This chapter is written by SHELLSUED

JE owns all the rights to anything familiar - all mistakes are mine - but hopefully the awesome beta work of alix33 caught most of them.

Thanks highlands girl and LilyGhost for letting me collaborate with you :)

JOE MORELLI POV

"What the hell is your problem? Did someone piss in your coffee?"

I shot my partner a look and then glanced down at the paper cup I'd filled to the brim on the way out of the station. It was way past too late to be consuming caffeine, but I was running on empty from almost an entire week of no sleep and needed it if I wanted to be upright and coherent. Cops lived on coffee and unfortunately didn't make it well. Most of the time it tasted like a mixture of battery acid and dryer lint but tonight it wasn't half bad. Lynda, the late shift dispatcher, must have made it this time. I was fairly confident she hadn't pissed in it.

"Why don't you fuck off?" I snapped, "And for Christ's sake watch the road!" Simmons yanked the wheel to the left and we narrowly avoided clipping the back bumper of a tan minivan. The sudden shift made most of the extremely hot liquid slosh out onto the front of my jeans. I swore again, wondering why I'd even let the asshole drive.

"Here." Simmons shoved some napkins at me that he'd retrieved from the center console compartment. It was useless but I pressed them to the wet spot anyway and gave him another filthy look.

"Great," I muttered. "This is just fucking great. Who taught you how to drive? I look like I pissed myself." And now I have to walk into the biggest bust of my career looking like I can't hold my bladder. I can picture the smug smile on Mañoso's face already.

My partner for the last eight months leveled me with his glacier blue eyes and it was a glare worthy of my Grandma Bella's best stare. "You know, Morelli, you've been a first class prick all week and I've about had my fill of your shit. I didn't purposely dump the coffee in your lap, but I kinda wish I was that big of an asshole. Right now I'd really like to drown you in a vat of it."

Part of me was shocked at the outburst. Jake Simmons was a fairly mild-mannered guy. There wasn't much that ever riled him and it was one of the reasons I'd chosen him for a partner when I was tagged by Internal Affairs for this job. It was a shit assignment; no one wanted to hunt one of our own, even if the rumors were true - and in this case they were. Two of my fellow detectives on the force were suspected of selling guns and a shit ton of C4 to the highest bidder and they were guilty as hell.

Simmons and I had a whole cabinet full of evidence on both of them that we'd spent most of the last half a year gathering and in that whole time, he'd never once even raised his voice.

Although, to be fair, I was being a dick. And I knew it. I'd had a short fuse since I got back from Hawaii a month ago and I couldn't seem to shake it. What should have been a fun, sexy weekend on the beach turned to shit when I discovered Stephanie in her hotel room with Ranger. Lucky for all of us I hadn't found them in bed together or I might have shot them both.

I did lose my temper and Ranger and I ended up in a painful and dirty fight that was about two years overdue. We'd been carefully avoiding each other since but now we had to work together on this bust and that fact wasn't doing much to improve my mood.

The job had gotten complicated when it was discovered the slimeball cops were selling the weapons to a local mob family and from there they were making their way into the hands of a terrorist organization based out of Greece. That brought in the feds.

And of fucking course, Ranger's company was contracted by the ATF to intercept the guns before they left the country. Except I found out a week ago there was way more to it than that. The information was far above my pay grade so I hadn't been read in, and that's why I only overheard half of a conversation between the chief and god only knows who when I was eaves dropping outside his office.

To say I hadn't liked what I heard would be a gross understatement. I always suspected there was more to the guy than that man of mystery shit he projected but to have it mostly confirmed was a whole other can of worms. I tried calling in some favors to get the complete story but got shot down at every turn. Apparently he has some serious clout with someone high in the government ranks because his record is sealed tighter than a drum.

Ranger was dangerous and lethal and the fact he had some sort of spell over Stephanie scared the crap out of me. I should have kept her away from him when I first noticed the way he looked at her. Of course trying to keep Steph from doing anything was like trying to capture lightning in a bottle.

"Just drive and try not to kill us," I grumbled and Jake blew out a frustrated sigh.

"Maybe you'd be less of an asshole if you got laid. I have a cousin who talks about you non-stop. I could make a call."

"Jesus, Simmons. You're not my pimp and I have a girlfriend."

His eyes flickered to mine and I saw the skepticism. He'd unfortunately been a witness to the argument I'd had with Stephanie two weeks ago. It was a bad one and I hadn't seen her since but he didn't need to know that.

"Just trying to help."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. The sad part was he really was trying to help. Jake was just that kind of a guy and he didn't deserve my attitude. "Yeah, I know. Let's get to the warehouse and get this job done." It was as good of an apology as I could manage and it would have to do for now. I'd buy him a couple beers when it was over. Or maybe a dozen.

"Roger that."

It was nearly ten and the street was mostly deserted. Simmons eased the car to the curb about a block back and as soon as he cut the engine my phone rang. I already knew it was Ranger, but I checked the display anyway.

"Speak," I said into the receiver.

"Nice of you to join us, Morelli. We're ready to roll on this. The perimeter is clear for a mile and as a precaution I have men positioned at every possible escape route; however we don't expect any issues. My spotter saw your two rogue associates go inside the building five minutes ago and the Grizolli brothers weren't far behind."

I glanced at my watch in irritation thinking we must be late because according to all the Intel, no one was set to arrive at the warehouse for another twenty minutes. I should have known he'd be here already. He probably did it just to annoy me and I was feeling pissed that it was working. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough. We go in on foot in ten. Tank and I will head in from the west, you and your partner from your current eastern position. We'll coordinate the actual breach when we're in the lot." The asshole disconnected and I had to rein in the urge to punch a hole through the dash. I didn't know what pissed me off more, that fact that he was running this op, or that he seemed to be enjoying bossing me around.

I muttered a few choice words under my breath, but loud enough to draw a questioning look from Simmons. "Get your gear and let's go," I commanded curtly. I could tell he wanted to tell me where I could shove it but he wisely kept his trap shut.

We hoofed it to the parking lot of the warehouse and I had my gun out and hanging loosely at my side while I scanned the darkness on our approach. I didn't see Ranger or that behemoth that worked for him and I silently did a little internal victory dance for beating him. I really should have known better.

The man appeared out of a shadow like smoke with Tank at his back and my temporary joy at besting the legend deflated like a day old balloon. It was very dark with only a flickering street lamp lending any light and still his all-seeing eyes dipped to the wet stain on the front of my jeans. If he said a word about it, I might have to shoot him. "We need to do a sweep of the lot and then get into position to enter the building. There are only two ways in, a front and rear entrance. You and Simmons can enter through the front and create a diversion so Tank and I can slip in the back undetected."

At least he had the decency not to mention my pants but everything in me wanted to argue with his instruction. Simmons nodded his blond head in assent without a word so what choice did I have? Saying anything at this point would just make me look like a belligerent asshole. It took a lot of restraint not to spout what I really wanted to and I think I could actually taste the bitterness I'd been feeling for months when I uttered, "Your call."

He gave us a single nod and with his Glock leading the way in a sweeping arc, we headed into the parking area. There were the expected vehicles of the men we knew were inside the building but there was one that didn't belong anywhere near the place and Ranger and I saw it at the same time. The yellow piece of shit with the broken taillights and the hole in the floor of the back seat was parked in the far right corner of the lot.

"Shit," I said out loud as a tight fist seemed to clamp around my heart and squeeze. Ranger's cool gaze met what I'm sure was my panicked eyes but there was no indication of any emotion on his face. He had his phone out before I even went to reach for mine.

"Voicemail," he said quietly while I was still dialing. A second later I heard her voice as well, telling me to leave a message after the beep. I tried her landline next, knowing he probably already had. "Her GPS has her in the building," he added and I lifted my eyes from my phone.

I could feel the anger boiling quickly to an unhealthy degree but I couldn't stop it. "You're tracking her?"

Ranger and Tank shared a look that I couldn't identify but I knew they'd communicated something. "I'm going in to get her," he announced and it sounded almost offhand, like this couldn't completely ruin a job eight months in the making. "Be ready to move in when I give the word."

He turned away from us and I looked to Tank and Simmons hoping to see what I was feeling on their faces but they were as blank as Ranger's always was. It was going to be up to me to stop him and I knew it was going to get ugly.

"Whoa, hold up." I shot out a hand and wrapped it around his forearm before he could get out of reach."You can't just storm in there. We don't even know where she is or why she's here. This could fuck up the whole operation. Let's try and get some more Intel before you go in with guns blazing." I thought I made a pretty good argument and I hoped at least Simmons would back me up but he didn't say anything and when Ranger's eyes dropped to the fingers I had wrapped around his arm I knew I was fucked.

"If you ever want to use that hand again, I suggest you remove it immediately."

I wasn't stupid enough not to so I let him go and tried again to reason with him. "You know the job is toast if you go in there. There has to be another way. What the fuck is she doing here anyway? Christ." I ran a hand through my hair in frustration and worry. Stephanie was always stumbling into things she had no business being around and one day it was going to get her killed. My heart twisted again beneath my ribs and I prayed to God that today wouldn't be that day. I didn't know if I could handle it if anything happened to her.

"I'm going in after her, Morelli. If you try and stop me again, I'll put a bullet in your leg."

I didn't doubt he was serious but when he turned away from me I tried one more time anyway. "You're letting your dick control your…"

I didn't get to finish what I knew was about the stupidest thing I could say to the man who'd just threatened to shoot me because the building exploded into a giant ball of fire as soon as he took the first step towards it.

My heart dropped into my stomach as the flames jumped high into the night sky. The whole building was consumed in a matter of seconds and there was no chance anyone inside it could have survived. Stephanie was gone. She was surely and truly gone and I felt like I was frozen to the asphalt as I watched it burn.

I didn't even see him coming until it was too late and the look in his eyes terrified me to the very core of my being.

Ranger's fist connected with my nose and I knew it was broken before the second punch to my gut knocked me off my feet. The scrape of pavement across my shoulder was brutal but I managed to roll as another hit came and it only grazed off my arm. I got on my feet and with the full force my body weight behind me, I took a swing at him. He pivoted at the last second and my fist landed hard against his shoulder. Two more followed in quick succession, making him dance back a couple steps.

I'd been a boxer in the navy and the moves came back instinctually. I had a reputation for taking out my opponents by dislocating their shoulders and I thought that was probably my best option as far as Ranger was concerned. I had to do something or he was going to knock me down and if he got me on the ground again, I was screwed. He was fast and ruthless and I did my best to keep up but I knew I was severely out matched. The hits to my head, abdomen, and kidneys seemed to come in an endless loop. I managed a couple to his face but concentrated my efforts on his shoulder and just when I thought he was starting to weaken, he swept my feet out from under me and I went down hard. The back of my head smacked against the asphalt and when I opened my eyes, Ranger was above me with his fist on its way to my nose once again.

I was saved by Tank physically removing him from me. The beefy arms came around Ranger's sternum and yanked him off. I rolled to the side and spit out a mouthful of blood. My eyes were swelling and my head was ringing but I still heard the tail end of the words coming out of that giant mug.

"…wasn't in there. She's safe at home. I swear she wasn't in there."

Relief flooded through my veins and for a second I didn't feel any pain. Stephanie was safe and that's all that mattered. Simmons squatted beside me and held out towel. "Are you okay?"

I wasn't sure and I didn't really care. As long as Stephanie was, I didn't give a fuck what state I was in. "I'll live," I muttered and he helped me to my feet. That's when I noticed the fire trucks and the patrol cars and the chief of police heading my way. He didn't look pleased.

Carl Costanza was on his heels and I didn't even process what the chief was saying until I was in the back of a squad car and on my way to the station.

"Are the cuffs really necessary, Carl?" I shifted in the seat, adjusting the position of my hands. They were slightly swollen and the cuffs were making it even more uncomfortable. I was also sure I was getting blood all over the car as he'd insisted on cuffing me behind the back.

"You know the procedure," he told me from behind the wheel and if my eyes weren't so puffy, I would have rolled them.

I did know the protocol, I just hadn't been on the receiving end before. I glared at the back of his head through the mesh screen separating the back seat from the front. I kept my mouth shut the rest of the ride and when we arrived at the station, I was hoping Carl would take me in through the side entrance but he paraded me through the booking area, adding to the already abundant humiliation.

Ranger was brought in a minute later by Robin Russell and after we went through the booking process, the abasement continued when we were assigned to the same cell.

"It's the only one open," Carl assured me when I put up a protest.

Fucking great. More time to spend with the guy who just did his best to obliterate me with his fists. I was the first one in and headed for the lower bunk bed. Had to take my victories where I could get them, plus I didn't think I could actually climb onto the top bunk.

I lay down and didn't say a word, hoping Ranger wouldn't either because my head was pounding and the last thing I wanted to do was listen to his bullshit. Thankfully he stayed quiet; we both did until Costanza appeared in front of the bars to inform us it was time to talk. They'd kept us locked up all night and I wasn't in the mood to wait any longer and then the stupid prick tried to get Ranger to go first but I wasn't having it. I pulled rank on him and he caved quickly, leading me down the hall. I thought we would go to an interrogation room but he led me into a small office that I wasn't sure anyone even used anymore.

I settled into the metal folding chair and as soon as soon as Carl took a seat across from me, I asked for a something to drink, just to be a dick. He let out a small sigh, but fulfilled my request without comment. When he returned he had bottles of water and also a damp towel so I could wipe off some of the blood, making me feel like an asshole for being a jerk.

He pushed some papers around on the desk before finally asking me if I was ready to begin. I gave him a nod and he clicked on the small, hand-held tape recorder. He stated his name and badge number and indicated he was interviewing me regarding the events at the warehouse.

"Please state your name for the record."

I blew out a frustrated sigh, not really sure why the fuck I was even here. Ranger was the one that mucked everything up and then attacked me but we'd both been arrested and I was more than a little peeved.

"Are we really gonna do it this way, Costanza?"

He clicked of the recorder and gave me a look. "Cut me some slack here, Joe. This is protocol and you really ticked off the chief so if you want to get out of here anytime soon, you're gonna need to tell me what happened."

"Fine. Have you been read in?" I knew he probably was on the PD's side of the operation, but I didn't want to reveal anything I shouldn't on the ATF side.

"I know everything," he said curtly, probably thinking that was a dig on his patrol officer rank. He turned the recorder back on and asked for my name again.

I knew he was just doing his job and I wouldn't be doing it any differently if our roles were reversed but I still didn't like it. "Detective Morelli, Joseph. Trenton PD." I also recited my badge number and then went into the details of the cluster fuck starting with my arrival at the property. Carl didn't interrupt until I got to the part where we saw Steph's car.

"So Ranger was already there? And he didn't spot the car before you got there?"

I thought it was odd at first too, but he hadn't been in the lot until we both went in together. He only had eyes on the building from a distance and they were watching the bodies going in, not the cars.

I shook my head and went on. "We saw the car at the same time. It was at the back of the lot, half hidden by a dumpster."

"I'm assuming you attempted to reach her."

"Yeah, Carl, we're not complete idiots. We couldn't reach her by phone and then fucking…" I cut myself off; the chief wouldn't like the swearing on the official record. "And then Mañoso announced he was going to go into the building to get her out."

"Which could have jeopardized the whole operation…you tried to stop him?"

"Of course I tried to stop him and then the freaking building blew up before he even took two steps." I swallowed hard as I saw the fireball again. I knew if I hadn't argued with him I would have followed Ranger inside and we'd both be nothing but burned up bones right now. But honestly, I was trying not to think about that too much.

"And you must have thought Stephanie was inside. I bet that was….awful." There was something odd in his tone and in the look on his face but I couldn't quite place it.

"Yeah, it fucking sucked, Carl. Jesus." I'd felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest and for a moment I wished I'd been inside with her. If she was gone, I wanted to be gone too.

Carl cleared his throat and flipped through the manila file that was resting on the desk. "And when did Ranger hit you?"

He said it casually, almost as an afterthought, yet it still made my stomach drop like I'd swallowed a lead weight. As long as I live I will never forget the rage, the nearly psychopathic frenzy in his eyes right before Ranger's fist connected with my face. It was only a second but in that moment I knew exactly what he was capable of and if Tank hadn't been there to stop him, I'm positive Ranger would have killed me.

I squirmed in my seat, feeling a little uncomfortable and at that moment I was glad at the sorry state of my face so Carl couldn't see the color I felt flaming my cheeks. I'd gotten my ass beat. I knew it, Carl knew it and for sure Ranger knew it and I was embarrassed that it was as bad as it was. Normally I didn't have any trouble holding my own in a fight, but Ranger was far from normal. Truthfully, I'm lucky it wasn't a lot worse.

"Pretty much right after the building blew. Look, that's it okay, there's nothing left to tell. Can I get my phone call now?"

Carl closed the folder and then asked about Stephanie. I relayed what I'd heard from Tank and he jotted it down even though the recorder was still going. When he finally turned it off and pushed back from the desk I was sweating, every inch of my body was throbbing and I was having a hard time not letting him see what kind of pain I was actually in.

"Listen, Joe, the chief is thoroughly pissed, but as soon as he calms down and we sort out the bodies and the paperwork I'm sure he'll drop the charges, or at least reduce them so don't worry too much about it." He lifted out of the chair and slid the phone on the desk toward me. "Normally you'd be sent up to booking and the bank of payphones, but this one's working if you want to use it. I'll give you five minutes."

He left me alone and I let out a long breath. I stared at the phone for a minute, debating who to call. I wanted to hear Stephanie's voice, but after the last fight we had, I was sure I'd be the last person she'd want to hear from, and she probably wouldn't even take my call if I attempted it. I was going to fix that. I would fix everything between us, no matter what it took because if this whole mess taught me one thing, it was that I didn't want to live without her. The price was high with Stephanie and sometimes I didn't know if I'd be able to pay it, but I knew I wanted to try.

I sighed and picked up the phone, dialing the number by heart and she answered on the first ring. "Hey…yeah I know….I'm sure you have….how many phone calls? Look….okay, I know, Jesus. I just wanted to tell you I wouldn't be there….No I don't…..yes I'm sure you do. I gotta go, I'll swing by later."

I hung up and could have made another call to have someone bail me out but I thought Carl was right, the chief would drop the charges and I wouldn't have to worry about it. Frankly I just wanted to lie back down for a while and the jail cell was as good as anywhere else, except for Steph's bed….but that wasn't going to happen. Not yet anyway.

Carl knocked on the door and then led me back to my shared cell. Hopefully I could get some sleep and maybe think about how I was going to get back into Stephanie's good graces while he interrogated Ranger.