Eliza Higgins and Henry Doolittle

What if fate had dealt the cards just a little bit differently?

Chapter 1

Carlos 'Ranger' Manoso parked his black SUV in front of the Vincent Plum Bail Bonds office and strode inside with a purpose.

He was new in town, having just been honorably discharged from the Army. Shortly before getting his walking papers, he overheard some of the other guys talking about what they were going to do when they got out of the service. Several of them agreed bounty hunting was the way to go. They were definitely in the right physical shape to take on the job, and the payoff was great for hauling high bond skips back into the system.

Ranger wanted to go into private security, but knew he needed more starting capital. He didn't want to have to borrow a large sum of money to start his company. He decided when he got out, he'd check around to see if there were any openings for bounty hunters in the New Jersey area. Most of his family lived in Newark, so he wanted to stick close to that area and open his first security company there or at least nearby.

He approached the desk of the office manager, Connie Roselli.

"Morning Ranger, how are you?" she greeted him, fanning herself with a manila folder. The man was a hundred degrees hotter than a blast furnace.

"Connie."

She sighed. He was a gorgeous specimen of a man, but he barely said more than two or three words at a time. "Any luck with your first three skips?"

"Yes. I found Adam Golecki yesterday. Here's the body receipt," he said, handing her the piece of paper.

"Great! I'll cut you your first check right now. Congrats," Connie told him with a smile.

"Thanks. I uh ... I'm having a bit of trouble finding the other two. What do other bounty hunters do when the skips no longer seem to be staying at the address we have on file?"

Connie looked up from the check she was writing. "Tracking them down is part of your job. Haven't you ever tracked down a skip before?"

Ranger shook his head.

Connie sighed. "When Vinnie interviewed you for the job, did he ask if you had any experience tracking down FTAs?"

"No. He was a little busy surfing the Hustler website while interviewing me," Ranger answered honestly.

"Christ." Connie finished writing his check, tore it out of the book and handed it to him. Next, she started writing a name and number on a piece of paper. "Alright, look," she said, handing him the note paper. "Call Stephanie Plum. She owes me a favor and she can teach you everything you need to know about tracking down skips. I'll call and let her know you'll be getting in touch with her.

Ranger looked at the piece of paper with Stephanie Plum's number. "She's a bounty hunter?"

"No, she does skip tracing, but not skip chasing. She tried capturing them and bringing them in, but hated it. However, she's damn good at finding them and planning the captures. Not just good, she's the best. Bounty hunters and bond offices all over New Jersey, as well as some in Pennsylvania and New York, use her services. She's so good, sometimes there's a waiting list to see her. Call her as soon as you can so she can fit you in. I'll call her right now and give her your name."

"Thanks Connie. I really appreciate this."

"Yep," she said, picking up her phone to call Stephanie.

Ranger took his check and the paper with Ms. Plum's phone number and strode back out to his SUV. Starting the truck and putting it in gear, he drove around for about ten minutes to give Connie time to complete the call, then pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall and parked. He punched Ms. Plum's number into his cell phone.

"Yo," came the lively voice of a young woman.

"Hello, Ms. Plum, this is Ranger Manoso. Connie from ..."

"Right," she interrupted him. "The new bounty hunter. Listen, call me Steph or Stephanie. None of this Ms. Plum garbage."

"Right. Stephanie."

"I'm booked solid today, but if you want to meet me for breakfast, we can talk now."

"That sounds great if it isn't an imposition," Ranger told her.

"If it were an imposition, I wouldn't have suggested it," she said honestly. "Do you have something to write with?"

Ranger grabbed a pen from the console and turned over the note Connie had given him. "Go ahead."

Stephanie gave him the address of the diner. "I'm sitting in the back and I'm wearing a navy dress with matching heels."

"I'm not completely familiar with Trenton yet, but I think I'm just a block or two from there."

"Good," she said, disconnecting.

Ranger looked at his phone in surprised silence. She hung up on him without waiting to see if he was going to respond and without saying goodbye! He shrugged and clipped his phone back on his belt, figuring she probably had a lot on her mind and didn't realize how much her phone manners sucked.

Less than five minutes later, he walked into the diner and scanned the customers. He spotted Ms. Plum in a back booth with her back to the wall. He hoped she wouldn't get angry when he slid in next to her instead of across from her. He also made it a habit to sit with his back to the wall.

His eyes widened as he got closer. Dios! She was beautiful and sexy as hell. He sent up a silent thank you to Connie for hooking him up with this beautiful woman. Well, not hooking him up, but ... "Ms. Plum," he said, extending his right hand when he reached her booth.

Stephanie looked up and her breathing hitched a bit at the sight of the hunky man holding out his right hand. She dropped the French fry she was about to eat back on her plate and wiped her hands on a paper napkin. "You must be Ranger," she said, shaking his hand. "Have a seat."

She smiled to herself when he slid in next to her and scanned the diner with his delicious brown eyes. At least she wouldn't have to teach him about sitting with his back to the wall and being aware of his surroundings. She guessed to herself he was former military.

She looked up to signal the waitress, but found the woman was already headed their way. Her eyes were fixed firmly on Ranger and she had a swing to her hips that hadn't been there earlier when she came to take Stephanie's order. Steph took another long look at Ranger and figured he probably turned the heads of women everywhere. Connie wasn't lying when she said he was a fifteen on a scale from one to ten.

His skin was flawless and the color of creamy iced coffee. His nose was model straight, his jaw slightly squared and firm, and he had the whitest teeth she'd ever seen. And holy kissable lips!

She studied his profile while he ordered an egg white omelet with onions and green pepper and a cup of coffee. When she saw the corner of his mouth tilt up, she realized he was aware she was staring at him. She quickly turned back to her breakfast and popped a fry into her mouth.

Once the waitress walked away, she caught him staring at her plate. "What?"

"Doesn't look very healthy, Ms. ... I mean Stephanie."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You only live once and I'm not going through life nibbling on carrot sticks," she told him. "Well, I'll do it for a day or two, here and there, if my pants don't want to button and I'm not in the mood to start the Atkins diet, but other than that ... oh, geeze, I'm rambling."

He flashed her a blinding smile. "No problem, you're adorable when you ramble." It was true. She had long brown hair styled into bouncy curls and huge blue eyes that were hard to look away from.

Stephanie narrowed those blue eyes at him. "I don't do adorable."

Ranger tried to hide his grin, but couldn't quite pull it off. "You not only do adorable, you do it quite well, along with beautiful, refreshing and annoyed."

"You're asking for it," Stephanie grumbled, her eyes flashing daggers.

Not yet I'm not, thought Ranger, but it sure as hell didn't seem out of the realm of possibility in the near future. "I'm sorry, I meant no offense."

"Fine," she said with a wave of her hand. "Let's get back to the business at hand. Connie said you're having a bit of a problem tracking down your skips. What kind of software are you using?"

Ranger frowned, but before he could reply, he had to lean back a bit while the waitress set his plate of food in front of him and refilled his coffee. He was pretty sure she tried to brush the back of her hand down his chest and abs.

Once she walked away, Ranger turned his attention back to Stephanie. "I don't have any software."

Stephanie's eyes widened and a look of surprise flashed across her face. "You really are brand new at this aren't you? Do you even own a computer?"

Ranger gave her a sheepish look. "Is it bad if I say no?"

Stephanie let out a giggle. "It's imperative you have a computer. Can you afford one? The computer and proper software are going to set you back a few thousand dollars. They'll pay for themselves in no time though."

"Yes, I can afford them. I've been saving for several years to start my own private security company. I just need to know what kind of software to buy and I could use your recommendation on the best type of computer."

"Most any name brand computer you find at Best Buy will be fine. As far as the software goes, the programs I use were custom-made. If you follow me back to my office, we can use my programs to run searches on your outstanding skips. Then, if you like the software and what it does, you can call from my office and order copies. How does that sound?"

"It sounds incredibly nice of you," Ranger told her. "Should I bring cash, a check or a credit card?"

"Since you'll be ordering the software over the phone, bring a credit card."

"And what about your fees for my skips?"

"On the house," she said with a bright smile. "I owe Connie a huge favor and this is what she asked of me. I'm happy to do it."

"That hardly seems fair," Ranger said. "The favor is actually for me. At least allow me to buy you dinner."

Stephanie looked him square in the eye. "Thanks, but I don't do relationships."

Ranger gave her his most winning smile. "Then it's a good thing I only asked for dinner."