You guys are fab - thanks so much for your wonderful comments. Guess I need to leave more cliffies to get the more reluctant of you to leave reviews...
.
Ranger felt his stomach lurch – whatever it was that had been bothering him all evening was here. Somewhere near the parking lot of Bail Training LLC's training facility.
He pulled into the bike park section and turned off the engine, the feeling of unease growing as the Triumph's power faded. He gracefully slid his leg over the frame and stood up, unbuckling and removing his helmet in one panther-like fluid movement as he did so. Once on two legs he smoothed back the few stray hairs that had crept from his pony tail and placed his head gear on the handlebars.
Scanning the building, assessing it with a practiced eye, he saw some movement which drew his attention to one particular window. As his eye began to focus in he found himself staring into a very familiar pair of bright blue eyes.
He blinked as his brain caught up with the information it had just received then he nodded imperceptively at Steph as he tried to play it cool.
All the time his heart was racing.
Babe!
Ranger quickly pulled his mobile phone from his jacket pocket, turning away to break eye contact, and called Tank.
How dare she! He thought as he heard Tank's phone ring. How fucking dare she!
He took a deep breath to calm himself as the phone was picked up.
"Yo"
"Yo yourself. Why have I just been staring through a window at Stephanie Plum?" Ranger asked, mildly. Tension flowing from his body. "Did she put you up to this?" he added softly, his voice lowering as his anger grew.
"It's not what you think, Ric." Tank said hastily, he could sense Ranger was more than a little pissed. "And before you ask, I had nothing to do with any of it." He added, hoping it would help when Ranger was booking one way tickets to the nearest desert. Man, he hated deserts.
"Explain."
"The course Franco took? By chance it turned out that Bomber had booked herself on it so he decided, once we'd filled him in, that you two needed a gentle shove in the right direction and the second week of the course was the perfect solution. She needed a bit of time off from your stupidity and you needed time to realise what you'd lost."
Ranger said nothing.
Tank gulped audibly "I just agreed not to say anything to you." He added, embarrassment clearly evident in his voice.
"So she didn't know I was going to be here?"
"Not a clue, she's probably as shocked as you are. Treat her nice, Ranger, her heart's been bruised enough."
"So. Julie?"
"In on it."
"Lester, Franco?"
"Yeah and Ron and Rachel too. The Plums helping out was the icing on the cake but they had no idea where you were headed."
Ranger pinched the bridge of his nose before saying anything else. "So what you're saying is that you all ganged up on me."
"Technically true, but we all ganged up on Steph too. You need each other. Go build your bridges, Rangeman. You've got a week to get her to understand and forgive, don't waste the opportunity." Tank added before hanging up.
o0o0o0o0o
Steph sank back in her seat.
"You okay?" Angela asked watching her partner with concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Steph placed her head in her hands and sighed. "You have no idea." She said slowly before looking up, mist forming over her eyes. "That beautiful looking creature in the parking lot is Ricardo Carlos Manoso. All round badass and superhero. Well respected and wealthy Business man." She paused before continuing in a whisper "and the man who broke my heart."
"Fuck." Angela whistle through her teeth as she thought back to the conversations they'd had over lunch. Steph had explained about Lula, but Angela had sensed there'd been something more. Now she knew why. She reached out and squeezed her shoulder.
"It's ok, Steph. I've got your back. That's what partners are for. I won't let him hurt you again." She whispered as the door opened and Drew Matthews the previous week's tutor walked in.
"Morning everyone. Please take your seats next to your partner. I've just got to go through a couple of things with you then we'll take a break. After that I'll introduce Mr Manoso your tutor for the rest of the week. Ok. Take your course synopsis out and we'll take a look at the topics you'll be covering this week..."
o0o0o0o0o
Ranger sat in the course director, Andy Minehead's office and waited for the man's secretary to bring their coffee. There was no conversation as both men subtly assessed the other. It was a good thing too, Ranger needed the time to calm down and work out a strategy. Looking down at the paperwork on his lap, he casually he scanned the list of attendees, filing away their levels of experience for future reference.
"So, Mr Manoso" Minehead said over the top of his glasses after a few minutes had passed "I'd like to thank you for stepping in and covering at such short notice. I really appreciate you taking time out to help our trainee BEA's."
Ranger looked up from the list and smiled slightly at the older man who reminded him of Sean Connery then nodded his head.
"It's Ranger and you're welcome." He replied, his mind in other places.
At that moment the secretary appeared with a tray of coffee which she gently put down on the desk. She blushed slightly as she caught Ranger's eye then left. Ranger mentally rolled his eyes then put the list down next to the coffee cup Minehead gave him. The last thing he needed was another woman hanging around vying for his attention, he had bridges to build with Steph without an added complication.
"Don't worry, she's engaged." Minehead whispered conspiratorially, reading his expression. "She just likes the sight of a good looking man." He added chuckling.
"Can you just clarify something for me please?" Ranger replied changing the subject. "I understand you needed two people for this week, what happened?"
Minehead looked confused "No, one of my team was due to do the section of the course you're now covering, but his father had a massive stroke just over a week ago so he's taken time out to sort out various things with his family. He would have still done it if I couldn't find a replacement, but when I mentioned it in passing to Franco, he immediately suggested you and here we are."
Ranger nodded calmly, but underneath he was seething. How could Franco have done this to him? Bastard didn't even give him a heads up. Revenge was sweet he decided and best served cold he added. The final punishment would depend on how this week panned out.
An idea flitted across his face.
"Mr Minehead, would it be acceptable to tell me where a particular student is staying for the duration of this course. I knew her father and I'd like to find out how he's doing."
"Please, call me Andy. And in answer to your question, I don't have a problem with your request. Who do you need details for?"
o0o0o0o0o
"Daddy?"
"Hi Pumpkin, what's up? You OK?"
"No! I sure as hell am not!" Steph managed to push out through gritted teeth as she paced back and forth in the ladies' bathroom at breaktime. "Ranger pulled into the parking lot earlier, seems he's gonna be training us this week. Did you know?"
"Are you sure?" came the confused reply.
"Oh, Daddy! What am I gonna do?" she wailed out quietly so as not to bring attention to where she was hiding.
"Don't panic, Sweetie. There's got to be a logical explanation."
"Yeah, like someone told him where I was and he decided to spend the week taunting me." Tears were rolling down her cheeks and her voice started to crack.
"Don't cry Pumpkin. It'll be ok..."
"No it won't! I just got my head round the idea of living without him in my life and he's back." She sniffled out, blowing her nose on a piece of scratchy toilet paper.
A nagging thought invaded Frank's head. "Honey, can I call you straight back. I need to check on something. Two minutes?"
"Yeah ok. Bye Daddy." Steph said as she sniffed again.
"Bye Steph."
Frank went out into the garden to find Julie who he knew was playing under the hose pipe with his granddaughters. He'd been listening to their squeals of laughter since the three of them had left the house just after breakfast.
"Julie, can I have a quick word?" he asked calmly.
Julie nodded and walked over. Judging by the look on his face, the shit had just hit the fan somewhere in Philadelphia.
"Hi." She asked, her best most innocent face in place "is there a problem? Is my Dad ok?"
"About your Dad..."
O0o0o0o0o
"Hi, Daddy, thanks for calling me back so quickly. Did you find what you were looking for?" Steph asked more calmly. She'd been doing deep breathing exercises and had splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to reduce some of the puffiness and redness caused by her grief. To pass the time she'd answered the call of nature and was still hiding in the cubicle she'd chosen.
"Yeah. Turns out Ranger knew nothing about you being on this course. Did you have a trainer called Franco something last week?"
"No, but he did take us for the two day session. Why? What has he got to do with anything?"
"Turns out he's Ranger's main man in Miami and when he realised you were on the course he spoke to Sontos somebody and the two of them hatched a plan. Did you ever return Ranger's call?"
"It's Santos and I'm going to kill him." Steph fumed. "What call, Daddy?"
"The one I told you he made when realised you were gone. Turns out he's been searching high and low for you."
"Ooops!" Steph said "I forgot. What did he say?"
"He said he was sorry he'd been ignoring you but that he'd worked something out in his head and really needed to talk to you. He wanted you to just listen to what he had to say so that he could start to make everything right between you."
Steph looked at her phone. Why hadn't she called him back? What an idiot! If only she had then he wouldn't be about to walk in and tear her apart again. At least she would know where she stood.
"Steph? You still there?" Frank asked with concern.
"Sorry, Daddy, just thinking."
"Well think about this. He's not the enemy, your joint lack of communication skills are. Talk to him, Steph. You might even like what he has to say."
"Steph? Steph?" you in here? Came a female voice as the door to the bathroom opened.
"Gotta go, Daddy. Thanks for everything, I love you." Steph whispered out quickly
"Back at you. Bye." Came the emotional reply.
"Coming!" Steph said brightly as she stepped out of the cubicle she'd been hiding in.
"Let's go get the bad guys" she added as she grabbed Angela's shoulder, turned her round and shoved her out of the bathroom.
o0o0o0o0o
Ranger took a last calming breath and opened the door to the classroom.
All heads turned to look at him.
"Morning everyone. My name is Manoso but you can call me by my street name, Ranger."
Everyone looked at him longingly. The women wanted him and the men wanted to be him.
"My background is special forces but I now own my own security firm and one of the facets of my company portfolio is bond enforcement. I usually only go for the big money skips - $50,000 plus."
He glanced round the room, everyone was hanging onto his every word. Well, everyone except his Babe. She was looking for more, judging by the intensity of her gaze. He nodded again at her and she nodded in reply. There would be no angry outburst from either of them, that was enough for now.
Refocusing back on the class he continued to explain what he would be going through with them till lunch time then asked them all to stand up and follow him into the gym.
"He's even more gorgeous close up, Steph. How do you manage not to jump him every time you see him?" Angela whispered as they left the room.
Steph smiled weakly.
"Holy cow, you've done the horizontal mamba with him, haven't you."
Steph shot her a glance.
"What was it like? What was he like? Oh. Mi. God!"
"Shh" said Steph sternly as they turned a corner and entered a large school-like gym. "He said he could ruin me for all men and he did. Satisfied? Now shut up, will ya?"
Angela nodded as she watched Ranger's ass muscles move "If he was mine, I'd chain him to my bed."
Mental images of Ranger strapped down and helpless made both of them lose focus.
"Keep moving will ya, ladies?" said a small man who Steph was convinced was trying to steal a look at Ranger's backside. It was going to be a very long morning.
o0o0o0o0o
"You may kiss the bride" the elderly Catholic priest said happily to the two people stood in front of him. Why the youngsters of today always seemed to wait until after they'd proved they could start a family before he joined them in holy matrimony was beyond him. Well, at least it meant they weren't using contraception, so that was something he supposed.
Joe leaned forward and cupped Robin's face in his hands before kissing her tenderly. When they broke apart they grinned at each other before turning to face their families who returned the joy they were feeling.
Stepping away from the alter the happy couple walked down the aisle and out of the church followed by the small number of close family and friends that they had decided to include in their spur of the moment day.
Angela took Robin in her arms and hugged her before pulling back to smile and whisper happy platitudes.
Joe shook hands with Robin's father who gave him a manly slap on the back, both men were wearing broad grins.
They celebrated with lunch at Rossinis – 43 people ate a beautiful meal after which the speeches were heartfelt, sometimes poignant and full of fun.
"Happy?" said Joe some time later when they were lying in each other's arms, sated.
"Yeah. You?"
"No, I'm more than that. I'm complete, you complete me and it's the most amazing feeling." He rolled onto his side and propped himself up, resting his head on his hand as he smiled lovingly at his new bride, racing patterns on her skin with his free hand.
"Why now? Why so quick? The wedding, I mean." Robin asked tentatively.
"After Lula died it made me realise that I'd wasted too much time, that I needed to grab what I wanted with both hands. I needed you to understand how important you are to me. I love you Robin Russell-Morelli." He said as he leaned in for a kiss.
"No, I'm not Robin Russell-Morelli..."
"But..."
"I'm Robin Morelli." She finished as she pulled him in for another kiss and another round of celebrating.
o0o0o0o0o
Lunchtime came around far too fast for Steph. They'd been shown some basic moves to get them out of an unwanted embrace then Ranger had made them practice these set moves.
He went round the room, moving each student as necessary and talking them through when they got stuck. Funnily enough he never quite made it to Steph and Angela.
As they finished up to break for lunch Steph shot out of the room as fast as she could. This was all turning into a nightmare! She'd come on this course to get better at her job, for Chrissakes. She didn't want to be reliant on the likes of Ranger anymore.
As she reached her desk to tidy away her things she heard a very gentle "Babe, please" she stopped what she was doing, keeping her back to Ranger as tears filled her eyes.
She felt his fingers touch her shoulder gently, sending a shock wave down her back.
Steph cleared her throat to remove the large, painful lump that had lodged itself there. "Please, Ranger. You've made yourself perfectly clear. I just need time to get over whatever it was that I thought we had. Please, just go."
The fingers moved away as Ranger whispered in her ear, startling her as his breath tickling her skin. "We will have this conversation, Stephanie Plum."
And then he was gone.