234Thank you all for the great feedback. I hope you continue to enjoy. I apologize for taking so long to update, but I promise to do better. I'm shooting for a chapter a week until the story is finished and I'm going to try like heck to stick to that schedule!
As always, all the characters you recognize belong to JE and I'm just having fun with them.
I was laughing to myself as I went into the kitchen, and Ranger grabbed me around the waist, lifting me off my feet for a toe curling kiss. "It's good to see you with a bounce in your step, Babe."
"I know I should probably be more scared and freaked out, but right now I'm enjoying feeling good and hungry," I told him honestly.
"Good!" Ranger said. Planting another hard kiss on my lips as he set me back down. "Let's eat and I'll tell you about Conti."
I came awake early the next morning to the feel of soft wet kisses across my back.
"Babe, time to wake up." Ranger was kissing my shoulder and rubbing my back.
"Go away," I replied, pulling a pillow over my head and curling up on my side.
"Come on, Babe. I want you to come to the gym with me this morning and you need to get up slowly and have a snack first." Ranger pulled the pillow off of my head and kissed my nose.
I opened my eyes and glared at him, but he just grinned back. Sigh.
I slowly sat up resting against the headboard. Ranger watched me closely for a minute. "Okay?" he asked. "So far," I replied. He gave me a quick kiss and headed to the kitchen. "I'll be right back."
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and then sat for a couple of minutes. There was no dizziness, so I slowly stood up and made my way into the bathroom. I took care of business and cleaned up a bit. I'd wait until after the gym before showering for the day.
By the time I came back into the bedroom, Ranger was back with a tray.
I got back in bed and leaned against the headboard once more. Ranger placed the tray over my lap and then sat up on the bed next to me. There was half a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and 2 glasses of orange juice and 2 bottles of water.
"Are you hungry this morning, Babe?" Ranger asked me.
"Not really, but I don't feel sick right now." I drank some of the orange juice and took a bite of the muffin. Ranger downed his orange juice and then opened a bottle of water.
"Wow, you were thirsty." I commented. Ranger grinned at me. "I had a good workout last night, Babe. So did you."
I laughed. We both definitely had a good workout last night.
I ate another bite of my muffin, but really wasn't hungry, so I finished my juice and then got up to change into my workout clothes.
Ranger took my tray back to the kitchen and in a few minutes we were both dressed and ready to go.
We took the elevator down to the gym and Ranger set me up on a treadmill at a slow walk while he set his at a fast jog. After about 10 minutes Ranger reached over and nudged the speed up on my treadmill a bit. I tried out my glare once more, but again it only earned me a grin. I kept myself from getting bored by admiring Ranger's muscles and sleek mocha latte skin as it glistened with sweat. I also had a good look at various other Rangemen who came and went from the gym while I walked. I frowned when I realized that while I had been admiring the scenery, Ranger had once again nudged the speed up on my treadmill.
"Need to be more aware of your surroundings, Babe!" Ranger chuckled.
The man had been running for 45 minutes and while he was coated with sweat, he wasn't the least bit winded. I, on the other hand, was beginning to huff and puff. Ranger took pity on me and reached over and slowed down my machine, then doing the same to his. He continued to slow us both down over the next 15 minutes until finally we were done.
Ranger headed towards the free weights and I headed back up to the apartment. I had showered and was drying my hair by the time Ranger came up from his workout. He kissed the top of my head as he passed me on the way to the shower. I finished my hair and gave Ella a call and asked for some breakfast. By the time Ranger was done showering and dressing, Ella had arrived with our food. We sat at the kitchen counter to figure out our plan for the day.
"Babe, you said something about those searches on Conti had your spidey sense tingling. Did you figure out what it is yet? Carlos asked me.
"Not yet, but I'm going to take another look this morning. I know there is something there!"
"It will come to you, Babe. You always get your man." He grinned at me.
"Well, I did make the most spectacular capture of all time." I said as I looked at him over the top of my juice glass.
"Which one was that, Babe?"
"You, of course!"
Ranger tipped his head back and burst out laughing. I flashed him my best shit eating grin as I sashayed back towards the bedroom to finish getting ready, letting out a shriek as I found myself being lifted in the air and hoisted over a broad mocha latte shoulder.
"I'll show you who captured who, Babe." Ranger growled as he carted me off to bed, where he proceeded to capture my heart, and various other parts of my body, again and again for the next hour.
We eventually made it downstairs and I got to work, pouring over my printouts. Suddenly it hit me. I frantically flipped back through the pages of one of the searches and found what I was looking for. William Conti, the bastard who first trashed and then later fire bombed my apartment, had spent 6 months in jail a couple of years earlier on a weapons charge. His cell mate was none other than Andrew Parker, the psycho rapist who I had helped Ranger capture a few weeks earlier!
I grabbed the files off the top of my desk and jumped up, racing down the hall towards Ranger's office. I got about 10 feet when all of a sudden everything started spinning and I felt my stomach lurch. Damn! I did it again. I hurtled into the men's room, past a startled Lester who was standing at the urinal, and made it to the toilet just in time to toss my breakfast. I knelt in front of the toilet bowl for what felt like hours, progressing to dry heaves until my stomach muscles finally relaxed and stopped heaving. I sat back on my heels and took a deep breath.
"Easy Babe," I heard Ranger say from behind me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me back into his lap. Once I got my breathing under control and I was sure the room had stopped spinning, Ranger stood up easily, pulling me to a standing position with him. He waited while I brushed my teeth and washed my face (thank you, Ella!) and got myself back under control.
"You okay now?"
"Yes. I stood up too fast again. I keep forgetting."
"You were coming down the hall like a bat out of hell, Babe. What had you so excited?"
As he spoke, Ranger guided me out of the bathroom and down the hall to his office, getting me settled on the couch.
"I'm not sure what it means, Ranger, but William Conti and Andrew Parker were cellmates a couple of years ago. It seems too incredible to be a coincidence."
"God," Ranger said. "Talk about a match made in hell. I'll get in touch with my contacts with the feds and find out if they know anything. Parker should still be locked up, but I want to find out for sure."
My head was pounding and I still felt queasy. The fact that my mind was racing a million miles an hour trying to figure out what this meant was not helping the problem.
"You look really pale, Babe. Let's get you upstairs. I'll make you some tea and toast and make my calls from my office up there."
I didn't even think about protesting. Ranger wrapped an arm around my waist as we headed to the elevator. As we made our way up to the 7th floor, I leaned into Ranger and he wrapped his arms around me. I staggered a little as the elevator came to a stop, so Ranger simply scooped me up and carried me bridal style into the apartment and straight into the bedroom.
I changed into a pair of Ranger's silk boxers and one of his T-shirts. Ranger came back into the bedroom with a tray and smiled at me as I propped myself up against the backboard.
"God, there is nothing sexier than you in my clothes, Babe. When you're feeling better, I'll show you just how sexy I think it is." He gave me a smouldering look as he set the tray next to me on the bed and leaned in for a gentle kiss. "Eat your toast and drink your tea, okay? I'll be right next door in my office if you need me."
"Thanks, Carlos," I said with a smile. That earned me another kiss.
"Babe."
I leaned back against the headboard and munched on my toast, occasionally taking a sip of tea. My stomach settled and I felt my eyes getting heavy. I set the tray on the far side of the bed and cuddled down into the pillows. I wondered how I was going to accomplish anything if I kept napping so much. On the other hand, at least when I was napping I wasn't throwing up. My mind wandered to Ranger then, and all the ways he could show his appreciation for the way I look wearing his clothes. I'm sure I had a big smile on my face as I finally drifted off to sleep.