Disclaimer: Any Janet Evanovich materials recognized are used for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: Rapidly moving time forward again. I'll try to fill in any holes where there would be questions. You will all find out about Aric and what happened, and what it did to Stephanie, at some point.
Ranger
Diesel and I were on surveillance duty on Morelli again. He was on an undercover case and we had to be integrated into his team. If we left him alone for any amount of time, Wulf came to him right away. He'd been burned several times and had enough incidences with Wulf now that he was highly suspicious of what was going on and also readily accepted our presence.
The last attack had taken him a while to heal from and we'd had to bring in Oliver secretly to heal him from deadly injuries Wulf had given him again. None of us were any closer to discovering who was behind the killings or what they wanted. Wulf only showed himself when Morelli was alone, but he worked so fast that we couldn't get there in time to freeze him. He was being careful and I suspected he had help, someone who was watching us as we watched him. I hadn't been able to pick up on who it was, yet.
Jade hadn't given up anything, just apologized repeatedly. She said that she felt that she was doing the only thing she could do. She claimed that she had gone in undercover to expose the person, but it didn't explain why she would willingly kill me. It wasn't something I would have ever expected from her and it bothered me. Not just because she'd nearly succeeded, but also because there was no real explanation for it.
Tonight, I found my thoughts straying to Stephanie. She'd been gone nearly a year. She was due to return to headquarters in two weeks and I was conflicted. I had no idea who or what she'd be when she returned. I had no idea what we'd have, if she would still feel the same way about me.
"Don't worry about it," Diesel said.
"Stop reading my mind."
"I can't help it. Your thoughts are really loud tonight," he grumbled.
"What are you two idiots talking about?" Morelli asked.
"Nothing," Diesel and I said in unison. Then we looked at each other. Great. We'd been working together for so long we were in synch. This was a nightmare.
As if he was reading my mind, as well, Morelli said, "So, what happens when the year is up? Does Stephanie just return to life as normal? You won't tell me what she's up to or what's going on. How do I know she really is alive?"
"She's alive," Diesel and I said together.
"Fuck," I said.
Diesel just smiled at me in his annoying way. "You know, we're like an old married couple now. Shouldn't we pick out curtains for this dingy hotel room or something?"
"Shut up before I hang you upside down out the window," I told him.
Morelli just shook his head. "I don't know what's worse; the fact that you two are becoming the Bobbsey Twins or the fact that I'm beginning to understand you." His eyes flicked out the window and he stood up, carefully looking out. He leaned forward and stared. "What the fuck?"
Walking over to the door, he grabbed the knob and whipped it open.
"Hi. Gonna let me in?"
I felt heat flood into me at the sultry voice I heard coming from the doorway. I looked around Morelli to see Stephanie standing there with short, straight hair in a messy, spiky mess, dyed black with red tips. Her curls were gone. Oh my God, what did they do to her?
Her eyes sought mine and we connected for a minute. I felt a jolt from my head to my toes when our eyes met and I could tell she felt it, too. I gave her a slight smile. No matter what they'd done to her, she was still mine. That one look had reassured me.
"Cupcake?" Morelli asked, astounded.
"Morelli," she said, her voice devoid of emotion and her face devoid of expression. She stepped into the room and took her long leather duster off. The three of us collectively sucked in our breath. She was wearing skin tight black jeans, a black spandex tank top and high heeled black boots. The outfit showed off her trim, muscular form. A vein ran down her inner shoulder and continued down her arm, proving that she was fit and muscled and a formidable opponent. I could see that she had muscular definition and abs that were nearly as impressive as mine, but more feminine.
She looked around the room at us, her blue eyes cold and calculating. She looked into each of our faces, studying us, before settling on Morelli's. I felt the jealousy start in my toes and begin to rise up.
"Joe. I hear you've been having some trouble." Her voice was cold and professional.
Morelli was at a loss for words. I wasn't sure if he was ready to strangle her, kiss her, or run away from her, but I could tell that most of the struggle came from within himself. She simply stood and waited for him to find his voice. "Trouble? I've been having trouble?" He shouted. He motioned to her. "You've been gone a year. You leave as a brown-haired soft, sexy cupcake and you come back as … Trinity from the Matrix!"
I thought I saw amusement flicker in her eyes before she shut it down. Shit, is that what I look like?
'Yes,' Diesel provided into my head.
'Cut it out both of you.' It was my Babe's voice in my head. I snapped my eyes to her. 'What, Carlos? Surprised?'
Diesel grinned big time. I wanted to hit him.
'Play nice,' Stephanie said into my head.
What if I want to play naughty?
Her eyes sought mine out and we locked gazes. 'Later,' she sent to me.
Her eyes flicked back to Joe. "I'm sorry that you've been worried. It wasn't my intention."
"Where have you been? You look like you joined up with the military. You're all hard and muscular and … Damn it! Sexy as shit!" He stomped to the other side of the room. She simply continued to gaze at him, giving nothing away.
"And what's this? Did you go to the Ranger school of communication?" He was angry, now, and standing right in front of her.
"I'm sorry, Joe. What happened happened. I can't change it and I'm different now," she said with barely a shrug.
I saw hurt cross his features. "I don't know you."
She pierced him with her stare. "You never did."
"All of you out!" He said, walking across the room and resuming his post by the window.
The three of us looked at him stubbornly. Stephanie and I with identical blank stares and Diesel with his annoying grin. Morelli ignored us, staring out the window. Stephanie turned around and bent over to retrieve something from her jacket pocket. All three of us collectively stared at her rock hard ass.
"Christ," Morelli muttered before turning his gaze out the window. I saw him stiffen and stood up from my chair. Suddenly Wulf was in the room with us. Stephanie turned to face him in a relaxed pose. She was staring at his face intently. He was staring back.
"How the hell did he do that?" Morelli asked.
Wulf turned to look at him. "Shut up."
I could see that the tough guy in Morelli was having a battle, but the smart one remembered all the times he'd been burned and decided to stay cautious around Wulf.
"Ms. Plum. So nice to see you again. Would you care to accompany me to meet with my employer?" He asked, extending his hand.
A humorless grin, much like Diesel's, spread across her face. Her eyes were hard and glittery like ice in her face. "No, I don't think I would care to join you."
"Then I will take you by force," he said. I set my eye on him, but nothing happened.
He turned to look at me. "What Carlos? No abilities right now? Hmm, a little puzzle for you to consider."
Shit! How did he do that? It was a massive problem if Wulf could now stop people from using their abilities.
Diesel advanced to grab him, but he held a hand up. "Careful, cousin. I know you don't want me to touch you instead." Then he turned to Stephanie. "Come quietly and I'll leave your three lovers alone."
Her eyes grew harder and her smile stayed in place. "Come get me, then, Wulf."
He advanced toward her and then I don't think a single male in the room breathed for the next three minutes. She started to spin and kick and pummel him with her legs. Once, when he was close to her, she did a back flip, delivering a powerful kick to his chin that sent him sprawling. When he stood again, it was to the sight of her jumping in the air to do a spinning kick that hit him full force in the chest and knocked him back five feet into the door and then through it, the spiked heels on her boots leaving gouges in his chest.
She landed coolly on her feet and then grabbed her jacket and tossed it on. "Time to leave, boys." She walked over to a stunned Morelli and grabbed him by the arm and marched him out the door with Diesel and me following. We piled into my Cayenne and left.
"Where to?" I asked her.
"Rangeman for starters," she said staring straight ahead. She was cold, emotionless, a fighter and a killer. This wasn't the woman I'd said goodbye to a year ago, but it was still the woman I loved. She pulled an iPhone from her jacket pocket and tapped on the touch screen a couple of times, then held the phone to her ear.
Joe was staring at her. He was at a considerable loss for words.
"Hi," Stephanie said to the person on the other end. "Set it up. This has gone far enough." She hung up and met my eyes in the rearview window. The heat flashed between us again. Fuck, when I got her naked…
"All in good time, Carlos," she said out loud. Diesel and Joe looked at her as she gazed at me in the rearview mirror.
"What the hell is going on here?" Joe demanded. "Where did you learn to fight like that? Who the hell are you?"
"I'm not the same person I was. Things happened, I changed," she said.
He softened. "I heard about what Truro did to you, Cupcake," he said.
She softened toward him for a millisecond before answering. "Truro's been erased for good." Then she met my eyes again. We were both remembering how he had been erased. Then she looked back at Joe. "I am just different. There are things I need to do and I have to be on my own."
"So you're cutting me out now?" He asked, clearly pissed off.
"No. We already cut each other out, Joe. We were over before that night. You know it," she said, holding his gaze.
"I thought we were going to be friends. Do you know what it did to me walking down those stairs and seeing that woman lying in the blood and thinking she was you?" he asked quietly.
"It still doesn't change the fact that we aren't in each others' lives anymore, Joe," she answered with a cold stare. "Now I have to do what I can to protect you and I need you to cooperate with me."
I saw fury cross his features. "You have to protect me? Who is the cop here?" he asked, outraged.
"This has nothing to do with cops. This has to do with people who think that you and I are in a relationship and they want me, so they will try to kill you. We may be over, but I don't want anything to happen to you. So you're going to listen to me," she spoke quietly, but with a no-nonsense tone.
"Why do you even care?"
She looked hurt for a second. "Just because we're not dating anymore doesn't mean I don't care about you."
"You sure don't act like someone who cares."
"Shut up, Joe. I have to do what I need to do to get the job done. If that means being a bitch, then I'll be a bitch." Her eyes were angry. "Give me a break on this. How many times did you pull your cop face on me when you had a job to do and you knew I wouldn't be happy?"
He didn't say anything for a minute.
"Exactly, Joe," she said. "Now I have a job to do, so let me do it."
"You did join the military, didn't you?" he asked.
"In some ways, sure," she conceded. "Either way, I have to make sure you're safe, so I need you to listen to me." He looked like he would argue, but she said, "Please." I was starting to wonder if she was my female equivalent. The words coming from her sounded so like me. Could I live with me? Live with? Where did live with come from?
He sighed and nodded. "Okay. But only because we're friends and somewhere inside you is the Stephanie I know and love."
"Somewhere," she said and stared out the window.
We were just about to Rangeman when she said, "Stop the car." I looked at her. "Stop the car, Carlos." Her voice was calm, but her eyes gleamed. I pulled over to the side of the road and she got out of the car. "Stay here," She commanded before she shut the door.
"Christ," Morelli complained, "who is that woman?"
Diesel got an evil grin on his face. "Catwoman. Right Batman?" He was looking at me.
"Shut up," I said, but I had been thinking the same thing.
'Sinner,' Diesel shot into my head. I sent him an annoyed glance.
"Catwoman?" Morelli said in disgust. He was looking at me with murder in his eyes.
"Don't look at me, man," I said to him. "Diesel said it."
'But you thought it,' Diesel said to my head.
We watched Stephanie as she stood in front of the car, waiting and listening. Her eyes were closed. In a flash, she dropped the jacket from her shoulders onto the ground and I watched, amazed, as she began a spinning kick, hitting Wulf square in the chest as he materialized in front of her.
"Shit," Morelli said.
Diesel and I looked at each other. I tried my time freeze and it wouldn't work. I couldn't freeze time with Wulf around. I was perplexed. How was he doing it?
I saw Wulf get a hold of her ankle and I knew he had burned her, but she used his grip as leverage to propel her other leg toward him, catching him off guard and knocking him back as she did a back flip to land on her feet. He fell over and she advanced. He disappeared and she stood for a moment, waiting. A few minutes later, she turned and scooped up her jacket, giving us an excellent view of her cleavage, then she slid her jacket on and got in.
"Go, we don't have a lot of time," she said as she shut the door.
Diesel and Morelli were staring at her. I wanted to get a handle on how well she was using her abilities and what they all included. I suspected she had some secrets. 'Later,' I heard her say in my head.
We pulled into the Rangeman garage and exited the car, following her. She pulled her fob out of her jeans pocket. "Does this still work?" she asked me. I nodded. She fobbed us to the seventh floor and stepped into my apartment.
"You have a key to his apartment?" Morelli asked.
She didn't answer, just strode into my living room to where Batiste was standing. "The game is up. We need to explain some things to Officer Morelli before we proceed."
He nodded. "He's seen enough to warrant an explanation?" Stephanie nodded.
"Officer Morelli?" Morelli sputtered.
She turned around to fix him with a cold stare. "Do you prefer Mister?"
In an instant his cop face slammed down. "Officer is fine."
Batiste motioned to my couch. "Please, sit down Officer Morelli."
Joe sat and Batiste proceeded to introduce himself and explain to him about unmentionables and about Wulf. He ended with the fact that it was now time to put Morelli into protective custody.
"Wait," he said, standing up and pacing. "So, you're saying that these three are really some sort of superheroes?" He asked motioning his hand toward the group.
Batiste hesitated. "For lack of a better term, yes."
"You are all crazy," he muttered.
His head snapped up and he looked at Stephanie. "How did you do that?" Then he snapped his head toward Diesel. "And you!"
He stood motionless and I could tell Stephanie was talking to him. I was starting to get annoyed and realized maybe I could use some more training myself. Javi had always told me I could do it, but it'd never been an interest … until now.
Emotions played across his features. Anger, confusion, sadness, and then resignation. "This protective custody, will I have bodyguards?"
Stephanie nodded. "Only the best."
"And what do I do if we're invaded?"
"You won't be. These people can't get to where we're taking you," Batiste said. "But, in case there's a breach, you will have someone who can adequately protect you and others on standby who can get there fast, if needed. You realize that it is of utmost importance you never tell anyone about this?"
Joe looked annoyed. "Who would believe me?"
Batiste smiled faintly. He turned to Stephanie. "Are you ready to take him there?"
She nodded.
"Are you guarding me?" Morelli asked Stephanie. I could only hope not.
I saw Stephanie flick an amused glance my way. Babe, it's totally unfair of you to read my mind.
'Then you'd better brush up on your skills, Carlos,' she answered back to my mind.
I couldn't have agreed more.