Disclaimer: All characters are courtesy of the amazing Janet Evanovich. I am not making any money from this story.
A/N: This is my first attempt at fanfiction and I would dearly love reviews, ideas and constructive criticism. I discovered fanfiction about 6 months ago and have been addicted since then. I am a Babe lover, though I have recently become somewhat of a Lester lover as well. This story is firmly Babe. Though we all know that Hector only speaks Spanish, for the purpose of this story, and my limited time, it will appear as English
From Sizzling Sixteen:
"I'm going out of the country for a few weeks. Tank will watch out for you and I'll be on my cell phone. I'll be in touch when I get back. You owe me."
Looking for me? Chapter 1:
My life is crap. I'm currently handcuffed to the driver's side mirror of my car in the worst part of Stark Street. This predicament is courtesy of my latest skip, Rolando Edwards. I had approached him as he was coming out of his apartment building and before I could even blink, he had me cuffed to my own damn car and was strolling down the street. My keys were in my pocket, but the punk had handcuffed my right hand and since I can't turn into a pretzel at will, it didn't look like I was going anywhere anytime soon.
I had managed to open the car door and sit down with my arm hanging over the door. I had no idea how long I had been here. Maybe an hour? So far, everyone on Stark Street was doing a very good job of ignoring the white girl handcuffed to her car. Since I had nothing better to do, I sat there and thought about the disaster that is Stephanie Plum's life. A) I'm broke with a POS car, B) I had to be the most pitiful excuse of a bounty hunter in history, C) Dinner with my family last night consisted of my mother chanting repeatedly that I need to settle down, get married, quit working and have a bunch of babies. In other words, I need to do everything I don't want to do. D) I have two men in my life and I don't know what to do with either of them. My on-again/off-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli (the one my mother insists I should settle down with) and I broke up a few weeks ago, the night after the Bluttovitch/Hobbit/kidnapping thing when he showed up expecting me to model some underwear for him. I haven't had the heart to tell my mother that this off-again phase is likely permanent. I just can't do it anymore. Joe's a good guy and a good cop, but we don't want the same things out of life and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
E) The second man I'm in love with, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, a.k.a. Ranger, a.k.a. Cuban Sex God, has been "in the wind" for three weeks. I missed him terribly. The last time I talked to him, he told me that I "owed him." I do owe Ranger, though we probably have a different idea of what the debt is. Ranger would say I owe him for putting the brakes on at the last minute when we were getting very friendly. I would say I owe him because quite simply, he gives me anything and everything I could ever ask for. The one exception being a relationship. He gives me cars when mine blow up, a job when I need money and more support than I probably deserve. Ranger is my mentor, my friend and for one amazing night, my lover. He is also my personal savior. Saving me from others and myself on a frighteningly regular basis.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts before I could make my mental list any longer. I looked around in time to see 6 guys with blue bandanas in baggy clothes walking towards me. They were all tattooed and Hispanic, with varying degrees of menace showing on their faces. Menace was actually too mild a word for these guys, they looked scary as hell. I stood up and watched them approach.
As they walked toward me, I bowed my head, praying for the power of invisibility. Hey, it might work! Unfortunately, when I raised my head, 6 pairs of unfriendly eyes were trained on me. Damn! How am I going to talk my way out of this one?
All of the guys appeared to be around 25 or younger. What looked like the oldest stepped up to me and ran a hand down my face onto my arm. "Hola, chica. Did someone leave you here as a present to us?" The asshole had an arrogant smirk on his face. "Look, she even comes with her own handcuffs." The guys started laughing and I started trembling. I opened my mouth to say something, when I noticed someone else walking towards us. He stepped up beside me without looking directly at me. This man was dressed similarly to the others, but had a ball cap pulled low over his eyes. He took the cap off, giving me and my would-be attackers a clear view of his face and the two teardrop tattoos falling from his right eye. Hector! Thank God, I was saved! Hector is a Rangeman I don't know very well, but a Rangeman nonetheless. Ranger's men would never let anyone hurt me.
The gangsters in front of me had a completely different reaction to seeing Hector. They immediately took a few steps back and lost the smirks and menacing looks. The one who had spoken to me, took a brave step forward and shrugged his shoulders, starting to speak, but was cut off with a look from Hector. Hector spoke in a low voice, full of the adult version of menace the younger guys were trying to pull off, "Save it! Dumb fuckers. Don't you know who this is?" The guys looked closer at me and shook their heads. Hector continued, "She's Manoso's." I could see the guys all take another few steps back and look around as if expecting something or someone. Just then, I felt a tingle up my spine to my neck that could only mean one thing. Ranger is near. The guys were still looking around when I heard the sweetest sound in the world, "Looking for me?"
His voice was low and controlled, but anyone with a brain could tell that this was not a man to mess with. After one heartbeat, the guys scattered, running full-tilt in different directions. Ranger stepped up beside me as I slumped back down into my seat, the relief I felt making me close to tears. I looked up and Ranger and Hector and gave a whispered, "Thank you." It wasn't nearly enough, but it was all I could do at the moment. Hector smiled and unlocked my cuffs. Ranger knelt in front of me. "Babe, you ok?" I smiled. "Yeah, I'm good." He gave me an almost smile and kissed my forehead. "Babe, why don't you let Hector take your car and I'll drive you home?" I nodded and he helped me up and kept his arm around me until we got to his car. He was driving the Turbo today, my favorite. I slid down in the seat and let the smell of leather and Ranger wash over me. Like always, I immediately felt more relaxed and calm.
Ranger angled in beside me and we took off. He turned to me and raised one eyebrow. In Ranger speak, this meant, "What happened?" I decided to be brief. "Rolando Edwards. FTA on a trafficking charge. I caught him coming out of his building. I didn't even have time to speak to him. He saw me, charged, grabbed me, dragged me back to my car, cuffed me and walked off." Ranger nodded. "What about the gang?" This made me tremble a little again. Ranger reached over and took my hand. I was surprised. His affection was usually more lust-inducing than comforting. "They had only been there a few minutes before Hector got there. They seemed to think I was a present left for them." Rangers jaw tightened, but he continued to look straight ahead and asked, "They get any further than what I saw?" I shook my head. "No, you and Hector were right on time." He nodded once.
Ranger saw me into my apartment and turned to go. He stopped at the door, turned around and strode back to me. He gave me a brief and tender kiss. "Babe, breakfast tomorrow at 9:00. I'll pick you up at 8:45. I need a favor and you owe me."