Plot: Stephanie does a favor for Ranger and ends up going for a little ride. BABE. Not Morelli friendly. Random one-shot.
Warnings: Language. Some naked situations with kissing and petting. Rated M.
A/N: Set sometime after Twelve Sharp. Not beta'd, so there are probably some mistakes. I've never been to Trenton, and it looks pretty flat on Google Earth, so just use your imaginations and remember that this is fiction. This little short has been playing around in my mind since I went for a ride in our box trailer a few weeks ago (only about a couple of yards… so not terrifying at all, but it made me think – this is something that would happen to Steph and Lula for sure). So, hope you enjoy.
Ride of Their Lives
By Sasha
SPOV
Today was not going well.
Understatement of the century, Plum.
I hurt all over. My bruises probably had bruises. My heart pounded desperately in my chest. Blood rushed through my ears so loud I couldn't hear. That could have also had something to do with the grenade that had just exploded only yards from us. I was sweating profusely, even though it had barely topped fifty five today; cold for early October.
"Hooooooly Shiiiiiiiiiit!" Lula screamed, frantically scrambling for some kind of purchase.
I was lying absolutely still. I knew what was going to happen if we moved.
"Lula, don't move. Don't move, Lula!" I shouted.
The ten by five box utility trailer we'd landed in groaned ominously and slowly started to roll forward, down the ridiculously steep driveway.
"We're going to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!" Lula screamed again.
I dug my hands under the leaves and found the edge of the trailer. I gripped it hard and sent up a quick prayer.
I didn't want to die like this.
My name's Stephanie Plum, and unfortunately things like this seem to happen to me on a regular basis.
Twenty Four Hours Earlier
I was chilling in the Bond's Office with Lula and Connie. We'd just finished our morning coffees and had a donut, okay, a few donuts each. We were recuperating from our breakfast in quiet silence before we needed to get on with our days. Read, we were in a food coma.
I felt a tingle race down my spine a second before Ranger's large, warm hand settled on the back of my neck. I tilted my head backwards to catch a glimpse of his face.
He looked tired… weary even. But he still gave me a small smile.
That one moment totally made my week.
I hadn't seen him very often lately, we'd both been busy and our schedules hadn't really allowed our paths to cross too much. It was nice just to see his face, to know he was alive, uninjured and could still muster up a smile for me.
"Babe."
I smiled at his upside down face. "Hey, Ranger."
He gave my neck a gentle squeeze. "Need a favor."
I tried not to moan at how good that had felt and raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" A favor could mean many things. Surveillance, a distraction job, a renovating job, chauffeur duties, helping out in the control room, running searches, or even helping him clear his name from a murder charge.
I hadn't heard he'd killed anybody recently, so I hoped it wasn't the last one.
And then of course, there was the sexual kind of favor. I didn't think about that one too much because it, a, hurt, and b, would make me nervous. So I just sat there and hoped he'd put me out of my misery quickly.
"Outside." He nodded his head in the direction of the alley beside the Bond's Office. Well, it wasn't really a nod. More like a slight, barely noticeable inclination of his head. I could barely keep my eyes off of him, so I noticed.
I gave a little shrug. "Okay." I closed the latest Cosmo magazine I had been skimming and placed it down on the couch. Lula snatched it up immediately, her eyes darting quickly between Ranger and I and then the magazine. I didn't have the heart to tell her Cosmo hadn't helped me in the slightest – I just attracted alpha men.
Whether I wanted to or not.
I hitched my purse up on my shoulder and brushed against Ranger's body as he held the door open for me. A shiver raced through my body, the good kind that made me want to trap him against a wall and rub all over him.
Ahem.
I led the way into the alley, Ranger's body pressed tightly against my back as we walked.
As soon as we were out of view of prying eyes, he spun me around and covered my body with his. A split-nanosecond later, his lips were on mine and I was moaning happily into his mouth. He pulled back when my hand slipped under his jacket and shirt to rest on his hot skin. His forehead dropped down onto mine, our eyes held and our breaths intermingled in visible little white clouds.
He pressed his lips to mine once more and shifted back a little. And by a little, I mean maybe half an inch.
"Heard about Morelli, Babe."
His hand came up to cup my cheek; his eyes watched me intently.
I gave a pathetic little shrug.
Kelly Davidson had been in the year above me in school. She was the perfect combination of girl next door and seductive temptress that had flocked boys and men towards her from a young age. She was a kindergarten teacher now and currently knocked up by one Joe Morelli.
Joe and I had been on a steady decline since the Scrog saga. I think he'd realized how I really felt about Ranger, even though I didn't say anything. Or maybe he'd always known, and it had just confirmed it for him. Either way, we officially broke up three weeks ago. It had been calm and we'd acted like adults. We'd talked out all the things that made us not so compatible and agreed to part ways as friends. We hadn't actually had sex in months. That should have been my first clue.
Kelly was about three months pregnant. She'd moved in with Morelli last week. They'd announced their engagement in the paper today.
Suffice to say, Morelli and I were no longer friends.
Ranger's thumb sliding back and forth across my cheek drew my attention back to the moment.
"You okay, Babe?" he asked softly, his eyes affectionate as they stared down at me.
Tears prickled in the back of my eyes.
Oh hell no, Stephanie. You are not crying in front of Ranger today.
I nodded once.
"Want to talk about it, Babe?" he wondered even softer.
Damnit Ranger, stop being so nice to me.
I shook my head.
His lips brushed mine again, this time in a slow tender kiss. I really had to fight to hold back the tears then.
"What's the favor?" I asked in a husky voice, trying to change the subject and get back control of my emotions.
Ranger sighed. I blinked and studied him carefully. He must be more tired than I had thought. He never sighed.
I lifted both my hands to his face. "Are you okay, Ranger?"
He gave me a little smirk that made my heart flutter.
"Want to talk about it, Babe?" I sassed, trying to lighten his mood even further.
He gave a bark of laughter and hugged me tight against his chest.
I snuggled into his warmth, inhaling his delicious scent and felt calm for the first time in weeks.
Maybe a hug was the favor?
He seemed like he really needed a hug.
"Babe."
He released me slightly and shook his head.
I'd amused him; the dark shadows in his eyes had faded a little.
A successful mission, Plum.
"Short on staff at the moment. Half the guys have stomach flu; the other half has influenza. Then they swap. I've got a skeleton contract crew in, and the remaining men are working double shifts."
"Jeez, Ranger. I didn't know. Hector mentioned some of the guys were sick, but I didn't realize it was this bad. I'll stop taking up the guys' time for the next few days."
"No, Steph. No." He sighed again. "I don't want you to stop training. That's not why I told you, Babe. Need your help."
I nodded. "Anything, of course. What is it?"
I'd been training with the Merry Men for the past few months, probably about the time Joe and I stopped having sex. Not that it had been regular before that… but it definitely stopped.
The Scrog saga had shaken me up a little. Alright, a lot. I'd realized I'd needed more training, I needed to take more precautions, and I needed to play things safer. The guys had been giving me the Rangeman Training course. It included learning everything from how to hot wire a car, pick locks, hack into government agencies, disarm a man, kill someone with my bare hands, and use my gun properly. I was picking some things up quicker than others, but overall I was fitter, stronger and more competent than ever. And I carried my gun on my hip at all times.
I'd say that was progress.
"Steph, I'd like you to take on some of our skips. Just for the next few weeks. Only the medium-range."
He stared at me intensely.
I knew he would never ask this if he didn't think I could handle it. But I still worried I wasn't ready for that yet. I'd been taking the low to medium range skips. He was talking about the medium to high range ones. They were smarter, meaner, and generally had more resources.
I might be wary, but what it came down to was he needed help and I would never refuse him.
"Okay, Ranger. Pencil me into the schedule and I'll come and do some shifts so you guys can get some sleep," I added, already mentally re-arranging the things I'd planned this week; like buying a new car and a hair appointment with Mr Alexander.
The car I had at the moment was fine. It ran, went over 25 miles per hour, and usually started on the third try. The only problem was it didn't have heating and it was shaping up to be a cold winter. But it could wait a couple of weeks. And if I managed to bring in some of Rangeman's skips, I'd be able to get something much nicer.
"Babe, you don't have to –"
I held my fingers over his lips.
"I want to. Even if it's just a few shifts, anything will help, right? You look tired, Ranger. You never look tired. Running yourself down will just make you more susceptible to catching whatever it is the guys have. You need to look after yourself as well. If there's anything else I can do, just let me know."
Ranger squeezed me in a hug so tight I could barely draw in air.
"Totally missed out," Ranger murmured into my hair.
"Huh?"
He drew back and smiled at me, a full thousand watt grin. Okay, now that right there totally made my week.
"Nothing, Babe. I've spoken with Vinnie already. Call me if he gives you a hard time. Tank will call you later about the schedule. If you need help with a skip, call me."
"But you're shor –"
His face flashed back to serious.
"Call me, Steph. I won't have you hurt picking up my skips. Promise me."
I stared into his eyes and nodded, knowing it would reduce the amount of things he had to worry about.
"I promise."
"Good, I'll see you soon, Babe. Thank you. "
I received a brief kiss and then he was gone.
I sighed and pulled my gloves out of my pocket, suddenly cold now he was gone.
"Hey, Connie. Is Vinnie still in his office?" I asked as I walked back into the Bond's Office.
"Gurl, you was out there a long time with Batman," Lula said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
I didn't want to know what Connie and Lula thought Ranger and I did in that alley. It was probably twenty times more risqué that the reality.
I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, he's in, Steph."
"Thank you."
I bravely marched up to Vinnie's door and pounded on it.
"Come in, Steph," he shouted.
I flicked my gaze back to Connie. She tossed her nail file away and started the hunt for the new bug.
I pushed open the door and shut it behind me. I stared down at the visitor chair, but thought better of it.
"Ranger said he spoke to you about me taking on some of his skips," I said, jumping straight in without preamble.
"You know, one of these days I'm going to set a camera up in the alley and find out exactly what you two do in it," Vinnie said smarmily, folding his arms back behind his head with a smug grin.
"I'm sure Ranger will love that," I replied sweetly.
Vinnie paled and sat forward quickly.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
"Connie gave me my files this morning, there were no medium to high range skips in them. Where are my files, Vinnie?" I asked, giving him a death glare.
He swore at me for a few seconds as he stood and stomped out of his office. I followed behind him with a grin as he marched over to Connie's filing cabinet and reefed it open.
"Here, Plum. Don't screw this up."
Vinnie slammed back into his office after slapping a thick file into my hand.
Huh, just the one?
"Steph, what was that all about?" Connie wondered, holding up the smashed bug.
I grinned.
"Ranger asked me to take the medium to high bond skips for a couple of weeks while he's short on staff. Apparently this is the only file?"
Connie stared at me unblinkingly.
"Wait, wait, wait. So you and the Wizard, actually talked business in the alley?" Lula asked, her eyebrows raised high.
"It's what usually happens," I said with a shrug.
Among other things.
"The illusion is shattered!" Connie cried.
"Yeah, well. Thems the breaks. Do you know if there are any other medium to high bonds in at the moment?"
"Tank came in a couple of days ago and picked up all the Rangeman files. That's the only new bond in that range. We've had a couple of high ones. Mostly just the ones you deal with though."
"Cool."
I settled down on the couch to read through the new file. The thickness of it was a little unnerving.
Dominic Benson. Age forty four. Height five foot ten. Weight one hundred and eighty five pounds. Buzz cut. Brown eyes. Mixed Race. Skin color somewhere between honey and butterscotch. He had a two inch scar through his right eyebrow and a number of violent looking tattoos.
He was currently on bail for possession of unlawful weapons, possession of weapons for unlawful purposes and pointing a gun at police officers, totaling a cool one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
Prior convictions included much of the same, resisting arrest, theft, carjacking and arson. He'd also been dishonorably discharged from the Army after only one year of service in his late teens.
He'd previously been charged with rape, aggravated assault, murder, and manslaughter but had never been convicted.
Holy cow.
He sounded like a lovely man, really.
Why do they let these people back out on the streets? Why the hell does Vinnie bail them out?
I shuddered and closed the file, shoving it into my bag.
"Catch you later, ladies," I said, giving the girls a wave.
"Later, Steph."
I spent the rest of the day rounding up a couple of my low bond skips as I tried to think of a good way to tackle Dominic Benson that didn't involve me getting shot, raped or murdered. I wasn't having much luck.
It was after eight thirty when I finally made it home. I'd had to endure dinner with my parents, in which my mother cried throughout the meal, mourning the upcoming marriage of Morelli and apparently my last hope for marriage and babies. My dad had ended up sending her to her room. After that, dinner had been quite pleasant. Val and I did the dishes, put away the leftovers and caught up. I spent some time with my nieces and then dropped grandma off at the funeral parlor for a late night viewing. She was getting a ride home with Elaine Barkolowski, so I didn't have to worry about going and picking her up.
I checked my apartment for bad guys before locking the deadbolt, door knob lock, door chain, and floor bolt.
I flicked off the lights and headed straight to my bedroom. My gun was deposited on my bedside table, my purse placed on my dresser.
I hit the shower and crawled straight into bed, exhausted.
My eyes snapped open and I lay perfectly still, maintaining a consistent breathing rate even though my heart was pounding.
Someone was in my apartment. Rex had stopped running on his wheel.
I strained my ears to hear anything.
Nothing.
Silence.
That could mean one of two things.
Either Ranger had just broken in, or a highly skilled, trained professional had. I was praying it was the former.
I silently slid my hand out from under my duvet and curled my fingers around my gun.
"Easy, Babe. Don't shoot."
I exhaled loudly and released my gun. Sitting up, I switched on my bedside table lamp and stared at Ranger.
It was ten minutes after two in the morning.
He leant heavily against the doorframe, still dressed in his Rangeman Uniform. Gun at his hip, utility belt on and Kevlar vest. There was probably another gun at his back and a knife in his boot too.
"You just knock off?" I wondered with a yawn.
He nodded and moved into the room. He unclipped his belt and dropped it on the chair in the corner of my room.
His phone and one of his guns went on my other bedside table. I watched him move to the bathroom and heard the sink tap turn on.
I crawled out of bed and stood in the bathroom doorway as he bent over the sink.
"It's been a while since you've visited," I murmured.
He stripped off his clothes in quick economical movements, set his second gun and knife on the sink, and climbed into the shower.
He seemed like he needed some friendly company, so ignoring my hormones, I sat on top of the closed toilet seat.
I knew he'd been on shift this morning when I saw him at the Bond's office at ten thirty. That meant he'd probably started work at six. That was more than a double shift. That was a twenty fucking hour day.
"Was waiting for you to be done fucking the cop," he replied quietly.
I tried not to get upset with what he'd said. He was tired. Cranky even. But he was here. Why? I sat quietly, trying to think what the right response was when the water shut off and he stepped out.
I tossed him a towel and longingly traced my eyes over his beautiful body. He'd lost weight. Not much, but enough that I'd noticed. My eyes couldn't help but linger on his wounds from Scrog.
God, I'd almost lost him.
"Didn't mean that, Steph. I'm sorry, Babe," he said, dropping down in front of me.
"I know. You're tired and cranky. I've got a pair of boxers if you want them?"
I bent forward and brushed my lips lightly against his, before standing up, forcing him to move back.
His face looked stunned at the cranky comment.
I bit back a smile.
"Yes please, Babe," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair.
I pulled a spare toothbrush out of my medicine cabinet and tossed it to him on my way back into the bedroom. He'd just finished brushing his teeth when I came back with his boxers.
Without any self-consciousness, he hung up the towel and slipped the shorts on. He grabbed his gun and knife off the sink, grabbed my hand with his other one and hit the light with his elbow.
He sat me down on the bed, shoved his second gun behind the headboard and the knife under the mattress.
I crawled back under the duvet and listened as he quietly moved around my apartment, checking the windows and door.
Then he shut and locked the bedroom door, before crawling into bed.
I switched off the lamp and settled down.
He shifted me onto my side and slid in tight behind my body. One arm went under my neck, the other wrapped around my waist as he moved one of his legs between mine.
God, it felt so good to be held by him like this again.
I'd missed it.
"You want to talk about what happened?" I whispered into the dark.
His lips brushed against my shoulder. "Nothing happened. Just sleep better when I hold you."
A warm feeling spread through my chest.
"Ranger."
His lips pressed against the skin of my neck this time.
"Go to sleep, Babe. I'll be here in the morning."
I drifted off, content in his arms.
I woke up alone and tried not to be disappointed about it. It was close to eight am. Way past Ranger's usual waking hour. He had probably already returned to work.
I climbed straight into the shower and got ready for the day.
I'd just finished shaving my legs and was rinsing the shampoo out of my hair when the shower curtain flew open.
I screamed and scrambled to cover myself when I heard chuckling.
I swung around and found Ranger standing behind me, the curtain back in place.
"Jesus Christ, Ranger! I thought you'd gone to work."
I turned my back on him, better he saw my back half than my front half, and reached for the conditioner.
It was quickly taken out of my hand and Ranger's naked body pressed flush against my back.
"Steph."
His voice washed over me, sending tingles down my spine. He had an enchanting voice. Swoon worthy. Oh yeah, definitely swoon worthy. And I was getting a double whammy. Mouth-wateringly naked Ranger and his swoon worthy voice.
Oh Boy, now he's touching me. Triple whammy!
I groaned and tilted my head back onto his shoulder as he worked and massaged the conditioner into my hair.
I was putty in his very capable hands.
"Said I'd be here in the morning," he added in a mumble.
I clutched his arm as it slid down to play with one of my nipples.
"You and I don't have the best track record for morning afters," I gasped, writhing under his skillful ministrations.
He froze and gently moved me back under the spray of the water. I wanted to cry.
Good job, Stephanie. Way to ruin a doomsday orgasm with your big mouth. This wasn't anything like last time and you know it.
As soon as Ranger had my hair rinsed out, he spun me around to face him, our naked bodies touching from thigh to chest.
Oh boy, full frontal contact.
Goosebumps raced across my skin as he held my head with one hand, the other resting dangerously close to my ass.
"I was stupid then. Didn't know what I was missing. Smarter now. Don't want to miss out anymore," he murmured, his eyes gazing into mine with an intensity I hadn't witnessed before.
Before I had a chance to ask him to clarify, his lips covered mine and stole my breath away.
He shut off the water sometime during our kiss, and I stumbled out of the tub in a daze. He wrapped a towel around me and took his time drying every inch of me before wrapping a towel around his own waist and shuffling me back to the bedroom.
I'd just reached my dresser when my phone rang.
Tank.
Huh.
"Hello?"
"Bombshell? You seen Ranger? He got pissed and went off the grid last night when Bobby told him to take a mandatory eight hour break."
My eyes shot over to stare at Ranger. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Yeah, I've seen him, Tank. He's fine."
Ranger was by my side in a second. "Give me the phone, Babe."
I handed it over quickly, feeling sorry for Tank. Poor guy, he was just looking out for Ranger. Ranger took the phone and headed into the kitchen.
I had finished dressing when he came back into the bedroom. I'd set out a fresh set of his clothes on the end of the bed.
He bypassed them and came directly over to me. His arms wrapped around me and his lips found mine once more.
"I have to go, Babe. Be safe today. I'll see you tonight."
With another brief kiss, he took his clothes, utility belt and weapons and strode out of the bedroom.
Where was he going naked? He'd see me tonight? He was coming back two nights in a row?
I wasn't really sure what was going on with him, but I wasn't going to complain.
Any time spent with Ranger was worthwhile. Thanks to Scrog, I'd recently learned just how precious every minute was.
I dropped by the Bond's Office, pushing all thoughts of Ranger out of my mind. Well, okay most thoughts. I couldn't get the image of him wet and naked, kissing me in my shower to go away. That was going to be burned onto my brain for a long time.
Lula said she was keen to ride with me on my search for Dominic Benson, so I picked her up and we headed on our way.
A large meal of chicken, chips, and soda from Cluck in a Bucket later, and we were on our way to actually look for my skip. Lula's help came with a price I was more than happy to pay.
We headed over to an apartment building in Hamilton; the address Mr Benson had listed in his file, which Connie had confirmed matched the address on his driver's license.
It was a nice apartment building, relatively new and it was modern in style. Benson was located on the second story up. He had a number of large single pane picture windows, and it was clean and freshly painted outside. There was a nice garden with low shrubs and beautiful old trees in the complex. Guess crime did pay.
Lula stood off to the side as I knocked briskly on the apartment door of 2A.
The door swung open under my hand.
Huh.
My spidey senses tingled.
Yep, I didn't like this.
I pulled out my gun and slowly pushed the door open all the way, using it to scope out the entry way.
Empty.
I turned back and found Lula up against my back.
Great.
I stepped into the apartment, and glanced into the large kitchen on the left. Empty. To the right was a small dining room. Also empty.
We moved forward into the large living area. Empty.
There was a doorway I'd missed that was on the wall next to the one that adjoined the living room.
Benson was standing in it, staring at us calmly.
I lowered my gun slightly, so as not to freak him out.
"The door was open," I explained.
"I know. Saw you pull up, Bounty Hunter Bitch," he said with a creepy smile, stepping into the room fully now, and blocking our exit through the front door.
He had a grenade in his hand.
My blood froze.
"Holy fucking turds, Batman. This guy is ape shit crazy!" Lula hissed as we slowly backed away from him.
He pulled out the pin with his teeth and then slowly opened his hand, dropping the grenade.
"Shiiiiiiiiit!" Lula shouted.
Without thinking, I kicked it away from us, towards his front door as hard as I could and ran towards the large windows in the living room. I raised my gun and managed to fire three shots into the glass before I slammed into it, Lula a split second behind me, and jumped.
I opened my eyes and saw a massive pile of leaves in a box utility trailer below us and prayed it would be enough to ease our fall. Halfway to the ground the apartment rocked with an explosion, sending debris raining down on top of us.
We hit the trailer hard, the leaves not doing much to soften our fall. I groaned and tried to catalogue my body. Everything hurt. But I was alive and nothing felt broken. The grenade hadn't killed me.
Small mercies.
I could feel Lula moving next to me, so the grenade hadn't killed her either.
Today was not going well.
Understatement of the century, Plum.
I hurt all over. My bruises probably had bruises. My heart pounded desperately in my chest. Blood rushed through my ears so loud I couldn't hear. That could have also had something to do with the grenade that had just exploded only yards from us. I was sweating profusely, even though it had barely topped fifty five today; cold for early October.
"Hooooooly Shiiiiiiiiiit!" Lula screamed, frantically scrambling for some kind of purchase.
I was lying absolutely still. I knew what was going to happen if we moved.
"Lula, don't move. Don't move, Lula!" I shouted.
The ten by five box utility trailer we'd landed in groaned ominously and slowly started to roll forward, down the ridiculously steep driveway.
"We're going to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!" Lula screamed again.
I dug my hands under the leaves and found the edge of the trailer. I gripped it hard and sent up a quick prayer.
I didn't want to die like this.
The back end of the trailer lifted up high, shoving me and Lula forward, our feet slamming into the front panel of the trailer. Our momentum was enough to send us careening down the drive and out onto the street. We jumped the curb with a bone crunching jolt and kept moving, gaining speed.
Lula and I sat up swiftly at the same time and quickly lay back down. It was better not to see. We were driving down the wrong side of the road, into oncoming traffic and we had no way to steer the stupid thing.
I braced myself and sat up again.
Cars were dodging and swerving around us. We were heading straight for an intersection. Lula was screaming her head off beside me.
We flew past the stop sign and I started screaming too as we entered the intersection.
Cars slammed on their brakes, tyres screeched, metal crunched and glass shattered.
Then suddenly the trailer slammed into the rear side panel of a brand new, flaming red Dodge Ram and sent Lula and I flying over the top of the car.
Time seemed to slow down as we flew through the air, screaming at the top of our lungs. Then it suddenly sped up as we rushed back towards earth.
Splash!
Cold water rushed up around me and into my lungs. I struggled under the weight of my clothes, sinking down, deeper into the lake. My chest burned and my vision faded around the edges.
Oh God.
I was going to die in the bottom of a smelly lake.
And Ranger would never know how much I loved him.
Meanwhile
RPOV
Tank and I were on our way back from an inspection at a client's house just outside of Hamilton. The alarm had gone off. Two burglars inside. We'd detained them and handed them over to the police. One smashed window, all items recovered. Clients were relieved.
"Hey, man. Was that Bombshell and Lula?" Tank asked worriedly.
I glanced up from the road and my gaze shot down a side street where a small box utility trailer was travelling at rapid speed downhill, leaves flying out leaving a wide trail behind them.
"Shit."
My heart froze and then started again double time.
Christ, Babe.
I tried to stay calm, taking a slow breath.
I slammed the car into a hard turn, and cut across two lanes of traffic to dart into the side street. I put my foot down on the gas and sped after my Babe. In my rear-view mirror I could see smoke rising from an apartment building.
Fuck.
"They're travelling too fast, man," Tank muttered, bracing himself as I dodged and darted around the cars that were swerving to miss the missile trailer.
My gaze narrowed.
They were coming up to a t-intersection. Straight in front of them was a lake.
Shit.
"You got a plan, man?" Tank wondered.
"No. You?" I demanded.
"No. Fuck!" Tank smashed his hand into the front dash, cracking the plastic.
Dammit.
We'd pulled up alongside the trailer now.
Both Stephanie and Lula were pale and screaming.
Fuck.
Not my Babe. Not now I finally had a chance with her. Not now Morelli was finally fucking out of the picture.
Sweat trickled down my back. My heart crashed against my rib cage. My mouth grew dry.
Jesus, how were they going to stop?
A Dodge Ram entered the intersection as Stephanie and Lula ignored the stop sign and barreled straight into the car.
Then they were air borne.
My stomach flew into my throat, time slowed, the world went silent.
I hit the brakes hard and fast, spinning the wheel as we entered the intersection. I pulled to a stop a bare inch from the guard rail.
I was out of the car in an instant, jumping the fucking guard rail and sprinting towards the lake.
Lula surfaced close to the shore line.
Where the fuck was Stephanie?
I ripped my jacket off, and kicked off my boots before I dove into the lake and swam towards the center of the splash.
The water was murky as I dived down.
Fuck, where was she?!
I felt myself start to panic and tried to center.
Fuck, what would I do if she died?
Just when I needed to head back to the surface for more air, I spotted something.
There!
My hand closed around her hair, the other finding her shoulder. I kicked hard towards the surface, pulling her into the safety of my body.
We hit the surface and she gasped for air, coughing and spluttering and wheezing.
Thank God.
She was breathing.
I swam backward to the shore and dragged her into my lap as I reached land, firmly smacking her on the back a few times to get rid of the water in her chest.
She burrowed in against me, sucking in air desperately, and clung to me tightly.
I was probably clinging just as tightly to her.
Fuck that was too close.
"Y-you s-send y-your men out af-after your skip-skips. Lula and I w-will do all th-the off-ice w-work. Promise," she stuttered into my neck.
I held her tighter to me as she shivered violently. I'd make fucking certain she wouldn't pick up my skips ever again. Christ, what had I been thinking?
The shit that happened to her, even with training.
Tank dropped my discarded jacket around her as he spoke on his phone and crouched down next to Lula.
"What the fuck, Stephanie!" a familiar voice roared.
I'd thought I'd recognized that Dodge Ram.
"Why h-him? I hope we t-totaled his stup-stupid f-fucking car," my Babe hissed.
I would have smiled if I still wasn't recovering from the fact that I'd almost lost her. Again.
"Seriously, Stephanie! How the fuck do these things happen to you? Look what you did to my fucking new truck!" Morelli yelled.
I could faintly hear sirens in the distance and hoped Tank was calling in our own reinforcements.
"M-make him g-go away," Babe begged quietly, pressing her cold nose against my throat.
I assessed our surroundings. People were crowded around on all sides. My Glock would probably still fire, but there were too many witnesses.
My eyes cut to Tank, he gave me a nod and loaded a sedative dart into his small, but silent and effective dart gun. Morelli never even knew what hit him.
We just had to retrieve the dart before they shipped him off to the hospital. The drug would be out of his system before they could run any tests. No trace of foul play. With any luck, the doctors would chalk it up to shock.
The silence was golden.
People around us gasped as Morelli collapsed. They hadn't seen the dart, or Tank's gun.
"Thank you," my Babe whimpered.
I tucked the jacket around her tighter and was just about to stand and carry her to my car when I heard tyres screech. The police hadn't quite reached us yet.
I glanced up toward the bank and saw Bobby, Bones and Lester rushing down towards us, blankets and med kits in their arms. Bobby dropped down next to Steph and I, Bones moving in with Tank and Lula. Lester stood at our backs, keeping watch. He checked Morelli's pulse, and inconspicuously pocketed the dart.
My men were exceptional.
Bobby handed me the blanket and I wrapped it tightly around Steph.
"Steph, need you to tell me what happened," Bobby instructed, unfolding a foil thermal blanket and tucking it around both of us. "Where are you hurt?"
He then set to work taking her pulse, breathing rate and temperature. He shone a flash light quickly into her eyes and started examining her head for injuries.
"Went after D-Dominic Benson. Crazy. He invited us in and pulled out a grenade. L-Lula and I jumped out the window, l-landed in a trailer full of leaves. Tr-trailer rolled down the drive and street. Hit Morelli's truck. Flew th-through the air. Landed in the water. Was drowning and then Ranger saved me."
"Shhh, Babe. Easy. You're safe," I murmured, rubbing her arms and back to warm her up more.
Her shivering felt like it was easing a little. I wanted to get her out of these wet clothes and into a hot shower ASAP.
"You get hit by any shrapnel, Steph? Did you break anything when you fell?" Bobby questioned.
"D-don't know."
Christ.
We needed to get her to the hospital, now.
"Lester, Bones and I will clean this up. Get Lula and Bomber to the hospital," Tank said.
He had an arm wrapped tightly around Lula as Bones assessed her.
I knew he wanted to go to the hospital too, to make sure Lula was alright. I appreciated that he was letting me go instead.
"I'll take care of her," I promised.
He gave me a nod.
He knew.
"Let's move out, Bobby," I ordered.
"Don't know if we should be moving them, Boss," Bobby muttered, re-packing his kit after pulling out a neck brace and fixing it on to Steph. Bones was fitting a similar one on Lula.
"They might go into shock; they could have internal injuries," I stated as I stood carefully, trying not to jolt Stephanie.
"I know that."
I gave him a look. I respected his skills as a medic, but I was in charge, I made the calls. My call was to get to the hospital STAT.
"Hooah," he said, rolling his eyes.
My Babe was wearing off too much on my men.
Bobby opened the door for me as I sat Steph in the back seat. Tank carried Lula and placed her in beside my Babe. Then we were on our way to the hospital.
SPOV
Thankfully, we didn't have to spend too long in the hospital; a handful of hours at most. Lula and I were both x-rayed, head to toe, just to be safe, but only came out with scratches, some which needed stitching, and bruising. Overall we were incredibly lucky compared to the number of things that could have gone wrong.
As soon as we were discharged, Ranger whisked me away in his car and Tank arrived to collect Lula. Somehow Ranger had managed to get him, me and Lula into dry clothes. I was in a pair of his sweat pants and a hoodie and was super warm.
Instead of heading to my apartment, he went straight back to Rangeman.
"You're staying with me, Babe."
I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"I'm fine, Ranger. Just a few scratches," I said soothingly.
"Steph. You're staying with me," he repeated quietly, a serious tone to his voice.
Batman felt bad I'd gotten hurt going after one of his skips.
He shouldn't. It was all on me.
Speaking of the skip.
"Did, uh, Benson survive the grenade?" I asked quietly. "Anyone else get hurt?
Ranger's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel.
"He made it to his bathtub before the explosion happened. He's in intensive care, but is expected to survive with no lasting injuries," Ranger said through gritted teeth. "No-one else was home in the building at the time of the blast."
I silently let out a breath of relief. I didn't like it when skips died on my watch, even if they were trying to kill me.
Ranger helped me out of his car when we pulled into the Rangeman garage and kept an arm around my waist as we entered the elevator. I settled into the warmth of his body and tried to relax. My mind was still running at a hundred miles an hour, analyzing everything, noting things I could have done differently.
We entered Ranger's apartment and at first, I didn't notice. Not when he led me directly to the bathroom, stripped us both naked and climbed into the shower with me. There was some heavy petting and kissing that sufficiently distracted me.
No, it wasn't until I entered the walk in wardrobe that I noticed.
"Ranger."
"Babe."
I slowly backed out of the wardrobe and stared at him, standing there naked with a towel around his shoulders. "All of my clothes are in your closet," I murmured disbelievingly, darting my gaze back in there just to be sure I hadn't imagined it.
He gave a small nod. "They are, Babe."
I took a few more steps back from the wardrobe and glanced around his bedroom. My photo frames and knickknacks were placed carefully around the room. "All of my things are in your room."
He smiled and nodded again. "Yes, they are."
I crept around him warily and stepped into the living room. Ghostbusters sat on the top of his DVD stack. I stumbled into the kitchen. "My cookie jar is in your kitchen!"
He'd followed me and was pressed up against my back, the towel now resting low on his hips. "Gives it character."
I spun around and faced him, poking a finger in his chest. "Ranger! This is not funny."
He caught my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each finger softly. "Neither was today."
I swallowed thickly and looked anywhere but at him.
"What are all my things doing here?" I whispered, staring at his Adam's apple.
He tilted my chin upwards and met my gaze with a tender look.
"We're going to ride out our lives like you and Lula road in that fucking trailer. Holding onto each other for dear life, and when one of us starts to drown, the other yanks them back up. When I said you're staying with me, I meant it, Steph. You're staying with me."
I felt dizzy and lightheaded all of a sudden.
He didn't?
He couldn't?
Did he mean what I thought he meant?
"What exactly are you saying, Ranger?" I demanded, my eyes searching his frantically. "What does this mean?"
His eyes smiled as they stared down at me. His lips caught mine in a drugging kiss that was long, hot and heavy.
"It means, Steph, that I love you and that I want a permanent, monogamous relationship with you starting right now. I don't want to miss out on another second of you in my life."
I sucked in a few deep breaths.
OhmyGodhelovedme.
Inhale, exhale.
He loves me.
He LOVES me.
"So you just MOVED me into your apartment without asking!" I shouted.
Crap, Stephanie. You meant to tell him you loved him too and this was the happiest moment OF YOUR LIFE!
Ranger pulled me tight against his chest and molded his lips to mine, his tongue doing amazing things inside my mouth.
When he pulled back he was smiling still.
"I love you, Babe," he said, his eyes twinkling down at me.
C'mon, Plum. Get it right this time.
"Oh God, I love you too, Ranger. So much," I gasped.
His smile transformed from amused to aroused in a nanosecond.
"Babe, let me take you on a different kind of ride," he murmured seductively, already leading me towards the bedroom.
Oh boy!
"Only if I get to be on top," I teased.
His eyes darkened and he swung me up into his strong arms.
"You can ride me any way you like, Babe."
The end… or maybe, just the beginning.