Thanks, ShellSueD, for letting me use/steal the dog announcement. All familiar characters are Janet's. Mistakes are solely mine.
The door crashed into the house so forcefully, it barely touched the wall before it was heading back towards me and the boot that had just kicked it in.
"You still got it," Tank noted, looking suitably impressed.
I developed a separate reputation overseas based on my ability to open doors that were barricaded for the sole purpose of keeping our team out of specific buildings.
"I don't need it as much these days with Olivia and Stephanie dragging me into bedrooms, not trying to keep me out of them, but it's a handy skill to keep exercised."
I quickly scanned the downstairs rooms, my eyes and gut telling me that the fucker I want isn't down here. Woody tracked him to this house, and I can feel that he's nearby, which means he's either above or below us.
"I'll take the upstairs," I told Tank. "Check out the basement. Floor plans say it's a finished one with plenty of hiding places."
He nodded and disappeared before I'd hit the second step. I found the asshole hiding in the second bedroom, three doors down from the top of the staircase. He may be able to hide from various dealers and bookies, but he can't avoid me.
"Get your ass out here and face me like a man for fuck's sake," I said towards a closet door that's only partially closed. Looks like he was too stupid to even shut himself all the way inside. "I'm not leaving, so you have two choices … come out and surrender peacefully to prevent injury or drag this out and have a recovery-story to tell your cellmates when you're locked up again."
The closet door creaked further open on a compromise. Glacher did appear with his arms raised, but he was holding a knife with a six-inch blade in one of them that he didn't immediately drop. I shrugged internally. Stephanie had called me in the middle of my workout while I was in the gym this morning with news that Olivia appeared to be sleeping in. Steph then invited me to join her in the shower.
My decision was a no-brainer. I cut my workout short so I could enjoy my wife while she was all soft and still sleep-sexy. I figured I could make up for ditching extra cardio and weightlifting if I put my gun away and take this fucker down with my bare hands. Yes, he has a knife, but he doesn't have my training so I already know the outcome.
He charged me, and I lifted my arm to take the brunt of the stab he'd intended to land somewhere in the vicinity of my chest. I felt a quick sting and then I blocked out everything except catching the fucker's arm and twisting it up behind his back. Only when I heard the telltale pop did I bring him to the ground. I took a large amount of satisfaction in cuffing his dislocated arm behind his back. It should be known by now that if you challenge me, you're going to suffer at least six different ways. I hooked a hand around the chain attaching the cuffs and hauled the asshole to his feet as Tank rushed into the room.
He was less concerned about the tear he spotted in my jacket sleeve and the blood flowing down my arm, than he was about what Stephanie will do to all three of us.
"I'll give you a thousand bucks if you let me take this fucker to the TPD so I'm not in the building when Stephanie sees you," he pleaded.
"Donate twice that amount to the VFW and we have a deal," was my response.
"Done. See you later if Steph lets you out of the impending ass-chewing alive."
My wife has been ridiculed in the past for not being Bond Enforcement material, but she has become a formidable opponent when those she loves are threatened. I wasn't in any danger, but Tank and I both know Stephanie will not see it that way.
Back at the Rangeman building, I barely made it through the lobby door before I heard that special little shriek. "Daddy! Daddy ere!"
Everything else drifted to the back of my mind when I spotted the small blur of pastel polka dots barreling towards me. I crouched down and absorbed the impact with nothing but love and unending appreciation.
"Hey, baby. I missed you."
"Miss ooze," she tried to repeat, as I lifted her up and held her tight to me after I gave her the 'I'm home' kiss she was expecting.
I love beating the shit out of the city's bad guys, but I live for these moments with my daughter. I kissed her hair and hugged her again.
"Jesus, don't bleed on the baby!" Atlas shouted, despite being less than a foot away from me. "Even I know that."
I'd done too good a job of ignoring my surroundings and gave One Shot a chance to notice the alteration to my uniform.
"It's just a surface wound. And Olivia is fine."
"Wound? I swear to God, Ranger," Steph said from behind us, "if you got hurt, I'm going to kill you."
"That kinda defeats the purpose of your husband comin' home alive, doesn't it?" Atlas asked her.
You'd think he's been here long enough to not push Stephanie when she's trying to hold her shit together. My wife doesn't need a weapon, the glare she shot him shut him up faster than a knee to the nuts could.
"Show me," was the order she gave me.
I shifted Olivia to my other side and used the thumb on my right hand to point to the rip in my jacket.
"Olive, can you cover your ears for Mama?" She asked our daughter, and waited until our daughter was participating in 'the game' to speak again. "Jesus fucking Christ, Ranger! That isn't a 'surface wound'. There's a chunk of you that was left somewhere in Jersey. I thought you understood that by marrying me, I get sole custody of your DNA … not a fucking back alley somewhere in Trenton!"
"Technically, it was a relatively-nice two-story home, Babe."
I can tease her and get away with it. One, because I'm currently holding our daughter. And two, I did come home with only one small piece missing from me.
"Don't even think about joking this away. If I got back from an apprehension with a chunk taken out of my arm, you'd have to be held back by at least five guys to stop you from rushing out and doing worse to whoever hurt me."
"That's different."
Every cell in her body froze and then turned on me at the exact same time. "You … did … not … just say that it's different."
"He didn't," Atlas said, trying to save my ass. "Clearly it was me who said something so fucking stupid. You know I say stupid shit all the time."
The look he cut my way said he believes I am in fact fucking stupid for saying that to my wife. Steph knows I'll do anything for her, even kill if it's necessary to keep her safe. But she expects me to understand that she feels - and will do - the same for me. Saying my being hurt is nothing compared to her being harmed is a good way of pissing her off faster than anything else I could've said.
She uncovered our baby's ears but eviscerated One Shot with a narrowed-eye stare for trying to cover for me … or maybe for attempting to make light of a very real fear of hers.
"Okay, since Daddy's home - mostly in one piece - we can continue with our party."
"Party?" I asked.
"Yes. While you were out, Olive and I got dressed up just to celebrate National Manoso Day."
"What day?" Atlas asked her. "I saw nothing on my calendar for today."
"Like you own a calendar," my wife said back. "And it wouldn't be on yours because this day is exclusively for those celebrating the fact that their last name gets to be Manoso."
He snorted in derision. "I'm hurt. I thought I was part of the family."
"You'll still be part of our Rangefamily if you quit annoying me. I have a husband to clean up quickly before enjoying a family dinner with a guest of honor scheduled for a video-visit all the way from Miami."
That got my attention. "You got Julie cleared for dinner?" I asked Stephanie.
"Of course. It's not National Manoso Day without the reason I wasn't terrified to have the second Manoso daughter."
"Are you kidding?" Bobby said, hearing that statement as he walked into the lobby. "You were scared spitless, Steph."
She sighed and started tugging me and Olivia towards the elevator. "I got over my fear … eventually of creating and raising one of the two world's most perfect daughters. And Jules was a huge part of that. Now if you'll excuse us, there's only one Rangeman I want to entertain right now."
I'd smile hearing that, but there's a fifty-fifty chance I'm about to be chewed out for getting hurt. But the thing I love about Stephanie, is chances are just as good that she's going to try to get me naked as quickly as she can to reassure herself that I am alright.
I kept my hold on our daughter while Stephanie tried to peel my jacket off in the elevator so she can fully inspect my wound.
"This looks bad, Ranger. You may need stitches."
"I don't need stitches. I'll just wash it out and slap a Band-Aid on it."
"What's with you and wanting Band-Aids to do a stitch's job? Do you own stock in the company or something?"
"No. I just know what my body's capable of …"
The head-to-toe scan she gave me had my lungs stilling. "So do I," she said under her breath.
As much as I love time with my baby, I wouldn't have been upset if she suddenly wanted a nap so I could throw her Mama over my shoulder and pick up where her eyes had just left off.
"Are you flirting with me," I asked, as the elevator spit us out on the Seventh floor.
"Nope. Just stating a fact. I also know exactly what your body is capable of doing, and it won't be able to do what I'm picturing if it keeps getting hurt."
"I'm okay."
"You are," she repeated in a tone that had me concerned.
The downside to Stephanie being an exceptional mother, is she isn't going to get into her feelings or her fears until both Olivia and Julie are asleep in bedrooms separated by twelve-hundred miles and oblivious to anything that could be bothering her.
I unlocked the door to our apartment and dodged Mo and Gunny's noses while Steph made up for my full arms by giving them each a full-body scratch as she walked in and closed and relocked the door behind us.
"Steph …" I began, letting Olivia down so she could see what toy Mo brought to the door with him.
My wife turned, cupped my face in her hands, and kissed the hell out of me. As soon as her mouth opened up under mine, I wrapped my arms around her hips and lifted her off the ground. It's always like this, has always been like this, one touch from her and I lose my legendary control.
It slowly came back to me when I felt something besides Steph's breasts pressing into my chest and her tongue curling around mine. A little hand was tugging on one of the leg pockets of my cargo pants that she'd managed to get open while I was otherwise occupied.
"No that," she stated, her tiny eyebrows turning down in displeasure at her Mama and I doing something without her. "We play."
"I think Mama and I were playing very nicely together," I reasoned.
The continued pulling on my pant leg had me guessing she wasn't impressed with my answer.
"We have to fix Daddy's boo-boo before we get to playing," Steph told her. "Do you wanna help?"
"I belb."
"Okay, so you're going to help decide what Band-Aid Daddy needs. A smiley face? A Paw Patrol puppy? His boo-boo may even need something Mermaid-shaped."
"Babe."
"Hey, if you wanna slap Band-Aids on a gunshot - or knife in this case - wound, I'm going to make sure it's an easy memory to retrieve in case you find yourself in this situation again."
"Are you using our daughter to teach me a lesson?" I teased.
"No. I'm involving our daughter in a grown-up decision so she knows her opinion is valued."
"Stephanie …"
"I promise, I'm okay. I freaked out for a second, but I know you can take care of yourself. And you are home and safe with us now."
"So this 'National Manoso Day' has nothing to do with me having an apprehension today?"
She smiled for the first time since I got home. "Nope. Well, maybe a little. I was looking for something that would keep both Olive and I busy, so we played dress-up with an end goal in mind. The timing even worked well for Julie. Last night when you had to chase Olive down, she said she'd have to bump up our nightly call to before they have dinner down there. I texted her this afternoon after she got home from school, and she's dressing up too."
"In case I didn't say it before … you look beautiful, Babe. Definitely good enough to eat."
She smoothed the midnight blue material of skirt down her thighs, and I was momentarily distracted again as I imagined doing the opposite, sliding her dress much further up her body … not down.
"I gonna stick," Olivia reappeared and informed us, her fists now overflowing with cartoon bandages.
"Oops," my wife whispered. "Guess my hiding spot for those needs to be changed."
"I have room in the safe," I offered.
"Nice try. I'm washing that out, getting rid of any trace of blood so I can try to stop picturing how much worse that could've been, and then Olive is 'gonna stick' you. You're lucky she doesn't have claws like Mado's or she'd stick you for real. We have about twenty more minutes before Julie's set to join us for our celebration picnic in the living room. Which means we have ten minutes before Ella's knocking to ask if we need anything else."
"I can just go take a shower. That'll clean the wound and also get rid of any hint of blood."
She poked me in the ribs. "The consequence of getting stabbed is having to put up with me fussing over you. Bathroom … now."
My cell dinging with a text gave me a momentary reprieve. Owning and running an empire gives me license to scan all communications for possible emergencies. I quickly read the text and left the accompanying picture on the screen so Stephanie could see it.
"Here's something to keep your mind off my arm," I told my wife.
I passed her my cell and watched as the news sunk in. Raphael had sent me a picture of his and Aubrey's puppy 'Hades'. That would've been noteworthy all on its own, since only Kane sends me shit that has nothing to do with work because he thinks he's funny. The reason Raphael followed suit with a dog pic is the bandana Hades' is wearing that says 'Baby Security' (In training).
"Does this mean …?" Steph asked, flicking her eyes to me and then right back to the picture.
"Yes. Looks like Hades is getting a human brother or sister, and the number of Rangebabies the company's accumulating is going up again."
