Ranger

"Boss, turn on the news," Cal hollered. I grabbed the remote to turn on my television.

Stephanie entered my office and sat on my lap when I pushed back from my desk. "The police scanner said shots were fired at Goldwyn Health Teams Clinic," Stephanie said.

We listened to the woman on the screen. "Three shots rang from inside the Goldwyn Health Teams Clinic. Police have identified the shooter as Paulo Grizoli. This news comes days after his cousin, Terry Gilman, died in her uncle's car. The preliminary investigation indicates Paulo Grizoli murdered Jolene Travers before turning his gun on Dr. Kim Tatum. Several women came forward, accusing Jolene Travers of inappropriate conduct, blackmail and solicitation." The woman paused when her hand touched her ear. She shook her head. "I just learned Paulo Grizoli's wife, Marisa, passed away the previous afternoon after miscarrying her twins. Marisa had undergone three years of fertility treatments to become pregnant. She was on bedrest. The investigators found a letter and photographs of Paulo Grizoli with the woman, Jolene Travers, in a compromising position among Marisa's possessions. We could only assume learning about her husband's infidelity caused her to miscarry the twins."

"Woah," Stephanie said. "I guess her Dr. Tatum's need to find a new doctor."

"Grizoli lost another family member," I added.

"Three family members," Stephanie corrected. "It's a shame killing Jolene was his only solution."

"He acted out of grief." Stephanie nodded, then settled against my chest. I rubbed the bump, which grew more overnight.

"Your sister spent the night with Bobby," Stephanie said. She looked into my eyes, warning me to leave them alone. "I thought I saw Peter Lewis sneaking from the building while I was on duty."

I raised an eyebrow. Hector rarely had company. "Is that a problem?" I asked.

"No, but he doesn't have to hide their relationship. I know they bought a house out of town," Stephanie replied. I didn't know. "Peter accepted a job for a travel magazine. He gets to fly around the world to take breathtaking pictures."

"Pam?" I asked, wondering where she would work.

Stephanie grinned, then told me something I never expected to hear. "She married Lester." I raised an eyebrow. "It shocked me, too," Stephanie confessed. "I thought he kept escaping to visit family, but it was Pam." Didn't Stephanie see it? "Carlos, I don't pay attention to the images or names unless I have to. I've been teaching Isabelle to let them pass through her mind without focusing of them. We can't interfere with people's lives and I prefer leaning the details from family and friends," she explained. "I only mention something if it keeps popping into my mind."

"Technically, he was seeing family," I reminded her. She smiled and kissed my lips.

"Pam forwarded her resume. I could use her on my team," Stephanie said before leaving.

I opened my emails and laughed when I found Pam and Alejandra's resumes, then printed them. Why would my sister want to work here? A knock on the doorframe interrupted my thoughts. "Enter," I said, looking at the door. Bobby strolled in. "Close the door." Bobby raised an eyebrow but followed my order.

He sat on a chair across from my desk. I waited until he started talking. "Leyha wants to work at Rangeman," Bobby announced. "Right. You already know. She could help me with tending to injuries and yearly medical exams."

"Are we hiring spouses and girlfriends now?" I asked.

"You set the bar, boss," Bobby replied. I tilted my head back and laughed.

Bobby had me there. "Touché." I hired Stephanie as our client liaison and appointed her CEO whenever I got deployed. With the pending maternity leave, Stephanie would need someone to work with her. Pam was perfect for sharing the Human Resources title with Tank. He enjoyed interviewing potential hires and employee reviews. However, Tank didn't care for the paperwork involved. Would Alejandra fit with the women?

"Leyha gets along with Stephanie. I think she'd be an asset to the company. She could help Stephanie with the clients," Bobby added. I would have to discuss everything with the others.

Tank knocked on the door. I knew it was him because his fist made a noise resembling someone falling off a chair. "Enter," I ordered. Lester and Tank walked through the door. Tank locked the door to prevent anyone from entering.

"Are we discussing hiring our women?" Lester asked.

"Congrats, Santos. When did it happen?" I asked. Bobby and Tank stared at Lester, waiting for him to elaborate.

Lester hung his head. "We applied for a license a few weeks ago. Pam's mother isn't well. She wanted to see her daughter get married before she passed away. Since you're using the jet this weekend, we can't fly to Vegas. Pam and I married in her mother's house by a licensed officiant last weekend."

"I didn't know you were still seeing Pam," Bobby said.

"Stephanie knew, but she promised to keep our secret," Lester replied. "Pam asked if she could apply here. Peter accepted a job taking landscape photographs. He doesn't need Pamela on staff."

I reached behind me to grab the resumes. Pamela worked in the Human Resources department at a local magazine. She got laid off when a larger company purchased the business. Stephanie had met Pamela during a fashion show and asked her to do her makeup. Her resume didn't show me anything I hadn't already learned from Stephanie.

"Shouldn't Stephanie be here?" Tank asked.

"We could have her in the meeting, but she had to meet with the owner of The Velvet Box jewelry shop. It was the second time she got forced to reschedule," I explained. "She'll arrive once her meeting concludes."

Stephanie

Jasmine Bakker was a beautiful woman. Her skin tone was slightly lighter than Ranger's. I loved how she styled her tightly curled hair. "Is everything okay, Stephanie?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm sorry for staring. I love your hair. How did you get the curls to look full but not frizzy?"

She smiled, then opened her purse. "My sister, Gemma, owns a hair salon in California. Gemma's husband works in a lab to make hair products. He mixed the ingredients to create this serum," Jasmine explained. She passed me the tube. "You can keep that. It works best on wet hair. I brought that one for you. Email your feedback for me to forward to Gemma."

I grinned at the kind woman. "Thanks. I'll try it tomorrow morning."

We reviewed the current contract and changes required to accommodate a second store, which should open within a few months. "I'm sorry for changing our previous appointments," I said. I had anticipated her needs and printed the new ones for her to read at her leisure.

"Steph, I listened to the news, and I heard the rumours. Your safety was more important." Jasmine was kind and understanding. She surprised me by signing the contracts without her lawyer reviewing them.

"I could have asked Tank or Lester to meet with you," I redirected.

"But then I would have missed meeting the Anie Lewis," Jasmine joked. "I've been a fan for years. I recognized you when you strolled around town wearing those wigs and coloured contacts."

"How?" I know a few of my surveillance days while tracking Mancuso were near her shop.

Jasmine giggled. "The shape of your body and face doesn't change when you wear a wig or contacts. Okay. Now that we've concluded our business tell me more about the man you called Tank. I heard he's tall, dark, handsome and huge… everywhere."

I had to laugh. "He's all of those," I replied. Jasmine seemed shocked. "I never saw his penis, but it's hard to hide an erection that massive." Jasmine fanned herself.

Her eyes glimmered when a thought crossed her mind. I knew what she wanted before asking. Putting my phone on speaker, I called the big guy. "Yo," Tank answered.

"Hey, Big Guy. Are you busy?" I asked.

"Never too busy to talk to you, Little Girl," he replied. "What do you need?" Jasmine loved his answer.

"My back is sore. Could you escort Miss Bakker to her car?" I sweetly asked. I imagined him narrowing his eyes at the other end.

"You're not playing matchmaker, are you?"

"Me? Never," I joked.

Tank should meet Jasmine. He had briefly dated Lula, an ex-hooker who worked at my cousin's bond office to file paperwork. Lula had tricked him into getting engaged. It was cruel and wrong. Jeanelle said Lula was a user. She took advantage of other people's generosity. Hopefully, it didn't sour his future relationships.

The big guy arrived a few minutes later. He entered the conference room and froze. I could feel the energy building in the room. Woah. I was not expecting that to happen.

Jasmine stood to approach Tank. She was tall for a woman. With her four-inch heels, she could almost stare directly into his eyes. "Tank?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes, ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you," he replied. "My name is Pierre." What? He hated his name, yet he offered it to Jasmine.

"I didn't think your momma named you Tank. Stephanie promised you'd escort me to my car. Are you available for dinner?" Jasmine asked.

"I'm sure I could rearrange my schedule," Tank replied as he guided her from the room. I didn't hear the rest of their conversation.

The elevator doors opened when I arrived. I stepped inside, then exited on the fifth floor. Where did everyone go? There weren't any noises coming from the cubicles.

When I approached the monitors, I saw the men crowding around Binkie and Junior. "Boo!" I screamed. The men jumped, making me laugh. "What are we watching?" I peeked over Junior's shoulder. Tank had Jasmine pressed against her car with his hands tangled in her hair. "Men." I reached around Junior to cut the feed. "Leave the big guy alone, or I'll make Ranger take you to the mats." The men scrambled, making me laugh.

"Babe?" Ranger asked from his doorway.

"The guys were watching Tank kissing Jasmine. I swear they had never seen a hot couple make out," I replied. He grinned, then pulled me into his arms. We passionately kissed in the office doorway.

It took someone yelling, "Grab the fire hose. We need to extinguish these guys," for us to stop kissing. I rubbed Ranger's chest before pushing him into the room.

Lester and Bobby grinned at us. My face flushed red. I sat between the men on the couch and waited for Tank to return. He arrived a few minutes later. His lips were slightly swollen from kissing Jasmine. "Well?" I asked.

"It's what you described, Ranger," Tank replied. "I never thought it could happen to me." Ranger slapped his back, then sat on the other couch.

"Before we go down that track, I think we should discuss the resumes," Bobby said. "Alejandra and Pam applied for jobs Rangeman never listed."

"I never provided Tank with the job descriptions. The company is expanding. We're offering more services and need a proper Human Resources department. Tank, it would eventually be more than you could manage alone," I said.

"Would we need people in the other branches?" Lester asked.

"No. We could have the HR department here. Rangeman Miami houses the accounting team. Most of the legal team lives in Boston. It makes sense for the HR team to remain here," I explained. Lester looked relieved.

"Would Pam and Leyha fit with the team?" Tank asked.

I grinned because I was the team. "Yes. I've worked with Pam for many years. She has the training to run the HR department. I like Alejandra. She could handle reordering the medical supplies and keeping the first aid kits stocked. It would alleviate some of the pressure on Bobby, especially when he needs to get the medical exams completed. Tank gave me a breakdown of employees and vacation days used. I noticed everyone except you four has taken the required time off. Was there a reason you're immune to requiring time off?"

Carlos was the first to reply. "I'm still working through my government contract. When I return, I take time off to decompress before returning to work."

"Really? Are you sure you want to stick with that story?" I heard the other men snicker.

"Babe," he sighed.

"You're offline for another twelve days. Are you expected to leave soon?" I asked. Carlos shook his head. "Okay. When you officially return to work, Lester and Pam could leave on their honeymoon for two weeks." I passed Lester an envelope. He would stay at one of the bed and breakfast places I own in Italy. Everything they want or need would get charged to the corporation.

"Beautiful?" Lester asked. His eyes were damp from unshed tears.

"It's one of my properties. Italy is on Pam's bucket list of destinations," I explained. Lester kissed my cheek. He couldn't wait to go.

"Who's next?" Ranger asked.

I pointed to Bobby. "Zip or Zero could handle any medical needs for a few weeks," I replied. "If we get desperate, we can ask Maria to help." Ranger groaned. "Provided you don't get called away when Bobby returns, Tank would take his vacation."

Everyone agreed to have Tank conduct the interviews with Hector and Manny. I wanted to hire Pam and Alejandra without an interview, but we had to follow the hiring practices Ranger implemented when the company opened.

My phone alarm buzzed, then Ranger, Lester, Bobby's and Tank's phones. I read the display, then fainted. Jeanne Ellen and Alejandra took Isabelle shopping for the day. Their SUV and Isabelle's phone's GPS and panic button went offline.

Hector, Vince and Hal stayed with me while the others went to Isabelle's last location. "What if she's dead?" I cried. Hector pulled me onto his lap. His hands rubbed comforting circles on my back.

"She's not dead," Vince said. Hal went to the kitchen to get me some water and ice cream. He passed the water bottle to Vince, who screwed off the top. "Drink."

I drank the water, making the three men happy. Hal gave me the ice cream with a spoon. Vince grabbed my phone when it rang. He traded it for the ice cream. "Hello?" I tentatively answered, not recognizing the number.

"Mom," Isabelle cried. "I'm safe. Big Dog from the police department let me use his phone."

"Are you hurt?"

"Not really. I sprained my wrist when Aunt Jeanelle pushed me to the ground. I'm worried about her," she cried.

"Why?" I asked while searching inside my mind. I didn't see anything horrible happening to Jeanne Ellen. "Did she get badly hurt?"

"Her hair got singed and her back got cut," Isabelle replied. "I tossed my purse in the backseat when I felt something was wrong. Tia Jeanelle and Tia Leyha ran when I yelled. I heard some ticking noise then Tia Jeanelle pushed me to the ground. She protected me with her body."

"Do you know what happened?" I asked.

"Mom. Can dad call you back? Big Dog has to return to the TPD. He needs his phone," Isabelle replied. She didn't want to scare me by suddenly hanging up. I reminded her to thank Big Dog.

Carlos called me before she hung up. "Babe, Isabelle is fine. She has a sprained wrist and scraped knees. I'm taking her to the hospital to get cleaned up, and the bump on her head gets checked. Bobby removed small shrapnel and stitched the abrasions on Jeanelle's back. She's fine. Alejandra bumped her head and needs stitches," Carlos explained.

"How's Bobby holding up?"

"Surprisingly well," Carlos replied. "Please stay at Rangeman." It was better than me since I wanted to rush out of the building to meet them at the hospital.

I heard Jeanelle ask me to research her latest FTAs. "Tell Jeanelle I've got her back. I'll send a text when I get the details," I promised.

"Send Vince, Luigi and Hector after the man responsible. I want him off the streets," Carlos snarled. He didn't have to add, "Before I kill him," since it was implied.