Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or places in this story. Thanks to Janet for all the great Plum novels. This is a first attempt and will take me a while to complete. Let me know what you think and if want to read more. Thanks! Also Thanks to Rach, Stephanie and Jenn for all of her help! Couldn't do it with out you!
Thank you all for the many reviews! We have been without power from the storm so I haven't had a chance to thank everyone personally. It is your praise that makes me want to continue…
Chapter 4
As always, Ranger's parking karma held up. He swung the car into the only available slot in my lot, right next to the side door. I never have this luck; I always get stuck in the back of the lot, next to the dumpster. With a sigh, I climbed out of the car and went into the building. I pushed the button to call for the elevator. The doors opened to Mrs. Bestler, "Going up?"
"Two please," I answered as the doors slid closed behind us.
"Good choice, dear. Second floor, ladies lingerie and flavored oils. Have a good day, dear." She smiled and winked as we filed out of the elevator. I lowered my head and kept my eyes focused on my shoe in attempt to hide the blush that was rising up my face from Ranger.
"Wait." Ranger said taking my key and unlocking my apartment, gun drawn. Once he had made his swat-style security check, I was cleared for entrance. "All clear."
"Good to know." I said shaking my head. I went straight to the bedroom, grabbed an overnight bag and made my way to the bathroom to collect my supplies: Make-up, tooth brush, hair brush, curling iron, hair gel, hair spray, make-up remover, tooth paste, and most important, my last bottle of Dolce Vita purchased from Dougie; all the things that I need to feel beautiful.
Ranger leaned against the bathroom door frame, "Babe, your answering machine is going into cardiac arrest."
The bottle of Dolce Vita I was holding crashed to the counter and then to the floor, leaving the tile covered in glass and the sweet aroma of magnolia, rose and cinnamon. Damn. Ranger crossed to me, lifting me out of the mess. "I've seen you in a lot of bad situations, but I think that is the first time I've seen you with a look of terror."
"It's the messages! The Burg is running rampant with gossip that we've gotten married!"
"It might not be that bad. Go, take a listen."
We walked to the living room where the answering machine's message light was blinking fast enough to induce seizures. With a shaky hand I pushed the button.
"You have fifty new messages" the machines electronic voice informed me, my eyes going wide.
"Babe," Ranger placed his hand on my shoulder holding me there, preventing me from bolting back to the bathroom.
I had fifteen messages from my mother asking why I wasn't answering my cell phone, why I didn't tell her I was engaged, why I put her through this embarrassment of running off to get married, was I pregnant, lastly that she was making a pot roast for dinner tomorrow and would we be joining them. I had two messages from Grandma Mazur congratulating me on making the "bad ass bounty hunter with the nice package" mine, the second wanting to know "how nice is his package". A single message from my dad telling me he was proud of me. A message from Val telling me how happy she is that I am finally settling into Burg life. A message from Mary Lou telling me she was overjoyed to hear the news and can't wait to hear the details from me. The rest were from various Burg gossip mongers wanting to confirm that I was married and if so, offering congratulations.
I felt faint. I found my way to the couch and sat down; fell down is more like it. Ranger rushed to my side and shoved my head between my knees. "Breathe deep and push back against my hand," he said in attempt to help calm my nerves. "We won't deal with this now. We can straighten it all out when we get back. No big deal."
"No big deal?" I was panicked. "My mother is freaking out. She'll probably cut me off from dessert forever."
"Ella can make you dessert. She loves to cook for you." He said calmly. "You don't have to deal with this now. You have enough on you trying to prepare for the assignment. Call your Mom. Tell her you're okay and you'll see her when you get back in a couple of weeks. "
The phone rang, I groaned, and Ranger went to answer it. "Yo. Oh, hello, Mrs. Plum." He turned to me raising a single eyebrow, asking if I wanted to take the call. Exuberantly, I shook my head no. He turned his attention back to the phone, "Steph's not available right now. No. We will be unavailable for dinner. I'll have her call as soon as she can." I watched him hang up the phone and turn to me. "Satisfied?"
"Thanks," I said, still shaky. I gathered myself up and went to deal with the mess in the bathroom. I needed to get out of here, before more calls came in. I cleaned up the broken glass and mopped up the spilled perfume, the whole time trying to keep the tears at bay. How could I let things get this out of control before we even got out of Trenton? The dam broke. Tears silently rolled down my checks. I began throwing the remaining items I needed from the bathroom into the bag, angry at myself for crying, for letting Ranger see me lose control and for creating an even greater mess of my life that I didn't know how to straighten out.
"Babe, it'll be okay." I'd been so engrossed in what I was doing that I didn't see him resume his spot in the doorway.
"Sure," I said not wanting him to see me cry. "I'll be through in a few minutes. You can wait for me in the living room."
He walked away without another word, leaving me to my thoughts.
I sulked to the bedroom, taking a second overnight bag out of the closet and began packing clothes. I knew Ella was taking care of my clothing for the trip, so I didn't have to pack much. I placed three pairs of jeans, three t-shirts, four pairs of shoes, a sweatshirt, two RangeMan uniforms, bras, panties and two of Ranger's t-shirts that I had long ago stolen to sleep in, into the bag. I made a mental note that a trip to Victoria's Secret might be in order before heading to Paris. It would be nice to have something silky to sleep in, I smiled to myself. Ranger was right. I shouldn't be worrying about this mess right now. I should be enjoying the thoughts of heading to France with Ranger, even if it is for work. I tossed the bags into the living room, announcing that I was ready to go.
Ranger looked at the bags and smiled, "You do remember that Ella is taking care of everything, right?"
"Sure," I said, "This will get me through until we leave."
My response was a slight shake of his head. I was amusing him again. With that, we left my apartment, locking the door behind us and headed back to Haywood.
Ten minutes later we pulled into the garage. We got out of the car and pulled my bags from the back.
The elevator opened and Lester poked his head out. "Boss, the package from Anno has arrived. Tank needs to see you right away."
Ranger nodded. "Take these bags up to seven," he ordered. Lester strolled over to us and removed the luggage from Rangers hands.
"Thanks." I said to Lester.
"Glad to help, Beautiful" he said, placing a kiss on my head.
"I'll be up in a few minutes." Ranger said while staring at Lester.
I followed Lester and Ranger into the elevator. Ranger got off on five and we continued on to seven. When the doors opened, Ella was closing the door to Ranger's apartment.
"Stephanie," she smiled. "I just left your luggage in Ranger's dressing room. Everything has been packed. It should have everything you'll need. I also included a carry-on bag that should keep you comfortable on the plane. Your formal wear has been shipped to the hotel and should be in your room when you arrive. I hope you enjoy the clothes, I enjoyed shopping for them." She winked at me and climbed in the elevator to head down to six. "Let me know when you're ready for dinner." With that, Ella was gone.
I unlocked the apartment door and ushered Lester in with the bags.
"You can put them down anywhere."
He left them in the living room and kissed my cheek before showing himself out.
I walked into the bedroom and looked over at Ranger's dressing room. There were four large suitcases sitting in the middle of the closet with S. Rodriguez on the tag. Would I honestly need that much clothing for a week? Did it matter? No! I was excited to see what she purchased for me. I grabbed the closest suitcase from the closet, pulled it into the bedroom, laying it flat to where I could unzip it. I knelt before the suitcase preparing to open it when Ranger spoke. "What are you doing?"
I jumped, not realizing he was watching me. "Just looking," I said casually, trying to control my breathing.
"Babe, you're looking at that suitcase like it holds the secret to life."
"I was just curious what Ella had packed for me."
"We've had a change in plans."
"Oh?"
"One of the suspects, Andrew Seidin, has contacted RMS Inc, our company, for an estimate to secure his private residence and law office in New York. Apparently someone has made threats to his family. He wants to get the system put in place before leaving for France. I told him since we were planning on being in the area this week; we'd make time for him tomorrow. "
"What a better way to check this guy out than to see his residence."
"Exactly. Ram and Hector will go with us to do the estimate. We need to be at his office by 11 tomorrow. Should be a two hour drive, depending on traffic. We leave at 8."
"Guess it's a good thing I didn't open the suitcase then." I said, thankful that I wouldn't have to try and repack it. It would be a relief to put this place and the rumor mill behind us so quickly. If I played my cards right, I wouldn't have to face anyone else today and tomorrow I'd be out of town and able to relax. Maybe get my hair done and most importantly, commit my files to memory. I really hated that I hadn't looked over them.
"You'll do fine." Ranger said, seeing the look of apprehension on my face.
"Will we travel back to Trenton tomorrow?"
"No."
"No? Then what will we do till Friday?"
"Tomorrow we'll have the meeting. If all goes well and he agrees to our recommendations, then Thursday we'll install the equipment in his office and home. It'll make it easier to keep an eye on him and his associates."
"And if he doesn't like your proposal?"
"Then I'll take you site seeing and shopping," he said, pulling me to my feet and against his body. Ranger hated shopping. He must be pretty confident in his proposal being accepted to agree to that fate. I smiled as he placed a gentle kiss to my head. "Ella should have new uniforms for us for tomorrow."
"Since Ella has so much to do, what do you say to us ordering takeout for dinner?"
"Whatever you want, Babe."
"How's Chinese sound?" I asked.
Ranger nodded, crossed the room and called in the order. "It should be here in twenty minutes. The control room will call when it arrives." I grabbed the files Ranger gave me earlier in the day and headed to the couch to review. "Silvio is running background checks on the new names on the guest list. Lester said he would run them up as soon as he was done. Your new ID's are on the sideboard. When you make the switch, put your old ID's into the envelope and I'll secure them in the safe."
"Sure." I said, settling down to read.
"I'm going to go take a shower." Ranger's eyes met mine and he arched one eyebrow as if to ask if I wanted to join him. Yum, hot, wet, warm, Ranger.
"Did you say twenty minutes?" I asked, licking my lips.
Ranger's eyes dilated black with desire. "You're such a tease," he said, pulling me to him and kissing me deeply. My heart accelerated like I had just run the Boston Marathon. "I'll be out in a few minutes." He pulled away from me and walked to the bedroom. Damn. Why did I always let him walk away leaving me in a state?
I settled myself back on the couch with the files lying next to me. I opened Seiden's folder and attempted to read the information in it. After reading the same line four times, I closed the file and stretched out on the couch, listening to the water run from the bathroom. I don't know how long I had been laying there but I jumped when the comm phone buzzed. Before I could get up, Ranger walked out of the bedroom and answered the phone.
"Talk," he said. "Tell Lester to bring it." I watched Ranger place the receiver back on the base and walk into the kitchen. He looked delicious in his black workout pants, minus shirt, socks and shoes. I decided, since he looked so comfortable, that I should go and change before Lester arrived.
As I walked into the dressing room, I heard Ranger open the door and talk quietly to Lester. Lying on the bench in the middle of the dressing room was a silk, sapphire blue capri pant and tank pajama set. I knew Ella was responsible for them, but I'd still like to believe that it was Ranger's idea. I quickly changed into the garments and wandered to the bathroom to pull my hair into a ponytail. I checked out my reflection in the full length mirror and was shocked at how the pj's fit, hugging my curves in all the right places, leaving little to the imagination.
I left the bedroom eager to see the reaction I'd get out of Ranger. When I entered the kitchen, Ranger and Lester quit talking, inventorying my body from head to toe. "Yum, is that Chinese I smell?" I asked, trying to break the silence.
"It sure is Beautiful." Lester said coming over to me. "I thought I would bring it up to you since your new files were ready."
"Thanks, Lester." I said, placing a hand on his arm.
He took that as an open invitation; he wrapped me in his arms allowing his hand to travel down my back stopping short of my ass and planted a kiss on my forehead. Ranger growled, catching his attention, causing him to pull away from me. Lester looked over his shoulder at Ranger's death glare and then back to me. "I need to get back downstairs to the monitors. See you later." He quickly strolled past Ranger and out the front door.
"Babe," Ranger said, placing his hands at my waist and pulling me firmly to him. He leaned forward fanning kisses across my checks, "I won't share," he growled before showing me his killer 100 watt smile, leaving me weak kneed. Without thinking, I ran my tongue along my lower lip. "You ready to eat?" he whispered into my ear before kissing, lightly sucking the sensitive part right below it.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and joined him at the table. He had set the take out containers, plates, forks, and two glasses of wine on the table. I forked lo mien, sweet and sour chicken and General Tso's chicken onto my plate while Ranger filled his with grilled chicken, steamed vegetables and rice. We ate in silence, watching each other, enjoying the food and each others company. When we finished, we rinsed our plates and loaded the dishwasher. "Ready to review for tomorrow?" he asked.
"Sure," I said walking into the living room. I settled myself on the floor in front of the sofa and pulled Seiden's file onto the floor to read. I sat with my hi-lighter marking facts that I thought could be important.
Andrew Seiden was a 48 year old immigration lawyer in New York City. Born in Germany in 1962, his parents left Germany and settled in New York when he was 8 years old. He started attending UN events in 1995 as new policies were being drafted for international migration. He was known around town as the person to make your immigration issues disappear, one way or another. Seiden had been married for ten years and had two kids, ages 8 and 5. And on and on and on I continued through the file making notes.
I lost all track of time as I buried myself into finding out all I could about Seiden and his family. Finishing the last of the files, I yawned and stretched, realizing that I had sat in the same position for way to long. My legs hurt and my ass was numb. "I think I'm going to bed, Ranger. I'm beat."
"I don't think I've ever seen you sit that still for so long. Proud of you, Babe. I'll join you. It's almost midnight."
"Midnight?" I mentally calculated that I had been sitting there for four hours. I know I get engrossed, but this had to be a new record for me. Ranger nodded, stood and helped me to my feet. Standing, I immediately felt the pins and needles rush up my legs; I swayed slightly while blood rushed back into them.
"You alright?"
"Yeah. My legs fell asleep. Just waiting for the feeling to return." Suddenly Ranger had me wrapped in his arms and thrown over his shoulder, carrying me towards the bedroom.
"Hey! I can walk," I shrieked in surprise, but what I was really thinking was "What a nice view!"
"This was more fun," he said as he laid me on the bed. He disappeared into his dressing room and returned a minute later wearing nothing but his black boxers. He climbed onto the bed and pulled me into his arms, kissing me gently. "Good night Stephanie," he said, pulling the covers over us and placing one last light kiss on my lips.
"Good night, Ranger." I said with a sigh. I was doomed. I loved going to sleep in his arms, how could I ever give it up when this mission is over?