Ranger and Stephanie still belong to Janet. Kane, Harper, and any mistakes, I'm solely responsible for.
"Your wife was worried about you," I told Kane, in case he forgot to figure Harper into his actions.
"Bet she was less so when she saw you at the house."
I turned and stopped our progress to my vehicle by blocking his path. "You can't keep doing shit like this," I informed him. "You have a wife and daughter you're now responsible for."
"I know, that's why we're leaving a fucking police station ... I got in trouble for my response to that responsibility."
"And after Harper was hurt, she had to worry about how badly you were going to hurt someone else. She shouldn't need to be as concerned about her husband's safety as she is about her baby."
The asshole laughed. I didn't. After a minute, he wound down to just a stupid grin.
"How'd you say that without cracking a smile or getting struck by lightning?" He asked me. "You just made a 'family vacation' out of tracking down a fucking serial killer! And you leave Steph and the Princess everyday to capture twisted bastards just like him. You gonna tell me your wife wasn't worried ... isn't worried about you every fucking day?"
"Stephanie knew what my life was like before I convinced her to share it. She also has a similar one, which paved the way for me."
"But you think Harp ... my beautiful, rational, and responsible, Harper would hitch herself to me without thinking it through? She overthought it, since she made me sweat it out for forty-two seconds before saying yes when I begged her to marry me. I almost got my head blown off, and I was less concerned than I was in those few seconds with Harp."
"I know Harper wouldn't have agreed to a date with you, let alone eventually marry you, if she didn't believe you're a man she can depend on, but she doesn't need any added chaos to the usual amount you bring to her life."
He looked away from me and I waited for his eyes to swing back around when he was ready to say what he didn't want to. A lot of people believe force is the easiest way to get answers, but more times than not ... actively remaining silent gets more results in a faster amount of time.
"I was beyond pissed," he began, "but I only found the guy to make him see that although it was an accident, it was one that could've ruined our lives so I warned him to watch his ass next time. I would've accepted him acknowledging what he did and offering a genuine apology for hurting my wife ..."
"But he didn't."
"Not only did he not give two shits about my family or how he could've fucked it all up, he had the fucking balls to actually blame Harper for not having eyes on the back of her head to see him dicking off, and then politely move out of their way. That's what that fucker who almost destroyed her as a kid said ... that it was her fault for getting into a car with him. If she would've refused a ride home from school, he would've have been able to attack her. I'm NEVER going to allow ANYONE to say it's her fault for what they did to her. I know how hard some days still are for her, and for some ignorant asshole to say she brought the pain on herself isn't something I will ever tolerate. He was going to eat his words with my fist wrapped around each one of them."
"What kind of damage did you do?"
"The charge wasn't attempted murder, but it was heading in that direction if the fucker's friend hadn't been at the house with him to call the cops when he did. According to what I overheard, looks like it's just a smashed jaw, dislocated shoulder, and two broken ribs that may be hindering his breathing a bit. What a pussy. I've bounced back from worse more times than I have fingers."
"I'll be doing the talking for you on this one. No matter what I say, if this had been my wife and family ... he, the friend, and the house, would've been gone."
"I knew you'd understand."
"I do, but our wives shouldn't suffer because of it. Next time, call me before you go off, don't wait until after the law gets involved."
"I'll do what I can, but when it comes to Harp ..."
"I know," I said, picturing what I felt and what I've done whenever Stephanie was in danger.
I shoved his shoulder to get him moving towards the Cayenne and get us both moving forward physically and mentally.
"Harp and I had just picked a name for our baby girl before this shit happened," Kane told me as we reached the parking lot, "which made the possibility of losing her, or something happening to her, even harder to deal with."
"It's not something anyone should have to think about."
"You're fucking right about that one, but especially not Harp. She deserves the good life ... and our daughter and I are going to help give it to her."
"Since you mentioned her name, I'd guess that means you're anxious to share it. What did you and Harper decide on?"
"Angelique," he said, with a small smile tugging at his mouth. "You, Rangerman, have your little Princess ... and I'm getting my very own Angel."
