Author's Note: Hey Y'all! Yep.. I'm back.. This first chapter is a little boring but it'll pick up, I promise. So please enjoy it and I'll get the 2nd chapter out as soon as I can.. Oh and the picture should be of Shane Williams.. he's my Lester. :-) Enjoy!

Chapter One

Stephanie Plum was bored. Like with a capital B, bored. So bored she was considering another job. Something like McDonald's or Cluck in the Bucket. Oooo or the Tastry Pastry. Maybe they would give her all the free donuts she wanted. Yeah, that was a brilliant idea. Then she definitely wouldn't be able to button her jeans. She was already having trouble with that task. She didn't really need help. So the Tastry Pastry is out. Oh who was she kidding? She wasn't about to work at any fast food restaurant. They were too dull, too boring dare she say. Nope, she wanted different. Exciting. Exhilarating. Thrilling. Adrenaline fueled. Something that would get her heart pumping and the blood rushing through her veins. But not from fear. She didn't want to be scared. She just wanted something a little more…

"Steph!"

Steph snapped out of her own thoughts and blinked her eyes into focused. Connie and Lula's faces came into view and they were looking at her like she had lost her mind.

"What?" She questioned, pretending she hadn't been lost in her own thoughts for the last several minutes.

"White girl, what's up with you? You've been quiet since you got here?" Lula asked, going back to flipping through the Cosmo magazine.

She shrugged. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

Connie snorted. "Like what? We've got no skips. The crime rate in the last six months has dropped to an all-time low."

"Except those murders." Lula whispered and then shivered. "Mob hits. All of them, I heard."

Steph rolled her eyes. "Mob hits, Lula? Really?"

Connie pointed her finger at Steph, shaking it sternly. "Don't be naïve, Steph. This is Trenton, not some small ho-dunk town in the middle of nowhere. We could easily have the mob here."

She gave another shrug. "I guess." She replied back.

But she doubted it. But the murders were weird. None of them were related and the victims had nothing in common except for the bullet hole that's always right between their eyes. The police suspected a sniper. There was never any gun residue on the victims or around them. They weren't even sure where the shots were coming from. They combed the areas and never came up with anything. Always a dead end. It was getting kind of creepy. And frightening.

She talked to Eddie not too long ago and he said there were murders in different cities and states where the same gun was used. Same bullet holes, no relation, and no evidence. And there's never any witnesses.

Yep, people in Trenton were getting scared. Even Stark Street had been dead the last time she had been there. People were staying indoors. It was eerie.

Except for Ranger and the Merry Men. They didn't seem to care. They went about their business, installing security systems and going after high end skips (when they were available). But then again, Ranger wasn't scared of anything and neither were the Merry Men.

But everyone was still going about their lives, going to work, the grocery store, schools, and such but they were cautious and careful. The grocery stores, the hair dressers, the senior citizen home, the parks, and the mall were usually deserted. Unless it was a had too thing. Yeah, things in Trenton were weird.

And because of the weird shit going on and the no crime meant no skips which meant no money. And Steph needed money. Her rent was due at the end of the week and she was almost two hundred dollars short. And that was if she decided to starve until her next paycheck. Ugh! There was only one thing she could do and she really didn't want to.

No, she didn't mean prostitution. She was going to have to call Ranger. She let out a sigh and stood up.

"Are you sure there isn't any new skips?" Steph asked hopefully.

Connie sadly shook her head. "Not a one. Even the regulars are staying indoors."

Steph nodded. "Call me if anything comes in. I'm heading out."

"Where you headed, white girl?" Lula chimed in.

She didn't want company going to RangeMan and knowing Ranger, he wouldn't want her there so Steph lied.

"Parents' place."

"Will there be food?" She asked.

Steph shook her head. Another lie. Damn. "Mom isn't home. I'm going to go hang with my dad and watch some sports."

Lula curled her nose in disgust. "I'll stay here. Call me if there's food."

Steph shook her head, laughing. "Will do."

Steph walked out the door and to her car. She pulled out her phone and speed dialed one.

"Babe?"

Steph grinned. "Hey Ranger."

"Okay?"

Shaking her head, she climbed into her car. "Everything is fine, I guess. I was just wondering if you had any work that needs to be done. Searches or something?"

"Always Babe."

Steph breathed a sigh of relief. "It's only until business picks back up though."

"Babe."

Rolling her eyes and starting the car. "I'll be there in a few."

"Yep." Was Ranger's reply before hanging up. Damn he needed some manners.

A few minutes she pulled into the underground garage at RangeMan. On the elevator, she gave a little finger to the cameras and waited until she got to the floor she needed. She stepped off and made her way towards Ranger's office.

"Hey Beautiful."

Lester's sweet greeting had her turning around. "Hey Lester! What are you up to?"

He shrugged. "Working and shit. Nothing else to do, Steph."

Steph cocked her head and looked at him. He looked tired. There was bags under his eyes and his normally bright seafoam green eyes were a forest green. Hell, they were almost black. Steph could tell that something was bothering him. She just hoped he was okay. But she knew he wouldn't confide in her. None of RangeMan did. They kept to themselves. Sometimes it drove her nuts, but she kind of understood.

She finally nodded. "Take care of yourself, Lester."

He nodded in return. "Will do, Beautiful." He gave her another smile before walking off.

Steph returned towards Ranger's office and knocked. She heard a gruff reply so she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Babe."

Ranger greeted her with a hug which she gladly took. She barely resisted the urge to sniff his neck. He always smelled so good.

"Thank you, Babe." Ranger chuckled.

Steph blushed. Her and her big mouth. "So… where's the work that needs to be done?" She asked, changing the subject quickly.

Ranger smirked, releasing her and going back to his desk. "At your usual desk."

"Awesome. I'll be going now." Steph turned to head out.

"Babe?"

Steph turned around and met Ranger's eyes. "Yeah?"

"If you need anything, call me."

Steph nodded. "I'm here, aren't I?"

He gave a short nod and with that, Steph walked out the door. She made it to her normal desk and took a seat. Steph couldn't believe her eyes at the stacks of searches. She was definitely going to be busy for the next couple of days.

Steph started randomly flipping through one of the stacks. She didn't understand why some of these people even needed searches done on them. A lot of these searches were on people that live in different states. Ranging from school teachers to nurses to mechanics to lawyers. Steph wasn't quite sure why searches needed to be done but she was getting paid to do it and right now she needed the money. Besides, she had plenty of time to snoop later on. After all snooping was something she was damn good at it.