Unwanted Distraction 10
A/N: Not mine just playing. This story deals with the sensitive issue of racism. It started out as fluff but changed to something else and it involves racial issues. If that is not something you would like to read than please don't. If you do, please let me know what you think.
All my worldly possessions had just been trashed, I thought as I surveyed the inside of my apartment. Everything that I owned was nothing but junk. I had been violated on so many levels that getting these guys was now quite personal. Even the stuff that was salvageable had the taint of hate on it. I was astounded that bigotry could motivate such a lack of respect for someone who didn't share your views.
"Les, I can't believe anybody could be so hateful."
"Beautiful, it's like my mother always said, if you want something done right, waste them yourself. I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea."
Gallantly, I tried to hold back my tears but it was a losing battle. My left eye was burning from the tears. The apartment could never be a home to me again now that it had racist cooties all over it. It would take more than fumigating to ever get the apartment clean enough for me to live there ever again. I was beginning to feel sorry for myself so I had to take stock of what I had and gave myself a mental head butt by saying, "Nobody wins with a head-butt. Go away pain." No freaking way I was going to let those prejudiced bastards get the best of me and make my eyesight worse.
"Beautiful, we are going to have to call the authorities. You should call Ranger."
"Okay Les." I whispered. I was tired of acting impulsively. It usually gets me into more trouble than I could handle. Being immature and denying my feelings is getting old fast. It is getting me absolutely nowhere, makes me feel like Rex on his treadmill. Sure, the wheel was turning but you are still in the same place. Denial was not working for me, plus this wasn't anything I could possibly keep from Ranger.
"Steph, just call him, you'll feel better when you do."
"I will, but I hate that I'm always calling him when I have a problem. My technique has always been to get myself in trouble then get Ranger to bail me out. Guess my technique's getting a bit rusty..." I paused for a second trying to get my thoughts in check. It was time to be the new and improved Stephanie Plum. While I was talking to Les, I had taken out my cell and punched in the #1. After one ring was…Brrring
"Yo, Babe." I could hear the smile in Ranger's voice.
"Yo yourself, Ranger." I said with a slight hesitation.
"Are you okay? You don't sound right." Damn that ESP, I didn't want him to know that I was having problems once again.
"The TTD made a mess of my apartment. I need you here." I murmured softly.
"Stephanie, I'll come as soon as I can. I am still an hour away at two back-to-back client meetings. One is with a jewelry store called Rings-N-Things while the other is a perfume manufacturing firm called Heaven Scent. I am going to send Tank over in ten. Let me talk to Santos."
At this point I could barely pay attention as I kept staring at the shambles of what was once my home. I think Les took me in his arms in a brotherly embrace as I started to tremble in shock. He took his warm body briefly away; he went and found a blanket that was untouched. It hadn't been slashed and it was graffiti free.
"Les this is an intergalactic emergency. The known universe is in danger of being swallowed whole by racist cooties. We need to commandeer someone to perform an exorcism. Who's in charge, here?"
"Tank is going to be here soon, Beautiful. Ranger told him what happened. He will be here in ten. Hold on!" Lester told me as he held me in his strong and warm arms, allowing me to snuggle until my body stopped shaking and had warmed up. "Shh, everything is going to be okay. I've got you and they will have to go through me to get to you."
Ten minutes later, I had calmed down and the shock had lessened. At that time, Tank and a very pissed off Lula rushed into the desecrated apartment. Her blonde hair was braided in cornrows and decorated with aqua beads that coordinated with her too tight, too short, and stretched to capacity, turquoise miniskirt that was sizes too small on a rotund body.
Lula started to say angrily, "Holy shit! What a mess they made! Those fucking, dickless, hate mongering scum buckets! Just because their dick size is so small, it gives them no right to take out it out on ya bony white ass. When I was a 'ho I saw all kinds of dicks, short ones, long ones, fat ones, skinny ones, yellow, black and white ones. Ain't no way you can compare those white button dicks to the fine black ones. Sort of like comparing bananas to cherries if ya ask me." Lula was definitely in rhino mode and nobody was crazy enough to challenge her when she was in such a state.
There was only one way to diffuse her; only I had the presence of mind to distract her. I announced, "Lula, I need to go to the mall. I need new clothes. Why don't we go to the Quaker Bridge one?"
"You two can't go to the mall without first contacting security and the task force. It's your classic two-bird, one-stone scenario. We observe you and the other shoppers, this way we can detect any sign of trouble and nip it in the bud. We draw out the white supremacists and then follow them. This way we know who the players are and we can start to work on them to get the charges to stick. Steph, you get to go shopping and I am authorized to give you this Rangeman charge card to use as you like." Tank said as he handed me a platinum charge card. I blinked, dazed at the amount of words that had just come out of his mouth.
That was the most I had ever heard him say in my life. My hand shook a little as I took the card. Yes, Ranger had given me use of his credit card before, but just for one outfit. Not carte blanche for an entire wardrobe like he just did. His trust and belief in me was awe-inspiring.
As I stood there, transfixed doing a fish impression, Lula broke me out of my dazed state by saying, "Steph, with that platinum charge card we can do a lot of damage. We can shop in almost all of the stores; let me be your special guide to retail therapy. Nobody knows this mall better than I do."
"Great, mall duty, my favorite assignment," groaned Lester.
"Santos, no complaining," barked Tank in a loud authoritative voice. "We're there as a deterrent, Bomber's safety is our top priority. Maybe later if the ladies go there, you can finger some panties at VS, lord knows with all your bragging that's the only real action you're going to get."
"TMI big guy, there are certain things I don't need to know," I quipped.
Ding-dong rang my doorbell. This stunned me because most people just came right in, whether they were invited or not. It was some uniformed policemen at my door. Lester must have called the authorities when I had gone into shock. These men in blue were the first to respond to the call and came to my apartment, which was now unfortunately a crime scene. Forensics came next; their officers were busy dusting for prints while others were taking pictures. After answering all of their questions, we decided to leave for the mall.
Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way to the Quaker bridge Mall. The drive was smooth as we were seated in the luxurious black leather seats in Tank's Hummer. I was in the back, harnessed in by my seat belt with Lester as my bodyguard while Lula was up the front with Tank. While we were in the car, my phone rang. Checking the caller ID, I discovered the caller was my very ex-boyfriend Joe Morelli.
"Hello Joe," I answered after the fourth ring, just before voicemail picked up.
"Cupcake, I just heard that you reported a break-in and vandalism at your apartment."
"Yeah, that's correct." I said in a bored manner. Frankly I didn't know why I had even bothered to answer this call.
"Maybe you should reconsider your place in the task force. Let face the facts and I'm not going to sugar coat it. You're untrained and unarmed."
"I have a mind. Do you know that the mind is the only weapon that doesn't need a holster?"
"Cut the crap, cupcake. Safety never takes a holiday. What are you trained for? Nothing…"
"Alright Joe, that's quite enough! If I didn't know your opinion of my abilities I certainly do now. The thing is though, that I don't have to take any of your bullshit anymore. Have you ever considered that if you ever had a little faith in me that we might still be together? And for your information, my instincts are trained, plus a mind is sometimes is better than a loaded gun."
"Yeah right cupcake. Think what you like but I'm glad I don't need to take Maalox anymore. The boys still miss you something fierce, maybe Manoso can spring you from Rangeman Prison."
"Joe," I cooed breathlessly. "I think I could get away. How about we meet now? I'll meet you on the corner of "NE" and "VER"."
"Huh, you're real mature. Did you mother crochet that on your pillow?"
"Don't bring my mother into this, at least mine always approved of us. Not like yours and Grandma Bella."
"Truthfully Steph, they would have problems with any woman I am with. You should see the rough time they're giving Terry."
"We all have our crosses to bear. You got back with Terry pretty fast."
"Don't be that way, Steph. It's not like you had eyes only for me. I know you shared some pretty hot kisses with Manoso in the alley."
"What about you? Were you faithful to me? I think there will always be a connection between Terry and you."
"Terry is something special to me. I'm sorry if I hurt you. By the way, what's the deal with Manoso?
"Life without Ranger is like being on a sugar-free diet and being hypoglycemic. I just need him like the desert needs the rain. It's something I need to survive."
"Sheesh Steph, I think we have proved that we are not right for each other. Let's try to be friends?"
"Joe, as long as you respect my choices, I don't see a problem."
"I can live with that. At least now I'm not guzzling Maalox by the case."
"I'm sure a cop dating a Mafia princess isn't easy and gives you heartburn too."
"You'd be surprised! It's a lot easier than dating a bounty hunter. Good-bye cupcake."
"Bye Joe."
Lester had been trying to keep his laughter in check while I was on the phone with Joe. The moment the call was disconnected his guffaws erupted convulsing his entire body. He managed to say between chortles that seem to resonate through his belly, "Beautiful that was priceless. Remind me never to piss you off. I thought you were going to shoot lasers through the phone there were so many death glares. Who would have thought that 'Burg girls were so scary? Stephanie Plum, you are a badass."
By this time we had a gotten a great parking spot in the mall's parking lot and had ambled into the entrance of Macy's. I was looking at some clothes and stopped to look at Les. "Aww, Les. That is sweet, thank you."
"Santos. Sweet. " Ranger snorted. "Babe, that's an oxymoron. You can't use those two words in conjunction with each other, especially about Lester Santos."
"Thanks, Boss," grumbled Les.
As soon as I heard the husky baritone voice I ignored everyone else, turned and ran toward Ranger. He was looking scrumptious in a black Armani suit, definitely in corporate Ranger mode today. I was never so happy to see him in all my life. I flew right into his arms, because even if it wasn't politically correct, I felt the safest there. He caught me easily and gently chided, "You've been crying? Querida, you have to be careful with your eye." Ranger didn't move either; he wrapped me in his very muscular arms. He seemed very content to hold me in a possessive hug. The hug seemed to say she is mine.
"I'm okay. You're here early, were you afraid that I would max out your card? Maybe I am an opportunistic mercenary too. Or I am a gold-digger out to spend every penny you have ever made." I teased.
"I don't scare that easy. I don't care how much money you spend as long as you are okay. I just want to be with you."
"That's good, because I want to be with you too."
"I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you sooner."
"Don't be sorry, I know you came as soon as you could. But Ranger, I can't go back there. I never want to live there again. Too many bad memories."
"You don't have to. My apartment is big enough for two."
"You mean live there permanently, with you?"
"Yeah, I'll even let you redecorate it," Ranger promised in my ear, his breath tickling my skin.
"Even if it meant a Western theme and that we played naked rodeo."
"No problem. It's not my first rodeo but your version sounds like more fun."
"Good to know. But if I live with you, I'm going to need to have a jar of peanut butter and not the low-fat, sugar-free kind." I commented.
"Ella already went food shopping and it is waiting for you on the kitchen counter next to Rex's cage."
"Peanut butter is a big staple in my diet but it has a more important job."
"Which is what?" Ranger asked, a bemused smirk on his lips.
"Peanut butter, it just fills the cracks of the heart. After the day I had, I need to fill in a lot of cracks. Those guys really shook up my view of the world." I announced mournfully, Ranger's eyes immediately softened.
"Will you two stop making goo-goo eyes at each other? We're wasting precious shopping time. Skinny white girl, let's get moving. There are stores to visit, things to buy and money to be spent." Lula said as she pulled me out of Ranger's arms and towards Victoria's Secret. Ranger had his trademark wolf grin in place as he followed in hot pursuit; Lester and Tank right on his heels.
Lula picked up some lingerie, underwear, and a low-cut v-neck blouse which she proceeded to tell me to try on. As a safety precaution, Lula was standing outside the curtain. When I motioned her to come into the dressing room, I was just staring at my reflection in the mirror. I was wearing the silk cobalt blue blouse with the most daring plunging neckline I had ever worn. The built in bra pushed up whatever I had in the bosom area and showed quite a bit of cleavage. I wasn't quite sure that this was the blouse for me so I turned around to look at Lula and asked, "Don't you think it's a little too "Hey look at me?"
"Not at all girl, you look like at woman who wants to look good for her man. Why the hell wouldn't you? Man, what a man he is. You look like you were made for each other. If you doubt me, go ask him." Lula pulled me out the dressing room and maneuvered me until we were right in front of Ranger.
Ranger was on the phone when he noticed my approach. He gazed at me and his chocolate-brown eyes quickly turned to black. In a voice that I didn't recognize as my own I wondered, "Do you like what you see?"
Ranger had his hand over the phone, muffling what he was saying, "I like it very much and can't wait to see more. Your dad called Rangeman and control patched him through to my cell." He explained, before removing his hand and saying back in the mouthpiece, "Yes Mr. Plum, Stephanie is fine and we're still planning on coming to dinner."
Pushing a button, Ranger put it on speaker phone and I was able to hear my dad say, "Treat her gentle, son. Stephanie is one of a kind. I'm very lucky to have a daughter like her. If you treat her with respect there is nothing she wouldn't do for you. But on the other hand, if you treat her badly she will never stop until she pays you back with interest, if you get my drift."
"Sir, I do. Believe me I do. I love and respect your daughter. Okay, see you later." Ranger replied and then he ended the call.
"Ranger, do you actually end a call properly, ever?"
"I don't know Babe, but why don't you try on some more clothes for me. I could watch you model for me all day but I have something else planned for you tonight." Ranger said, as his eyes burned into mine before his lips placed a searing kiss on my mouth and he turned me back to the dressing room.