Previous Chapter: "I would prefer no fights," I nodded my head. "Now it's time for my shift. Have good one, boys," I walked towards Ranger and grabbed his hand. "So what's on the schedule for me tonight, Boss?"

"Tonight you're assigned to do the Boss' bidding," he growled pulling me into the elevator and pushed the button for seven.

Oh boy…

CHAPTER 14

I was sitting in the break room finishing up my turkey sandwich before completing my last shift at Rangeman before getting ready to take down one more FTA and then it was off to my Christmas getaway.

The last couple of days have been fairly quiet. I spent the evening with Ella helping her bake little cartoon bomb cookies for the guys. Ok, so I didn't' do any of the baking, I just helped with the decorating. The last thing I wanted to do was burn down Rangeman.

I wanted to get something for the guys for Christmas but I didn't have the money. So I went shopping with Ella for ingredients to make peanut butter and chocolate cookies. I left a package of cookies for each Merry Men on their desks and a special batman shaped cookie along with the bombs on Ranger's desk.

I was getting lost in my thoughts when I felt the a slight tickle on the back of my neck as a man whispered in my ear, "I hear you've been a very naughty girl this year, and naughty girls don't get presents for Christmas."

My head whipped around and I was face-to-face with the red-faced jolly old St. Nick. I let out a shrill shriek as I stood up from my chair and swung it at Santa's fat head. Grabbing my stun gun from my utility belt I stabbed it into his neck and watched him slump over.

"Wow, that was definitely not the reaction I was expecting," I heard Ram whistle out.

I turned and saw that practically every Merry Man was standing in the break room including Ranger, Ella, her husband Luis, Misty and Lula staring at me in shock. Santa began to stir.

"Where did you guys come from and who's that?" I pointed at Santa.

"Binkie," Cal chuckled.

"Oh my god," I dropped to my knees and pulled off his hat and the fake beard.

Binkie's eyes fluttered open, "Merry Christmas, Bomber."

"Why the hell would you dress up in this god awful costume?" I shouted at him angrily punching him in the chest.

"Um, because it's Christmas?" he winced as he sat up.

"Oh, I think I forgot to mention that Alyssa really hates Santa Claus. I mean really hates him," Misty chimed in with a hint of amusement dripping from her lips.

"Yeah I think we got that, Baby," Bones spoke up.

"Beautiful, we just wanted to have a quick Christmas get together before everyone took off and thought it'd be fun to surprise you," Les said helping Binkie up. "Obviously, surprises are not your thing."

"Santa is a creepy old man. Why would you have Binkie dress up in a creepy old man outfit and sneak up on me?" I smacked Les in the arm. "If I had my gun, I could've shot him in the face!"

"Babe, where is your gun?"

"In my desk drawer."

"Thank god," Binkie blew out a sigh of relief.

"Bomber, wouldn't have used it to shoot you anyways. She would've thrown it at your head," Hal laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

When Hal and I were acquainted a few months back, I thought he was an assailant coming after me. Ranger had made me promise to carry my gun with me at all times because The Slayers Gang had put out a hit on me. In self-defense, I threw my gun at Hal and broke his nose.

"You're supposed to carry it with you at all times," Ranger lectured.

"It was heavy. I didn't think I'd need to defend myself with in Rangeman walls. Who knew I was going to be attacked by Santa Claus!"

"I didn't attack you," Binkie protested.

"But you were scary and rape-y like."

The whole room filled with laughter. Ranger told me that my shift was done for the day and Ella rolled in a delicious plethora of food into the break room which included this to die for strawberry chiffon cake. I got to know a lot of the Merry Men I haven't had the pleasure of working with yet, better.

Les cleared his throat, "Can I have everyone's attention, please?"

The room quieted and everyone turned their attention to Les.

"I just wanted to say a few word of thanks that I think everyone in this room would agree to," he turned to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me to the center of the room.

With his arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders, I stood there uncomfortably as all eyes were on us. "All of our lives were pretty humdrum here in Trenton until this fire rocket who calls herself a Bounty Hunter entered our lives."

I blushed and elbowed him in the stomach as the couple of people chuckled in agreement.

"Our lives are no longer quiet with this spitfire in our lives from blown up cars to blown up apartments, this little lady keeps our lives interesting. With you in our lives, Beautiful, our lives are anything but dull. We thank you for your love, your courage, and relentless acceptance of each and every single one of us. So let's raise a glass and toast to the Bomber!"

"Here! Here!" a bunch of them shouted as they raised their glasses and drank.

I blushed and stuffed my face in Les' chest.

"Beautiful, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Plus, that's not all," Les grinned and stepped away from me and presented a large black box with a hot pink bow on it.

Cal scooted a chair up to me, pushing it into the back of my knees causing me to sit down.

Les placed the box in my lap, it felt like a ton of bricks. "Open it," Les urged me.

"You guys really shouldn't have," I gushed at the box.

I pulled off the bow and lifted the lid from the box and inside was a another black box surrounded by rocks. I frowned at them as a few of them snickered. I opened that box which lighter and contained another box and continued to do so for what felt like six boxes later until I worked down to a small box with a sticker on top that said "boom."

I looked up in frustration at all of the smiling Merry Men surrounding me. I carefully lifted the lid of the small box away from my face as I braced myself, holding it out in front of me in case it was something that would explode in my face. The light caught the metal inside of the box and I pulled it closer to me so that I could get a better look at the little black pump with a silver stiletto heel and a hot pink boxing glove charm together on a silver chain.

I scrunched my nose in confusion. Les eyes twinkled at me as he lifted the necklace out of the box and fastened it around my neck. "Merry Christmas, Beautiful. We wanted to give you something to remember the best fight in history."

I reddened and pushed him gently on the chest, "You guys are the worst."

"I thought we were the best," he feigned hurt.

I kissed his cheek. "Yeah, the best at being the worst. Thank you guys, it's beautiful," I fiddled with the charms on the chain.

"Move over, Santos. Stop hogging, Bomber," Cal said pushing Les out of the way and picked me up five feel off of the ground. I giggled and kissed the skull tattoo on the top of his head.

Each guy took their turn at showering me with hugs and kisses and man handling me like I was their little sister.

Around four, Ranger grabbed my hand and took me up to his apartment. Once behind closed doors, threw me over his shoulder and tossed me onto the bed. Climbing on top of me he nipped at my neck and ears before gazing into my eyes.

"Quierda — Babe — you are an amazing woman," he kissed my lip softly. "You came into our lives and turned everything upside down. You give and never ask for anything in return."

A tear slipped from my eye. "You guys have done far more for me."

He sat me up brushing the tear away with his thumb and placed a small black box with a silver ribbon tied around it.

"Ranger, I can't," I started to hand the box back.

"Babe, open it."

I reluctantly opened it and pulled out a piece of plastic that looked like a Rangeman keyfob. I frowned at him as the corners of his eyes crinkled.

"It's the key to the penthouse," he raised my hand to his lips. "I want you to know that you're always welcome here. Any time. Any day. You'll always have a safe place to run to no matter what."

The tears spilled from my eyes as I threw my arms around his neck. "Ranger, you're best man I've ever known. I don't know how to repay you for all that you've done for me."

"Babe, there's never a price for what we give to each other."

"Thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't give you something more than lousy cookies that you won't even eat," I hung my head in shame.

"Babe, you are enough of a gift. You coming into our lives was a gift," he kissed me tenderly. "I ate the cookies already."

My mouth dropped open. "What happened to 'my body's a temple'?" I mimicked his voice.

"Babe," he replied in amusement. "I have one more thing for you. It's in the closet."

I jumped off the bed and bounded into the closet and next to my brown shoe box with the black bow was a pink fire-safe lockbox. I pulled it off the shelf and hurried back to Ranger and placed it on the bed.

"Thank you!" I threw my arms around his waist.

"Now you won't have to save your box from burning buildings. Your contents will be safe."

I smiled at him and the thoughtfulness of his gift.

"Ranger, I'm sorry but I really have to get going," I said running my fingers along the edges of the metal box. "I have one more skip to pick up before I need to get going."

He nodded.

I ran into Ranger's closet and retrieved my brown shoebox and slid it into my bag. He walked me to the door and I threw my arms around his waist for one last hug.

"Thank you for everything," I squeezed him tight. "Please take good care of Monster for me while I'm gone. Not that you haven't done an excellent job already."

He nodded.

"Merry Christmas, Ranger."

"Merry Christmas, Babe."

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My last skip was Carol Herbert. She was arrested for stealing a 15lb turkey and other various food items. Why would someone steal an uncooked turkey? I mean if you're going to go through the hassle of stealing poultry, wouldn't you want it to be cooked at least? For me, I'd want the instant gratification of eating it immediately. Plus, it's much easier to make the evidence disappear before you get caught.

I slipped into my car when the passenger door swung open and Bobby climbed in. "So where are we off to, Bomber?"

"Um, I don't know about 'we' but I'm going after my last skip and leaving town."

"Sounds like a great plan," he grinned and buckled himself in.

I stared at him refusing to move.

"Bomber, this will be the last time that I get to see you for a few days. Let me have some quality time with you. I don't know how I'll be able to handle the withdrawal from not being able to see my best patient."

I smacked his arm, "Ha! Fine, but I can't guarantee any entertainment. This should be a simple pick up."

"I would never view you as entertainment," he retorted.

I rolled my eyes and took off to hunt down the Turkey Snatcher.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Carol Herbert!" I called out from behind the old cracked wooden door. I could hear whispering and the sound of feet shuffling from inside. "I know you're in there. I just need to take you in to reschedule your court date and we can have you re-bonded immediately," I slammed my hand against the rotting wood.

Bobby had the back door in case she ran, but the front door swung open. A tired, dull-haired brunette woman came to the door. I could tell she was once a lively beautiful woman who was probably dealt a bad hand in life.

"Please, I can't go to jail. I have children to care for," she pled.

"Ma'am, if you come with me quietly, I can have you re-bonded today and you can come home to your kids. No jail time," I tried to reason with her.

Tears flowed from her eyes as she nodded her head. "Ok," she choked out.

A little girl with a head full of dirty blond curly hair came to the door and tugged on her mom's shirt tail. She picked her up and gave her a quick squeeze and kiss on the cheek. The little girl's hair haloed around her little face and instantly my heart broke.

"Mama, needs to take a quick trip and she'll be back soon. You stay here and be good for Grandma and Grandpa, ok? And take care of your brother and sister," she said placing her down on the ground.

I watched as the little girl retreated back into the house and noticed the elderly couple standing in the hall eyes, hollowed of with sadness. The little angel wrapped her arms around the waist of a little infant boy chewing on his stubby fingers and dragged him away into the next room as Carol shut the door behind her.

Before we descended down the stairs, I placed my hand on her arm. "Why did you steal a turkey?"

"I wanted to have a nice Christmas dinner for my family. I lost my job months ago and haven't been able to find one since. My husband is in the military and he's been missing in action for two months now," she sniffled. "I didn't know what to do. I just want my children to have a normal Christmas."

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces. I stepped in closer to Carol and placed a roll of money into her hands, "Carol, this is a little over a thousand dollars. I want you to take this money and buy your family the biggest turkey money can buy and the fixings along with toys for your little tots."

"I couldn't," she protested.

I clasped her hands, "You can and you will. I was lucky enough to find this money on the ground somewhere anyways. I think of it as fate telling me I was supposed to give it to you," I smiled.

Ok so I lied a few days before Christmas but it was for a good cause. I was going to use the money for selfish reasons at Point Pleasant anyways. I'll just cut down my food budget and I could spend a couple of the nights camped out on the beach or in my car.

"I don't know how to thank you."

"Well, first way to thank me is to get your butt into that piece of junk car so we can get you down to the precinct and re-bonded," I said cheerfully leading her towards the car.

Bobby popped up next to us and helped Carol into the car. We dropped Carol off at the precinct and had Connie meet us there to re-bond her immediately.

I pulled into the Rangeman garage to drop off Bobby.

"Bobby, do you think you can find out any news about Carol's husband? She says he's missing and I know one of the worst feelings in the world is not knowing."

He nodded his head, "Of course. I'll ask around."

He then leaned over and placed a hand gently over my heart and gazed into my eyes.

"You have the kindest heart of any person I've ever met. Merry Christmas, Bomber," he brought his lips to mine and placed a soft tender kiss upon my lips. He pulled back and smiled before slipping out of the car leaving me confused and speechless.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I grabbed my duffle bag and a roll of cash from the cookie jar and made my way out to my car where I found a tall sexy, green-eyed, blond-haired Les leaning up against it. A twinkle caught his eyes as he walked towards me and removed the duffle bag from my possession and turned towards his lime green mustang and tossed it into the backseat.

"Les, what are you doing?" I asked angrily as I approached his car.

He spun around grabbing my waist and pushed me up against the car. Leaning down, he placed an electrifying kiss a few inches below my ear, trailing down my neck and sliding his hand down the length of my chest between my open jacket.

Holy hell, what is going on with all of the Merry Men in Sherwood Forest? I think that they've all lost their marbles or maybe they're experiencing temporary insanity. I let out a soft moan before snapping myself back to reality. Or was it that because they all found out about me and Joe's "break" that they suddenly think I'm open season? Nah, there must be something in the air.

Les growled and nipped on my earlobe and whispered, "I love seeing you in my jacket, Beautiful."

What the hell is happening?

"I'm here to kidnap you, Beautiful." Tossing me over his shoulder he deposited me into the passenger seat.

"This isn't funny, Les," I shrieked as he buckled me in.

"Do you see me laughing?" he asked, as slipped into the driver side in a serious tone and started the ignition.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Home. You're spending Christmas with me and my family, Beautiful, and I'm not taking no for an answer," he pulled out of the lot.

Spending time with Les' family for Christmas? I couldn't help but feel flattered that he'd want to introduce me to this family but terrified at the same time.

"I have a reservation booked in Point Pleasant."

"Cancelled."

I paused a bit trying to figure out if I wanted to be furious at him for being so ostentatious and cancelling my plans without discussing it with me first or if I should be flattered that he thought of things ahead of time before making the decision to kidnap me.

"Fine, but we're listening to my music," I said popping iPod into the docking station.

"Whatever you want, Beautiful," he grinned and placing his hand on my thigh.

Holy smokes, Batman...I'm not sure if I'm going to survive this road trip.