Ranger
Ranger
R anger knew that Millie was up to something when she said that she was out of Tums and needed him to run to the pharmacy to get some more. Of course, he didn’t realize that she was lying to him until he was about halfway to the store when he remembered that she had some in her purse. He ran home to remind her about them when he found her lying in her bed talking to Wan as if they were old friends or something.
Hearing the guy say that he’d never let Millie turn down his job offer made him sick. He was right, Wan would come for her no matter where they were, and with the baby on the way, she couldn’t run forever. Hell, she was supposed to be on bed rest, and hiding away from Wan’s men wasn’t an option. No, he was going to have to come up with one hell of a good plan to keep Millie and the baby safe, and he was pretty sure that he had one.
“Are you guys safe?” Luke asked.
“We are, for now, but we’re going to have to get out of here tonight. Things have changed.”
“What things are we talking about here?” Alex asked. “Someone needs to catch me up.”
“Remember when Luke had to take off for a bit because he knew that someone was watching him?” Ranger asked Alex.
“Yeah, he was gone for a couple of months, and if I remember, you two almost got blown up along with his house,” Alex reminded.
“Right, well, the man who came after me was named Joo Wan,” Luke said.
“Fuck,” Alex spat. “You’re lucky to be alive still.”
“Right, but luck had nothing to do with Luke and me staying alive—that was all Millie’s doing. She hacked into the Korean Central Intelligence computer system and found out what we already suspected. The North Korean government had Wan’s two sons and wife killed when he defected to South Korea. We sent him that information and that seemed to appease him. He agreed to leave Luke alone and he got to come home with Ruby.”
“Okay, so what’s changed?” Alex asked.
“Wan found out that Millie was the one who got him the information that he was after. He also found out who she had to hack to get that information, and now, he wants her to come to work for him,” Ranger said.
“Didn’t Millie quit at McTavish?” Alex asked.
“I did,” Millie said. “Sorry, I’m here too, Alex. I had to quit to move away. You see, I’m pregnant and I didn’t want Ranger to find out.”
“Why wouldn’t you want Ran—” Alex started to ask, “Oh, never mind. Am I all caught up?” he asked.
“Not quite,” Millie said, “you see, I didn’t want to involve any of you in my mess, so I snuck a call to Wan to tell him that I wouldn’t be taking his job offer.”
“Shit,” Luke cursed.
“What the hell, Millie?” Alex asked. “I’m betting that he didn’t take it well.”
“No,” Millie almost whispered, “he told me that he’d never allow me to turn down his offer. That’s when Ranger found me and ended the call.”
“And now, Wan knows where you are,” Luke filled in.
“That’s why we have to take off tonight. But Millie really can’t go on the run. She’s got hypertension and is on mandatory bed rest for the next three months of her pregnancy. I won’t risk her or the baby,” Ranger said. “So, I need some help. At the very least, it will give us some security until after the baby is born.”
“What can we do?” Alex asked.
“You can give Millie her old job back and let her work from home. She really is the best Cyber Security Analyst that McTavish ever had,” Ranger said. “After you hire her back, I’ll need for you to call Wan to let him know that you don’t appreciate him trying to poach your employees. Your threat will hold weight since Wan will know who you are, Alex. He’ll think twice about coming after Millie if she’s involved in McTavish industries.”
“Agreed,” Luke said. “If you call Wan, he’ll back down, and then Ranger can bring Millie home. His place has a ton of security. Have you agreed to move in with him, Millie?” Luke asked.
“I have,” she said.
“Great, all we need is for you to be on board with all of this, Alex,” Luke said.
“I hate putting you in this position, Alex,” Ranger admitted, “but I can’t lose Millie or the baby. I just got them back. Please,” he breathed. Ranger wasn’t above begging. He’d do it all day long if it meant that Millie and their child would be safe.
“I’m in,” Alex agreed, “you know that I’d do anything for you guys. Consider yourself rehired, Millie.”
“Well, then, I’ll need to send an email to my current employer to let them know that they are now my former employer,” Millie said.
“Take your time with that,” Alex said. “Give them the notice that they deserve, and when you’re ready, let me know. I’ll get in touch with Wan to let him know what’s going on. He won’t want to cross a business as big as McTavish. He’s not going to take this laying down, so your security measures might be a good idea,” Alex said.
“Already taken care of,” Luke assured. “I was over at Ranger’s house earlier, making sure that everything is up to date.”
“Thanks for taking care of that for us, man,” he looked over at Millie and she smiled through her tears at him. He wanted her to feel safe, but more than that, he wanted her to feel like she was a part of a team—his team.
Millie must have apologized about a million times before they got off the phone. Luke and Alex both agreed that she and the baby’s safety was their priority, and she seemed to relax a bit. He hated that he was going to have to move her tonight, but he had no choice. Ranger loaded up his truck and secured her car. He was going to have to send someone back to finish grabbing the rest of her boxes and her car because there was no way that he was going to let her drive all the way back home in her condition. He planned on getting Millie settled in his passenger seat and telling her to sleep the whole way home. Then, he’d carry her into his house and put her in his bed, because that was exactly where she was staying from here on out—his bed.
Ranger knocked on Millie’s neighbor’s door—the same woman who had given him the key to her place when he first got to town looking for Millie. She opened the door, and he smiled in at her—a gesture that she did not return. “Hi,” he breathed.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
He pulled his business card from his pocket and handed it in through the door crack that she was peeking out from. “I’m taking Millie home with me. If men come snooping around, can you please call this number? Please don’t tell them where Millie is or answer any of their questions. They are bad men. Most likely, they will be Korean, but I can’t be certain,” Ranger said.
“You’ve gotten that nice girl mixed up with the North Koreans?” she asked.
“Actually, they are the South Koreans, and Millie got me mixed up with them, to be exact,” he admitted. The look on her face was priceless and worth telling her details that weren’t any of her business.
“I knew that Millie was trouble as soon as she got here,” the older woman spat.
“Listen,” Ranger growled, trying to keep his temper in check. “Can you please just promise to call me if the guys show up here snooping around?”
“Sure,” she grumbled, “but only because I don’t want any Koreans snooping around here causing trouble for me.”
“Understood,” Ranger agreed. “Thank you.” She quickly shut her front door in his face, and he almost wanted to laugh at her theatrics. Instead, he turned to go back into Millie’s place, finding her sitting on the sofa waiting for him.
“What about the rest of my stuff?” she asked.
“I could only fit so much into my truck. I’ll have someone come out here and pick up the rest of this stuff and your car, in a day or two. Will that work?” he asked.
“Yes,” she agreed, “I can live without most of it for a few days.” He knew that she was “nesting” as she called it and that she wanted to get everything perfect before their daughter got there. He couldn’t blame her; he was beginning to feel the exact same way.
“How about when we get back, we do a little online shopping, since you can’t go out, and find the perfect crib and nursery furniture for our daughter?” he asked. Ranger knew that giving her something to look forward to might get Millie out of her funk.
“Really?” she asked. He nodded and she squealed and clapped. “That would be wonderful,” she gushed.
“It’s settled then. And you can pick which room you’d like to be her nursery and I’ll get some paint swatches for you to choose from. We’ll have her room ready in no time,” Ranger promised.