Everything Under The Sun
Oh no. This is so not happening again. Stephanie Plum numbly thinks as she hastily takes a really deep breath. It's just another day in her officially fucked-up life. It's just another one of her crazy dangerous murderous skips. The foul smell of the Delaware River is familiar, unmistakable, and, somehow, almost welcoming. The only difference is that she's now engaged to Joe, and Ranger isn't here.
Well, he has no reason to stick around, does he? He's a mercenary that co-owns a successful money-making company, and he doesn't do relationship. But she needed something stable and wanted to feel secure, and he did give her his blessing. Silently. The way he smiled at her when she told him she's going to get married. The warmth of his hands when he cupped her face and wiped away her tears. No. He didn't kiss her and there was no need to say anything. He's too smart to do stupid things. She was too much a coward not to believe in first love, fate, and destiny. Everything was decided the day she followed Joe into that dark dirty garage. Finders keepers. You broke it, you bought it. The myth about girls and the boys who took their virginity.
Stephanie closes her eyes and holds her breath. The water is colder than she remembers and this time she knows she's going to die. Life sucks. Joe is mad at everyone. No one knows she has been kidnapped. She was going to quit her job a month before their wedding. Her lungs start burning. Maybe it's easier to give up but she's afraid to give in. She doesn't want to let go of her hope. Something touches her legs. She instinctively opens her mouth to scream. Water floods in. She struggles frantically. The rope around her wrists tightens. Her head becomes dizzy. She knows she's losing the fight, the war, and the battle.
How she wishes Ranger is here...