Stephanie continues to lie and cheat on a man she calls her boyfriend and claims to love. It's all about to catch up with her! I don't own these characters and make no money. This is just my view of how Stephanie, Joe and Ranger would react if the truth came out and then things got even more complicated. I can't promise a Cupcake HEA since the story will go where it goes but can guarantee this won't be a Babe HEA. Hope you enjoy!
Broken Hearts - Ch. 1
Stephanie's POV
It had been a typical day of fugitive apprehension so of course I was covered in what I told myself was mud and monkey drool. I'm Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, and I needed a shower. Or maybe three showers.
I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment building, ducked the seniors roaming the halls and gave a big sigh once I was closed up safely inside. Maybe my mother and Morelli were right, I needed a new job. I loved the thrill of the chase but I was tired of getting beat up and covered in disgusting substances only to barely get by anyway.
Besides, things had been going great with my on-again, off-again boyfriend Joe Morelli. He was a vice detective in Trenton, gorgeous, sexy, funny, smart, and in love with me. Go figure. We'd been "on" for the past month or so since my disastrous vacation in Hawaii. Joe had let it go but I still felt a little guilty about the time I'd spent there with Ranger.
Ranger was a bounty hunter, too, but unlike me he almost never got hit, tackled or covered in stuff. That only seemed to happen when he worked with me. He owned a security company, drove expensive, new vehicles of questionable origin and was incredibly hot. I knew he wasn't boyfriend or husband material. I mean, he'd told me that enough times! But I was still drawn to him.
I had invited Joe to Hawaii first but when he couldn't come and I saw a high value FTA there, I called Ranger to help me bring him in. I hate to admit it but we didn't look that hard once we'd checked into a beautiful Hawaiian resort pretending to be a married couple. At the time, I hadn't thought about what I was doing to my relationship with Joe. That is until he knocked on the door to surprise me. The fight that ensued was horrible and they both beat the crap out of each other. I tazered them and ran like a coward back to New Jersey.
I thought Joe would demand an explanation or leave me or something. But we fell back into our routine and it never came up again. I was relieved to say the least. Ranger was a good time but Joe was the real deal and I didn't want to lose him.
I sighed thinking about my complicated life and got undressed. I threw my clothes in a plastic bag planning to burn them. Yuck! And showered until the hot water ran out and my skin was pink and clean. I walked out in my towel and ran into something hard.
Ranger.
"What are you doing here?"
"Babe," he said. He said that a lot. He didn't have a key to my apartment but somehow managed to get in anyway whenever he wanted. I guess I could think of it as creepy but chose to consider it mysterious instead.
His eyes raked my body and I started heating up in inconvenient places. I reminded myself that I had a wonderful boyfriend whom I loved, but Ranger took a step towards me and my good intentions wavered.
"Can I help you dry off?" he suggested. Doubtful. Dry wasn't how Ranger affected women.
"No," I said, trying to convince myself and him at the same time.
He moved in and nuzzled my neck. "Mmm…You're so soft right out of the shower."
"No," I said again, but I might have moaned a little. Having Ranger so close makes it nearly impossible to think straight. I raised my hand to push him away but grabbed his black t-shirt instead. He leaned in and gave me a knee-buckling kiss. He had one hand on my back and the other was under my towel at my waist and moving north. I had to stop this before I lost all blood flow to my brain. I managed to break from the kiss but he continued to hold me against him with his hand in my towel. It felt like fire.
"I have to meet Joe at his house in an hour." I said, my voice deepened with lust.
"Plenty of time." He growled back.
Then a voice came from my doorway that made my stomach drop to my feet.
"Don't let me interrupt," Oh my God, Joe! His face was red with rage. "I don't like sloppy seconds anyway."
I leapt away from Ranger almost losing my towel because his hand was caught under it. I scrambled to wrap it back around me feeling like I was in a nightmare. This could not really be happening! I couldn't form words at all and just stood there in stunned silence. Ranger had taken a step back and was leaning back against the bathroom door jam in a defensive pose.
"You're working, right Cupcake?" Joe spit out, "I guess I misunderstood what business you're really in." He was beyond furious.
"Watch yourself." Ranger warned.
"Hey, Fuck you, Rambo-light!" Joe shouted moving towards Ranger. I stepped in front of him. I couldn't watch them go at each other again. It had been so awful the first time. Besides, I had left my tazer at the bonds office.
Joe stopped in his tracks and just looked at me. I had seen him angry before but never like this.
"You know what, Stephanie," he said and his voice was calmer which was somehow more frightening to me, "You're not worth it." And with that he looked at me like I was something he'd scraped off the bottom of his shoes and walked out of my apartment, slamming the door behind him.
It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. After all of my bad behavior with Ranger I'd never been busted like this before. I had barely thought about the consequences of my cheating. There was no way to explain this away. Joe had seen me practically naked, with Ranger's hand in my towel and making out with him. I just stood there not moving, not able to think. What had I done?
Ranger broke the silence, "Babe." And then he was smoke.
I collapsed on the floor and sobbed.
Joe's POV
I burned rubber tearing out of Steph's parking lot and drove fast and reckless to my house. I was so furious I'd forgotten to pick up the keys I'd left there which had been the reason I stopped by after work in the first place.
And what had I found when I got there? My girlfriend in a towel making out with another man! And not just any man, but a man she'd sworn to me over and over was "just a friend," "a co-worker" or her "mentor!" What a load of bullshit! I punched the steering wheel. That BITCH! How could she do this to me? To us? I was enraged but also afraid that behind that was pain I couldn't even begin to understand. I figured I'd go with the anger while I could.
I was in front of my house but I couldn't get in because my house key was inside and the spare was at Stephanie's apartment. Who else had a spare? Anthony. I didn't want to face anyone at that moment but I didn't really want to break into my house either, so I drove over to my brother's place.
I pulled up, took a deep breath and counted to fifty. I was going to get in, get out, and then go home and drink until I passed out. I was a man on a mission and that mission was to not think straight for at least the next twelve hours or so. I knocked on the door and was greeted by several pudding-covered nieces and nephews.
"Uncle Joe!" they shouted. I put on a big fake smile and gave them all hugs and kisses. I kissed my sister-in-law on the cheek.
"Hi Joe, Do you have plans with Anthony tonight?" she asked.
"No, I locked myself out of my house and need my spare key." I was trying to look normal even though I felt like I was in a nightmare. In fact, I'd had this nightmare the whole trip flying back from Hawaii. It had been a long flight with a broken nose and a broken heart.
"I'll get it for you," she said giving me a funny look. Maybe I wasn't hiding it so well after all.
"Joey!" my brother Anthony came in from another room, his voice booming. Shit, I didn't really want to deal with him. He'd known me my whole life and it would be tough to hide my emotions from him right now. He did a double take when he saw me and looked concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Misplaced my key." I mumbled, studying my shoes.
"Doesn't Stephanie have one?" he asked and I couldn't contain a flinch. "Ohhhh…" he sang, catching on. "Don't worry, little bro, you guys always work it out. She loves you." He patted me on the back.
The words "She loves you" felt like a slap in my face.
"Not this time," I mumbled still not making eye contact with my brother. Angelina, Anthony's wife, returned with my key just then.
"Are you hungry, Joe? I just made dinner." Angelina said. Concern was in her eyes, too. I had to get out of there, and for once in my life I wasn't hungry at all.
"I…can't." I said. My brain was so full of anger, confusion and pain that I couldn't even come up with a good lie. I moved towards the door quickly. My brother seemed surprised by my attempt to escape so quickly.
"Joe," Anthony grabbed my arm and I snatched it away with more aggression than I meant to. I was on edge. Couldn't he see that?
"Hey! Hey!" he said putting up his hands in surrender. I finally looked right at him and he took a step back. I must have looked rabid. I closed my eyes and got myself together.
"I'm sorry." I said, sounding normal, I think. "Rough day and I just want to go home." Anthony nodded and kept his mouth shut, practically a miracle for him. He opened his front door for me.
"Goodbye," I said nodding to Angelina and then Anthony.
"If you need anything…" he said quietly as I passed him.
I sprinted to my car and drove to my house. I silently thanked God that I didn't see Stephanie's car parked in front. I couldn't deal with her right away.
I unlocked my door and heard the familiar sound of Bob galloping to the door to greet me. I braced myself for impact. I opened the door and he leapt up for a good rub down. Then he headed to the yard, squatted for a minute and raced right back in with his big orange tail wagging. I headed straight back to my kitchen, fed Bob and then grabbed a beer. I downed it quickly, grabbed two more and went into the living room. I flipped on wrestling and drank both of those in record time. Numb. That's what I was going for tonight. Numb and unable to think.
The beer wasn't working as quickly as I would have liked so I walked into the kitchen to see what else I had. My uncle's schnapps was there but that doesn't have much of a kick. Unless you're Stephanie. I chuckled thinking of the night she'd stopped in and ended up drunk and puking on the stuff.
Shit, Stephanie.
I didn't want to think about her. I found a half bottle of whiskey, covered in dust on a back shelf. Perfect. I threw back a couple of shots in the kitchen then grabbed a glass and brought the whole bottle back into the living room. I continued to drink and eventually I couldn't even focus clearly on the TV anymore. How much more until I would pass out? I hadn't drunk like that in years.
I had to pee so I stumbled my way to the bathroom. I put my hand on the counter to steady myself and there was the toothbrush Stephanie kept at my house. I just stared at it.
I wondered if she'd fucked Ranger after I'd left. Maybe she was fucking him right now. Pain hit my chest like a ton of bricks. I slid down the wall and sat on the floor in my bathroom.
Unable to control my whiskey-saturated brain, I had a flashback to the first time Stephanie had stayed at my house. Some crazy person had blown up her car and apartment, not exactly a rare occurrence in her life. She'd gotten a phone call and had opened the bathroom door in a towel to take it and I could barely control myself. I'd had to have her. It had happened right here.
Then my happy memory was destroyed by the vision of her in a towel today. Her kissing Ranger. Letting him touch her.
I dived for my toilet and threw up. My body was rejecting the alcohol. Or maybe it was rejecting my life.
Stephane's POV
The sky was turning pink as the sun came up and I hadn't slept at all. I'd cried for at least an hour straight after Joe had left and then I'd started trying to call him. I had no idea what I would have said if he'd answered but it hadn't been a problem since all my calls went to voice mail. I dialed and redialed in between crying jags.
I'd thought briefly about going to his house but I was literally terrified of what he might say to me. In Hawaii, all of Joe's anger had been directed at Ranger but last night - oh, the way he'd looked at me! Tears welled in my eyes again. His words echoed in my head.
"You're not worth it."
I thought about how long I'd been crossing the line with Ranger. I'd played with fire for years while Joe trusted me and loved me, and now he knew it. A small sob escaped me. I thought back to what Ranger and I had been doing and what I'd said right before Joe spoke. I wondered how long Joe had been standing there. Had he heard me say, "No?" Did he see me enjoying the kisses, the touches? I was a pro at denial but there was no way to explain this away. No lies that were believable. Not even one that I could tell myself.
I checked my cell and house phone for the hundredth time. Both still working and still no call from Joe.
I grabbed a box of Frosted Flakes from my cupboard and considered my options. I could go to Joe's house but he might be at work. Oh who was I kidding, he hadn't left yet. I was just too scared to face him. I felt like he needed more time to cool down. Or I needed more time to build up my nerve.
I could get ready and go to the bond office. Ugh! Work might get my mind off of things but I really wasn't in the mood to tackle naked guys or roll in dog poop today. Or any day, but especially not today.
Ungh! I smacked my forehead. I was supposed to go to Rangeman this morning to do a project for Ranger. He had totally bailed last night after we'd gotten busted by Joe. He pretty much ignored my relationship with Joe so I guess I shouldn't be surprise that he could ignore that whole ugly scene.
My mind went back to Joe's face. And the things he'd said. And the way he'd looked at me.
I shook my head. I told myself to stop thinking about it. I couldn't stay in my apartment all day, cry and wait for Joe to call. I was a Jersey girl and I was going to keep it moving. I marched to my room, threw on a pair of jeans and a red, stretchy t-shirt (that Joe loved!). Then I teased my hair up, did my makeup with a few extra swipes of mascara and headed off to Rangeman.