Disclaimer: I do not own any of the settings or characters. Janet Evanovich has all the credit for that. I wish I could have created Steph's universe, and I really wish that Joe, Ranger, and Lester were real, alas, I'm disappointed.

Warning to Cupcakes: Joe doesn't start out in the best light. He gets better. Please, if you don't like Steph/Ranger or Steph/MM pairings, don't read this fic!!

A/N: I'm going to try to update weekly or biweekly. I have the first couple of chapters written out, but I'm also starting back to school, so please be patient with me. Feel free to tell me what you think about my work, good or bad. Please give constructive criticism if you are leaving bad reviews. I'd like to know what you think I could do better.

Chapter 2

I woke up late in my apartment, the sun somehow managing to shine directly into my eyes through the pillow that I had shoved over my face. My alarm clock read 10:00 by the time I showered and managed to tame my hair. I grabbed a thermos full of coffee and made it to the bonds office by 10:15.

"Late night?" asked Connie Rosolli, the office manager to my cousin Vinnie's Bail Bond office, when I stumbled through the door nursing my coffee. Connie was a few years older than me, a couple pounds heavier, and unfortunately for me, a couple bra sizes larger than me.

If Betty Boop could be turned into human form, she would be Connie, at least in her looks. I seriously suspect that if she would shave the beginnings of the moustache on her upper lip, she would get more action than me. Wait, scratch that. She is still probably getting more action than me.

"I wish," I replied with a sigh. I settled myself onto the small couch and was just about to settle down when the door to Vinnie's office banged open and caused me to spill coffee all down the front of my shirt.

"There you are!" Vinnie yelled, as I screamed and tried to shake the scalding liquid off my chest. "Where the hell have you been all morning?"

Once the coffee had cooled enough to stop giving me third degree burns, I glared at Vinnie. "What the fuck is your problem?" I yelled back at him. "I'm not in the fucking mood for this shit, Vinnie! I haven't even had breakfast.

My glare must have been effectively severe, because Vinnie backed up a few steps and lowered his voice. "Christ Stephanie! Why don't you go out and get laid already before you end up murdering someone for fun."

I wondered if steam was actually coming out of my ears yet, and wasn't quite sure if my blush was from anger or embarrassment.

"Vinnie, you have thirty seconds to tell me what the fuck it is that you want." I growled at him. "Then I'm going to make you wish that your father in law had found out about the duck." Okay, so maybe that was a little harsh, but I haven't had sex in six months, and I started a donut free diet on Monday when I realized I couldn't button the top snap on my jeans. And I think that the coffee Vinnie made me spill on myself has blistered one of my boobs.

"Christ!" Vinnie said again, but he changed his tone with one look at my face. I definitely need a mirror to see what face is having this effect on him. Usually he has selective sight and hearing. "I just wanted to tell you that I need you on a high bond case. Ranger seems to be in the wind at the moment, and I need this money. Lucille wants a new car and she insists on a Lamborghini."

"I need this guy caught." He handed over a file that seemed thicker than the usual FTA's. I blinked at the file and started as the name caught my eye. I knew that I had to resemble a goldfish at the moment, as my mouth was opening and closing in disbelief.

"Carson Anderson? You mean the Carson Anderson who has fifteen women willing to testify that he raped them at knife point within the last six months?!" I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rising from revulsion.

I was preparing to start in on Vinnie again when he blurted, "Stephanie, I'll give you fifteen percent. I'm desperate. That's 105,000!"

"Okay." My mouth said. Somehow my mouth must have been disconnected from my brain at the thought of that much money. Before I could change my mind, Vinnie handed me the authorization form for the apprehension and closed and locked his office door. I turned to Connie, aghast.

"I'm no good with rapists." I told her, panicking. "Remember Ramirez?" I knew I was sounding terrified, but I couldn't make myself care. Connie gave me a sympathetic look and opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by the office door.

"Boston Crème's!" Lula chorused as she walked in. When she caught the mood, she looked at me curiously. "Does this have anything to do with you not getting laid? Cuz, white girl, I'm pretty sure that super cop would love for you to climb back into his bed."

I grimaced and handed the file to Lula, whose eyes widened in shock. "Is Vinnie nuts?" she asked nervously. "I mean, I know he's a nut when it comes to sex with animals and Joyce Barnhardt and all that shit, but really, is giving Anderson to a woman really a bright idea?"

"I heard that!" Vinnie's voice yelled through the door. "Do you want to be out of a job?"

"Do you want to be out of a couple of testicles?" Lula shouted back. "Cause I've got my knife primed up and ready to dice something." In a quieter tone, she added, "That man never has got over the fact that I won't sleep with his ass."

A curious thought occurred to me and I looked over at Connie. "Why hasn't Vinnie ever tried anything on you?" I asked her. "He's scared off every file clerk within a thousand mile radius, but you're still around."

Connie grinned and lowered her voice. "You know my Uncle Vito, right?" Everyone knew Vito. At our nods she continued. "Well it was my first day on the job, and Uncle Vito stopped to check in on me. He stepped into Vinnie's office for a few minutes, and when he left, Vinnie was white as a sheet, and he's never even tried looking at my chest."

We all had a good laugh at that. People who messed with Uncle Vito had a bad habit of learning to swim in their new cement boots.

"Do you have any lower bond cases for me while I'm looking for Anderson?" I asked hopefully. My bills weren't due just yet, but I was living off my last 100. I wasn't really in the mood to mooch dinner from my mother, so I needed money for takeout (or peanut butter).

"Sure thing," Connie answered with a grin. She handed me a file and said under her breath, "Give Grandma Bella my love." My mouth dropped open

"No fucking way!" I protested vehemently. "Vinnie gave me Anderson. He should handle Bella himself."

"It was worth a try." Connie sighed.

My curiosity got the better of me. "So, spill. What did Bella do? And what idiot arrested her?" Bella was Morelli's grandma, and she had the Italian voodoo thing down. When she put the eye on someone, they missed their periods, contracted syphilis, and generally had cars blown up or attempts made on their lives. Okay, so the blown up cars and murder attempts were just me, but who's counting?

"Oh, it was that stupid Gaspick again." Connie laughed. "Shockingly, he has contracted a rash and hasn't been back to work since. As for what Bella did," Connie continued, laughing. "The file says she got caught shoplifting some provolone from Giovichinni's."

XXX

Carson Anderson was 27 years old, and looked like God's gift to women. He had straight blonde hair that hung just a little over his bright green eyes. Anderson's skin was dark enough to make him qualify for a Californian, and his body was toned enough for an Olympic athlete.

He also was being charged with fifteen counts of rape and God knows how many other victims 'couldn't be found for testimony'. He was rich enough from his trust fund that he could afford to be bonded out, and his passport had been forfeited before they even thought about letting him leave the prison.

Anderson had skipped anyway. I had a gut feeling that he was still around, there hadn't been any major activity on his bank account or credit cards, and he had never really been out of the area. I'm thinking he might stick around until the heat gets turned up.

Connie had already run all the legal searches on Anderson. I had pictures of him, pictures of his victims, and pictures of his ex. He had a house near Fenwood Street, an apartment, two cars, a Harley, and an ex-wife. I decided to do a quick drive by of his house first. He lived in the same area that I remembered Hannibal Ramos living in. I got freaked out just thinking about it.

I pulled into Andersons circular drive and put the Buick in park. I took my gun from my pocket book and shoved it into the back of my jeans, hoping I wouldn't shoot my ass by mistake. I shoved the stun gun in my front pocket, my cuffs in the waistband of my jeans, and kept the pepper spray in my hand. I wasn't going to take chances with this guy.

I knocked on the front door and waited. No answer. I rang the bell. No answer. I was considering looking for a key when a police cruiser pulled up behind the Buick. Carl Costanza and his partner Big Dog hopped out of the cruiser.

"Stephanie Plum," Costanza said in a cheery voice. "Long time no see! We got a call that there was a crazy woman with a gun stuck in her butt hanging around the house. Have you seen her?"

"I'm looking for an FTA." I answered, giving Costanza and Big Dog a smile. "Have you guys happened to see Carson Anderson anywhere?" Carl's eyes bulged and Big Dog gave a low whistle.

"Vinnie gave you Anderson?" Costanza muttered. "Morelli will strangle him."

"It isn't any of Morelli's business." I said coolly. "I'm not going to just half-ass it. I'm doing it right. I even brought my gun."

Costanza reached behind me and took my gun. "It's not loaded." he said wearily. "Jesus Christ, Steph! This guy's a complete wacko."

I felt a little embarrassed. I'd been worrying about busting a cap in my own ass by accident, and my gun wasn't even loaded. "I thought it was loaded." I said penitently. "That counts, right?"

"You need Ranger, or at least Morelli." Costanza said. "This isn't a one girl kind of job." Big Dog was looking bored. I suddenly had a brain malfunction. I spouted out exactly what I was thinking again.

"Why do they call you Big Dog?" I asked, seriously distracted. I can't believe that I'd never asked before.

Big Dog gave a self satisfied grin and rocked back on his heels. Oh great. I'm going to get to hear another idiot brag about his package aren't I? "Do you want me to show you why?" He asked suggestively.

Costanza smacked him in the back of the head and I grimaced. "Thanks anyway." I answered. Costanza laughed. "Wanna take a look at my file, and see if anything jumps out at you?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't think Anderson's stupid enough to hang around his house, and probably not the apartment either." Big Dog told me after looking at the file. "You're gonna want to check out the ex though, and look out for the cars and Harley. My money's on the bike. They can squeeze through tight places and move in and out of traffic easier."

"Thanks guys," I answered, actually grateful. "Oh, and if Morelli finds out about me being on this case from 'sources unknown' then I'm going to tell the Captain about some of your on duty visits to Sally Sweet's concerts."

"Harsh!" Costanza said. "He won't hear about it from us."

XXX

After checking out the apartment, I was still not having any luck. I decided to check out the ex wife and call it a day. I pulled into a small house in the Hamilton Township and knocked on the door. This time I left all my paraphernalia in the car, except for the defense spray.

A short blonde with dimples answered the door. She was around 25 and had green eyes and a slender build. "Can I help you?" she asked shyly.

"Candace Marsh?" I asked. At her nod I continued. "I needed to ask some questions about Carson Anderson."

Her eyes went to the ground immediately, and her face heated, from embarrassment or anger I wasn't sure. "I really don't know anything." she said finally. "I've already told the police that he either didn't do that stuff when we were together, or he hid it really well. We were only married about six months. I caught him banging the maid, and that sex at least, was completely consensual."

My heart went out to her. It bore a striking resemblance to my short marriage to Dickie Orr. In his case he managed to boink my archenemy, Joyce Barnhardt.

"Men are pigs." I said, in what I hoped was a reassuring way.

"Swine." she agreed. I gave her my card and told her to call me if she found out anything.

XXX

I pulled into the bonds office parking lot and considered. I could use some more info on Anderson. The only problem was that most of my contacts were limited to the Burg. And Anderson wasn't from the Burg. He would only be known from the headlines. I definitely wasn't letting my mother know what case I was working on.

I looked for the time on my cell. 4:25. Ick. I'd spent all day searching and had absolutely zip. I decided to call it a night and drove back to my apartment.

XXX

First thing the next morning, I showered and dressed in khaki shorts and a Dark blue tank. I needed to get back to work. I stopped at Starbucks and decided to go through my files again. I was sipping my Macchiato and trying to do some deep thinking when Morelli plopped down across from me

Shocked, I managed a repeat of the previous day's mistake. I dumped my Macchiato down the front of my shirt. Cursing, I shoved the file into my bag and looked across the table at him. He didn't say anything at first, he just stared at me. Then he grinned.

"How is it going, Cupcake?" he asked softly.

"I just poured coffee down my chest." I answered in a monotone. Morelli's grin widened.

"Want me to lick it off?" he asked with mock seriousness.

"Was there something you wanted, Morelli?" I snarled, anger streaking my voice.

"Bob misses you." Morelli replied, his voice low and seductive.

"Bob shouldn't be such an arrogant jerk and call me up every time he gets lonely." I snapped back. Morelli's eyebrows rose. "So is this what you're gonna do, Joe? Are you going to do whatever you want, and fight with me all the time, and expect me to still sleep with you? Because those days are long gone and I don't have time for this shit." And I stalked out of the coffee shop.

When I reached my car, I turned my attention back to Anderson. I was sick and tired of chauvinistic pigs and it would be completely satisfying to bring in Anderson. I considered for about ten minutes and it hit me. I'd gone through the legal searches, but Rangeman hand some not-quite-so-legal searches that would turn up a lot more dirt.

I drove to Haywood Street and pulled to the gate of Ranger's parking garage. I stopped the car and built up my courage. It wasn't until I reached for my keys and realized that I was no longer in possession of my key fob.

Sadly it had gone to car heaven when I had been forced to pick up that pyromaniac asshole Morris Munson again. I had really liked that Wrangler. I waved and stuck my head out the window for the security camera. Surely they had a remote switch to open the gate. No luck.

I got out of the car and walked over to the camera. I mouthed I need to talk to Tank or Bobby. No open gate. I jumped up and down. Still no open gate. I was seriously considering flashing the security camera when I heard a low chuckle from behind me. I jumped ten feet in the air, shrieked, and reached for my phantom gun. My real gun was back in the car, in my pocketbook.

"If you are going to give a free show, gorgeous, you'd better make sure I'm invited." said a very amused Lester Santos as he stared at my chest. Santos and I had become pretty good friends when I worked for Rangeman. He was a lot more talkative and fun than the other guys. His only noticeable flaw is that he tends to think from the gutter.

"See something you like, Santos?" I asked, struggling for calm. Even though we had worked together and hung out together, almost every Rangeman has the same effect on me: automatic activation of my own personal sprinkler system. Women were notorious for ruining their panties when in the presence of said Rangemen. Santos was no exception. He was probably the hottest of the Rangemen, except of course, for Ranger himself. And possibly Ram. And also Bobby.

"Well that depends," he answered me, still staring. "If you were referring to the Caramel Macchiato, then I'm not really interested. It's probably been there long enough to get cold. If you were talking about that body you are sporting under that tank top…" he trailed off with a grin.

I should know better by now than to spar words with any of the Rangemen. Especially Santos. I can occasionally get one over on Tank, Hal, or Woody, but never on Santos. Santos could probably put Ranger to shame with his wit, if he was brave enough to try that is.

I looked him over. He probably was brave enough. He had probably given Ranger quite a few things to chew on. The thought of Santos making Ranger speechless made it easy to return Lester's grin.

"So, if all of you sexy beasts wouldn't mind, I need to run a search. If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't have my key on me." I left out the part about them being blown up. With my luck, Santos already knew about it.

Yep, he definitely knew, if the look on his face was any judge. He gave a very knowing grin and held out his keys. When I reached for them he held them up high over his head. With most guys, this would have been no problem. I'm 5'7" and can jump pretty high. With Santos though, he was 6'5" and built like Vin Diesel. He could probably run me in circles.

I didn't think jumping would cut it, so I tried whining. "Lester," I pleaded. "Please just open the damn gate. I don't want to give the guys a tape of me climbing you to reach those keys. They might get the wrong idea."

Lester's grin just widened. "That camera's broken. I just happened to be pulling in, or you'd have been stuck here for a while, flashing the broken camera."

I grimaced at him and jumped for the keys. Just as I felt a finger brush the tip of them, he managed to swing them to the side. He was obviously going to play hard to get. I was so not in the mood for this. It was going to take some thinking, but I was going to bring Lester Santos down.

Finally I figured it out. Instead of jumping for the keys, I took a huge leap and jumped right towards Santos. Shocked, he brought his hands down to keep me from falling to the ground. This knocked him off balance, and he hit the cement with a grunt. I grabbed the keys off the ground.

My legs were straddling his stomach and his hands were still on my ass where they had attempted to catch me. I dangled the keys in front of his face and grinned. "Don't fuck with me Santos. I'm on a donut free diet. It makes me cranky."

The look of shock on his face was priceless. I pried his hands off my ass and managed to get the Buick into the garage.

When I reached the control room, I was surprised to see Tank, Bobby, and Hal smiling at me.

"So," Tank began with a smile, "Can you explain this?" He pressed a button and one of the televisions gave a replay of my confrontation with Lester and a close up of my ass as I tackled him. He had really copped a feel.

I groaned and glared at the three men. From this angle that whole situation looked completely sexual. You couldn't even see Lester's keys.

"He wouldn't give me the key." I said as if this explained everything.

"The key to what? His virginity?" Bobby grinned.

"No the key to the damn gate." I replied hotly.

"So he wouldn't give you the key, and you decided to rape him?" Tank laughed. "You decided to sacrifice your virtue to come in and visit us?"

I growled at him and explained. "Do you see any lack of clothing here? No one got taken advantage of. I tackled Santos, and then I stole his keys, so that I could ask you to borrow your search programs."

The three men burst out laughing. "For touching Santos you deserve a search, or ten." Hal said with a twinkle in his eyes. She followed his gaze to see a grinning Lester close behind her.

"You could have held the elevator, beautiful." Santos laughed. "I had to wait."

"A tragedy of epic proportions." I replied. When in need, turn to sarcasm. It had always worked for me. "And you wouldn't have missed it if you hadn't got taken out by a girl, Santos."

Lester winked at Bobby and put his arm around me. "You can take me out any time, any day, Steph. But next time, let's do it naked." His grin became impish.

"Santos you are such a sleaze. Don't hold your breath for that. Wait, I changed my mind. Hold your breath until you see me naked Santos. Let's see what happens first. Will it be death? Nudity? I'm voting on asphyxiation." I glared at him. "And you told me that stupid camera was broken."

"I lied." He answered. "And I'm hurt. You really want me to suffocate?"

"No, not really." I answered truthfully. It was actually kind of hot, bantering with him. I hadn't been able to spar words with anyone since Ranger… No. I would not think of that.

Sorry, can't talk. I'm busy holding my breath! Lester mouthed dramatically with his hand to his throat. I let out a long sigh and Turned to see the other guys studying the floor, trying not to laugh.

"Is my old cubicle still free?" I asked, my voice dangerously low. Lester sobered up pretty quickly.

"Nope. Sorry, beautiful. We've got a replacement for your old job. Do you only need the search programs?" When I nodded he smiled. "I have all the programs on the desktop in my apartment. You can use that if you want." He held his hands up at the look on my face in a 'don't freak out' gesture. "I didn't mean it like that! It's just the only personal computer besides the boss's that has the search programs. I'm head of skip tracing. All the work computers are in use."

Sighing, I nodded. "Thanks Les, I'd appreciate it." Suddenly wary, I tugged at a stray curl and bit my lip. I think one of the men groaned. I always seem to forget that they are undersexed and overworked. "Do you think Ranger would mind me using Rangeman equipment?" I asked worriedly.

"I don't think he'd mind about the computers," Bobby said jokingly. "But I don't know about the Rangemen's equipment." Lester gave a booming laugh. I did the only thing I knew to do. I kicked Bobby in the shin. Bobby didn't even seem to notice until I was in the floor, clutching my toes.
"Ouch! Jesus Christ!" I said. "What are your legs made of? Rocks?" Bobby looked like he wanted to make another comment, but he wisely refrained.

"Come on, Beautiful." Santos sighed, sounding like an over-indulgent parent. "I'll get you started on my computer." He picked me up bridal style and carried me back to the elevator. I couldn't help but stick out my tongue at Bobby from over Lester's shoulder.

XXX

Lester's apartment was on the floor with all the rest of the Rangemen's. It was larger than my apartment, and cleaner than my apartment. I supposed Ella had her hands full with all these men around, but somehow she still managed. Ella is amazing.

"Santos, I really appreciate this. Are you sure you don't mind me running these searches here? If not, I can manage without them." Okay, so that last part was a lie, but I was trying to be polite.

"I don't mind, Gorgeous." Santos reassured me. "I like thinking of you in my apartment." And then the smug bastard winked at me.

I refrained from slapping him and especially ignored the dampness of my panties. I needed his computer and I wasn't going to get kicked out before using it. It might be tacky of me, but who cares?

"Uh, Les, do you think you could put me down now?" I asked, sounding much calmer than I felt, with the exception of my breath hitching midsentence. My stupid turned on body wanted to stay put, and it was an effort to not let that be seen.

So I'd been going through a dry spell. Who cares? And so what if I'm off sugar! But I'm so not an animal. I can control myself. Even if it means not reaching out and checking Lester's package. It felt huge from the way my side was resting against it. Of course, it could have actually been a gun.

"Sure thing." Santos answered me, interrupting my mostly complete fantasy. He stood me on my feet and unconsciously ran a hand through his messy black hair. "You are pretty sticky from all that coffee." he added. "Do you need a shirt, Princess?"

"Princess?!" I stammered.

"What? I feel weird calling you Stephanie. It feels so long and…formal." His voice seemed to caress the last word. I gulped.

"So call me Steph, or woman or something becoming to a badass bounty hunter. Princess sounds so Disney."

He grinned and leaned in close. "Steph, woman…goddess… Yes, I think I like Goddess, myself." Oh my god. I could feel his lips brush my ear as he whispered. I felt like a lightning strike had gone straight to my core. My mouth went dry and my panties were ruined. I hoped my shorts weren't ruined.

"Could I have some water?" I stammered quickly. I needed a subject change before I tackled him in a completely different way than I had by the garage.

"Absolutely." Santos answered in a low, husky voice. "Goddess…" I think I might be having an asthma attack. Santos was a fountain of raw sexual energy, and I was a dehydrating woman in a desert.

"And that shirt." I managed to choke out. When Santos went to retrieve them, I sat down at the computer and took in a deep breath. I pulled out my file and typed in Anderson's name and social.

Clicking the search button, I looked up to see Santos, shirt and water bottle in hand. He looked completely pissed. I opened my mouth to ask him what was up, but I didn't get very far before he shouted.

"Carson Anderson! Vinnie gave you Carson Anderson!" Lester's voice was all tension. It was a little frightening. "What the hell was he thinking? You'll get killed!" I immediately felt indignation rise up.

"I suppose Vinnie was thinking that when Ranger's not around, he has to make do with who is!" I growled back. "As I'm obviously not dead yet!" I shoved Santos in the chest. It did absolutely nothing. No grunt, no step backwards to balance himself. Nothing. It was utterly unsatisfying.

Santos grabbed the file off of my desk and took out a stack of pictures. "Did you look at the women that he raped, Stephanie?" he snapped. "Did you even fucking look at them?" He laid some of the pictures out across his computer desk.

"Kim Brown, lawyer." He tapped picture after picture as if to bang them into my memory. "Anna Lasker, doctor. Benita Fries, construction worker. Angela Blanco, boxer." He rubbed a hand through his hair again and tossed the rest of the pictures out. Every single woman had curly brown hair, as well as a build eerily similar to mine.

"So do you get it now, Stephanie?" I squirmed. I didn't like him calling me Stephanie either. It made me seem like a five year old who was caught picking her nose.

"Rapists have a certain 'type' that they target." Santos continued heatedly. "Anderson targets women that are successful in what he considers to be a man's field. What do you think he'll feel when he realizes his Bounty Hunter is a woman that looks a helluva lot like his previous victims?

"Are you trying to add Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter extraordinaire to his list?"

I was a little abashed, but I really do need the money. I can't drive the Buick forever. But I didn't think for a second that the Merry Men were above locking me in a holding cell at Rangeman until Anderson was off the streets if they deemed it necessary.

"No. I'm not trying to ask for trouble, Les. But Vinnie promised me fifteen percent! That's 105,000. And, I'm in desperate need of a new car! And some new clothes!" I tried to sound calm, but I could hear the edge of panic in my voice.

"Shit! Fuck!" Lester cursed. Then he left the room. I wondered if his storming off would be affected by the fact that he'd have to come back. This was, after all, his apartment.

He returned after a few minutes and pointed at the Rangeman tank he had brought in a few moments before his rampage. I was confused, wasn't he going to argue some more? Wasn't he going to handcuff me to his bed?

Wow, I need to stay away from those thoughts. His voice brought me out of my reverie. They were low and playful. "Well, you can stay in here and change if you really want to, or you can use the bathroom like I had originally planned."

That got me moving. That, and Lester's sexy smile. I wanted to jump on him and run my tongue up his neck. Instead I ran to the bathroom and tried to breathe. "Where'd you get my size?" I yelled from the bathroom.

"Ella." he answered. That was all that needed to be said. Ella was the ultimate woman.

When I returned to the computer, in my skin tight Rangeman tank, I had taken time to wash my face in cold water, trying to get rid of the boiling blood. Santos gave me a funny look when he saw me.

"What?" I asked self consciously. I had a sudden rush of nervousness.

"It's nothing," Santos answered, a hitch to his voice. "I was just wondering why on earth you wear all that makeup when you have such delectable skin." I blushed and remained silent.

After standing in limbo for what had to be ten years, Santos spoke again. "I've got everything settled."

"You've got what settled?" I asked, completely baffled. My thoughts had been drifting to what Santos was wearing under his cargos. He grinned at me, like he knew exactly what kind of thoughts I was having.

"We'll be partners. I'll help you get Anderson." At my calculating look he sighed. "I have vacation time saved up. I haven't taken a vacation since I started at Rangeman six years ago. I have plenty of paid vacation time to take advantage of." Grinning, he continued. "Besides, looking at you will make the vacation worth my while."

"So will split it 50/50?" I looked for confirmation in his eyes.

His smile turned mischievous. "No way, Beautiful." he said. "If I help you, you can give me 10,000. You can have the rest. I already told you. Looking at you will make it worth my while."

During this conversation I had seated myself beside him on his small overstuffed couch. I blushed and turned away when he looked me up and down slowly, as if to emphasize his point.

"I do have to ask," Santos continued delicately. "Are you and Carlos an item?" I blinked in confusion before realizing he was talking about Ranger. My head snapped towards him, and I sucked in a breath when I realized our faces were inches apart.

"Ranger doesn't do relationships." I answered, proud that there was absolutely no pain in my voice.

"Well, I guess that makes this my lucky day." Santos answered. I licked my lips unconsciously. It certainly wasn't meant for an invitation; it must have had something to do with my lack of donuts. But Lester's eyes darkened and his lips were on mine.

Oh my God! Santos has lips like liquid gold. His kiss was light and slow, almost reverent. I felt my blood start to boil again as he deepened the kiss. Then it was over, and I was breathing much harder than I should have been.

I saw the question in his eyes. He wanted to know if this was okay. I answered in the best way I knew how. I pressed my lips back to his and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Sometime later, I straightened my clothes like a sixteen year old after being caught making out in the dark. Lester was grinning again. "Ranger may not do relationships," he said in that husky voice again. "But I do. So if you're ever interested, just let me know." Lester's phone rang.

"Santos." Lester said, voice completely changed. He was brisk now, all business. "I'll find out… No of course I don't mind. Later."

I looked at him curiously, but I knew better than to ask about Rangeman business. Santos surprised me by elaborating.

"That was Tank. He wants to know if you're up for a distraction job." he whispered conspiratorially. "It would probably earn you enough to have food money while we are working on Anderson."

"Holy Shit!" I yelped, running back to Lester's computer. "I forgot all about Anderson. You distracted me!" Santos laughed out loud.

"Shut up Santos!" I said, annoyed. "What time does Tank need me to be ready for the job?" I asked in a rush. I looked at the clock. 2:00.

"Tank wants us to meet up with him at the starlight lounge at 8:00. He says Lenny Kersowitz is going to be there tonight."

"Oh," I sighed, calming down. I printed the completed searches and re-fixed my hair. "I need to go back to my apartment then. How do I need to dress tonight? Slutty or business casual?"

"I would try for somewhere in between. The Starlight Lounge is pretty cheap though." Santos grinned. Santos was always grinning. "As for afterwards, you can dress however you want. Or however you don't want." Yikes, he was making my spine tingle.

I shoved the searches into my bag and rolled my eyes. I also grabbed the coffee stained tank. "Well, I guess I'll see you tonight." I muttered and started out the door.

"Mind if I tag along? I love watching you run distraction jobs."

I grinned cheekily. "Knock yourself out. I hope you like Buicks."

Santos grimaced. "We'll take my car." he stated matter-of-factly.

When we made it to Rangeman's underground parking garage, Santos led me to a black Mustang convertible. Then he gave me an apologetic look. "My tastes aren't quite as expensive as Ranger's."

I had a small fit of laughter, and Santos gave me an unsure look. "I drove a Nova with Pussy written on the side of it. A black convertible is way out of my league." He laughed with me then.

"Nothing is out of your league, Beautiful." Santos said in his usual flirty voice. I tried not to swoon.

XXX