AN: I don't own Stephanie Plum in any way shape or form.
Prologue
Stephanie smiled as she walked to the airport. She faced Ranger and hugged him. "Thanks for bringing me."
"Babe." When she pulled back she could see concern flicker briefly in his eyes.
"Don't worry," She laughed. "I'm fine. Things ended amicably." And they had. Things between her and Joe had run its course. They had drifted too far apart and couldn't seem to find a way back to each other. More and more, she had found herself turning to Ranger when things were getting tough and she needed to talk to someone.
They had split two days ago. At first she had been upset, but the Lula gave her the suggestion of taking a trip to Europe for a few weeks. Ranger had been set to go with her, but she had managed to talk him out of it, with the promise he would hear from her every day.
"Be careful." He said, kissed her, then left.
"That's the plan." She murmured as she turned to face the airport. She was going to enjoy her time off.
"Where's Stephanie?" Lula asked one morning. "She's supposed to be back now! If she's not she better have married some hot Europe man."
"I haven't heard from her."
The doors opened and Ranger strolled in. Both women went breathless for a moment. Lula spoke first. "Rangeman! Where's Steph?"
"Still in Europe." He answered vaguely, not giving away the concern that was eating at him.
Vinnie poked his head out of the office. "I just talked to Grandma Mazur. She said Stephanie called this morning and said she's not coming back soon." The look in Ranger's eyes made him duck back into the office. No way was he going to deal with him looking like that.