Nothing left to lose

Chapter eight: The talk

Warnings: Spoilers and adult content ahead. I own nothing.


Stephanie gathered the plates while Ranger escorted Christian to the door. She felt drained; she had been through a lot today. When she heard the door click the familiar panic feeling started to skirt around her. She stood still at the sink, trying to push the feeling away when she felt the warmth from Ranger's breath on her ear, "Time to talk, Babe."


Stephanie took in a deep cleansing breath and nodded. She brushed past him and made her way to the couch to settling in for the ride. Surprised that she didn't protest he followed her taking a seat beside her on the couch, turning sideways so he could watch her. They sat there in silence, looking into each others eyes, neither knowing where to start.

Ranger finally broke the silence, "Babe."

It was amazing that this one word could covey so many messages. She didn't know what he wanted to hear, so many things had happened in such a short time and she really was having a problem keeping everything straight. "Well, where does this start?"

"Where does it start for you?"

She flinched at his question. She wondered if he really wanted to know the answer or if he just assumed it had been that night. She would have to be slick to get around this one. "Well, I guess it starts…."

Music filtered through the room and he winced inside barely managing to keep his blank face in place. He flipped the phone open and listened as he watched her squirm under his gaze. 'Damn it' he thought, he felt like he was getting somewhere and she was actually somewhat relaxed. The words he was hoping not to hear, right now anyway, came through the phone and he knew there was no way around this. He had to deal with this tonight. He stood giving her a look that he would be back. He walked out of the apartment and headed towards the fifth floor. As the elevator doors opened, he ended the call, cursing himself inside for having to leave. One of his high profile FTAs, who had been MIA for over a month just popped back on the radar. He only had a few more days to bring in the scumbag and needed to seize the opportunity. He headed straight for Tank's office, knowing he was there finishing up paperwork after the meeting.

"Yo, need some help" Ranger said, walking towards Tank's desk.

"Hey man, what's going on" Tank looked up at him.

"Seems old Marcus has come out of hiding. Need you to get some guys together and head down to Stark. He is at his girlfriends, bring him in."

Tank nodded as Ranger turned to leave, "You offline?"

Ranger turned, "Yes and no, call me if it goes south."

"Sure thing," Tank answered as he stood to assemble the team. He knew Stephanie was still here, no doubt why Ranger was staying out of this one.

Ranger was busy hoping he didn't ruin the talk by leaving. She had been so fragile lately, for good reason, but he still didn't want to take any steps back with her. He entered the apartment and walked in to see her legs extended on the couch. Her head was tilted to the side as small snores filtered through the room. Ranger moved closer to her noticing her plump lips were slightly parted. He took in a breath as his hand came up to brush aside an unruly curl. It had been a long day and she was exhausted, he was almost relieved she was sleeping. Now he could watch over her, make sure she got the rest she desperately needed. He squatted down beside her and ran his hand down her exposed leg and across the top of her shoe. He rather liked these shoes, they were very sexy. He slipped one off and then the other setting them beside the sofa before scooping her up in his arms and carrying her to the bedroom. He gently placed her on the mattress and stepped back. Under normal circumstances he would have let her just sleep, but she had on one of her new suits. He stepped forward, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her and started to work on her jacket.

"Ranger," her voice husky with sleep.

"Babe, sit up so I can get your jacket off."

Her eyes fluttered open, "What time is it?" She could barely sit up as he worked at her clothes.

"Nine-thirty," he said, untucking her shirt.

"I should go home." She lifted her arms over her head as he pulled her shirt off.

"Stay here tonight Babe, you're exhausted" he said, taking in her half naked body.

"I'll be fine, besides what about Rex?" She couldn't manage to keep her eyes open and she was clinging to his arms to keep herself upright.

"No, Babe, you aren't and Rex is fine, Hector went and checked on him today. Lift your hips" he whispered in her ear, sliding the skirt down her long legs, revealing the garter belt and stockings she dawned earlier. He found himself fighting the urge to push her down on the bed and crawl on top of her.

"Really" she gasped softly.

He chuckled at her voice, she sounded like a child full of wonder. "Yeah, I knew it would be a late night for you and he was in the neighborhood." Sliding the stockings down her smooth legs was torture for him, his body tight from the sight and feel of her.

Stephanie shimmed into the t-shirt he offered her, removing her bra and snuggled into the pillow. "Uhm-kay, goodnight."

Ranger smiled at her brushing some stray locks from her face. He wanted to join her, but was hesitant because of his body's hypersensitive state. She needed to rest and he knew it, he could do this. He worked at his clothes and slid in between the sheets, curling around her body, his nose finding her hair, taking in her scent as his arms settled at her waist. Luckily, his body instantly relaxed in her warmth, surrounded by her slow rhythmic breathing, he drifted off.

She woke up lost in the shadows, her body starving for oxygen as she struggled to meet the demand. She was lost, not knowing where she was or what had happened. Her thoughts were thick as her brain tried to sort things out. Her fingers curling in the soft surface underneath her, felt numb as she tried to sit up only to be hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea. Her eyes were hazy and unfocused; she took in a deep breath trying to clear her thoughts when a familiar scent registered in her brain. 'Ranger.' She opened her mouth to call for him but nothing came out. She felt groggy, almost drugged by the panic coursing through her veins. Focusing on his scent she slowly laid back on the soft surface curling her body around the smell, her lungs heaving as they tried to take in as much as possible.

"Ranger," she choked out at barely a whisper.

She willed her body to relax around his scent, to push the panic away. She needed her eyes to focus, she needed to know where she was and what had happened but her mind seemed too slow to accommodate her requests. She barely heard the sound of the door clicking shut over the pounding of her heart. She strained to listen as hurried footsteps fell closer and closer towards her. It didn't seem possible, but the panic in her body rose as she laid there paralyzed. She felt the bed dip and a warm hard body curl around her rigid one. Soft lips brushed her neck and she instantly relaxed knowing exactly whose lips they were.

"It's okay Babe, just relax," he whispered.

Instantly relieved, she fought to calm down her breathing, trying to match his steady breaths. A warm hand rubbed up and down her side in a soothing motion as his breath filtered over her ear. She slowly felt herself relax, her breathing return to normal as the panic evaporated. She tried to think about what had happened but her mind still felt thick and exhaustion hung around every thought, finally giving in, she feel into sleep.

Movement jarred her out of slumber. She peeked her eye open to see Ranger's backside heading to the bathroom. She smiled thinking it was a great site to wake up to. Stretching her hands over her head she groaned, not feeling as rested as she would have liked. Sitting up she looked at the clock before planting her feet on the floor and making her way to the closet for some clothes. Good thing she didn't have to drive to work, she would be late she thought, as she rummaged through the drawers for some underclothes. She smiled as she fingered through her new purchases, Ella had washed them, she was amazing. She scooped out a set and turned towards the bathroom to find Ranger in the doorway watching her through heavy lidded eyes.

"Morning" she yawned and stretched.

Suddenly, he stalked towards her. She let out a surprised squeak when his fingertips brushed her exposed leg, grabbing her thigh and pulling her into his body. His lips crashed down on hers effectively smothering her gasp of protest. The kiss was hot and demanding and she suddenly felt lightheaded.

His body was craving more of her, his hand exploring the exposed flesh of her legs. The thoughts of last night filtered in and he broke away. Tank had called at two AM because of the FTA. He slipped out of bed trying not to wake her up and headed out to help with the capture. She had slept so soundly when he was there. He had come back to find her struggling with a panic attack, restless and thrashing in the bed. She was terrified, her breathing harsh and fast, her eyes dilated and unseeing. He knew she was living that night again; she kept whispering 'no,' 'breathe…keep breathing' and his name over and over. He couldn't take it anymore and went to her hoping she would snap out of it and was relieved when she did. He wondered if she remembered last night, but decided not to press the subject. He had a meeting this morning and didn't want to start her day off badly, so he turned his thoughts to her swollen lips. They were slightly separated letting short breaths out as she tried to regain control of her body.

"Shower, Babe?"

She took in a sharp breath, "Depends, is it a question or a proposition?"

He gave her a sexy smile, "What do you want it to be?"

Her breath hitched, she definitely wanted the proposition, but knew it was most likely a question, so she slithered by him and took off towards the bathroom, effectively slamming the door in his face before locking it. She heard a muffled "Ouch" through the door.

"Sorry."

A chuckle resonated and she instantly relaxed and started to mill around the bathroom turning the shower on to heat up.

The next thing she knew, she was glancing in the mirror, taking in her appearance before heading out to join Ranger, realizing she had slipped into autopilot once again. She hadn't even remembered getting ready, but there she stood dressed in her matching deep blue lingerie set and tan hose. She wrapped herself in his robe, releasing a sigh before heading out of the bathroom. She slipped into the closet and browsed through her new clothes, choosing the charcoal suit with deep blue stripes and the matching silky blue tank top. She shimmed the clothes on and slipped her feet in the chunky healed charcoal Mary Jane pumps. She found herself reveling in the feel of the outfit and turned to look at the result in the mirror. Pleased with the reflection she headed towards the kitchen, Ranger was sitting at the table reading the paper with a glass of juice in front of him. He looked amazing sitting there in just his boxers with his long legs stretched out under the table. He looked up at her with his untamed hair framing his face, "Ella left you some breakfast in the microwave."

"Thanks" she smiled, watching his muscles contract and release as he stood and headed towards the bedroom. Her eyes lingered at the door long after he disappeared from her sight as she wondered how she got so lucky. Few people had been privileged enough to know this side of Ranger, to see him relaxed and vulnerable, to see him like an everyday person. The sounds of the shower cutting on filtered to her ears breaking her away from her thoughts. She turned and headed for the microwave to retrieve her breakfast. Ella had made her french toast and eggs. It looked delicious as it twirled around in the microwave absorbing the heat. Fixing her coffee she grabbed the plate and headed for the table to eat. She let out a small moan marveling at the delicious taste of Ella's cooking. The woman was just amazing; she would have to thank her later.

She had just finished up eating when Ranger emerged from the bedroom dressed in black slacks and a deep blue shirt that matched the blue she wore. He was breath taking, the long sleeves shirt unbuttoned at the collar, the mocha skin of his chest peeking out. He fittled with his watch then looked up at her. She was standing in front of the sink stunned by the sight of him. He sent her a sexy smile, "Ready?"

She nodded and drew her eyes from him to focus on the floor as a blush of embarrassment crawled up her neck and settled on her cheeks. She had been gawking at him and quickly brushed her finger to her lips to check for drool relieved when she found none. He made his way to the small table to scoop up his keys as she joined him by the door. He opened the door for her but grabbed her hand before she could cross through drawing her back towards him. He whispered in her ear, "You look beautiful Babe."

Her body was instantly flooded with heat. But she managed to get "So do you" out, before he let her go. They headed to the elevator in silence, Stephanie concentrating on regaining control of her body.

"Long day today Babe, why don't you go check on Rex during lunch?"

She smiled up at him, "Good idea, I will."

He returned her smile before the elevator dinged signaling their arrival. They headed out into the Comm room to be greeted with 'good mornings' from the guys. Bobby, Hal, Cal and Junior were at the monitors, Ranger stopped to get morning report. She smiled and waved at the guys before heading towards her office, unlocking the door and setting her things on her desk. She went to the break room for some coffee and headed back, stopping at the entrance of her office. She still felt like this was all a dream, taking in the marvelous office in front of her, wondering what she did to deserve the lavish treatment she was getting. She wondered why Ranger had spent his time and money on her, why he so openly spoiled her.

"Morning Beautiful," Lester whispered in her ear, causing her to jump. His hand snaked out and steadied her coffee mug before she jumped making sure she didn't spill it.

"Shit, Lester you scared the crap out of me" she said, turning towards him.

He chuckled, and shrugged his shoulders, "Deep thoughts?"

She headed for her chair and sat, "Lester, can I ask you something?"

Lester grinned, "Sure, I would love to go out with you Steph."

Stephanie smirked at him, "Come on I am being serious here."

"What? So was I" he chuckled.

She grimaced at him.

"Okay, okay, sorry. What's on your mind Steph?"

"Lester, why did Rangeman do all this for me" gesturing to the room around her.

Lester looked around the office, "What do you mean?"

"Well, why the office and the lavish decor, the clothes, well everything?"

Lester shrugged his shoulders, "Well, every new employee gets uniforms and equipment to do their job, some even get relocation packages if they aren't from Trenton and need to move."

"But this" Stephanie gestured around the room again, "Doesn't seem a little lavish to you?"

Lester shrugged again, "Considering your role here, no not really. Your appearance is important to Rangeman and your office is designed to help you satisfy your job requirements. What, are you worried the guys think you're the boss's pet?"

She nodded in response bracing herself for his answer.

"Well, stop it. Besides all the guys love to spoil you. In fact, Bobby even brought you in some donuts today. As soon as he finishes up report I bet you a dollar he will be in here turning over the contraband" he laughed.

She smiled at him, "I dunno it just feels funny getting all this stuff."

"Bombshell, Ranger would do anything for his employees. He strives at setting everyone up for success. Look at Hector; he has a whole damn room full of toys. I have everything I need to do my job. He houses us, trains us and gives us everything we need. Yes, it is a little different with you, first because you are female but most importantly because of your new role here. He really did struggle with this at first, not knowing what you would need. It's easy to prepare someone like me, picking up weapons and stuff, but you were a challenge. He is giving you what you need, hoping you will succeed, his company reaping the benefits if you do, understand? Think of it as an investment."

It made sense to her now, "I see Lester. I just don't want anyone to think I was getting special treatment or something."

Lester tilted his head back and full out laughed, "Beautiful, you will always get special treatment…from all of us. Nothing wrong with that."

She smiled at him laughing in front of her, his laugh was lighthearted and made her feel warm inside. "Thanks Lester."

A knock at the door drew their attention as Bobby came walking in, "Hey, what's going on?"

Lester smiled, "Just catching up with our Bombshell."

"Good morning Bobby" she smiled at him.

"Hey Steph. I brought you something," Bobby said plopping a white bag onto her desk.

Lester winked at her and stood heading out the door, "See you ladies later."

Stephanie reached for the bag, "Thanks Bobby that was sweet of you." She peeked inside the bag to find three donuts inside. She folded the top back over and placed the bag inside her desk, "Wow, sneaking in donuts, I hope you didn't get in trouble."

"Nah, I'm good, he had no clue. So how are things?"

"Good" she nodded. "Still a little in awe, but good."

He smiled at her, "If you need anything let me know okay?"

"Thanks Bobby. I appreciate that. How are things with you?"

"Great. I have got some time off coming up and I am trying to figure out what to do with it. Not sure if I should go visit my parents or go on a trip."

"Tough decision."

"Yeah, I am really leaning towards taking a trip. I need some time to relax."

Stephanie chuckled, "Relax? That would be nice."

"Yeah, I can hardly wait. You should take some time off soon too Steph."

"But I just started here."

"You get four weeks vacation starting out, shoot you might get more being an executive and all," he laughed.

She laughed with him, "Hard to believe it huh?"

"No, Stephanie. You underestimate yourself. You deserve this you know."

"Thanks Bobby" she smiled.

"Well, gotta go get some sleep. Have a good day."

"Thanks again Bobby. Get some rest."

"See ya," he called as we walked out of her office and headed to the stairs.

She powered up her computer thinking over Bobby's words. She still didn't feel like she was worth all this fuss, but it made her feel better that other employees were treated the same. It was nice to know others believed in her and she was determined to live up to their expectations, no matter what. She hoped she wouldn't screw this up. A knock at the door drew her from her thoughts.

Hector stepped through carrying a garment bag. He walked over and sat down in the chair across from her. "Hola, chica."

"Hey there, whatcha got" she smiled.

"This arrived for you a half hour ago. I checked it over, it's clean."

"Clean?"

He chuckled at her, "Yeah, no bugs, no wires."

Stephanie grinned at him to cover up the embarrassment that she felt. "So what is it?"

"Watson's uniform for tonight. If you call it a uniform, that is."

Her eyebrows tweaked, "Let me see it."

Hector smirked at her, "I don't think you will like it, maybe you should wait until it's time to get ready."

"Hector, give it here" she said as she stood and swiped for the hanger.

Hector effectively dodged her attack, a smile spreading across his lips, "Okay but, I warned you."

"Whatever just give it here" she grumbled as she reached out again for the garment. This time she connected with the bag and tugged it towards her body. She dropped it on her desk and swiftly undid the zipper pulling the flap of material back to reveal the contents it housed. She gasped as all the air left her body, "What the hell is this, a joke?"

"I warned you" Hector laughed, leaning over her desk and fingering the material.

She glared at him, "I thought this was like an engagement thing, I mean I can not see this guy's fiancé being okay with half naked women showing her diamonds." Her fingers slipped through the silky white garment. "Shit, this is see through." She was fuming; she was definitely going to back out of this. She had worn some pretty bad things in the past for distraction jobs, but this, this was far beyond decent. It was a white spaghetti strapped piece of lace. It had an empire waist with a thick white ribbon under the breast and a strip of the same silky ribbon material between the breasts, with only lace to cover where her nipples would be, clearly visible to anyone who looked. The skirt was lace with white ribbon around the bottom and one-inch slits in the sides of the skirt that she was sure would not even cover her ass. She couldn't believe a classy company like Watson's would have something like this. "I hope you didn't spend too much time looking for bugs, you can see through the whole thing. No hiding anything in this."

Hector laughed at her statement, she was right. Lester popped his head in the office, "Whoa Bombshell, whatcha got there?"

Stephanie frantically pushed the material back in the bag, "Nothing."

Lester's eyebrows rose and he stalked towards her "Really, doesn't look like nothing"

He stopped millimeters in front of her as she tried to hide the garment bag behind her. He reached around her as she struggled against him and easily plucked it from her, holding it above her head as she jumped to retrieve it, "Lester, don't…..give it back…come on."

He worked at the zipper and let the bag fall away, "Shit Bombshell, this is nothing" he raised his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Stephanie blushed focusing on Hector to avoid Lester's eyes.

"It's quite elegant really," Hector whispered, "Just not meant for the public."

"Of course not, lingerie is meant for the bedroom floor" Lester chuckled, seeking Stephanie's eyes. When she grimaced his heart sunk, "You bought it right?"

Stephanie shook her head 'no.' "My uniform for tonight, I am afraid."

Lester's face dropped, "No way, for Watson's?"

Hector nodded, "Delivered this morning."

"Oh hell no, Steph. No way, you are not going to wear this out in public. In fact I bet Ranger will kill Eric before he even thinks about you wearing this out." Lester turned to head towards Ranger's office to find him coming towards them. Ranger stopped at the door and took in the scene before them, his left eyebrow arched.

"Hector, delivery waiting for you downstairs."

Hector nodded, gave Stephanie a smile and headed out the door.

Ranger looked at Lester and gestured towards the material he held, "Explain."

Stephanie, completely embarrassed plopped down in her chair and laid her head down on her desk.

"Well, I have been informed that this is Stephanie's uniform for tonight that was delivered from Watson's this morning."

It was quiet for what seemed like forever before Ranger finally spoke, "You have been misinformed."

Stephanie's head snapped back up, "What?"

"Your uniform was just dropped off. Hector is inspecting it now."

"Wait, then who is this from and what is it for" Stephanie asked, confusion clear in her voice.

Ranger's face stayed neutral, "A gift from Eric Watson I suppose. It was delivered by a Watson courier."

Stephanie let out a groan completely embarrassed.

Lester started laughing, "I guess he added his own tweaks to the uniform, something to wear underneath."

Ranger shot Lester a look. Lester immediately stopped laughing, placed the piece of lace back on her desk and turned to leave.

Stephanie sat in silence trying to push down the blush that was overtaking her body. Ranger walked over stopping beside her, taking the material into his finger to inspect. "I have underestimated Eric Watson. You will need to be careful around him Babe. It seems he has eyes for you and he is used to getting what he wants. The game has begun."

She looked in his eyes registering his words then nodded.

"Be careful" he said dropping the material and turning to leave. She watched him retreat back into his office and settle in his chair but quickly averted her eyes so he wouldn't catch her watching him. She grabbed the silky white material, stuffed it back in the bag and tossed it unto the couch.

She typed away at her computer checking her email while trying to push the thoughts of Eric Watson and his gift out of her mind. She had never received lingerie as a gift from a man. Sure she got her share from friends when she got married and well Lula, but never from a handsome successful man. She had no idea why he would be interested in her, but one thing she knew for sure was she would have to be careful, his intent was clear now. She sighed and looked up to see what Ranger was doing to find Hector in her doorway, "Oh, hey."

Hector smiled, "Steph here is your real uniform for tonight."

She stood and walked over to him unzipping the garment bag to find a simply but elegant black dress inside. It was silky with a v-neck and three quarter length sleeves, the dress was slim cut with a flare skirt that she guessed would fall about an inch above her knees. It was very classy and she instantly relaxed. She noticed a note attached to the bag and reached for it. 'Please wear black heels and no jewelry; you will wear something from my collection. – AW'

She smiled at Hector, "What a relief."

"Yeah, for all of us," he chuckled. "Although I am sure Eric is now on Ranger's shit list."

Stephanie rolled her eyes at his remark. "Was there a note with the first one?"

"Not that I saw. But it was the same courier."

"Well, I guess it is safe to assume the first delivery was not from Alicia Watson."

"Maybe if it was Ranger's size, but since it isn't I think it is safe to assume" Hector chuckled.

Stephanie full out laughed, thinking that Alicia seemed more forward than her brother, then wondering what Alicia would send Ranger. 'Maybe a thong? That would be funny.'

"How about some lunch today" Hector asked.

"Well, I have to go home, check on Rex and stuff."

"Sure, maybe tomorrow" Hector smiled at her.

"It's a date."

Hector nodded and turned to leave. Stephanie's voice caught him just as he crossed through the door, "Hector?"

He turned and found her soft eyes, "Thank you for taking care of Rex yesterday."

Hector grinned at her, "Anytime Chica" and then he was gone.

She settled back down and went to work on her email again. She had a bunch to go through and needed to run some searches on Jay Baker, the security director at Watson's before heading home. She combed through a few boring, blah, blah, blah emails and an email from Ranger popped up. She immediately looked up and over towards his office, but he wasn't at his desk, so she focused back on the email and clicked it open. Her heart fluttered in her chest as the email loaded.

'Babe,

Meeting with Christian and Bloomington's today. See you at five for the briefing. Call Lester if you need anything.

R'

At least she would get some work done today while Ranger was gone. It seemed she had a problem concentrating while he was around. She didn't delete his email, just moved to the next one. She didn't recognize the sender but the subject read 'Request.' She assumed it was a new client or perhaps an existing client and clicked on the link to open the email. She gasped when the document loaded revealing the words 'Die Stephanie Plum, Die.'

It seemed she had a new stalker, She immediately forwarded the email to Silvio, Ranger, Tank and Lester. She stood and went out into the Comm room to find Lester. She had her share of psycho stalkers in the past, but this creeped her out, this person managed to get around Rangeman security. No sign of Lester in the Comm room and his office door was shut. Ram was at the monitors and looked up at her, "Hey Bombshell, what's up?"

"Hey, you seen Lester?"

"He's in with the boss" tilting his head towards Rangers office.

She turned on her heel and headed towards Ranger's office, "Thanks Ram." The door was open, so she knocked on the frame, "Ranger?"

She heard some movements and saw Ranger come from the side of his office. He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Hi, is Lester in here?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

She walked in turning to the side where Ranger came from seeing Lester smiling at her from the table in the corner. The table was covered with papers and a laptop.

"Check your email. Seems I have another admirer, I sent you both a copy as well as Tank and Silvio."

Ranger sat down and started clicking on the laptop, she assumed looking for the email. He stilled for a moment then turned the laptop around for Lester to read.

"It's a free email account, virtually untraceable, but we can locate the IP address" Lester stated.

Ranger tapped his fingers on the table, "It was probably sent from a public domain, somewhere with free wireless. Babe do you recognize the screen name?"

Stephanie was leaning against the wall beside Lester and shook her head 'no.' "I have no idea, but what is yemen? It's a country right?"

Ranger nodded, "Yes, it is a Middle Eastern country, know anyone from there?"

"Oh come on, I didn't even know for sure it was a country."

Lester chuckled, "Well it definitely isn't a tropical paradise, more like a third world country."

"Yes, but Yemen is spelled Y-e-m-e-n, right not y-m-e-n-e and what does l-l-i-k mean" Stephanie voiced. "Maybe I should send a copy to Castanza, he could have the code breaker guy look at it" Stephanie said, while tapping her finger over her lips.

Ranger's eyes focus on her finger, "I will have someone look at it."

Stephanie nodded and started back towards her office but stopped when Ranger's voice stopped her, "Babe?"

She turned her head back to look at him. "Have one of the guys take you to your apartment at lunch today."

She smirked at him, "Hector and I already have a date."

A smile tugged at the side of his lips as he nodded at her retreating body. He couldn't believe how Hector and her hit it off. Hector had always been a loose cannon and a loner, but he took to Stephanie and she took to him. He was glad they were hitting it off, he felt more comfortable knowing there was someone he could ask to watch after her without being too obvious.

"Carlos" Lester called him out of his thoughts.

Ranger focused on Lester.

Lester was grinning from ear to ear with his eyebrows raised, he opened his mouth but Ranger cut him off, "Don't."

"What?"

Ranger shot him a look, "See what you can find out about this email, I don't like that it got past our security. Maybe we should have her emails screened from now on."

Lester nodded, "I'll work on it boss."

Ranger nodded, "See you at five."

Lester started typing on the computer while Ranger grabbed a few things off his desk and then took off for the meeting with Bloomington's. He looked in Stephanie's office on the way out but it was empty. He heard her laugh coming from the break room and heading in that direction. He found Stephanie at the coffee pot talking with Hector. They both looked up at him in the doorway.

"Babe, let Lester know if you get anything else, he is working on it."

"I will. Have a good day" she smiled at him.

He nodded and headed out.

"So about that date Hector, care to have lunch at my place today?"

"What happened?"

"Well, I got a death threat via email just a little while ago and they just want me to be careful."

"You okay?"

"Sure, I get threats all the time, no big deal" Stephanie said, while stirring her coffee.

"You have no food at your apartment; we'll stop and get something on the way. I will be in the store room finishing up the inventory, come get me when you are ready to head out."

"Kay, see you later."

She settled back at her desk and decided to run a search on Jay Baker. She loaded the search and clicked back on her email and started at it again. More blah, blah, blah emails, delete, delete, delete. She wondered what the point of some of this nonsense was. Was this stuff supposed to be important to her? Then she noticed an email from Watson's, EWatson. She clicked it open, and read it through. 'So nice to meet you, blah, blah, looking forward to working with you, blah, blah, hope you enjoyed my gift, blah, blah, wait a minute, GIFT? So it was him!' She read on, 'Dinner?'

She would have to be careful around him. She decided to leave the email and not reply. She had no doubt she would see him tonight, besides she had no idea what to say to him about the gift. She felt uncomfortable. She barely knew this man and he was sending her a very intimate gift. Shoot, she would feel uncomfortable getting a gift like that from Joe when they were dating.

She had to get back to work so she moved on to the next few emails waiting for the search to complete.

She managed to get through her million emails and do the searches she needed before lunchtime. She was pretty proud of herself; of course she had no interruptions, which helped. She stood and stretched then headed out to find her date. She stopped at the desk and chatted with Ram, not much activity today according to him so she headed towards the storage room to find Hector.

She knocked on the door and heard a muffled noise but couldn't make it out, so she cracked the door open, "Hector?"

"Chica, I am up here."

She poked her head through the door and looked up; Hector was up on a ladder messing with the boxes on the top shelf. "Ready?"

"Sure, just finished up. Where do you want to go?"

"I dunno, what do you want?"

"Well, do you like Mexican? I know this great little place not far from your apartment. I know the owner."

"Sounds great, let me just grab my purse."

She hurried back to her office, grabbed what she needed and shut her office up before meeting Hector at the elevator. When they reached the garage Hector looked towards her, "Yours or mine?"

She smiled at him, she loved choices, "Mine."

He nodded and followed her to the Jeep, sliding into the passenger side. He thought the Jeep was nice, fully loaded, very impressive and she looked cute in it. It was classy enough to impress the clients but rugged enough to handle Stephanie. He helped Ranger load it with high tech gear to help it stay in one piece; he just hoped it was enough.

They chatted during the ride while he played navigator. She pulled in to the lot and turned off the vehicle. "So how do you know the owner?"

"Well, it's my family's place."

Stephanie gave him an 'oh' face and he chuckled. "My mom is the chef and my sisters serve the customers."

"Wow Hector, that's great."

Hector held the door open for her as she took in her surroundings. The place was busy, full of people breaking away for lunch. The restaurant had authentic decorations with about twenty tables and a bar that was packed with people. The place had a homey feel and an incredible smell. She felt her belly rumble, Hector chuckled and grabbed her hand scanning the restaurant then headed towards the kitchen. He poked his head in the kitchen, "Madre?"

"Hector" came from the back of the kitchen so he stepped through bringing Stephanie with him. "Mamma, this is Stephanie Plum, a friend of mine. I work with her at Rangeman."

His mother came walking towards them. She was short and petite with black hair tied in a bun at the top of her head. She had on a white apron and a warm smile. "Hola, Stephanie."

"Stephanie this is my mother Aida Sanchez."

"Very nice to meet you Mrs. Sanchez" Stephanie smiled at her and shook her hand.

Aida smiled at Stephanie, "Nice to meet you too."

Hector leaned in and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "Mamma, Stephanie is a food connoisseur. Blow her socks off" he winked at Stephanie.

Aida smiled and chuckled, "Any dislikes Stephanie?"

"Afraid not" she smiled back at her as she patted her tummy.

"We will have to take it to go though Mamma, we have business to attend to." Stephanie thought she saw Hector flinch.

"Always in a hurry" Aida said while walking to the fridge. She started to pull out food and place it on the counter in front of her, "You need to slow down Hector, rest is important. How can I blow her socks off when you take it to go?"

"Mamma, I promise to bring Stephanie back when we have more time, okay?" He walked over to his mother with a genuine smile plastered on his face.

Aida was chopping up ingredients and stilled bringing the knife up to Hectors face and shaking it at him, "You better." She smiled at him and went back to work. Hector chuckled and threw a smile towards Stephanie who waited by the door. Stephanie was mesmerized as she watched Aida float around the kitchen, creating heavenly smells.

The kitchen was spotless despite the hustle and bustle from the lunch crowd. Stainless steel was everywhere, but the walls were terra cotta tile with decorated tiles scattered throughout. Stephanie recognized some of the patterns, geckos and Aztec symbols scattered the walls. Stephanie heard a light smack and focused on Hector and Aida. Hector was smiling from ear to ear as he chewed and Aida was smiling softly at him, "Stop that, there will be nothing left to eat."

"It was too good to pass up, Mama."

Stephanie was drawn away from them when the kitchen door swung open and a young lady came through, "Brother, how are you" she said as she went to Hector giving him a hug.

"Good, Eva, how are you" Hector asked taking her into his arms and twirling her around..

"I'm well," she said, pulling away.

"How's school" Hector asked.

Eva smiled at him, "Fine" as her eyes focused on Stephanie. "Who is this Hector?"

"Eva, this is Stephanie Plum, a friend of mine" he said as they walked over to Stephanie.

Eva offered Stephanie her hand, "My name is Eva, I am Hectors sister. Nice to meet you Stephanie."

Stephanie took her hand and shook it while giving her a smile, "You too Eva."

Eva was petite like her mother with long, dark, shiny hair tied back at the base of her neck. She was naturally beautiful with sparkling brown eyes and light brown skin, very exotic looking. She had on jeans and a terra cotta polo shirt with the restaurant's name 'Hot Tamale' and a pepper on her chest.

"Did you come for lunch," Eva asked.

Stephanie nodded, "Yes, but unfortunately we'll have to eat it on the run."

"No surprise there, Hector is always on the go" she giggled while poking at his chest.

"Girls, I promise to bring her back when we have time to sit down and eat" Hector said, puffing out his chest at Eva's assault.

"Well, you better" Aida teased. "Here you go," she said handing him a bag, "Enjoy."

Hector leaned in and kissed his mother on the cheek, "Thank you."

Aida cupped his cheek in her hand, "You're a good boy, be careful."

Hector nodded and turned to hug Eva.

"Nice meeting you Stephanie, make sure he keeps his promise" Aida told her.

"I will, thank you and nice meeting you both."

"See ya" Eva called as they left the kitchen and headed for the Jeep.

Stephanie settled behind the wheel and took off towards her apartment. "You have a nice family, Hector."

"Thanks, they are a good bunch."

"Do you have any other siblings?"

"I have two other sisters, both older than me, both busy with their families."

"What about your dad" she asked.

"He died when I was a boy." Hectors gaze focused out the window and Stephanie flinched.

Stephanie gasped, "Oh I'm sorry Hector." She suddenly felt horrible.

"It's okay Chica" he said as he turned back towards her.

She was itching to ask him what happened, but didn't want to pry, so she stayed quiet, relieved to see her apartment building ahead. She turned into the lot and parked. She looked up at her window and let out a sigh of relief. It was still there and intact. She had a bad feeling since this morning, after she received the email anyway. Hector grabbed the bag and made his way out of the car. Stephanie followed suit and joined him in front of the Jeep. They headed inside and took the elevator to her floor in a comfortable silence.

Hector had her wait in the entryway while he checked everything out, he had instructions from Ranger. He spotted a dead black rose lying in the center of her bed, but left it there while he finished checking her apartment. When everything was clear, he concentrated on the rose. No note, nothing else out of place, so he flipped his phone open and called Lester to inform him. Lester instructed him to bring Stephanie and Rex back to Rangeman and then he was to return to check the apartment for bugs and install a security system.

He hurried out to get Stephanie, "Let's eat."

She smiled and followed, "See I don't know what you guys get all worried about."

She tapped on Rex's cage as she passed, but he didn't stir. She grabbed something out of her cabinet and dropped some hamster nuggets in his cage. Nothing.

"You know, he doesn't really like those" Hector commented.

"Yeah, but I don't have any grapes or popcorn, so this will have to do" she said, grabbing some utensils and bottled water.

They sat down and started investigating their food. Stephanie dug into her enchiladas as Hector started at his chimihanga. The food was delicious, "You better take me back there, this is wonderful."

Hector chuckled, "Enchiladas are her specialty. Try some of mine." He scooted his container towards her and she took a bite.

"Mmmm…this is great" she mumbled while chewing.

Hector chuckled, "We'll share."

Stephanie smiled as she swallowed. They shared their tasty food as they chatted about his family.

As Stephanie learned more about Hector she started to feel a little sorry that she hadn't taken the time to get to know him before. He was a great guy. She really liked being around him. Then she thought of something.

"Hector, I didn't even know you spoke English before this."

Hector stood grabbing the containers and taking them to the trash facing away from her. "Well Steph, I had a tough time before and haven't really trusted many people since then."

Stephanie stood and walked towards him, she had heard the rumors from the guys about Hector being in a gang and prison. "You can trust the guys at Rangeman" she said as she gently touched his shoulder.

He turned to face her meeting her eyes, "You have helped me with that."

"I did" giving him a questioning look.

"I saw how they treated you, how you trusted them, how you both took care of each other."

She smiled at him but was still intrigued by Hector. "Did the guys know you spoke English?"

Hector sort of grimaced, "Well, Ranger and Tank knew, but the others…well not until recently."

He was dreading telling her to pack up Rex's stuff, but the time had come.

"Hey Steph, pack some of yours and Rex's things, okay?"

Stephanie's face went stern and her arms came up to rest on her hips, "Why?"

"Well, I found something in your bedroom and I have instructions to bring you and Rex back to Rangeman."

"You're kidding right? I mean I am tired of everyone telling me what to do, so I think I will stay…wait what did you find?"

"Stephanie, come on, I have orders. Besides, I will check your apartment over and install some security equipment , you'll be back by tomorrow. I promise."

She sighed, "Tell me what you found Hector."

"If you say yes, I will show you okay?"

"Okay."

Stephanie followed Hector into her bedroom and saw the dead black rose in the middle of her bed. Her body instantly jerked as her spidey sense surged through her body.


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