Operation Ranger

Prologue

SPOV

I stand here and I watch him sleep. I still can't believe he is our son. It's hard for me to fathom ever having a child because me, Stephanie Plum, always said I didn't want kids. I always said that wasn't in the cards, it wasn't until it was.

He has his dad's black hair and it's not straight but curly like mine. He has chocolate brown eyes instead of my eyes which are blue. He does have my nose. The perfect Hungarian nose. But everything else is his dad's and I mean EVERYTHING. He is the most precious blessing his dad and I have ever been blessed with, yet I'm the only one here. His dad Ricardo Carlos Manoso aka Ranger is currently MIA on his last and final mission. He has been missing for 9 months. I found out I was pregnant 3 months after he left. I was 2 months the day he left. Ranger is not presumed dead until 1 year, but I will be damned if I allow that because I know in my heart, he is not dead. Our son I call Ricky. My acknowledgment of Ranger not being dead becomes a fact sooner rather than later.

When he left, he put me in charge of his company Rangeman. He said he trusted me unequivocally and knew I would take care of the company and make sure it was still standing when he got back.

So, that's what I've been doing. I have been working, being a mom to our son Ricky, and focusing and making sure my skills are top-notch. Since Ranger has been gone even while pregnant, I have learned everything I could learn and then some.

I now know how to shoot, disassemble, clean, reassemble and load any gun you put in front of me. With bullseye accuracy. I know the highest level of kickboxing, I also have trained in Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, and Boxing. I can throw a knife with the best of them and make my target. I run 15 miles a day. 10 on the treadmill and 5 on the streets. I can body slam Tank if that tells you anything. I don't have bodybuilder's muscles, but I have muscles in places that I never thought I would have muscles in. I am lean. I am fit and I am one pissed-off woman.

It's taken me 2 months to finally get through to the brass that I needed to talk to, so I can find out where Ranger is at. He completed his duty and was ready to come home. On the day of extraction, he didn't show, and therefore the military decided that they didn't need to send men to look for him, that he was expendable and therefore of no use to them anymore. I have money and I have resources and I will be damned if I don't attempt to bring him home. Believe me, the military will hear from me when this is all over. That is a guarantee.

I left Trenton the next day after Ricky was born. Carlos' family is in Miami, and I wanted them to know about their grandchild. I put Tank in charge of Rangemen Trenton and he does a hell of a job. I miss all the guys there who I call my Merry Men, I honestly couldn't sleep. Not in 7 not by myself. I was used to Carlos being there and when he wasn't I couldn't sleep. I now function on around 2 to 3 hours of sleep every day.

I currently live with Carlos' family. They have taken Ricky and me into their home and loved us like we were family. Well technically Ricky is family but I'm not, however, I'm still treated like I am another daughter to them and for that I am grateful. I am the interim CEO of Rangemen for all the cities. I currently run it from my bedroom (also Carlos' room) or an office that was set up for me. If I need to go into the office in Miami I do. If not everything else is taken care of over Zoom meetings.

Ricky just turned 2 ½ months 2 days ago and I plan on having his father here before he becomes 3 months. that's where the present-day comes into play.