Chapter 2

Bobby's POV

Ranger, Lester and I were visiting Woody two days later when I saw her pass by his room. She was wearing a black skirt and deep blue blouse. I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. She looked extremely sexy in a buttoned up sort of way.

Lester started laughing when he saw my face "That's her again isn't it?"

"Who?" asked Woody.

Even Ranger's eyebrows were raised.

"It's this woman who was in the waiting room with me. I just…I don't know I need to ask her something" I tried to explain staring after her. Elaina Merritt had me completely flustered.

"Go get her man!" said Woody grinning.

I jumped up and saw her in the hall walking toward me reading a file. She looked up and locked eyes with me "Mr. Brown. How's your coworker?" she asked as I fell into step next to her.

"Well, thank you. Listen I need to ask you something" I said taking a deep breath.

She stopped and looked at me, her face betraying nothing. She could give military men lesson on hiding emotions.

"Dr. Patel told me that the patient you were waiting on passed away at 10:00pm. Why were you in the waiting room till 5 in the morning?" I asked.

She gave me a small smile and my heart fluttered.

"I didn't feel like being alone" she said and then continued walking reading her file leaving me just staring after her.

I went back to Woody's room and we all hung out with him for another hour or so.

Ranger was talking to the doctor as Lester and I were waiting outside Woody's room when she came by again. Shit. I wasn't going to miss my chance.

"Elaina!" I called. She turned eyebrows raised at me.

I jogged over to her "Listen can I take you to dinner sometime?" I asked.

"Mr. Brown you don't know anything about me. Why would you want to take me anywhere?" she asked with a small smile as she turned to continue walking.

I turned and saw Lester and Ranger staring at me. Lester mouthed "Do something".

"I know you work at The Chase Foundation" I blurted out.

She stopped but didn't turn.

"You grew up in Massachusetts and lived in Washington D.C. for five years. You graduated from George Washington University. Your father worked in construction and your mother was a school teacher" I finished. Shit. This was not going well.

She turned around hotly, eyes blazing, lips pursed.

She walked up to me meeting my gaze "I'm also a 34B and my blood type is AB-" she said coldly. "Since you must know I'm an attorney you also realize that I know what is a matter of public record" she continued her eyes narrowing.

I stood there unable to speak

"Is this your move with women? Running a background check? You want to know something about me Mr. Brown? Why don't you try asking me?" she said as she turned on her four inch heels and walked off.

I sat there with my mouth hanging open and looked back at Lester and Ranger. Lester was cringing and Ranger mouthed "Ouch" to me.

Just fucking great.

Ranger's POV

Watching Bobby chase after that chick was painful.

The woman was tiny with light hair, pale skin, pink lips and blue eyes. She was beautiful and angelic until she turned that cold gaze on you. She must have had ice water running though her veins.

The way she shot him down was harsh. I almost shivered.

I also have to admit that most women did not want a man to do an extensive background search on them before they even asked her a real question. It wasn't Bobby's best move which is surprising because Bobby usually had no trouble with women.

This was a rare misstep. I think this woman has his head completely turned around.

I'm planning on helping him out. Steph made a copy of the dossier on Elaina Merritt for us to go through and I made a couple phone calls to different attorneys who I know have worked with her foundation.

Apparently Ms. Merritt is a combination Saint/Satan. If she's on your side she will fall on the sword for you. If you're on opposing sides she will unapologetically go for the jugular. The C word was tossed out a few times.

I decided that I liked Ms. Merritt. She had a carefully crafted image that she worked to maintain to benefit her professionally. She wore it like armor. I could relate. My real name clearly isn't Ranger. I was going to help Bobby out with this one.

When Steph and I went to pick up Woody from the hospital I made sure to track down Elaina Merritt. She was at the hospital most days. I found her leaving the room of a patient.

"Elaina Merritt?" I asked.

"Yes?" she stopped.

"Carlos Manoso, I'm the head of RangeMan Security." I said extending my hand.

"Mr. Manoso. What can I do for you?" she asked as she shook my hand with a firm shake. She looked me in the eyes no intimidation evident. It's rare when people can do that with me.

"Carlos, please. I think your organization does good work and I am interested in making a donation" I replied.

Then it happened.

The ice queen melted. Her eyes softened and a small wistful smile fell on her lips. She really was stunning when she wasn't busy scaring the shit out of people. She reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a business card.

"Call me at any time Carlos. I will be willing to answer any questions about The Chase Foundation that you may have. We are very grateful for the generosity of our donors and we make sure that all contributions are put to good use."

"Do you think perhaps we could set up a meeting tomorrow? I would like you to meet my partners and perhaps discuss other ways we can get involved. I heard that you frequently help veterans deal with all the red tape and paperwork. Almost all my employees are former military." I knew I had her.

She pulled out her blackberry and looked at her schedule "Does 4:00pm work for you?" she asked.

"It does" I said as I gave her my business card. We shook hands again and parted.

Steph had a smile on when I returned. "Was that her?" she asked.

"It was" I smiled.

"Is she going to be stopping by RangeMan soon?" she asked.

"Tomorrow at four" I replied.

"Mr. Manoso, has anyone ever told you how romantic you are?" she said as she snuggled up to me.

"Never" I said as I leaned down to plant a soft kiss on the woman I love.

Bobby's POV

Ranger wanted all the partners and Steph for some sort of meeting.

I'm assuming it was with a woman otherwise Steph would probably not be attending. Ranger and Tank liked to use her when we were trying to present a "softer side" of RangeMan.

We were around the table waiting for Ranger and the client when the door opened and in walked Elaina Merrit wearing a navy dress with brown heels with Ranger. Her light hair was straight hanging down her back. I swallowed hard.

She looked softer, sweeter and somehow amazingly sexy. I tried not to stare but I didn't think I could take my eyes off her.

"Mr. Brown" she nodded acknowledging me.

"This is Pierre Foster and Lester Santos they are also partners in RangeMan. Gentlemen this is Elaina Merritt from The Chase Foundation. Stephanie Plum is also an employee here at RangeMan and we thought it would be beneficial for her to sit in on this meeting" Ranger said.

Elaina shook hands with everyone and when she got to Stephanie she smiled and asked "Were you asked here so I wouldn't be intimidated by all the large scary mercenaries?"

Steph let out a laugh "Something like that."

"I had a feeling. Although I always appreciate another woman's input" she said as she took her seat.

She passed out materials on her foundation and a packet on the work they do for veterans. She was engaging, personable and passionate. I was completely entranced.

When she was done, Ranger told her that the partners would meet once they reviewed the materials to decide on how involved RangeMan was going to be in her charity.

She smiled and thanked us all for our time.

"There's something else I would like to discuss Elaina and I hope it won't make you uncomfortable" Ranger started.

Where the hell is he going with this?

"It's come to my attention that you have had multiple death threats made against you" Ranger said pulling out a file and sliding it in front of Elaina.

Just like that the sweet smile was replaced with the ice bitch from hell look and we all felt a chill in the room. I think Les may have even shivered.

Elaina stopped the file with her finger looked Ranger dead in the eye. "And?" she asked coldly.

"You should be taking these threats seriously. You seemed to have made a lot of enemies and I want to make sure your capable of protecting yourself" Ranger replied.

"May I ask what business it is of yours?" she asked briskly.

"I run a security company which may be publically linked to your foundation. If anything were to happen to you it could make my company look like we couldn't take care of our own" Ranger replied evenly.

"Seems like a stretch Mr. Manoso" she replied as she crossed her arms giving Ranger an assessing look.

"It's going to be part of our deal. Ms. Merritt you will get your check and RangeMan's participation in your events for veterans if you learn how to shoot and take some basic self defense lessons. I think it's more than a fair deal unless you would like to call your partner Greg Peters to see if you should agree to our terms" Ranger said as he sat back in his chair.

"You seem to have done your homework Mr. Manoso considering you know Greg Peters would sell my soul for a ten dollar bill…and we're friends. I'm lost on your angle but you have backed me into a corner as you well know. Let me know when we start" she said coldly.

"Right now. We have some clothes for you to change into and Mr. Brown will be in charge of your training" Ranger said with a nod in my direction.

I felt my throat go dry as Elaina cold gaze fell on me. Yeah, she clearly hates me.

Does Ranger think he's helping? Elaina stood up and shook Ranger's hand and Stephanie led her to seven so she could change.

I turned and looked at Ranger, Lester and Tank who all sat their grinning at me.

"You guys are assholes!" I groaned as I hit my head against the conference room table.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elaina came down in a fitted workout tank top, shorts and sneakers. She bent at the waist in front of me and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Where to first?" she asked coldly.

"Shooting range. How do you feel about guns?" I asked.

"I spend my time trying to get people adequate medical care. I like to think that I work to save lives I'm not comfortable trying to take them" she replied.

"I can teach you how to shoot to injure and not kill if you're interested" I suggested.

"I'd like that. Even though I can promise you I will never carry a gun" she answered.

"It's going to take a lot of work to be able to do it but I think I can get you there" I said trying to sound confident. I am an excellent marksman and I could sure as shit do this. Why am I so nervous? What the fuck is this woman doing to me?

"You either have a lot of faith in me or you're very confident in your skills" she replied.

"Both" I answered without thinking.

She raised her eyebrows at me.

"You don't seem like the kind of person who backs down from a challenge" I pointed out.

"I don't" was the only reply I received.

I started off showing her a few different small hand guns before selecting one. She was holding the gun delicately.

"Are you afraid of it?" I asked.

"No" she replied looking me straight in the eyes.

"Are you afraid of anything?" I muttered under my breath.

"Bugs" she answered.

I looked up in surprise. She was smiling at me. Not a full smile but it was enough to make me heart beat faster. This woman did something to me that I couldn't explain.

I showed her how to stand and then adjusted her position. I loved the way her hips felt under my hands as I turned her slightly. I inhaled her perfume it was a clean smell with maybe a hint of citrus.

I loved it and wanted to stand close to her so I could inhale it but I didn't want to creep her out. I thanked god when the hour had passed because I was distracted standing behind her staring at her ass and trying to inhale her perfume. I wasn't being a very good teacher, she was too distracting.

We then headed to the gym for self-defense. She was a little looser and the ice queen face was off and replaced by a face of indifference.

I'd call it a step in the right direction.

I wanted to catch her off guard to see how she'd react and to test her reflexes. She was a step of two ahead of me on the mats when I grabbed her and took her to the ground. She gasped and wrapped her legs around me pulling me directly on top of her. I stopped myself with my arms before I landed completely on top of her.

I looked at her face and she was slightly flushed and her pupils were dilated as she was catching her breath. She looked incredibly sexy and I was getting a lot of inconvenient thoughts considering the position we were currently in.

"I needed to test your reflexes" I said as I slowly climbed off her.

"How did I do?" she asked her chest still heaving.

"You reacted quickly" I said trying to keep my voice steady.

All I could smell was her perfume. She was fucking intoxicating. I needed to pull my shit together and fast.

I took a breath and slammed down my blank face.

I spent the next hour showing her how to break different holds and block certain strikes. We worked on how she could use her size to her advantage. She was only a little over five feet which was even smaller then I originally guessed.

We were working on our last hold where I was standing behind her holding her arms and I just couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Have dinner with me" I whispered in her ear.

"Will you let me go if I say no?" she asked with a small laugh.

I realized I just asked out a woman while pinning her arms. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Not sure" I replied softly in her hear.

"Why do you want to have dinner with me?" she whispered back, leaning her face towards mine.

"You fascinate me. The combination of the hard and soft sides of your personality, your intelligence, how sexy you are and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the night we first met" I whispered in her ear and I slowly kissed her softly on the neck.

I probably shouldn't have done that but I couldn't help myself.

She moaned softly.

Then she broke my grip just like how I'd been showing her and spun around to face me. She kept her body pressed up to mine and looked up at me. She was incredibly beautiful.

I slowly lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her soft pink lips. I heard a moan escape me as she kissed me back and slowly opened her mouth to deepen our kiss. My arms wrapped around her waist holding her tighter.

I was now wishing we were someplace else besides the gym where I knew there were security cameras. Shit. The guys are definitely watching this. I'm going to get a fucking ear full from the guys on monitor duty. Well it could have been worse; she could've slapped me after I kissed her neck.

I regretfully ended out kiss and then tilted her chin up so she would look in my eyes. "Please have dinner with me. Tonight." I asked quietly.

"Eight o'clock" she replied. Breaking away and giving me a breath taking smile.

Before she left she shook my hand in front of the other guys and thanked me for her lessons. In my hand was her business card with her address and cell phone number written on the back.

I felt like I just won the lottery.

Steph's POV

After Bobby went to go train Elaina I waited for Ranger up on seven. When he came through the door I launched myself at him. He caught me in his arms and I wrapped me legs around him wiggling up against him. I started kissing down his neck and nibbling his ear.

"I don't know what I did to deserve this but I'm going to start doing it every day" he whispered hotly as his mouth crashed onto mine. He carried me to the bedroom and I tugged on his shirt until he set me on the bed and removed it himself followed by mine.

He crashed on top of me his hands everywhere. My bra was thrown across the room and Ranger's mouth was deliciously assaulting my skin when his phone range.

He reached for it and barked "I'm offline!" then he paused listened and hung up. He slowly lowered his mouth to mine and gave me a slow, deep kiss which sent tingles through me entire body.

"We need to dress and go downstairs" he said.

"What! Come on. Can't it wait five minutes? I bet I can finish in five minutes" I pointed out.

Ranger let out a laugh "Not a race Babe."

"It is when we're getting interrupted" I grumbled.

He sighed and leaned down and kissed me softly again and said "I promise that you'll finish multiple times tonight if you just get dressed and come downstairs with me."

I moaned.

"I am holding you too that Mr. Manoso" I said.

Ranger and I dressed and got into the elevator where we proceeded to make out and make promises about the things we were planning to do to each other once we got back to seven.

The doors opened and we separated pretending to act like we weren't just going at it like lusting teenagers.

Tank was waiting for us and brought us into the conference room where Joe Morelli was sitting.

"Joe? What's going on?" I asked. I looked at Ranger whose blank face was firmly in place.

"This was in my mailbox today" he said sliding an envelope toward Ranger and me.

I picked it up and opened to find picture of myself. There was a picture of Joe and I at Pino's, another of Lester and I out running, another of Ranger and I kissing at the bond's office and another of me dressed like a skank talking to a skip from a few weeks ago during a distraction. On the back of each picture was a different word "slut", "whore", "bitch" and "cunt."

Ranger's jaw tightened and eyes flashed with anger.

"I don't get it" I said. "Why is someone sending pictures of me to you and not Ranger?" I asked.

Joe let out a bark of laughter. "Only you Cupcake, would question why some stalker sent pictures to me instead of who the hell is stalking you…or me" he sighed running his hand through his hair.

"The pictures and envelope are completely clean of all prints. I'm not sure what's going on but I've already turned this matter over to the station. I just wanted to be the one to break the news. Keep an eye on our girl Manoso" Joe said nodding at Ranger.

"This could be nothing" I pointed out. "Some whack job could just think I'm a slut whore bitch cunt and felt the need to share it. I don't think there's a need to go overboard right now." I really did not want to be on fucking lockdown over some stupid pictures.

I was also worried that Ranger's promise of delivering me multiple orgasms was going to fall by the way side so he could try and find out more information on this "stalker."

Ranger turned me to him and tilted my chin up to me "Babe, I'm not going to put you on lockdown yet, but I am going to ask you keep your trackers and panic button with you at all times until we figure out who sent these pictures. Can you do that for me?" he asked.

Ranger's been really good about asking me instead of telling me since we became a couple. I think he may have cracked my secret code of me refusing to do anything that I was told but forever caving into anything that was asked of me.

"Only if you keep the promise you made to me earlier" I said innocently.

That got me a wolf grin. Joe and Ranger shook hands and once Joe left Ranger scooped me up in his arms and rushed me to seven so he could deliver on his promise.