We spent the next hour hammering out details for not only Casey's protection, but also how Rangeman would volunteer our services to help find Madalyn and Isabella. The fact was, we had connections on the street that neither TPD nor the State Police could make.
After a lengthy discussion, we decided to assign Zero to her as her bodyguard. He was currently on restricted duty due to a knee injury. While he was mobile, he'd yet to finish his rehab with Bobby and wasn't cleared for patrols or FTA duty. Not that I planned to let Casey leave the building without me, but having Zero with her when I couldn't be, would still give me some peace of mind.
We all also agreed that the best thing to do would be to cautiously go on with our lives. Keeping her intentionally shut inside the building might make both of us feel safer about the situation, but it wouldn't be good for her recovery or mental health.
Zero was eager to accept the new assignment. Though who could blame him? Nobody here wanted to get stuck on perpetual monitor duty. Maybe when Ranger got back, we could revisit the idea of hiring a few disabled vets to run monitors. We were big enough now that it would be easy to transition the able bodied into the field, where they were needed most.
Much to my surprise, Casey was open to the idea of having Zero as her constant shadow. Though she refused to call him by his nickname. It was everything I could do to hide my grin when she shook his hand, then cocked her head to the side and asked. "What's your real name?" He'd looked so uncomfortable as he glanced from her to me. When I only arched a brow at him, giving him my best, you better fucking answer her, look, he caved and told her.
"My name is Zachary, but I really prefer Zero."
She blinked, giving him a thoughtful yet innocent look. "Zachary is a nice name and I'm not comfortable calling you by some nickname when I don't really know you that well."
His shoulders slumped as my smile grew. He always was a sucker for a pretty girl. "It's okay if you call me Zachary." Then he lifted his head and looked around the conference room at the rest of us. "But if anyone else tries to call me by my given name I'll take them to the mats."
Bobby shook his head. "You won't until I clear your ass. Until then, Zachary, you're screwed. So, suck it up."
It was the first good laugh I'd had in days. However, I needed to assure Casey that she hadn't created any problems by her request.
We'd just stepped into the elevator when I turned to her. "I'm sort of surprised that you agreed to having Zero as your bodyguard." I guess I'm just used to Beautiful always fighting us on decisions we make. It actually threw me off guard when Casey so easily agreed.
She shrugged. "I trust your opinion, Lester. If you think Zachary would be a good bodyguard for me, then who am I to argue."
"Still, you don't really know him."
"No, but there's just something about him that screams I can trust him." She paused and a crease formed between her eyes as she appeared to concentrate on something. "I think it's his eyes."
"Excuse me?" What in the hell did that mean?
"His eyes," she repeated as she met my gaze. "He's got gentle eyes. Kinda like yours."
Shock ripped through me at her observation. "You think I have gentle eyes?" If she knew even half of the things I did while working special ops she wouldn't think I was such a nice person.
She nodded. "Eyes can reveal so much about a person. Yours tell me that while you have done things in your life, you're not proud of, deep down you're a kind and gentle soul."
While I vehemently disagreed with her assessment of me, strangely enough, I found myself desperately wanting to be that man she saw when she looked at me.
Once I had her settled back in my apartment, I returned to Five where I met with Ram, Tank and Bobby again. Then we pulled in Hector, Ramon, Junior, and Binkie to help us plan out our next move. More research needed to be done on The Wishing Well Rehab Center and deep dives needed to be made into both Pfeiffer and Kowalski's backgrounds.
Damn, I wish Beautiful was back. This is just the kind of research she'd sink her teeth into. Sadly, she and Ranger weren't due back until next weekend, and we simply couldn't wait that long.
Hector and Ramon hit the streets, putting out feelers for the other two girls, while Ram returned to his cubicle to continue his research. It would be Junior and Binkie's job to run down any leads. In the meantime, we'd continue about our business and hope for a break.
Saturday morning came way too quickly and before I was really ready, I was up, dressed and preparing to head out. With Ranger and Steph still gone, additional paperwork and core team tasks had kept me in the office during the week. That was in addition to the situation with Casey. Today was the first time all week Ram and I had available to roll on a few outstanding FTA's.
Beautiful used to make sure to pick up certain skips on certain days as a way to help them out because she felt sorry for them. I don't have that same soft spot. Since it's a Saturday, and I had other places I wanted to be, it just might be unlucky for any FTA we managed to capture, since there's a good chance, they'll have to sit the weekend in jail before being re-bonded.
Honestly, I'm a little irritated that I have to leave Casey alone so soon after bringing her home from the hospital. Especially after I'd promised not to leave her until she was comfortable. It was just another promise I'd had to break and that pissed me off.
When I sat her down to explain the situation, she assured me that she'd be fine. Still, it didn't change the fact that I was a little worried about leaving her alone so soon after leaving the hospital. I want to believe that she's in a better headspace than she was five days ago, but it's hard to know for sure.
I mean I supposed I could have tasked Zero to stay with her, but if I was being honest, I didn't want him spending THAT much time with her. Yes, it was selfish, but I wanted to be the person to get to know her first. To spend quality time and bond with her in a way the other guys wouldn't.
Once I was sure she was awake and comfortable, I made my way out to meet Ram.
She did promise, if she needed anything, to call me using the cell phone I'd given her. Which helped to ease my anxiety just a bit.
The sooner we rounded up these skips, the sooner I could get back to Casey.
We were in the vehicle and Ram was pulling out of the garage when he asked. "So, how's Casey this morning?"
"She seems good, from what I can tell. I mean she's still a bit timid and skittish, right now."
"After everything that's happened to her and then the bomb Morelli and Shaw dropped on her yesterday, I imagine that's to be expected," he said.
I nodded, "I think you're right. I'm just a little worried because she's still so fragile and here I am already going off, leaving her by herself."
He glanced at me before making a right out of the garage onto Haywood. "She's not going to leave the building without one of the guys stopping her or notifying you."
"I'm not worried about her leaving. I don't actually think that she'd go anywhere."
"Then what's got you spooked?"
Not wanting to admit that my own nightmares may or may not be running the show today, I turn my attention out the window. "I don't know," I finally reply. "It's just a feeling."
"Bullshit," Ram said. "I know you a hell of a lot better than that. Spill it, Santos. What's got you sideways right now?"
Ram was a lot like Steph in that once he snagged onto something he rarely let it go. So, I knew the only way to shut him up was to come clean. "Okay," I sighed. "So, every damn time I close my eyes I still see her hanging off that bridge. Now she has Kowalski and Pfeiffer to worry about. Plus, there are easily a half dozen ways for her to bring harm to herself that don't involve the weapons currently locked in my gun safe."
"So, you're worried she'll do something stupid while you're out."
I nodded.
"You could always have one of the guys or Kristina or Ella check on her."
"That's a good idea," I replied as I pulled out my phone. Knowing Steph wasn't due back for at least a week, I'd already introduced Casey to Ella and Kristina. My thought was that maybe having other women around to turn to might help her mental health. She'd hit it off with both of them almost instantly.
"Bobby is already going to do periodic checks for me, but maybe I can also have Ella check on her this morning and then ask Kristina to check on her later. They might be able to sneak in a little girl time with her to make her feel more comfortable."
"And in the meantime, let's kick this list," Ram said. "So, we can get you back to your girl."
It sounded like a good plan to me.
It only took about six months for Jonah to tire of Vinnie's nonsense and Connie and Lula's ogling before he called it quits. He works for Rangeman now and is currently training to meet the physical fitness standards required for field work. In the meantime, Rangeman has agreed to take on all of Vinnie's bonds, even the low ones.
I don't know exactly what it is about certain skips, especially ones that used to be Beautiful's regulars, but it's like they're surrounded by an aura of mayhem that touches anyone who gets too close.
I don't think Beautiful will ever really be well enough again to chase skips, but she still clings to that hope. Until that day happens, it's up to those of us on the FTA team to pick up her skips. Unfortunately, for us, today's line up was ripe with chaos. Shoshanna Brown was our first skip of the day, who, thankfully, by the time we located her, was too high to fight us or even really care that she was being rebooked.
Melvin Pickle was next on our dance card. For reasons I still can't fathom, the man has a predilection for disrobing and showing his actual pickle in public. While the man is getting up there in age, his mind is still sharp as a tac. Unfortunately for us, or should I say for Ram, the moment he saw us coming, Melvin decided it would be great fun to strip naked. He then doused himself with a full bottle of Canola oil and took off running down the sidewalk while loudly singing The Coconut Song.
He was singing something about building a door when Ram managed to tackle him. Luckily, neither of them broke any bones. Not so lucky, they landed in someone's postage stamp size front yard, which just happened to be freshly mowed. Which was also weird because it was now early November. Who in the hell mows their law in November? Though, I have to say, by the looks of the grass clippings, it hadn't been cut in months.
It was everything I could do not to laugh as I approached the scene. Thanks to the canola oil and grass clippings, both Melvin and Ram looked like bad impersonations of the Jolly Green Giant. Ram's normally dirty blond surfer boy hair was streaked with tiny pieces of green that stuck out in all different directions. His shirt had also soaked up some of the canola oil when he tackled Melvin, so the grass was now sticking to him in giant clumps.
We finally managed to get Melvin cuffed and covered him in a blanket from one of our emergency kits. Of course, Ram had to endure the comments and snickers when we entered the TPD. I barely hid my smirk when Big Dog asked Ram if he felt okay because he was looking a little green.
In a rare moment of generosity, I took pity on my partner and offered to bring him back to Rangeman to shower and change before we went after our last skip. As it turns out, it was probably good he didn't take me up on the offer since Randy Briggs was the next FTA on our list.
Randy Briggs is the real-life human version of the Lucky Charms leprechaun and way feistier. The little shit was wanted for pulling a knife on the Quick Stop clerk when he didn't give the correct change. Seriously? Who does that? An anger management class should definitely be part of his next court order.
When we finally tracked him down at a bar just off Stark Street, he was working a deal with a prostitute and was pissed when we interrupted.
Being three feet tall, actually gave him the advantage since both Ram and I were pushing six feet. With him being so small, trying to subdue and cuff Briggs was damn near impossible. Especially, when the cuffs didn't really fit.
Then, before we knew it, the situation quickly descended into chaos. He broke free of Ram's grip, toppled a couple of chairs, and ran under a table. I leapt over the chairs and cut left as Ram went right. I managed to snag one of Briggs arms and was trying to subdue him when he decided to turn rabid dog and bite down on my calf through my pant leg.
I let out a shout, then stumbled backward several steps and swung my leg into the corner of the bar, in an attempt to dislodge him.
He let go, but before I could get my hands on him, he scurried to his feet, climbed up onto the bar top. Then, he reached over and grabbed the beers on tap hose, and opened fire on us, covering me and Ram in Guinness. By the time we had Briggs subdued, the floor was covered in various flavors of draft beer and Ram, and I were drenched.
Ram managed to snag him, and I whipped a couple of zip ties out of my pocket and them over Briggs' wrists. Then, just for good measure, I put the cuffs on his ankles. "You, okay?" Ram asked as he lifted Briggs with one hand.
"I don't know. I think so," I replied as I looked from my partner to Briggs. "The little fucker actually bit me."
"Did he break the skin?" Ram asked.
"I don't think so," I replied as I looked down at my pant leg. "But I might ask Bobby to give me a tetanus shot, just to be safe."
"Might think about a rabies shot too," Ram said as he eyed Briggs. "And possibly distemper. Hell, just have him give you all the boosters you can get."
I didn't want to think about all the diseases this little shit could be carrying.
"Be thankful it wasn't your dick," Briggs snapped. "I could have neutered you in one bite." Then just to make his point he snapped his teeth at me.
Holy Shit!
The thought of Briggs mouth anywhere near my dick had it trying to find shelter inside my body.
My attention shifted from Briggs to my partner as he held on tight to the zip ties. "How the fuck did Beautiful manage this all the time?"
Ram shook his head. "I don't know, but I can tell you that I have an entirely new respect for her."
Me too.
We dropped a rabid and still seething Briggs at TPD, then finally returned to Rangeman. Tired and in need of a shower, I entered the code on my keypad and pushed open the door to my apartment. In an instant, I was hit with the most amazing smell I'd experienced in a long time. "Casey?"
She was just pulling something from the oven when I spotted her. "What is that wonderful smell?" I asked.
She smiled at me, and my heart did a little flip. I was coming to love seeing her smile. "I made beef and noodles and fresh bread. I hope you don't mind."
"Why would I mind when you're feeding me?" I closed the door. "Though I do need to get a quick shower first. Give me ten minutes."
She nodded. "Dinner will be ready when you are."
It's possible that I took the quickest shower in history. With a couple of minutes to spare, I walked out of my bedroom in shorts and a t-shirt. Casey was just setting our plates on the breakfast bar.
I really need to invest in an actual table and chairs. Though, I'm not sure where I'd put my desk if I did.
I slid onto the bar stool and assessed my meal. It looked amazing and smelled even better. Casey eased onto the chair next to me. "I hope you like it," she said, her voice tentative.
"I'm sure I will," I replied then scooped up a bite and nearly moaned in response. The unique combination of flavors reminded me of a warm hug on a cold winter's day. I took a bite of the bread next and groaned. "Honey, you are an amazing cook."
Her eyes widened at my compliment and a lovely shade of pink tinged her cheeks. Damn, she was cute when she blushed. "You really think so?" she asked.
"Absolutely," I replied. "Though if you start feeding me this well all the time, I'll have to run extra miles in the gym."
The excitement that lit in her eyes just seconds ago dimmed, "I'm sorry," she replied. "I didn't think about how heavy of a meal this was."
"No, Honey." I dropped my fork and reached for her hand. "Don't be sorry. It's absolutely delicious and with the lousy day I had, this goes a long way in making it so much better."
"It does?" She asked, her voice so full of wonder and hope it made me want to cry for her.
"Mmmhmm…" I nodded as I let go of her hand, turned back to my plate, and scooped other another bite. "Well…this and some stimulating conversation with a beautiful woman."
Immediately, her attention diverted to the plate, and I noted how her cheeks pinked up a little more. Apparently, a certain lovely lady had a hard time accepting compliments. Her attention shifted again, and her brow knit as her lips turned down, "What in the world bit you on the leg?"
I glanced down at my bare calf and barely refrained from rolling my eyes. There, encased in a bruise, was a perfect impression of Randy Brigg's teeth.
