Disclaimer:  The characters are property of Janet Evanovich and I am not making any money from this story.  The story line is mine.

Sequel to:  Finding Yesterday

Warning: Angst and High Drama

Bed of Lies

Chapter 1

By Elissahara30

Point Pleasant, New Jersey

Every little girl dreams about her wedding in the Burg.  Big, beautiful and everyone in deep envy.  My first marriage hit the Burg with white and taffeta to spare.  And in six months time my divorce was an even bigger spectacle as I had caught Dickie play hide the salami with Joyce Bernhardt.

My second wedding was quiet and unassuming.  The Mediterranean breeze caressing my skin as I wore a light yellow dress and simple strappy sandals, while standing on a white terrace in Portopalo di Capo Passero, Sicily.  Pledging my heart to my very own man of mystery, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, my Ranger, who I would follow any where.

And here I was walking down another beach at another wedding in a different part of the world.  My eyes met Joe's as I got closer to the rose trellised alter and smiled softly.  I moved aside as the music changed to the wedding march and everyone turned to watch as the bride came down the isle.

Monica Dubois, the woman who ultimately stole Joe's heart.  Tall, lithe and exotic were the best things to describe her.  She kept pace with Joe and didn't mind the fact that he was a cop.  They had met while I was away and I couldn't be happier for him.  Joe deserved a woman who needed him.

I still couldn't get over my surprise when she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.  How many ex-girlfriends do you ask to be in your wedding?  Monica was easy to like and I can see why Joe wanted to marry her.

I stood through the ceremony and listened to Joe and Monica exchange vows and I smiled again thinking about Ranger.  The week leading up to the wedding was a bit lonely as Ranger had to be in Miami dealing with business.  

It's been an amazing two years since France.  Getting married, returning to the states.  Dealing with my family as I come back from disappearing for a year and half, married to a man everyone thought was dead.  My mother denied me desert and home cooked meals for two months and never once forgot to tell me how much I had worried everyone.  To try to make it up to her I had a reception at the Hall.  Ranger bore it all with grace and kept me sane when I wanted to run away when the guest list kept getting bigger.

We survived and then worked on getting RangeMan back out of the hands of the SGO.  That took a lot of wrangling and maneuvering on Ranger's part.  But as of six month's ago, Ranger had his business back under his control and everything was as back as it should be, mostly.  Some things never got back to normal and that was because I couldn't forget what happened and how much everything had changed me.

But life went on and so did I.

I tuned back into the wedding as the priest declared Joe and Monica husband and wife and smiled as the made their way back down the isle.  I followed everyone across the sand to the large beach house where the reception was going to be held.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Manoso do you have a minute?" asked a short man in an ugly brown suit, floppy hair and glasses.

"Yes," I said as I waved at some of the people who walked by us, "Can I help you?"

The man fished a card out of his coat pocket and handed it to me, "My name is Kevin Davers," he said calmly.

I looked at the card and frowned: Kevin Davers – National Security Agency.  "What is this about?"

"I was hoping you could come with me and answer some questions regarding what happened in Paris," he said.  "Some Intel has come up that I need your input on.  I was hoping you could help us get a better picture of what actually took place?"

What?  "I'm sorry but this is not the time to be discussing this," I pointed toward the house in front of us and turned around and kept walking.

"Mrs. Manoso you're not grasping the seriousness of the situation." Davers said with clear impatience as grasped my arm.

I pulled my arm from his grip, "No I don't think you understand," I gritted out between clenched teeth, "I'm not in the spy business, and if you really need someone to enlighten you on your Intel, then go find them.  It is most certainly not me."

I turned and started back toward the beach house and the wedding reception as he said, "Douglas told me you would cooperate."

I stopped and took in a deep breath; I hadn't heard his name in over two years.  After the events in France and getting Ranger back I didn't want to look back on the horrible year and a half I spent with DM.  "Then you should have listened to him and not waste your time coming to New Jersey."

"Certain events have come to light recently that I think you would find that you really need to know," Davers continued, "The Christian has been spotted in Middle East."

I slowly turned and looked back at Davers, "And why in the hell would you believe I would really care," I said.  "I think my husband would a better person to speak to regarding what needs to be done with The Christian, not me."

Davers flashed me a tense smile, "Mrs. Manoso along with the return of The Christian other interesting facts has come to light."

An uneasy feeling crept up my spine and my mind buzzed lightly, "What facts?"

"It has come to the NSA's attention that Mr. Manoso code named Ranger was tapped for a project for the Secret Service before he left the Army.  It was during this time that The Christian otherwise known as Samuel Emerson had approached Ranger and recruited him for the SGO."

A sick feeling settled in my stomach as I leaned against the railing behind me, "What are you implying," I whispered.

"At 5:15 PM yesterday evening as your husband was on his way to the Miami airport.  I believe he called you and told you that he would be late for your friends wedding. He was arrested by the NSA for selling secrets to hostile enemies of this United States and connections to several terrorist groups around the world."

 I clutched my stomach as my vision seemed to gray as my breathing grew tight, "You're wrong," I said.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Manoso I wish I where," He said.

"Fuck you," I said as I pushed past him and just kept on going until I reached the inside of the beach house.  I paused as I watched the happy couple at the head table and felt myself get sick all over again.  I reached into my clutch purse, pulled out my phone and dialed a number I promised myself I would never need to use again.  "What the hell?" I asked when he answered.

For a long moment all I heard was his breathing over the line, "I take it you spoke to Davers," he said darkly.

"What's going on DM?" I turned back toward the front doors and kept an eye on Davers as he too pulled out a phone and dialed.

"Too much to say over an unsecured line, where you at?" DM asked.

I rested my head against the cool wall beside me and tried to focus on my breathing, "Point Pleasant at Joe's wedding reception."

"Can you get away without Davers following?"  I looked back at Davers as he seemed to be arguing into the phone he held.  I then swept my gaze along the room and noted the back entrance.  "Yeah, I can get out."

"You still have it?" He asked me.

The twisting in my gut got worse, "Yeah I do."

"One hour Jersey," and he hung up.  I snapped my phone close and squared my shoulders and made my way further into the reception.  I worked a fake smile onto my face as I passed the people I knew from the Trenton PD, and some of Joe's family.  I waved back at Eddy and his wife Shirley. 

I was almost to the service entrance when, "Leaving early, Cupcake."

Turning slowly I smiled at Joe, "Won't Monica be a little put out that you're calling me Cupcake."

"Cut the crap Stephanie, what's going on?" He asked. 

The smile slipped from my face as I tried to regain my composure.  Right now I did not need to make a scene.  "It's your wedding day Joe," I said lightly, "You don't need to worry about me.  I'm Ranger's problem remember."

"Habit," he said as his eyes were all cop.

I reached out and patted Joe's arm, "Its okay really."  I looked past his shoulder to Monica who was walking toward us, "Go and dance with your bride and be happy."

He gave me one more uncertain look and then turned to meet Monica before she got any closer and pulled her close and kissed her breathless.  I was happy for Joe, but right now I needed to get out and find out what happened to my own husband.

I walked out the back door and headed toward my black Porsche with the license plate BABE.  I remote unlocked the door and slid in the passenger side. I griped the steering wheel tightly as I turned the ignition on my car and headed toward the past.  Hoping something there would unlock the secrets to the situation I now found myself.  I had a feeling a storm was coming and if I wasn't prepared I would end up washed away.

A/N:  Title from the Song Bed of Lies by Matchbox 20.