Disclaimer: The characters of the Stephanie Plum Series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: Alternate Universe. Characters may be out of character
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Feedback: Email TT

Kidnapped
By TT

I glanced at the woman in the driver’s seat of the car and couldn’t help but wonder about her. There was something about her that drew me in the moment I saw her. She seemed to trigger some protective instinct inside me that I thought long-dead. Of course, that wasn’t the only instinct she triggered. There was a healthy dose of lust involved as well.

It was my curiosity and a smidgen of chivalry, though, that caused me to allow her to kidnap me.

Who am I?

My name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso. I am the owner Rangeman Enterprises. The thing is, very few people know that. A lot of people know about Rangeman, though. My company is growing quickly and for good reason. We're the best.

Many of the people who currently work for me used to be in the military. That's where I was just before I started the company.

In the army, I found the discipline I’d lacked as a youth and a desire to succeed I’d never felt before. And I did succeed and excel in the army. I even made it into the Army Rangers and lead my own team for a short time.

That made the fact that I’d been kidnapped all the more astonishing. Or, perhaps, I should say, I let myself be kidnapped. There was something about this woman…

So, how did I get here?

I was at the local court house. One of our clients was being sued by one of their customers. I was there to represent my company and explain the security measures the client had in place.

It wasn't that unusual a situation, but it wasn't exactly routine, either.

The problem was, the courthouse had a water pipe break this morning, so things were rather crowded in the courtrooms. We were currently waiting for a case to finish so we could be called.

As I sat in the courtroom, I recalled hearing about this case. A young woman had turned in evidence against her ex-husband that revealed his involvement with organized crime. There was something about a very acrimonious divorce and a dining room table in the reports as well. I really didn't pay too much attention to the story in the news or to the proceedings here until they called her.

I'd noticed her sitting on the front row, but hadn't seen her face or form since she'd already been seated when I entered. As she stood, I could feel my interest rising. She definitely had a figure a man could enjoy.

When she climbed into the witness box and turned, I found myself captivated by her. More specifically, I was entranced by her eyes. They were a stunning shade of blue.

She had just given her testimony and returned to her seat when the judge announced that there would be a short recess.

Not knowing how long I'd still have to sit, I decided to take advantage of the break. Once the Judge had risen and headed back to his room, I stood and left.

As I joined the press of people exiting the room. Working my way to the edge of the hallway, I headed away from the bulk of the crowd. I had never been comfortable in crowds and sitting in the courtroom had kept me on edge.

Having cleared the bulk of people, I was enjoying the relative quiet of the hallway when I heard a woman protest.

“No!” she cried.

I'm hardly the type of man who goes around saving damsels in distress, but I wasn't going to stand by if a woman was in real trouble, either.

Continuing forward, I heard the lower murmur of a male voice. I saw a short hallway branching off from the main one. As I reached the corner, I peered around and was surprised by what I saw.

The lady who had just testified was standing on the right side of the hall. Had I actually been paying attention to what was being said in the courtroom instead of her eyes and her tantalizing figure, I might know her name now.

There were two men in suits standing on the other side. Their outfits and demeanor screamed “Fed”. After a slightly closer inspection, I was able to identify one of the feds as a former Trenton cop named Joe Morelli. He'd left the Trenton police force and his role as a Vice cop for the FBI.

“Just calm down, Stephanie,” Joe said. “We're not going to hurt you, but you need to come with us.”

“No,” Stephanie protested again. “I will not go anywhere with you!”

“Look, lady,” the other man said, pulling a gun and taking a few steps toward her. “You'll come with us whether you want to or not!”

“No!” she shouted again.

Taking a step closer to him, she lifted her knee quickly, connecting with a rather sensitive part, I then saw her bring her spiked heel down on his toes as she grabbed the gun from his hand.

She had just reached the end of the hallway near me when Morelli spoke.

“Stop!” he commanded, pulling his own gun and taking aim.

Stephanie stopped in the hallway and turned to face him. “Don't do this, Joe,” she said softly, her eyes flicking to the other agent who was still bent over, trying to recover. “You don't know the whole story.”

“I know you need to come with us, Steph. I know that you just assaulted a federal agent,” he said. “Now, just put the gun down and come back here.”

“No,” she said calmly, taking several steps backward.

“Steph, don't make me shoot you,” he instructed.

I could hear the tension in his voice and see her hands shaking slightly, but the safety was still on, so I wasn't too worried as she drew even with me. I shifted slightly and was captivated as her wide, scared eyes met mine.

Her attention flicked back to Morelli, though. “Just let me go, Joe,” she pleaded.

“I have my orders, Stephanie,” he replied softly, taking a step closer.

I watched as the gun she was holding began to dip lower. It would really be no problem right now for me to take it from her.

That was when the security guards arrived from the stairwell opposite me

That was also when she panicked and took me hostage.

She spun around and saw the guards arrive with guns drawn.

I saw Morelli move toward her.

Somehow she must have sensed him because she spun back around.

With her options being cut off and others approaching, she did the unexpected. She stepped over to me and held the gun to my head before stepping behind me.

It’s not a position I enjoy and I had to fight my training and instincts to keep from disarming her and taking her down.

I'm not quite sure how she managed it, but she got us moved around and headed toward the elevator.

OK. So, I admit, I was a little distracted, not only by the gun, but by the feel of her body pressed so closely to mine. She's not my normal “type”, but there's just something about her... And that's why I don't know how we got to the elevator.

Once Stephanie got me into the elevator, she removed the gun from my temple, stepped away from me and apologized.

Before I could recover from the surprise, we reached the parking garage. She scanned the area, grabbed my arm and pulled. I let her lead me to her car and waited while she dug through her purse to find the keys.

When she couldn’t find them right away, she thrust the gun at me and commanded, “Here, hold this.”

A combination of surprise and amusement caused me to bark out a laugh. She paused in her two-handed search to look at me.

“What?” she demanded.

“Babe, you just gave me, the person you’re kidnapping, the gun. You shouldn’t do things like that,” I informed.

She blew out a breath, muttered something under her breath and went back to her search. A second later, she found her keys, hit the remote unlock and told me to get in the car.

Following her instructions, I slipped into the passenger seat and did my seatbelt. She dropped her purse at my feet.

“You can just put the gun in there,” she said, nodding toward the bag.

This had to be the oddest kidnapping I’d ever been a part of.

Setting the gun in her purse, I sat back as she started the car and headed out of the garage.

As we approached the exit, I saw Lester step into sight. I knew some of the others would be around too. I made a quick sign with my hand and Lester and the others let us pass.

At this point I was beginning to question my own sanity, but something in me needed to know more of this woman who obviously had no clue what she was doing.

“Do you know where you’re going?” I asked as she took another turn.

She seemed startled by my comment and looked at me in surprise, almost as if she had forgotten I was there.

“I… Um…” she replied, looking more like a deer caught in headlights than anything else.

“Relax, Babe,” I soothed.

“Stephanie,” she said unexpectedly.

I raised an eyebrow in question and waited. She was focused on the road and heading out of town, but I figured she’d eventually expand upon her answer.

“I’m Stephanie Plum,” she finally informed.

“Carlos Manoso,” I replied.

She looked a little startled but replied, “Nice to meet you.”Pulling up to a stop sign, she looked at me and asked, “Can I drop you off somewhere?”

I started chuckling. She’d just kidnapped me at gunpoint after assaulting a federal officer and was acting like she was just giving a friend a ride.

She stared at me for a few minutes while I laughed before turning her head away.

Once I had myself under control again, I looked over at her. Her face was averted, but I could just make out one of her eyes and it was glistening with unshed tears. Her jaw was clenched and I could see her trying to regulate her breathing. I was trying to think of something to say to keep the tears away when she let out a huff of breath.

“Look,” she said, not even glancing at me. “I’ve had a really horrid few months. First I find my husband of less than a year banging the biggest skank in the city on our dining room table, that led to a very loud fight that half the town knew about. Then I find all this information about what Dickie’s been doing with the mob. I bring that to the cops who sweep me away to a safe house which is God only knows where, my divorce was a mess and I got royally screwed, then they decide to start moving me around so every week or so, they wake me up in the middle of the night to move me, I’ve lost my job, I’ve lost my home, I haven’t had a decent meal in months, I just testified in open court, assaulted a federal agent and kidnapped you at gunpoint. The only reason I have this car is because I managed to get a hold of my friend and have her drop it off. I just… I can’t…”

Her voice trailed off and I watched as she took several deep breaths trying to regain control.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “None of that is your fault or even has anything to do with you.” Taking one more deep breath she closed her eyes and slowly let it out. “Would you like me to drop you off somewhere?” she repeated, turning to look at me.

I let my eyes shift to take in our surroundings. The street was fairly empty, but we’d been sitting at the stop sign for quite a while. I blew out a breath, knowing what I was about to do was foolish and already regretting it. “Yeah,” I answered her, still scanning the street. I began directing her to a house I sometimes use. My brother owns a small cottage on a lake. I knew he wouldn’t be using it, business had taken him out of the country for a few months. I’d been staying there simply for some peace and quiet.

It took us about thirty minutes to get there and I could see her getting nervous as we left the city limits. She had nothing to fear from me, though. Glancing at her long legs, I felt a bolt of lust rush through me and re-thought that last statement. OK, she has, maybe a little to fear from me, but not in a bad way.

She pulled to a stop in front of the house and shifted the car into park, leaving the engine running. Turning to me she apologized. “Just let me say, again, how sorry I am that I kidnapped you like that. I didn’t mean any harm. I just needed to get out of there and panicked.”

“It’s OK, Babe,” I assured, not reaching for the door just yet. I let the silence stretch for a few minutes before resigning myself to do what was, perhaps, the stupidest thing I’d ever done in my life. “Why don’t you come in,” I suggested. “I think you need to talk to someone and I might be able to help.”

It was impossible to stop the small smile that curved my lips as I saw her eyes grow wide in surprise.

“Oh, I couldn’t…” she began.

“Babe,” I replied, not brooking any argument.

Her shoulders moved up and down as she sighed. I wasn’t watching her shoulders though. My eyes were a little lower. They flicked back up to her face as she turned to me. “Fine, I’ll go in with you,” she answered, sounding resigned. “Thank you.”

I shrugged and left the car, quickly shutting off thoughts of how I wanted her to thank me. Walking to the front of the house, I extracted my key ring and flipped to the correct key. I opened the door and waited for her to catch up to me.

tbc - eventually