Too Many Choices, Not Enough Ways to Escape
By: Dramacat16
Disclaimers: All rights go to the one and only Janet Evanovich. I'm just 'borrowing' her characters for some hours of entertainment.
Spoilers: Takes place after Plum Lovin' (which takes place after Twelve Sharp)
Warnings: Rating may change, if they do I'll post a little diddy about it. Also, this is my first fanfic- so please REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!
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The first box held a single perfect long-stemmed red rose. No card.
The second box held a dozen yellow roses. The message on the card was… LOVE, JOE.
The third box held a bouquet of daisies. The hand scrawled not said… VALENTINE'S DAY SUCKS, USUALLY.
Valentine's Day didn't suck this year, I thought.
I felt someone brush a kiss across the nape of my neck, and I turned to Diesel, but the only thing behind me was the cake sitting on the bottom step.
Chapter 1:
Okay, here's the thing. I can't make a choice for my life. I can't even pick out which Tastykake I want, for the love of god. And there was no way I could pick between the two men I lusted after- Joe Morelli and Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Better known by his street name- Ranger. Actually, not all the long ago, it came perfectly clear to me that I loved both of them. I was sitting in my living room and a guy that thought he was Ranger had the real Ranger's daughter, Julie, at gun point. Then I heard my lock tumble. Mr. Fake Ranger told me he would shoot Julie if I warned the person that he was there. I knew it had to be either Ranger of Morelli. And then Ranger entered and got shot. And then that sent me into a panic attack. I mean, I completely lost it.
So, now to my current predicament. I was staring into my closet looking between two things hanging up. And no, they weren't any sort of clothing. The single red rose and one of the yellow roses were hanging upside down. I was going to dry them out and save them. They would be a constant reminder of the two men in my life. Okay, I had also received a bouquet of daisies for Valentine's Day but I sort of let them wilt away and die. Truth be told, Diesel wasn't one the men in my life. I couldn't do the whole supernatural crap. Then again, for all I know, Ranger might be supernatural…
I had no clue what the flowers were going to do, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn't going all that well so far. Every time I opened my closest, I saw the damn flowers and started thinking about Ranger and Morelli. I loved both of them, and both of them loved me…in their own way. Morelli either wanted to strangle me or marry me, and Ranger- well let's not go there.
Right now I was sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at the two flowers. And then it hit me, I swear it was like I had an epiphany or something. It was probably an idea that would come back to haunt me, but that didn't phase the woman who acted on her compulsions. So what did I do? I called the two alpha males to come to by apartment to 'talk'. At the same time. The same time being right now.
Chapter 2:
I was about to press the little green button on my cell phone to call Ranger when the phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and smiled. It was Ranger.
"Yo," I said, my tone completely mocking.
"Babe." I rolled my eyes. Man of mystery, specialist in the mono-syllable.
"I was just about to call you. What's up on your end?"
"Before I left I told you we needed to talk when I came back. I'm back, time to talk."
"Wow we're on the same guidelines. When will you get here?"
"In half an hour." And he hung up. One of these days I really need to learn to hang up first. Of course, last time I did that, he called back just to say never hang up on him and then he hung up.
I dialed Morelli on his cell and asked if he could come over in 30 minutes. He said he'd come but wouldn't be able to stay long. Something about a big gang shootout that was suppose to go down later in the afternoon.
I got everything ready and then started on my make-up. You can always tell if I have something worrying me by how much eye make-up I had on. Today it wasn't really that anything was worrying me, but more that it was going to be hard for me to do. I had a shitload of blue eye shadow on and about three layers of mascara. My shoulder length brown hair was in soft curls and my blue eyes were focused and alert. The ten galleons of coffee probably helped with this.
I walked out of the bathroom just in time to watch Joe walk in. He gave me a weary smile, gentle kiss, and sat down on the couch. I waited in the kitchen until I heard my lock tumble a couple minutes later. I looked over towards the living room, and I saw Joe's eyes harden slightly. I gave him a slight nod and turned to Ranger. I simply pointed to the living room and waited. His mouth tightened, apparently not a lot of people told Ranger what to do, but he went without problems. I followed them and took a deep breath. This would probably be the toughest challenge yet in my life. They looked at me, waiting. It was obviously that they were semi-anxious, patience wasn't high on their list of virtues.
"Okay I have something to say to you two. I love both of you. I love you and can't decide between either or you. So I'm going to cut both of you out of my life for a while." I looked between them and gave a small nod. "And I'd appreciate it if you cooperate and not come after me."
Before they could say anything I was out the door with my purse and suitcase. I had no clue what I was doing but I needed to act fast. I needed to get out of New Jersey before either of them stopped me. I knew they would eventually find me, but you can't stop a girl from trying.
Chapter 3:
I pulled into the bail bonds agency and parked in the back. I ran in and was relieved to see Connie and Lula.
"Lula, I need a ride to the airport. Connie, I need a fake passport. How fast can you get it to me?"
They looked up a little startled. They saw my flushed appearance and Connie started typing something into the computer.
"The fake passport can be ready in two hours. Do you want to be Shirly Faux or Robin Barq?"
"Robin. When I arrive to where I'm going, I'll send you guys a letter. I'm going to run to my bank and empty my account. I should be good for a while with that."
"What's going on?" Lula took this time to chip in. I knew I had to leave bits and pieces out because of her relationship with Tank.
"Taking a vacation and I can't afford to be followed." Lula and Connie exchanged glances and nodded. I gave a sigh of relief, they knew what was going on. They were going to be cooperative.
"Thanks you guys, I appreciate it. And can I borrow your car, Connie, everyone knows mine and Lula's…sticks out."
Connie nodded and passed me the keys. I rushed out the doorway and heard them started whispering behind me. I didn't really care if they thought I was going insane or not, didn't matter as long as they didn't call Ranger or Morelli.
I hopped into the tan sedan. It was the perfect car to blend in at a bank parking lot. I saw my cousin and hurried over to her. It was nice to have connections, wasn't it? Definitely a benefit to being born in the Burg- umbilical cords didn't allow children to go far and families stayed close.
I returned to the office after making a pit-stop at Dunkin' Doughnuts. Connie passed me a file and a blonde wig. I quirked my eyebrow and she shrugged.
"Sorry, but it goes with the part. I had to get this done quick and didn't have time to change the hair color. It's just for the plane ride."
I gave them each a hug and smiled. "I don't know when I'll be back. I'll write to you guys when I can, but you can't tell anybody where I am." I grabbed Lula's arm and pulled her towards the door.
"We're gonna take your car again and Lula will drive it back. Thanks again you guys, you're great."