CHAPTER 45

DAY 1 TRENTON

Sunday Evening

Dinner with Ranger went as well as could be expected. I kept the close personal contact to a minimum and created a bro-type vibe. I had to keep reminding myself to treat him like Lester or Hector. I think I nailed it. Throughout the awkward meal, I kept thinking about the check he hadn't cashed. I wanted to ask him why, but I chickened out. I put that on my list of things to ask the next time I saw him.

It was troubling to learn that a Rangeman employee was actively sabotaging Ranger's company. He tried to brush off his concern, but I wasn't fooled. Underneath his nonchalant demeanor, he was furious. When he found out who it was, he wouldn't call the police to prosecute them. He'd deal with the betrayal in his own way. The punishment would meet his moral code. I felt sorry for whoever it was and for Elite Security because Ranger's moral code resides in the gray area, and that would mean absolute obliteration of all guilty parties.

Around eight, I pulled up in front of Hector's Mama's house. Before I could close my car door, Hector and Lester pulled me into alternating hugs.

"How'd it go with Ranger?" Lester asked.

"Fine." I shrugged. "A little awkward, but we'll figure things out."

"Awkward, how?" Hector asked.

"We're sort of in this weird place. We decided to be just friends, so I tried treating him like I do you guys."

Lester's eyes got big with excitement, and he rubbed his hands together. "This is going to be good. Tell us everything."

"What exactly did you do?" Hector wanted to know.

"Well, he asked me if I wanted to watch the game after dinner. I agreed and punched him lightly on the shoulder like this." I demonstrated on Lester, and he tried to suppress his laughter but failed. "Then I called him Dude while shit-talking the baseball players I didn't like." Lester couldn't speak for laughing so hard, and Hector was smiling. Finally, I asked, "What's so damn funny?"

"I'm just imagining Ranger's face when you called him dude." Lester could barely breathe. He stumbled, but he managed to keep talking between gasps for breath. "He's never been friend-zoned. He must have looked so confused. This is priceless. Tell me more."

"Don't be an ass," I said. "It was a good plan, right Hector?"

"Yes. You did well." Hector put his arm around me, and we walked toward the house. "It will take some time, but Ranger will get used to this new friend zone."

"No, he won't." Lester snorted as he followed us inside.

"You are finally here." Mama met us at the door carrying a tray. We all went into the living room, where she placed the tray on the coffee table. She patted the couch cushion beside her after she sat down. "Sit. Sit. I want to hear all about your trip." She began passing out rolled-up pastries covered in cinnamon sugar and mugs of hot cocoa. I loved this woman.

"Oh my gosh," I moaned when I took a bite, and the cheesecake filling oozed out. "This is amazing."

"They are strawberry cheesecake chimichangas." She pointed at Hector. "His favorite."

Hector sat on my other side, smiling as he stuffed his mouth with a second chimichanga. I shook my head. I couldn't believe I'd ever been afraid of him.

"I love them too," Lester said as he sat in an adjacent chair and snagged a chimichanga before they were gone.

"Yes, but you will eat anything," Mama said. We all laughed because truer words had never been spoken. The man does not have a discerning palate.

I answered everyone's questions about my time away, and we laughed as we caught up with everyone's lives. Then we watched the latest episode of the telenovela, pausing every now and then to explain what I'd missed. It was getting late by the time the episode was over. It was time for me to leave, but there was something important I needed to ask.

I've wondered what to do about the cellar for a while now. Agent Kinkade told me the landowners had put a lock on it and were going to leave it alone. Although empty, knowing the evil space was still allowed to exist was a constant source of irritation, much like a seam in a sock rubbing a blister on your toe. I couldn't make a move without being reminded of what happened to me and the other women down there. The cellar had to go. I remember Lester telling me about some of the things he'd done in the military, and I knew he was the man I needed to talk to. Turning to him, I asked, "Can you get your hands on dynamite?"

His eyes widened, and he waited a beat before slowly asking, "Why would I want to do that?"

"I'm going to blow up Durant's cellar, and I need someone with knowledge of explosives to help." I was as serious as a heart attack.

Hector and Lester shared a look. "Are you sure," Hector asked, seemingly more on board with the idea than Lester.

"Yes." Miss Odette had asked me to blow that place to hell, and I intended to do it. But first, I had to put the ghosts to rest, which meant going there to confront the memories. Facing that place from the perspective of a free woman and not as a victim would help me move on.

"You know we'll do whatever we can," Lester said, "but working with explosives is dangerous… not to mention illegal without a permit, and I'm assuming you're not gonna get one of those?"

"I can't let that place stay there. Not another day. Not another hour. Not another second longer than necessary. This is happening with or without your help."

Lester glanced at Hector, then down at his hands, probably listing all the reasons why this was a bad idea.

"This blowing up with dynamite will help you?" Mama asked.

"Yes."

"Then is a good thing." Mama patted my knee. "The boys will help you."

"I guess we're blowing up a cellar." Lester threw his hands in the air and turned to Hector. "Can you hack into the FBI files and get me the exact dimensions of the cellar."

"I already have the file." Hector opened his laptop.

"Eat. It will make you feel better." Mama handed me another Strawberry Cheesecake Chimichanga while Hector and Lester calculated what we needed and how to do it without getting caught. Like my mother, Mama believed a full belly cured many ailments, even emotional ones. "You will stay tonight, yes?"

"I should go home. Tomorrow's my first day back at work, and I have a feeling I'll be chasing down some of my cagiest skips."

"Another time, my daughter. You are always welcome."

This was fast becoming my second home, and I couldn't be more grateful.