Disclaimer: All characters that you recognize belong to Janet Evanovich. Not making any money, just writing this story for my own amusement. Couple of OCs will be present in this story.

Rated M, adults will act like adults. There may be smut, but since I've never written it, I can't guarantee it will be any good.

Also, there may be spoilers from the actual novels, sorry for not warning sooner.


Chapter 4

October 19, 2011 1600 EST

Steph's POV

Hearing the fear interlacing Kat's gravely voice throughout the entire conversation, has my resolution to help her working overtime. I can't stop the traitor tears that are leaking from my eyes, as I realize how that could've been me. Her story, while different than Lula's, still has me thinking about finding Lula tied up on my fire escape by Ramirez for the world to see and for me to see. At the time, the nightmares that engulfed my subconscious, put me in her place, and it felt so real. Remembering those nightmares now, causes me to shiver slightly. The terror Lula must've felt, is the fear I'm sure Kat is currently feeling. Knowing that your rapist is still at large and taunting you, I can't even imagine.

I get out of my seat next to Sally, stepping forward closer to Ranger, so that I'm more in view for Kat. She's silently pulling herself together, and I can actually see her physically calming down. The only other person I've seen do something similar, is Ranger. She's walling away the emotions, I'm guessing to get through whatever else we may need from her.

"Kat," I begin, in the most gentle and understanding voice I can muster, "hey, we're not going to let him do that. Ranger is the best at what he does. The best! We will keep you safe. We will catch this guy!" Maybe I shouldn't give her false hope that we'll catch this bastard, but I know me and I know Ranger and the Merry Men, and I know that we won't stop. We won't give up. This guy doesn't know it, but his days as a free man are numbered.

"Kat, can you tell us if the other victims were from around you?" Ranger questions, making me give him my best death glare. He should realize that she needs some more time, that maybe we should stop the meeting for now, and just get her here. We can pester her for details once she's safe at Haywood. Looking back at her, I realize that maybe I'm the one mistaken. Kat looks almost completely in control again, although the fear is still smoldering at the surface of her eyes.

"Umm, yeah when I was looking up the others, I found out where they lived. Cassie lived with her fiancé in Chicago. Natasha was from just outside of D.C., and Erica was from Baltimore."

"And you live in St. Louis?"

"Well, I actually live Ladue, a little burb near St. Louis…" Kat then adds, "it was my brother's home."

"You live alone?"

"With my nephews. But lately, their grandfather, umm, Morgan, err, that's my sister-in-law's father, or was her father, umm, he's been coming over when they get home from school and staying until about 8. So, I can sleep."

Ranger looks at her thoughtfully for a minute, and then gestures to me to start asking any questions I may have. Yay! I have at least basic ESP! I give Kat a small smile.

"Any husband, fiancé, or boyfriend that will need to come up here too?" I ask. She gives me a small smile, and shakes her head no. I look at her for a moment, almost thinking it a blessing that she doesn't have a significant other in her life at the moment. It would probably make it emotionally easier to deal with, but the lack of intimacy, or forcing herself into intimate situations too quickly, could probably make it harder for her to heal from this experience.

"I really think we should get you out of there sooner, rather than later. It's Friday. Any chance we can come get you over the weekend?" Raking my eyes over to Ranger for confirmation, he gives me a barely there smirk, silently supporting my decision to get her out as soon as we can.

"Couldn't I just drive myself?" Ah, wants to control the situation in any way she can. Even though I understand and respect the need to do things on my own, hell, I've run off enough in the past couple of years to prove that my independent streak is a little too independent at times, but even I can see what a tragedy it could be to leave her alone for much longer.

"I just don't think that's a good idea. You say he's calling you constantly, checking up on you. Watching you. If you were to try and come on your own, he may follow, and then, I just don't know if we could protect you. I really think you should let us come get you and your nephews. What are their names?" I add in the nephews, hopefully applying some guilt and pressure to get her to let us come to her.

Kat gives me a wide, sincere smile. One of the first ones I've seen so far and it's breathtaking. I'm not about to go swing for the same team or anything, but her smile lit up her entire face, almost literally. Her pale blue eyes dancing with hidden amusement and devotion at the mention of her nephews, and her face, earlier so filled with worry and strain from the events that have been happening to her, have all but disappeared, and I realize that she's really a striking woman. The hair and piercings may be disruptive, but when she smiles, those distractions vanish.

"Ezra and Ezekiel-Zeke for short."

"You should let us come get you." I reiterate. She regards at me for a second, and then looks around the room, her eyes focusing on Bobby and Lester for a moment and ending on Sally's in the background. I look at where she's looking, and I see him nod to her, and grin widely. I hear her sigh, and I refocus my attention back to her, waiting for her response.

"So…Sunday?" She asks hesitantly. Ranger takes over quickly.

"Lester Santos," he begins, nodding his head in Lester's direction, "will be flying the jet, and I think we should leave tonight to get to you by tomorrow, early morning. We'll provide a security detail for you, while Steph and you pack for you and the boys." I give the love of my life another death glare.

"Assuming I'll pack, just cause I'm a woman. Damn man knows I can handle security detail just as well as any of the Merry Men. Luckily he's good in the sack, or that chauvinistic comment would be landing him in the dog house for a while." I think to myself, and Kat cracks another genuine smile and chuckles. Guess I didn't think that. Ranger gives me a wolf grin, and I feel myself go red with embarrassment.

"I can handle packing. It's 3 here now. I better let the boys know. Mitch, oh! That's Morgan's dad, anyway, he's here for another couple of hours, so I'll have him start with the boys' room, and I'll rest until 8 or 9. I'm a night owl, so I should be able to pack up what we'll need…wait…how much should I pack?" Staring at me, I shrug, and she then focuses her attention back onto Ranger.

"You'll be staying in one of the two bedroom apartments here in my building. While it may be completely secure, we don't know much of anything yet regarding your stalker, so you should pack assuming you'll be here a while, maybe months." He finishes, and Kat's eyes go wide.

"Months? Man, the boys are going to be so pissed at me. Fuck, how am I going to explain this…what about their friends, school and their lives here?"

"What about yours?" Ranger counters. Kat hesitates at his response for an instant, and then nods, yielding to his point. While her nephews may be annoyed with her rash decision, Kat's life is on the line, and we can't give them the time they'll need for goodbyes. Continuing, Ranger looks around the room for a moment, catching all of our eyes, and then focuses his attention back onto Kat, "we'll be there by 0300. Plan on us being wheels up from St. Louis by Sunday evening at the latest." Kat nods again.

"Girl, you're doing the right thing. We'll see you soon." Sally calls out to her from his spot on the couch. Bobby and Lester both nod and smile their goodbyes, and Kat gives another small smile to us all.

"Thank you, thank you for all of your help. I just don't know what I would do if you hadn't agreed to help…it feels like part of this mess is already behind me." And with that and a finger wave, she disconnects the call.

I look around the room, and Ranger, Bobby, and Lester are tense, silently communicating with each other. "ESPmen at your disservice. Keeping secrets since 1979."They all turn and look at me; once again, I guess I'm not as quietly thinking as I was hoping I was. However, since I do this regularly, I just roll my eyes at the three of them.

"Babe. Can you stop by Vinnie's to let Connie know that we'll be offline until Monday? Grab any files we may have too." Ranger asks, pulling me to him, lowering his head slightly, and his lips are now to my ear, making my response hitch to a stop at the back of my throat. "And Babe, you'll be paying for that later." Oh boy.

Making my way out of his office, grinning stupidly to myself, as my hormones begin to run rampage throughout my body, I make my way back towards the elevator. Looking back towards Ranger's office, I see Hector, Zero, Brett and Bones making their way into the doorway. Giving the camera a brief finger wave for the men on monitors; I step the rest of the way into the elevator and head to the garage.

Spying the available vehicles, I pull out Ranger's key to the Turbo, and skip my way over to it. Getting to drive the Porsche always gives me a strong dose of stupid happy. Once in, I throw my behemoth of a purse next to me in the passenger seat, and I take a relaxing moment to feel the marvelous leather seats underneath me. I swear, even if I wasn't with Ranger, I would have fallen in love with him just for these seats. Not even the whole Porsche, he could keep the car, I just want the seats. Well, being completely honest with myself, I want the man who owns the seats, and I have him. Damn, I'm lucky! I smile to myself, checking myself in the mirror, I see the slight flush of my cheeks, from Ranger's early flirtations.

Still grinning and doing a quick repair job on my makeup, I pull out of the garage, contemplating briefly about going to the Tasty Pastry for myself, Connie, and Lula. If I do, I'll have to do an extra work out. I groan inwardly. Ever since Ranger and I began seeing each other six months back, I have been a good bounty hunter, partner, and girlfriend. Carrying my gun, exercising, and learning a little bit more about RangeMan, I now handle all of the searches and am head of the department. Well, I tend to divvy up the searches with Zip, Manny, and Hal, my Merry Men Minions in the department at RangeMan. Luckily, they all enjoy doing searches, and with the four of us working together on the searches, I still have the time to skip trace. Life is excellent. Well, that's what I was thinking, before pulling into the parking lot in front of Vinnie's. Of course, Joyce just had to be here.

Stepping out of the Turbo, I make my way to the front door. Connie and Lula are waiting impatiently for me, due to the fact that I hadn't been in yet this week.

"Ladies." I mimic Ranger and crack a smile.

"Ooo, skinny white girl, you looking good! Where you-" Lula speaks first, looking like she may be hitting an oxygen reducing stride in her rhino mode that's beginning to rear its ugly head, I cut her off with my own version of my 'Ranger Glare'.

"Sorry Lula, I just came in for files and to let Connie know that Ranger and I will be offline until Monday. And, I'm sorry girls, but I really have to get back to the office, so if I could just get those-"

"What, can't leave your Master even for a bit." I hear the barnyard animal interrupt me to my left, just outside Vinnie's door. Forcing myself to look at Joyce, I see her sneering at me, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Wishing you still had Joe? Ranger may be nice to look at, but the Italian Stallion really is where the action's at." I give her a ten count, staring at her, working to remove all of my emotions off of my face. It must be intimidating, because Joyce backs up a bit. I silently applaud myself.

Turning my focus back to Connie, she has a few files in her hand for me. "The top three are yours, bottom two go to Ranger. None of them are due back for a bit, but the ones you have out now need to be brought in by the end of next week." She reminds me, and with that I take the files and make my way back to the Turbo.

Unfortunately for me, Joe Morelli is leaning up against it on the driver's side. Ugh, just not my day…I grimace to myself and tense up. Joe stares me up and down, openly leering at me. I used to think he was handsome. I used to think he was charming. I used to think a lot of things about Joe Morelli, but after our last blow up as a couple nine months ago, I don't think much of him, other than my distaste and contempt for the man he's become. During the past year, Joe has slowly become a lot like his old man. And when he chose to slap me during our last fight, I walked out, and I haven't looked back.

"Cupcake." I roll my eyes at the greeting.

"Morelli," I start, "get away from my car." His leer turns into something else entirely and a snarl rips from his throat. I move my hand up as if to brush my hair from my face. On the way back down, I put my hands on my hips, my right hand slightly further back so that I could reach the gun underneath my jacket, if needed.

"Your car? I thought this was the Manoso's car?"

"Whatever. His, mine, what does it matter?" I tersely reply back. Keeping my right hand down near my gun, I move my left one to my pocket where my panic button is. One of Ranger's rules, but I'm loving it right now. Discretely, I press the button and put my hand back onto my hip, as if I'm going to go into rhino mode on Joe's ass.

I'm not. To be honest, I just don't care anymore.

"What's this I hear about you going out of the country with Ranger?" Joe growls out at me. I shrug my shoulders, but really I'm wondering how the hell he could have found out already, and for it to already be blown out of proportion. Damn Burg grapevine…I scowl at Joe for a brief second, and then I grin wickedly at a brief thought. I'd like to think I also was able to raise an eyebrow, like Ranger does in this moment, so that Joe could hopefully assume an obvious answer to his question. Because, if I have to lie, which I may have to do, Joe may be able to see through it. One of the unfortunate side effects from dating a cop is that they can read people, normally very well. Joe, no matter his faults in his private life, is a damn good cop, and he's damn good at reading people.

I do my best to convey my inner slut towards Ranger, and luckily for me, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my own personal Batman is here, and is stepping out of a big black SUV, with Lester behind the wheel. Walking up to me, he grasps me around the waist, twirling me for show.

"Babe, are you ready?" He gives me a wolf grin, and I beam up at him.

"Damn skippy I'm ready!" I exclaim, and then, shocking the girls, who I know are watching every detail from inside Vinnie's, and of course, much to the dismay of both Joe and Joyce, I plant a big fat playful kiss on Ranger's lips. Of course, I should've known he wouldn't let it stay playful, as I feel him lower his hands to my butt, grab a hold of each cheek tightly and then, I turn into a pile of gooey bonelessness. Damn, how this man can kiss. His kisses should be considered one of the World Wonders. If I wasn't such the jealous type, I'd sell his kisses and make millions.

Coming back down to reality from my cloud of desire, I hear a throat clear near us, looking over at Joe, who's clearly annoyed, I feel like doing a little happy dance, but of course, mature Stephanie stays in charge and I just stick my tongue out at him. Ranger catches it with another kiss, sucking my tongue into his mouth. I moan. Make that billions.

"Dammit Cupcake! What are you going to do, fuck this thug right here in the parking lot?!" Joe shouts at me. Stepping away from Ranger, to clear my hormone clouded head, I cock my head to the side as if thinking about it, as if Joe's given me a perfectly good suggestion. In all honesty, it's an excellent suggestion. Looking at Ranger for a moment, I attempt to raise an eyebrow in silent inquiry. Both must've raised though, because Ranger gives me one of his 200 watt smiles.

"Sorry, Babe. I don't think we have time before our flight."

"Rain check?" I tease, handing Ranger his keys to the Turbo. Blank face slamming back into place, Ranger finally briefly acknowledges Joe.

"Morelli." During our little teasing in the parking lot, Ranger had of course maneuvered us to the Turbo, and Joe is now closer to the front of the bond's office, looking completely aggravated by the situation. Joyce is standing next to him, leaning provocatively towards him. I grimace. Thinking about them having sex is a cold shower to my hormones that Ranger activated during our lip locking session.

Leaning over the console, Ranger gives me a quick, gentle peck on the lips, and I feel completely loved. I smile up at him and half joke, "Batman to the rescue again!" He lets out a gentle breath, his version of a sigh, puts the car into drive, and we drive back home to Haywood.