Learning Eight

by Aelinn

My continuation of Seven Up, so spoilers up until that book, and perhaps a few for others. Rating for sex.

1. Part 1

Learning Eight

Prologue

'DeChooch is fine, but we have unfinished business.'

My swallow was audible across the room. I know, because Ranger smirked. He knew full well I was scared of this. Apparently he didn't care.

'I care, Babe.' His words were soft, floating over on the breeze from the window. I sat up, hugging the covers to my chest so that he wouldn't see just how much his presence affected me. Unfortunately, I knew the action was pointless. He knew anyway.

'Then explain to me why you're doing this,' I asked, hoping I didn't sound too breathless. Ranger's smirk widened into a smile, one of those that's full of watts and turns my insides to mush. Very happy mush, but mush all the same.

'Because I don't think I can wait any longer,' he said, amusement clear in his voice; although there was an undercurrent of something more serious. I couldn't pinpoint what it was. I always did amuse him, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at it. I shivered. I had always wanted Ranger. Any woman would. And I had always failed to understand why he would want me.

My wanting him did nothing to diminish the fear, however. I didn't know precisely why I was scared, or precisely what I was scared of. I wasn't scared of Ranger. More, I thought, of what he could do to me. I knew he'd never hurt me; at least not physically. Looking at him standing there, so calmly watching me think, I realised that it was me I was scared of. Of what he might make me feel. Of how he might hurt me emotionally.

I love Joe. I probably always will. I've loved him since I was six and he'd taken me into his father's garage to play choo choo. I knew that I didn't want to marry him. He's Burg and for the last few years I'd been fighting with everything I had to escape the Burg. Of course I hadn't really realised it at the time.

Ranger was everything the Burg wasn't. I knew he'd had a hard past. I knew he'd 'used to everything'. I knew he'd killed people. I knew he had a daughter and an ex-wife, something you would very rarely find in the Burg. And I was more attracted to him right now than I ever had been to Joe. Or anyone else, for that matter.

I assumed Ranger knew exactly what I was thinking. He is the master of ESP. I also assumed it wouldn't bother him very much. That's not to say he would dismiss it, just that probably it wouldn't affect what he was going to do with me. I looked up suddenly as Ranger sighed, and actually scrubbed a hand over his face.

'Babe.' He paused. 'I won't make you do this if you don't want to. I've never made you do something you haven't wanted to – unless there was a very good reason – and I won't.' I knew that. 'I want this. But I won't take it if you don't want me to.' From Ranger, the admission that he wanted this was a big one. He was into the whole Batman-mystery shit. Way into it.

'I want this,' I whispered. Ranger smiled, dry and humourless.

'No. Your body wants this. Will you still want this when you wake up in the morning, wrapped in my arms?' That was a very scary thought. Waking up to Batman. It also, I have to admit, sent a delicious thrill of anticipation and excitement through me.

When I was little, I'd jumped off my garage roof after deciding I wanted to be Wonder Woman in an effort to fly. I remembered it perfectly. The leap, the rushing air, the indescribable sense of floating, being airborne, unsupported. The fear that it wouldn't work, that somehow I would fall.

I had fallen, of course. But for that instant before I had, I'd felt unreasonable, uncontainable joy. I suspected this might be a lot like that experience. I feared now that, wonderful, amazing and mind-blowing as it was sure to be, sleeping with Ranger would open me to feelings I didn't want to acknowledge. I also knew it could be a good thing, like trying to fly had been. I'd learned from it, learned that I wasn't Wonder Woman. But it had never stopped me continuing to try to be her. And someday, I knew, I would get there. I still believe that.

I knew that I wanted Ranger for his body; I wasn't dead. I knew I trusted him implicitly with my life. But by asking me this, he was also asking me to trust him with my heart. Not completely, or not yet. But I still had to trust him in that way. Did I? Could I? There is a quality to Ranger that instills trust… My earlier thought drifted through my mind. Yes, I found, I could. And did.

'Yes. Yes, I will.' The words had no sound to them, tiny sighs of air stirred by my mouth. I watched Ranger as he heard them, time seeming to slow as he listened to what I'd said. His expression didn't change, but all of a sudden, a tension I hadn't even noticed flooded out of him and he visibly relaxed.

He walked over to my bed, peeling his t-shirt off and dropping it carelessly on my floor. I watched in fascination as his muscles rippled and flexed. I knew he was a beautiful man, but the reality far outclassed any amount of imagination. His belt followed his shirt to the floor just before he sat on my bed.

'Are you absolutely sure, Babe? No second thoughts, no regrets, ever.' A single finger traced the line of my cheek. I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak, glad that my period had ended that morning. The corners of Ranger's mouth tipped up, a hint of amusement in his dark eyes. I looked up at him, and wondered just how well I knew him. Then I realised I knew everything that really mattered.

I knew he had a strict ethical code even if it was sometimes a little strange; it made sense to him. I knew he could be trusted. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Everything else was just detail; not needed here, now.

Ranger's fingertip dragged over my lower lip, pulling it open slightly. I darted my tongue out to taste him, expecting some kind of a reaction from him. I was rewarded with a catch in his breathing for my efforts, but it was me who moaned at the pure sweetness of his smooth skin.

Ranger pulled his finger back and laid his palm against my cheek. His heat burned into me, and my eyes fluttered closed. No matter how many times I'd imagined this, how many different ways I'd thought of it happening, all the different ways I might react to him, my imaginings had shit on the reality.

I nearly jerked in surprise when I felt his lips gently brush mine. It must have been a subconscious desire not to miss out on the experience that kept me where I was. It was a feather-light touch, barely there, yet it sent heat spiraling slowly through my belly. I needed Ranger. Needed him like I needed oxygen. Possibly more than I needed oxygen at the moment.

I brought my hands forward and laid them on his shoulders. His skin was smooth, and hot, and covered muscles that were rock-hard, yet twitched and jumped under my fingers. Wanting to explore that response, I slid my fingers down, over the ridges of his chest, down to the muscles of his stomach. Christ, the man had more muscles than I had thought it was possible to have.

Ranger groaned as I slid my fingers back up and tentatively searched for his nipples. When I found them, I was suddenly on my back beneath him, his mouth hard and hot over mine, demanding, taking, almost without thought for me. I didn't care. His kiss was drugging, pulling me into a state of prolonged bliss that I couldn't seem to summon the will to leave. Not that I particularly wanted to. It felt too damn nice for that. In fact, I very much wanted to stay exactly where I was. Although, I wouldn't complain if he decided to get rid of a few more annoying and unnecessary barriers between us. Like clothes.

As if he'd read my mind, which, I reflected, he might very well have done, his hands were at my waist, tugging my shirt up. I raised my arms to let him pull it over my head, arching my back to press my breasts to his chest when I was free of the constraining material. I moaned as his heat pressed into me, then his weight as he lowered himself slowly. It was indescribable pleasure and I'd never experienced anything like it.

He shifted half to one side, leaning his weight on one hand. His other rested against my cheek and he kissed me, invading my mouth even as my body silently begged for more. His ESP was obviously working, because the hand on my face slid down my neck, over my collarbone, and then gently, softly, cupped one breast.

I arched into his hand, needing more than he was currently giving, exquisite as it was. Ranger complied, gently molding his fingers and then my breast, drawing breathy whimpers out of me. His lips had slid along my jaw to my ear, and he drew his teeth across my earlobe, tugging it gently. Ears are incredibly sensitive, I discovered with a moan.

'You like this, Babe?' he breathed in my ear, his fingers rolling my nipple. I couldn't answer. I had neither breath nor voice. A soft sigh was the only answer he was going to get until normal bodily functions returned. Which wouldn't happen until he was in the next room, and possibly not for a while after that, the state I was in right now.

Ranger's mouth moved down my throat, his teeth scraping gently, pausing to suck a little skin into his mouth. I sank back into the bed, but arched almost immediately as he bit the pulse point on my neck. I felt his lips curl into a smile as he sucked harder, my breathless moan sounding deep in my throat. Ranger backed off after a moment and returned to my mouth for a hard, hot kiss. I reached my hand up and dragged his head nearer, sliding my other hand down his back to his ass, pulling his hips towards mine.

That was all it took. Ranger left me completely, pulling back to rise to his knees. He dragged his combats off and dropped them over the side of the bed, then dropped himself on top of me. I still had my panties on, but may as well not for all the difference it made right then. He was touching me in one long, unbroken line all down my body, his heat and weight pressing into me, and all I wanted was more.

Ranger's lips traced down my throat, over my collarbone, until he hovered, breathing gently against my skin, above the side of my breast. I pushed upwards towards him, needing his touch, his mouth, and he complied. He kissed the soft flesh, opened his mouth over it and his tongue swept out, taking a huge lick of me like I was the tastiest thing he'd ever had. He moved back to the side, his mouth still open, and sucked sharply. I moaned and cupped his head, pressing him harder against me as he continued to suck, his teeth set very gently against me.

I gasped when he suddenly left me, but forgot my disappointment as he moved to hover over one nipple. I arched into him, needing his mouth again, aching for him. It took a second for him to open his mouth over me and suck my nipple between his teeth. He bit down gently and I cried out, my hands fisting in his hair to keep him there.

Completely ignoring my attempts to restrain him, he moved over to my other nipple, scraping it with his teeth before sucking it sharply into his wet, hot mouth. His hands rested on my hips, holding me still on the bed as I tried to twitch and twist. He drew back slowly and looked at me, my eyes heavy lidded and glazed, barely able to focus on him. The corners of his mouth tipped up and he kissed me, hard, briefly.

When he backed off this time he didn't stop to study me. His lips passed between my breasts and over my stomach, pausing to tongue my navel. I arched into his face, pushing him back a little, before I sank back into the bed. While I was still boneless, he nudged my legs apart and kissed that crease between them and my body. He lifted his mouth for a moment to allow his fingers to grab my panties and pull them down before replacing it. Again, he sucked sharply, drawing part of me deep into his mouth and probably leaving his mark there. I was way too far gone to care, and it wasn't like it would be visible unless I was wearing a bathing suit anyway.

He spread the fingers of both hands on my thighs, thumbs to the inside. He slid them slowly up, pressing gently. I tried to writhe, but his hands held me still. Then his thumbs spread me wide, and his lips were on that spot. I whimpered and moaned and begged, incoherently, not knowing what I wanted, just that what I had wasn't enough.

Answering my pleas, he plunged two fingers deep inside me, dragging a hoarse cry from my throat. I thought I heard him groan beneath my cries, then knew I had as the vibrations passed from his lips into me. I twisted, the sensations overwhelming me, wishing he would stop but craving more of his attentions.

His fingers started to move, twisting inside of me, rubbing a spot that had me bucking wildly against him as I came, nearly sobbing. By the time I was once again aware of the world Ranger had moved up to cover me, waiting until I was ready. His hands framed my sweaty face and he kissed me tenderly.

'You are on the pill, aren't you Babe?' he asked softly. I could only nod. I looked up at him, and at the moment I met his eyes, he plunged into me. I screamed, not quite ready for it, for the intense pleasure of it. My eyes closed and Ranger filled me, unmoving.

'Babe, look at me.' I opened my eyes slowly, trying to focus on him. When I had, he began to move. He settled into a rhythm that I easily matched, rising to meet him, twisting against him. I moaned as one hand found my breast and caressed it for a moment, then slid further down, until he found that spot with his fingers, rubbing until I screamed as I came, his name echoing around the room.

He sped up, thrusting fast and hard, short and sharp. I was still coming down and hadn't come far when he came, spilling into me, hot and sweet, my name whispered on his lips. The sound and the sensations made me come again, more softly, gently, and I wrapped my arms around him as we both collapsed.

After some minutes, his breathing had returned to normal and he rolled off me, pulling out gently. I sighed, not wanting to lose the intimate contact. I was exhausted. The day had been long and tiring, and then emotionally wearing. I hadn't been wrong when I'd thought that sleeping with Ranger would open the floodgates on emotions I'd rather not acknowledge.

I rolled over onto my side, putting my back against Ranger. He made a nice heater. I couldn't help but imagine being in bed with him on a cold winter's night, him holding me close, keeping me warm. It made me shiver.

'Shh, Babe. Just go to sleep,' he whispered against my ear. And he began to murmur to me in Spanish. It didn't take long before I dropped into sleep. A mumbled, 'I think I love you,' escaped just before I did.

Chapter One

(Ranger's POV)

I wrapped my arms around Steph as she nestled back against me. I refused to acknowledge the thoughts clamouring to be heard and instead concentrated on the feeling of holding Steph close to me. She was warm and soft and felt good against my hard body. She shivered in my arms.

'Shh, Babe. Just go to sleep,' I whispered. 'Sientes tan bueno a mi lado,' I continued softly, 'no sabes cómo siento para ti. Te quiero, Babe, tú eres mi vida. Tienes mi corazón para siempre y siempre.' I knew she wouldn't understand what I was saying; otherwise I never would have said it. And yet, from what she murmured just as she fell into sleep, it almost seemed as if she did understand.

'I think I love you.'

I lay awake for a long time thinking about that. Was it true? Did she mean it? In what way? Did she consciously know it? Was she ready to accept it? Was she ready to accept me? Could I handle it? Could I keep her safe? I didn't know the answer to any of the questions, but I did know that having a relationship with Steph would put her in a lot more danger than she ever got in on her own. I couldn't do that to her.

I woke her and made love to her again, scattering my thoughts. She was so perfect and she didn't even know it. I knew she wasn't happy with her body; always wanting to lose those ten pounds she imagined or wishing she was a cup size bigger. She'd never know just how much I loved it, just how perfect I thought it was.

She'd never know just how perfect I thought she was. Ever since she'd walked into that café a year and a half ago, I had wanted her. At first it had been nothing more than that, than a man wanting a beautiful woman. But then I found myself taking care of her, helping her more than I really needed to. Jesus, when I'd rescued her from that shower rod… She'd never know just how hard it had been for me to leave her after seeing her like that. Gradually we'd gotten closer. And then Morelli came along.

I had never been the type to get jealous. But when I saw her with Morelli, I was unreasonably jealous. I hid it even from myself, but it was there. Then I went FTA. And Steph's first call was simply 'Are you ok?' No doubt, no questions, just concern. It was that call that made me realise just how much I loved her, and that maybe, there could be something in return. Despite the cop, despite the many differences that separated us, there might still be something.

It was still dark when I woke. I'd only had perhaps a half hour of sleep, but I didn't need much. I was stretched in an unfamiliar bed, completely naked, with a warm body curled into mine. My legs tangled with hers, her back against my chest and one arm wrapped around her waist, cupping her breast. I was already hard again. Christ, I've never wanted any woman as much as I did Steph.

Last night had possibly been the biggest mistake I'd ever made. Don't get me wrong, Stephanie was fantastic in bed; I'd known she would be. But the whole idea of sleeping with her had been to get her out of my head, to satisfy the craving and forget about her. To be able to leave her alone so I didn't put her in any more danger. When I'd thought that one night with her could do that, I'd never been more wrong.

No matter how much I might want to be, I couldn't be with Stephanie. It wasn't that I didn't want to be, it was just that there were far too many people out there who would use any serious relationship I had to hurt me, and I couldn't let her get hurt, especially not because of me.

The only thing I wanted to do right now was wake her up and make love to her again, but that wasn't going to help. I didn't think I'd ever woken up wanting a woman. I suppressed a sigh and began to slowly untangle us. I slipped out of her bed and dressed quickly, knowing I needed to leave before she woke up. Knowing Steph, however, that could take a while.

I did a quick search and found a piece of paper and a pen. In twenty minutes, after five screwed-up attempts, I had a letter to leave her. I propped it against Rex's cage on the counter, gathered my failed attempts, and left her apartment.

I got into my truck, tossed the paper in the back and started the engine. I drove straight to my home, packed a small bag, shredded my discarded letters so that no one could read them and got into a personal car that Tank couldn't track; a midnight blue convertible Mercedes. I could just imagine Steph's face if she ever saw me driving it.

I pulled onto an interstate heading west. Tank would expect me to go south, back to Miami where we grew up. Lester would either expect that, or that I'd go north and visit my daughter. No one would expect me to go west. There was nothing out there for me except space and distance.

I couldn't really explain it – and I wasn't sure I wanted to – but I needed to get away from Trenton for a while, get away from everyone who knew me. I knew that I wasn't the easiest person to read, but I also knew that people close to me could read my actions if not my face. And I didn't want to explain their interpretations of my actions regarding Steph.

I spent the entire day just driving. I stopped at a couple of diners for food and slipped into what I knew Steph called my 'zone'. Usually, I use this for thinking, but today I didn't want to think, so I just drove, keeping my mind a careful blank.

I called Tank's office in the middle of the night so I could just leave him a voice mail without talking to him. I told him to keep an eye on Steph, help her out of trouble and use her for more distractions. I also left him in control of RangeMan until I was in control of myself and decided to return. I didn't tell him that last bit.

Chapter Two

I lost count of the number of times he woke me up during the night to make love to me over and over again. I realised at some point, however, that we were making love, not having sex. I filed the thought away for later contemplation, not wanting to complicate the moment, and gave myself up to the sensations.

When I finally woke in the morning, memory took a while to surface, though I was sure I was missing something. The stiffness as I stretched caused it to return with a jolt. Holy shit, I'd slept with Batman! I turned over and looked at the empty hollow in the bed where his body had been. If I tried really hard, I could still smell him on the pillow. I love the way he smells.

I stretched again, and decided I really didn't want to get up. But I did want to know where Ranger had gotten to. So I pulled myself out of bed and dragged some sweatpants and a shirt on, and went investigating.

I looked all through my apartment, and except for a lingering scent in the air, the cold hollow in the bed and a note, I couldn't find any evidence of his having been here whatsoever. I shivered as I realised I was quite alone. A sense of betrayal welled up; I'd trusted Ranger with my heart, to some extent, and he hadn't proved himself worthy of that trust. Then I got really angry with him. And then, to complete the spectrum, I got sad. And disappointed. And a few other things. I decided to read the note and see if he explained himself.

Babe,

I'm sorry but I have to leave; I can't tell you why. I realise that I'm never going to be able to give you what you want, what you need or what you deserve so just go back to Morelli he loves you. My life isn't exactly in a place where I could pursue a serious relationship right now, it doesn't lend itself to them and it wouldn't be fair to you. I don't regret what happened, but I do wonder if it might be better for both of us if it hadn't. I'm sorry I can't explain everything as clearly as I know you'd like. I don't know when I'll be back.

Since I won't be there, Vinnie is likely to give you some of my skips. I'll make sure some of them are covered, but I don't want you to hesitate to call Tank – or any of the RangeMan guys – to help you. I put their numbers in your phone – it would be a good idea if you didn't let anyone else have them, not for your sake, but my men's. All of my resources are available to you if you want to use them. You have a truck if you want it. I'm also going to tell the guys to ask you to do more distractions, but I only want you to accept them if you're comfortable with it.

Know that I didn't want it to be like this.

Ric

Well, that was just fucking wonderful. I've obviously scared him off. That was a completely crap explanation. He can't even say why he's leaving! I know it might be some top-secret government thing, but couldn't he give me some indication that that's what it is? I mean, he has done in the past. But no, he can't even offer a sorry excuse for the reason.

And then he tells me to go back to Morelli because he can't give me what I want, need and deserve! How the hell does he know what I want anyway? The only good thing that I could see was that I'd be getting more work. Problem was, I wasn't sure how much I wanted it.

Shit, I could feel tears coming. I tossed the note on the counter and dragged myself into the shower to let the hot water wash the tears away, wash the stiffness away, and attempt to wash the memory of last night away. Too bad it was unsuccessful in that last one. I was pretty sure I'd never forget last night.

When I got out of the shower, I decided I wasn't going to do anything today. Vinnie had left a message last night saying that I had two days to recover and then he expected me back at work. I would give cursory calls to those who needed them to tell them I was alive, and then I was going to ignore the world for two days.

All my calls were brief. I left my mother to last so that I could legitimately use the excuse that I still needed to call her on everyone else. I called Connie, Lula and Mary Lou. They weren't exactly happy with me, but they'd deal with it. I told my mother I was taking some time off and I'd be round for dinner in a couple of days and escaped.

If I was going to spend the day vegging out in front of the TV, I needed supplies. I dressed quickly in jeans and a t-shirt, not bothering with styling my hair, just shoving it into a ponytail. I swiped one coat of mascara on, decided that would do, and grabbed my purse and a jacket.

At the 7-Eleven I loaded up on ice cream, chocolate and popcorn. I bought a six-pack as well, and then headed home to put Ghostbusters in the VCR.

When I got in the phone was ringing. I dumped everything on the floor and managed to answer it before the answer machine got it. I was fairly sure it wasn't going to be someone I'd already talked to today because they'd all agreed to give me these two days to myself. So unless it was an emergency, it was someone else.

'Hello?' I asked, somewhat cautiously. I really didn't want to speak to Ranger, and I supposed it was likeliest to be him.

'Ms Plum?' Well, at least the caller wasn't Ranger. The trouble was, I didn't know who it was. Still, I didn't think it could be that unpleasant. Unless it was Joe. But it wasn't him anyway.

'Who is this?' I asked, wondering if it was another psycho. But then, they don't usually call me until I've had some previous contact from them. Still, could be a first.

'Tank. I work for Ranger.'

'You're the guy that threw a guy out a third-storey window, right?' And was surprised when he landed on a fire escape, I added mentally. It had been several months ago, on my very first job for RangeMan. There had been three men with Ranger. Tank was huge, black, had thrown a guy out the window and was Ranger's second in command. Bobby was smaller, black, and hadn't said much. Lester had been of indeterminate origin and had seemed like a wiseass. I'd seen them only a few times since, on various other jobs I'd worked for Ranger.

'Um, yes,' he said, sounding uncomfortable. A smile curled the corners of my mouth. I made the Merry Men uncomfortable. This one, anyway. Something told me that that wasn't the easiest task in the world.

'Then it's Stephanie, please. I told you, Ms Plum makes me feel old. Did you want something?' I asked. The only RangeMan who ever called me was Ranger. I couldn't help but wonder why on earth Tank should call me. I mean, it's not like he'd ever call me for help with a skip or a case, and I really didn't know him well enough for there to be any other reason.

'Yeah… I was wondering if you'd seen Ranger.' I paused. To tell him I'd slept with his boss, or not? Such a hard question. Seeing as how if I told him, I'd also have to admit to being walked out on. Not a happy thought. I was still way pissed about that.

'Not since he took DeChooch to the hospital last night, no,' I said eventually, praying Ranger's Merry Men didn't have the ability to sniff out a lie like he did. 'Why?'

'He's gone,' Tank said flatly.

'Define 'gone',' I asked cautiously. These ex-army guys often had strange ideas that didn't necessarily mesh with what everybody else thought.

'As in missing, we can't find him,' Tank explained. 'We've checked most of the usual places he goes when we can't find him, and then I thought he might have been with you, but if he's not… I have no idea where he is. If he calls you or you see him, could you tell him the Astenine deal won't go down without him and we need to know where he is?'

'Yeah, sure,' I said, wondering whether I'd remember that. Oh well, Ranger could probably mind read the information anyway. Probably I wouldn't even speak to him before Tank found him. How likely was it, really, that he'd call me before Tank? I mean, I'm only the woman he slept with and then walked out on. 'Isn't there some way you can track him?' I asked.

'Normally, yes. We located his truck at his house but he picked up a personal vehicle there that we can't track. Thanks for your help.' He hung up. Well, that was rather strange. I shrugged it off and hurried to put my ice cream in the freezer before it completely melted. I refused to think about why Ranger had ensured that even the Merry Men couldn't know where he was. I refused to think about anything. Denial works for me. I grabbed one tub of ice cream, the bag of chocolate, stuck the film in the VCR and pressed play.

I'd drunk a couple beers and made my way through a pint of ice cream by the time Ghostbusters was finished. I flopped onto my bed in my thinking position. I knew I needed to work out what was going on with me and Joe, despite wanting to do nothing more than pretend the problem didn't exist.

Quite frankly, after last night I knew that I wasn't going back to Joe. I'd figured after his ultimatum he'd need some time to cool down, and then we'd be back on-again. But now I knew that I couldn't do that to him. I wasn't ready to settle down and provide him with the life he really wanted; a wife to come home to who'd have dinner on the table and a kid in her womb. That wasn't me.

Probably I should tell him that. Probably he was also figuring that I'd need a while to calm down, and then we'd be back on-again. And even though I wasn't too pleased with him after that ultimatum, I cared for him enough that I couldn't let him have that hope for long when it was so unfounded.

There was also the small matter of my strong-but-unexplored feelings for Ranger. Which I had no intention of exploring any time soon, but did prevent me from going back to Joe. Yet another reason to break up permanently.

Having come to a decision, I also decided that telling Joe could wait until tomorrow. I wasn't ready to venture out into the real world again yet. So I spent the rest of the day watching movies, eating popcorn and drinking beer. Then I fell into bed and was out like a light.

Chapter Three

I woke the next morning to a sharp ringing sound. I wanted to turn over and go back to bed, but what if it was Ranger and he needed to talk to me? What if it was Tank with news of Ranger? Glancing at the clock and finding that it was already half ten, I heaved myself out of bed and grabbed the phone.

''lo,' I managed. I wasn't awake yet. I needed coffee.

'Stephanie! Get you ass down here, I need you to take a file!' It was Vinnie. Damn. And I'd wanted another day to recover. Looked like I wasn't going to get it.

'Forty-five,' I mumbled at him and put the phone down. I got coffee started, showered, tamed my personal – and still, unfortunately, blonde – frizz ball and dragged some clothes on. I slurped two cups of coffee and started to feel human again, even down to the faintly nauseous feeling in my stomach. Damn early mornings anyway. Not that it was especially early, I reminded myself.

I looked around in my cupboards but I had nothing to eat. Well, I could always stop by Tasty Pastry on my way to the office. Which is exactly what I'd done when I arrived twenty minutes later on the back of my loaned bike.

Lula and Connie descended on the doughnuts as soon as Lula had snatched the box out of my hands; luckily not before I'd managed to grab a Boston crème. I sank into the couch and polished the doughnut off in seconds, and was reaching for another one when Vinnie appeared.

'You're here,' he said. I just rolled my eyes at him since my mouth was full. 'I suppose you've heard that Ranger's left.' I wasn't a good enough actress to pretend I hadn't, so I nodded. 'He said to give you some of his files. You've got a five-day limit on the first.' He crossed the office, dropped the file next to me and disappeared.

I finished the doughnut and licked my fingers clean before opening the file and looking at the information. It was Stephen Kinelli, wanted for the murder and rape of his wife. And Vinnie expected me to bring him in.

There was a roaring in my ears and I could hear bells clanging, so I put my head between my knees and tried to breathe slowly and deeply. After a few minutes, the bells and roaring stopped. I raised my head cautiously.

'Is Vinnie mad? How the hell does he expect me to do this?' I demanded. 'I don't do murderers or rapists!' I was waving my hands around and yelling, so I didn't immediately notice that Connie and Lula were both staring at the door, mouths agape.

Now this is usually the reaction Ranger gets when he comes in, but since I knew he wasn't here it couldn't be him. I looked over and saw that Tank was coming in with another guy behind him. No wonder Connie and Lula were gaping. Tank was pretty hot himself, but the guy behind him could give Ranger a run for his money. He looked familiar and I wondered where I'd seen him before. Then it hit me; he'd been on that first redecorating job, and a couple of other jobs. I didn't recognise him immediately because he'd let his hair grow since I'd last seen him. His name was Lester.

Tank looked around, and, his lips twitching, gave me a tiny nod. I blushed, but stood up and stalked over to him.

'Did Ranger tell you you're supposed to help me?' I asked. His head moved a fraction of an inch. 'Well, you can start now then. There is no way I'm going after a murderer and a rapist on my own.' Not when he had about twenty previous convictions all to do with heavy violence and weapons. I like being alive, thank you very much.

'Lester can go with you,' Tank said. I thought I saw him grimace and rolled my eyes.

'Ok. Long as he has a truck.' Tank raised an eyebrow and I indicated the bike I'd come in on. He pulled out his cell and flipped it open.

'Lester's truck, bonds office,' was all he said. 'It'll be here in ten,' he said to me and made his way into Vinnie's office, leaving Lester stuck with us.

'So, who're we after?' Lester asked. He grinned at me and I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

'Stephen Kinelli,' I replied, gathering up the file. 'Wanted for murder and rape, with previous convictions ranging from domestic violence to carrying concealed to attempted murder and rape.' I passed Lester the folder and he flipped through it. Ten minutes later, Tank reappeared with a stack of folders and Lester's truck had shown up outside. I called 'Bye!' to the girls and followed Tank and Lester outside.

'Where we going, Bombshell?' Lester asked. Tank glared at him.

'We're not supposed to call her that,' he muttered. Lester looked sheepish. I don't know how he managed it, but he did.

'I don't mind,' I said. 'I've been called worse things and I'm pretty sure you guys don't mean it as an insult. And if you didn't call me Bombshell, you'd probably call me Ms Plum and that is definitely worse.' Tank just kind of shrugged and Lester grinned before repeating his question just as my phone rang.

I dug around in my bag for it and eventually answered it on the fifth ring. 'Hello?'

'Stephanie, it's your mother,' she said. Duh. As if I didn't know. 'Why are you at the office? I thought you were taking a couple days off. You're not going after anyone dangerous, are you?' Trust the grapevine to get that back to my mother.

'No mom, the skip's not dangerous at all.' I'm going to hell for lying to my mother. 'Besides, I have back up. Really, I'm not going to get hurt. I'll be fine.' Lester sniggered but stopped – or at least tried to – when Tank glared at him.

'Hmph. If you're back at work already you can come for dinner.' I sighed.

'I'll be there.' Then I hung up. I looked at Lester. 'Let's go.' He nodded and we got into his truck. I read out the address on the file and Lester pulled out.

Four hours later and I was very, very bored. We'd tried the house but no one had been in, so Lester had said we should sit and wait for him. He was unemployed, so we couldn't try his workplace. Since he'd just killed his wife and had apparently been faithful he didn't have a girlfriend we could check on either.

The house was in a fairly well-to-do neighbourhood. Obviously, either Kinelli or his wife came from money, or made it. The house was painted a relatively bland cream, and didn't stand out at all from the rest of the houses. The street was wide, lined with trees and most driveways had a car. Many of the yards bore evidence of kids.

For the first hour Lester and I had talked. I knew a little more about him now, like that he'd grown up in Miami, known Ranger for a very long time, and served in the Special Forces with him. He hadn't said much about that bit, but I could tell there were lots of stories he might be able to tell me. Nothing about the missions they'd been on, but some of the funny stuff they'd done, the stupid things. The little bits that would have made life out there bearable.

I needed to pee. In fact, I'd needed to pee for the last hour or so, but I had no desire to tell Lester that. I was also hungry. Two doughnuts isn't really enough food to last me through a four-hour stakeout. On the other hand, I wasn't particularly interested in letting Lester see me as a wimp who couldn't sit still for more than half an hour. Even though it was true.

I shifted again and decided to give it another half hour. Then we could go back to the office, see if there were any easy skips that I could pick up before dinner while I had Lester and the truck, and then I could go eat.

The last half hour passed in the same silence as the previous few had. After that first hour Lester was very boring. He didn't move, he didn't talk, he barely blinked. I shifted as the time came to an end and he shot a glance sideways at me, a grin curling the corners of his full mouth.

'Bored, Bombshell?' he asked. I crossed my arms and glared at him.

'Yes. Would you mind if we went back to the office so that I might actually be able to earn some money and then continue the search for Kinelli tomorrow?' I asked sweetly. Lester muttered something under his breath that I wasn't sure was English, but he did start the truck and pull away.

Connie looked up as we made our way inside. 'Well, look who we have here,' she said, smirking.

'Have you got anything easy, Connie?' I asked. If this took too much time, I wouldn't be able to catch anyone before dinner. And I really needed the money. My rent was due soon. Connie handed me three files without a word, which I thought was strange until I remembered I had Lester behind me. 'Thanks,' I said and we left.

The files were three repeats that might have given me trouble before I had Lester. I grinned at him and we were pulling into the station with the last one after just a couple of hours. I headed inside, Lester and the skip following me. I got the body receipt without a problem, but when I turned around to leave I bumped into Morelli. Literally.

'Steph, aren't you going to give up bounty hunting?' he asked, his arms going around me to keep me from falling on my ass. I stared at him for a second in disbelief. Hadn't he heard me the last time we had this conversation?

'I already told you, Joe, I'm not giving my job up for a man.' I wasn't pissed, but I wasn't too far from it either. I suspected I would be pissed by the time this conversation was done. I shrugged out of Joe's hold and put some distance between us, wishing we weren't in the middle of gossip central.

'But, Cupcake-' he started.

'No 'buts', Joe. I'm not giving up my job.' I crossed my arms and took a defensive stance. I knew Lester was around somewhere and he wouldn't let Joe hurt me, but he probably wouldn't interfere either.

'You're going to get killed!' Joe burst out.

'Haven't you ever noticed that the times I get in trouble and come near getting killed are the times when you hold information back from me? So why don't you spend your time trying to help me instead of trying to stop me? Because I'm not going to stop just because you tell me to. I don't follow anyone's orders!'

'You follow Ranger's!' Joe's yelling had attracted a lot of attention. There were cops gathered all around, and I caught Lester out of the corner of my eye, close enough to physically protect me but I was right; he wasn't going to interfere.

'Leave him out of this, Joe. He has nothing to do with it,' I said quietly.

'He's got you in trouble enough times!' Lester took a step forwards.

'No, Joe. He gets me out of trouble. He helps me. He doesn't question me. You do.'

'So you think he's going to give you what you want?' Joe demanded, grabbing my upper arms and shaking me. I shook my head.

'No, I don't think that. But I don't think you can either.' Joe looked shocked for a second before his cop face appeared.

'You're breaking up with me? For good?' he sounded shocked, too.

'I didn't want to do it in front of the whole damn station… but yes. That's what I'm doing.' I took a step back as Joe dropped his hands to his sides.

'But, Cupcake, what about-'

'No. I'm not going to change my mind. It's over.' I stepped around him and started to walk out, knowing Lester would follow me. Joe grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. There was an expression of pain in his eyes.

'Can't I-' he began, ignoring Lester's threatening stance.

'No. I hope we can be friends, Joe. I don't want to lose you completely. But nothing more, ever again.' Joe searched my eyes for a moment then nodded and let me go, stepping back to watch me leave. Strangely, I didn't even feel the need to cry now that it was over. I guess since I'd already decided to end it, it had made it easier. In a way.

'I need to go to the office and pick up my bike now,' I told Lester as we pulled out of the station. He hadn't said anything about the break-up. And I could hand in my body receipts, too.

'You won't need it,' Lester told me. I stared at him. How was I supposed to get to my parents' and back without the bike?

'Why not?' I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

'Because you aren't eating at your parents' on your own,' he told me. I gestured for him to continue and he sighed. 'Kinelli is probably going to know we're looking for him now. While I doubt he'd bother me, he wouldn't stop to think that bothering you isn't the brightest idea. Until we've caught him, I'm afraid you've got someone with you. I'll take you to dinner and stay with you tonight.'

I thought about what he'd said for a few minutes and then it hit me. 'Why wouldn't bothering me be the brightest idea?' I asked.

'Because you have a company of ex-Army security men who've been told to keep you safe,' Lester explained. Oh. Just who did Ranger think he was, anyway? He had a lot to answer for when I finally saw him again.

'Fine. But I still need to hand my body receipts in.' Lester's head moved a fraction and we pulled up at the office. I exchanged my body receipts for cheques and cast a disappointed look at the bike as I climbed back into the truck. We headed for the bank and then my parents' and dinner. I dreaded to think of what might happen with Lester there.

Chapter Four

It was just as bad as I had feared it might be. My mom's internal radar had her standing in the doorway as we pulled up, hands on hips. I could see Grandma Mazur stood just behind her, eagerly craning her neck over my mom's shoulder to get a look at Lester. I sighed, rolled my eyes and exchanged a pained glance with him.

'Stephanie Plum, what's this I hear about you breaking up with Joseph in the middle of the station? And you've already got a new boyfriend? What was wrong with Joseph? Introduce me,' she commanded as we walked up the path. I sighed and resigned myself to long explanations that would probably have her heading for the iron.

'It wasn't my fault it was in the middle of the station. Joe wanted me to change. Lester's not my boyfriend, mom, I just can't get rid of him.' He elbowed me for that so I glared at him. He just shrugged. 'He's with me because the skip we're after might come after me until we've caught him. Lester's going to ensure that won't happen.'

'Hmph. You said he wasn't dangerous.' I noticed the lack of a comment about Joe. Probably she was thinking it was as temporary as the rest of our break-ups had been.

'He's not. It would just be better if Lester's presence discouraged from trying to be.' She seemed to accept that, at least, and led us through to the dining room. Lester and I took places at the table, Lester next to my dad, me on his other side. I laughed to myself as I realised how protected he was in that position. Probably it had been intentional.

What he hadn't banked on was my grandmother sitting opposite him. The first part of dinner went fine, everyone ate, the food was praised and there wasn't much conversation. My mother didn't even try to push another job at me.

The real problem began when my mother asked me into the kitchen to help with dessert. She turned to me after she'd closed the door.

'Are you sure this man you're after isn't dangerous, Stephanie?' she demanded, hands on hips. I sighed. Guess she'd seen the lie.

'Ok, yes, he's dangerous, but Lester will protect me. I doubt the guy is more dangerous than Lester.' My mother headed for the dessert.

'Why does he protect you?' she asked as she pulled it out of the oven. Damn. I tried to act nonchalant as I shrugged.

'Ranger told him to. And he likes me.' At least, I was pretty sure he did. She raised an eyebrow at me but seemed to accept my answer as I followed her back into the dining room to see that Lester had pushed his chair as far back from the table as he safely could. He was looking distinctly uncomfortable. I looked across at Grandma Mazur and she had a gleeful light in her eyes.

I couldn't say anything without causing further damage, since I didn't know exactly what she'd done, so I just hurried through dessert as much as I could and pulled Lester up the second we'd finished.

'We have to be going now,' I told my mom. She told me to wait until she'd sorted some leftovers out. After grabbing the bag and telling her I'd call tomorrow, Lester and I left rather hurriedly.

'Remind me to stay in the truck next time,' Lester said in a strained voice as we headed back towards my apartment. I winced, but his cell rang before I could apologise. 'Yo. … It's your turn next time. … Still no word? … Ok, I'll ask. Later.' Wow. Who knew Ranger's men have phone manners? They may not be brilliant but they're better than his. 'Bombshell, Tank wants to know if you've heard from Ranger.'

I looked at Lester. 'You've been with me all day. Have I heard from Ranger?' Lester moved his head in a motion that was probably supposed to be a shake. 'No. Why would he call me before one of you anyway?'

'Because-' Lester began, but then he stopped himself. The rest of the journey was silent. I took the elevator while Lester took the stairs. He was waiting when I got to my door. I unlocked it and as he made me stand aside so he could check it for bad guys, I remembered Ranger's note that I had left casually lying on the side. I did not want Lester to see that.

Ignoring his instructions to wait outside I darted in. Lester had just finished his check and was about to pick the note up. I snatched it from his fingers.

'Whoa, Bombshell, no need for that,' he said, holstering his gun and holding his hands up. 'What is it?' he asked, leaning forward curiously. I turned away from him.

'Private,' I said, trying to think of a place I could put it where there would be no chance of Lester finding it. I hid it in my nightstand drawer under a couple of Pill packets. I didn't think he'd want to look further when he saw those. I wandered back out into the living room, where Lester was slouched on the sofa. 'You want to watch a game or something?' I asked.

'Sure.' So we watched a game of football, which I didn't especially like but Lester seemed to appreciate, while I was more into appreciating the men running around in those tight pants, and then I went to bed. Lester said he'd be fine on my couch. I knew from experience it wasn't that comfortable, but I doubted I could change his mind. I wouldn't have minded if I had; it was lonely in my bed, and I suspected it would be for a long time to come, with Joe and I broken up and Ranger God knew where.

I felt the tears coming then. They were mostly pity tears, but there were some genuine ones for breaking up with Joe. I'm going to say that that was why I didn't notice that someone was breaking in through my window, which had been open a crack to catch the non-existent breeze. The next thing I knew I'd been hauled onto my back and there was a knife at my throat and a guy pressed on top of me. I recognised the guy from his mug shot. It was Kinelli. Where the hell was Lester when I needed him?

'Don't make a sound, lady,' he whispered. 'I saw the Bronco, I know you have a goon that's supposed to be protecting you. Not doing a real good job, is he?' Kinelli laughed quietly to himself. The knife hadn't moved a bit. I wanted to scream but I didn't think that was the best idea given the situation. Another few tears rolled out. 'Geeze, why are you women always blubbering? What's your problem?'

'Men,' I hissed at him. The knife jerked, scraping the skin of my throat but not cutting it. I froze, wide-eyed and terrified. I wished Lester would come in.

'Now. You're going to stop chasing after me, do you understand? It was a bogus charge anyway.' I held in a snort. I didn't think he'd get anyone to believe that with his rap sheet. 'I'm not going to jail. You hear me? I'm not!' His voice had risen. Enough, I hoped, for Lester to hear. A second later, the door eased open.

'I don't think you have a choice about that anymore,' Lester said, deadly calm. His gun was out and pointing at Kinelli, although I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to shoot him without risking shooting me. 'Why don't you put the knife down, nice and slow,' Lester suggested in a voice that didn't really imply there was much room for choice.

'How about not?' Kinelli suggested, pressing a little harder with the knife. I felt a sharp sting and squeaked. Lester's face went cold and flat right before he squeezed off a shot. Considering how closely Kinelli was pressed on top of me, Lester didn't have much of a target.

Then everything happened real fast. Kinelli was rolling around on my bed, clutching at his leg and screaming and cussing at Lester, who had catapulted himself towards me and was feeling my throat.