These are not my characters. They belong to the author Janet Evanovich and thank you for letting us borrow them and run with our fantasies.

Warning-This is a very dark story for these characters. It is a story about sensitive subjects and may upset some readers. There is a simulated primary character death and violence. It is extremely cupcake unfriendly and Helen is not a friend either. I was really down in the dumps when I wrote it a couple months back and it shows. It is a very short story because it is so angsty. I wasn't going to publish it, but I'm fond of it and a couple of my friends who have read it like it as well.

Zetharin thanks for the great feedback.

Mandyh is my regular beta and was not available for this one so I got some help from a friend that likes to edit my stories for fun.

Special thanks to alix33 who is also a professional beta for all her help. You are great!

Departure

This story is very different in that it is mainly written from a third party POV. Just trying something new and unique. The reason for this won't become clear until later chapters.

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining, but the faces of the people standing around the grave site were solemn. Army Rangers in full dress marched the flag covered casket to the site and gently placed it above the open grave. All men placed their white glove covered hands on top of the casket and said, "Rangers Lead The Way!"

The flag was then rolled up and presented to Mrs. Manoso, mother of the hero. Three sets of military guns were fired and a helicopter hovering above began to slowly ascend over the casket in honor of the fallen Army Ranger, Ricardo Carlos 'Ranger' Manoso."

A blue eyed woman with curly hair and tears rolling down her face stood back from the soldiers and the mourners willing herself just to stay on her feet. Her best friend and sometimes lover was about to be lowered six feet into the ground and buried and a huge piece of her broken heart would be buried with him. There were barely enough breaths in the airspace to get her through this painful scene. She walked behind a nearby tree and sunk down to the ground and gasped for the breaths that just almost refused to come. Her heart was in her throat and she just wanted…him back so badly.

She was holding her chest and quietly sobbing when a big hand reached down and pulled her up. Tank looked into the tear stained face and whispered, "Have faith, Sis."

"In what, Tank? He's gone and I never even got the chance to tell him how much he meant to me. He didn't know how much I really..."

"I think he knows."

"Come on, let me take you home."

"Thanks but, I just want to stay for a while."

She leaned her head against the tree and cried herself into a state of unconsciousness. When she next opened her eyes it was almost dark. She blinked a couple times and then a beautiful mocha latte colored man with long hair and a dazzling smile reached out and took her hands.

"Babe, have faith."

"How can I when your grave is just a few feet away? I never got the chance to tell you how much you really meant to me."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. His eyes were twinkling. "Everything will be alright. Do you trust me?" She nodded and closed her eyes as the tears fell.

When she looked up again, Joe Morelli was standing over her with hands on his hips glaring down at her. "What the hell, Cupcake? I have been looking everywhere for you."

"I'm sorry, Joe."

"Get in my truck and I'll take you home with me."

"Can you just take me to my apartment, please?"

"No. Now that this is over, you're giving up that shit hole apartment and you're moving in with me. I'll take care of you."

"That's not really what I want right now, Joe. Please, just take me home." He grabbed her arm.

"Cupcake, you're upset and I understand that. I love you and your home is with me now..."

He walked her to his SUV and put her in.

"I need to at least get Rex and some clothes. Joe...please." He mumbled, "Rex the friggin' rat."

"What?"

"Fine. We'll go by your apartment, get Rex and you'll get some clothes and this weekend you're moving out of there. Capiche?"

"Joe, what is wrong with you?"

"Honestly? I have been waiting a long time for that bastard to go away and six feet under couldn't have been better for me. I know that you cared for him and that was the big issue, the problem that kept us from being together the way that we were meant to be. You have been my girl since you were six years old, Cupcake. I have always loved you. So, please don't fight me on this. I know what's best for you. I always have." He had a look, something in his eyes she never remembered seeing there before.

"Joe, you know I love you too. I just can't make any plans for the future right now."

"I know. That's exactly why you need me right now."

"Joe...?"

"Everything is peachy, Cupcake. We're finally going to be happy. Trust me."

Later that night, she lay in the dark on the floor of Joe's bathroom sobbing. Part of what Joe had done to her tonight couldn't have been called making love or even having sex for that matter. He had touched her and taken her like he was taking ownership of her or marking her. She didn't know this side of him and it dawned on her that Ranger's presence in her life might have been the thing that tempered this side of Joe Morelli. Ranger had been in the background from the beginning of her romantic relationship with Joe the last few years.

She showered the filth and humiliation off and out of her hair and dressed in pajamas and eased into bed. She curled up into a ball and quietly cried herself to sleep. The next morning she dressed in her Rangeman clothes and went downstairs for coffee. She couldn't wait to have a few hours of respite away from here and away from Joe.

When she reached the kitchen and Joe saw her, he glared at her and said. "Get yourself upstairs and change your clothes now." His words were calm, but his eyes were menacing.

"I have to go to work today, Joe."

He handed her his phone. "The next thing that we're going to do for our relationship is end you're association with the thugs. I have some backers and some political aspirations. I'm going to be running for county sheriff and cutting your ties with those hoods will be the best thing for my career and for you. You're going to quit the job. Make the call."

"No, Joe. I like my job and I like the guys I work with."

Joe slowly backed her up against the wall and kissed her and wrapped his hand around her throat at the same time and gently squeezed. "I don't have time for this. I have a busy day. Make the call now, please." Then he squeezed a little harder.

She was shocked at the threat in his eyes and touch and began to dial the number, "Hello, Tank?"

"Hey, Bomber. How are you?"

"Tank, I called to let you know that I have to quit my job at Rangeman."

"Why, Steph? What brought this on?"

She looked at Joe. "Just some changes I have to make. I'm going to miss you guys." Joe squeezed harder and she cried out. "I have to go, Tank. Goodbye."

Joe let her go and gave her another gentle kiss. "Good girl. I don't like being upset with you, I never have. I love you. I'm dropping you at your apartment and you're going to spend your day packing." She nodded and went to feed Rex a carrot and a grape and went to change clothes. She came back down the stairs with her head down and picked up her bag and they left to go to her apartment.

He grabbed boxes out of the back of his SUV and carried them up to her apartment and set them in. "You were thinking ahead, I see."

"Are you being sarcastic, Cupcake?"

"Uh, no, just an observation."

"Good, because I'm not going to put up with it anymore. I'll pick you up later." He kissed her and got in his SUV and drove away.

She took a box and began packing things out of her closet when the tears started again. Her heart was so heavy that she just couldn't do the packing right now. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to do this. She lay down on her bed and cried again until she fell asleep.

Dreaming, she looked into warm brown eyes and put her hand in his dark silky hair and brought his mouth to hers. Then put her cheek to his beautiful face and cried. "Ranger, I miss you so much. As long as you keep coming to me in my dreams I can go on."

He ran his hand over the light bruises left by rough fingers on her neck and gently pulled her shirt off and then her jeans. He ran his hands over the small bruises that looked like fingerprints on her waist and thighs and touched the Rangeman panties and smiled. "Mine." He pulled them down and gently touched her and she was immediately ready for him.

"Please love me, Ranger." He entered her slowly and kissed her passionately. It was so real. She could smell the Bvlgari soap that she loved so much and the musk that was uniquely his. "Babe, please hold on and trust me", he whispered as he brought her to orgasm.

"I always trusted you, Ranger. I loved you." Tears began falling again as she came down from her release and closed her eyes.

When she woke up it was in the afternoon. She sat on the side of the bed remembering the dream she had of Ranger. He was still speed dial one on her phone but he would never answer again when she dialed it. He would never be there for her again.

When Joe came in she was filling a box with shoes. He put his hands on his hips. "Is this all you got done today? What the fuck were you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Joe. I'm just having a hard time right now. I need some time before I make any major changes." He reached out and squeezed her cheeks hard. "The past is done. Manoso is dead and he is not coming to your rescue or complicating our lives anymore. You are mine now. I have your parents' blessing and you're moving in with me and you will accept the changes and be happy that I love you so much." She didn't have the strength to fight him and just nodded.

Joe loaded the full boxes into his SUV. He stopped for Chinese food and they ate quietly at his kitchen table.

"The sooner you accept this is your life now, the happier you'll be, Cupcake. You just need to support me and do what I ask of you. I promise that this is for the best", and then he chucked her under the chin.

"The first thing you're going to do is learn how to cook and you're going to have dinner ready for me when I get home every day. No more eating out of boxes all the time." She just nodded.

She was in the bathroom getting ready for bed and was about to take her birth control when Joe snatched the pills out of her hand and dumped them all in the toilet. "You won't be needing these anymore."

She went into the bedroom and reached in a drawer for some pajamas when Joe grabbed her around the waist and kissed her neck and unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down and then put her face down on the bed. He pushed up her shirt and then pulled away and swore. She turned her head and he was staring at her underwear with fury in his eyes.

He reached down and ripped the underwear off and showed them to her. It had the Rangeman logo on the back and he yelled at her and wrapped them around her neck and slammed into her. She cried out. She wasn't ready. "Joe, you're hurting me. Please just stop for a minute."

He roughly rubbed her down there and grabbed her hair and said, "Bet you were always wet and ready for Manoso! You wore his name like a brand on you! He tried to make you his whore and you were MY girlfriend!" Then he pumped her hard until he climaxed and let her go roughly and stomped out of the room.

She whimpered, "Joe…This is not you…"

He came back a few minutes later and sat down on the bed and touched her head and her silky curls. "I don't want to be upset with you. I want us to have a fresh start and a new life together. We're going to get married and we're going to have kids. You never could make up your mind when he was around and he didn't even want you, Cupcake. He had his chance all those times when we broke up and didn't take it. Face that fact and let him go! You need my help to be happy and you will be."

TBC-

Dad did get the 21-gun salute at the end too. Hooah!

As you can see, this is a story about a slow manipulation and abuse. It's a tough subject and tough to swallow, but it's reality for a lot of women. Joe will get worse. I'm not typically a Joe hater at all. I like Joe, he's just a hot guy and knows it. This one just fit my story, sorry Cupcakes. Answers to what happened to Ranger will be revealed later in the story.

It is okay to review it honestly. Seriously!