're going to be arriving?"

"No"

That had me doing a double take.

"Why not? What if he's not where you think he is?"

Or he had a woman with him. I wasn't going to ask that because that would imply to Hector that I would be extremely jealous.

"He's there, but I don't want to give him the option of refusing to see us"

Oh shit, that could mean that Ranger would be more than a little annoyed at our intrusion. He'd be furious and I really wasn't sure if I could cope with Ranger being angry at me.

"No problem"

That was easy for Hector to say because I'd seen Ranger annoyed at other people and had no desire for that anger to be directed at me. I never got the chance to ask Hector anything else because he dropped his seat back, closed his eyes and looked to fall asleep.

I spent nearly three hours deliberating the wisdom of what Hector was having me do. In that time, I went through a gambit of emotions from concern for Ranger, fear for me and then anger at how he had left Trenton. I didn't want to lose my best friend and it seemed at the moment that I already had so what was the worst thing that could happen? Okay he could shout at me, and I could shout back. He could refuse to even acknowledge me and have me thrown out, but was that any worse than what was happening now. If he called me a liar, then again, I wouldn't have lost any more than I had at the moment. I knew the truth so I was going to go for the positive and hope that even if I left Miami without my friend then I'd done everything that I could have and the onus would be on him to put things right, if he even wanted to.

The only thing that I couldn't reconcile myself to was if he had a woman there. I knew that it was irrational thinking because I had no right to feel that way. I'd been with Joe and sleeping with him, so it would only be natural for Ranger to have a woman as well. He was a man with needs and he sure as hell had to have learnt and practiced the moves that I remembered from any of our sexual activities. So yeah, the idea that he would be with a woman was quite a strong feeling. I wasn't aware of any women in Trenton but Miami, well he was partly raised there, and I was sure there would be plenty of women to choose from, so really, I had no call to be jealous of anyone. So why did it hurt so much just thinking about it. At the end of the day, I was just this annoying white girl from the Burg. I wasn't pretty with perfect hair or the perfect figure, in fact I was probably more annoying than anything or as Ranger had once implied just entertainment. God he really was in a totally different orbit to the likes of me.

By the time we landed I was a nervous wreck. Hopefully Hector was just assuming it was because I was afraid of flying, but that wasn't it. I was really questioning why the hell I was here following some idea that Hector had come up with. I blindly trailed after Hector from the plane out through the arrival area. It was a large cool busy place and was humming with the atmosphere I assumed clung to a place like Miami. It was only when we walked through the sliding glass doors that led outside that the full effect of the heat hit me. Okay it was winter down here so not as hot as it could be, but compared to what we'd left behind in Trenton it was definitely tropical.

I was going to ditch the hoodie when a small topless jeep stopped in front of us, and the driver got out and handed the keys over to Hector. My bag was stowed behind the front seat, and we were suddenly driving away from the airport. All thought of my impending doom forsake me as I gawked at the sights around me. Clear blue skies, colorful flora and expensive cars kept my attention. Buildings looked bigger and classier to what I was used to, streets seemed wider and busier. The whole place reeked of atmosphere. Nearly naked bodies that were tanned and ripped, and that included the women, walked the sidewalks between restaurants and shops. Eating areas with the buzz of conversation and then the smell of the sea. I wasn't sure how far we had travelled but as the salty air from the sea infiltrated my senses, I noticed that the streets became quieter with fewer people, fewer shops and restaurants until at last, I could catch glimpses of the beautiful turquoise of the ocean. Then I was drawn to the boats and yachts that seemed to dance across the waves.

As Hector turned in toward some gates all my feel good left me because I knew that we were close to our destination. Hector used a control box to open the gates before we slowly started to follow a narrow drive. This was an aspect of Ranger that I had never seen, never been invited to share and that saddened me and made me feel insignificant. I had never been important enough for him to share anything of his life, whilst he knew everything about me. I felt like an interloper as the view of a white single story building came into view. It was beautiful and so serene amongst the backdrop of palm trees. I was pretty sure that Ranger would be totally pissed at me for being here and thinking that I could interrupt his life.

I jumped as my door opened thinking that staying in the car was preferable to going through that wooden door, but Hector wasn't going to let me get away with that. He had to almost drag me up the few steps and then into an entrance way. It was everything that I expected, having seen photos in magazines and watched a few films. Cool white marble floors seemed to flow ahead of us with white walls embellished with colorful artwork. The place reeked of style and money, again a part of Ranger that I hadn't seen before.

Hector seemed to know where he wanted to go which meant that there was no time to look around. I found myself being pushed ahead of Hector into a large room that to me could have been a bedroom, well there was a bed in it. There was also a large couch, patterned rugs and a wall of glass that had white drapes billowing from an incoming breeze. The sound of waves was evident, so I assumed that the windows overlooked the beach. Any other time then I would have been in seventh heaven.

It was as I was looking around wondering what was going to happen next that I noticed movement from a chair facing the window. I froze as I watched a figure stand up, a slight hunch to his shoulders as though the movement was difficult. He was wearing black cargos and a black T-shirt and as he turned and faced me, I was close to bolting. Ranger's face was covered with several days worth of growth and his hair was loose down to his shoulders. It was his eyes that held my attention with a ferociousness that I had never ever seen before and certainly not aimed at me. There was no blank face, only a scowl that definitely told an onlooker that they were looking into the face of a very dangerous man.

I was frightened to death to start with so couldn't have moved if I'd wanted to, totally mesmerized by the look of a predator in front of me. Maybe it was the Jersey girl in me or maybe it was that fission of my own anger for what had happened to me, but I held my ground and stared right back at him. Him shouting out something in Spanish almost broke the spell but seeing as I had no idea what he was shouting I maintained my gaze. I assumed that Hector was behind me, and it was him who was being shouted at. After several minutes of the back and forth shouting between Ranger and Hector, who thankfully had decided to retaliate with his own annoyance, I'd had enough. Enough that I was not going to be spoken over or ignored, enough that I was now as furious as the two men.

"You were supposed to be my friend, yet you just abandoned me. So I came to you because I know that that behavior isn't you. You are hurting, well so am I mister"

That had the desired effect of the two men going silent. You could have cut the air with a knife from the tension clogging the room. The problem was that I was shouted out. I'd had my say and now all of those insecurities hit me in the gut. My eyes teared up and my head dropped away from Ranger's intense gaze.

"I only wanted to help"

Was all that I could manage to quietly say before I was turning and fleeing from the room. I stumbled as I got to the door but quickly found my footing by holding onto the door frame and then I was heading back the way that I'd come. I didn't know why I'd come here or what I thought I would accomplish and as my eyes blurred and my breathing became ragged, I knew that I was about to fall apart. I just ran in the direction that I thought would take me back outside, back to the car and just hoped that Hector was behind me to help me to pick up the pieces. How had I thought that Ranger would want to see me, that he wouldn't be annoyed with me for what he thought had happened. I was stupid to allow Hector to bring me here.