Chapter Twenty-One

I texted Lula. "Both Romeos caught. Coming into office to get dog-bitten robber tomorrow. Want to ride shotgun? I'm feeling lucky."

I received a response seconds later. "Sure thing. Will be here when you get here. Glad to hear about Romeos."

I went to the break room and grabbed a sandwich to take back to my desk. I ate dinner while I completed the research for the remaining files on my desk and filled out the corresponding reports. After finishing my research work, I went to the storeroom and grabbed a box of bullets and headed down to the shooting range. I had a lot of anger to get rid of. Anger at the two Romeos for interrupting my life, my routine, and my feelings of peace and harmony. Anger at the absurdity, the waste, of it. After all, if the Romeos had just listened and had absorbed what I was saying, they would not be facing jail time. And anger at the helplessness associated with being a female.

I put on my protective gear and stepped into the gun range. I sent a target down to the end and shot a complete clip in it. It was a tight round, with ninety percent of the bullets as bulls-eyes. Proud of it, I took that target down to show Ranger. I sent another target down to the end and shot another clip into it. I did really well on that one as well, although not as well as the first. I took that target down to show Ranger too, and sent a clean target down to the end. I shot another clip into the target. My aim was starting to disintegrate and my grouping wasn't as tight. It still wasn't bad, especially compared to my shooting a couple of months ago. But it still wasn't as good as the first two targets. I decided to put that target in the recycling bin and leave the range for the day. I put away my protective gear, went up to the storeroom to put away my excess bullets, then went upstairs to the apartment. I put the targets on the kitchen counter, fed Rex some dinner, had a shower and dried my hair, and changed into a pair of panties and another one of Ranger's t-shirts.

I went to bed, cuddled Ranger's pillow like a teddy bear, and smelling his scent, fell asleep.

In the middle of the night I heard the thump of a duffel bag hitting the floor in the closet. Seconds later, the light went on in the bathroom and the shower started to run. I stretched, releasing my Vulcan grip from Ranger's pillow, got out of bed, and went in the bathroom. Ranger was already in the shower. I took off Ranger's top and my underwear and stepped into the shower with him.

"I was trying not to wake you up", he said.

"Parts of me are waking up faster than others", I said. He pulled me to him, proving that parts of him were waking up as well. He gave me a deep kiss, and when our tongues touched, I was lost.

In my place we would have run out of hot water fifteen minutes after the shower had begun. In Ranger's apartment, you don't run out of hot water. We had the longest shower in history. By the time we emerged we were squeaky clean, lobster red, shrivelled pruny and very relaxed. "I missed you", I said as I climbed in bed with only one of Ranger's t-shirts on.

"I missed you, too. I was worried about you when I was gone."

"Things were okay. Tank took care of me. We got both Romeos today. Morelli booked them and made sure they understood that I have restraining orders against them both. They are each back out on bail again."

"Be careful. Restraining orders only work if the people respect them. They are better than nothing, but they do not solve much if the person who is being restrained ignores the order. You will be in some danger from these guys until they are put in jail permanently."

"That's a cheery thought."

"My mind hasn't had much chance to go into the cheery thought realm since I last saw you. It feels like a lifetime, yet it has only been a few days."

"Then I guess we will have to explore the cheery thought realm together over the next few days to make up for lost time." I leaned into him and gave him a sleepy kiss before settling down in his arms.

Ranger leaned over and turned off the light. "I saw the targets on the counter. Pretty tight groupings. When did you do them?"

"Those were from this evening. I was pretty pleased with them."

"You should be. You did a good job. Did you get a chance to stretch at all?"

"I would like to say yes, but I would be lying."

"We'll work on it now that I'm back."

"Will you be back for a while?"

"I should be back on my regular rotation - here for three weeks, gone for a week, here for five weeks, away for three weeks, then start the whole rotation all over again."

"Are you going to talk to me about what you have been doing?" I said as I yawned.

"Yes, although not tonight. Tonight I have other ideas in mind to do", and he whispered some of those ideas in my ear. Suddenly I found I wasn't so sleepy after all.

"What do you have up for today?" asked Ranger. We had just finished breakfast and I was sitting in Ranger's lap, finishing my coffee.

"Lula and I have to go out and pick up a skip today. I picked up a couple the other day. That was the story that I wanted to talk to you about. I had a teenage skip up for public mischief who had stolen traffic signs. His parents were beside themselves. They had been trying to get through to him but did not think they were succeeding. They asked me to scare the crap out of him. Now, you have to imagine the scene. I took Tank and Hal with me and we laid it on thick. We went to capture him in full gear – guns, stun guns, pepper spray, Kevlar, Maglites – putting him in cuffs and shackles in front of everybody in the café where we captured him. Hal smacked his Maglite against his hand and walked around the kid; Tank stood too close to him and crowded him, calling him swear names in a quiet, deadly voice and threatening him if he stole more traffic signs or posted accident videos on youtube again. I had to struggle not to laugh. We handled him roughly, pushing him around and getting into his personal space and Tank told him that, if we had to capture him again, we would not be as gentle with him a second time around. We scared the crap out of him so badly the kid wet his pants. Twice. Tank said he hadn't had that much fun since he was training new recruits. We all had a good time. You would have had a good time if you had been there as well." Ranger had a full-wattage smile on from ear to ear, and I could feel a rumble in his chest as he laughed.

"I wish I had been there to see it."

"I wish you had been there as well. Just before we picked up the guy, Tank was telling me about his kitties. The dichotomy was hilarious. But it seemed to work. The skip's parents called me yesterday to thank us for our part in making their son walk the straight and narrow path."

"Are we on for stretching tonight? You will soon be back in the gym again. How is your rib feeling, anyway?"

"Better. I just get twinges now, so I think it is healing."

"Good. We will be able to do more in-depth stretches then."

Oh, goody.

"I have to go", said Ranger. "I have a lot of work to get caught up on. And I have to tease Hal and Tank about their part in the takedown."

"Be nice to them. They both were working after hours to help catch the two skips, all for the promise of a free dinner. And then they would not let me pay for dinner."

I drove to the bonds office to meet up with Lula. Handing in my body receipts, I told Lula and Connie about the takedown I had with Hal and Tank. "I think it worked, however. We scared the kid into flying straight."

"The parents used our office as the bonding agent again", said Connie. "They made the son put up the collateral and to take the money for the fifteen percent out of his own bank account."

"It is nice to see parents who are trying so hard. I will keep in touch with them, to try to help them out as much as possible. If I keep up a presence, I don't think the kid will forget about our threats quite the same." And that, perhaps, is the problem with me. Morelli certainly thinks it is a problem. He says I am not a social worker. But in addition to the meals I have bought my skips, I have been known to drive skips to the courthouse just to make sure they make it to court on the given day. I have sat with skips at the courthouse keeping them company – and calm – while they wait, and I have even babysat the children of skips so their parents can get to court. I do not get paid for this. In fact, if I didn't provide this service I would get more money as I would need to bring them in again on a higher bail. However, money isn't everything and sometimes people need a helping hand to get them out of the trouble they are in. They aren't always hardened criminals. Instead they have had a combination of making poor choices with being unlucky. I think of it as providing good service.

I looked at the file for the victim of the dog attack. "Thank you for sending me the particulars on this file, Lula. I already researched this guy. His name is Nolan Antwerp, and he is a three-time convicted thief, with convictions back to his sealed juvenile records. He was breaking and entering into a house through the dog door and, when he did so, he was attacked by their dog quite viciously. The family was at home at the time and heard the noise. They came downstairs and saw the thief bloodied and mauled on the floor of their kitchen. They called the police right away.

"This is the good part. The thief is claiming personal damages as he was attacked by the victim's dog and he said that such a vicious dog should not be part of society. He is demanding that the dog be put down."

"You have got to be kidding. He wants a poor fuzzy, wuzzy puppy dog to be put down because he got bit while the dog was protecting his property? That's not fair", said Lula.

"Apparently the police agree. The dog has not been ordered to be put down. Are you ready to go get this dog-hater?"

"Yup. Let's go get this loser. Dog-hater indeed. I don't know how you can hate a dog."

"I don't know", I said as I led Lula out to my car. "We have seen some pretty vicious dogs while we have been skip chasing. Remember that horde of humping dogs? It took me a week to wash all that cum out of my hair. It hardened like cement. I didn't like those dogs too much. If they are nice fluffy, friendly dogs like Bob, sure. I like those kinds of dogs. But not the rude or vicious kind. Having said that, I would not blame a dog for protecting its turf. That is one of the benefits of having a dog."

Lula nodded her head in agreement. "I always wanted a dog. I would be a good dog mother", she said. "Except for that picking up the poop thing. I wouldn't want to take the chance that I would get it on my hands. And it smells bad. Do you think that it would be okay if I left the poop?" I shook my head no. I knew from experience that people got a little testy when you don't pick up the poop. We got in the car and Lula cranked up the tunes. Apparently the conversation was over.

We travelled to the thief's apartment, a run-down hole-in-the-wall on the more respectable end of Stark Street. Getting out of the car, I attached a Club to the steering wheel. I had owned that car for a whole six weeks. I was on a winning streak and didn't want to get the car stolen now.

Getting out of the car, I took my pepper spray and stun gun out of my purse and put them in the front pockets of the hoody that I borrowed from Ranger's closet that morning. I put my cuffs in my back waistband, put my gun at the top of my purse, and slung my purse over my shoulder. "Let's go", I said.

Lula and I climbed the stairs to the third floor, stopped to catch our breath, then found apartment 304. We knocked on the door. When Antwerp opened the door, I put my foot between the door and the doorjamb, and introduced Lula and myself. Antwerp looked at Lula and his eyes bugged out. She thrust her chest forward and I swear I saw him drool. Lula saw it, too, and with a little wiggle she played up her attributes to the max. He turned to me. "If I come with you, does she come with us to drop me off?" he said, his pants tenting uncomfortably.

"Yes, she comes with us as far as the police station."

"I just need to switch off the burner", he said. "I was just making some honey oil, but you have come at a good time and I can leave it for a while."

"Lula will switch off the burner for you", I said, cuffing his wrists behind his back. Lula entered the apartment and made sure that all flammables had been put out and that the windows were all shut and locked. We locked the door on the way out, and escorted him down the stairs, keeping Lula and her swaying backside in front of Antwerp to provide incentive. It was much easier going down the stairs than it was coming up.

We got outside and looked towards the car. The car was still there and there were only two gangbangers trying to get into it. I took out my gun, pointed it at them and yelled "hey!" They ignored me. I yelled "hey" again and, when they looked up, I pointed the gun into the air and shot it. I then yelled out that the shot was a warning shot, and that they would receive the next shot up their ass if they did not get away from my car. The two gangbangers quickly walked away.

I put Antwerp in the car, buckling in his seatbelt. As I finished, I turned around and was startled by Berginni standing right behind me pointing a gun at me. "I have a restraining order against you", I said. "You need to step away." I took the pepper spray out of my pocket and started shaking the can to activate the liquid.

"I want to take you to Mexico. I know you secretly love me, but you cannot say so in front of your boyfriend. I want to take you away so we can explore our love."

"I don't love you. I don't even know you."

"Your lips say you don't love me, but your eyes say you do", he said, taking his gun and hauling back on it. I jumped to the side, but did not jump fast enough. The butt of the gun handle slammed into my head before everything went black.

I slowly came to, at first registering that I had a bad headache and then next noticing I was laid out face down on the backseat of a car, my purse still on my shoulder and drooping down to the floor, no seatbelt on. Very quietly and stealthily, I reached into my purse and felt for my gun. It had been removed from my purse. I did, however, find my phone. From memory, I felt the speed dial buttons and called Ranger. I put my phone at the top of my purse and, when the Ranger answered, I hit speakerphone. I started to talk. "Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"We are going to Mexico."

"I don't have my passport with me. It is back at my apartment. We need to go back to my apartment so that I can pack to go to Mexico and get my passport. Otherwise we will never make it over the border."

"You don't need clothes for Mexico. I can buy you a couple of bikinis for you to wear when you are there. You would look good in a bikini."

"I still need my passport. Why do you want to take me to Mexico, Guido?" I was trying to keep Guido talking and hopefully from finding out that I had Ranger on the line.

"I want you all to myself. I want you away from your boyfriend so you do not feel pressured to be with him. I want to be able to explore the love we both feel."

"How did you find me?"

"I waited at the bonds office this morning, hoping you would come to work today. I got lucky – you did. I have been waiting at the bonds office for days now, without any luck. But today I got lucky."

"If we are doing this, I will need my passport. Are we flying or are we driving?"

"We are driving. I don't have the money to fly. My mother doesn't give me enough money."

"How will you support me in Mexico? You are taking me away from my job, so I will not be able to earn any money to support us. It will all be up to you."

"I will ask my mother to give me money."

"You aren't supporting me yourself? You have to ask your mother to support us? That isn't very well thought out, is it? Your mother won't always be around."

"No, she knows she better do as I say or I will…" and he made a cutting sound as he swiped his hand across the base of his neck. "Just like you need to do as I say."

"I get it. You will kill me if I don't do as you say."

"Yes. But it won't come to that, because you love me. Just like I love you."

"I can't see, lying down here. Are we almost at my apartment? I need to grab my passport."

"We are almost there."

"Are you coming up with me to wait?" I asked.

"Of course. I need to make sure you don't phone anyone. I know what is best for you and am acting accordingly. I don't need your cop boyfriend finding us before we are on the road to Mexico."

"I won't phone anybody. I just want my passport. And maybe some warm weather clothes. And maybe some toiletries, and some personal supplies. Did you pack food?"

"No."

"Then maybe some food as well. I'm addicted to Tastykakes. Do you think they have Tastykakes in Mexico?"

"I don't know."

"Then we will bring some Tastykakes with us. Maybe some water as well. It is always good to have food and water when you are going on a long trip in case your car breaks down. Whose car is this, anyway?"

"It is mine. It was my mother's, but I commandeered it. She didn't need it the way I needed it."

"What happened to Lula and my skip?" I asked.

"Is Lula the fat chick?" he asked.

"She is the person who was with me on the other side of the car." I envisioned what Lula would do to Berginni if she heard him refer to her as "the fat chick". The thought made me smile.

"She's okay. The only person I tagged was you. Lula can get your skip to the courthouse."

I was hoping Ranger could hear the conversation through my purse, at least enough to pick up that we would be going back to my apartment.

"We're here", said Berginni as he drove into the parking lot of my building. I stealthily tucked my phone back into my purse, still leaving it transmitting.

As soon as the car stopped, I tried the doors on the backseat. They had child locks, however, and I could not open the doors. Berginni got out and, pointing my gun at me, let me get out of the car as well. I got out of the car, purposely stumbling against Berginni as I did so. "Sorry", I said, "I am a bit dizzy after being slammed on the head. Perhaps we can take the elevator?" Berginni threw a hoody over my gun and, still pointing it at me, indicated that I should cross the parking lot. I noticed, as we moved, that Ranger's Porsche Turbo 911 was parked in the lot. I also recognized Morelli's undercover car. I felt better knowing that the cavalry was waiting in my apartment for me.

"My passport is hidden under my bed in my bedroom", I said as I entered the building. We waited for the elevator. "Do you mind not pointing my gun at me?" I asked.

"I need to do this to help us. You do not seem to understand the depth of love that we have for each other. You will, in time. Until you do, I will have to hold you at gunpoint to get you to do what I want, to do what is best for both of us."

We walked down the hall to my place, with me praying the whole time that none of the other residents would come out of their apartments. Getting to the door, I fumbled in my purse for the keys. Once I found them, I unlocked the door and opened it. "I just have to go into the bedroom for a few minutes", I said.

"No doing any funny stuff", said Berginni. "I will follow you", he said.

We walked into the bedroom, me talking the whole time. "Do you have a place already in Mexico for us to stay at?" I asked. "Is it near the ocean or is it inland? What clothes should I pack?" I was hoping that the two of us talking would help Ranger and Morelli identify where we were in the apartment.

"I haven't got a place yet. I was thinking someplace on the beach, in an out-of-the-way town in case your cop boyfriend figures out we have gone to Mexico. I don't want you taken away from me. I want you to have my babies."

I passed through the doorway of my bedroom. Ranger was standing behind the door. I quickly stepped to the side, out of Ranger's way. Berginni stopped at the door of the room.

"You can stop pointing that gun at me now", I said. "I need help lifting the bed. I keep my valuables in a shoe box under the bed and it is wedged in there pretty tight. I need you to lift the bed so I can get the box out."

"How did you get it in there?"

"My cop boyfriend helped me. You are as strong as he is, aren't you?"

"Of course I am." He swaggered over to the bed, and Ranger moved in behind him. Berginni wasn't expecting it. Ranger cuffed Berginni before he even knew what was going on.

Berginni started to struggle. Ranger hauled back and plowed his fist into Berginni's stomach. When Berginni was doubled over, gasping and trying not to throw up, Ranger shoved him into Morelli. "Don't ever go near Stephanie again. Ever. If you do, I won't hit you the next time. I will kill you."

"You okay, Cupcake?" Morelli asked as he took Berginni away from Ranger.

"Yes. Just shaken. Thanks for getting here in time to help."

"Thanks for calling. Lula had already called Ranger and me by the time you called in, but we had no idea where you were going. We were in the process of mobilizing a search team when you called."

"It also helped that you had your tracker on you. It let us trace where you were and how far away you were from your apartment", said Ranger. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. I cuddled into him as Morelli left the apartment. "You're safe", he murmured, and I could feel the tension slowly leave his body. He leaned down to give me a kiss that started as frantic and desperate but ended as soft and sweet. After a few moments, he pulled away. "We need to call Lula and let her know you are okay. And we need to tell Vinnie that he is not allowed to bond Berginni out again."

We went and sat on my couch, Ranger pulling me into his arms as I called Lula. "Hey girlfriend", I said when Lula answered her phone.

"Steph! Are you all right?"

"Yes. Ranger and Morelli saved the day again. But apparently it was all due to your efforts that they even realized there was a problem."

"Glad I could help. Do you think you can come rescue me now? I couldn't hotwire your car with your Club on the wheel, and I don't have your keys. I have had three people proposition me since you left. I have been more successful today than when I was in the business."

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Wait a sec – Ranger's trying to say something." I covered the mouthpiece as Ranger said "I can't take being away from you right now. Let a Rangeman patrol take your skip in. Let the patrol guy meet us at your car and you can hand over the keys then."

"New plan. A Rangeman guy will take the skip in. Ranger and I will meet you and the patrol guy at my car in a few minutes. We are on our way now."

I hung up the phone and Ranger kissed me again, a deep kiss that made me wish I hadn't told Lula we were leaving. Ranger broke away, breathing hard. "We have to go", he said, "and before we go you have to wash the blood off the side of your head."

"What blood?" I asked. I went into the bathroom. Ranger followed, standing in the doorway while I looked. The spot where I had been pistol whipped had a cut that had bled a bit. I got a facecloth and wet it, gingerly washing out the dried blood. I dried it off, rinsed out the washcloth, and hung the cloth up to dry. "All set", I said, turning to Ranger.

"Let's go find Lula", he said. He called in the need for a patrol car to show up at my car, and told the control room to give the patrol car the directions.

I locked my door and put my keys in my purse. Taking my hand, Ranger and I walked down to his car. He held the door for me, shutting it softly after I got in and put on my seatbelt. He got in his side of the car and, as soon as he was able, he captured my hand and kissed the fingers. Then he put my hand on his leg. I could feel his muscles tense and relax as he drove, his hand covering mine when he did not need it to shift, and it somehow felt right.

"You scared me."

"I know. I was pretty scared myself."

"I worry about what could happen when I am not here with you. What would have happened if you hadn't called? What would have happened if I hadn't been here for you to call?"

"I would have called Tank. Or Morelli. You can't take it on yourself to protect me all the time. That's impossible. You aren't Superman. You're Batman. And even Batman isn't infallible."

"I want to protect you from the world and I can't. There are too many dangers in this world. There are dangers to you just because you know me. It scares me that I cannot protect you from them."

"We do all right."

"I know. It has just been a couple of really bad weeks."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes, but not now. We are almost at your car and I need to be near you for a while longer, to fully accept and believe that you are safe, before I am prepared to talk to you about it. I will, just not yet."