Disclaimer: I am not making any money, just having fun.

Busted

Stephanie drove her Civic into her parking spot at work. She had tossed and turned all night. Driving through the Dunkin Donuts drive thru she cradled the coffee in one hand and a Boston Creme in the other. Steering was difficult but she didn't take the time to stop and free one hand.

She had to make a decision. She could not have a coffee in one hand and a donut in the other and still hold her purse and briefcase. She carefully held the donut in her mouth and grabbed the rest.

Stepping out, she closed the door with her hip and used one free finger to press the lock button. Feeling proud of herself, she headed for the employee entrance.

It was strangely quiet in the office. She glanced at the clock on the wall. The room should have been buzzing with activity. She stopped in confusion.

She felt a tingle at the base of her neck. There was only one person who elicited that feeling.

Stephanie stood still. She knew Ranger was near. Now was the time to make a life altering decision. Should she stay? Should she go?

On one hand, she had made a new life for herself. She loved Boston. She loved working with people in need. The Burg was now a memory. Nobody knew that she used to roll in garbage or chase down FTA's. Nobody bet on her here. Nobody gossiped about her every move. She didn't have to worry about her safety. She was just starting to live again.

On the other hand, she was feeling adrift in her life. She was tired of filling her days to the point of exhaustion. She had no close friends. She missed Mary Lou, Connie, and Lula. She missed the guys at Rangeman. She desperately wanted to be able to have a committed relationship and share her life with someone special. She wanted a Someday. She had always hoped that that person would be Ranger. She missed him so very much.

Slowly she put her purse and briefcase down on top of a desk and sat in one of the chairs. She sipped her coffee, ate her donut and waited.

As if on cue, out of the doorways poured the men. Ranger, Tank, Manny, Hector and Lester approached her with guns drawn. They were all fully dressed for a take-down. My God, they had not changed one little bit. Ranger, as usual was leading the charge. Her breath caught. She had seen them in action, but never had she been the objective!

She looked at them. She gave them a little finger wave and said, "Hi guys."

They stopped in confusion. That voice was familiar, but the person sitting in front of them was a complete stranger.

Ranger came up to her. He squinted then smiled and holstered his weapon. He pulled her off the chair and enveloped her tight to his chest. "Babe." The rest of the men came over. They too looked and grinned. Grudgingly Ranger let her go.

She was engulfed by Tanks massive arms. He squeezed her so hard to him, she had trouble breathing. Stephanie squeaked, "Tank, breath!" He whispered in her ear. "Little Girl. I am so, so sorry," and let her go.

Lester grabbed her next. "Beautiful, I missed you so much."

Manny gave her a gentle hug. He whispered in her ear. "I never believed it."

Hector took his turn. He hugged her to him and whispered, "I miss you, Chica."

She was passed from man to man all over again. Everyone gave her another hug and whispered something more in her ear. Her tears fell.

Patricia came down the hall. She stood in confusion. The men had come in earlier and had ushered the entire staff into the back room where they would be safe. They were heavily armed and had a very serious look on their faces. Now, here they were passing Sandy around and grinning like schoolboys.

Sandy was crying and hugging each of them in return.

Patricia looked at them in confusion. Ranger stepped over to her. He said, "She used to work for us. Some things happened and she left suddenly. Stephanie Plum has been masquerading for some time as Sandy Appleton. I don't know how you figured it out, but this is the best thing that has happened to me and to Rangeman in a long time. We have been searching for her for over a year. Thank you for pointing us in the right direction. Besides being very important to me, she is our best security analyst next to our computer genius in Miami.

Patricia stepped up to stand by Stephanie. "I think you need a day off, my dear. Come and see me tomorrow and we will talk." With that, she went down the hall to release her staff.

Hector was bringing in his tool bag. He had a job to do. He would be heading home to Trenton that night. Boy, did he have a story to tell the guys.

Tank, Les, and Manny jumped into their vehicle for the ride back to the office. Ranger stayed with Stephanie.

She gathered up her bags and headed for the door. He followed.

She pressed her key fob and opened her car door. She slid onto the driver's seat. Ranger looked at her and went around to the passenger door. She started the car then drove to her place in silence.

Ranger was also deep in thought. How ironic. She had been at a Rangeman controlled building while they had been hunting for her. She had been hiding in plain sight all along.

Stephanie pulled into her garage and closed the door. She climbed out and closed the car door. She unlocked the house door and disabled the alarm. Q was waiting by the door. She looked at Ranger. She was strangely silent.

Ranger followed Stephanie into the kitchen. He looked around. She had done a nice job of decorating. It looked nothing like her apartment in Trenton. Looking around the room he noticed that there was no cookie jar. She really had moved on.

He accepted a bottle of water and they walked into the living room. Stephanie sat down in the wing chair and Q jumped onto her lap. Ranger sat down on one end of the sofa and he studied her. She looked really good. He opened his water and took a swallow. He waited for her to speak.

Stephanie rubbed Q's ears and scratched under her chin. A loud purr was heard. Ranger smiled. He was not surprised that she had another pet. She needed to give love to something.

Stephanie marshalled her thoughts. "I had a feeling that this was going to end soon. I started thinking of you, of my family, of Rex and the guys a little while ago. I had my duffle ready to leave. I had tied up loose ends. I was ready to ditch my life here and take off. I was going to leave and not look back. This time, I would go where nobody could find me. "

She sighed and continued. "This past year has been so hard. I missed you. I missed my friends. Sometimes I would forget and miss my family. I tried to stay mad at the guys at Rangeman but I just couldn't keep it up. I was being eaten alive by hate." Tears slid down her cheeks.

Ranger jumped up and scooped her up. He sat down in the chair with her on his lap, complete with Q. He rubbed her back soothingly as her tears fell. She leaned her head against his broad strong chest. Her tears stained his shirt. Ranger whispered to her softly in Spanish. Gradually her tears ceased. She sighed.

He spoke soothingly. "Babe, we never stopped looking for you. "

Ranger continued. "I got a call and an escort arrived literally a few minutes after I got your letter. I spent the next six months on a mission that I was unsure I would return from. My recurring thought was that I had to come back to find you and apologize. I wanted to wrap you in cotton baton and hide you in Rangeman forever. I knew you would not like that. You need to fly. "

She curled up on his lap and she relaxed. Stephanie fell asleep feeling safe for the first time in a long time. Ranger held her in his arms. Her hand clenched his t shirt tightly as she slept. He kissed her softly on the top of her head.

Stephanie sighed in her sleep. She murmured, "Ranger".

He pulled out his phone. He pressed a button and Tank answered. Speaking quietly he told him his plan. Tank agreed and hung up.

Tomorrow is the last chapter of this story. Myrna