A/N: Disclaimer- I own nothing.

Warning- If you dislike of scenes of domestic violence, i suggest that you do not read this story.

Chapter 1

I'm Stephanie Plum. You may also know me as the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, Cupcake, Babe, and quite a few of names that I would rather not say. At 125 pounds (give or take a few depending upon what I had eaten recently), 5' 7" without heels or teased hair, blue eyes, and shoulder length brown hair, I run around Trenton, New Jersey trying to rid the city of scum bag felons. I work for my cousin Vinnie who runs a bail bonds company. I'm a bail enforcement agent, aka bounty hunter. I'm usually low on money, seeing as I'm not very good at my job, which is quite obvious to anyone who has ever seen my apartment, which is filled with mismatched furniture, mediocre appliances, and the color of paint that was on sale at the store recently. I drive a variety of different cars because they get blown up so often, which is exactly what has just happened.

I was chasing a skip down an alley behind his house after he ran away when I presented myself at his front door. I was out of shape and couldn't keep up, so I lost sight of him quickly. Disgruntled, I walked back to my car to search for him. His name was Alex Corolo, arrested for building bombs in his garage. He was caught when he accidentally set one off and blew the entire garage apart. He wasn't in it but he did get sent to jail. Instead of wasting away in the county penitentiary he posted bond with Vincent Plum Bail Bonds then took off and missed his court date; which is where I come in. I have to bring him back into the system and then I get 10 percent of the bond as a finder's fee. Anyways, when I got back to my car, I got in and started the engine. I didn't find out until it was too late that he had planted a bomb on the backseat of my car. Luckily, it was a small bomb that just set the backseat on fire. Never-the-less it could eventually blow up the car, so I got out and took off. I had only gotten 30 feet away when the car exploded, knocking me on my butt and scaring the crap out of me. I was nearly unconscious when I heard the sirens approaching. Moments later I could feel strong people lifting me off of the ground onto a gurney. I could hear a voice talking to me but I couldn't tell who it was or what they were saying. Slowly, I began to become more and more conscious of my surroundings. I could see now that it was Joe talking to me with Ranger looking over his shoulder.

"Steph? Steph, can you hear me? C'mon Steph, please, answer me," he begged. Concern was clear in his eyes. It was also in Ranger's but it wasn't nearly as clear.

"Where the hell is Alex Corolo?" I asked. This got chuckles from Joe and a slight grin from Ranger. "We got him Steph. He's in a cop car, waiting for you," Ranger told me.

I sat up slowly and carefully so as to avoid losing consciousness. My head was spinning and the entire back of my body burned horribly. Joe reached for my elbow to try to help me up but I shrunk away in pain. "It hurts. I will have to manage on my own, Joe," I told him. I was in horrible pain by just sitting but I was afraid that I would lose consciousness if I tried to stand.

"Jesus Christ Stephanie, why the hell do you do this to yourself? Don't you understand the danger that you keep putting yourself in? The worry that you keep making me feel? C'mon Steph why can't you see all that?" he asked me in a pleading tone of voice. "I have told you before, Joe, that I don't want a lifestyle that will give me safety and stability. I like my lifestyle. I have also told you not to worry about me. I can take care of myself whether you believe it or not," I said. I could see Ranger grinning at me over Joe's shoulder. Joe on the other hand was becoming the angry Italian that I despised. He glared at me as he said, "Of course I have to worry about you Stephanie. And how can you say that you like it that you just barely avoid death once a week, that you lose cars like you lose loose change, that you can't keep track of all the stalkers that you've ever had? Doesn't that bother you at all?" "No, Joe, it doesn't. You need to get that through your thick skull. I am not in the mood to talk to you about this right now. I'm tired and in pain and I just want to go home. Call me when you are ready to accept that I don't want the life that you want me to have," I told him. I was angry and so very tired of the things that he put me through. Why can't he see that, right now, I just want to go home and sleep forever instead of arguing with him over the same stupid things in the middle of the street with everyone watching us?

As I got up to leave, Joe grabbed my wrist and slammed my back against the side of the ambulance, completely forgetting about my burns. I screamed in pain and Joe released me as though scalded. I fell forward onto the ground onto my hands and knees sobbing and crying out in pain. I heard the sickening crunch of bones breaking. Through my tears, I looked up to see Ranger glaring down at Joe with all the hatred in the world. Joe was rolling on the ground clutching his face trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. Ranger sprinted over to me and raised me slowly so that I was leaning with the front of my body pressed against his chest. We were both on our knees on the ground. I buried my face in his shirt and sobbed while he very gently ran his hands though my hair. He held me until I was all cried out. I leaned back slightly to look into his eyes. Concern was written all over his face as he looked down at me. "Can you walk?" he asked. I nodded.

We stood and walked over to his Turbo. He took off his jacket and rolled it up and then put it at the back of the seat so that I could keep from putting my back on the seat. It was uncomfortable but it minimized the pain. He took me to his apartment on Haywood. Once we were parked, he helped me from the car. We walked slowly to the elevator. Once inside, he stood in a corner at the back and held out his arms. He held me in a hug like position careful not to touch my back, this way I could keep from putting pressure on my burns. On one of the floors, Tank got on. He must have looked at me with questioning on his face because I could feel Ranger shake his head, telling Tank not to speak. Tank got off on another floor and Ranger and I rode alone to the seventh floor apartment.

We went inside and Ranger laid me on his bed on my stomach. He then left the room. Soon, he returned with first aid equipment so that he could treat my burns. No words were spoken while he treated me. Once he was finished with my treatment he left to return the first aid equipment to its rightful place and returned with some painkillers for me. After I had taken them and finished off the water bottle I thanked him. He nodded and I laid my head back down and fell into a deep sleep.

A/N: Suggestions are welcome. Flames are not. If you really hate it that much, DON'T READ IT, DUH!! Reviews are love.