Mark‘s POV

I’m taking one last look around. Steph’s meeting with the Leadership to discuss the findings, Diego’s talking to some of the ‘exiled’ Miami men, and Hector’s disappeared again.

The ladies are all in Lula’s office, gossiping.

I walk out to the garage and the three men there come to attention. “Sir?”

“At ease.” They relax but still stand at the ready. “Tell me, what’s the best part of being a RangeMan?”

Each one blinks and looks at the others. “Honestly,” the red-head says, “it’s the brotherhood.”

I nod.

“Yeah. A lot of places talk about merit, but RangeMan is all about merit,” the blonde says. This one is Arlo. That I know. “That’s why I stay. The pay is great, the men are my brothers, and I know that merit wins the day.”

Each one nods. “I can’t add to that description, sir,” the last one says.

I smile and leave.

That’s why I joined RangeMan. Because Ranger chose men based on merit. Your reputation in the military brought you to his attention. Your ability to do your job kept you on his team.

Nothing else.

-oOo-

Les‘s POV

We’re nervous again.

Not about the findings. We know we passed.

We’re nervous because if this meeting goes the way Tuesday’s did, Steph’s fired. Bobby and Ranger talked and Bobby finally made a decision. We’re not going to blur the lines. We’d rather have our friend than a CO.

We have agreed on one thing: the next time we see a person who really needs help throwing their life away, we’re going to stand back and let them do it. We’ll never again care so much that being told to go fuck ourselves is a possibility.

Bobby really needs to learn how to hold a grudge. I’m holding mine just fine. Sorry, but Ric’s life is on the line. I need to know she gets it, so Ric gave me a pretext to spend time with her, although he doesn’t know it.

I hope this works. I want my friend back, but I want to know she’s capable of rational thought. I’m not making allowances for Steph anymore. I’m not excusing her shit decisions with ‘Well, that’s Steph’ anymore. Her shit luck? I get that. Her less than smart decisions? Nope. Not excusing those. I don’t for anyone else and Steph’s no longer exempt. Not with Ric and Hec at stake.

We met with Hector early this morning and told him we wanted him to be present at this meeting. Not just because he’s now a partner but also because of what happened in the last meeting. We told him the full story. He gaped the entire time.

“Please tell me this is a very bad joke.”

“We wish,” Bobby said, snorting.

“Why didn’t you ask me to sit in?” he thundered, looking extremely pissed.

“The meeting was called to discuss RMSA,” Tank replied calmly. “If we’d known it was going to go that route, we would have had you and Candace sitting at the table.”

“And no one had sense to walk away before things got to that level?” We stared at Hec, who glared back. “What? She’s my partner. You knew that discussion was gonna happen and you still let it go stupid?”

“Hindsight,” Tank said coolly.

Hec stared at each of us then rolled his eyes. “She said you manipulated her?” We nodded and he sighed a very aggravated sigh. “I know I did, and I meant to. Couldn’t you just acknowledge that?”

“We did. Did you?” Bobby asked. Hec nodded. “Did you apologize?”

Hec thought. The longer he thought, the more he frowned, until he screwed his mouth in a wry grin. “Nope.”

We stared at him. He stared back at us and we all started laughing.

-oOo-

We sit around the conference table, Hector joining us this time, and we wait for Steph to speak.

“First, I want to apologize for the way the last discussion went,” she says, her eyes on the table. “This time, I intend to keep the focus on the RMSA review.”

We nod, still tense. Hec relaxes, hiding a smile.

“You passed.” Everyone relaxes and we smile. “There’s nothing for me to criticize about this location. Everyone has chimed in on their impressions and, honestly, these men are the best example of brotherhood that we have in this company.”

“Thanks, Steph,” I reply, and that gets a tight smile. She hands us each a copy of the report. I start flipping through, speed reading, eventually getting up to walk around. Bobby slaps my hand on my second pass behind his chair. We’re thrilled to see that she didn’t find any problems here.

“The guys here earned it. The only thing that Mark and Diego have been able to say is that this place is going to outgrow your projections faster than you think.” We thought so. “So if you don’t have a north Texas branch in the master plan, you might want to consider it.”

I spot that under the ‘Opportunities’ assessment in the SWOT. Lots of opportunities. Steph, Mark and Diego called everything we thought about this branch and location. Excellent! I knew we should’ve moved on Texas three years ago. Really, we should’ve moved here five years ago.

“Any questions?”

“None right now, Steph,” Tank says, highlighting a passage in his report. Steph flinches again, just slightly. “This looks good. We want to review it with an eye on what you’ve picked up everywhere else in the company, but we’ll definitely start putting new plans in place.”

“OK. Well, that’s all I really have. Unlike every other location, I don’t have any real remarks to add, so what do I need to know?”

“Well, we intend to name Ches Deuce the liaison when we head out to discuss this with the men.” Steph nods and starts taking notes. “We’ll offer Diego the contract for this location today—”

“Is that why he’s staying?”

“Yes, but we won’t announce his appointment today. Also, the full management meeting is being pushed back to the end of the year. You still plan to hit NYC?” She nods. “Then we’ll wait until you’ve finished that before we have the full meeting.”

“Also,”—I grin—”we need to announce some additional news today.”

Her eyes slide to Hec. “That my partner is a partner?”

She looks happy for him, so hopefully Hec was wrong. It looks like she took the news well.

“Yup,” Bobby says. “Internal press release all ready. You ready?” he asks Hec.

“Yeah. I’ve got a lawyer. I just need the papers and I’m ready to sign.”

“OK, that’s all the RMSA news, unless anyone has anything to add?” Tank says.

“Hey! Strategist?” Steph asks.

“None picked out yet,” I reply. “I’m thinking Marco from Atlanta. He and Ches Deuce were a team out here, and he’s training under Chase and Danny.” Steph nods. “He’s not ready yet. That’s why we’re grateful you brought Diego. If he takes it at the new year, he’ll need to be his own strategist for a while, which means he needed to meet the department heads and really get a feel for them.” I grin. “The men like him. Really like him. They’re excited that he might come out here.”

Bobby laughs. “He ran it like a boss last weekend! Even the recruits are impressed.”

“Great,” Steph says, smiling. “I like Diego. He’ll work hard wherever he is.”

“Anything else?”

No one says anything, so Tank nods at me. I retake my seat and close the report

“OK, small bits of company news. There’s been a slight change in plans. We’re all coming back to Trenton next week.” She frowns. “One, we need to work through Hector’s partnership agreement.”

She squeezes Hec’s hand under the table and they smile at each other.

“Two, we have some admin stuff to handle that will be easier to do from Trenton. Three, we want to spend a few days with Ranger before he disappears again.”

She nods. “Gotcha.”

I smile. “I’m coming to Miami with you, Steph.”

She looks alarmed. “Why?”

“One, personal reasons. Two, because Ranger got word that one of my aliases is now the target of MS-13’s interest.”

Steph goes pale. “Why . . . why?”

Some small part of me is happy that she immediately looked worried about me. “The stuff I was doing for his mission hurt the gang. They lost nearly 400 members and they want to know who the hell is behind my alias. So I need to lay low for a while. That’s also why Ranger has to disappear and fast. He’s the only man who can tie me in. So he has to stay hidden until his new op starts. He’s arranged for Morelli to go straight to California. The gang knows there’s a tie between him and Morelli.”

“I thought they were big in California!”

“Southern Cal, not northern Cal. The Northern Cal gangs, Norteños, hate Sureños, but Ranger’s got him working with the ATF as an overpaid consultant. Hopefully, he won’t end up in front of any gangs, and that will cement his alibi.” She exhales and nods. “So I’m coming to Miami to hide out with you and, third reason, I want to help rebuild that branch. Once Ranger is overseas, we’re moving all the Miami men back in. I want to be there to enforce discipline because Diego’s coming here at the first of the year.”

“OK.” She starts making notes. “So I’m second to you?”

“Nope.” She looks up. “You run the branch and the company. I’m the strategist and the LC member on site. We’ll work it out when we get there. Anyway, we need to rebuild it faster and I’ll probably spend a lot of time reviewing Charlotte too. Atlanta’s rebuild is done. NYC’s rebuild is really done. Miami’s left.”

“OK.”

“I promoted Mack to strategist.” Steph breaks out in a happy grin. We’re all smiling. “Yeah, he’s good and the NYC guys are getting him ready to take over. I think he’ll be ready at the first of the year, but I’m giving him until March. Glad I did. He’s got baby-mama drama right now.”

“Oh no! What happened?”

“His ex has been arrested for possession. Enough to get federal charges.” She gasps. “Yeah. Mack’s really showing the kind of man he is. He’s taking his boys to visit their mom and he’s working with her lawyer and his street contacts to help her, but it still doesn’t look good.”

“Oh god, that’s horrible,” she murmurs, writing something down.

“Right. Still, if she doesn’t sign a relocation order, he can’t move his sons to Miami, so he might be stuck in NYC—”

“But if he has custody, he should be able to move where he wants,” Hec says.

Bobby shakes his head. “Nope. Relocation orders are designed to keep the kids in one place where both parents have equal rights to them when there’s a custody order in place. It stops ex-wives from just moving the kids away from their ex-husbands out of spite, and vice versa. You have to show that the move will substantially benefit the kids. There’s a presumption that the custodial parent is doing it in the best interest of the children, but Mack’s ex is the type to fight him on everything.”

We’re all quiet.

“So I’m not sure how that’s going to go down. I’m keeping everything with the strategists open right now because I want Mack in Miami and I’m hoping that will happen.”

“I agree.” She sighs. “Anything I can do?”

“Not right now. I’m looking over the men in the training program who wanted to be strategists and trying to determine what our options are.” I shrug. “I expect you and I will need to sit down and slot men around to see how this might work out.”

“OK.”

“That’s really it at the moment, unless you have anything?”

She shakes her head.

Tank smiles. “Then let’s hit the floor and let the men know the news.”

-oOo-

We walk into Conference One. It’s standing room only and with the men and the recruits it’s a tight fit. I see Lula managed to get herself, Maria and Candace wedged into the room near the front and I grin at her. She smiles, nervous, as we take our places in the front. Tank waits for silence.

“Men.” Everyone comes to attention. “The review is in, but before I discuss it I would like to give Ms. Plum a few minutes to speak.”

“Thank you.” Steph smiles at everyone. “I’m not sure what Tank will choose to share with you from the report, but there is one thing that Mark, Diego, and I have all noted about all of you.”

I can see the men leaning forward. No one wants to miss a word.

“This location is the absolute best example of RangeMan brotherhood in the entire company—”

“HUA!“

The cheers are deafening. The men are partying as if she just said they passed review, high fiving and cat calling each other. I start laughing, as does Bobby. Tank has a massive grin spreading across his face. I look over and spot Lula and Maria jumping up and down laughing and crying as if they just won the Lotto. We wait five minutes for the men to die down.

Steph turns to Tank. “I get the feeling that, regardless of what else I say, there’s no higher praise here than that.”

Tank looks out at the men. “Well? Is she right?”

“Sir, yes, sir!“

Again, we wait for the laughs and cheers to die down. Steph nods at Diego, who approaches the front. We shuffle around to allow him to move front and center to speak. He relaxes into parade rest and the men almost subconsciously do the same. I’m laughing my ass off later.

“Men.” Everyone comes to attention instantly. It’s impressive. He really did take control of the men here. “When I first arrived, I wanted to see how you interacted. I heard that there had been problems making RangeMen out of you.”

I see some blushes among the men.

“I see that the news was wrong. I don’t see backgrounds among you. I see RangeMen and it’s inspiring. I may have arrived here to review you, but you’ve taught me something. I’m returning to Miami with the ideal of RangeMan brotherhood, the brotherhood I see here at RangeMan San Antonio, to guide me. I intend to strengthen the brotherhood there.” He nods at them. “I’m impressed.”

I step forward and clap his shoulders. “And as his boss, I will tell you that Diego is not easily and not often impressed.” I smirk. “And some of the Miami men in the group will agree.”

I hear murmurs of ‘hardass’ and ‘fucking impossible’ along with some chuckles. I clap his back and whisper “Tank’s office. 1700.” in his ear. He nods and steps down. I look at Mark but he shakes his head.

Well. Miracles never cease.

Tank takes his place back at the front. “The results of the review are these.” Tank pauses dramatically, to screw with the men, and I see the barely contained grins. “We have passed—”

Whatever Tank said after was drowned under the roar that emanated from the men. It’s a serious party and Tank grins at them. I slide over to Steph, who’s covered her face to laugh.

“And this is when they’re excited.”

“I know,” she moans. “Oh god.”

We let the men party for a few minutes before Tank raises his hands for silence. It takes a while. The men have been nervous ever since she arrived.

“We will review the report in its entirety, but we do intend to make it available to you to see. Excellent job, men. Without your hard work, this would not have happened. Now, we do have a few announcements to make. Chester Deuce, step forward.”

Ches steps forward, hiding his smile. He signed his contract this morning and he and Ram have already started talking shit at each other. Bobby grasps his shoulders and turns him to the men. “We are pleased to announce, officially, that Chester Deuce will join the leadership of this branch as the liaison.”

The men cheer for Ches and he smiles. “Yeah yeah, not much is going to change. I’m still gonna ride your ass and you’re still gonna irritate me.” Everyone laughs. Ches shakes Bobby’s hand and steps down. I watch Diego covertly. He’s watching Ches carefully.

“Second, and more important,” Tank says. “There is a new member of the Leadership Core Team.” Steph steps down and heads toward Lula so there’s just enough room for Hector to stand between me and Bobby. “Hector Gutierrez has officially agreed to join the Leadership Core as the Chief Technology Officer for RangeMan.”

There’s complete silence. Then, slowly, a cheer starts for Hector until the room is cheering again. The men look incredibly excited, especially anyone with a gang past. The cheer grows louder and louder until Hector smiles and nods his head.

I glance at Bobby and he smirks at me. Yeah, he caught it too.

Manolo started the cheer, and he’s in the back smiling ear to ear.

-oOo-

Steph‘s POV

I can’t stop smiling. Hec looks proud and happy. I’m happy for him.

“You happy for him?” Lula asks, smiling.

“Thrilled.”

“Good. You keep doing what you doing and you’ll get a partnership too.”

I snort. “After what happened Tuesday, you really think they’d even consider it?”

“They were considering it months ago,” she whispers. My mouth drops. “I think you’ll have to give it time and you’ll definitely have to repair your friendship with them, but they trust you, Steph. They want you in the company.”

I turn back to the front of the room and look at them. Tank, Bobby, Hector and Les. My friends , and they thought of making me a partner?

Everyone is gonna hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.

-oOo-

“Hey.”

Les waves for me to walk in. He’s staring at his computer, so I walk over to the window. “Why did you guys choose a bank building? I mean, there’s so many windows. The first floor has more windows than all of Trenton.”

Les smirks. “Which is why Haywood is depressing as hell.” I flip him a finger. He laughs and slumps in the seat. “What’s up?”

I shrug. “I missed you. I thought we’d spend more time together before I had to leave. Instead, I’ve barely seen you.”

Les stares at me. “Yeah,” he mutters, rubbing his chin. “We have been kinda ‘two ships in the night’.”

“Yeah.”

We stare at each other. I have no idea what to say. I just miss Les.

“Would you fuck with my head?”

OK, that wasn’t what I wanted to say, but hey, I’ve wondered.

He grins. “No.”

“Why not?”

“You’re too easy.” I stare at him and he laughs. “You’re easy to mess with, Steph. Someone screwing with you has to worry about payback.”

“That’s not a lot of reassurance, Les.”

He sighs. “Look, I have strict parameters. Tank told me he told you about Tomas. Did he tell you why I screw with Tomas?” I nod slowly. “Right. When it’s personal, it’s because you have personally betrayed me and mine. Tomas? Tomas earned his punishment. He didn’t take responsibility for his actions. He sold Ranger out and he left Hec to die. He could’ve made both of those situations easier because he knew he had the trust of both Ric and Hec.

So his punishment is to live in a constant state of paranoia. He doesn’t know who he can trust. He doesn’t know who knows his secrets or who’s fucking with his head. I’m robbing him of his ability to trust anyone because that’s what he took from Ric and Hec.”

I’m staring at Les. On the surface, it’s poetic justice, and the part of me that loves both Ranger and Hector agrees and wants him to screw Tomas over painfully.

The part of me that could be the object of his focus is still scared shitless.

Les smirks. “Still nervous about me turning my skills on you?” I nod. “Steph, I can do that to Tomas because it’s not personal to me. That’s business.”

“You just said it was personal.”

“It’s personal because he fucked with two people I’m close to and love. It’s business because it wasn’t me. I’m not delivering this punishment on my behalf, but theirs. If it were me, he’d be locked up in a loony bin.” I open my mouth to object but Les cuts me off. “Why did Michael Corleone go to Louis’s Restaurant?”

I roll my eyes. “Because Sollozzo and McCluskey were behind the hit on the Godfather.”

“Was that business or personal?”

“What’s The Godfather got to do with this?”

“Just answer the question, Steph.”

I sigh and flop in into Les’s chair. “Personal. It was personal.”

“Wrong. It was business.” I shake my head and Les leans forward. “Why Michael? He was known for being a good guy, college boy, military hero and outside the family business. Everyone knew he was neutral.”

“But he was the only one who could get close. No one suspected him of a thing,” I argue.

“Exactly! Everyone knew that if he came to the restaurant, it wasn’t personal. He was there to negotiate on behalf of the family. He was innocent, outside the Family. He wasn’t going to be armed and it wasn’t going to be dangerous. It was business, right?”

I stare at Les, who’s raised an eyebrow. “Right . . .”

“Exactly, but they underestimated Mike. It was personal to him. That was his dad. Whatever Michael might say, he was the son most like his father. The strike had to happen and it had to come from the family. He understood that, which is why he argued Tom and Sonny down on it. He was the only one who could get close to deliver the payback and he volunteered to do it.”

I nod. I know that. “Which is why I said it was personal.”

Les shakes his head. “It was business because he did it on behalf of the Family. Those fuckers shot his father to advance business because his father wouldn’t play ball. No other reason. What they did wasn’t personal and Michael’s payback wasn’t personal. It was business. He delivered that on behalf of his father and on behalf of the Corleone Family and it had to be him. Sonny was a hot head and Freddie would blow his own dick off.”

I laugh. That I understand perfectly.

He sits back. “It was business, but for Michael there was a personal angle. It had to be him because he was the only person who could get close. If Hector or Ric delivered payback, it would be personal. Me? I was never in the gang. I was never involved with Tomas. But he betrayed mi familia and there’s a price for that.”

“Business but personal,” I muse.

“Right. I’m close enough but not directly connected. I can make Tomas pay.”

I nod. I get it. “And me?”

“You’re completely personal.” He leans forward in the chair. “Your relationship with Ric is your own. I’m staying out. Your partnership with Hec is your own. Again, I’m staying out. But if either of them is harmed because of you, I hope you can live with yourself.” He sits back.

We stare at each other. Les’s gaze is like a laser beam.

“If something happens to either of them, I don’t think I could,” I mutter.

He nods. “Then you have nothing to worry about from me.” He sighs. “I don’t want you to fear me, Steph. You’ve known for years what kind of man I am. Why are you so worried about it now?”

“Because you’ve been screwing with someone for years for betraying Ranger! I never knew about that.”

“You plan to betray him?”

“No! But I don’t want to live in fear of you if you blame me if something happens to him!”

“Why is that even a worry for you?” Les asks, smiling. “Steph, you’re my friend just as Ranger is my brother. I want to see you both happy. Why would I fuck with that?”

I don’t have an answer for this. Les shakes his head.

“You’ve never betrayed Ranger,” he replies. “You had plenty of opportunities and you never did, which is why I’ve never been interested in screwing with your head. Not like that, anyway. Practical jokes? Yeah. Paranoia? No.”

“Thin line.”

“I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha ha.”

I roll my eyes. “You need a new hobby.”

“So Bobby tells me.” Les turns his monitor off and stands. “Honestly, I’ve learned a lot about payback watching you.”

“Me?” I’m surprised.

“Yeah. You.” He takes my arm and leads me out of his office. “Your payback is simple, brutal, and effective. You’re nasty with your payback.”

“I am not!”

“Really?” He raises an eyebrow. “So Morelli just loaned you his Explorer for shits and giggles?”

I suppress a grin.

“Bob decided to take that massive shit at Con Stiva’s for fun? Joyce spent a night in the Pine Barrens because she was lonely?” I laugh. “Hell, I didn’t realize Joyce moved to Vegas because she’s a great dancer or that Vinnie started working again because he’s bored and lonely. Never realized the Miami men were just dying to meet your Grandma? Want me to keep going?”

I’m having trouble catching my breath. Les is pointing out some of my best work. “My grandma’s not that bad.”

“Steph, the Miami men here use her as a boogeyman.” I start laughing again. “You whisper ‘Edna Mazur’ behind a Miami man at the club here and he puts his hands in his pockets trying to protect his junk.” I lean against Les, tears streaming down my face. “You’re scared of me because I might mess with your head and I’m scared of the payback you could dish out if you thought that’s what I was doing.”

Les hugs me around the waist and smiles. “Why don’t we call it for what it is? We’re equals, two sides of the same coin. You’re no lightweight, Steph. Quit acting like you aren’t a pro at payback.”

“It’s a skill.” We shake, one of Les’s complicated handshakes. I still think Les would fuck with my head, but it’s nice to know he knows the payback would come and come quick.

We’re in the garage. I spot a new car, apple green, a real beauty sitting in Les’s bay next to Bobby’s Mercedes.

“Hot car.”

“Bobby’s.”

“Wow.” I look at Les. He looks too innocent. “Lying to me now, huh?” He smirks. “If you don’t want to loan me the keys, just say so.”

“You’ll never get behind the wheel of that one.”

“Never?” I’m trying to figure out how to ‘borrow’ it.

Les drops his grin and looks at me seriously. “Never. That was a gift. I’ll never chance your ‘car karma’ on that one.”

I look at it. Ranger? “He got me a Miata.”

“I need something with a little more power.”

I nod. “Touché. So . . . friends again?”

“Not yet.” I wince. “But we can try.”

I nod. “Thanks.” I look into Les’s green eyes. He’s unusually sober. “Bobby and Tank hate me, don’t they?”

“Ask them.”

“Les?”

“I can only speak for me, Steph.”

-oOo-

Tank‘s POV

I’m watching Mark. The set of his shoulders tells me he doesn’t know I’m behind him.

“Mark?”

He stiffens then turns slowly. “Sir?”

I stare at the Learjet. I’ve been mulling this and mentally shitting myself, but we’re getting to that point. If we go with this new division, we’ll need one.

“Best business jet on the market?”

“Subjective, sir.”

I stare at him. “Your choice.”

“Gulfstream.”

I wince mentally. I thought so. Everything I read online seemed to indicate that Gulfstream was the best.

“How many pilots do we have?”

He thinks. “Eight, sir.”

I have six in the files, so I raise an eyebrow.

He recounts mentally. “I’ll check with Danny. Page and Wallace may have allowed their licenses to lapse.”

I nod. The rest are Boston and Miami men. “We need more pilots.”

“Hire or train, sir?”

“Both. ASAP.”

“Yes, sir. Training is expensive, sir.”

“Use your discretion.”

“Yes, sir.”

What did Steph do to him? I’ve never been sir’d so much by Mark in my life. He’s looking directly at me too, not with a challenging look on his face either. He finally looks like a soldier who will accept orders from all leadership. My urge to choke him is diminishing, but my urge to beat the shit out of him is coming back.

I can’t wait to hear what Les thinks of this.

“Start scouting a plane and a helo.” I stare at him. “The best.”

“Flight crews?” I see him making mental notes like Ranger would, immediately lining up possible issues.

“Whatever is needed to have crews ready for domestic and foreign flights at a moment’s notice.”

“Suggestion?” I incline my head and wait. “I would suggest outsourcing management of any possible air fleet, both planes and personnel.”

“Why?”

“Because we’d need someone, a team of someones, to handle the avalanche of regulations and paperwork that would come with owning any aircraft. A team to handle maintenance, scheduling, submitting flight manifests, ensuring the pilots and staff are certified and that the pilots attend their recertification training every six months.” He moves his hand in a circle as if to say ‘and so forth and so on.’ I nod. “Even if I were to take that on, sir, I would be crushed under the paperwork. Plus, are our airline guys going to be RangeMen?” He lifts a brow. “A professional management company would take that on for about 5% of the aircraft budget.”

I’m thinking. The Gulfstream I liked most was $25 million used, but I know Ranger. He’ll want to buy new and customize, and that starts at $40 million.

Ranger will want to spend $40 million, minimum, and I’m having mental fits over Mark’s suggestion of paying someone $2 million to handle the paperwork and maintenance. I grew up too poor.

“What do you think is best, Phillips?” I wave my hand as he begins to speak. “Write it up and submit.”

“Yes, sir.” I nod for him to leave.

I wonder what Ranger had planned for the money from his op. After covering the Trenton deficit, he may have just paid for half of the company plane with that.

-oOo-

“Steph.”

Everyone else is on the plane. Steph’s last. She and Lula have been hugging and promising to call each other and yak all night. I’m glad we rented cabins this weekend.

“What’s up, Big Guy?”

I nod. Nice try, Little Girl. “He plans to return to Trenton Tuesday?”

“Friday.”

“Right. He’ll be here this weekend. Company business. He should arrive in about an hour.”

She bites her lip. “Right.”

“You know his schedule after that?”

“DC the rest of the week, Trenton Friday, then back until the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.”

I take a moment to enjoy the irony of Steph knowing Ranger’s schedule before I do. He’s communicating with her. Good. Now to remind him not to leave me blindsided.

“Right. We’re all coming back Tuesday, but he’ll make his own way to Trenton separate from us.”

“OK.”

The wind picks up and she shivers. I rub her arms to warm her up.

“Come back.” She looks up. “Lula misses you.”

She glances over at Lula, who is waving at Connie and Candy. “I miss her. A lot.”

Couldn’t tell. Nice to hear you say it. “Good. You call Bobby’s therapist yet?”

Her face reddens but she nods. “I asked to start once Ranger leaves.”

“Putting it off?” I raise a brow.

“No. My schedule is packed. I want to be ready when this starts.”

“Fine. You have ‘mental health breaks’ scheduled?”

She stares at me. “Is this the ‘concerned about his men’ version of Tank?”

My lips twitch. “Yes.”

She blinks rapidly. I can almost see her thinking I miss silent Tank. It gives me a mental chuckle.

“Yes. I plan to spend some weekends in my old apartment.”

Good plan. Familiar surroundings, a return to ‘her’ life for a little while. It’ll be interesting to see Ranger adjust.

Steph’s gaze is on the plane. Her entire posture has changed. It’s not defensive but it’s not open. Sigh. Bobby would know how to read this better, but I see ‘ready’ in her.

Hector appears at the top of the stairs and scowls. She laughs quietly.

“And there’s my five minute warning.” She turns to me. “Gotta go, Big Guy.”

I tug a curl. Even as angry as I am right now, she can still make me smile.

“Bye, Little Girl. Be safe.”

We smile at each other.

“Thank you,” she whispers. “For everything.”

I pull her close and hug her. “You’re welcome.”