To quote Gene Autry, "I'm back in the saddle again." Thank you, jago ji for fixing all my mistakes.

Love's Labor's Lost

The car was hot and steamy. My air-conditioner coolant needed a recharge, but since I'd been driving a RangeMan vehicle the last few weeks I had neglected to take care of my own car's maintenance. Neglected wasn't the right word, because it implied that I sometimes did take care of my car. I preferred the "drive it until it dies and then get another old junker" method of auto upkeep.

I'd recently become used to a higher standard of luxury though, because Ranger insisted I use a fleet vehicle for both my private and professional use. I didn't mind that, but I was getting tired of the Merry Man escort that came with the vehicle. I had nothing personal against any of the guys. In fact, I liked them. It was just that sometimes a girl has to do things that are better done without an audience, or at least without an audience that reported to Ranger.

When Ranger came home from Colombia, he said that it was over—that his past was behind him and we'd have our someday, but he hadn't quite been able to deliver on that promise. Eduardo Vera aka La Muerte Blanca was dead. That knot was tied nice and tight, but there were still some loose ends, and I could tell Ranger was worried.

A bead of sweat rolled down my chest and disappeared beneath my tank top into the cleft between my breasts. I idly swiped my hand across my chest and wondered what the heck was taking Lula so long? A crumpled envelope on the floor caught my eye. I grabbed it and gave it a cursory look, groaning as I realized it was an overdue notice for my water bill. I needed to remember to do something about that, but right at that moment I was using the envelope as a fan to stir up some breeze. Holy moly, she'd been in there fifteen minutes! I thought about getting out of the car and going into the store after her, but that would have defeated the entire purpose of telling her my business in the first place.

I was in the parking lot of the Walgreens in Hamilton Township. Far enough away that I hoped I wouldn't run into anyone from the Burg, but close enough that I wouldn't set off any alarms in the monitoring room at RangeMan. I had cajoled Ranger into letting me break free, a little. I told him that I needed some girl time and he'd reluctantly agreed to letting me spend the day with Lula, as long as I had my panic button and a full array of trackers. He'd made it clear since his return that I was to be extremely careful, and I'd been careful to do exactly what he'd asked. Niko Mattas was still MIA, and the Ramos family business he'd been in charge of was in chaos. Ranger had covered his tracks well so it wasn't generally known that he'd been instrumental in the death of Vera and the destruction of his Colombian hierarchy. I didn't know if he was directly responsible for Vera's death, and I didn't want to know. What I did know is that Ranger wouldn't rest easy until Mattas' whereabouts were known and he was dealt with. Ranger held a grudge, and his grudge against Niko was darn big!

Finally, I saw Lula exit the store and make a beeline for my car. She was carrying a bag that was suspiciously full. "What took so long?" I asked. "And what did you buy? It looks like you got more than I asked for."

"I got you just what you need," Lula said. She upended the bag and I watched as its contents spilled out onto her ample lap. "This first one here is an EPT test kit, and this other one is Clear Blue. I didn't know which was best so I got them both. The lady at the cosmetic counter said this was the best one though, so I got it, too." She handed me a bottle of Pine Sol.

"What?" I asked. "I don't need to clean my toilet. I just need to pee in it!"

"The Walgreens lady said you get a cup and pee in it and pour some Pine Sol on top, and if it changes color you're pregnant—100%." I rolled my eyes and watched as she stuffed the pregnancy tests back in the bag, along with the Pine Sol. "There's one more thing I bought," she said, grinning at me. "In case you get a craving!" It was a two-pound party pack of M&Ms.

"Are you having a craving?" I asked. One look at the bag made me think maybe I was having a craving.

"Damn skippy! And ain't it fortunate that they don't melt in your hand. It's hot as Hades out today. You'd think by Labor Day summer would be over." She ripped open the bag and poured some into my outstretched hand as we left the parking lot.

I pulled the car to the curb in front of Lula's apartment and shoved the gear lever into park. "Lula," I began, not looking at her. "I … uh, thanks for helping me out today. I don't …" I was stuttering. I didn't want to offend her, but I wanted to explain how important it was that she should keep her mouth shut. She reached across and took my hand.

"Girlfriend, I get it. Anybody asks Lula, this whole day never happened. I don't know nothing." She grinned at me. "I really don't, an' neither do you, yet. If I hear some surprisin' news, I'll be real surprised!" She opened the door and had one foot on the pavement when she turned back. She picked up the M&Ms bag and poured a generous serving into her cupped hand, and then she got out and stood on the curb, watching as I drove away.

I took the stairs to my apartment, avoiding the elevator and possibly Mrs. Bestler. I didn't know if she worked holidays or not, but I didn't want to take the chance. I wanted to get in, do my business and get back to RangeMan. No doubt someone had noticed that I'd been to Lula's and would figure I was now operating solo—a big no-no until Niko Mattas was caught and dealt with.

I stood for a moment in the open doorway and looked at my living room. I was only in the apartment once or twice a week now, as I was spending most of my time at RangeMan. I crossed the room and threw the crumpled overdue notice on top of a stack of mail I needed to go through. Maybe it was time to make a decision about my apartment. And maybe what I was getting ready to do would help in that decision-making process.

I set the bottle of Pine Sol to one side and pulled out the EPT kit. As I read the instructions, I stuffed the kit under my arm and ambled to the bathroom. I was beyond nervous. I was downright scared. I hadn't had a period since before Tank and I had gone to Colombia, and that, combined with what I had had—unprotected sex with Ranger, also in Colombia—made it likely that I was pregnant. And while I needed to know, that thought of knowing was making me move forward in slow motion.

I was wearing a wristwatch so I could time the test accurately. I unzipped my jeans and lowered myself onto the toilet seat and—nothing. I couldn't go. I'd downed two bottles of water while I'd been with Lula, but the day was so hot and humid, I must have sweated it all out. My bladder was empty. I stood and pulled my jeans back up, leaving them unsnapped. I needed more to drink.

The kitchen counter was empty. The absence of Rex made the apartment seem a little abandoned. Rex was living with Ranger now. I hadn't spent a night here since Tank had brought me back to RangeMan. Every so often I'd stop in and collect my mail, and pick up whatever necessities I needed. I pulled a glass from the cupboard and held it under the tap, turned the faucet and waited. No water. The late notice came immediately to mind. I'd let it go too long and now my water was shut off. I would take care of it first thing in the morning, but for now, I needed a drink.

The fridge contained a carton of milk that was so outdated, the contents were more solid than liquid. I reached for a solitary can of beer, the only other liquid in my fridge, and then paused when my hand was halfway there. If I was pregnant, I shouldn't be drinking beer. Shit!

I'd just have to wait it out. My bladder would fill eventually. I went to my dining room table and sorted through the accumulated mail. No other late notices, just junk mail I'd glanced at quickly before I'd tossed it there. I really needed to make a decision about the apartment.

I'd thought my future would be lined out before me by this time. Ranger and I should have defined our happily ever after and be well on our way to it. What he'd shown me of a life together so far was not as I'd imagined. Oh sure, I was living at RangeMan, sleeping next to Ranger every night and oftentimes waking up deliciously tangled with him. But he hadn't made love to me. Not one time. That made my present situation a little ironic.

I had a lot to think about. I went to my bedroom and collapsed on my bed, adopting my thinking position, but this time I didn't nap. I thought. I thought back to the day Ranger had come home from Colombia and taken me in his arms. "My past is now behind us. It's over, Babe. It's completely over," he'd said. But it wasn't. His past was living with us.

The Ranger who had his arms wrapped around me was the Ranger I remembered, not the dirty unshaven Ranger from Colombia. I turned my face up for his kiss and he kissed me long and hard, like I was water and he was thirsty. My arms came around him and began to caress his back. I felt the unusual thinness and tightened my grip. Thank God he was home.

And then he pulled back and broke the embrace. "Babe, I … can't. We can't."

"Can't?" I'd asked.

"We can't make love. At least, not for a time. There's a medical issue."

"Oh no!" I exclaimed. My eyes slid directly to his crotch, imagining things I still couldn't bear to think about.

Ranger smiled wryly. "It's not that. I still have all my parts and they work. I can't be with you until I'm tested. For HIV."

"HIV!" I heard the shock in my voice. "You had unprotected sex with someone? I mean someone else, besides me?" The thought of Ranger having sex with some faceless person in Colombia shocked me. I was so distracted by the thought that I didn't immediately note the change in Ranger. When I did notice, my heart dropped to my toes.

For a moment, he looked truly puzzled trying to make sense out of my question. And then I saw the realization dawn on his face. He hadn't known. It hadn't even crossed his mind that we'd made love without protection that night in that dark room at the Hotel Gran. His need had been so great, and his focus so intertwined with his undercover persona that he hadn't known.

"¡Dios Mío!" It was a prayer as much as an exclamation. I saw the look of extreme concern cross his face and then with typical Ranger discipline, the shutters came down and he was once again in complete control.

"I haven't been with another woman. It was a needle. A shared needle."

That statement shattered my thought process and for a moment I was speechless. There hadn't been a woman. A shared needle, he'd said. Mr. Control had given up control in a hostile environment. He'd used IV drugs, in the company of someone else. And that probably meant he hadn't injected the irritating, but harmless substance Bobby had prepared for him.

His hands went to his hair and he ran his fingers through it, pushing it back from his face. Maybe he wasn't as completely in control as I had thought, because there was something showing in his expression that I hadn't seen before. I thought maybe it was fear.

"You'll have to be tested, too."

I pulled from his embrace and reached for his arms which were exposed beneath the short sleeves of his black RangeMan t-shirt. I saw no fresh needle tracks, but faint scars from healed ones.

"I'm not an addict, Babe." There was impatience in his voice and I took umbrage with it.

"You tell me you shared a needle, and I'm not allowed to wonder what you were injecting?" I asked. "I know it wasn't Bobby's harmless solution."

He sighed heavily. "No. But it was just the one time, and I had no other option. I'd hoped to avoid the situation, although I went in knowing it was a possibility."

"You went on this mission knowing you might return home a drug addict?" I asked. My voice was controlled, but on the inside, I was seething. How dare he take that risk.

"I'm not an addict," he repeated, "but there may have been other consequences. I hadn't anticipated that you'd be dealing with the consequences as well." His eyes were flat, his expression bleak, and for a moment I saw a glimpse of the anguished man who had made love to me in Colombia.

"I was thrust into the situation on my first night at the encampment," he continued. "My cover wasn't well established. To have refused would have been to sign my death warrant."

"To do it may have signed your death warrant!" I exclaimed.

"There is a difference between behavior that would get me killed and behavior with a risk," Ranger said. "If I'd been killed the mission would have died, too. It was just the one time."

Screw the mission, I thought. My brain was jumping on a trampoline with my thoughts bouncing from place to place so quickly I couldn't talk. I might be HIV positive. Oh God! Ranger might be HIV positive. What horrible things had he endured in an effort to make it possible for us to have a future? I felt horrible for the pain and agony he'd put himself through to give me a shot at a happy life. And I felt terrible for my initial recrimination of his actions. He came home to me in trouble and I reacted like a thoughtless bitch. Tears were streaming down my face as I looked up at him, and that was bad. Because Ranger misinterpreted the cause.

"I'm sorry, Babe. I'm so sorry I placed you in this position." He turned from me to stare at the wall. It was a simple move of physical withdrawal, but I knew at once it was much more than that, because before he'd turned away I'd seen something foreign in his eyes. It was a look of hopelessness and defeat.

"Stop it!" I screamed. "Stop now! Stop blaming yourself." I went to him and jerked hard until he once again turned to face me. "It won't be HIV or Eduardo Vera or Niko Mattas who robs us of our future. It will be you, unless you quit thinking you've done something wrong. I'm not crying for me. I'm crying for you—for what I put you through! I'm the one to blame!" I collapsed on the floor and lay there in an ungainly heap, sobbing. I felt arms coming around me and I was lifted from the floor. He took me to his bed where we lay holding one another for hours.

We never finished our conversation. I wanted to, but he wouldn't talk about it. We went to sleep early that night and when I awoke in the morning, I was in his bed alone. He'd gone to be tested.

When he returned to the apartment mid-morning he came to me and pulled me into his arms for a long embrace. His lips caressed the curls over my ear and although it was the softest of whispers, I heard it clearly. "Negative. The HIV test was negative, but I was also tested for hepatitis. It will be a few days before I get those results."

I hadn't gone for testing. Ranger said there was no need to. What'd he meant was there was no need to, yet. While his results were good, they weren't conclusive. He'd need to have both tests repeated three months out from the incident. If those results were negative, we could relax and begin to move forward. But three months was a long time.

The ringing of my phone brought me back to the present. I got up from the bed and went to pull my phone from my purse where I'd left it on the table. It was Ranger.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You've been at your apartment for some time."

"I'm okay," I said. "I dropped Lula off and came by here to take care of some personal business. Are you still on monitor duty?" He always worked for his men on holidays so they could have time with their families, and he'd been on duty more than off this Labor Day weekend.

"Yeah, until six, then I'm done. I'm gonna raise the pay for monitor duty. It's harder work than you'd think. Tank is on his way over. I figured you were alone after I saw you'd stopped at Lula's. You shouldn't be alone."

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm locked in here and no one has made a move on me in all the time you've been back. I don't think I'm in any danger, but I'm being careful. I can drive back to RangeMan by myself."

"Too late, Tank's enroute. Ella's fixing dinner for us tonight. I thought we'd spend a quiet night in."

"Uh … sure," I said. We spent most nights "in." But I thought there was something in his voice. Something was different. Before I could think more there was a knock at the door. Tank, presumably. The Clear Blue pregnancy test, still sitting on the table, caught my eye. I went to the door and looked through the peephole.

"Hi, Tank. I'm not decent. You'll have to wait a bit. Don't break down my door or anything. I'm okay."

"I've seen you indecent, before. Let me in."

"Let you in or what?" I called back. "You'll huff and puff and blow my door down?"

"It could happen." The banter between us was new. It had been happening ever since Colombia, and I cherished it. Especially since I was pretty sure he knew about Ranger and the drug use. That meant he also knew about Ranger's concerns for me. I was betting he didn't know Ranger had refused all my attempts at intimacy. I'd researched safe sex, but Ranger's definition of safe was complete abstinence.

The sound of Tank's fist on my door spurred me into motion. I hurried into the bathroom and mentally assessed the situation. I still had no urge to pee. And even if I could do the deed, I couldn't do a pregnancy test with Tank waiting outside my door. I grabbed the test kit and took it to the table where the other kit was. I stuffed both into the deep recesses of my messenger bag. I took the Pine Sol to the kitchen and stored it in the cupboard under the kitchen sink. And lastly, I grabbed the bag of M&Ms and headed out the door.

"We need to make a quick stop on the way back to RangeMan," Tank told me. "We're working short this holiday weekend and I need to check on the Hanford building. There's a camera off-line."

"Okay. Was the camera vandalized?"

"Yeah, but not by human hands. There's a squirrel problem in the neighborhood."

In spite of my inner turmoil I laughed at the thought of Tank dealing with squirrels and security cameras. He understood my laugh.

"Normally this job would go to someone a little lower on the seniority chain," he said, "but Huey is home eatin' his momma's apple pie this weekend."

"So Huey gets the grunt jobs?" I asked.

"Sometimes."

"What about last St. Patrick's Day? Was watching me a grunt job?"

"Watching you is a job the men draw straws for. The short straw loses and has to take the assignment."

"Hey!" My feelings were getting ready to be hurt.

"Nothing personal," Tank said. "The guys love you. It's just that if they are on Stephanie duty and they screw up, they answer to Ranger. Watching you is a dangerous job."

"Hmmph! Well, aren't you worried to have me in your truck right now?"

"No," he said, throwing me a grin that was almost Ranger-worthy in its brightness. "I live for danger. I'm not afraid of you … and I'm not afraid of Ranger."

"What about squirrels?" I asked. "Are you afraid of squirrels?"

He harrumphed. We were silent for a while after that. I was thinking about what he'd said. It was true. He wasn't afraid of Ranger. He was number two at RangeMan, at least on paper, but in truth there was an equality between the men. Ranger couldn't do what he did without Tank, and Tank was always there for him. I considered telling Tank what I'd been doing that day. He, more than anyone else, would understand all the ramifications and I desperately needed someone to talk to.

Ranger and I were weathering this waiting period together. There had been nothing physical between us except some kissing and embracing, we were avoiding the big event. But things were good. We'd talked more in the last few weeks than in all the time we had previously known one another.

We learned a few days after the testing that the initial hepatitis screen was negative. Ranger's doctor was being conservative and both tests would have to be repeated in three months. We were sharing a horrible secret with the optimism that his second set of tests would show, definitively, he was uninfected. Now I was going to have to share the news with him that I was pregnant. The sense of optimism would disappear, and we'd be praying that neither he nor I was HIV or hepatitis positive. It was going to be one rough day after another until we found out for sure. My dipstick urine test was going to blow our complacent little world apart.

No matter how close Tank and Ranger were, I knew to tell Tank would be unfair to Ranger, so I sucked in a deep breath, found the M&Ms bag and offered him a handful before he left the truck to check on the camera.

When I walked into the apartment I could tell immediately that Ella had been there. The table was set for two with candles ready to be lit and a posy of beautiful fresh flowers providing an elegant, but simple centerpiece. I sniffed but there was no tantalizing aroma, so apparently she was going to be making another trip. It looked like we were celebrating something, and my heart fluttered a little at the thought. If I shared the news with Ranger, I doubted he'd think it was worth celebrating. He'd been working all weekend, covering shifts for men who were off, so maybe we were just going to wind up the Labor Day holiday with some quality food.

I went into the bedroom and dropped the M&Ms bag on the bed. It was considerably lighter than it had been when I dropped Lula off. I reached into my handbag and pulled out the already opened pregnancy test and stared at it. Finally, I had to pee, but no way could I do the test now. I'd made it this far, I'd have to tell Ranger before I made my pregnancy official. I exchanged the pregnancy test for the bag of M&Ms. My hand was on its way to my mouth when Ranger's voice stopped me.

"You don't want to spoil your appetite, Babe. Ella is preparing something special for us."

I twirled around to face him and I knew I looked guilty. He probably thought it was because I was caught in the act of inhaling a handful of candy. I thought it was because I'd moved slightly so my body was hiding the pregnancy test on the bed behind me. He took a step toward me so I took one toward him. I held my hand out and to my surprise he plucked a few M&Ms from my palm and ate them.

"What's wrong, Babe?"

"Nothing," I assured him quickly. "It looks like Ella has gone to some trouble to set the table as she did. What's the occasion?"

"It's a holiday," he said. "That and there are some things I'd like to discuss with you and I thought a shared meal would be a nice way to do it."

"That's great," I said. "Because I've got something to discuss with you as well." I swallowed the lump in my throat. I was afraid to tell him, because I was afraid the news would send him into an emotional tailspin. He'd accept blame for his role in the pregnancy. It was his nature to be a responsible person. But this was one thing we needed to discuss without blame. There was no easy way to tell him so I just took in a deep breath, blew it out and said, "I think I'm pregnant."

I saw his eyes widen slightly. "It's from the time in Colombia," I said. "I haven't had a period since before then, and I'm never late." I turned to his bed and picked up the test. "I had Lula get this for me today." I raised my hand so he could see the kit. His frown had me speaking quickly before he could say anything.

"Lula won't tell. I am so confined here … and before you say anything, that's not a complaint. It's just that I needed to get away and do this on my own and Lula was the only way I could accomplish it!"

"We could have done it together," he said softly. It was the softness of his voice that alerted me. He was hurt that I hadn't come to him. The tears that sprang to my eyes immediately were as good as a positive result from the EPT that I was pregnant. When had I ever been so emotional?

"We couldn't do it together," I replied. "You know the situation. You know that we're in limbo, waiting on the time for you to get tested again. I have to know for certain that I'm pregnant, and I know what that knowledge will do to you!" I had a suspicion that my mascara was making tracks down my face, but it didn't deter Ranger. He came forward and wrapped his arms around me. We stood in a close embrace that was comforting and empowering to me. I pushed back and he let me go. I turned and picked up the test and started toward the bathroom.

"Babe, wait."

I turned to find him close behind me. "I was retested. Friday was three months to the day of—the incident. I thought I'd have to wait until Tuesday for results, but Bobby has a friend at the lab. I'm negative for HIV and hepatitis."

I made some sound while I was trying to formulate words. I hadn't realized how far deep I'd pushed the worry until I'd heard the news we no longer needed to worry. "Oh! The dinner! You were planning a celebration to tell me we're in the clear!"

"It is a celebration," Ranger confirmed. He smiled at me in such a sweet way. "I didn't know at the time just how much we'd be celebrating."

Once again, he wrapped his arms around me. I buried my face in his shoulder, mindful of the mascara mess I must be, but hey, his shirt was black. It was all good. Time stood still with both of us drawing comfort from the closeness until his phone dinged. He pulled back to look at the display.

"It's Ella. She's outside with the meal and she's planning on serving us. Can you wait until after our meal to do the test?"

I nodded. "I was going to do it at my apartment, but I couldn't pee and I didn't have any water to drink so I just waited. I didn't want to do it alone, but I thought it would be better if you didn't know. I thought you'd be upset and …"

"…and you were trying in your own way to protect me?" Again, I nodded. His hand lifted my chin until our eyes met. "This is something we will do together, and we'll do it tonight. It seems we have a lot to discuss tonight, but for now, let's let Ella serve us."

"Go let Ella in," I said. "I need to fix my face."

"You do," he agreed. The kiss that followed his affirmation was tender. I would have stayed for another, but his hand pushed me toward the bathroom.

By the time I had made what were very necessary repairs to my face and rejoined Ranger, Ella had the food plated. She was getting ready to fill my glass with wine when I told her. "None for me, Ella. I'll just have water." I saw Ranger's eyes widen slightly at the realization of what I was really saying. I thought maybe he hadn't fully processed my news but that was understandable with the news he'd given me fresh on his mind. We were going to have a long night, with hopefully more than conversation. We'd talked deeply in the days after he'd returned from Colombia, and I was ready for a little less talk and a lot more action.

After Ella left us alone, Ranger sampled his wine and then said, almost casually, "We've located Niko."

"What! Where is he?" I asked. "and who is 'we'?" I was surprised at the news, but it suddenly made sense why Ranger had given in so easily to my request to spend the day with Lula.

"Arturo Ramos located his cousin."

I groaned. "Another Ramos?"

"The most interesting Ramos of all," Ranger said. "Arturo is a bright up-and-comer with an MBA from Harvard. He was brought in by the remaining members of the Ramos family to oust Niko. Niko pretty much ousted himself though."

Maybe it was because I didn't really want to think about being pregnant, or maybe it was because Ella's food was delicious, and I was hungry, but I found myself relaxing and listening to Ranger while I ate. It was an interesting story.

"Arturo was brought in to manage the legitimate side of the business. The old remaining Ramos clan is getting nervous about the longevity of their arms business. While that business is waning, the legitimate import/export business is making them a good living. Niko was supposed to be running it, but he got greedy, much like Homer before him. He wanted to bring drugs into the mix and that's where La Muerte Blanca came into the picture.

"La Muerte Blanca is dead, thanks to you," I said.

"There were a few people involved in his demise," Ranger said. "But it was more than him. They've decimated his entire Colombian infrastructure. The connection between Vera and the Ramos family is dead as well, and that's a very good thing."

"Where's Niko?" I asked again.

"In Greece. You know Alexander was half-Greek?" I nodded. "After he died the family needed to bring in some new blood. They brought in Niko and that was a mistake. He went into places he had no business going. The majority of the Ramos family didn't want anything to do with the drug trade. They learned their lesson from Homer. They had no idea the guy they were putting in charge was more power hungry than Homer had ever dreamed of being."

"How'd you get involved? Didn't you see Niko for what he was?"

"Not in the beginning," Ranger said. "I wanted to get to know him and I …" Ranger stopped talking for a moment, and I understood why.

"And you wanted Elaina," I said. He didn't respond. "Men!" I continued. "You developed a relationship with Niko so you could get to Elaina!"

"I did not." He took a long drink of wine and looked at me thoughtfully before he continued.

"I developed a relationship with Niko, because it was beneficial to me and to RangeMan to do so. Elaina made my acquaintance because of Niko's and my burgeoning friendship. At the time you were very involved with Morelli. You were making hints that you were finally going to marry him."

"So you had an affair with Elaina?"

"You were never the only woman in my life, Babe. Just as I was never the only man in your life."

I looked at my plate. This dinner was starting to give me indigestion.

"That, however, was then. This is now. You are the only one. You will be the only one as long as I draw breath." His words were uttered so casually that it took a moment for their content to sink in. When I met his gaze, there was nothing casual in the way his dark eyes held mine. Electricity shot through me.

"I'm going to finish this and then we won't speak of it again, because it's done. I did a favor for Niko. I identified La Muerte Blanca for him at Radius. I knew there was probably more to the story than he said, but my job was simple. ID the guy and tell Niko that he was the real deal. I wanted Niko in a position of indebtedness, and making the ID was a simple and easy way to make sure he owed me a big one. I had no idea of when or where I'd collect on the debt, but I wanted the association to be tilted in my favor, so I did it."

"It didn't turn out like you planned, did it?" I asked.

"It did not."

I thought about Niko being in Greece. "Does that mean I'm in the clear?" I asked. "He's not out to use me to get at you any longer?"

"He's not. Arturo asked for a meeting with me. He thanked me for what I had done."

My head came up at that. "How'd he know what you'd done?" I asked.

"It was a carefully planned 'slip' of information. We want Arturo to know that I was instrumental in breaking up the scheme Niko had. It will mean the Ramos family is still indebted to me."

"Why do we care about the Ramos family?" I asked. "I understand, in the beginning when you were trying to establish your street credits that you needed them for allies, but now RangeMan is wildly successful. Can't we just leave the Ramos family in the past?"

"I'd be more than happy if I never spoke to a Ramos again," Ranger said. "I can't burn that bridge until I …" he stopped talking, and stared at me with his liquid brown eyes. His hand reached across the table to lightly caress my forearm.

"Stop it!" I said. "You don't want to tell me the rest, and you're trying to distract me!"

He leaned farther across the table and let his finger slip up my arm and along the side of my neck. It was slow in coming, but I was exposed to the whole 200-watt smile. "How am I doing, Babe?"

"Not good enough. What aren't you telling me?"

Ranger sighed. "Like his sister Elaina, Niko sometimes acts irrationally, out of emotion rather than logic. He attacked one of the Ramos uncles in a fit of fury when he learned they brought Arturo in. That, on top of his ill-advised kidnapping attempt of you, sealed his fate. He lawyered up and was able to walk without any charges against him for Joe's shooting, but his family was very displeased. It was made clear to him, if he comes back to Trenton, he's a dead man … and he knows his family well enough to know they weren't kidding. He's persona non grata with the Trenton branch of the family. I'm almost positive we won't be dealing with him again. Keeping a relationship of sorts with the Ramos family is just a little added insurance."

"Does that mean I'm free?" I asked, my level of excitement rapidly rising.

Ranger frowned. "Are you asking if you can leave RangeMan?"

"I … uh …no!" I said, a little shocked he'd even ask. "I just mean can I move around more freely. Without the non-stop bodyguards?"

"Maybe. Probably. But you've got to stay aware, just on general principle. That's enough about Niko for one night, don't you think?"

Ranger pushed back his chair and came to pull me out of mine. "I'd planned to share all this news with you tonight. And then to tell you about the test results and let you know our nightmare was over. Your news gives us more cause for celebration."

I heard it in his voice and I chanced a glance up so see if I was right. I was. He was smiling at me. He was happy, I knew it but I wanted to hear it.

"Are you okay with a child?" I asked.

He nodded. "What about you?" he asked. "Are you okay with it?"

"I never thought I would be," I said. "But I figured this out a few days ago, and I haven't been thinking about anything else since. I think I'm okay with it. Knowing that you have a clean bill of health overwhelms me," I said. My eyes filled with tears that spilled down my face and I wiped them away with the back of my hand.

"Let's end this night with dessert," Ranger said.

"Okay, what did Ella make?"

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking about that kind of dessert." His hands cupped my head and guided my face close to his. His lips were gentle at first, almost tentative, but then he deepened the kiss. I responded. Ranger swung me into his arms and carried me into our bedroom.

My purse and pregnancy test were still on the bed, sitting right next to the bag of M&Ms. As he lowered me to the bed I put a hand against his chest. "I need to pee. I need to do the test."

"Not now, Babe," he said as he nuzzled my neck. "Go pee, and come to bed. We'll do the test in the morning. Tonight, I have other plans."

When I came back into the bedroom he'd moved my purse, the M&Ms and the pregnancy test to the dresser. The bed was looking empty and inviting. As I moved into his arms, his phone rang.

He looked at the caller ID and uttered something I was sure was a curse in Spanish. "I can't believe this," he said. "I've got to go. We're not fully staffed until tomorrow because of the holiday and I need to take this call."

"Is it squirrels?" I asked. "Tank said there were problems with squirrels."

"If it's squirrels, it's the two-legged kind," he said. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but I need to leave." He bent in and dropped a kiss on my lips, and left me alone in the bedroom with the pregnancy test … and the M&Ms.

Later, with my sweet tooth completely satiated I was on the verge of drifting off into a sugar coma. I thought about the day. I never could have imagined it would end in such a fashion. I wanted to slide under the covers and sleep until Ranger's return, but I had to pee. I looked at the pregnancy test but decided to wait until Ranger was with me. I grabbed the empty M&Ms bag and tossed it in the trash as I went from the bedroom into the bathroom.

When he found me, I was sitting on the floor of the shower. The water streamed down on me as I sat unmoving. He didn't hesitate and quickly peeled his clothes off. He stepped in and sat beside me on the wide floor. I wasn't crying. At least I didn't think I was. It was hard to tell with all the water and steam. I could see the question in his eyes.

I took a long deep breath and tried to sound completely in control.

"My period started."