Ranger
Ranger
R anger spent most of the afternoon packing under Millie’s supervision while she lay on the sofa and did some work. The doctor was pleased with her blood pressure and said that as long as she took it easy, she could go back home. Millie was ordered to find and check in with her new OBGYN as soon as they got back home and she texted Ruby and got the name of her doctor. He was happy to see that Millie was taking this health scare seriously. It was crazy since he had only just found out about the baby, but he didn’t want to lose them. Ranger knew that Millie still had not forgiven him for shoving her out of his life as he had, but he really hoped that with some time, she’d find a way to do just that. He hoped that it would be before their baby came, but he wouldn’t push her.
His cell phone rang in his pocket, and he was thankful for the break from packing. His back was beginning to ache, and he was ready to sit for a few minutes. “Hello,” he answered.
“Hey man, it’s me. I’m sorry to reach out to you on an unknown number, but we have a problem,” Luke said.
“A problem?” Ranger asked. “It must be a pretty damn big problem if you’re using a burner phone.”
“You know how Joo Wan tracked me to find out where his wife and sons were?” Luke asked. Ranger remembered every terrifying minute of that ordeal.
“Yeah, he tried to kill you and almost took me out too,” Ranger reminded. Joo Wan believed that Luke knew where his wife and sons were, but he didn’t. He was given fake intel while they were both in the military, and he had no idea how to find Wan’s family. But Wan didn’t believe him and tracked down Luke all those years later, trying to get the answers he so desperately wanted. Ranger got involved and called Millie to do some digging around to find out where Wan’s family was. Unfortunately, she found out that they were all dead—killed by Wan’s own government.
“He wants Millie,” Luke said.
“What do you mean by he wants Millie?” Ranger asked. He was trying to be as quiet as possible since Millie was sleeping in the next room. She needed her rest, and he didn’t want to wake her.
“He knows that Millie was the one who found out about his family. I don’t know how and I’m not sure what he wants, but he’s sent out men to find her. They stopped by McTavish today, asking about her. The guy gave me Wan’s business card and told me to have Millie contact him as soon as I heard from her.”
“Shit,” Ranger grumbled.
“That sounds about right,” Luke said. “They said that Wan wants to offer her a job, but we both know what that means. He wants to put Millie on his payroll and that won’t end well for her or any of us, really.”
“And if she refuses?” Ranger asked. “I mean, is turning Wan down even an option?”
“I’m guessing not,” Luke said. “What are you going to do?”
“Well, I can tell you that I’m not coming home with her. I mean, if Wan’s men are already there looking for her, I won’t bring her back to be found. I’m just not sure where we should go. She’s six months pregnant and on bed rest for the next three months. I’m not really sure where I can take her that’s safe for her and the baby.”
“Stay put for the night, and give me time to think,” Luke ordered. “I’m sure that between the two of us, we’ll be able to find you a place to lay low until this passes.”
“This might not ever pass, and then what?” Ranger asked.
“I don’t have the answer for that either,” Luke said. “But I’m willing to give it some thought. There has to be a way to get Wan to back down again.” Ranger thought that had already happened. They gave him the answers that he was looking for, but now, he wanted more, and there was no way that Ranger would let Millie give that asshole what he wanted. Luke was right, if she agreed to work for Wan, he’d lose her, and Ranger just found her again. He wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Thanks for the heads up,” Ranger said. “I’ve got her apartment just about packed up. We’ll need to get out of here sooner than later. If they tracked her to McTavish, they’ll be able to find her here, and her security is crappy.”
“Just give me until the morning,” Luke said. “I’ll have a place for you two to go to by then.”
“Talk in the morning then,” Ranger agreed. He ended the call and debated on whether or not to tell Millie about his call with Luke. She’d want to know but upsetting her wouldn’t be good for her blood pressure. He promised her his honesty, and if he screwed that up now, he might not get a third chance with her. He was going to have to tell her, and that was something that he wasn’t looking forward to.
He waited her out, letting her finish her nap, and the two hours seemed to drag on. “You got a lot packed,” she said, looking around her apartment. After he got off of the phone with Luke, he kicked his packing into high gear.
“Yeah, about that,” he said. “We need to talk.”
“Already?” she asked. “I thought that you’d at least save this speech for later. You do know that you don’t have to break up with me because we’re not together, right?”
“It’s not that kind of talk,” he said. “We aren’t breaking up because we have a child to raise together. Luke called and gave me some bad news.”
“Oh God, is Ruby all right?” she asked.
“Yeah, she’s good. It’s about you. Do you remember why Luke and Ruby had to go on the run? They had a guy named Joo Wan who was looking for Luke. He thought that Luke had information about where his wife and two sons were.”
“I remember,” Millie said. “You called me and asked me to track them down, and I found out that his poor family was killed.”
“Right,” Ranger agreed. “I’m so sorry that I involved you, honey,” he breathed. “Wan is looking for you. He sent a couple of guys to McTavish and gave Luke his business card for you to get in touch. He wants to offer you a job.”
“A job doing what?” Millie asked.
“It doesn’t matter what he wants you to do,” Ranger insisted. “You won’t be taking his job. Nothing he’ll ask you to do will be legal and when he’s finished with you, he’ll get rid of you. You’ll end up like his wife and sons. I don’t want that to happen to you or our baby.”
“I agree,” she said, “I just can’t believe that he wants me to work for him. I didn’t do anything except hack into his government’s computer system to find out where his family was.”
“I’m guessing that they will want you to do a good bit of work like that, but I don’t want you involved with him,” Ranger said.
“So, now you’re telling me what to do?” she sassed. Ranger knew that the right answer was no, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself.
“Yes,” he growled, “I won’t let you work for him. It’s not safe.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. “It’s a good thing for you that I don’t want to work for that man,” she said. “I like my current job. It gives me flexibility.”
“And from the looks of this place, pays like shit,” Ranger added.
“What I’m being paid is none of your business, Ranger,” Millie spat. “I needed to make sure that I could save some money for when the baby gets here. Babies need a lot of stuff, and I was all alone in this.”
“And that’s on you. If you would have told me about the baby, I could have helped you, Millie. I’m going to help take care of our baby now, though,” he promised. “And whether you like it or not, I’m going to take care of you, Millie. I want to be a part of this, please, just let me in,” he begged.
She swiped at the tears that ran down her beautiful face and he groaned, crossing the room to pull her into his arms. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her and make her cry. “Don’t cry,” he ordered.
“I’m afraid,” she whispered.
“Of me?” he asked. She nodded and he took a step back from her, giving her some room. “What do you have to be afraid of me for?” he asked.
“I’m afraid that if I let you in and let you get close to me again, you’ll hurt me all over. You ignoring me the way that you did, Ranger, it broke my heart,” she sobbed. He couldn’t help himself. He pulled her against his body and held her close, and damn if she didn’t feel right there.
“I won’t do that ever again, Millie. I swear to you. If we’re being honest here, you scared me too,” he admitted. If he wanted a chance with Millie, he was going to finally have to come clean and that would involve discussing feelings and all of the shit that he usually tried to avoid.
“I did?” she asked, seeming a bit confused. “How did I scare you, Ranger?” she asked.
“That one night that we shared, I felt something for you, and it scared the hell out of me. It’s why I ran, like a coward, the next day, and shut you out of my life. I tried to tell myself that my job was to keep you safe. It’s what I promised Ruby and Luke but spending the night with you; that was for me. I wanted you, Millie. If I’m being honest, I still do. I’m just not very good at feelings and all that shit.”
She looked up at him and pressed her lips together, “You want me?” she whispered.
“I do,” he said. “Hell, I want you in my bed. I want you in my life. I want you, Millie. You’re the sexiest fucking woman I’ve ever met and if I have to say it out loud then I will. I still have feelings for you and that still scares the hell out of me.”
“You think that I’m sexy?” she asked.
“So fucking sexy,” he growled.
“But my body is so different from the last time you saw it,” she whispered.
“I don’t give a fuck about any of that. Seeing you pregnant with my baby—with all of those sexy curves, I’m a mess, honey,” he said.
She crossed the room to pick up her cell phone from the counter. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m calling the doctor and asking if it’s okay for me to have sex. It was the one question that I didn’t ask because I didn’t know that it was an option.”
“Sex?” he asked. She held her finger to her lips as if silently telling him to shut up and he nodded. Ranger felt as though he was holding his damn breath waiting for her to get her answer.
“Hello, I need to talk to Dr. Holloway,” she said. “Um, sure, I can speak to his nurse. Oh, this is Millie Jenkins.” She smiled over at him when the receptionist put her on hold, and he rolled his eyes. He loved how sassy she was and right now, Millie was giving him full-on sass.
“Hi,” Millie said when the nurse answered. “This is Millie Jenkins. I’m a patient of Dr. Holloway’s. I have a quick question—can I have sex?” she asked. Ranger could hear the nurse giggling on the other end of the call while Millie patiently waited her out. When the sound of laughter finally ended, Millie made a few humming noises and nodded her head, thanking the nurse for her help before ending the call. She tossed her cell phone back to the kitchen counter and looked over at Ranger.
“Well?” he almost shouted.
“Well, she said that my blood pressure was good at the last visit. She told me to take my pressure before and after sex but having a few orgasms might help to relax me and would be good for the baby.”
“So, that’s a yes,” Ranger breathed.
“Yep,” she said. “Want to take my blood pressure for me?” she asked. He nodded and walked back to the bedroom to grab the machine. He found her sitting on the sofa when he got back to the tiny family room, and he sat down next to her.
“I never thought of taking someone’s blood pressure as foreplay,” he teased, “but, this is hot.” Millie giggle and held out her arm.
“I think so too,” she agreed. He put the cuff on her arm and kissed her. God, it felt good to put his lips on her again. She still tasted like heaven. He asked if the cuff was too tight and she shook her head, leaning into him. He turned on the machine and listened to it hum to life as the cuff inflated. As the numbers appeared on the machine and the cuff deflated, he felt as though he was holding his damn breath again. Millie had her eyes closed, relaxing and breathing, and he couldn’t help but kiss her again.
“Stop,” she whispered against his lips. “Every time you kiss me, I can feel my pressure go up.” He chuckled and sat back, waiting for the machine to beep that it was finished. As soon as it did, he looked down to find that her blood pressure was nearly perfect.
“It’s good,” he whispered into her ear, “you can open your eyes again.” Millie opened her eyes and looked at the machine as if she needed to see for herself that everything he was telling her was true.
“It is,” she breathed. Millie climbed on top of his lap, straddling him, and when she asked if it was okay, all Ranger could do was groan and pull her down for a kiss. Having her on top of him was more than okay, but he just couldn’t seem to get the words out.
He halted her from rubbing herself against him, putting his hands on either side of her curvy hips. “Before we do this, Millie,” he whispered. “I need to know that you forgive me for ghosting you.”
“I do,” she said. “As long as you’ll forgive me for not trying harder to tell you about the baby. I should have found a way,” she said.
“Forgiven,” he said. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him, her belly rubbing against him. “One more thing, honey,” he said, “if we’re doing this, I want to keep doing it.”
“You want to keep having sex with me?” she asked.
“I do,” he admitted. “I want you in my bed, and in my life. I don’t want you to find another place to live, Millie. I want you both to live with me. I want you to be with me—permanently,” he said.
“Permanently?” she breathed. “As in, committed in a relationship together?”
“Yes,” he said. “Do you want that too, Millie?” he asked. She smiled up at him again and nodded.
“I want that with you, Ranger,” she said. “I wanted that since our first night together, but when I asked you to stay because you wanted to and not because you felt the need to keep me safe, you bolted and shut me out. Do you want that with me, Ranger?”
“I do,” he said. “I was an idiot before. I ran because I was a chicken shit and I almost lost you—lost both of you,” he said, running his hands over her belly. “I was confused, but I’m not anymore.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” she said. “Are we finished negotiating?” she asked.
“I think so unless you have something to add,” he said.
“To recap, we’ve both forgiven each other, I’ve agreed to live with you, permanently, and we’ve both agreed to be in a committed relationship. Did I get all of that right?” she asked.
“I believe that you did,” he agreed.
“Then, I think that we’ve done enough negotiating and compromising for one day. Let’s get to the sex part.” She giggled and rubbed herself on him and he had to agree with her—it was time to get to the sex part.
“I think that I should be on top,” she said, “my belly’s getting bigger. And, just keep in mind, my body looks different than it did last time.”
“Got it,” he assured. “And you need to remember that I’ve already told you that you look sexy as hell,” he reminded.
“Got it,” she teased. He pulled her shirt up over her head and ran his hands down her body, cupping her breasts.
“These have definitely changed,” he whispered.
“Yeah, they’ve gotten bigger,” she said.
“And this has changed,” he said, running his hand over her bare belly. “Have you felt the baby kick yet?” he asked.
“Not yet,” she said. “Just little flutters, but that’s about it. I can’t wait to feel the baby kick though.”
“Me too,” he said, “will you let me feel him kick?”
“Him?” she asked. “How do you know that it’s a him and not a her?”
“I don’t,” he admitted, “it’s just a guess.”
“Well, there is a way that we can find out for sure,” she reminded. “Have you given any more thought to opening our envelopes?” He had, but he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what they were having. Either way, he’d love the baby, so why did it matter to him? And Millie had just conceded to live with him and give him a second chance that he probably didn’t deserve. He could do this one thing for her.
“I think that we should open the envelopes,” he said. Millie sat back on his lap and looked him over as if he’d lost his mind.
“Really?” she asked.
“Yeah, really,” he agreed. “You agreed to move in with me and stay, I think it’s my turn to meet you halfway. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what we have to me. I’ll love the baby no matter what, so let’s find out. I know that it’s important to you and it will help us to decorate one of the spare rooms as the nursery and finish shopping for this little one.”
“You’re sure?” she asked.
“Yes,” he breathed. He reached around her to the coffee table where he had tossed his envelope and grabbed it, handing it to her. “I know it will drive you crazy if you don’t open it before sex.”
“See, you do know me,” she sassed, taking the envelope from him. “Can I open it?”
“Go for it,” he ordered. She quickly opened the envelope and handed him the small slip of paper from inside it.
“Let’s read it together,” she offered.
“A girl,” they both said at the same time.
“It’s a girl,” she breathed. “I was secretly hoping for a little girl.”
“She’s going to be perfect, just like her mom,” he said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed his jaw, working her way up to his lips.
“That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, Ranger,” she said. “I didn’t know that you could be so sweet.”
“You don’t know a lot of things about me and vice versa, but I plan on changing that before this little girl comes out to meet us,” he said.
“How exactly do you plan on doing that?” she asked.
“Well, I was thinking that I could start here,” he said, kissing her lips, “and then, I’ll work my way around.”
She giggled and tugged him closer. “I like the way that you think,” she agreed. He was glad to hear it because as far as he was concerned, he wasn’t going anywhere.