AN: I added in the last few lines from the last chapter first so it flows better. ENJOY!


Chapter Seven


Because when he leaned down, I got nervous and my hand clenched.

And the gun went off.

My mouth came open and my eyes glanced down just in time to see blood dampening Ranger's shirt.

"Fuck."

"Oh. My. God." I breathed.

I shot Ranger!

I floated in a state of mental ignorance. My eyes were wide open, my tongue dried up and my brain froze. I didn't know what to say, how to reaction, what to do. I just stared at Ranger's shirt. The gun dropped from my hand and clattered onto the ground. The sound echoed painfully in my ears.

"Fuck." The repeated sentence brought me out of my daze. My heart started to speed up and I jerked into motion; twirling my arms around, stomping, yelling and pointing.

"Are you okay! Oh my God...don't move! Stand still! I'll can ambulance! Oh my God...I'm such a fuckup! Lay down! Don't go towards the light! Stay with me! I swear I didn't mean to...Oh man, don't die on me! It was accident! Oh my God! I'm a murderer!" I wailed, throwing my hands towards the sky, crying to the Big Guy Above.

"Babe."

"What am I going to do with myself? I'll have to go on the run!"

"Babe."

"But I'm not good on the run! Where will I go! Will I get to eat cake?"

"Babe."

"I'll have to change my face! Create a new name! Dye my hair, adopt kids-"

"Stephanie!"

I turned to face the voice, preparing to curse them out for interrupting my future plans. I blinked at a blatant looking Ranger.

How could that be? Ranger was dead. I had just killed him.

"I'm not dead." Holy shit. He was talking now? "Damn woman, you really go off in your own little wonderland sometimes, don't you?

Pushing past my haze of distortion, fear and imaginings, I looked him up and down to realize he was actually standing, covering the offending spot on his lower abdomen with a hand as tight as he could. I spotted blood oozing out of the cracks of his fingers steadily, dripping onto the floor. I felt a sudden wooziness in my head upon seeing the thick, dark red liquid. I hated the sight of blood.

"Don't you dare faint on me." Ranger spat out, eyebrow twitching. "I need you to help me upstairs."

"But you're shot!" I shrieked out, pointing towards the wound as if he didn't already know and my finger would magically heal it. "I need to get you to the hospital! I need to get you out of here, NOW! Oh God...I can't believe I shot you! I'm so sorry!"

"It's just a flesh wound." He drawled out carefully, speaking to me as if I were an infant. I felt worthless and dazed. A sob hitch in my throat and put my hand over my mouth. Hyperventilating. I was hyperventilating over here! This was not the best time to hyperventilate! "Stephanie...Babe...I need you to calm down."

Well isn't this ironic! I shoot him and he helps settle my nerves! "I'm calm!" My voice came out as a high pitched screech.

I saw Ranger's mouth twitched. Was he laughing! At a time like this? "Fine...Okay...can you help me upstairs?"

It occurred to me then that he was slightly doubled over. I nodded, for fear I'd burst out crying if I tried to speak again, and wasted no time throwing his arm over my shoulder. We walked towards the elevator like that; him placing some of his weight on me while I aided him forward, receiving only a few groans when I accidentally stepped on his foot or elbowed him in the ribs. As soon as we stepped inside, I automatically hit the floor to the garage. One of the Rangeman crew would probably be down there. Someone would come to help. Someone would see me. I prayed to God someone was down there. The guys would know what to do, I chanted to myself. Because I sure as hell did not. If he wasn't dead yet, I'd probably kill him.

The elevator doors opened and I dragged Ranger forward, bumping right into Lester with a toothbrush in his hand. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Lester was smiling and looked like he was about to crack a joke. That smile froze however as soon as he laid eyes on Ranger and his face paled.

"What the hell happened!"

I simply screamed, "Help!"

Lester dove into action. He quickly grabbed Ranger's arm from around me and slung it around his shoulders. "Steph, go get the other guys. Tell them the boss is at the hospital and to come quick."

"I don't need to go to hospital." Ranger grumbled. He sounded a little drowsy...

"You're going." Lester stated in finality, eyes narrowing in concern. "Holy shit, I think he might be going into shock." Oh my God! SHOCK! Wasn't that a bad thing? I stared at Ranger. His eyes were slanted, his darkened skin was a little white and his eyes were dilated. He looked high. Figures. Even when he went into shock, he remained cool. "Rangeman, you alright?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I need something to stop the blood-"

I didn't even realize I was stripping off my shirt and shoving it Lester's way until the two males stared wide eyed at my exposed chest. Lester's eyebrows shot up and Ranger smiled. Evidently, no amount of physical pain could stop him from ogling my boobs.

"LESTER!" I cried in an attempt to get his attention, motioning towards the injured man.

"Oh shit. Right."

"Wait a few minutes." Ranger muttered, studying my chest shamelessly. I flushed and tried to scowl but felt too guilty to.

"HURRY UP!"

"Could you take off your bra too maybe? I mean the blood isn't going to stop itself..." I gave Ranger a look of utter disbelief. He was unbelievable! Ugh. Men!

Lester let out a bark of laughter and shook his head. "At least his color is returning." I watched him bunch up my shirt, press it against Ranger's stomach and teeter away, heading towards a Rangeman Truck at record speed.

I watched the Truck speed out and felt panic and concern clench my stomach. A sharp pain vibrated off my hand and I glanced down to see that my nails were digging into my palms. I relaxed, paused for a beat and then took off at a dead bolt, rushing up the stairs.


I sighed and looked up from my spot seated on the ground, staring up at the darkness rapidly descending. It'd been a little over an hour since Ranger had last been wheeled into the hospital. I couldn't remember much about the events that happened after I saw Lester and him drive away. There were vague, scattered memories of me stumbling onto the fifth floor, screaming and then the images fast forward to where I am now; sitting on the cold ground right outside one of Trenton's more deluxe Hospitals.

Hal, Brett and Manuel were waiting out here with me. Why? Not sure. I suspected they had orders to make sure I didn't break down but I was hoping they were just here for moral support.

Obviously, everyone knew about my...mishap.

The news was: Ranger was fine. He needed a few stitches, a couple of painkillers, a night of rest and he'd be back to his former self. He had been right; it was a flesh wound. The bullet had only nicked him. I guessed the close range of it had provided more of an impact and thus; that explained all the blood gushing out.

Or, you know, maybe it wasn't a lot of blood and I had pictured fountains of it.

The man in question was still inside the building going through a few scans and checks to make sure nothing had been missed and everything was okay. I knew for sure that Tank, Cal and Lester were inside as well, accompanying him I suppose. I had thought about joining them but the white walls of the building were giving me headaches and every time I worked up enough courage, I'd feel nauseous.

Unfortunately, the initial shock hadn't worn off. My mind was a mess, my heart was beating ferociously, my eyes were burning and my stomach was doing back flips.

What if the outcome would have turned out worst? I could have really hurt him.

I could have killed him.

Footsteps from behind made me tense us. I saw the three men look back but I couldn't bring myself to face the person.

"The boss is just dandy. He told me to tell you guys to go ahead and leave." I knew from the voice that it was Lester. He sounded a little sardonic. "Actually, his exact words were 'All this fucking commotion for nothing. I swear, if I walk out and everyone is waiting and not on their posts, I'll skewer some heads.'"

I watched the guys go blank face; nod and then they all took off at a dash towards the parking lot. Lester laughed and slumped down beside me. I kept my gaze forward.

He nudged me with an elbow. "He didn't really say that."

I finally turned to lock eyes with him. He was smiling.

"I just said he did to get them to clear out." Lester's eyebrows rose. "How are you feeling, killer?"

Why in the world was he inquiring about my feelings when Ranger was the one who was shot?

"I'm asking because you're the one who shot him." Damn. He knew me too well. Lester patted my knee. "If it makes you feel any better, he didn't take it personally...I don't think."

I laughed bitterly. "I'll have to turn in my uniform after this one." I muttered. "I'm as good as done."

"Aw come on-"

"I'm serious, Lester. I'm a screw up. I'm a loser. I could have killed him."

"You aren't a...complete loser." I turned to glare at him and he held up his hands. "Chill, it was just a joke. Come on Steph, it's not that bad. The point is; you didn't kill him and he's perfectly okay. The cops won't be involved and all the nurses think it was just an accident."

We sat in silence for a beat while I mulled that over.

"So how actually did you shoot him again?"

I felt my face flush and turned away. "My finger slipped..."

He stared at me doubtfully. "You're lucky no one was monitoring at the time."

Fuck. I'd need to get that tape.

"Don't bother. Ranger ordered it destroyed."

I stifled a giggle. I guess he didn't want his men to see my response to his kiss was to bodily injure him.

"It's simply amazing." Lester started again. "I've seen him dodge mines, bombs, rocket launchers, missiles, detonators, boa constrictors, wild boars, tanks, Semis, trees, knives, whatever you can think of! But who would have known his downfall was a skinny little white girl from the burg?" He easily dodged my fist to his shoulder and put a hand to his heart. "Where have you been all my life?"

I smiled in spite of myself.

"I'm pretty sure he won't fire you." Lester stated a minute later. "I mean, if he became a paraplegic then yes, your ass would be grass but he's totally fine. One day, we'll all look back on this day and laugh."

I gave him an unimpressed stare.

He shrugged. "Or you know...I'll laugh."

I sighed and held out my hands. "Car keys."

"What?"

"Car keys. I need some. Brett was my ride and he left."

Lester stared for a second before digging in his pocket and producing some. I knew that the rest of the men could ride in Tank's vehicle. "Where are you going? I can drive you if you want."

I ignored him, shot to my feet and stomped away. I could hear Lester in the background asking what was wrong and that he had just joking but I fazed him out. I was on mission. A mission of salvation. A mission of repentance. And I would not fall asleep until this mission was done.

I had four targets in the shooting range to hit.

Technically, I had three but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Ranger didn't actually count.


Poosh.

Miss.

Poosh. Poosh.

Miss. Miss.

Poosh. Poosh. Poosh. Poosh.

Miss. Miss. Miss. Miss.

I glared down at the gun in my hand. The same one who had shot Ranger and was dead set on not letting me hit a single target. I glared down at it and thought about stomping it into the ground but knew better. I didn't want to shoot another person and myself in the same day. That just wouldn't sit well with my already tarnished reputation.

The gun. It was mocking me. I knew it was. The metal glinted off the lights in the room and showed my reflection on its muzzle. As if to say; you will never hit a target Stephanie Plum, you are a failure!

The sad part was, I couldn't even bring myself to disagree with its mock.

Holy crap. Was I speaking telepathically to a gun?

Damn guns. This was why I hated them. All they did was bring more torment and discontent to my already tormented and discontented life. I sighed and dangled the thing in my hold, squeezing onto it tight. The accident with Ranger wasn't going to make me shrink away from handling it (although it had come close). I'd just practice more and learn how to navigate these nasty little assassins.

The gun's taunting was back. You will never master it Stephanie Plum!

I wondered how it knew my name.

Once again, I leveled the gun up with the targets and breathed in deep before letting it in a gush. I needed to do this. I needed to concentrate. I needed to hit a damn target so I could face the guys. This was my last chance to show Ranger I was worth the hassle.

You will never do it Stephanie Plum!

Who was I kidding? The damn gun was right. This day had went from bad to worst in less than two seconds and it had all been my fault.

Who shoots their boss because they're afraid of getting a damn kiss?

Stephanie Plum!

Who disobeys enough orders to said boss to be on probation within the first two days?

Stephanie Plum!

Who can't get out of the disaster box that has kept her enclosed for the larger part of her life?

Stephanie Plum!

Albeit, that last one didn't directly pertain to today but I fit it in.

With a surge of unexpected anger and rage, I closed my eyes tightly and unloaded all my bullets on that fucking target range. When I reopened them, I was star struck.

I hit all the targets.

I mean, every fucking bullet hit a target! Two in one's head, three in one's chest, two in a leg, five in a shoulder. I hadn't missed once! Excitement flooded my system and I started to scream and twirl around, hugging the dreaded weapon to my chest and kissing the handle. All I had to do was close my eyes and shoot! Who knew!

"I don't know whether I'm afraid or proud."

The smile vanished from my face and I spun around quickly to see Ranger standing behind me, hands on hips. His natural hue was back, he was standing straight, he had changed his clothes and the only remembrance of getting shot was the large patch on his abdomen.

His very bare abdomen under his very bare chest.

Ranger wasn't wearing a shirt. Again.

I felt heat rush into two very dominant parts of my body and smiled sheepishly. "Are you okay?"

"Actually...no, I'm not." He walked over to stand before me and I tensed, bracing myself for the inevitable. I was getting fired. "I need some advice."

I froze and stared at him suspiciously. "What?"

"Could you give me some advice? I have a problem."

I glanced around, searching for hidden cameras. "Uh...sure, I guess."

"Recently, I've hired this woman to my once-all-male team. Now, she's very stubborn and she isn't really all that adept or graceful, for that matter." I frowned at his smile.

"Why'd you hire her then?"

Ranger reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I liked her spirit." I felt my heart start to speed up and shook my head just in case I was daydreaming. When I glanced back up, he was still grinning down at me. Fuck, this was actually happening! "And, although she has already managed to disobey me, insult me and shoot me; I'm willing to keep her on the team."

I scoffed, smiling. "I would have fired her already."

Ranger shrugged. "I have faith in her."

My smile dropped and I stared up at him in surprise. "You do?"

"Yes. But then again, I haven't known her that long and I'm high off of painkillers from said shot." I scowled again and he laughed. It was wholehearted, deep and echoed brilliantly off the walls.

"I'm sure she's sorry about shooting you." I mumbled meekly.

"I'm sure she is too."

"So what's that problem you were talking about?"

"She is my problem." Ranger murmured in a low, intense voice. "Because for as long as I've known, I've never been this kind. I think she put a spell on me."

I blinked in astonishment. "Maybe you're actually soft at heart."

He smirked. "I doubt it."

"Well...maybe she brings out the best in you."

"It's a possibility."

"Maybe...you like more than just her spirit." I held my breath after wards.

Ranger's lip twitched. "I wouldn't rule that out. She does have a nice chest."

He then stretched out his arm, yanked the gun from my grasp and kissed me.

I've always thought that when you kiss someone you're suppose to have a connection with, fireworks go off in your head and electricity beams out your body. With Dickie, none of those things happened. Kissing the Dickmyster was like kissing a brick wall.

Ranger was no brick wall.

He was all raw, fierce, animalistic passion. Scratch fireworks. Explosives sounded off. There was enough electricity to short circuit every nerve in my body.

It all sounded very good, yes. But in retrospect, it was all very bad. Having a thing for the boss you shot? That spelled out bad news. But hey, I was the definition of that. Let's not forget however that he initiated it. That meant he had a thing for me too, right? I don't know. I can't think straight with his tongue down my throat.

When he pulled away, I was seeing stars. He handed my gun back and I held onto it dazedly.

"What was that?" I asked breathlessly.

Ranger grinned a grin that showed his killer teeth. "Long overdue." He glanced out towards the shooting range. "Nice shooting by the way. Maybe next time, you can open your eyes."

Then he was gone. Walking up the steps.

I stood there, staring after him with an open mouth. Once again, I was hanging in mental incredulity.

I glanced down at the metal weapon in my hand.

"He kisses well, huh?"

I wasn't surprised when the gun didn't reply. Kissing was a pleasure it couldn't experience. Poor thing. Maybe that was why it teased me so much. Maybe it was jealous.

Or maybe I needed to go home, get some rest and stop speaking to inanimate objects.

I went with the lather and headed out, speaking with the gun while I did so, telling it about the new life it would live in my home. And I let it know I'd engage the safety from now on.

The gun seemed pleased.


A/N: Wow man. I could NOT figure out how to end this chapter. That probably explains the weird ass ending up there, LOL. Well...hope ya enjoyed! More will come soon! PS: 4 more days until school T_T ugh.