For Disclaimer, notes, etc., please refer to the Right Turn From Reality Table Of Contents
Chapter Four: "Four To Score"
Joyce!
(Stephanie)
Stephanie struggled not to floor the accelerator. She wouldn’t let her anger win while she was driving no matter how tempting it would be. There were too many things that could go wrong.
She had been spending a few days down in Newark with Caleb and Grandma Plum. July was particularly steamy this year and she figured if she had to be miserable, she would do it with her favorite people.
Each morning she called into the bonds office to see if there were any files missing.
This morning she had called in and Connie had told her.
All it took was the mention of that name and Stephanie could feel her blood pressure skyrocketing.
What made it worse was that the day had started so well.
She had gotten up early enough to take a run. After returning, she took a quick shower and realized she only had her other set of work out clothes into which to change. That was fine, though, since she and Caleb only planned to while away the day at the house.
By the time she was downstairs, Caleb was waiting in the kitchen for his breakfast. It was a tradition for them that each Saturday they were together, they would gather a glass of milk each and a bowl of cereal.
After their bounty was gathered, they would head into the family room and settle in front of the television where they would watch the Saturday morning cartoons. They would eat and laugh together, making fun of some of the characters and cheering others.
When they were done eating, their bowls would be carefully placed on the coffee table and they would sprawl next to each other on the floor, staring up at the flickering light of the television.
It was childish. It was juvenile. It was something that a truly responsible parent probably wouldn’t do, but for Stephanie and Caleb, it was a special time.
During one of the commercial breaks, Stephanie had called into the bond office. It was just part of her routine, nothing earth shaking.
She remembered the conversation.
Stephanie listened to the phone ring on the other end.
“Plum Bail Bonds,” Connie greeted.
“Hey, Connie. It’s Steph.”
There were a few seconds of silence. It wasn’t much, but it was certainly long enough to pique her curiosity. “What?” Stephanie demanded.
“I… uh… There’s a file here for you,” Connie replied. The cautious tone in her voice caused the hair on the back of Stephanie’s neck to stand up. “What is it, Connie?” she demanded with a bit more force behind her voice.
“Uh. It can wait…”
Stephanie wasn’t in the mood for any delays. She cut her friend off. “Uh-uh. No. You are not putting this off. You tell me what the problem is and tell me now.”
Connie let out a sigh of defeat. “Vinnie hired a new bounty hunter.”
Something froze inside of Stephanie. It wasn’t just that she would have more competition for the bonds, but some instinct told her this would be bad – very bad. “Who?” she asked, her voice rough with dread.
“Joyce Barnhardt,” Connie whispered.
Stephanie could almost feel Connie cringing on the other end. She could feel the outrage building within her chest, but, out of the corner of her eye, caught sight of Charlie looking at her. There was no way she was going to lose it in front of her boy. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and released it. “I’ll be there in a bit over an hour,” she informed, her voice shaking with her suppressed emotion. “Don’t tell Vinnie. I want him there when I arrive.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Connie replied.
Hanging up the phone, Stephanie closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. There would be time to give in to her emotions as she drove back to Trenton.
“You have to go catch a bad guy, huh?” Caleb asked, looking up at his mother.
Stephanie looked at her son, feeling her anger fade into the background. Smiling, she replied, “Yes, but I promise to be back here as soon as I can.”
Caleb smiled and held out his arms to her.
Picking her son up, Stephanie hugged him tightly.
“I know you will, Mommy,” he assured. Once his feet were on the ground, he looked up at her. “Go kick butt!”
Stephanie felt her jaw fall open at the phrase. “Caleb!” she admonished, unable to fight the smile when her son started giggling. “I do have to go, honey, but I don’t want to,” she assured, stroking his head.
“I know,” Caleb answered, trying not to sound sad.
“Let’s go pack.”
That had been almost an hour ago. Now, on the outskirts of Trenton, she was fighting a losing battle. Her displeasure at finding out the slime had hired the skank was more than enough to set her off. The fact that this information had taken her away from her son pushed things to a whole new level of wrong.
Vinnie was going to pay. Everyone may think she was making him pay for hiring her arch nemesis, but she would know the truth. She was going to make him pay for hurting Caleb.
No matter what her son said, no matter how much he encouraged her, Stephanie knew without a doubt that her leaving hurt her son in ways that shouldn’t be.
This was almost enough to push her into looking for a new job, but she knew the economy still wasn’t that great and she just didn’t have the skills most people were looking for. The fact that, despite her mishaps and misadventures, she still loved Bounty Hunting didn’t help. Maybe someday the negatives would out weigh the positives, but that day wasn’t today.
On the other hand, she may have to go looking for another job today anyway since she was fairly certain Vinnie wouldn’t survive their confrontation.
(Ranger)
With his business, the bounty hunting and the special jobs for the government he had going on right now, any sudden changes were suspect. Adding another Bond Enforcement Agent to a group that was struggling to support the ones it already had was suspicious enough to raise some warning bells.
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time someone had gone out of their way to try and plant someone in his life to make a mess of things.
From the information in the file, though, this Joyce Barnhardt person wouldn’t be a problem for him.
He had to admit that he found her disgusting. Given the filth he’d seen in his life, the fact that he wouldn’t go near her with a ten foot pole was saying something. Of course, it might just be saying he had more common decency than Vinnie did.
Yes, he had found out how she got the job. Vinnie was actually the one to tell him, though the scum did it unintentionally. It was bad enough he had to occasionally go into Vinnie’s office – a far to frequent occurrence, but a necessity for his cover and his job. The fact that Vinnie tended to ogle him each time he entered the office wasn’t all that comfortable an experience for him either. Then again, Vinnie wasn’t the first pervert to look at him and, most likely wouldn’t be the last.
Given what the files reported, it would be interesting to see how Stephanie dealt with the news that the woman who was doing her ex on the dining room table would now be competing with her for skips.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Stephanie could be a real spitfire when she wanted to be.
His eyes drifted toward the file cabinet in the corner of his room as he thought about Stephanie’s file.
He knew her file wasn’t nearly as complete as the one that he had on Joyce. The discrepancy was more the work of available time and search programs.
When he got the call from Connie, Ranger had only a few minutes to find out what he could about Stephanie. In fact, he hadn’t been able to do the search at all, Silvio had done it for him.
In the short time he’d had, Silvio had gotten a hold of her birth certificate, school records and work records. There hadn’t been time to delve into her financials or medical records. That was something they still hadn’t done. There had been the usual search for news articles on her and police reports. Her divorce seemed to be the only thing there.
Once he met her, Ranger hadn’t been interested in finishing her file or in what he could find there. He trusted his instincts and they had told him Stephanie Plum was a genuinely good person – an extremely rare commodity in the world. For the first time in a very long time, he’d wanted to find out about a person from interacting with them, not from research.
It was an unusual experience for him and one that held certain elements of danger. Anytime a person went into a situation without all the facts, there was an element of danger involved.
A small smirk appeared on his face as he realized that with Stephanie the danger wasn’t necessarily to his job, but to his person. And that threat came through no fault of hers. Things just seemed to happen around her and she seemed to stumble onto things without trying.
God help him if she ever stumbled onto one of his jobs. The results might just be catastrophic.
Speaking of his jobs, he needed to get ready for the phone call with Washington. There was potential movement on one of his outstanding cases. It was about time, too. They had been waiting for a break on it for almost two years now. It was the main reason he was still in Trenton.
A small voice in the back of his head scoffed at that last thought, taunting him that is was a blue-eyed, curly-headed brunette that was his main reason for being in Trenton now, not any government job.
Ranger shook his head minutely in an unconscious attempt to dislodge that thought. He didn’t have time for getting involved. With everything going on right now, with all the jobs he had going, falling into any sort of defined routine could be disastrous. Getting involved with a woman for more than one night – and if he ever had the chance, he knew he’d want Stephanie for more than one night – would make him vulnerable. They would no longer have to track him, they could just wait at Stephanie’s – the woman’s - door for him to eventually show up.
No, there was no place for Stephanie Plum or any other women in his life right now. His life didn’t lend itself to relationships.
Ranger tossed the file aside. The information in it was complete, as he knew it would be. Vinnie had called and left a message that morning that he had hired a new bounty hunter to ‘help’ Stephanie with the low bonds. Always cautious, Ranger had insisted on having all the information Vinnie possessed about the newbie.
Near Miss
(Stephanie)
Stephanie watched as the door shut behind Joe. Stepping forward, she made sure the door was locked before letting out a sigh. Whether it was a sigh of contentment or frustration she couldn’t say, but, it did feel good to let it out.
“Time for a long bath and a good night’s sleep,” she murmured to herself.
As she picked up around the apartment, she glanced at the decrypted note Sally had dropped off. She briefly contemplated reading it over and figuring it out, but decided it could wait until the morning.
Turning off the lights and double checking that the door was locked, she went through her nightly routine before settling on the bed in her thinking position.
Things with Morelli had escalated quickly tonight - too quickly.
Just a few days ago she had been furious with him, rejecting the idea of becoming involved with him. Tonight she was asking how many condoms he planned to buy. The question she should have been asking was how many condoms she expected to use.
Was she ready for more than one condom? More than a box? She knew she wasn’t ready for a whole case of condoms with him. She wasn’t ready for a case of condoms with anyone. Aside from her emotional immaturity at the moment, there was the whole issue of Caleb. What was best for her son? She and Joe certainly weren’t at a point in their relationship for her to reveal her secret. She could only wonder if they ever would be.
It was true, in his aunt’s house, she had looked around and thought about hanging curtains, but that didn’t mean she was ready to settle down with him. He was familiar. He was Burg. He was… he was safe because he was a known factor. He would eventually want to settle down and have a family. That meant he might be willing to accept her son.
She took a deep breath and slowly released it. Stephanie knew she was getting too far ahead of herself, getting too involved in the minutia rather than focusing on the present.
What really was the situation?
Joe wanted to sleep with her. While she wasn’t sure what else he wanted, his actions had suggested he’d like more than a one-night stand. He’d tried to warn her away, taken his time, tried to avoid her and, when he couldn’t, he was respectful about her wishes.
Now, the question she had to answer was, did she want to give it a try.
She wasn’t sure she was ready for a romantic relationship with him. Romance hadn’t really worked out well for her with Dickie. Male companionship would be welcome and a few orgasms would be nice as well. It had been so long since she’d had help with an orgasm she wasn’t sure she remembered what they were like anymore.
The final question she had was, could she get involved with Joe Morelli knowing she was keeping a secret from him?
Rolling onto her side, she decided she would have to wait and see.
Slowly sleep claimed her, allowing her to dream and remember what having a man touch her felt like. Only, in her dreams, it wasn’t Joe who was in her bed.
(Ranger)
One of Tank’s informants had really come through with information. It would take a little work and require a little help from the local police force, but Ranger could end up where he needed to be with little trouble.
There were inherent dangers in the job, especially at this stage.
As Ranger, he would be able to slip in with little difficulty. He would need to keep up with things at Vinnie’s without getting closer to Stephanie. He only had one skip left and she, hopefully, wouldn’t be needed to get him out.
He did have to admit, she was much better at luring skips out of establishments than Jean Ellen had been. And she didn’t demand a cut of the bounty. Oh, he paid her for her time, but not nearly as much as he would someone else. She really had no idea how much her skills were worth or how much to charge for them. Perhaps someday he would inform her, but only after he was done with bounty hunting.
Being done with bounty hunting was something he was looking forward to. It had more than served its purpose over the years, not only as his cover, but as a way to funnel skips to the appropriate agencies; agencies who weren’t always the Trenton Police Department.
Finding out he had a skip wanted by the DEA, FBI, CIA or some other alphabet soup agency simply provided more motivation for him to find the skip. Once he had the person in question in a holding cell at Rangeman, the games would begin. If the government agency wanted to question the skip prior to delivery to TPD, Ranger would insist on receiving his bounty from the government as well as from Vinnie. In a few cases, the government agency involved had insisted on taking the skip instead of letting Ranger turn the skip over to TPD. In those cases, Ranger insisted on a minimum of the full bond amount, not just his bounty. After all, it was his reputation on the line. In the years he’d been bounty hunting in Trenton, only twice had the agency in question insisted on letting the skip go entirely. In those instances, he had begun ‘negotiations’ at double the bond agreement. If he was going to be made to look incompetent, he was going to be compensated for it.
It had done a wonderful job of lining his pockets and providing operating capital for Rangeman.
It also only applied to about five percent of his skips.
As part of his cover, he had also made himself available to various non-legal entities for certain jobs. He wouldn’t necessarily break the law for money, but he was willing to work in the nebulous gray areas. It was a fine line most undercover operatives faced at one point or another. Most of what he did was strong arm stuff for the legal holdings of various dealers and mafia people. He could remember the first time he found out exactly how much property Harry The Hammer owned in Trenton. Most of it was in the name of a holding company, but since he owned the entire holding company, it was all his. More than once Harry had asked them to clean out apartments filled with dope fiends who couldn’t pay their rent. It was something he didn’t mind doing and, since he was, essentially, providing repossession services in the man’s building, it was legal.
Vito Grizolli had used Ranger’s services more than once to retrieve items from the man’s former mistresses or employees. This was a little less legal, but, since Grizolli had bought the stuff in the first place, it was technically his.
The monetary payoff he received for these ventures was nice, but not nearly as important as the shades it added to his street reputation.
On the street, Ranger Manoso was a man who was powerful, well connected and deadly. No one messed with him or what was his.
And that thought led him back to Stephanie. He wasn’t sure how it started, but word on the street had Stephanie Plum as his woman. For anyone who knew the woman, it had to be almost the most absurd statement ever made.
Unfortunately, while Carlos wanted it to be true, Ranger knew it never could be.
A soft chuckle escaped Ranger. He was thinking of himself as two different people again. He’d spent so long building the Ranger persona he sometimes forgot who he was underneath, forgot he was Carlos. It was Carlos who needed – wanted – Stephanie. Ranger was amused by her the way an older sibling was by watching his younger sibling stumble around trying to be a big boy or girl. Of course, the lust Ranger felt for her certainly wasn’t brotherly. He just had to be sure not to let his mask slip, not to let Carlos out of the nice compartment into which he’d been tucked. Things were too dangerous right now to allow it.
Carlos leaned his head against the back of the seat. Things were beginning to get moving on his case. That was good news. At least he kept telling himself it was.
Twelve Hours, But Not Tonight
(Stephanie)
Stephanie felt her mouth drop open at his statement even as her face burned. As embarrassing as it was to think he’d told Joyce that he was going to spend time with Stephanie, that wasn’t what shocked Steph. It was his statement that he lied about it being tonight. That second statement made it pretty obvious he was interested in seeing me in fewer clothes than I was currently wearing – like none. Why someone as hot as him would think about being with someone like me is a puzzle for the ages.
He offered me a full smile and placed a finger under my jaw, forcing my mouth shut. Reaching over, he pulled on a curl and said, “Later, Babe” before disappearing into his car and driving off.
She couldn’t help but stand there for a few minutes longer wondering what had just happened.
As if she wasn’t having enough trouble justifying my desire to be with Morelli, now Stephanie had to figure out how to avoid the twelve hours Ranger wanted. A frisson of desire swept over her as she watched his tail lights fade into the night.
Shaking her head in the hopes of clearing it, Stephanie headed toward the elevator and back to her apartment.
As she leaned against the back wall of the car, she reached up a hand and brushed it across her chin. She could still feel his finger against her skin. It almost felt like she’d been marked by his simple touch and she couldn’t help but wonder if he felt the same
A snort of disgust escaped her at her thoughts. The man was hot enough to have any woman he wanted, probably any man he wanted too. To think that he might be interested in her, a little girl from the Burg who barely qualified as pretty most days was ridiculous.
Stepping into her apartment, she moved to her room in order to bring her phone and bottle in from the fire escape.
As she entered her bedroom, her eyes fell on the bed and she couldn’t help but remember that he had chosen her once before. The proof of that choice was currently living in Newark with Grandma Plum.
(Ranger)
While ruining her for all other men might have been a ridiculous or at least, vain statement, spending twelve hours in her bed was something he’d spent far too much time contemplating recently. Seeing her standing there with her face flushed and mouth open with surprise, he couldn’t help but imagine what she would look like with her face flushed and mouth open with passion.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he smiled, reached out a finger and closed her mouth for her. When his finger came into contact with her skin, it felt as if she was branding him, marking him somehow. And that was one of the most ridiculous things he had ever thought.
“Later, Babe,” he offered. Unable to resist touching her once more, he reached out and tugged a wayward curl before turning and leaving.
As he pulled out into the street, he looked back and saw her staring after him.
He wondered if she was offended by what he’d said or thinking about it.
Stephanie Plum was a unique woman. Most women he knew, even professionally, had a hard time immediately working with him. Usually it took several months to a year before they would be able to function normally. The first time he had met Stephanie Plum, she hadn’t been awed by him, hadn’t fallen over herself with him, she’d challenged him.
He shifted as something nagged at him again. Something about the first time he saw her. He didn’t always feel it, but he did now.
Dismissing the thought, he decided she’d probably been at one of the numerous bars he’d visited over the years. Maybe they’d danced at some point, maybe not. Ranger was certain he would remember if they had ever been together and even if he didn’t she would. That was one thing he always tried to do, to ensure whatever woman he was with would remember him.
His cell phone rang. “Talk,” he commanded.
“Just got word from Jones,” Tank said.
“Be there in ten,” Ranger replied, all thoughts of Stephanie Plum immediately purged from his mind as he focused once more on the job.
Ranger felt the corners of his mouth tugging upward. Stephanie was so easy to fluster. He loved that she still blushed at things, especially when he said them.
Boom! (And Boom Two!)
(Stephanie)
With her ride to Atlantic City all set – she would be driving the Buick after all, Stephanie knew there was one more call she had to make before changing and heading over to her parent’s house for dinner.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Grandma,” Stephanie greeted, forcing a smile on her face in the hopes it would counteract the stress she was feeling.
“Oh, dear,” Grandma Plum replied. “What is it this time?”
Stephanie felt her jaw drop slightly as she wondered how people always seemed to know when something had gone wrong for her. “How…?”
Grandma Plum’s gentle laughter floated across the line, soothing some of the tension from Stephanie. “You’ve had that same tone in your voice every time you’ve had an ‘uh-oh’ since you were old enough to talk. Are you alright?”
Shaking her head, Stephanie could only wonder at her grandmother’s perceptiveness. “I’m fine. Not even a scratch or singe mark.”
“Singe mark?”
This time Stephanie could hear the worry in the older woman’s voice.
“Tell me what happened,” Grandma Plum insisted.
Letting out a sigh, Stephanie explained about the note, the gasoline and the stray cigarette. When she finished her story, she was met with silence. “Grandma?”
Grandma Plum sniffed and then let out a breath of air. “Be very careful, honey. You have two people here who need you desperately.”
Stephanie felt her heart melt. She knew her family here loved her, but they didn’t really need her. To have Grandma Plum admit that she and Caleb needed her was exactly what Stephanie needed to hear. “I need both of you, too,” she admitted. Right then all she wanted to do was to be at home holding Caleb.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean I want you involved with that Morelli boy,” Grandma Plum continued, her voice stern.
“Grandma,” Stephanie whined. “He’s not like he used to be.” She winced as she heard her grandmother let out another sigh.
“Let me call Caleb in so you can tell him,” Grandma Plum finally said.
Stephanie waited as she heard the phone be put down and Caleb be called into the house.
“Mom?” her son’s breathless voice asked.
“Hey, kiddo!” she greeted cheerily. Speaking to her son always improved her mood.
“Grandma says you blew up a car again, but you’re OK,” he stated, his excitement evident in his tone.
“Yes, sweetie. I’m perfectly fine. But, I didn’t actually blow the car up,” Stephanie informed, “and it was two cars, not one.”
“Two!”
Stephanie chuckled to herself. “Yes, two. Some mean person poured gas on my car so I couldn’t drive it, so my friend Lula was giving me a ride. Then a lady who smokes came along and flicked her cigarette over by the car. It caught on fire and exploded, and then Lula’s car did too.”
“Cool!” Caleb responded. “Not the smoking, that’s gross, but the explosion sounds cool.”
“I guess it was,” Stephanie replied, trying to find the ‘cool’ part about it. She really hated car shopping.
“Oh,” her son said, sounding disappointed.
“Oh?” Stephanie asked, worried that something was wrong with Caleb. If that was the case, she would forgo the trip with Sally and head over for the Buick right away.
“This means you probably won’t be down this weekend, huh?” he asked, his disappointment apparent in his voice.
Stephanie winced. She had realized she wouldn’t be down when she found the threatening note on her door. Now, with this, there was no way she could make it, even for a few hours. When she took this job, she swore to herself that she would never bring the danger and psychos home with her and she planned to keep it that way. Since the person after her wasn’t Teri Gillman, she was going to have to be a little more cautious and hope they showed themselves soon. “Not until the bad guys caught.” Her statement was met with silence.
“Be extra careful, Mom,” Caleb advised in his most serious voice. “I wish there was a real batman who could help watch over you.”
Stephanie felt her heart melt a little at the statement. “Wonder Woman will be just fine,” she assured, wishing she could hold Caleb in her arms just then.
“I know you will,” her son responded, his voice much more chipper. “We have a hiking trip planned in two weeks, and you promised you’d be here. You never break your promises.”
And I hope I never will, Stephanie thought to herself. Since taking this job she had been very careful about promising Caleb anything. She didn’t want to disappoint him, so it was easier to say ‘we’ll see’ than ‘I promise’. “I love you,” was her reply.
“I love you too, Mommy,” he answered.
A moment later, Grandma Plum’s voice came on the line. “Are you really OK?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, Grandma. I really am,” Stephanie assured.
“You keep yourself in one piece and come to us as soon as you can,” she admonished. “We both love you very much.”
“And I love you, too,” Stephanie assured. “I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
(Ranger)
The meeting had been long and detailed. Unfortunately, it was mostly detail Ranger had either already heard or had dug up on his own.
Still, he had to admit that, as much as he hated these sorts of reviews, they did serve a purpose. Going over the data with other people, with whom he didn’t commonly work, frequently brought to light other connections among the disparate data. Having people with differently trained reasoning processes – college versus military versus government, etc – also tended to shed light on each situation in a slightly different way, ensuring they didn’t miss anything.
With the current job, not missing anything was critical.
Flipping open his phone, he continued to the lobby of the building and then outside.
Dialing his office number, he reached Tank. “Report.”
“Clients are green. Two potential new accounts with Silvio. One new high-bond. Pierson was brought in last night. Teams are in place on the set stakeouts. No word back from my contacts. Oh, and your woman blew up two cars today,” Tank reported, a hint of laughter in his voice as he reported the last item.
Ranger’s eyebrows rose at that last bit of information. The guys all referred to Stephanie as ‘his woman’, a fact to which he didn’t object, the fact that she blew up two cars was… interesting. “Injuries?”
“Just the cars,” Tank replied, humor still evident in his voice.
“Cause?”
“Someone poured gasoline over and in her car. Her co-worker, Lula, was parked next to it when her skip’s mom stopped by and flung a cigarette into the puddle of fuel underneath.”
Ranger felt his jaw clench in anger. “Was it deliberate?”
“Reports say no,” Tank answered, his voice more serious.
A curse slipped through Ranger’s lips as he ran a hand through his hair. “She has a stalker,” he stated.
“Instructions?” Tank asked.
Ranger’s mind raced. Right now his men were stretched pretty thin. Besides, he couldn’t really justify spending company resources on watching Stephanie. “Keep your ear to the ground on this one. Let me know what’s what.”
“Will do,” Tank responded.
Ranger disconnected the call. There was nothing more for him to say. Somehow in the move from being his protégé to being his woman, Stephanie Plum had fallen under his care, but in a different category than most others. He felt a responsibility for her safety that could be a liability. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly, allowing thoughts of Stephanie and Trenton to fade from his mind and focusing once more on the task at hand.
There was much to be done.
Ranger stepped out of the conference room and down the hall. He wasn’t thrilled with being back in Washington D. C. today, especially since he’d just been to the city. Coming to D. C. too frequently was dangerous, but the higher ups had decided they weren’t willing to leave the city. That meant no matter how much danger into which it might put their operatives, there was no other option than to bend to their will in this.
Sanctuary At Joe’s
(Stephanie)
Stephanie lay on the bed in the guest room, willing herself not to cry, yet knowing it was a losing battle.
The worst part of this whole thing was that she was fairly certain the news would make it all the way to Newark. That meant that her grandmother and possibly even Caleb would hear about it. She would have to be sure to set the alarm early so she could call before Caleb went to school.
Reaching over, she flicked on the bedside light and looked at the clock. It was the first time she really looked at it and realized it was identical to the one that had been at her bedside in her apartment. She felt her chest tighten and took several gasping breaths to try and calm herself. Eventually, her breathing regulated, but it took all of her mental acuity to ignore the shaking of her hand as she set the alarm for six o’clock.
With the alarm set, she fell back onto the bed and allowed the stress of the day to finally catch up with her and tears began to fall.
Rolling onto her side, she buried her face in her pillow so that her crying wouldn’t disturb Joe in the next room.
As her tears began to abate, her body began to relax and sleep eventually crept up on her.
Her mind ran over Joe’s words from the past few days. The insights he lent her had proven invaluable. She needed to focus on the good she was doing, not the bad. She needed to focus on the people she was helping, not the ones she was bringing into the system. She needed to take a deep breath and focus on the day to day tasks of living.
As her eyes closed, she assured herself that she would capture Maxine, that her apartment would be fixed and that she would have another car.
Taking one last deep breath, she allowed her mind to drift. It immediately flew to the man in the other bedroom.
In her mind, she examined every inch of him, especially the differences between his eighteen-year-old body and his current one. A smile curved her lips as she decided that his current form was much more appealing.
She drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Joe running through her mind, never realizing that, at some point, Joe had been replaced with images of Carlos.
(Ranger)
On the drive back to Rangeman, he told himself that he was antsy and upset over the new ‘plans’ that came out of the meeting. The limitations the government were trying to put on him and his operation were unacceptable. There was no way he could work in the gray areas while abiding by the rules. Such a change in his operating procedure could lead to disaster greater than not finishing the job; it could lead to the death of him, his man and any number of innocents. Collateral damage needed to be avoided. Allowing Rangeman to operate the way they always had would do that.
Even with the meeting and all of the pieces falling into place, it would still be several months before everything was in place for the big push. After that, there would be several months to several years of residual clean-up.
Of course, he received a call earlier today that one of his other ‘jobs’ was beginning to heat up as well. He could only be thankful that his past had taught him to compartmentalize so well. Had it not been for his natural ability and the intensive training he had received, he would be overwhelmed right now with all the different aspects of his life. As it was, he would be setting up weekly meetings with Jennings to make sure all the different aspects of his life were still blending together into a cohesive whole. He couldn’t let anyone see him as being scattered or unfocused. He had to be at the top of his game in every aspect of his life.
He continued his mental recounting of all the reasons he was uneasy and worked to convince himself they had nothing to do with the fact Stephanie’s apartment had been firebombed and no on knew where she was.
In the past, he had debated putting a tracker on her car. Right now he was thankful he hadn’t since it had exploded earlier today – yesterday.
Taking a hand from the steering wheel, he rubbed it against the back of his neck and wondered if he could possibly slip a tracker in her purse. She never seemed to go anywhere without it.
If she would actually carry as he had told her to, he might be able to slip a small GPS into the handle of her gun, but she just didn’t carry it enough for that to be an effective use of the tracker. No, her purse and her car were the most reliable places to plant them. Maybe he could acquire some older technology for her car, something that he wouldn’t mind getting destroyed or traded in anytime soon.
Of course, the fact she was still using Al as her mechanic made it that much easier for him to get the trackers placed on her car. If she didn’t bring them to Al’s he could either have Al or one of the other guys slip one onto the car at night. Stephanie’s neighbors might notice, but he knew Stephanie never would.
If he’d managed to do that earlier, he would have known where she was and the flight up from Washington would have been more enjoyable.
He’d received the initial call just as he was getting on the plane.
“Speak,” he answered.
“Just received a report of a fire at Ms. Plum’s residence. Hal is on his way to gather intel. No sign of your woman,” Tank reported.
Questions raced through Ranger’s mind: what had caused the fire? Was she in the apartment? Was she hurt? Did she need him? Had someone set the fire? If someone did set the fire, how slowly and painfully could he kill that person? No one, absolutely no one, messed with one of his. The only thing he said out loud was, “Understood” before hanging up.
Those questions had run through his mind over and over through the flight and his anxiety to find out if Stephanie was injured or not kept him from relaxing. As he stepped off of the plane, his phone rang again.
“Report,” he commanded, knowing it would be Tank.
“Ms. Plum was spotted arriving at the scene after the fire was out. She went up to the apartment, gathered some belongings and disappeared from the scene. We were unable to follow at that time. Initial reports show that her apartment was firebombed. The device came through her bedroom window and landed on her bed.”
“Understood,” Ranger replied, knowing that Tank had given him all the information he had.
Ranger pulled into the parking garage at Haywood, parked and got out, heading toward the elevator. He was too tired to climb the stairs tonight.
His first concern when things started was that someone from one of his ‘jobs’ was targeting Stephanie. His fear that his enemies would use one of his loved ones against him was just one of many reasons he didn’t like to let people get close. Stephanie Plum certainly wasn’t close to him, but the rumor on the street reported it differently. That made her a target. Of course, he might not object to one night close to Stephanie Plum, but she wasn’t the type to settle for one night…
The notes, the gasoline and the firebombing weren’t standard for the people he normally encountered on the job. In fact, both incidents seemed almost amateur in the attempts. The only conclusion he could draw was that Stephanie Plum had herself a stalker.
Entering his apartment, he moved through it to his bedroom. Stripping down, he pulled down the covers and collapsed on the bed.
Before slipping into sleep, he could only think, “It’s a good thing she had the cop to help her.”
Ranger was exhausted. It was not three o’clock in the morning. The meeting in Washington had taken forever. The flight home had been long and confining. It wasn’t often he became impatient with being confined in a plane, but tonight it grated on his nerves.
Devil Whores All!
(Stephanie)
Stephanie glanced down at her clothes as Ranger drove them back to the bond office. She was pretty sure her happy glow from this morning was completely gone, replaced by the more familiar feeling of humiliation. A quick glance at Ranger revealed that his lips were curved ever so gently upward in what could only be described as an amused smile.
Looking out the window, Stephanie wondered what he really thought of her. He had easily seen that she had been well satisfied last night and this morning, and played it off as if it was nothing.
Of course, for all she knew, it was nothing to him. He probably got laid every night by a different woman. Then again, maybe he had a live-in somewhere or, worse, a wife. Could he already be married?
If that was the case, then she would have to give up any and all claim to him. She would never tell him about Caleb, knowing he would have better leverage for taking him away from her if he was involved with someone full-time. It was one more reason to hide the truth from him.
Forcing thoughts of him out of her mind, she thought back as to why he brought her along to get Norvil. Normally Ranger wouldn’t take a bounty for less than $10,000. Even with an extensive history, it didn’t seem like Norvil would have rated a high enough bond to merit Ranger’s attention.
“Why did you take me today?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. When her only response was a raised eyebrow, she clarified, “To get Thompson. How did he get assigned to you and why did you bring me? He’s not really in your range, is he?”
Ranger was silent for a moment before replying. “Norvil was one of my first skips. He’s a regular for me, but I need to pass on him. You’re at a place where you can handle him and bring him in, but by going with me to get him today, not only did you get introduced to him, but he’ll know that if he hurts you, I’ll find him and he’ll deal with me.”
Stephanie blinked at him. “All that just from going with you today?”
One side of Ranger’s mouth quirked up as he pulled into a parking space in front of the bond office. “Close enough,” he replied, unlatching his belt and exiting the car.
Puzzled, but knowing she had to follow him, she exited his Range Rover, took one look at Connie and Lula – both of whom were currently staring at Ranger – and figured she would get while the getting was good. In other words, leave before Connie and Lula saw her.
Slipping into Big Blue, Stephanie set off for Morelli’s house. As she thought of Joe, her feelings were a little conflicted. A part of her had been in love with Joe Morelli since before she was six. That would be the only reason she followed him into the garage that day. That there was chemistry between the two of them was more than evident. In fact, she was pretty sure that, after last night’s and this morning’s performance, the two of them should probably be put on some sort of danger list. But was that enough for a relationship? Did she even want a relationship? He seemed pretty content without one. Could she be?
Tipping her head backward, she rested it the headrest of the seat. Right now, she wasn’t sure about anything. She was currently leading two lives, one in Trenton and the other in Newark. She knew in her mind that both combined into her life, but the two worlds were so different that sometimes she lost track of where and who she was.
In Trenton, she was a single woman and a Bounty Hunter.
In Newark, she was a single mother who lived for her son.
There was a definite difference between the two.
Being a single mother and a Bounty Hunter was her reality. Yet, she couldn’t quite find peace with it. She couldn’t just take this time with Joe and enjoy it fully because she was holding something back from him, something big, something that would change their relationship forever. She also wasn’t sure about the example she would be setting for Caleb. Though not one to cling to traditional values like no sex before marriage, Stephanie still wasn’t sure she what Caleb would think of her sleeping around.
Then there was Ranger.
The man was a mystery to her, someone she didn’t know or understand at all. Well, not much anyway.
Though she didn’t really want to admit it even to herself, she was a little disappointed that he hadn’t been the least bit perturbed by her obvious satisfaction that morning. The fact she expected him to be jealous was just ludicrous. As far as he knew, there was no connection at all between the two of them other than their bounty hunting. He’d never shown any interest in her other than professionally anyway, so it didn’t matter.
She let out a frustrated sigh because, no matter how many times she told herself that, she still didn’t believe it. Even if she couldn’t remember much of their night together, she knew there had been something there.
Then there had been that moment on the stairs where he grabbed her shirt and pulled her back up with him. Each time he touched her she felt an almost electric flow between them. She’d never felt that with anyone else, not even Joe who she tried to convince herself was the man of her dreams. She snorted at that thought. She was queen of denial, but even she knew that it wasn’t Joe who haunted her dreams at night when her subconscious was given free reign. It was Carlos.
Pulling up in front of Joe’s house, Stephanie pushed away all thoughts of relationships and men and focused instead on how quickly she could get into the house and get the egg out of her hair.
(Ranger)
Catching sight of Stephanie out of the corner of his eye, he could almost read the question forming in her mind. His bringing her along hadn’t really been necessary from a bond enforcement perspective. He could easily have tossed Norvil over his shoulder or just dragged the man to the car. He didn’t need Stephanie to carry him, though it was easier that way. In truth, she probably could have gotten him on her own today as well. The man was never threatening, not really. But he’d needed to make a point.
“Why did you take me today?” Stephanie asked.
Ranger’s mouth curved in a smile. She was just about on time with her questions.
The real reason he’d brought her today was to show the people on Stark that they were together, that she was one of his and under his onus. Anyone who messed with her, messed with him. People didn’t mess with Ranger Manoso unless they had a death wish. He couldn’t tell her that, though. But he knew she would demand an answer. Raising an eyebrow, he waited for her to continue, hoping to buy himself a few more seconds to think. Sure enough, she continued.
“To get Thompson. How did he get assigned to you and why did you bring me? He’s not really in your range is he?” she demanded.
He had to admire her perceptiveness, and weighed his words carefully. He knew she was ignorant of the realities of life on the street, so she wouldn’t understand about being ‘his woman’ or the message that was sent by their going there together. Instead he decided to focus on the professional, or at least a version of it. With any luck, he’d be able to slip in the idea of her being under his protection as well. That was something he knew she would accept from him. “Norvil was one of my first skips. He’s a regular for me, but I need to pass on him. You’re at a place where you can handle him and bring him in, but by going with me to get him today, not only did you get introduced to him, but he’ll know that if he hurts you, I’ll find him and he’ll deal with me.”
Hopefully she wouldn’t take offense at his statement. At least he’d been able to tell her the truth. After this, Norvil and everyone else on Stark and the surrounding streets would have visual confirmation of the rumor.
“All that just from going with you today?” Stephanie asked, her voice sounding slightly stunned and filled with disbelief.
One side of Ranger’s mouth quirked upward into a smile as he thought, Sometimes she is such an innocent.
“Close enough,” was the reply he offered her. And it was, for the moment. There might come a day that he would need to reveal more, but that time wasn’t now.
Parking the Range Rover, he grabbed the receipt and entered the bond office, expecting Stephanie to follow him and collect her portion of the bond.
He was a little surprised when he noticed her get out of the Range Rover and head to her own car. He wondered what she was doing, but realized she was most likely avoiding a confrontation with Connie and Lula. Those two would be merciless on her if she were to come in covered in food as she was.
Handing the body slip to Connie, he waited silently for her to write out the check.
Once he had the check in hand, he slid it into a pocket, nodded at the two women and left.
Sliding into the driver’s seat of his Range Rover, he headed toward his office.
Initially he tried to focus on business, but the smell of eggs, flour and pickle juice kept him from focusing on such matters as his jobs or his monthly reports. Instead, his mind brought up the image of a satisfied Stephanie standing in the Bond office. He couldn’t help but smile. Given how much her face and posture revealed about her, he shouldn’t have been surprised that she would glow with her satisfaction. Never one to deceive himself, he acknowledged the small tug of disappointment that it hadn’t been him who put that smile on her face or relaxed her body. But she just wouldn’t work within his life. He had too much going on right now for it to be so.
Images of dreams he’d had of Stephanie flashed through his mind, causing his body to respond.
Doing his best to ignore those images, his mind, instead, conjured the sight of her on the stairs. He could feel his fingers burning from where they had brushed against her while he grabbed her shirt. As he had snagged her shirt to stop her retreat, the material had been pulled tightly against her chest, outlining her breasts and showing her flat stomach. The image provided just one more blow to his self-control.
“I’ve got to get laid,” he muttered as he pulled into the parking garage.
Ranger steered them back to the bond office, oddly content with the outing. Stephanie was coming along well with her hunting, though she really needed to learn how to duck. Norvil’s bond was below his normal range, but he’d been a regular for Ranger for so long, that he didn’t mind picking up the old man.
Wrap Up
(Stephanie)
Stephanie looked out her window on the way to Newark. Yesterday she and Joe had spent some time riding on his motorcycle. It was a terrific motorcycle. Feeling that sort of power between her legs was enervating to say the least.
She still wasn’t completely sure how she felt about a relationship with Joe, but it had been so long it was worth giving it a try. If things didn’t work out, she was far enough away that Caleb need never know about it if it didn’t work out. That way he couldn’t be hurt if she and Joe didn’t work out. Of course, if things did work out, introducing Caleb into the mix would put a strain on the whole situation. But, then, as Joe kept reminding her, he wasn’t eighteen years old anymore.
A smile curved her lips as images and feelings from their nights together flitted through her mind. There were some definite benefits to becoming involved with Joe Morelli. Of course, the whole pregnancy scare with Mary Lou had been embarrassing, but after last time, she was a little sensitive about it.
She was lucky that Joe was on call all weekend this weekend. It had freed her up to visit Caleb and Grandma Plum, not to mention a little time to see the good things she was protecting by doing her job.
Talking things out with Joe recently had helped her gain some perspective on her job and why it was important. She knew it was something she wouldn’t be able to do forever, but for now, she was confident that it was the right choice.
The smile that had been residing on her face faded as she thought of the past few days. She shivered as she remembered finding Eddie’s dead body. But it was the thought of Sugar and his attacks on her that caused her to start shaking.
Pulling over to the side of the road, she began to take some deep breaths, trying to calm herself. The final encounter with Sugar had almost been too much for her. Being shot, having him try to stab her and finding out it was all because the man/woman was jealous of the time Sally was spending with her. It was true she did handle it on her own. Ranger had been there and she idly wondered if he would have intervened if things had started to go badly for her. She decided that he most likely would. They had spent too much time together over the past few months for him not to help her. Besides, they seemed to be developing some sort of strange friendship.
Pulling back out onto the road, she tried to turn her thoughts to more pleasant topics, like what she and Caleb could do this weekend, but she kept coming back to the mess with the counterfeiting ring and Eddie’s death. He wasn’t the only one who passed away, though. She just had to keep reminding herself that their deaths weren’t her fault. Perhaps if she repeated it often enough, one day she would believe it.
The exit for her Grandma’s house came up quickly and she signaled she was taking the exit.
As she moved through the neighborhoods, she was finally able to put aside her thoughts of her job and of Trenton and focus entirely on her son. Everything else could wait.
(Ranger)
He hated being here, but this current case took precedence over hit other one, the one he should be pursuing.
Pulling out the keys to his car rental, he paused before entering it. He’d seen an old friend of his from his army days heading toward him.
“Hey,” Lucas greeted.
Lucas Newly had been with Ranger through basic and officer training after which their paths had diverged. Lucas was known to be a good man, having a high sense of honor. He was nearly incorruptible. If Ranger worked in the shadows and darkness, Lucas worked only in the light.
“Lucas,” Ranger greeted. “Still working for Treasury?”
“Yeah,” the other man agreed, smiling at his friend. “Just heard back on a big forgery case up in your neck of the woods. Official word came back that a cop, Joe Morelli, broke it wide open.”
Ranger raised an eyebrow. He knew about the funny money sting. That it was Morelli who was given credit surprised him. As far as he knew, Joe was stopped cold. “And the unofficial word?” he asked, having picked up on the curious wording his friend used.
“Unofficially, word is his Bounty Hunter girlfriend broke the case while hunting one of her skips,” Lucas informed, his eyes never leaving Ranger’s.
He kept his face blank. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. That Morelli would take credit for Stephanie’s work seemed to be in character with what he knew of the cop. That Stephanie would stumble upon the Treasury’s case and break it wide open seemed in character for her. After all, he had a constant worry that one day she would stumble across his own jobs. It would just be her luck. The thing that bothered him was the way Lucas called her Morelli’s girlfriend.
It was true that he wasn’t and couldn’t be involved with her, especially now, but she had a firm reputation as being his woman. He’d even taken steps this past week to show various elements in Trenton that she was one of his.
Given the glow he’d seen on her face after her night with Morelli, he’d felt a flare of jealousy and desire. He wanted to be the one to put that smile on her face and make her glow with satisfaction. It was a completely ridiculous response and he’d quickly dismissed it. He barely had time to sit down and relax right now. With things getting more complicated and dangerous, he truly had no time for her.
After a few minutes of silence, Lucas let out a sigh and added, “I just thought it strange that the report was she is Morelli’s girlfriend when word on the street has her as your woman.”
Ranger slipped on his sunglasses. Satisfied that Lucas could no longer see his eyes, he let some of his control skip and the odd mélange of emotions be revealed. “Interesting,” was the only thing he said in response. He watched Lucas shake his head at the lack of more words, but understood that his friend was just letting him know what was being said. That sort of information could help make or break a case.
“Want to grab some dinner and reminisce about the good old days in Basic?” Lucas asked.
A small smile appeared on Ranger’s face. “Burton’s?”
“Perfect,” Lucas answered, pulling his own keys out. “I’ll meet you there.”
With a quick nod of acknowledgement he slid behind the steering wheel and started his car. It would take about twenty minutes to reach the restaurant. Flicking on the radio, he relaxed as the classical music poured from the speaker. Over the years he’d learned to like all sorts of music. He listened to classical when he was tense or trying to work things out. He listened to metal when he was psyching up for certain jobs. Of course, now he couldn’t listen to metal without thinking of Stephanie Plum.
That brief thought of her once more caused the uneasy feelings to stir within him. Attempting to identify him so he could purge them, he started with the most obvious – lust. After lust was protectiveness. Somehow, since the first day they worked together, she had become one of ‘his’ and he would do whatever he had to in order to protect what was ‘his’. After his protective feelings, there was a large amount of amusement. The woman certainly kept things interesting. He chuckled softly to himself at the fact she not only stumbled up, but broke open a case the Treasury had been working on for years. He also wondered if Morelli would give her the credit, thus allowing her the monetary reward, or if he would keep quiet about it and take the bonus he knew was offered. How Morelli handled this would tell Ranger a lot about how he would handle Stephanie.
Now, if it had been him…
A frown appeared on Ranger’s face. This should be an easy answer for him. If he’d been working a case and someone broke it open for him, but he was getting all the credit, he would keep the money. Maybe send a nice gift as a thank you, but he wasn’t a self-proclaimed mercenary for nothing. So, the question then was, why had he hesitated? If he would keep the money if a generic someone helped, why was his first instinct to give the credit and the money to Stephanie if she was the one who helped him?
“Frindship,” he muttered, shaking his head in disgust. He’d been peripherally aware that he was developing more than a professional relationship with Stephanie Plum, but he hadn’t thought it was heading toward friendship. Of course, the revelation of his feelings of friendship for her identified the rest of the emotion he was feeling. Somehow she’d falling into that very rare area of his life reserved for friends. He realized that, had he been in Morelli’s position, he would have treated Stephanie the same way he treated Tank – as a friend.
The problems with trying to keep a friendship with her were many. First, there was the fact that there was no time in his life for a private life. Second, his life just didn’t lend itself to relationships and that included friendships. Sure, there was Tank, but even that friendship had suffered and not just because Tank was his employee. There just wasn’t time for the communication necessary to nourish it.
Pulling up to the restaurant, Ranger pushed aside his thoughts of Stephanie Plum. She, like most women, was someone he would never understand. The rules of women were a convoluted mystery he just didn’t have time to figure out.
Maintaining good relationships with contacts, however, was something for which he needed to make time. It was the reason he was having dinner with Lucas instead of going back to his hotel room and catching up on work for Rangeman.
A car parked next to his. Ranger watched two beautiful women step out of the car and thought, maybe this night will end better than I originally thought.
Ranger stepped out of the building and loosened his tie. He was once more in Washington D. C., stuck in meetings most of the day.
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