A/N: Gomen! I'm having trouble writing this story, so don't actually expect much in the way of quality. There is also a shift in POV from Steph to third person, whichis what most of the story will be written in. Enjoy what little there is.
Disclaimer: If only Ranger belonged to me... sigh but he doesn't. I bet Evanovich is having fun.
It was one of those days that everything went wrong, actually it wasn't all bad.
My day started out somewhat normal. The alarm went off at 6:30 so that I could go out for a run but I decided that it was inhuman to be up that early and rolled back over to go to sleep. I finally did wake up at 9 and I took a shower and got dressed.
I drove myself to the bakery and rewarded myself for waking up with a Boston cream. I sat in my car in the parking lot and ate my donut…s. Morelli came along just as I licked my fingertips clean to make sure I was okay and then I took off to look for a FTA. Bad idea considering I don't have the best of luck with criminals and I am pregnant, but I was not gifted with too much common sense.
I found my FTA okay, I even got him back to the station okay, it was after I left that I hit trouble.
I was sitting in my car, stuck in traffic when this guy pulls open my door and gets in my car. The guy with shoulder length blonde hair he's pulled back into a low ponytail. He wore scruffy jeans, dirty t-shirt and a leather jacket. I looked into his green eyes and they almost seemed to twinkle at me. He was sexy! Everything would be okay and I would have given him a ride anywhere for his asking if it weren't for the fact that he was holding a gun. He was holding it low and it was pointed at me! Can you believe it! He tells me to pretend everything is okay and to keep driving. The light turns green and I drive.
If it weren't for the fact that I was pregnant I would have done something stupid like trying to throw the guy out of the car or screaming but my responsible side said to keep quiet and do what he says. He guides me out of the city onto a freeway heading south straight out of Trenton. At least I got kidnapped by a guy I can stand to stare at for a few hours... possibly days.
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Morelli stood outside Stephanie's apartment knocking on her door. He had tried calling her cell phone and had left several messages telling her to call him, but she hadn't called back. He had tried to check up on her yesterday but there had been no answer at the door then. Today he decided to take a look inside.
He slipped his copy of the key to her apartment into the door and let himself in. He listened for a moment but he didn't hear anything. He looked in the kitchen and there was nothing in the dish drain drying; he checked the bathroom and the bathtub was dry; the bed was unmade but it was always like that.
As far as he could tell, she hadn't been there for at least a couple of days. He tried Stephanie's cell again and it went straight to the voicemail. He gave a sigh and ended his call. He slipped his phone into his pocket and turned back to the apartment.
He suddenly noticed Rex. He was stuffed into his soup and fast asleep. Morelli shook his head. "What kind of trouble are you in now?" He addressed the not there Stephanie.
He picked up Rex's cage and walked out of the apartment, locking up behind himself.
He put Rex's cage in the back seat of his SUV and drove over to the office on Hamilton.
He got out of his SUV and went into the bond office. Connie was sitting behind her desk and the door to Vinnie's office was closed. Lula was nowhere in site.
He sent a nod in greeting to Connie.
"Have you seen Steph?" Connie asked looking a bit stressed. "I have more FTAs than I know what to do with." She waved to a pile of files at the edge of her desk. "And Ranger hasn't come in for couple of days now. I'm getting worried."
"You haven't seen Steph either." It came out as more of a statement than a question.
Connie shook her head, "I'm getting worried. She usually checks in. I tried her cell phone but it's turned off."
"Hunh." Morelli paused. "Thanks." He turned and left the office.
As he pulled away in his SUV, he pulled out his cell and dialed.
"Hey... Have you seen Steph?... I checked her apartment, looked like she hadn't been there for a couple of days but Rex was there... No I got him... Call me if you find anything." He hung up and sighed.
He flipped open his phone and dialed again. "It's Morelli. I doubt that you'll find anything, but can you run a check at all hospitals in the Trenton area for anyone fitting Stephanie's description ... No I don't want to file anything official with missings yet. Ranger's on it too... yeah, thanks." He hung up and put the phone away. He couldn't think of anything else he could do.
He drove about Trenton aimlessly, looking for any sign of Stephanie, hoping to find a clue as to what happened to her. This was unlike her. Usually when she went missing there was at least a stalker or an angry FTA involved. But this time around, no one knew anything about what Stephanie was involved with, mostly because she wasn't involved with anything... anything dangerous anyway.