AN: Several of you, and especially Sophiepicklegirl, pleaded with me to write a follow-up to the one-shot, showing Ranger and Stephanie when they finally met up again as adults. This is that story. Still not making any money from this, just borrowing Higgins and Doolittle for an encore.


She pulled open the diner door and stepped outside, back into the sweltering sauna that passed for air in Jersey during the late summer. Shimmering ribbons of heat waves rose up from the asphalt, giving everything a mirage-like feel. With a deep sigh, she walked down the hot pavement to the brown Nova parked on the street in front of the diner, stumbling a little as she stepped off the curb.

It's just the heat, she told herself. But she'd felt it. A slight twinge in her heart; a skipped beat that threw her off balance. She opened the car door and sat down heavily on the driver's seat, feeling the heat of the cushion burn the backs of her legs. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, not daring to look back in case he walked out of the diner, she pulled into traffic.

A trickle of sweat ran down the side of her face and dripped off her jaw, staining her red silk blouse. A car's blaring horn warned her that she had drifted out of her lane, and she yanked the wheel to the right, thrusting her left hand out the window, middle finger up, in the Jersey salute of acknowledgment. Shaken, she turned down a side street, pulled over to the curb and put the brake on. More moisture flowed down her cheek, but this time it wasn't sweat. Letting her head fall forward, she rested it against the steering wheel. She sat like that for a while as long forgotten memories surfaced. Memories of another hot, muggy summer day and a chance meeting with a man whose skin was the color of rich mocha latte.

Why now? Why had he come back into her life now?

She had waited months for him to call her back, but he never did. Night after night, she sat by the phone, refusing to go out when her friends tried to drag her to yet another frat party or to a movie or just to go out for a burger and fries. She was so sure he 'd call. They'd had a connection. She'd felt it and she knew he had, too. But, there had been another time she'd felt a connection with a guy, had given him her virginity even, and he had never called her back either.

Another hard lesson learned. Eventually, she had put that sexy, mocha latte-skinned young man out of her mind and got on with her life. But a small part of her heart had hardened, scarred by rejection and pain.

She had pictured him as a successful business tycoon by now. After all, ten years had gone by. The man that sat across from her today at the diner was not what she had pictured. Obviously, his life hadn't gone the way either of them had imagined.

She shook her head as if to rouse herself and picked up the folder lying on the passenger seat. Opening it, she stared down at the small picture stapled to the top of the sheaves of paper within. A twinge of pain pulled at mental scar tissue as she remembered how Joseph Morelli had not only broke her heart, he had humiliated her in front of the entire Burg by writing about her "deflowering" on the bathroom wall of Mario's Sub Shop.

Finally, though, she had a chance to get even with Morelli. And if she had to use another man who had broken her heart once, too, well, she would do it without a second look back. The old trusting, naive Stephanie Plum was gone, replaced with a hard-hearted, take no prisoners, soon-to-be pistol-packing, official bond enforcement agent of the Vincent Plum Bail Bonds Company.

The ugly little car didn't seem quite as dreary now. Things were looking up. She had someone who was going to teach her the ropes of this bounty hunter thing and soon, she'd be rolling in dough. $10,000. That would go a long way toward a buying a decent car and kicking this POS to the curb. She knew she could find Morelli. She could feel it in her bones, despite what... what had he called himself?

Ranger. What a name! He was just a bounty hunter like herself, working for her perv of a cousin, Vinnie. Who did he think he was? The Lone Ranger out to make the world safe for the little people? She hadn't known his name back then, but she had fantasized that it was something romantic like Antonio Banderas or Ricardo Montalban. Not Ranger. Did he have a sidekick like Tonto following him around, or maybe a dwarf who shouted "De perp. De perp"? He certainly wasn't the glamorous and rich Bruce Wayne aka Batman that she had joked about with him all those years ago.

It didn't matter anymore. He hadn't remembered her. She obviously had meant nothing to him and now, he would mean nothing to her, except as a means to get Joe Morelli. When he told her he didn't think she could bring Morelli in, a feeling had crept over her, a fierce determination to succeed at all cost. She would show them both what she was made of; she would show the Burg what she was made of.

She wiped away the last of her tears and took the brake off. It was time to see a man about a gun.


He sat at the table for a long time. Each time the waitress came near, he shot her a glance that sent her scurrying back behind the counter. Otherwise, his face was a blank, giving away none of the roiling emotion that was tearing him up inside.

He couldn't believe it was her. He couldn't believe that she had breezed into his life a second time. His Bodrum Babe! She was as beautiful as ever, her incredible blue eyes burning a hole straight into his soul. Her brown hair was a riot of soft curls floating around her head and shoulders, just like that last glimpse he'd had of her, as the van she was in drove away from him and out of his life.

Thoughts of her had eaten away at him for months, until the rigors of Army boot camp had wiped all thoughts of his past from his mind. He learned to focus on the present and plan for the future. The past was just that—the past. It had no bearing on his life. He had plans. Big plans. And they were coming together nicely.

He had established himself in Trenton, where no one knew him. He could rewrite himself any way he chose. His experiences in the Army had shown him that a tough exterior, a commanding presence, was needed if you wanted the world to take you seriously. And he wanted to be taken seriously. He was slowly building a reputation as a tough guy, a badass bounty hunter who refused to back down from any situation, any confrontation.

Right now, he only had a small office in a nondescript building, and no staff to speak of, but plans were in the works for the purchase of an entire building. He already had it picked out. A solid seven-story brick building over on Haywood Street, in the center of town. But he needed more capital for the down payment and rehab. He was in negotiations for a long-term partnership, but the partners he was considering were a risky proposition.

They demanded complete anonymity, and a signed contract from him that required him to be available for their special projects. Those special projects required every bit of training and experience he had gained while serving as a US Army Ranger.

He didn't mind doing black ops missions for them, as long as they would financially back his business and agree to back off from "advising" him in its operations. He was insisting on complete control of the company. As long as they kept the money flowing his way, he would be content with the proposed partnership.

A glance out the diner window revealed one of the perks of merging with this top secret firm. A gleaming brand new black BMW limited production 850 Ci. He also had at his disposal a brand new Bronco, also black, complete with state-of-the-art Bird Dog tracking system. More perks were under negotiation. Soon. Soon, he would head up the corporate empire he had always envisioned running.

And then she came back into his life. The one woman he'd never been able to completely erase from his mind. That was ten years ago. He had pictured her as a successful fashion designer by now. Obviously, her life hadn't gone quite the way either of them had imagined.

He remembered telling her she should stretch her wings and fly. They had joked about being Batman and Wonder Woman. She hadn't been far off when she described him as a tortured soul conquering his demons. She'd also called him ruthless. Maybe not back then, but now, that wasn't far off the mark. The last ten years had taken its toll on him. The things he'd seen, the things he'd done. He blew out a puff of air.

If he had changed from that college kid he used to be, so had she. She had been shy and timid, but today, she had shown a tougher side, a harder side. Life hadn't been easy for her, either.

And then, he had made a lame joke about him being Professor Henry Higgins and her being Eliza Doolittle. First, a comic book reference and then historic fiction; both were literary references, but still... he groaned inwardly.

Well, he could still help her to fly, but maybe not as Wonder Woman or as My Fair Lady. Neither role model seemed quite appropriate for the gun-toting bounty hunter she needed to become if she was to catch Morelli. He shook his head. She didn't have a clue what she was doing. She also didn't have a chance in hell at bringing Morelli in. But maybe he could help her stay alive and in one piece.

Why now? Why had she dropped into his life now? His life wasn't his own and wouldn't be for several years to come.

Once this partnership was finalized, he'd have the necessary capital to begin RangeMan Enterprises. He would be up to his ears in building the new company from scratch. Also, he could be called up and have to go overseas at the drop of a hat. The security business along with bounty hunting was dangerous enough, but his covert black ops missions were another level of danger all unto themselves. There was always the chance he wouldn't return and no one, not even his family, would ever know what had happened to him. That was another part of the contract. Complete secrecy, in perpetuity.

There was no way he could allow himself to get involved in a relationship. Not now. Maybe not ever. He inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly. Since she hadn't recognized him, he could never let her know. His Bodrum Babe would have to be just another secret, a part of his past that never existed.

He stood up, threw down some bills and strode out of the diner. It was time to see a man about a gun for his Babe.


AN: I hoped you enjoyed this brief glimpse into Ranger and Steph's lives. If you liked this story, why don't you check out my debut novel, Condor Moon. Just follow the link on my profile page to my website or look up Condor Moon online at your favorite book retailer.