Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine.

Sorry this took so long to get out. I finally got my new laptop so it was much easier to write on than the Ipad. A lot happens in this chapter but I think it all flows well.

No beta, so excuse the mistakes.

Chapter 10

SPOV

Shit, shit, shit! I'm so not equipped to handle this crap. I'm not a very good girlfriend, because I hate talking about the important things. Things like feelings or emotions. Thinking about those things just about makes me break out in hives so I tend not to think about them. So why was I sitting in a car asking the guy that I was in love with if he was serious about marriage and kids? Those two subjects are so beyond my comprehension that I tend to stay FAR away from even the topics. So why the hell was I asking if Cal was serious about them.

I figured Cal would just say that he was humoring my mother. Maybe he just lied about wanting them if I did to make her feel better That would make my life so much easier. I'm so not ready to think about those things. Am I?

"I was and am serious. Whatever you want. Just let me know when you're ready." I smiled as best I could and nodded my head. Shit, shit, shit. Did I ever want those things? A month ago, I would have said NO! Hell, two weeks ago it would have been the same answer. So what the hell changed?

"You'll be the first to know." I smiled at the man sitting beside me in the SUV and shivered when his lips met my palm. God I loved him more than I ever thought was possible and for once in my life, thinking about the future didn't scare me.

Cal parked, right in front of the door ,of course, at my apartment building and helped me down from the SUV. There was a hungry look in his eyes that I recognized and my body shivered from anticipation.

"Are you still hungry, Angel?" Cal's words were whispered into my ear and I moaned into his chest. He wasn't talking about food and I knew it. I never wanted a man more than I did him at that moment.

"Famished! Are you offering your expert services?" I felt him chuckle as he led me inside the building and up to my small apartment. The door was closed and locked before Cal directed me back to my bedroom.

"It's your lucky day, Angel. My services happen to come with a satisfaction guarantee and for tonight only, are free." I saw the twinkle in his eyes as he looked down at me. I love a playful Cal.

"Satisfaction guarantee huh? That's a mighty big promise." I cupped his quickly growing erection. "Of course, you have the tool to back it up." He looked at me with an expression that should be illegal. It ruined my panties and made me quiver with need.

"Oh, I guarantee your multiple satisfactions." There was no more talking after that. Cal's lips met mine and I was lost in the sensations that he created inside of me.

Somehow, my clothes melted from me and his quickly followed. Cal gently lowered me to the bed and positioned his head between my legs. All I could see was Flaming Fred as his talented mouth and fingers brought me to three orgasms. After I had calmed from the latest explosion, Cal crawled up my body, kissing every inch of exposed skin and finally positioned his enormous erection at my core. As good as the previous orgasms were, nothing compared to the feeling of him inside of me.

We both groaned as he pushed himself inside and stilled. I was beyond ready for more, but I guess he had to gather some control.

"Do you have any idea how fucking good you feel, Angel?" I smiled at him. I had no idea, but I knew exactly how good HE felt.

"Not near as good as you, baby." He smiled down at me and growled before attacking my lips with his. I guess he secretly liked his nickname.

He set a slow pace, building us both up to the boiling point and then he would stop and let us both come down. Multiple times, I was so close to flying and he just wouldn't let me. I had finally had enough, so I wrapped my legs around him and pushed my hips up into his. He groaned as his hand trailed up my leg and rested on my ass. He took the hint and started pounding into me with wild abandonment. This time when we both reached the pinnacle, instead of backing off he sent us both over the edge in an intense orgasm. It was beyond anything that I had ever experienced before in my life.

Cal collapsed on top of me and I him as we both tried to calm our breathing. After a few minutes, Cal rolled off me and pulled me into his side. I snuggled into him and rested my head over his heart so I could hear it pounding inside of his chest.

We fell asleep snuggled together and didn't wake up until the next morning. I groaned as the alarm screamed from the other side of the room. I knew we had to get up for work, but it felt too damn good to be in his arms.

"Let's get up, Angel. We've got to work out before the meeting this morning." I groaned again but smiled when Cal's naked ass walked away from the bed and into my bathroom. He came out and got dressed in the clothes he wore last night. He would change when we got to Haywood. I quickly did my morning routine and dressed in workout clothes for my daily torture.

Cal and I parted in the garage when we arrived at the office. I made my way to the gym and he headed to his apartment to change. Bobby was waiting on me when I got there and smiled when he saw my tired look.

"Have a rough night Bomber?" His smirk was all-knowing and it made me blush.

"Nope. I had an excellent night." He winked at me and then directed me to the mats.

"Self defense today Steph. You did excellent on the take downs the other day so this should be easy." I smiled and joined him in stretching before we started beating each other up.

Bobby and I spent an hour on the mats together before we both finally gave up. I had passed with flying colors and felt really proud of myself. I held my own and only let Bobby get one 'kill' hit on me. Bobby hugged me and left the gym to shower before the meeting. I decided that my run could wait until tomorrow since I had my ass worked over on the mats.

I looked around the gym before I left looking for Cal, but I didn't see him. Nico was running on a treadmill so I walked over to say hi to him.

"Good morning partner." He looked at me and smiled.

"Good morning sweetness. Did you kill my friend last night? I haven't seen him today yet." I looked at him confused. I figured that he was already here and gone. I didn't see him but I was busy with Bobby.

"You mean he wasn't here earlier? When I left him in the garage he said that he was going to change and come straight here. I'll go check on him." Nico laughed and nodded.

"I'm sure he's fine. He might be a little tired. You look well-loved, sweetness." I rolled my eyes and said goodbye to Nico. I was worried about Cal. It's not like him to miss his morning workout.

His door was slightly open when I got to the fourth floor so I walked in cautiously. What I saw made me stop in my tracks. Cal's apartment was trashed. Drawers were open with the contents scattered all over the floor. Cabinets were left empty and open.

"Cal?" I yelled moving around the piles of debris. I didn't hear anything inside his apartment so I walked cautiously to his bedroom. It was in the same state as the rest of the place. The mattresses were thrown off the frame and clothes were thrown all over the place. I started to get really worried. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Cal's number. I heard a ringing in the kitchen area and ended the call. I knew Cal wasn't in the kitchen.

I walked slowly back into the hallway and started to walk up to the fifth floor to talk to Tank when I heard yelling coming from inside Les' apartment. I recognized Cal's voice so I knocked on the door. I needed to see if he was okay.

"What?" Les opened the door with an angry look on his face. It softened slightly when he saw me standing in the hallway.

"Umm...is Cal in there with you?"

"Yeah, Beautiful. Come in and you can see him." Les stepped aside and sighed when I entered his apartment. Cal was standing in the living room, his back rigged and a cold look on his face.

"Baby? Is everything okay?" Hearing my voice snapped Cal out of whatever trance he was in. He looked at me and his cold look softened. He had a small sad smile on his face.

"Everything's fine, Steph. This was all just a misunderstanding." I looked at him with both eye brows up. It didn't sound like a misunderstanding from the hallway.

"You're apartment leads me to believe that this is more than just a misunderstanding. What's going on?" I looked at him, pleading with my eyes to tell me the truth.

"The magazine that you gave me is missing and I tore up the apartment to find it. When I didn't, I figured Les took it." Realization dawned on me and I began to panic. Shit, shit, shit.

"Who has access to your apartment? Who could have it? We have to find it." Cal pulled me close to calm me down. Les looked at us confused. He had no idea so I knew he hadn't seen it. He wouldn't be able to hide the knowledge of seeing me naked.

"What is so important about a magazine?" Les still looked at me confused and sat down on his couch. I glanced at Cal asking for permission, I guess, to tell Les about my past. He shrugged telling me that it was my choice. I sighed and plopped down on the couch beside Les. Cal sat in the chair in the corner of the room.

"When you got your inheritance from your great-uncle, Cal went with you right?" Les looked at Cal and nodded.

"When you both were looking through your newly acquired treasures, he found something...interesting." I paused and looked away from Les. God this was embarrassing.

"What did he find?" Les looked at Cal first and then at me.

"Me. He found me in an old edition of Playboy. I was in college and needed money." Les' eyes got huge and he looked at Cal.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me? That's why you left here so quickly that night...and you stole my magazine?" Les wasn't angry. He looked a little amused.

"I didn't want you to see what I saw. I didn't want Steph's privacy invaded. I took it to protect her." Cal's words were firm and left no room for arguments.

"You got it bad. Is that what finally got you two together?" Les must have put the timeline of events in order. He smiled at Cal and then turned toward me.

"Beautiful. As much as I would love to see you in that magazine..." Cal's growl from the other side of the room stopped Les' words. He smiled at him and continued. "As much as I would enjoy that, I wouldn't do anything to embarrass or hurt you. If you tell me not to look at it, I won't. If you tell me to throw it away, I will. Your comfort around me means more than a damn magazine." I smiled at Les' words. The problem wasn't Les seeing it. It was that it was missing.

"We've got to find the damn thing first. I really don't want every guy in the building seeing it. Like I said, I was in college and stupid." Cal stood and pulled me up into his arms.

"We'll find it. I already have Hal going through the video feed from last night. Most all the guys here have access to my apartment. I trusted them to leave my shit alone, but I guess that was a bad choice. I'm so sorry Angel." I snuggled into his embrace and sighed.

"It's not your fault. I knew, deep down, that this could happen someday. I just need to face it and move on. I'm not ashamed of what I did. I just didn't want everyone to see it." Cal kissed my head and Les stood smiling at us.

"Dude. Your Angel is a Centerfold." Les thought he was so damn clever. I looked at Cal and we both started laughing. We decided to let Les have this little victory. It would crush him if we told him that we already decided that.

Cal and I excused ourselves to shower and dress for the day. We all had missed the morning meeting, but Tank hadn't called so we were okay. He must know something was going on.

When we walked onto the fifth floor, the chatter stopped and everyone there looked at us. Les, who had come up earlier, rushed over to where we were standing with a horrified look on his face. I knew this wasn't going to be good.

"Whoever found it, copied it and sent it in an email to every employee at RangeMan." My heart stopped beating. FUCK! My worst nightmare was coming true.

"You mean every guy here has seen the pictures? They've all seen me naked?" I looked at Les and he looked away.

"Not just here, Beautiful. Every guy in the company. Miami, Boston, and Atlanta got the email too." The first tear fell without me knowing. I could feel the anger pour off the man beside me. I was so embarrassed. Guys who didn't even know me were, right at that moment, looking at me without a stitch of clothing.

It suddenly became too much for me to deal with. I could feel the tears pour down my face and I felt every eye in the building watching me, judging me. They all knew what I looked like without my clothes and I suddenly needed to leave. I couldn't stay there any longer with them looking at me. Les and Cal were talking quietly among themselves so I took the opportunity and I ran.

I ran down the stairs and burst through the garage door. I didn't have keys to a vehicle so I ducked under the garage gate and took off running. I didn't know where I was going, just that I had to get away. I found myself at Mary Lou's house and decided that it was a good place to hide out for a while. Her kids would be at school and I needed a friend to cry on.

I knocked on her door and stood waiting for it to open. She opened the door with a shocked look on her face to see me standing there. Or maybe it was the tears still streaming down my face that shocked her.

"Steph. What's wrong? Come inside, you're shivering." I hadn't realized that I was shivering. I wasn't cold because I ran the entire way to her house so I guess the shivering was from anger.

"I'm so not okay, Lou. Do you have some time to talk?" She nodded and led me into her kitchen. We sat at her table as I shared with her everything that happened. She already knew about the magazine, she was the only friend to stick by me after I did it. She never failed me.

"Steph, I am so sorry. I know how much you respect those guys at RangeMan. I can't imagine how hurt you are that one of them betrayed you like that. Do they have any idea who did it?" My tears had stopped, but the pain in my chest was still there.

"I don't know. I left before I could find out. I'm sure they have an idea. The whole building is monitored. I'm just so embarrassed. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at them in the eyes again. I can't imagine what most of them think about me." I felt another tear.

"You have to go back Steph. That's your job. Who cares what they think? You told me Cal didn't care. Why does it matter what the rest of them think?" I didn't know if I could explain it to her, but I decided to try.

"All the guys at RangeMan look at me like a perfect angel. They think that I'm the light in their dark lives. They think that I hung the moon. Now, the truth comes out that I'm not perfect and that I'm probably just as screwed up as they are." Lou looked at me with a confused look.

"You're screwed now up because you once posed for Playboy? And you think those guys are going to look at you differently? I thought you knew them better than that. You honestly think that seeing something from your past is going to change how they feel about you? Would it change how you felt about them if you found out something like this?" I thought about what Lou said. It wouldn't change anything with me.

"It wouldn't change how I feel about them. Cal's told me some of his past and it wasn't all pretty, but it didn't change anything. I still love him." Mary Lou smiled at me and covered my hand with hers.

"Then you need to have faith that the rest of the guys feel the same. I've seen them with you. You're important to them and I'm shocked that one of them did this to you. I have a feeling that whoever it was isn't going to be around much longer." I thought about that for a second. The only guy there that I could see doing this was Nico, but I didn't want to think about that. He was new and didn't know any better, maybe.

"I know I need to have faith in them, Lou, but it's really hard. I can't go back there yet." Lou nodded in understanding and then grabbed her keys.

"Take the van and go to the beach. It's the place where you go to escape and you need some time by yourself. I don't need it for the rest of the day. The boys are going to my parents after school and Lenny has a boys night with his brother. I was going to stay home and enjoy the peace and quiet." I smiled at her and stood up from her table. I hugged her and then took the keys from her.

"If Cal or any of the guys come here..." She smiled and nodded.

"You weren't here and I don't know where you are. I got it." I smiled at her and then hugged her once more before I left.

The drive to Point Pleasant was quick and I pulled into a public parking lot and parked her van. I wasn't really dressed for the beach but I didn't care. I found an old blanket in the back of Lou's van and carried it down to the water's edge. I sat and watched the water's waves as they crashed into the sand. It was hypnotic and I was soon so far lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear the person approach me or feel them as they sat beside me on the old blanket. I didn't even know he was there until he spoke.

"Babe." I sighed when I heard his voice. Of course he would find me. He knew me better than anyone.

"What are you doing here Ranger?" My voice wasn't hateful, but it wasn't friendly either.

"You have a company full of men out looking for you and one boyfriend who is frantic to talk to you." His voice was quiet and his hand brushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"I can't go back there Ranger. I'm too embarrassed." I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them.

"Who are you? Where is my Babe?" I snapped up my head and glared at him. What the fuck was he talking about?

"Where is Stephanie Plum, Bombshell Bounty Hunter, fearless BEA? Where is the woman who proudly strutted her skips into the TPD covered in god knows what? You never let the cops laughter get to you. Where is the woman who confidently walks into bars dressed in next to nothing to lure out a skip? You've never been embarrassed before by the guys seeing you dressed that way. What happened to her?" Tears fell from my eyes.

"I don't know what happened to her. This feels so different. I was starting to be part of the team. I mean, I passed the entrance tests and became a full-time RangeMan. I even passed the re-qualifications with flying colors. The guys were just starting to take me seriously and not think of me as entertainment." I spat out the last word thinking about the comment Ranger made to me years ago. It still haunted me.

"Now, I'm back to being there for their amusement. Can you honestly say that the guys will take me seriously after seeing those stupid pictures?" I looked at him and saw something like regret in his eyes.

"I need to apologize to you Stephanie. When I said that you were entertainment, I meant that in a positive way. The things that we've done in our pasts and the things that we see every day make us hard men. We never laughed or joked until you came into our lives. You make that building a better place and every guy there loves you." I saw the truth behind his words. I started to argue about what he said but his finger stopped my mouth from moving.

"As for taking you seriously...seeing those pictures didn't change their opinions of you. Every man there called me or emailed me about how well you've done. Bobby was blown away by your take-down techniques. Tank has nothing but positive things to say about you. The new guy, Chavez, even is foaming at the mouth to partner with you and he's never worked with you before. He's only heard about you and he sees the skill and potential that we all see." I had never heard Ranger speak so much so I made sure to listen intently to his words. I was shocked at what he was saying.

"I know, right now, you feel vulnerable and you're scared. That's okay. Just don't push us out because you're embarrassed. Who cares if they've seen the pictures. You have nothing to be ashamed about. You're a beautiful woman who has an amazing body. Embrace it. Flaunt it." I blushed and looked at Ranger.

"Did you get the email too." His wolf grin appeared.

"I did but I've seen it all before." I rolled my eyes and Ranger chuckled.

"Did they find out who did it?" I was scared to hear this answer. I wanted whoever it was to get in trouble, but I didn't want it to be someone who I trusted.

"They did. Video shows Zip entering Cal's room and the email trace came from his account." Ranger's voice was hard and I felt him tense beside me.

"Did he say why he did it?" I hadn't been close to Zip. He was one of the newer guys and I hadn't had the time to work with him much.

"He said it was a joke. He found the magazine when he went into Cal's room to borrow a movie. He didn't even realize it was you until he looked at the pictures more closely. He no longer is employed with RangeMan and I don't think he'll be walking anytime soon. Cal kicked his ass when he found out who sent the email. Then Tank, Les and Bobby took a turn teaching him a lesson. I get my turn when we get back." I sighed again and laid my head on Ranger's strong shoulder.

"Just make sure you don't kill him. I don't want you to go to jail because of me." Ranger kissed the top of my head and chuckled.

"I won't kill him, but I'm going to make sure he realizes his mistakes." Ranger and I fell silent, both of us in our own thoughts. The sun was starting to set and the air was getting a little chilly.

"Are you ready to go back? After Cal got done kicking Zip's ass, he started calling everyone that you know to find you. He's probably beyond frantic." I sighed and closed my eyes.

"I guess I need to go back. I'm sure Cal is worried. I didn't think before I left. I just ran." Ranger nodded and helped me stand.

"That's what you do when you're hurt. You run." I looked at him in the eyes.

"That's what you did - after I dumped Morelli. You ran to Miami." I looked down and felt another stupid tear fall from my eye.

"I know, Babe and I'm sorry that I hurt you. I couldn't be what you needed and I knew that if I stayed, you would hold on to hope that wasn't real. You deserve better and you've found that with Cal. I've talked to him since you two got together. The boy loves you and would do anything to make you happy. You deserve that type of relationship and I couldn't give it to you." We had already talked about this, so I didn't want to hash it all out again. I needed Ranger as a friend.

"I know, and I agree with you. I deserved more and I got it. I just hope my running out doesn't change Cal's feelings toward me." Ranger hugged me to his side as we walked back toward the parking lot.

"Not possible. Nothing you do could change his feelings." I smiled, praying that Ranger was right. When we got to the parking lot, Lou's van was gone and parked in its place was Ranger's Porsche.

"I had Hal drive Mary Lou's van back to her. I figured you would appreciate not having to drive home." I smiled at him and hugged him.

"Thank you Ranger. I'm glad you're back, even though I know you're not staying. I missed you."

"I missed you too, and I'll be here when ever you need me." He kissed my hair and then sat me inside the buttery leather seats. I moaned and heard his chuckle before he closed my door.

The drive back to Haywood was quiet for the most part. I had a million-and-one thoughts going through my mind and appreciated the quiet driving zone that Ranger acquired. One question kept plaguing me, so I decided to break the quiet and ask.

"How did you get here so fast? A flight from Miami takes time and then you had to drive to the beach to find me. Can you teleport from place to place?" I smiled at his loud laugh.

"No, Babe. No teleportation necessary. I was already on a flight here when the email got sent out. I had a meeting with a potential client this afternoon. Tank didn't even know about it because I wanted to surprise you all. Turns out, I got a surprise when I walked into the building." I nodded and fell back into my thoughts.

"I'm sorry if I caused you to miss your meeting." He glanced at me and shook his head.

"I rescheduled for tomorrow. When I got to Haywood and learned that you had run, I knew that I needed to find you and I knew where to look. You're more important to me than a potential client." I squeezed his hand in a silent 'thank you' and turned my head to look out the window.

From the looks of the buildings around us, I had about twenty minutes before we pulled into the underground garage. That gave me about twenty minutes to figure out what I was going to say to Cal when I saw him. I hated that I worried him and I hated that I felt so embarrassed about what happened. I had a lot of apologizing to do and I needed to start with Cal.

A/N - What did you think? I first thought about using Nico as the 'bad guy' but some readers seem to really like that character so I had to make poor Zip the evil one. Sorry if anyone really likes him, but he told me that it was okay to use him. : )

Hopefully the next chapter will be out tomorrow!