Girls Gone Wild

by BabecakesRUs

Every month, members of the Yahoo group BabecakesRUs write a round robin. This is the first one we're sharing, and we really hope you like it. It's a Babecake story.

BabeCakesRUs

BabeCakesRUs

May Round Robin

Girls' Week

Disclaimer:

This story is a collective effort by members of the Yahoo group BabecakesRUs. Although a group project, content, rating and continuity is each individual writer's responsibility.
All characters belong to Janet Evanovich, we're just borrowing them without making any money.
Thank you all so very much for your contribution, you did a wonderful job!!

Chapter 1

XJerseyGirl

I pulled up a couple of doors down from the bonds office and watched the wipers sling the cold, driving rain off my windshield. It was May; this was supposed to be spring, for crying out loud, t-shirt weather, sunny, warm, birds chirping, flowers blooming. Somebody needed to tell Mother Nature that she was running seriously behind schedule.

I really didn't want to get out of my nice warm car and make the dash down the street to the office in the rain. Not that it mattered anyway; I was already soaked to the skin from chasing Reggie Dexter all over Stark Street in this weather. I mean, really, who woulda thought that a sixty-five year old lame guy could rabbit like that? The only reason I caught him was because the back of his belt got hung up on the top of the ten foot high fence he climbed over and that gave me time to catch up with him.

He had twisted and turned, trying to get loose and I really considered leaving him hanging upside down like that and just walking away. But I had already done all that running, and with my luck, I figured that the pouring rain would go up his nose and he'd drown … and it would be all my fault. Nope, I decided, I was taking this clown in.

Only one small problem. Short of climbing up there and unhooking his belt, there was only one way to get Reggie down. By the time I got him back to my car, I was water logged, he was wearing my rain slicker, and his pants were still hanging on the top of the fence. Just another normal take down in the life of the Bombshell Bounty Hunter. Sigh I saw money changing hands when I took Reggie into the station.

I had turned off the car and was just about to get out when my phone rang. I fished it out of my bag, at least something was dry, and answered without even looking at the caller ID.

"What?" I groused.

A deep, husky voice said, "Are you wet?"

I gave my phone a death glare, hoping that the caller could see it. "Oh cute! I'm in no mood for double entendres or obscene phone calls, Ranger! Did you just call me to piss me off?" I know I sounded snarky, but I didn't care.

"I heard about your take down, Babe." I could hear the smile in his voice. I was amusing him again.

"So glad I could entertain you!" Sarcasm dripped off my words. I relented and blew out a deep sigh, "I'm cold, I'm soaked, I'm miserable and I'm sick of this weather." Can you say whiney?

"I have a proposition that might take your mind off that for a while." His voice was as smooth as silk. "It'd warm you up and make you forget all about the weather."

He was playing me, the louse. "Yeah well, I know all about your propositions. Thanks for the offer, but no strings sex isn't on my roster of things to do today."

He laughed outright at that. "Not that kind of proposition, Babe. This is a job offer. Bobby is bringing in a female skip from out of town and I need you to go along so that she can't make any claims of mistreatment or inappropriate behavior on his part. She's had her bail revoked and she's not going to be happy. I need you to go into a ladies' room with her, share a room, if necessary, things like that. Interested?"

Was I interested? Sure, why not? Anything to get out of Trenton. "Okay, just tell me when and where." Anyplace was better than here, I thought.

"You'll leave here on Thursday and bring her back from Miami on Monday afternoon."

"Miami?" I squeaked, as visions of blue skies and blue water, white sand and puffy clouds, palm trees and sunshine danced through my brain.

"Yeah," I could hear the smile in his voice. "Bobby's going down on Thursday. The skip has a bail revocation hearing on Friday and a Federal Court date on Monday morning. That'll give you the weekend to sit on the beach and soak up some sun. You could even bring Lula or Mary Lou."

"Oh I am so there, Ranger!" I was already lying on that beach, mojito in hand!

He chuckled again, and then lowered his voice, deep and sexy, "And Babe … someday I'll make you forget about more than the weather."

Before I could think of a snappy answer, he had hung up.

I didn't even notice the rain as I leaped out of the car and flew into the bonds office to tell Connie and Lula my news. In an hour, I had three companions for my trip to Miami. Mary Lou's mother-in-law was having her house painted and was coming to stay until the work was finished. Lou needed to escape. Tank was in Boston for a couple of weeks, so Lula was bored to death, and Connie's cousin had been asking her to come visit him in South Beach. We were going to have a girls' get away weekend and I was getting paid for it! How perfect was that?

Thursday night we boarded the plane and left foggy, rainy New Jersey and a couple hours later, landed in Miami to clear, star filled skies and balmy air. Connie's cousin, Mario, had said he'd get somebody to come pick us up from the airport. We walked out of the terminal to find a stretch limo and chauffer waiting for us at the curb. Mario was taking care of our hotel too, and I had been hoping that it would be someplace near the beach. I keep forgetting who Connie's 'Family' members are, and when the limo pulled up in front of The Tides Hotel in South Beach, I almost had a heart attack. We were definitely out of our league here.

We all played it cool until the bellhop deposited our bags and left. Then we ran around the Tides Suite squealing like a bunch of high schoolers, bouncing on the fabulous beds, arguing over who would get to soak in the huge marble tubs first, and raiding the, not so, mini-bar. Since it was already late, we decided to stay in and Lula appointed herself to be in charge of dinner. I honestly think that she ordered every single item that was on the Room Service menu and we stuffed ourselves to the point of exploding.

After dessert, we got stupid on champagne and made prank phone calls to people like Joyce Barnhardt, who now thinks she's a Publisher's Clearing House grand prize winner. Morelli's phone went straight to voice mail, and no, I didn't call Ranger. Let's face it; I was working for the man, I had to sound professional, right? What? You don't believe me? Oh okay, I admit it, I chickened out.

The next morning, Bobby and I went to the Court House and I got to see Antonia Marachino for the first time. Her paperwork said she was 35, but she looked at least ten years older. She was short, skinny, stringy blonde hair, black roots, big fake boobs, and had the warmth and personality of a junk yard dog.

Her bail had been revoked for assault on a police officer. The cop she attacked was the size of Tank and she put him in the hospital. I have to admit that the thought of what she could do to somebody my size worried me a little and I tried to remember if I had loaded my gun.

She called the judge an asshole, her lawyer a jerk, and the DA a dipshit and that was before she tried to climb over the railing to get to somebody who was sitting in the gallery. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at the way Bobby shuddered when Antonia spotted him, looked him up and down, and licked her lips. Of course, when she saw me, she did the same thing. Bobby thought that was a real hoot. I could just tell that this was gonna be so much fun.

Later on, I hooked up with the girls and we spent the rest of the morning on the beach, baking in the sun. After lunch, we hit the hotel spa and all got the full treatment. We were waxed and plucked and buffed and puffed and pampered and styled and made up until we didn't even recognize ourselves. We all dressed to the teeth and sailed out of the hotel to our waiting limo like a bunch of celebrities out for a night on the town. The only thing missing were the paparazzi.

Our limo driver took us to a hot Miami spot named Scorch for dinner. Tony and Luisa, the owners, greeted us like we were old friends and treated us like family. We had the most fantastic meal, shrimp and crab and steak and my new favorite, sweet potato fries. We sampled a lot of their specialty drinks too, the Scorchtini and lots of other kinds of 'tinis', too, dirty, apple, mocha, espresso. We drank Pomegranate Cosmopolitans and Mojitos, pitchers of lethal Sangria, spiked with vodka and brandy. By the time we left Scorch we were an extremely happy group.

We wended our way out of the restaurant and our really cute driver helped us into the car. Why didn't I notice how good looking he was before? Anyway, we went to the Macondo, a great club with Latin music where we danced until the wee small hours. This is what a vacation was supposed to be all about. Fun! And we were having a blast!

The guys we were dancing with talked about another club that the rich and famous went to. Lula and Mary Lou were all over that, so we all piled into the limo again to go off to the Sagamore to hang out with the stars. Connie opened another bottle of champagne and we toasted each other … a lot! The last thing I remember was reaching for the champagne bottle and sliding off the seat onto the floor of the car and Mary Lou giggling like a teenager.

I woke up because I had to pee so bad it hurt. Of course, as soon as I moved, my head exploded and I'm pretty sure my eyeballs melted. That kind of made me forget about having to go to the bathroom and I turned over and struggled to sit up. I wondered if room service would deliver The Cure. My eyes were still closed when I finally worked my way to the side of the bed and got my feet on the floor.

Something was holding on to my left hand, keeping me from raising my arm, and when I tugged at it, I heard a familiar, metallic clink. My eyes flew open and it took a few seconds for my fuzzy brain to register the handcuffs that my bleary eyes were seeing. What the hell? I was handcuffed to the brass bed. Wait! Our suite at the Tides didn't have brass beds.

Uh-oh! Something told me that this was not good. I looked around and realized pretty quickly that I wasn't in the hotel. My clothes were tossed over a chair in the corner. That's about the time I noticed that I was stark naked. If this was a joke, this was so not funny! My cell phone was on the night stand and as I picked it up, it started to ring.

The caller ID said, 'Unknown,' and I opened it and put it to my ear like it would bite me.

A man's voice that I didn't recognize said pleasantly, "Good afternoon, Miss Plum. How did you sleep?"

"Where are my friends? What's going on?" I think that covered it.

"You certainly get right to the point, don't you? Your friends are safe … for the time being," he said ominously. "And if you want to see them again, you'll do as I tell you. Is that clear?"

I swallowed hard, "Perfectly. What do you want?"

"It's very simple really, I want you to get Antonia Marachino out of jail and bring her back to this house. If you tell anyone what you're doing, the police or RangeMan or anyone at all, I will know, and your friends will die, one by one. Do you understand?"

"Yes. But how am I supposed to do that if I'm handcuffed to the …"

"Open the night table drawer."

I pulled the drawer out and found the key to the cuffs.

"You have 48 hours, Miss Plum. And remember, your friends' lives are in your hands," and he hung up.

I just sat there and stared at the phone …

Chapter 2

MyMinorObsession

Realizing that I didn't want to sit here all day, feeling particularly vulnerable, I stood to get my clothes but was immediately tugged back to the bed by the handcuff that was still connected to the headboard, with my wrist still in it. How is it that I could end up naked and handcuffed twice in my life? And not in a fun way! At least I didn't have to call Ranger to get out of them this time. Probably it would be best not to mention this particular predicament to Ranger at all.

I fumbled with the key and freed myself, giving my now sore wrist a rub as I tugged my panties over my knees. I squirmed a little, stood and looked myself over and thanked the Lord that I didn't appear to be tender in any of the places I wouldn't want to be.

As I toed my shoes back on, I was pleased that I at least still had some of my wits about me; I pocketed the key and took the cuffs with me as I left. Hey, enough people had stolen mine over the years. It was about time I got a pair back for nothing!

Despite the urgent pressure of my bladder, I had no intentions of staying in the house for a moment longer than I had to. I thought about looking around for the girls but dismissed the idea. My life was never that easy! I found my way to the front door and burst through it into the sunshine. I wasted no time at all getting myself to the street and looked back at the house.

It was well hidden from the street by a jungle of greenery. The house itself was unspectacular, a single story stucco home, painted an undesirable shade of salmon. I took note of the numbers on the mailbox – 9541. Damn, how would I ever remember that? There was a 'for sale' sign on the front fence.

There were no passing cars, or any evil looking or suspicious characters lurking around. Just my luck, I'd been kidnapped and threatened by The Cleavers, or at least their neighbors. I walked down the road until I came to an intersection so I could read the street signs. Of course, that didn't help me enormously. I wasn't even sure if I was still in Miami.

I needed to do … something. Find the Girls. Have a shower. I felt dirty and yucky. I needed the Cure, or some room service. And I needed to pee! Where to start? Ohmigod! It struck me suddenly, blind-siding me. What would my mother say? I went to Miami with my best friends and lost them! I was sure that somewhere in the good-daughter/decent-person Burg rulebook that I'd never seen, that getting your friends kidnapped must be up there on the list of things one must never do!

The menacing voice on the other end of the line had explicitly told me not to call the police or RangeMan or my friends would be hurt, and I didn't want that happening. I did a run through alternate options, and ran out of them very quickly. Instead, I considered my usual options for help when I find myself in this kind of situation.

Miami was outside Joe's jurisdiction, plus, if I rang Joe it would mean explaining why I was in Miami, and that would mean telling him I was working for Ranger, which was probably not a conversation I needed to have right now. And really I didn't even know if the Girls were missing or if this was someone's idea of a bad joke. God, I hoped it was just a bad joke. A bad dream. I pinched myself. Fuck, that hurt. Not dreaming.

I nearly hyperventilated at the prospect of my other option; calling Ranger. Not exactly the professional image I wanted to pretend to project. I could hear the conversation now. So, we all got shit faced and somehow I ended up handcuffed and naked. Oh, and by the way, Ranger I'm just going to borrow the violent, scary, intense skip so I can use her to bargain for my friends lives. Yeah, that'd go well.

My other choice was to call Bobby, but he definitely fell into the 'RangeMan' category that I'd be warned against. Plus, calling Bobby was pretty much the same as calling Ranger, except I'd like to delude myself that Bobby might never have heard about the 'handcuffed naked to the shower rod' thing, and therefore wouldn't comment on the unhealthy pattern of behavior I had going on. Hmm, can't call Bobby.

First things first. Get the hell away from here, and back to the hotel. I had no idea which direction to head. RangeMan had offices in Miami. Would the Merry Men here call Ranger if I just needed a ride? Nah, he's a busy man. The boss. I was confident they wouldn't bother him with something so insignificant, especially as nothing had exploded, and I hadn't been shot. Smiling at my ingenuity I flipped open my cell phone.

"RangeMan Miami."

"Hi!" I said with an exaggerated amount of perkiness that I really wasn't feeling. "This is Stephanie Plum. Do you have anyone in the vicinity of Carlyle & 95th?"

"Ms. Plum?"

"Yes, Stephanie, please. Carlyle & 95th?" I enquired again.

"Ah, one moment. We can have someone to that location in approximately five minutes."

"Thank you." I disconnected in a hurry and watched the traffic expectantly for the arrival of the standard issue RangeMan black vehicle.

My phone rang as a black SUV rolled to a stop beside me. Two beefy, unsmiling men received my finger wave. "Don't suppose you'd mind giving me a lift back to the Tides?" The driver gave a curt nod of assent. My phone shrilled again as I climbed into the back of the SUV. I looked at the display and frowned. If I didn't answer I could risk the Girls lives. If I do answer the guys in the front might use their ESP and figure out they needed to call Ranger. Unfortunately, not answering the phone was drawing more attention from the Merry Men than I wanted.

"Hello?"

"Babe."

"Oh, um, ah… Yo!"

"Babe."

"What? I'm hung-over, I'm hungry, I need to pee and I need a ride. Is there some problem with getting to know your staff while I'm here?"

"Call me when you admit to yourself that you need me, Babe." I listened to the disconnect signal. Ugh!

I thanked MIB #1 and #2, as I leapt from the car at the Tides and dashed through the lobby making a bee-line for the restrooms. Once that urgent business was taken care of I hurried up to the suite.

"Helloooo? Girls? Lula? Connie?? Mare? Anyone?" No-one answered. There went my last hope that this wasn't really happening. I needed to figure out a way to get Antonia to the house by Monday, rescue the girls and still bring Antonia back to Trenton? There was no way on earth that was going to work out well for me. That only left one option. Between now and Monday I would have to find the girls on my own. If I could do that, then I wouldn't have to trade them for Antonia. And if I didn't have to do that, then no-one would need to know about this.

If I were a crier, I'd have been crying. Probably bawling, sobbing my little heart out. Our fun weekend in the sun was shot to hell and if I didn't do something brilliant or spectacular at the very least, it was very likely my three best friends would die. Pulling myself together, I decided on a course of action.

Shower, so I could get rid of the 'naked but not in a familiar bed' cooties I was carrying.

Breakfast, because large quantities of caffeine and sugar would definitely help me right now.

Come up with a plan or something.

I headed into the bathroom and screamed when I realized I wasn't alone there. Lula was soaking in a tub full of bubbles, ear phones on, eyes closed. Thank you, God. Lula must have heard my scream, her eyes shot open and her windmilling arms and legs sent water splashing over the edge of the bath. It was a sight to behold, and despite the potential disaster looming over me, I had to smile at the spectacle that Lula was.

"Shit! Are you trying to kill me? Damn, you upset all my feng shui and shit. My inner balance is all outta balance." Here I was, thankful that she was alive, and she was giving me lip service. "What? Tank and me been trying this relaxation crap but you just fucked it all up. Get out of my bathroom, and order us some lunch. Those nachos were good last night, and the tiramisu, and maybe a little more of that ... Hey, are the girls with you? Where the hell did you get to last night?"

"I was really hoping they were with you."

"Damn," Lula smiled widely, "I gotta tell ya I'm proud you and Connie got a little something something last night but I'm surprised to think yo' girl Mary Lou is steppin' out on her man! I thought for sure she would at least be here when I got back after cleaning out this little poker game I kinda fell into, but you are the first living soul I seen. Where you been at? No wait, give me a second, and order us some lunch. I'll be right outta here, my kismet's gone to Hell now anyways, and I want to hear all the dirty details."

I left the bathroom with the intention of calling down for room service. I had no idea what was going on but I needed some food so I could think. Lula emerged dressed in the usual neon style.

"Where you been at? You look like crap."

"I was kidnapped and someone said they had my friends and that they wanted Antonia Marachino or else. But you're here, so you weren't kidnapped, but Connie and Mary Lou aren't here. So maybe they were?"

"Holy shit! Did you try ringing their cells?"

That hadn't even occurred to me. I dialed Connie's first. Somewhere in the suite there came a cutesy 'Boop-boop-a-doo'. I glanced at Lula.

"What?" I waited for her explanation, suppressing a smile. "Okay, maybe she hasn't figured out that's Betty Boop yet."

"You'd better hope no-one tells her. How long's she had that loaded as a ring tone?"

Lula looked away before muttering, "Perhaps going on three weeks now."

"I'll try Mary Lou. No way would she leave her phone behind," I said. "Not with her mother-in-law looking after the kids. She wouldn't dare." I dialed and it rang. I nodded to Lula, who squeezed her ear against the phone so she could listen as well.

"Miss Plum, looking for your friends?" Shit!

Chapter 3

May

"Sort of," I stammered, my heart beating double-time as the atrocious reality hit home.

"Already you've lost one hour of your precious little time, Miss Plum. Didn't believe me, did you?" He gave a slight snort. "I strongly suggest you hurry up or your friends won't be doing well for much longer."

Finally I gathered my wits. "Please don't hurt them," I said, but my plea was met with the dial tone. Jeez, men and their phone manners!

The phone fell off my hands and tumbled onto the thick carpet, my fingers suddenly too feeble to hold it. Lula stared wide-eyed and disbelieving at me.

"He really snatched them," I whispered to Lula. "That son of a gun kidnapped two of my best friends!"

She stood up, hands tightly on her hips, looking like a force of determination. "Way I see it, we need a course of action, and food. Lotsa food I say."

I almost laughed. Leave it to Lula to cut to the point, but she was right: no war's ever been won on an empty stomach. Mine was definitely running on empty. Without needing to exchange another word each of us went to see to our respective tasks. She grabbed the menu and dialed room service. I went to collect all the writings pads and ballpoint pens I'd seen lying around in the suite and spread them on the desktop.

"Food'll be up in twenty," she reported then hesitated.

A knot of apprehension clenched my stomach. "What is it?" I asked.

"We're outta our turf here, Steph, no network, no grapevine, nothing. We're on our own."

"I know, and that scares me quite a bit. Oh God, Lula, what have we done?"

"We done nothing wrong and don't ya go ahead and say it's your fault… or mine, for that matter. Someone else's done the deed and we are goin' to figure out how to get Connie and Mary Lou back." She's got the most determined look on her face before she added in an afterthought. "Wish I'd had my man here, though."

"Don't I wish that too?" I sighed and secretly wished for Ranger's presence as well. He'd know which strings to pull, which people to call…

"As the last resort we call for their help, but I'm hoping we don't have to; it's too dangerous," Lula threw in.

I nodded in agreement, but deep down I was aware that our chances to find Connie and Mary Lou were slim at best. The least we could do for now was gathering facts and I just knew the perfect man for that assignment. Silvio. Even though he was a RangeMan employee and therefore not allowed to call, I still had his private cell number…

"Here's how we start." I told Lula about Silvio and that he was RangeMan's genie in a bottle where research on people was concerned.

Lula's eyes brightened. "That could work. Ya think Antonia's the key and somewhere in her past lurks her significant other?"

"What else? I don't believe Connie or Mary Lou are of any interest to the perp. He wants Antonia back, that much is clear. For whatever remains a mystery for me, though," I replied, shuddering at the memory of her behavior in court.

"Lets start then," Lula took a pen and wrote Antonia's name on top of one of the pads; Connie and Mary Lou's on the next two and mine on a forth.

"Huh? Why my name?" I asked in confusion.

"Hate to tell you this, girlfriend, but you're part of the game," she said matter-of-factly.

Just what I needed, really, but I couldn't dismiss her remark. I opened my mouth to give a snarky retort when someone knocked on the door. Saved by the bell.

"Food?" Lula questioned in a whisper.

I glanced at my time-piece and nodded. "Right on time. I'll go get it."

Though I was certain room service had arrived I checked whether the chain was in place before I opened the door. I breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted a wheel cart with a guy clad in a white uniform and a black tie behind it. Probably I'd caught a slight case of paranoia along the way of my various troubles.

"Room service, Ma'am," he said cheerfully before his demeanor changed to almost disdainful as he took in my appearance.

I frowned at the change, but let him wheel the cart in. The smells wafting from it caused my stomach to rumble, which earned me another hardly concealed look of disapproval. With that smell of delicious food in my nose I couldn't care less what the guy thought of me; I thanked him politely and ushered him out of our suite without a tip. His loss.

I wheeled the cart closer to the desktop and Lula and lifted one of the covers. Yum! The aroma almost made me swoon and I felt lightheaded.

"Scared someone?" Lula asked from behind me.

"Do I look the part?" I replied without turning around; filling my stomach had made the top of my to-do list. Minor deviations couldn't find their way around food any longer.

"Girl," Lula started slowly while seizing a couple of fries, "let's just say ya don't look exactly fresh anymore."

"Uh-oh. Thanks for the compliment." Then I sneaked a peek of myself. Scanning my body up and down I paled at what I saw.

The way my clothes looked I'd been leftover from a night out. Which was true on all counts including being kidnapped. I still wore the same dress — now with more crinkles than was meant to — and shoes; both items covered with dust and various stains I didn't care too much to retrace.

Lula cut a look at me that confirmed I hadn't seen the worst yet. Appreciatively munching on more fries she gestured to my head with a smirk. "Your hair, it's truly scary. Like an afro haloing your head and shoulders. Not a fine look on a white girl like you. And I won't even mention the make-up that wasn't designed to stay on for such long hours—"

I raised my hands in the universal surrender sign. "I got it. I'll go shower. Just leave some food for me."

As I shut the bathroom door behind me I heard her laughing like a hyena and mumbling something that related in my wishful thinking to 'no problem, there's enough for a battalion', which I knew would be true. But knowing Lula in association with food I wasn't going to chance anything and hurried through a quick, cleansing shower that excluded any of the usual shaving or pampering parts, but included a serious shampooing and conditioning session. Once done I wrapped my hair in a towel and my body in one of the hotel provided fluffy bathrobes and emerged about fifteen minutes later squeaky clean.

"That I can approve of," Lula acknowledged when she saw me, nonchalantly throwing a chicken bone on a plate that already was covered with about half a dozen of its relatives.

"I can see you held back with your appetite," I commented dryly as I noticed the headway she'd done in just fifteen short minutes.

"Women like me need lots of nutrition to function at all, 'specially with what's going on," she stated. "Besides, I've ordered enough."

I left her statement unanswered because the latter part was true: fries, scrambled eggs, bacon, French toast, various chicken parts, assorted donuts, brownies, rolls, bagels, butter, ham, cream cheese, honey, even a small plate of lox contested on that cart to be our breakfast. I had to admire her foresight.

"Thanks, I really appreciate this." With that I filled a plate with starters — meaning eggs and bacon — then another one with almost the rest of the selections and dug in like there was no tomorrow. Knowing my luck, probably there wasn't. Ugh.

Lots of moaning and groaning on both our parts later; most of the food had miraculously disappeared somewhere in the intestines of our respective bellies, Lula and I rubbed the latter with satisfaction and settled our contented bodies around the desk.

We each grabbed a pen and began to fill a pad with a name on top. Since I happened to sit on the left I'd gotten Antonia's first; Lula had my name. I wrote down all the intel I had on Antonia, which wasn't as much as I'd wish for. Shit. It had seemed such an easy job at the time Ranger asked… Sun, fun and pun with my best friends. Sure, we'd had all that before the rude awakening this morning. I sighed and shifted my attention to the pad with Connie's name on top and was about to scribble down what I knew about her when I noticed Lula turning to the next page.

"Don't tell me you're writing my memoirs," I groaned, trying to hide a serious load of disdain in my voice.

"I could, actually," Lula grinned with mischief. "Your life's such an open book to me. I even know about your one and only night with Ranger!" she added with triumph.

"You possibly couldn't!" The words escaped my mouth without any input of my brain which I regretted immediately. Judging by the knowing grin on her face I knew I'd ratted out my secret. I buried my face in my hands in defeat.

Her grin got even brighter. "You can tell me the details later, girlfriend, when this is over. Bet it's gonna be juicy, isn't it?"

"No comment," was my meek reply. How the Hell would she even know?

"Trade secret! Don't worry, you're secrets's kinda save with me."

Now that was the sort of consolation I didn't need; not right now, not ever. I groaned again and shoved the problem on a backburner for later evaluations.

I chanced a glance on the pad with Steph on top that Lula obviously had filled with the mishaps of my life and started to skim it. By the time I was done I realized Lula might have accumulated all the troubles I'd been in so far, but it wouldn't help us any further since we'd had no clue how or why that ominous guy had chosen me at all to get Antonia back.

"Okay, let's see what we have," I launched into our ongoing investigation. At once I had Lula's full attention. "First: we have my memoirs, thanks to you, which, on the other hand won't help us at this point because we know next to nothing why I was chosen. Second: the intel about Antonia is only sketchy; Bobby's got the apprehension papers and I've never seen them. Third: we can't ask him and we don't know if they'd help us anyway. Fourth: what we know about Connie and Mary Lou seems insignificant. Am I right so far?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. We have nothing to go on and we don't know anyone who could be of assistance," Lula confirmed with an obvious slump in her shoulders.

"Except Silvio," we both said in unison.

Chapter 4

Devka

Antonia was the key and we needed more information about her. I wanted to call Silvio, but he was first and foremost a RangeMan employee and loyal to Ranger. Besides, I really didn't want to put any of the merry men in a situation where they had to lie or deceive Ranger.

Running out of options, I opened my phone and was about to call Silvio at his private number when I was struck with the thought that my phone might be bugged. "Lula, give me your phone."

"No way. You have bad phone karma," Lula said as she clutched the phone to her breast. "Give me the number and I'll make the call."

I held out my hand and wriggled my fingers. "Trust me. I'm not going anywhere with it. You can stand right there and listen in! Yeesh!"

She reluctantly handed me the phone and I started to dial Silvio's number. Before I could finish dialing we heard 'I wanna be loved by you' chiming away on the coffee table.

Lula and I both stood hunched over the table staring at the read out of Connie's cell phone. Mario T was displayed across the screen. I had forgotten about Connie's family in Miami. The kidnapper had warned me against calling RangeMan or the police. He never said anything about Connie's Family.

Flipping the phone open, I hit the speaker button and said hello. "Con? Is that you? You sound terrible!"

I cleared my throat and spoke into the phone. "This is her friend, Stephanie. Who's this?"

The voice on the other end was slow, deep and melodious. When he spoke my name it felt like a caress. "Stephanie, mi amoré," he said. "I've heard a great deal about you and have looked forward to meeting you. Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Connie's cousin, Mario Teobaldo."

"I can just imagine the stories Connie has told you," I replied as I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Please don't believe a single word."

"Don't worry, she speaks very highly of you," Mario said. "May I speak with her please?"

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer. This was not a conversation I wanted to have with any member of Connie's 'Family.' "Now that's a problem," I told him. "It's not something we should discuss on the phone. Can you meet me somewhere, preferably somewhere that's private?"

He hesitated for only a moment. "I'll meet you by the hotel pool in ten minutes."

Grabbing my shoulder bag, I threw open the door and let out a shriek. Bobby was standing at the threshold, his hand poised to knock.

He grinned and lowered his hand. "It's never a dull moment when you're around Bomber. Did I come at an inopportune time?"

I smiled and ushered Lula into the hall. Bobby was trained to notice every little detail and I didn't want him noticing the breakfast dishes and figuring out that only two coffee cups had been used. "We were just on our way out. What's up?"

Draping an arm around my shoulders, he spoke quietly. "The boss called. He asked me to check in with you and make sure everything was okay."

I plastered a big smile on my face. "Everything is perfect. We were just on our way to the pool to meet Connie's cousin, Mario," I replied.

Bobby shrugged and explained that he had to stop by the Miami office and drop off some papers for Ranger. "If you need anything, you've got my cell number."

The elevator doors opened and I gave him a little finger wave, telling him not to worry. We were just going to soak up a little sun and enjoy the sunshine.

Lula and I arrived at the pool and found Mario already waiting. He was easy to spot. Dressed in beige shorts and a navy blue t-shirt, he was the only one there who didn't look like a tourist.

Lula elbowed me and spoke through the side of her mouth. "Doesn't he look just like that Christian Bale from 'Batman Begins'?"

Oh yeah, I thought. In a word, YUM!

He stood as we approached and shook my hand, holding it a bit longer than was necessary. He looked at me the way I look at a creme filled Chocolate Krimpet Tastykake just before I devour it.

We all took our chairs and ordered drinks from the poolside waitress. After they arrived I cleared my throat and looked across the table at Mario. "I don't know how much Connie has already told you about the reason why we're in Miami."

Mario took a sip of his drink and sat his glass down. "I know that you're here to transfer a prisoner, Antonia Marachino, from Miami to Trenton."

Leaving out the part about being naked, I told him how I woke up that morning, handcuffed to a bed, and about the phone calls. "I'm sorry Mario. There was no reason for me to suspect that I was putting anyone in danger when I accepted this job and invited Connie, Mary Lou and Lula to tag along. I can't call the police or RangeMan and I need someone with connections who can provide me with the information I need."

"You did the right thing by confiding in me," Mario said. "The first thing we need to do is find out who owns the house you woke up in, and we need a complete background check on Antonia." He hit two buttons on his phone and spoke rapidly in Italian. "What's the address?" he asked me. He repeated the address I gave him to the person on the other line and closed the phone.

Lula had been quiet throughout the entire conversation. Only two things could ever possibly shut Lula up, the police and mafia crime bosses. "I don't mean to butt in, but shouldn't we be comin' up with a plan of action? I mean, in situations like this one," she stammered, "there could only be one or two motivators. He's doin' it for greed or he's doin' it for love."

Mario and I stared at Lula. She looked at me, then at Mario then back to me. "In case we can't rescue Connie and Mary Lou, shouldn't we have a backup plan in place, like shouldn't we be planning a jail break? How else are you going to deliver Antonia to this man by Monday?"

I somehow felt a little guilty as we sat there sipping our drinks and enjoying the sunshine while two of my best friends were being held for ransom.

Glancing at my watch, I saw that it was already eleven. The kidnapper had called me around eight so that meant that I only had forty-five hours to either find my friends or deliver Antonia to the house on Carlyle.

While we waited for Mario's man to call us back we spent the time making small talk.

I jumped about three feet from my chair when Mario's phone chirped. He grinned at me, flashing his perfect white teeth. Great, I was amusing him.

He listened for a few minutes and then his eyes took on a deadly look. He tilted his head to one side and slipped his sunglasses into place. "I know who has Connie and your friend."

For the next half hour Mario told us what he knew about Antonia.

Antonia was an awkward child who never knew her father, was badly neglected by her mother and had no friends. When she was sixteen, she was caught shoplifting and was entered into the system. Later, she graduated to pick-pocketing, and when she was just months away from her eighteenth birthday, she was arrested for prostitution. The state took her from her mother and placed her in a foster home where she managed to charm her foster parents into thinking she was just another misunderstood teenager.

One night, they entrusted Antonia to tend two small children, also entrusted to their care, a boy seven years old and a little five year old girl. When they returned home Antonia was gone and they found the children terrorized and huddled in a corner clinging to one another. The children had witnessed something horrifying but authorities couldn't get either child to speak a word. In fact, the little girl quit talking altogether and only after years of therapy she began speaking one worded replies.

No one heard from Antonia for nearly twenty years until last year when she was arrested for inciting a riot. Somewhere during her travels she picked up a few skills. She was strong, well trained in the martial arts and had nearly killed an innocent bystander with her bare hands before police tasered her and took her into custody.

"What did you find out about the house?" I asked.

"The bungalow is one of many tax shelters belonging to FB&J Shipping. They own a fleet of freighters, several waterfront warehouses, and real estate all along the eastern seaboard. FB&J has a small group of shareholders and Oliver P. Fairchild is on the board of directors. Last week his only child, sixteen year old Miranda Fairchild went missing. Antonia is a person of interest in her kidnapping," Mario said.

Lula stood up and grabbed her shoulder bag, slinging it over her shoulder, ready to run to the rescue. "He has to be the one holding Connie and Mary Lou!" she exclaimed. "C'mon, let's go!"

Mario held up his hand. "There's more."

She slowly sat back down balancing on the edge of her chair. "Go on."

"Antonia fancies herself to be an all powerful witch." Mario shrugged. "Word on the street has it that she and her coven of two other witches would gather in the Everglades and hold sacred ceremonies where they sacrificed small animals and virgins to the devil. No bodies ever turned up and folks speculated that she fed the remains to the gators."

Lula gasped and crossed herself. "Did she cut out Miranda's heart and sacrifice her to the devil?"

I elbowed her in the side and rolled my eyes. "Do you really believe that with the way things are nowadays that a sixteen year old girl, living in Miami, is still a virgin?"

Mario removed his sunglasses and smiled. "I see why Connie enjoys hanging around with you two. You're both very entertaining."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I get that a lot."

He cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink. "To make a long story short, during one of her ceremonies, Antonia inadvertently witnessed a rather large exchange of drugs, and money. They were seen and when her fellow witches started turning up in little bits and pieces scattered throughout the docks, she went to the police and told them what she saw. She was put into protective custody and taken to a safe house in Trenton."

Lula and I exchanged looks. So that explained the Trenton connection.

"One night Antonia slipped out a bedroom window, giving her bodyguards the slip, and went to a neighborhood bar to knock back a few. She called her boyfriend from a payphone. A few days later while shopping with her bodyguards at the mall, she stepped into a changing booth where a man attacked her. He was stupid and told her Oliver Fairchild had a message for her. She fought him off and although she took a pretty bad beating, she did the only thing she could think of to protect herself and attacked a police officer. In her frenzy, she managed to put him in the hospital and charges were brought against her."

Mario reached into his pocket and threw a Fifty on the table. "Word has it that Antonia is testifying Monday morning and in an attempt to keep her safe, her boyfriend is holding Miranda Fairchild. Oliver Fairchild is scared. He's out of options and making stupid moves. He's holding Connie and Mary Lou, trying to have you turn over Antonia. Make no mistake about it. He will kill them if he doesn't get what he wants. What we have here ladies, is a good old fashioned standoff."

I bit my lower lip. I really needed to take a nap and lie in my thinking position awhile. I had less than forty-five hours to find my friends and time didn't allow for naps or sleeping. Not until Mary Lou and Connie were safe.

"Lula's right," I said. "We are reasonably sure that Fairchild has Connie and Mary Lou but we don't know where he's holding them. In case we can't find them, we need to come up with a plan B which just might involve a jail break."

Chapter 5

siriusblackfan2

"What's your plan white girl," asked Lula. "I know ya got one and I am sure it

will be good."

Mario leaned back in his chair, while watching Stephanie. "I am not going to say we couldn't pull off a jail break," he explained, "but it may be safer for Connie and your friend to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible."

How did coming up with a plan fall to me? Mario was the 'family member.' I was just a girl from Trenton. Ok, I'll admit that wasn't exactly true but I honestly didn't go looking for trouble, it just always seemed to find me. Is that my fault? And how did that make me the most suited to devise a rescue plan?

I glanced at my watch. "Well, we have just under forty five hours to acquire Antonia and get her to the house."

"Yeah," said Lula, while waiting for me to continue.

I glanced at Mario, hoping maybe he'd take over but he just smiled back at me. Guess I wasn't getting any help there.

I blew out a frustrated breath before continuing, "Since a jail break isn't the best idea, the only thing I can think of is to snatch her when she's in RangeMan custody."

Lula nearly choked on her drink, before she managed to exclaim, "What?!"

"Bobby and I are supposed to pick up Antonia Monday morning and take her to Federal Court here in Miami, before flying out Monday afternoon for Trenton."

"Yeah, you and Bobby," agreed Lula, stressing the second name.

I just rolled my eyes at her. "So, I tell him I need to stop and go to the bathroom and we stop at some prearranged location." Looking at Mario I added, "This is where I'll need your help."

"Whatever is necessary to assure the safe return of my cousin," he agreed.

"I'll take Antonia to the bathroom with me, where your men will be waiting for us. They can whisk us out the back and take us to the house, where we will trade Antonia for Connie and Mary Lou." I leaned back in my chair and took a sip of my drink.

"Uh huh," mused Lula, "And why will Bobby let you take that girl with ya?"

"He will not want to be alone with her," added Mario.

"Exactly," I said. "The whole point of my tagging along to Miami, was so she couldn't claim he sexually harassed her."

"Ok, maybe," allowed Lula, "but that girlie ain't exactly friendly. What if she don't wanna go."

I smiled. "I figure she'll be looking for a chance to escape and this will look like her opportunity. I don't think she'll refuse."

Mario was still leaning back in his chair. "It will mean we just meet the deadline but this plan could work. Allow my men and I to work out the details."

Relief washed through me and I slumped down in the chair. I wasn't sure what I could come up with if he thought this plan wouldn't work. Unfortunately that relief was short lived when Lula said, "So you planning on double crossing Batman?"

Ranger. Oh god! What was I thinking? Terror flooded through me. Did I really want to end up in some third world country? Did the Congo even have TastyKakes?

Curious Mario asked, "Who is Batman?"

"Ranger," I managed to squeak out, "my boss."

"That ain't all he is," countered Lula, "he's the man in her life."

"One of the men Lula," I replied, thinking of Joe. Though we were currently "off" and I had not seen him in over a month, I wasn't ready to write our relationship off. Until things were settled between us, one way or the other, I wasn't giving up on him.

I nearly jumped out of my chair when I felt a hand slowly rub my thigh. "Bella," I heard Mario say. When I looked at him, I found his eyes full of passion. "I could make you forget all of them."

'Great' I thought, 'just what I needed...another Italian stallion in my life!' I was saved from answering by the theme from Cops. I closed my eyes and lowered my head. Why couldn't I catch a break?

"Officer Hottie!" snickered Lula. Seeing Mario's puzzled expression, she added, "her other man!"

I just shook my head before answering, "Hello?"

"Hey Cupcake."

"Hi Joe."

"Where've you been? I haven't seen you in a few days?"

Here's the thing, since Joe and I were in an off phase, I didn't bother to tell him I was going to Miami. I didn't want to hear the lecture about working for Ranger and frankly I didn't think it was any of his business. I decided not to beat around the bush and replied, "Miami."

I could hear the bafflement in his voice when he asked, "What are you doing there?"

Looking around I noticed I had the attention of both of table mates. I really didn't want to do this in front of them but it didn't look like I'd have a choice. "Helping RangeMan with a case." I hoped by avoiding Ranger's name, Joe wouldn't get as upset.

I could hear him taking a deep breath on the other end of the line. "You mean helping Manoso."

"Not really, no," I told him, feeling my anger rise. "Actually, I am working on a job for his company, with one of his men. Ranger isn't even here." Not that it was any of his business.

I heard Joe take a deep breath and release it. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"We're not together Joe, remember?" I mean how could he forget…he was actually the one to walk out the last time.

As I heard Joe mutter, "Doesn't mean I don't worry about you," on the phone I felt Mario's hand slid under the hem of my skirt. He whispered, "Bella, dimenticare lui. Lo sono l'uomo per voi." (Beautiful forget him. I am the man for you.)

"What the hell!" I heard Joe shout. "Who is that with you? And tell him you got a man!"

I blew out a sigh, as I removed Mario's offending hand and placed it on top of the table. I explained to Joe, "Did I forget to tell you I brought Lula, Connie and Mary Lou with me?"

When he didn't answer I continued, "One of Connie's cousins, Mario, is visiting us at the hotel." Glaring at Mario, "He's a flirt but don't worry I can handle him."

"Don't worry yourself Officer Hottie," Lula shouted, to be heard on the phone, "I'll watch out for her!"

"Great," mumbled Joe. I don't think he was fond of the idea of Lula watching out for me. He asked for the friend he deemed most responible, "Let me talk to Mary Lou."

"Uh…you can't."

"Why?"

"She's not here right now." Wonderful! If he wasn't suspicious before, he will be now. I am so not a good liar.

"How about Connie?"

"Not here either."

"Ok," I could here the hesitation in his voice, "I thought you were visiting with Connie's cousin?"

"We are."

Aggravated, he asked, "Why isn't she there? The guy is her cousin after all."

I started panicking inside. What did I tell Joe? He was a Trenton cop after all and the kidnappers said no police. Even though he didn't have any authority down here, I couldn't take the chance. I wouldn't endanger my friends' lives. But what could I tell Joe?

I hesitated to long and he asked, "What's going on Cupcake?"

Finally I managed, "We're down by the pool. They ran back to the room to…ah…use the facilities."

I could tell he was uncertain on whether to believe me or not. Finally he decided, "Ok…when are you gonna be home?"

"We're flying home Monday."

"Well, give me a call when you're in Trenton. Maybe we can grab pizza and a Rangers game." I could tell he was still not pleased with my answers but I hoped he wouldn't be too suspicious.

I didn't want to give him time to ask more questions. "Alright Joe, I am going to run. Talk to you Monday," and hung up before he could answer. It seemed those lessons in Rangeman phone etiquette were paying off.

00000

I looked quickly at my cell phone before snapping it shut. I couldn't believe she hung up on me! She was definitely spending way to much time with Manoso.

Something wasn't right. I could tell by the tone of her voice that something was up. I wasn't sure what but knowing my Cupcake it couldn't be good. Trouble always seem to find her, no matter what. If anything bad was going to happen in the tri-state area it was going to happen to her.

Lucky for me, Stephanie wasn't a good liar. She tried to cover things up but I still knew something was wrong, but how to find out what. After thinking for a few minutes, I realized that unless I took time to gather information, I realized my only choice was too call Manoso.

I gritted my teeth and dialed Ranger's number. It was a good thing he gave it to me after one of Steph's catastrophes. It just made things easier if we could get in touch with one another directly.

"Yo."

"What's going with Steph?"

"She's helping escort a Federal witness back to Trenton."

Well, that sounded easy enough but knowing Steph, nothing ever remained easy. "Have you talked to her?"

"No."

"I just got off the phone with her," I told him. "She's hiding something."

"What?"

Did the guy ever use more than one word on the phone? "I am not sure but she was evasive and wouldn't let me talk to Connie or Mary Lou."

He was quiet for a moment, as if thinking something over. He finally answered, "I talked to my man this morning. He saw Lula and Steph but not the other two."

I didn't know what to say to this. Surprisingly before I answered he continued, "Bobby thought Steph was acting odd."

That was not good. Though a RangeMan employee, Bobby was observant and if he thought Steph was acting odd, she probably was. "That's not good."

"No."

Also, Connie's cousin was visiting but she wasn't with them."

"Which cousin?"

"A guy named Mario."

"Mario Teobaldo?"

"I don't know," I replied, "She just said his name was Mario. Why?"

"Mario Teobaldo is a high ranking member of the family business in Miami," Ranger informed me.

What was Steph doing hanging out with a mob Mafioso? I could feel the acid building in my stomach. I just knew I was going to need some Maalox before this was all over.

After a moment I made up my mind. "I gotta go. I am packing a bag and heading to Miami."

Before I could hang up, Ranger said, "Meet me at gate two. We'll fly out in an hour," and he hung up on me. I guess I knew where Steph was learning her telephone manners.

0000

Lula and I walked Mario to the front door of the hotel. He handed the doorman a valet receipt and the kid ran outside. A few moments later he returned with a black Mercedes convertible. Mario held the door open for us and Lula and I followed him outside. He handed the kid a tip and he went back to the valet stand.

As we stood beside the car, he grasped my hand in both of his, slowly brought it to his lips, and kissed it. He looked into my eyes and said, "Ah Bella, you don't know what you are missing."

I felt a bolt of lightening straight to my doodah. I couldn't help it, this guy was absolutely gorgeous. After reining in my Hungarian hormones, I replied, "I guess I will never know."

He released my hand and quickly kissed me on the lips, "You could."

Yeah just what I needed was more confusion in my already messed up sex life. "No thanks."

He quickly made his way around to the driver's side of the car and dropped into the seat. "Stay here at the hotel and relax. I'll take care of everything." Before I could answer he roared off.

Lula was fanning herself as we walked back into the hotel. "He's hot!"

"He is," I agreed, as I pushed the elevator button.

"Ya coulda gotten ya some of that!"

As the door opened I replied, "Like I need that headache."

Lula just shrugged and continued to fan herself. As we left the elevator she asked, "So what's the plan white girl?"

"We need to get out of this hotel."

"We ain't staying put?"

I pushed the door open, "No way in hell, I want to find Connie and Lou and we can't do it here."

When we walked into the room I noticed our breakfast dishes were done and the room had been picked up. Housekeeping was a wonderful thing. I dropped down into a chair. "First we need to figure out where Fairchild is holding our friends."

Lula sat down in the seat next to me. "And then?"

"We get them out of there."

"How do we do that?" she asked. "We don't even have a car."

My purse was sitting next to the chair; I picked it up and reached inside. After a moment I pulled out what I was looking for. I showed her the credit card. "Ranger gave me this for emergencies." I saw Lula smile, "I think this qualifies."

Chapter 7

Akasha

The thing I could really get used to is the services they provide at luxury hotels. I didn't have to search the Yellow Pages for a car rental company, I just asked the concierge to get a car. And I didn't even have to leave the room for that, is that cool or what?

An hour later, Lula and I stuffed our luggage into the tiny trunk of the Carrera convertible. We'd left a few things behind so it looked like we were still staying in the room, and we hadn't checked out. In case anyone came looking for us, it would seem we were just out and about, returning at some point.

"Some kind of emergency," Lula said smiling and angled herself into the passenger seat with some effort.

"We don't want to look like tourists," I pointed out as I slid into the driver's seat and pulled down my Oakleys. "We have to blend in."

"And where're we gonna blend in next?" Lula wanted to know. "You have some plan up your sleeve?"

I turned the key and a gazillion horses under the hood roared to life. This car made me feel powerful!

"Let's start with the obvious," I said. "I want to visit this Daddy Dearest."

Lula gasped. "The one Connie's cousin just warned us about? The Fairchild guy?"

"Yup," I just said and threaded the Porsche into traffic before Lula would remember I had no idea where Fairchild lived.

Since I always think better with a full stomach, I turned into the Denny's parking lot just a couple blocks form the hotel. In addition to food, they'd have a pay phone, with hopefully a phone book. If not, I'd call 411, although I wasn't sure RangeMan wasn't monitoring my calls. Why that had me paranoid, I didn't know.

A meatloaf and a quick sprint to the pay phone later, I was nauseous and had discovered Fairchild had an unlisted number.

"I can't find Fairchild," I announced as I slipped back into the red faux leather booth and Lula didn't look surprised.

"I was gonna ask if you knew something I didn't. Them moneybags can never be found."
I chewed on a cold French fry. "Now what?"

"On the other hand, poor jail birds are easy to find, on account of they're in a cell," Lula said.

I'd been thinking the same thing. Antonia was the only one we could find. She was being held in a Dade County jail awaiting her transfer. She was also the one I wanted to avoid seeing until I had to, but now I saw her as the only plan we had.

"Here's what I think we should do," I said, making up the plan as I was talking. "I'll go in to see Antonia and tell her how I think she's innocent and help her escape. All she has to do is play along when I tell her to."

"Yeah," Lula said. "That sounds easy enough, but you're forgetting that you're dealing with a witch. What if she can smell the lie on you or something?"
I rolled my eyes and waved my hand dismissively. "She's no more a witch than you or me. I don't believe in that bullshit." I really didn't, but a tiny voice reminded me of that old saying that even if you didn't believe in God, He still believed in you.

What if Antonia was a witch? I decided not to think about that, it was my only plan and I couldn't let 'what ifs' destroy it.

"You got a better idea?" I asked Lula.

Lula drained her Coke. "No, but that doesn't mean I think yours is a good one. I'll only come along because we're friends and friends don't let friends down."

I rolled my eyes again and took out my wallet to pay the tab. "I'll drive, you look out for a tail," I said as we got up.

"Who be tailing us?" Lula wanted to know.

RangeMan, I thought, but I didn't think it was a good idea to remind Lula we were going behind Ranger's back. Just then, as if summoned by my thoughts, my phone started playing the Batman theme. I hit the ignore button and mentally did the same to Lula as she raised her eyebrows.

We'd reached the car and I dug in my purse until I found Antonia's paperwork, which had the address of the jail on it. Lula still hadn't said anything by the time I'd punched the address into the Carrera's GPS system, so I finally looked at her. "What?"

"Did you just send Batman to voicemail?" she asked, rather rhetorically.

"I can't talk to him right now," I said, just as my phone started ringing again. It was Morelli this time and I gave him the same ignore treatment.

"Just let me know when you can't deal with me no more either," Lula said and took her seat in the car.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not like that. Fairchild said no cops. Morelli is the cops and RangeMan is almost like them."

"Uh-huh," Lula muttered, sounding as unconvinced as I felt.

I chose to ignore her and the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach as I followed the computerized voice of Jack the GPS out of Miami Beach and over the Venetian Causeway into Miami.

"You gonna come with?" I asked her when I parked the Porsche in the jail's parking lot.

"Nuh-uh," Lula said, shaking her head for emphasis. "Too many cops in there, they'd give me the runs, and then I'd have to use one of them lidless toilets!"

I didn't want to argue her point, I was going in for a big fibbing session and I really didn't want to be distracted. Much like me, Lula didn't have a blank face. She might make me stumble if she raised her eyebrows once I started dishing out my lies.

"Just don't disappear on me," I told her as I shouldered my purse and took a deep breath for courage.

"I got my Glamour magazine and a big gulp Coke, I'm good for a while," she assured me.

"Wish me luck then," I said and left the car.

By sheer luck, we'd arrived at the jail just before visiting hours ended at 6 PM. It took some persuasion for the guards to allow me to see Antonia, because she technically was on a no-visitors list. But I explained to them that I was the one who had to accompany her back to Trenton and I needed to make sure I had everything to ensure an uneventful trip.

My hand shook when I took the receiver on my end of the Plexiglas window when Antonia sat down opposite of me.
"Who the fuck are you?" she greeted me. Off to a good start then.

Once we got the pleasantries out of the way, I got down to business. I told her flat out I'd do anything to free my friends, and Miranda, and that she could basically name her conditions. I convinced her in an Oscar-worthy performance that I had the Merry Men wrapped around my little finger and they'd do whatever I told them to do. The ace up my sleeve was of course the fact that I was a woman and that I was assigned to take her back.

"We're gonna stop at a convenience store on the way to the airport," I told her, keeping my voice as low as possible so it wouldn't carry to any of the guards. "You will pretend to have to go pee and I will see you inside. You call your boyfriend to have Miranda there, and she will go with us, you with him."

"Sounds simple enough," Antonia said. "But I don't know you from a hole in the wall. How do I know you won't have the cops waiting there for me?"

"I don't give a shit whether you're free or in jail," I lied. "I want Miranda so I can get my friends out. You're just means to an end. I'm not a cop, it's not my business to keep you locked up."

When my visiting time was up ten minutes later, she'd bought it. I walked out of the visitors' room on stiff legs, unable to breathe until I heard the heavy steel front door fall into its locks behind me. Then I allowed myself to pump my fist and hurry over to where Lula was waiting.

"I think she fell for it," I told her. "We have a date at the Store 24 on 36th Street." And then I sank back into my seat and tried to get my racing heart under control while Lula whooped. I still didn't dare to believe I'd pulled it off.

Antonia had agreed to call her boyfriend and tell him to meet us at the Store 24, in the back. I called Mario next, because I realized I needed more muscle than Lula could provide, I needed help that wouldn't rat me out to Ranger, and I had to do it without the cops. I had a feeling both Antonia and her boyfriend would be able to 'smell' a cop a mile away, and I didn't want to risk it.

Mario congratulated me on my idea and agreed to provide "whatever is necessary" for Monday.

"Now tell me everything," Lula demanded when I'd hung up and I went over my conversation with Antonia again.

"Damn Girl, you're good," she said and nodded approvingly. "So what do we do next?"

"We find a place to stay," I said. "Then we head over to the Store 24 and get familiar with the area."

"Sounds like you got it all figured out," Lula said, sounding impressed.

We checked into a motel that was as far removed from the Tides as you can get, an ice machine on the ground floor was the only amenity apart from soap in the bathroom. But it was clean and cheap and hopefully the last place Ranger would think to look for me.

Both Morelli and Ranger had called again and although I knew it only made matters worse that I kept ignoring their calls, I also knew there was no way I could lie to either of them. The only call I didn't get was from Fairchild, and because he had blocked his number, I had no way of calling him directly to tell him about the plan. Mario had promised he'd get in touch with him, but Connie's cousin hadn't gotten back to me either. I had to wait, and I hated waiting.

To kill time, Lula and I checked out the Store 24 where the handover would take place. Lula insisted on stocking up on junk food while we were there, all part of the reconnaissance, she insisted.

We got back to the motel room loaded with four shopping backs of trans fats and sugar, and not much else.

After a night of pay-per-view movies, cheap beer and too many Ring Dings and Devil Cremes, my phone woke me up at 6 AM. Of course the 'unknown number' on the display could have been anyone, but my hand was shaking when I pushed the 'Talk' button, I just knew it was Fairchild. I was right.

"How are you this fine morning, Miss Plum?" he greeted me and I felt my skin crawl.

"I'll have Miranda tomorrow morning," I blurted out.

"So I hear," he said and I could feel the smile in his voice. "I was glad to learn you took my suggestions to heart."

"I want my friends back," I said, surprised that my nervousness didn't show in my voice.

"All in good time," Fairchild says. "Once I see my daughter well and unharmed, we can negotiate."

"No," I said, pacing as far as the phone cord would let me. "Why waste time. You can bring Connie and Mary Lou to the Tides, we'll have Miranda waiting for you."

There was a pause on the other end; probably Fairchild was actually considering what I'd just pulled out my ass. What can I say; sometimes I surprise myself with what I can come up with under pressure.

"All right, noon tomorrow," Fairchild said at last. "I see my daughter and I will arrange for the safe return of your friends."

"I don't see them, you don't see Miranda," I said, almost shocked at how calm it had come out.

He disconnected before I could say anything else and I sat down hard on the bed before my legs gave out under me.

"Girl, you got balls," Lula said. "Did he agree?"

"Strangely enough, I think he did," I said and suddenly broke into hysteric giggles. "I think this could be all over tomorrow at noon."

"That's reason to celebrate," Lula said. "I think the pool is BYOB, but there's a liquor store on the block."

"It's six in the morning," I pointed out although a cocktail did sound like a good idea.

"You're right," Lula said. "We need breakfast first."

I couldn't argue with that, my body had already worked its way through the empty calories I had eaten the night before and besides, I was still nervous. Food would calm my nerves.

After we'd showered and dressed, we cruised around until we found a diner, since Lula decided she wanted 'real food, as opposed to fast food at McDonald's.

"So we still hidin' from the men in black?" Lula asked after she'd cleaned her plate.

I took a sip of my coffee. "We're not hiding. We're just not telling them where we are," I said.

"And there's a reason Officer Hottie and Batman can't know where we are?"

I opened my mouth to give her one, but I couldn't think of anything. No, there was no reason Joe couldn't know where we were. He was hundreds of miles away in rainy Trenton and way out of his jurisdiction here. And so was Ranger, for that matter, but Ranger had men in Miami. If he knew what I was up to, he might just decide it was too dangerous and send in the troops.

"Ranger will insist on helping," I said, making air quotes at the last word. "And there's no way to hide his men. Antonia or her boyfriend will spot them a mile away and call the whole thing off. Too risky."

"Uh-huh," Lula said.

I actually thought that had sounded a lot better than 'I want to prove I can get myself out of a mess without their help', but apparently, it hadn't convinced Lula.

So I went with distraction. "You ready to celebrate now? We have time to waste after all."

If the hotel staff wasn't used to a large black woman in a tight neon green bikini and a chalk white brunette pounding back margaritas at eight in the morning, they didn't show it. For a couple hours, we were the only hotel guests at the tiny pool, and we didn't care. I had denial to do, if I sat in the room waiting for Mario to call, I'd chew my arm off.

Luckily, Mario called before I was wasted. Everything was in place, he said, even the cashier would be one of his men. He had connections he said.

Duh, I thought. He told me not to worry; he'd take care of everything. All I had to do was show up, make sure Bobby didn't follow us in, and deliver Antonia to the bathroom. And the way he said it made me believe I could do it, so I had another cocktail to celebrate.

By early afternoon, Lula and I were both pleasantly numb and felt a nap was called for. Unfortunately, we decided on a nap right by the pool, and I woke up with a nasty sunburn that I just knew everybody would comment on.

Mario had offered to take us out for dinner and show us Miami, but I declined, telling him we already had plans. I really didn't want to risk going back to the Tides and running into Ranger's men, and I didn't want Mario to know we were staying somewhere else. I don't really know why the secrecy was so important to me at the time, it just was. And Lula and I had the opportunity to really bond. She showed me the finer points of action movies, "Look how his muscles flex when he slams that guy into a wall", for example.

In short, we successfully wasted a Sunday away and I avoided unpleasant phone calls by silencing my phone. We went to bed early, aided by the rest of Lula's margarita mix, and I congratulated myself on remembering to set the alarm. Bobby would pick me up at 7:30 in the morning, at the Tides.

At 7:00 AM, Lula and I had checked out of the motel, had left the Porsche in the hands of the concierge, and were just finishing breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, when Bobby walked in. An expression that could only be described as relief washed over his face when he spotted us.

"Bomber, thank God!" he said when he reached our table. "I was looking all over for you. Where the hell were you last night? The boss is gonna have my head for this!"

Lula choked on her orange juice and pretended to have lost something as she promptly ducked under the table to avoid confrontation.

"Hi Bobby," I said, plastering a smile onto my face. "We were out clubbing last night. I didn't hear my phone ring over the noise. Was there a problem?" And the Oscar goes to…

"I'm supposed to keep an eye on you, keep you out of trouble," Bobby said. "Boss has been calling me a dozen times, he's been trying to get in touch with you."

I fished my cell phone out of my purse and frowned at it. "My battery must have died," I showed Bobby the dead display and shrugged. Lula made a strangled noise under the table.

Bobby got his own phone off his belt and dialed. I didn't need three guesses to figure out who the call went to.

"She's here, Boss," he said. "At the hotel. We're on schedule."

He listened for a few seconds before he handed me the phone. "Boss wants to talk to you."

Lula emerged from under the table and excused herself. Chicken. I swallowed and held on to my pleasant smile as I took the phone. "Hi Ranger."

A moment of silence, in which I envisioned Ranger closing his eyes to hold on to his control. "I usually expect a call back when I leave a message," he said after the pause.

"My phone died," I said. "I was out with Lula. Did you need me?"

"Babe," was all he said before he disconnected.

That could mean all sorts of things, of course, including an unscheduled trip to Timbuktu, but I couldn't think about it right then, I decided.

"It's all good," I told Bobby when I gave him back his phone.

I finished my breakfast, paid the bill with Ranger's credit card and got up. Lula returned just as we were leaving the restaurant.

"We're off," I told her. "You meet us at the airport? Make sure Mare and Connie are up and ready?"

"That's what I'll do," Lula said, avoiding Bobby's curious look.

"Hungover," I explained to him when I buckled in next to him, and he didn't comment. It was one of those times where I wished I smoked so I had something for my fidgeting hands to do. I was so nervous, I was about to jump out of my skin.

The plan had to work because it was my only plan; there was no room for error. An on top of that, I had to appear normal to Bobby so he wouldn't expect anything when he was asked to pull over. I already felt like another drink, this trip was going to turn me into an alcoholic!

I waited in the car while Bobby went inside the prison to bring Antonia out, I didn't want to risk any of the guards recognizing me. And, okay, I was too freaked to trust my legs to walk right then.

Bobby and Antonia emerged from the prison a half hour later, Antonia cuffed and shackled, wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans, Bobby leading her. He buckled her into the back seat and secured the shackles to the floor.

"Ready to roll," he announced. "We got plenty of time before the flight."

"Are we supposed to get her on the plane in cuffs?" I wanted to know.

"No, Julio is gonna meet us at security before I take them off," Bobby said and started the car.

I looked at Antonia in the rearview mirror and she returned my gaze without a spark of recognition. I hoped that meant she knew that Bobby wasn't in on it, and not that she had forgotten all about the plan.

"I gotta piss," she announced a mile into the trip and I almost sighed with relief. She'd remembered!

"We'll be there in 20," Bobby said. We were less than a mile from the Store 24.

"I gotta go right now or there'll be a mess in this car," Antonia said.

My cue. "There's a store over there, they'll have a bathroom," I said, just as the convenience store came into view. "I'll take her."

Bobby hesitated. "We're not supposed to stop…"

"I can't hold it much longer," Antonia announced.

"I'm not gonna change her at the airport," I said and Bobby gave in with a sigh and a mumble, pulling into the store's parking lot. Thank God!

Mario had told me he'd leave a black Corvette next to a red pick-up truck in the lot as a sign his men were in place, and those were two of the cars, parked side by side, in front of the store.

"Be careful," Bobby said when he unlocked Antonia's shackles. "You got a gun?"
I patted my purse. "I'm good. You better wait out here in case she tries to run though."

Bobby looked torn at the suggestion, I knew he had orders to accompany us into any places we went to, but he probably couldn't argue my point either. I bit my lip while he made his decision.

"Okay," he finally said and I had to swallow my sigh of relief. "You got five minutes." And he got his phone to report our location or whatever.

I nodded at Antonia and took her by the arm. "Damien is out back," I told her just as we entered the store. "As soon as I get Miranda, you're free to go."

"You got the keys for these?" Antonia asked, holding up her cuffed hands behind her back. Again, I patted my purse, which didn't hold keys for handcuffs any more than it held a gun. "As soon as I have Miranda."

The clerk at the cash register tipped his nose just as Mario had told me he would. Still, my heart might have stopped until we got to the back door, I didn't dare breathing.

Damien Ludlow was waiting by his car just as promised, and there were only two other cars in the back lot, both seemingly unoccupied.

"Baby!" Damien yelled as soon as he saw Miranda.

She cracked a smile. "Dumb as a brick, but good in the sack," she said to me. "And crafty, as it turns out."

Now I saw the girl sitting in the passenger seat of his Ford truck. A pissed-off teenager with bed head and smeared make-up. I hadn't seen a picture of Miranda, but she oozed rich kid even through the windshield.

Damien jogged around the truck and opened the passenger door. He took Miranda by the elbow and now I could see her hands were tied in front of her with rope.

"Tit for tat, no hard feelings," he said as he reached us.

"I guess," I brought out. "Miranda Fairchild?" As if she would reveal she was just a pawn, but I couldn't help myself.

"Get me the hell outta here," she said. And turning to Damien, "My dad is gonna have your balls for this!"

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and took Miranda by the arm. One of Mario's men, coming out from hiding in the sedan parked next to the truck. In case there was going to be shooting, I didn't want either of us in the middle of it.

"Well, best of luck, we better get going, nice to know you," I blabbered as I grabbed the back door and yanked it open, shoving Miranda through.

"Freeze, motherfucker," someone yelled just as the fire door fell shut behind us.

"What was that?" Miranda wanted to know.

"Nothing you want to know," I said. "Let's get you to your dad."

"Can you untie me first?" she asked.

I didn't want to waste anymore time, the worst part was over, I had the girl, but the trickiest part was still ahead: Bobby.

"Let's get in the car first," I said, dragging Miranda with me through the store.

"What the fuck," Bobby yelled predictably as I pushed the store's glass front door open.

"Slight change of plans," I said. Of course that was like saying Hurricane Katrina was just a bit of rain and wind, so I added a confident smile for good measure.

"Antonia is being held by Connie's cousin until we exchange Miranda here for Connie and Mary Lou."

"What?" Bobby asked and stood rooted on his spot by the door. I had to admit I wouldn't have been satisfied with my explanation either if I were him.

"I'll explain on the way over," I said, still dragging Miranda towards the SUV. "You got a knife?" I pointed to Miranda's tied hands.

Bobby got his Leatherman out of one of his pockets and cut the rope around Miranda's wrists almost absentmindedly. "Who is this?" he asked.

"Miranda Fairchild, Bobby Brown," I made the introductions. "She is Oliver Fairchild's daughter. Antonia's boyfriend kidnapped her to get Antonia out and Fairchild kidnapped Mary Lou and Connie to get Miranda out."
"What?" Miranda exclaimed.

"Huh?" from Bobby.

I rolled my eyes and waved at the SUV. "I'll explain the car."

Either Bobby was too confused to argue or I'd actually made sense. Either way, he actually got into the car after we'd deposited Miranda in the back seat and I'd claimed the passenger seat.

On the way back to the Tides, I gave him the details. Bobby shook his head in disbelief when I was finished. "Boss is gonna kill me," was all he said.

Lula was in front of the hotel when we pulled up. She jumped in the air and ran over to us, yanking my door open. "You got her?" she almost shrieked.

"Yeah, she got me," Miranda said from the backseat.

"I need a shower and a manicure," she added when I got her out of the car. I flipped open my phone and called Mario. Bobby was already on his phone and I didn't envy him, I wouldn't have wanted to be the one telling Ranger a mafia boss had the cargo Bobby had been in charge of.

"Everything is pico bello," Mario said. "We've taken the two lovebirds to a secure location."

"Thank you Mario. I have Miranda at the hotel now and we have a few hours until Fairchild will meet us here."

"Alright Bella. You are one special woman."

"Let me have you talk to Bobby so he'll know where to pick the two up," I suggested. "RangeMan will handle it from here."
I held the phone out to Bobby. "Mario Teobaldo," I said and to Bobby's credit, his eyes only widened marginally when he took my phone.

"Let's get you cleaned up," I said to Miranda and nudged her through the hotel's doors.

"I've never seen anyone take this long in the bathroom," Lula said to me two and a half hours later.

We were sitting up in our room, waiting for Miranda to emerge. The shower had stopped running about an hour before, but there was no sign of her yet.

I shrugged. "Teenagers."

Lula had listened to me telling the morning's events with ever growing excitement. At least a dozen times she said, "I can't believe you did that.", but then she'd fallen silent, watching the bathroom door.

When my phone rang, I almost fell out of the chair. "Do we have a deal?" Fairchild asked.

Oh thank God, the final stage. "Yes, Miranda is here with me."

"If I so much as smell a cop in the vicinity of the hotel, the deal is off," he warned.

"No cops," I said. "Just bring my friends."

"I see you in 20 minutes," he said and disconnected.

With that settled, I turned off my phone again. I was getting tired of ignoring all the phone calls I didn't want to answer.

Miranda finally came out of the bathroom, clean and dressed in the clothes I'd gotten her at the hotel's boutique.

"Your dad is gonna be here soon," I told her. "As soon as I see my friends, you're free to go."

"You mean until then I'm your prisoner or something?" she asked.

"Well no, I…"

"That's exactly what she means, girlie," Lula interrupted. "And you'd have to get by me if you wanted out before Steph here says you can go."

Miranda eyed Lula for a moment and I thought I saw an inkling of fear for a second, but then she shrugged and plopped down on the bed. "Whatever". If she'd been chewing gum, I was sure she would have popped it at that point.

I looked at Lula gratefully and she winked at me.

"That's right," I said. "So no funny stuff."

And then I turned and left the room before Miranda found out I was full of shit.

I had five minutes until show time when I settled into one of the arm chairs in the lobby, trying very hard to appear careless. My heart was beating so hard against my chest, it felt like it was going to burst out at any second.

I ordered a mojito to calm my nerves, but before it arrived, two bodyguards, big and tall and sans necks entered the lobby and checked left and right if everything was secure. Seconds later, a man in a beige suit entered and I just knew I was looking at Oliver Fairchild.

He spotted me and smiled as if we were meeting for a date. "Miss Plum."

I jumped up. "Where are my friends?" I asked when I'd reached him.

"Where is my daughter?" he shot back.

"Upstairs in my room," I told him. "She'll come down as soon as Connie and Mare are here."

"Fair enough," he said after a moment's consideration and motioned towards one of his goons. No neck #1 left the lobby and came back a minute later with Mary Lou and Connie by his side.

I almost fainted with relief. "Mare!! Connie!!" I shrieked and ran towards them, gathering them in a bear hug.

"Are you okay?" I asked when I was sure they were really there.

"Sure we are," Connie said. "We had a glorious time. Mr. Fairchild here is quite the host, isn't he Mare?"
Mary Lou nodded. "I can't remember ever feeling so relaxed," she said and I felt the urge to pinch myself to find out if I was dreaming.

"Whaa?" I asked, it was the only sound I could make.

"Oh, he apologized for the inconvenience," Connie explained. "But when he told us bout his predicament and his daughter we fully understood."

Mary Lou nodded. "Lenny would have done the same for our kids. And you should see his house Steph!!"

Before it could get any more bizarre, Fairchild tapped me on the shoulder. "Our deal, Miss Plum?
I nodded numbly and walked over to the courtesy phone in the lobby, dialing our room number as if in trance. "Send her down," I said to Lula. "And you better come too, you're not gonna believe this."

An hour later, Mary Lou and Connie were telling us about their last two days by the pool. I'd downed a mojito for my nerves and was sipping the second one, Lula still hadn't found the strength to close her mouth. She was following the story, looking from Connie to Mary Lou as if she was watching a tennis match.

Here I had envisioned the two tied up and huddled together in some basement room when they had been treated like royalty at Fairchild's estate. They'd spent their days poolside, being pampered, wined and dined like celebrities.

I had used up all my energy for shock, when I suddenly spotted Ranger and Joe coming out of the hotel towards us. I wasn't even surprised to see them, only that they hadn't shown up earlier. All I could bring out was a "Hi guys," though.

Really, it was almost comical the way they stood shoulder to shoulder, both with their hands on their hips.
"You wanna explain this?" they asked almost in unison.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and then tried that cheery smile again as toasted them with my drink. "Girls' week?"

The End

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