Note: The characters, places and descriptions in this story recognizable as Janet Evanovich's are used solely for entertainment purposes.


A while later, I woke up and slid off Ranger's lap. "Sorry."

"For what?"

I motioned between the two of us, "For making you take care of me. I'm in town less than twenty four hours and I already need someone to take care of me? This place is my doom."

He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. "I think anyone would have needed a friend when they got news like that."

I nodded, my throat tight. "Yeah, I guess so. Thank you for the song."

He gave me a half smile. "My mother used to sing it to me when I was little. I was afraid of storms and she would hold me and sing that song to me." He shrugged. "Seemed appropriate."

"It was very comforting." I sighed and walked over to the window and looked out over the city.

"I made some calls when you were asleep."

I waved my hand at him in a dismissive gesture. "I'm not ready to talk about this and please don't turn on the TV because I don't want to see what the news is saying about the explosion."

He came over and rested a hand on the back of my neck, lightly massaging my muscles. "All you need to know right now is that they're baffled about how the set exploded because they had safe guards to prevent it. And they haven't located Chris's body. Everyone else has been accounted for."

He waited a beat for that to sink in. I turned to him. "Are you saying that this was done on purpose?"

He just stared at me. Same old Ranger, even after three years.

"Are you saying that he's not dead?"

He raised his hands. "Seems off to me, Babe. They found every body but his. He wasn't near the epicenter, in fact, he was so far away from the explosion that I'm certain he wouldn't have been hurt by it."

I stared at him and grabbed my pendant. Somewhere inside I hadn't believed he was gone, but I didn't have any reason to think he wasn't. "How do you know this?"

"I have a close friend who works with the New Zealand fire service in Auckland. I called him and he filled me in. They're searching frantically to find Chris, but they're allowing the media to believe he's dead." His face was stony. "And you."

"Why me?"

"They're afraid that if you don't look worried and distraught enough, whoever took him will be on guard," he said and again his face was stony, impassible.

"So, Torrence called me and fed me that bullshit line about how he was so sorry, but my husband was in a terrible accident and he was afraid he was gone … gone. That bastard! He didn't lie to me, he just let me assume." I stood up and started pacing, anger replacing my worry. "He knew I would think he meant dead."

Ranger shrugged. "He may only think what someone else is allowing him to think." He looked me in the eye. "What do you want to do, Babe? I'll do anything you ask."

"Take me to New Zealand. We're going to find my husband."

"Done. We'll take Tank and Ram. Do you have anyone else you want on the team?" he asked.

"This is going to sound crazy, but I want Morelli." I was doing some mental knuckle cracking. I didn't know who it was or why they did it, but they were going to answer to me. And if even one hair on Captain's head was harmed…

"Babe."

"What?" I asked sharply.

"Try to save the violence for the one responsible." He had a smirk on his face.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do," I said turning to face him, hands on my hips. "I'm going to get myself good and worked up and then when we find this jackass, I'm going to murder him with my bare hands. That's what I'm going to do."

He gave me a gentle smile. "Now you know how I felt with Abruzzi and Con."

I felt my breath catch in my throat and I stared at him. "I don't know what to say, Carlos." Somehow, calling him Carlos at this moment felt right. "I never knew that you felt that strongly."

He smiled a little. "Would it have made a difference?"

"Before I met Chris? Yes. There wouldn't have been a Chris in my life if I had known." And I walked away to the kitchen to leave him to ponder that thought. As it was, there was a Chris now and he was more important to me than anything. Sure, Ranger was hot, steamy even, but my attraction was residual. The emotion that held me captive wasn't the same.

I opened the fridge and grabbed a beer. "I'll need to use the firing range," I said.

Ranger didn't move, he simply stared at me.

"Hello? Earth to Ranger." I waved my arm.

"You'll have to excuse me. I thought I just heard you say you wanted to use the firing range," he said, his expression amused.

"Well, I haven't touched a gun in three years. I have a feeling I'm going to need to touch a gun now." I took a swig of my Corona. "And I need to get some clothes because I only have pretty things, not ass kicking things."

Ranger tipped his head sideways and looked at my heels. "I don't know; those look like they could so some major damage."

"These were expensive … I'm not going to ruin my heel on some low life scum." I stared him down for a minute. "What do you think of Morelli helping?"

"I think it makes sense. You trust him or you wouldn't ask. You can't ask more than to be surrounded by people you trust." He grinned. "And he's good, has great instincts; and we can use all the good instincts we can get."

I nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

"This ought to be interesting," Ranger said. He walked over and hooked an arm around my neck and pulled me to the door. "Let's go talk to Tank and Ram."

"I want Hal, too."

"Hal, Babe?" he asked with a grin.

"I like Hal."

"Hal it is, Babe. Anything else you want on your silver platter?"

"Smart ass."

***

"You want me to do what?" Joe asked, staring at me. His hair was just as I'd remembered it: almost black, a little unruly, curling at his neck. His brown eyes staring at me were hard with a soft edge. He was the same height as my husband, but more rugged and more dangerous. I had been in love with Morelli for over half of my life, maybe part of me still loved him, but my happiness depended on him right now.

"Please, Joe." I gave him my most vulnerable damsel in distress look. "Someone has my husband. I need to find him and I don't have many people I can trust."

"And you trust me."

"Yes, I trust you. I trust that you are good and that you won't give up. I trust that you'll be an important part of the team and we can't do this without you. I don't even want to try." My eyes were pleading with him.

"What about work? I have a job." I blushed and looked at Ranger.

"I talked to Juniak. He owed me a big favor and was willing to give you some paid time off to reimburse me," he said.

"You talked to the mayor without asking me." He looked angry, more than angry. He looked as if he would strangle someone.

"I didn't think you would say no. This is the kind of man hunt you love. A real mystery…"

"But it's to find your husband." He stomped around in his foyer for a minute. "I don't believe this! You have arranged for me to take my time off from work so that I can look for your husband."

"It won't count against your time off," Ranger provided. "It's a freebie."

"And you!" Joe pointed his finger at Ranger. "I don't want to know what you did to get Juniak owing you a favor, but it had to be something."

Ranger just smiled. "So, you're in then."

It wasn't a question. Joe stared at both of us. "Yeah, I'm in."

"Great. Let's go back to Rangeman and get this planned out," I said, happy and hopeful.

"We're going to need contacts in New Zealand," Morelli said.

"Yeah, I have one, but we need more," Ranger added.

Joe ran his hand over his jaw. "I have a few names. This is in Auckland, right?"

"Who are you two? How the hell do you know people in New Zealand?" I asked looking between the two of them.

"Cupcake, there are a lot of things you don't know about me," Joe said with a grin. "Let's go find your husband."

We rode back to Rangeman in the Cayenne. Joe's house and vehicle were locked up tight.

"I had Ella get some clothes for you for a disguise," Ranger said to Joe. I could see the muscle working in his jaw.

"You got clothes for me? Am I going to have to wear Rangeman stuff?" The look in his eyes was priceless.

I grinned. "No, you're going to be a beach bum. You said you liked diving, so you're going to explore New Zealand's beaches.

I saw Joe relax. "But we do have some Rangeman gear for you when you need to be stealthy, too."

He rolled his eyes.

All in all, I was impressed. We had managed to put this op together in a matter of hours. We were flying to New Zealand before the sun set and we were all set. We ordered Pino's and had some beers. In a fit of insanity, I called Chris's cell phone if only to hear his recorded message.

I nearly fell off my chair when someone answered the phone. "Ello?" The voice had a heavy accent, was female and husky.

"Hello. Who is this?" I asked.

"Name's Sheena, love. And who might this be?" I could hear the teasing note in her voice.

"I'm Stephanie," I answered trying to calm down my fluttering heart.

"Stephanie, eh? Is this your phone, love?" Sheena asked.

"No, this is my husband's phone."

"Oh, right. I found this phone in a seat on the Tube. I was hoping someone would ring it." The voice didn't sound like someone from New Zealand.

"Where are you from?"

"London, love." Sheena laughed. "You want me to put it in the post for you?"

I thought about it for a second. "No, Sheena. I want you to hold onto it for me. How is the battery doing?"

"Battery's full up. You want me to keep it on?"

"No. Can I have a number where I can reach you in a few days? I want to come get it myself, but I have to take a trip and can't come right away." Ranger and Joe were staring at me with smiles on their faces.

"Sure, love." She gave me her details and we disconnected.

Ranger laughed and scooped his arm around my neck and kissed my cheek. "Babe."

Joe gave Ranger a look that read danger in every possible way. I looked at both of them. "Here's the deal. I'm married to Chris. I'm staying married to Chris. No shenanigans and no fighting over me. I'm friends with both of you."

Joe relaxed and Ranger smiled. "Just treat me like one of the guys."

This got me two incredulous stares. I rolled my eyes.

"So, we're going to Auckland and London?" Joe asked.

"Damn skippy," I said chugging on my Corona. Damn skippy.