Chapter 9-

Chapter 9- Training and Threats

A/n thanks to everyone who reviewed- you were all really nice and you really helped motivate me to get this next chapter out and struggle past the writers block! You're all fabulous!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Janet Evanovich's characters. I didn't last chapter, or the chapter before, or any of the chapters and nothing's changed!

I felt myself drifting awake by the welcome smell of coffee. Without really opening my eyes, I let my nose carry me towards the kitchen. I entered the kitchen, promptly crashing into the first chair available. Really, I was surprised I'd made it that far blind but I still swore as I regained my balance and unwillingly opened my eyes.

Ranger was standing in my kitchen, looking amused at my antics, fully clothed in combat black like yesterday. In his hands was a cup of hot coffee. I grumbled, something about how lucky he was he had coffee before righting myself and giving the chair a shove for good measure, realistically not moving it and sorta hurting my wrist from when I landed on it after getting my bruise. I held it to me the slightest unconsciously before remembering he was a mind reader and stopped before he picked up on that too.

I looked up at him after a millisecond of looking at my hand and saw his whole expression had changed. Whereas before he was amused, now he seemed tense. His hand was clenched tightly around the coffee cup. His mouth was tight as I walked over to him and plucked the cup out of his white hands, using the hand that wasn't still slightly throbbing.

When his hands were free, he reached out for my hand and gently started moving it in different directions, watching my face carefully. Now, I had broken a great many bones and I knew what he was doing so I said quietly, 'It's not broken. It barely hurt.'

He stilled the movement of my hand after a moment and let go of it, leaning back on the counter, still watching my face. 'Matthers?' he asked quietly. I sighed and pointed to my bruise. 'Just a consequence of that. Had to stop my fall or I would have another bruise.' His mouth tightened again and I suddenly felt sorry for Matthers. Well, I would be feeling sorry for him if my wrist wasn't currently hurting.

I yawned despite the coffee and my eyes instinctually flicked to the clock on the oven. It was 6:10. My eyes widened and I felt my own mouth tighten as I glared back at Ranger. '6!! I said 10. And yes, I knew you'd ignore me and come when you wanted but you said you would come at 8 not 6!! What were you thinking! I don't function this early!'

Damn him he was smiling. He was trying to cover it with that damn blank face but I could still see the smile. I opened my mouth to continue yelling at him but he cut me off. 'Babe, have you got a gun?' I narrowed my eyes. 'No Ranger, I still don't like guns. But don't change the subject! Why did you wake me up at 6 in the morning when no decent person is awake?'

He smiled at me at that. 'Not a subject change babe. I can't help you catch your skip until you have a gun and handcuffs.' He grinned wider at that. 'I knew you wouldn't have a gun and I'm guessing whatever handcuffs you may have are not up to security standards.' I blushed at that and his grin widened even further. 'And the people we need to meet for that aren't exactly decent.'

30 minutes later, we were walking into the shop I was going to buy my gun in. Mental shudder. And physical shudder, just so that Ranger knows exactly how much I don't want one. He shook his head as I followed him into the shop reluctantly. We walked towards the tough looking lady at the counter, me a bit slower then him.

He told her we were after a gun for me. She looked at me and asked what sort of gun I was after. I stared at her for a moment then, not getting a response, turned and stared at Ranger incredulously. Yeah, like I knew what sort of guns there were.

He sighed and said some sort of weird gun name and I tuned out. I'm sure whatever he got would be just fine. Suddenly, I felt cold metal being pushed into my hands. I looked down to see the gun in my hand and I literally froze. This was only the second time I had seen a gun up close. There weren't any guns allowed at the house and none of my friends were exactly gun happy. Except Connie and I think she knew to keep it away from me. And Lula hadn't gotten into it yet but I'm sure it wouldn't take long now.

I felt cold fear run through me. I wasn't exactly reliving the night, just that one moment of doubt in Ranger when I thought that there was no chance I was going to live through that night. Except in my mind it was prolonged so that it was just constant fear washing over me, the waves getting higher and higher with every passing second.

A warm hand covered my own and I felt the waves recede with the chill. I looked up into Ranger's eyes. They were softer than I was used to these days and his voice was equally soft when he spoke. 'It's to protect you babe. This gun is to protect you and stop you from getting hurt. You need it if you're going to be in the business.' I shook my head, clearing the image from my mind before smiling weakly at Ranger. 'I don't think you'll ever convince me to like guns.'

I paid for the gun and before I knew what was happening, Ranger was given something and he was dragging me through a door behind the counter. When we went into the room it was all too obvious what it was used for. I turned again, intent on leaving the room but his grip on me tightened and dragged me further into the room. I dug my feet into the ground but I was not even hampering his progress across the room.

He stopped pulling and looked at me. I met his gaze, trying to glare at him but I'm pretty sure I wasn't fooling him. I really didn't want to shoot the gun. The feel of the coolness in my hands alone was too much for me. But then again, I didn't want to tell Ranger that either, even though I was sure he could tell. Ranger took the gun from my hand and put in some recently-bought bullets. He handed it back to me and now my hands were shaking lightly. I was holding a fully loaded gun. A gun. Shit.

I felt Ranger put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly and I made myself relax. Once I was somewhat relaxed, though I would never be fully relaxed with a gun in my hands, he let go of my shoulders and turned me to face the little paper man about 100 feet away.

I groaned and lifted my slightly trembling hands to point at the innocent faceless man who had done nothing, I'm sure, to deserve this. Ranger leaned across me and fixed my grip on gun and kept his hands there for a few more seconds as they stopped trembling. He then released my hands and quietly explained how to use the gun. After he finished explaining he stepped to the side and watched me expectantly.

Knowing I was going to have to shoot this gun sometime, I took a deep breathe and pulled the trigger. I didn't really know were it went because I wasn't really looking, but I saw Ranger's head nod in approval. I looked at the paper man, curious, and saw that there was now a hole in paper, though not what I'd call a 'kill' shot as it barely touched the line of his arm. I felt the smallest bit of pride that I could actually hit the cut out on my first go and felt myself smile a little.

I saw a small smile on Ranger's face, clearly amused that I was actually happy I had hit the side of the man. 'good,' he said simply and readjusted my grip before stepping aside again so I could shoot the gun. By the time we had gone through all the bullets, my arm was aching and the poor paper man was completely ripped to shreds. I'd even got a shot through the head of the thing. I finally put down the gun, arm exhausted.

Ranger put his arm around me and pulled me to him, kissing me on the forehead and grinning down at me. I felt a tingle go down my spine when his lips were on my skin but I pushed it down, not wanting to deal with what it could mean right now 'Like guns yet babe?' I shook my head adamantly but said grudgingly, 'I can use it to protect myself now though. You were right about that I s'pose.' His grin widened at that and I grabbed my gun regrettably, still not in the least liking the thing as Ranger, without removing his arm, pulled me back towards the door to the main part of the shop.

More then anxious to get out of there before he decided I could do with another round, I hurried past him, letting his arm fall from my shoulders and almost ran to the door of the shop. I could hear him chuckling at my antics as he said goodbye to the shop keeper but I didn't let that hinder me until I was standing outside the shop. He left the shop a minute later, his eyes still sparkling with amusement. We walked to his car and I got in and dropped the empty gun onto the ground.

When Ranger got in, he took my gun from the floor where I had just dropped it and pulled another round from his cargo's pocket and loaded the gun. He then put the safety on and pushed it back into my hands and clicked handcuffs I didn't notice him holding into the belt loop in my pants. I glowered at him until I realised he was ignoring me and starting the car, at which point I switched my glare to the gun. After a few moments of glaring at the gun, I saw a hand suddenly come into view and pluck it out of my hand and put it into the glove box in front of me.

Ranger went into his 'zone' and we sat in comfortable silence as he drove. We stopped outside the office and we both went in together. I walked in first and both Lula's and Connie's face brighten when I walked in. obviously it had been a slow morning because the filing was actually done, Connie's nails were a different shade of red then yesterday and they both looked far too excited to see me. Though I must say, there faces fell when they realised I didn't have any donuts or fried goods.

Lula quickly spoke. 'What's going on Steph? You're in late and you –' she was cut off as Ranger walked in behind me and I had to smother a giggle at the look on her face. It was a strange combination of lust, surprise and confusion. I'm pretty sure she could figure out why I was donutless by just looking at Ranger's completely fatless body. Ranger's hand settled on my neck and my body, without my permission, responded to his touch.

'Any new files Connie?' I asked, trying my best to sound unaffected by Ranger's lingering hand. Connie shook her head. 'None for you Steph though I do have one for you Ranger.' Ranger held out his hand and Connie handed it over, looking a little affected by his presence herself.

Ranger nodded to both the women and we left the office, back to his car. He started it up again and stated driving in an unfamiliar direction. I was just about to ask him where we were going when he spoke. 'I had a man run a search for Matthers. He got himself a new girlfriend and he should be at her place. That's probably why you lost him.' I resisted the childish urge to poke out my tongue at him for pointing out my 'amateur' mistakes. I did, however, still let out a somewhat childish huff.

He smiled but otherwise ignored me and parked outside a dumpy looking building. He got out and I groaned before doing the same thing. I really didn't want to go after this guy again. But I was with Ranger so I was pretty sure I was in least not going to get punched. And I would really like the money I would get for bringing him in. Rent was already late.

We walked into the building and Ranger went to the right and before I could say anything, started up the stairs. I opened my mouth to protest but he called over his shoulder first, 'Babe.' I grumbled, unintelligently even to me, but followed him, eyeing the elevator longingly. I would have taken it anyway but he didn't tell me the apartment number.

Luckily for both me and him, Ranger got off at the second floor and I gratefully followed him, leaving the stairwell behind. I followed Ranger to about the 5th apartment along were Ranger stopped and knocked on the door. A thin, bleached blonde 30 something year old answered the door, taking in Ranger appreciatively. I felt a flare of unsuspected and unwarranted jealousy go through me but I again pushed it back down.

'Can I help you with something?' urgh… she was practically purring. Stupid little stuck up, ugly, miserable, felony-dating… Although it was very clear she was talking only to Ranger, at this point I cut in. 'We're looking for Daniel Matthers. He's violated his bond and we are here to escort him back to the police station.' Suddenly looking much more nervous, I noted contentedly, she said, 'Sorry, I don't know anyone by that name.'

I sighed in frustration but Ranger wasted no time in pushing her aside and entering the apartment. I walked in after him, ignoring the gaping woman, in time to see Ranger snap cuffs on a passed-out Matthers. He'd obviously been drinking heavier than usual because usually when I entered the room, he woke up. Or maybe Ranger was just quieter. Ranger hauled him up by the collar of his shirt, and impressive feat considering the 200 pounds of pure fat he was lifting, and started dragging him towards the door. I followed him out of the door, giving the woman a little finger wave as I closed the door.

To my relief, this time Ranger chose to take the elevator and forgo the stairs. When the elevator cheerfully dinged and opened, Ranger shoved Matthers inside, none too gently I noticed, almost touching my bruise again, wondering at the motivation. Eventually, Ranger dragged him into the back of the car roughly.

About half way to the cop shop, Matthers woke up and he was not happy, to say the least, to find himself in custody. When he realised who I was, he started cursing. I didn't even listen to what he was saying about me because I really didn't want to know but I was pretty sure I heard the word 'cunt' and 'bitch' thrown in a couple of times. And there may have been some mention of the fading bruise on my cheek.

I tried my best to ignore him but I saw Ranger was having very little luck himself. His whole body was rigid and a muscle was jumping in his jaw, but he kept silent. Unlike Matthers who kept up the insults and threats all the way.

When we got to the station, Ranger was out of the car before I could get my seatbelt undone. He hauled Matthers out of the car, shoving him to the ground. He gave me a look that clearly said 'stay in the car.' But I figured with his hands full of my skip, he couldn't stop me so I got out of the car and followed him anyway. He glared at me but I gave him a small finger wave and walked towards him. His expression softened and he shook his head slightly in amusement before turning hard again when he had to restrain my struggling skip.

Matthers, clearly not understanding Ranger's rougher then usual treatment of him, starting insulting me again. I could see the muscle twitching in his jaw again.

5 minutes later we were skip-free and I was completely thankful. My skip was out of the way and I didn't have to listen to him insulting me until the next time he skipped. Which I was guessing, unless he joined alcoholics anonymous, was going to be soon. We got back to the car and Ranger was still radiating anger.

Just as I was putting my seatbelt on, Ranger grabbed the hand I was fastening it with. I looked at him, surprised and very confused, when his lips crashed down on mine, passionate at first before growing gentler. I got lost in the kiss, leaving behind my confusion about Ranger at the moment. Eventually, he pulled away and looked in my eyes, still preventing me from getting my thoughts straight.

He smiled and pulled further away. 'Sorry babe, Matthers was getting to me. I didn't like that he could say those things and I couldn't hit him.' He paused and grinned a little, 'much anyway.' I was still confused but I just sat back in the leather seats, letting myself calm down. 'Why do you have to confuse me with stupid cryptic statements?' It wasn't until he started laughing that I had said that out loud. I blushed but now that I had said it out loud, I wanted an answer.

I looked at him as he started the engine; his mouth still upturned in a smile, and cocked an eyebrow. 'Well? Just because I didn't mean to say that doesn't mean you don't have to answer.' He looked over at me, eyes still shining from amusement. 'Because babe, you are beautiful and the most kind-hearted woman I've met. And you didn't deserve what Matthers was saying to you and I wanted you to know it.' I blushed again at his words but my mouth involuntarily turned into a smile.

10 minutes later, as my blush was finally beginning to fade, he parked outside my building and walked me to the elevator. He didn't get in though and when the elevator door opened, he leaned in unexpectantly and softly kissed me on the lips, just a gentle tease, much contrary to our last kiss. He broke the kiss and gave me a soft smile before walking away. I was still a little dazed from the kiss and I snapped out of it and jumped into the elevator before it could be whisked away to another floor.

I walked into my apartment and almost immediately yearned something sweet. I didn't really care what. I scrounged around all corners of my apartment searching for some form of sugar. After determining that the food fairy hadn't found me worthy of gracing me with her presence, I sighed. I was going to have to go out again. It was all Ranger's fault, playing with my hormones like that. I picked up my car keys and made a sugar run down to the closest store that sold sweets.

RPOV

I almost groaned when I got back to Haywood. With Steph taken care of for the day, I was going to have to finish the paperwork on my desk and then go to a postponed meeting with a client that was supposed to happen this morning. I went up to 5 to start on the paperwork but on my way to my office, Tank intercepted me with a worried look in his eyes. 'Ranger, we just received a note as you were coming up the elevator. It concerns Stephanie.'

From the look in his eyes, I knew it wasn't going to be good. 'Threat?' I asked, almost redundantly. Tank nodded and gave me the note.

Ranger, what excellent timing. I recognised who you were with today; you two would make a nice couple, not at all what I had in mind for her. She's not going to live till the end of the day though.

As soon as I was finished reading it, it had me flying through the door, phone to my ear, hoping desperately to find her before he did.

SPOV

I parked near the entrance and jumped out, eager to get to the food. I had barely walked two steps before my whole body screamed at me to stop and run away. I stopped in my tracks. Something was off. I had the same feeling when I walked into that dodgy bar all those years ago. Suddenly, all the misgivings I had were multiplied ten fold and not caring if I looked stupid if I was wrong, I jumped to the side so that I crashed into my car, hearing a whiz of fast air and a heated yet chilling pain slamming into my body.

So what did you think? Sorry it's been so long and sorry for the cliffie at the end! I will try to be better next time and I hope the chapter was worth the wait! Reply and let me know what you thought! Let me know all the questions that are eating away at you so I'm sure to answer them!