Again, you guys/gals are awesome. Thanks for the amazing response. We're winding down to the good part (what the shooter's got in mind) and where S&R are headedXD

Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.

I was alone the next time I awoke. I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, because I was in desperate need of a shower.

I was no longer feeling medicated, making the undressing part slightly uncomfortable. I allowed the water spray to both refresh and finish waking me up. By the time I shut the water off I was feeling very alert.

I checked my shoulder, changing the gauze patch before throwing on comfortable shorts and a loose T-shirt. I wasn't feeling in the mood to wear form fitting clothes, so I borrowed the black tee from Ranger's closet. I don't think he'll mind.

There was food waiting for me in the kitchen. My appetite was better today and I polished off everything on the tray, including the fruit.

My shoulder bag rested on the coffee table. I rummaged through it, finding my cell phone inside. I was thankful to whoever got my things together for me and left them within reach.

I had missed calls and messages. The first call on the list was from my parents' number. I returned the call. Grandma Mazur answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" There was a lot of background noise and I could tell she was winding around the house to find a quiet spot.

Valerie's reconciling with Albert, Grandma told me when she found a place to talk. "The girls are going to stay here for the weekend." Grandma asked me how I was doing. "Eddie called us when he heard about the scuffle, because you weren't answering his calls." Eddie Gazarra is my friend and is also married to my cousin, Shirley the whiner.

"I'm fine." No need to worry her. It was Saturday and on Monday it was my shooter's scheduled court appearance.

There was the sound of something breaking and running footsteps. I left Grandma to deal with the girls, calling Eddie next.

"I'll keep you posted." Eddie was relieved to hear from me. Since he was busy he told me he'd give me a call as soon as he could, apparently he had some important details to share with me.

I left the most difficult call for last. Morelli.

"Okay, Stephanie." I took a deep breath, embracing the pep talk to call Morelli. He didn't answer, but I didn't leave a voicemail. Probably right now wasn't the best time to talk.

To pass the time I used Ranger's computer. I checked my email, finding mostly Spam. But there was one message that got my attention. It was from an undisclosed recipient.

Hand her over.

I stared at the words, an eerie feeling crawling up my spine. I was in shock, feeling like my life had just been turned upside down. Again. Before I had a chance to do anything other than stare the screen flickered on and off rapidly. I'm not very techy, but I'm sure the flickering is not a good thing.

I was on the top floor of a megabucks building with lots of security, yet reason isn't my forte. I took the elevator to the fifth floor and stumbled into the control room.

Jesse along with Lester were stuck doing desk duty today. Their computers were also in that flickering mode, but it looked like they knew what to do.

"I think it came from an email sent to me." I told them, afraid their whole system would crash.

"What's going on?" Tank joined us, surprised to see me. I filled him in and he followed me upstairs.

I stood around for about an hour, watching Tank and the techs work.

"There." Tank told me there wasn't any real damage. They just needed to track down were the infected message was sent from. "We can do that downstairs." He ushered the techs out and left.

I waited impatiently for Ranger to return. I was expecting Ella to bring me lunch, but instead Ranger came in with food.

"Finally." I followed him to the dining table, telling him about the email.

"I know." Ranger bit into an apple slice. He said his people tracked down the message. "It came from a fake email account and was sent from a disposable phone." He met my gaze, silently letting me know that his suspicions were correct.

"What are we going to do?"

"We're not doing anything." His glare hardened. "My men are on the job." Unspoken went the fact that he was on the job too. I let it go for now. I suspect he's killed for me before and I'm not sure I want him to confirm that suspicion. Not yet.

We ate in silence until Ranger reached out, hooking a finger in the neckline of the T-shirt I was wearing.

"Is this mine?" He tugged on the black material, leaning closer to take a peek inside.

"Hey!" I slapped his hand away. He grinned predatorily. I thought I might need a chastity belt to get through the night.

"Babe." Ranger looked at my chest and I suddenly felt self-conscious. I had a sports bra on, but the way he was staring at me made it seem like I was naked.

"I…uh…" I felt the heat rise to my ears. I cleared my throat, asking if he's checked in with Mary. "Maybe he's tried to make contact with her." Ranger tore his eyes away, focusing on my face and reminded me that Mary wasn't interacting with the outside world until the situation was resolved.

S&R

Monday morning felt like it would never come around. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how one wants to look at it, I didn't receive any more messages from my shooter.

I was up bright and early, ready to head out of Rangeman. I was going to be riding with Ranger and I had no objections.

"We're being followed." I told Ranger a few blocks after we left Rangeman.

"Yeah." He wasn't taking any chances. That's why he assigned some of his men to keep tail on our drive.

The court building is adjacent to the police station, increasing my chances of running into Morelli. He hadn't returned my call and I didn't try getting a hold of him again. I thought it was best to wait until the storm passed.

I took a deep breath as Ranger parked the Turbo. It was the moment of truth.