Ranger's POV
"Carlos," Stephanie said as I turned to leave. She waited until I faced her before adding, "Thanks for everything."
"No price, Babe," I replied. "I'll see you at home." I was relieved the swelling around Stephanie's eyes never obscured her vision. She looked beautiful, even with her raccoon eyes and gauze-covered nose.
I entered the hospital to arrange payment for Stephanie's visit. The woman in the billing department was friendly and never questioned the information. As I requested, she promised to email the receipt to Rangeman. I suggested keeping the insurance details in Stephanie's medical file.
"I will, Mr. Manoso. Thank you for taking care of this immediately," she said.
When I returned to my vehicle, I contacted my right-hand man, Tank. He answered on the second ring with a customary "Yo."
While on Stark Street earlier, I felt someone watching my interaction with Stephanie. When I climbed into my car, I checked my surroundings. Lula stood at the corner with one hand on her hip and the other to her ear, holding the phone. Whoever Lula had called would bring a lot of trouble for Stephanie. I explained the situation to Tank, hoping he would read the scene like I had.
He asked, "Isn't Lula that whore who shot you?"
"Yes. Lula's a loose cannon; I know she wants to harm Stephanie. All I need is proof."
"We'll be there by morning to help. Have you met with your informant?" Tank wasn't admonishing me for missing my meeting. Gomez had no idea how long it would take me to drive to his location or that I was in the area and left.
"On my way now. I told him to stay until I arrived," I replied. "Taking care of Stephanie was more important."
"And Lula was watching your moves," Tank stated.
"Gomez is too valuable of an informant to put on Lula's radar."
"Trust your instincts. They kept you safe all those years," Tank said. He wasn't wrong. I went on many FUBAR missions. During the last deployment, my intuition kept the team from getting caught in an ambush. I had asked the pilot to drop us several miles from the target. We hiked to the initial landing zone and overheard the leader torturing the man who promised we would land at that spot. Ram trained his rifle on the leader as Lester and Bobby entered the area with weapons drawn. They sprayed the enemies with bullets once Ram took the kill shot.
The only time someone got a jump on my team was when an unknown entity entered the mix. I have a scar from that encounter. My team was sent to North Korea to rescue the Rangers team Delta. I wanted to decline the mission, but the military forced me to go. We watched our backs, and I sacrificed myself to the unknown entity, who I later learned was Vlatko. I was tortured for several hours, giving my team time to extract the captured men.
"May I offer a suggestion?" Tank questioned.
"What?"
"Take advantage of having the cameras installed at Stephanie's apartment. Let whatever plan Lula hatched happen and stay somewhere else for the night," Tank replied. He hung up before I could comment.
I avoided Lula's corner and parked on the road running parallel to Stark. The fence behind the gym was easy enough for me to jump over. Gomez met me in the alley behind the Stark Street Gym, where we last met. "What do you have for me?" I asked, making him jump. He wasn't expecting me to approach from behind.
"The hooker who shot you wants to make you pay for her time in lockup. She says she will find someone you like and take it out on them. Word on the street is you're with the new bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum," Gomez shared. My worst fear was that people would go after someone I loved to get to me. I had always thought it would be one of my enemies, not a civilian, in my city.
"Anyone who harms Stephanie will pay with their lives," I growled.
"I'll spread the word," Gomez said.
He seemed to be worried about something else. What was he hiding from me? "Report," I barked. Gomez jumped at the sharpness of my order.
"Lula is Benito's woman. She delivered Carmen Sanchez to his door," Gomez replied. Dios! Babe was in more danger than I realized.
Gomez wouldn't have requested a meeting without having more to offer. "Why did you call me here?" I asked.
"The cop is investigating the Striker posse. They're based in Philly but have their fingers in every drug deal in Trenton. Nobody wants to get mixed up with the Jamaican gang members. They make the Trenton mob families look like a bunch of pussies," Gomez explained. "The cop is determined to shut down the drug smuggling ring. He doesn't know how the drugs are entering Jersey."
I had a few ideas. Most drugs were moved using boats and shipping barges. Based on the drug saturation level in Trenton, I doubt the Jamaicans used mules, which are humans paid to swallow drug packs and move the drugs across the borders. Why was Morelli investigating the case instead of handing it over to the DEA? I realized a DEA agent could have asked for the TPD's assistance. If that were true, why was Morelli working the case alone? He could have avoided a murder charge if he had taken a partner to visit Carmen.
"How does this impact my Babe?" I queried.
"Every woman who crossed Jimmy Alpha's path paid with their lives. The cop can't find Carmen because she's probably dead and concealed in a barrel. Lula and Alpha get Ramirez to visit the women who learn more than they should and contact an officer to snitch. Ramirez loves the fight. The more a woman resists or shows fear, the more it excites the boxer." Gomez paused for effect. "Your woman is chasing after Domingo."
"Is he mixed up in this?"
"Domingo is Alpha's cleaner if you know what I mean," Gomez said. He licked his lips and glanced around to ensure nobody was watching. Gomez risked his life to tell me this intel. Knowing Lula's plan would help me keep Stephanie safe. However, I couldn't act on Gomez's words alone.
I removed a few hundred dollars from my pocket and passed it to Gomez. He gave me much to consider. When I returned to my car, I called Rodriguez. "Hello, boss," he answered on the second ring.
"Give me everything you have on Louis Domingo," I ordered.
"Yes, sir. I sent you the file for Steve Corelli. Your client should move fast. Corelli's been stashing money since moving to California. Correspondence between him and a local woman, the eighteen-year-old babysitter, outlines their plan to move by Thanksgiving," Rodriguez replied.
"You have two hours to research Domingo," I said, hanging up.
I drove home to check on Babe and move her to a safer location, as Tank suggested. Before unlocking the door, I knew Stephanie wasn't home, judging by the lack of tingling sensation in my neck. My phone rang. I smiled when I saw Stephanie's number on the caller ID. "Yo," I answered.
"Yo, yourself," she giggled. "I'm at Hector's house. We got home, and I packed our clothes. All of them."
"Babe?" I asked.
"It doesn't feel safe," Stephanie explained. "I called Isabella. She's having a mattress delivered to the office building. The gym and locker room on the second floor are renovated. We can use those showers. Or we can stay in your apartment for the night."
"Babe, the men should arrive between 0200 and 0300," I warned.
I could feel her blushing over the phone. Stephanie and I often had sex between those hours. Most times, she initiated the encounter. Babe was not a quiet woman. "Okay, so not your apartment," Stephanie giggled.
"Why doesn't your apartment feel safe?" I asked, wondering what cosmic message she received.
Sighing, Stephanie replied, "I can't put my finger on it. My spidey sense is never wrong. Since we met, I've been listening to the warnings." She tried to explain what she felt but kept tripping over the correct words to describe the feeling accurately.
"What did it tell you?" I asked, feeling amused and curious about how she sensed impending danger. Stephanie's mind was brilliant, and she picked up on minuscule clues or cosmic disturbances.
"That something bad would happen tonight," Stephanie confessed, finally finding the words. She remained silent for a few moments before suddenly asking, "Would the cameras still work if someone cut power to the building?"
"No," I answered.
Stephanie mumbled, "Too bad. We need to catch them in the act."
"Them?"
"I don't know who for sure. We pissed off a few people in the past few days," Stephanie explained. "Any one of them or even a random person coming from left field could break into our apartment. If they were smart, they would cut power to the building to maximize the fear factor."
Hector asked, "Do we have a battery-operated motion sensor camera?"
"Not yet. The batteries never last more than a few days from the sensor getting activated too frequently," I replied. "Since we don't know how long it would take for people to act, I'd feel more comfortable attaching a camera to the electrical pole to overlook the parking lot." I was pleased when Hector promised to install one immediately. He had a device with infrared technology to record at night. It would draw power from the electrical lines.
I listened as Stephanie promised Hector to remain inside and away from the windows. Once Stephanie was alone, she returned to our conversation. "What did you learn from your informant?" she asked.
"Your intuition is on the mark. He warned me about Lula and her friends. Domingo has connections that are not listed in his file. I've asked Rodriguez to check Domingo's background and associates," I explained.
"Does that mean I'll have a partner?" Stephanie asked.
"Take Hector with you if I'm unavailable. I have to arrange a meeting with your father. Let me know when you leave Hector's house," I said.
"Should I come with you?"
"Not this time, Babe. I'll see you soon," I replied, ending the call.
A second later, she texted, "Go save my sister, Batman."
I chuckled and replied, "Yes, Wonder Woman." Stephanie immediately replied with heart emojis.
To keep things on track, I called Frank for a meeting. He agreed to meet me at Rangeman, where we could talk in the conference room on the first floor. It was one of the wholly renovated levels inside the Haywood building.
My sister and brother-in-law invited Ella and Luis to help redesign their living quarters, kitchen and laundry facilities. Everything Hannah and her brother worked on was scrutinized upon finding the open access to the apartment through the laundry room.
I arrived at Rangeman at the same time as the Guzmans and used my remote to open the gate. Luis drove inside the garage, with me following close behind. "Thank you for the job," Luis said when he exited his vehicle. Once I received their applications for housekeeping and maintenance, I called to offer them the job. Stephanie couldn't wait to meet them.
Diego sent me a report stating that the other completed floors were designed according to my specifications, which was his engineered plan. He helped with the Miami and Atlanta branch designs. Levi was supposed to use the drawings from the other branches since the layouts and measurements were similar. My apartment was supposed to be nearly identical to the one in Miami. The only exception was a larger home office and dining area. It should have been simple to modify. Instead, that incompetent Hannah Kohen decided she knew what was best and redesigned the space.
Hopefully, Stephanie and I could move into one of the other units on the seventh floor, which Hannah hadn't messed up until our apartment was ready. I met Diego on the main floor. "Frank Plum is supposed to arrive in a few minutes. Could you please send him to the conference room?" I asked. "I sent the Guzmans to the sixth floor to meet Isabella."
"Sure. I'll need your garage remote to reprogram. We caught Hannah trying to sneak back into the building," Diego said. "I called Tank. He wants us to change every lock and connect the locking mechanisms Hector installed to a computer system. The men in Miami will secure the building."
I nodded since he knew how to make everything right. "We need a desktop computer with a monitor," I said. Diego promised to pick one up from the local computer shop. He had a friend working in the establishment and would get a good deal.
"I'll call Rodriguez for the program installation," Diego said. He saw a vehicle drive past the entrance and left to open the gate for my father-in-law. Diego accompanied Frank to the conference room a minute later.
Frank sat on the folding chair at the card table. It wasn't how I wanted the room situated, but it would do in a pinch. "This is the only room with furniture," I explained.
"It's fine. What did your men find?" Frank asked.
I opened the encrypted file from Rodriguez and let Frank read the details about his son-in-law. "We can stop further transfers, but I don't want to endanger your granddaughters," I replied. "Steve started sleeping with the babysitter when she turned eighteen. The babysitter wasn't the only woman Steve spent intimate moments with. His previous secretary often spent time with your son-in-law. Valerie thought he was working a case."
Frank read the details of everything Rodriguez uncovered. He growled and said getting Valerie and the girls away from Steve was imperative. I couldn't agree more. "My brother and I will bring the girls home," Frank decided. "Valerie would listen to her godfather."
"Do you need Rangeman's assistance?" I offered.
"Only if you have access to a jet," Frank joked. I laughed and shook my head. Rangeman doesn't have a company plane. It was something I considered. "Check for repossessed aircraft. You may find something suitable."
"Should I arrange something with a contact?" I offered.
"I've got it handled, son. Thank you for collecting this intel. Valerie is better off without him," Frank replied. "Is your brother willing to help?"
"I'll have him meet you in LA," I promised. Frank and I shook hands. I emailed the proof to Frank and escorted him to the garage. He waved as I pressed the override button to open the gate.
I went to the sixth floor to check on Isabella with Ella and Luis. "What did Stephanie suggest?" Ella asked.
Unwilling to interrupt, I waited to hear Isabella's response, "Stephanie thought the walk-in pantry was great, but you needed the space for a larger refrigerator and freezer. She thought having the freezer large enough to fit a whole cow's worth of meat was more reasonable."
"She isn't wrong," Ella giggled. "I received the menu plan package from the Miami branch. Carlos would never allow the men to consume that much red meat, but they eat a lot of chicken. I could shop more frequently. However, it would make more sense to purchase fresh meats from Costco. We need space to store flour, grains and cleaning supplies."
"The laundry room has a pantry for laundry soaps and other cleaners. You can keep the chemicals away from the food items," Isabella said.
"I would prefer a walk-in refrigerator for fresh produce. It needs a shelf where I could place bins of meat I'm defrosting from the freezer," Ella explained. I let the women discuss the needs, trusting Ella to decide what was best for her to prepare meals for the men on site. "When do I meet Stephanie?" Ella asked.
My neck tingled. Stephanie was here. She wrapped her arms around me and moved to stand at my side. "Hi," Stephanie replied, "I'm Stephanie. Please call me Steph."
"Oh," Ella gasped. "I didn't realize you were here."
"I just arrived when you asked Isabella when you'll meet me," Stephanie laughed. "Have you discussed ordering a freezer large enough to fit a whole cow once a month?"
Ella nodded and said, "Stephanie, I only need to restock the freezer meats once every three months. Consuming a whole cow every month is not heart-wise."
"But I love steak," Stephanie whined.