A/N: Thank you so much for all of the awesome reviews! I love to see what you guys think! Thank you, thank you to those of you who are faithful reviewers of every chapter. And to those of you who reviewed for the first time, thank you so much for letting me know what you think! You Babes sure know how to motivate a girl to keep writing! :)

Bold from Chapter 20

We? Did that mean he was coming to bed with me after all?

"We?" I repeated hopefully.

Ranger sighed heavily and wrapped his arms around me. Dropping a kiss on top of my head, he answered. "Yeah, Babe. We."

My heart leapt just a little bit in my chest. "Does that mean we're OK?" I asked hesitantly.

"It means we will be." Ranger answered.

Good enough for me.

Chapter 21

I climbed out of the tub and quickly dried myself off. Pulling on a T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts, I padded out to Ranger's bedroom.

He was sitting up in bed propped against the headboard and typing away on his laptop.

I stood in the doorway, suddenly feeling a little bit uncertain. I bit my lip as I remembered some of the harsh things that Julio had said. I told Ranger that you weren't worth the trouble. My stomach twisted nervously as I tried to decide whether I should join Ranger or just take the couch tonight.

Ranger glanced up, an eyebrow raised. "You gonna come to bed, Babe? Or are you gonna stand in the doorway all night?"

I fidgeted nervously. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to join you or not." I whispered.

Ranger shook his head and closed his laptop, sitting it on his nightstand. He patted the bed next to him. "Come to bed, Babe."

I nodded and walked slowly over towards him. Climbing onto the big bed, I quietly slipped under the covers leaving a little space between us.

Ranger sighed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. I bit my lip as he pulled my back firmly against his front.

"We need to talk, Steph, but it's late. It can wait until morning."

I nodded.

Ranger softly rubbed his hands up and down my arms.

"Ranger?" I whispered quietly.

"Yeah, Babe?"

"I'm not… I would never… I mean…" I blew out a frustrated breath.

Ranger's arms tightened around me for just a second. "I know, Babe."

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Ranger's POV

The alarm on my cell phone chirped at 7:45, and I eased out of bed. Not many people could function on four hours of sleep, but luckily I was one of them.

I slid my pillow into the spot I had vacated, turning it so that it lay down the length of the bed. Almost immediately, Stephanie curled her body around it. Mumbling incoherently, she nuzzled her face into the pillow before sighing contentedly and throwing an arm over it.

Shaking my head in amusement, I headed in for a quick shower. It was Sunday, and there would be no regular Morning Meeting today. Instead, Julio and I had scheduled a meeting of the Core Team for my apartment at 0800 sharp.

I finished dressing in time to let Rosalinda in with the breakfast cart. The Core Team would be right behind her.

R&S R&S R&S R&S R&S

We were working our way down through the stack of open cases when a bloodcurdling scream came from my bedroom. Stephanie. My heart clenched as I leapt from the table and tore down the hall.

The guys followed behind me, their weapons drawn, and serious expressions on their faces. I knew that there wasn't an enemy in my bedroom, but there was no sense in telling them that. They would keep their weapons out until the room had been cleared. Fine by me. As long as none of them touched Stephanie.

I ran into the room and saw her curled up in a ball. Her arms were wrapped around her body, protecting herself. Most of what she screamed was incoherent, but every once in a while I could make out a few words.

My heart sank when she screamed, "No! Please, Ranger!"

I knew it had been a mistake to punch Julio in front of her. I knew it as soon as I had done it, but it had been too late to take it back. Were her nightmares now that I was the one attacking her? Please, God! Let that not be the case.

I flew over to the bed, calling her name. "Stephanie! Stephanie, I'm right here. Open your eyes, Babe. It's OK. I'm right here, and no one is going to hurt you."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see the guys surveying the room, guns still drawn.

"Stephanie!" I called again, climbing onto the bed.

"Come on, Babe. Wake up!" I rubbed her back soothingly, and the screaming stopped.

I laced my fingers through hers and pushed the wild curls out of her face.

She opened her eyes and stared right at me. "Please don't make me go." She quietly begged.

"What are you talking about, Babe?" I asked quietly. "Where do you think I'd make you go?"

She sniffled and sat up. Glancing towards the door, she saw all of the guys standing there, and her eyes grew huge.

I glared at the men. "You can leave." I barked. "There's no threat here. I'll be back out in a minute."

The guys nodded and filed out one at a time. Julio was the last to leave, a confused expression on his face.

I gently turned Stephanie's face towards mine. "They're gone. Now why do you think I'm making you go somewhere?"

Her eyes dropped to her lap as she began to fidget and play with her fingers. "I, um…" her voice came out weak and raspy.

I was determined to wait her out, so I began rubbing her arms soothingly. Up and down. Up and down.

A few minutes of that seemed to relax her, and her eyes flicked up to mine nervously.

"I had a bad dream." She whispered.

I nodded. "I know. And right before you woke up, you said, 'No! Please, Ranger!' Then you asked me not to make you go. What were you dreaming about?"

She bit her lip hard and turned her head, staring at the closed bedroom door.

"C'mon, Babe." I coaxed.

"It was Joe. He had followed me down here, and he wanted me to leave with him. At first you said no, but then Julio started arguing with you…"

I could see where this was going.

Gathering her up in my arms, I pulled her onto my lap. "Stephanie, Julio doesn't know how you ended up at RangeMan. I haven't told anyone down here the whole story. To him, the whole situation seems a little too convenient."

Stephanie nodded slowly. "I can see why he'd think that."

"Julio is an ass; I'll give you that. But he's not unreasonable. He's just trying to stick up for his little brother."

Stephanie let out a nervous giggle and glanced up at me. "There's not a whole lot about you that would qualify as little, Ranger."

I growled and shifted her on my lap, watching as her cheeks flamed bright red once she realized how that sounded.

"I mean…" she started. But I never let her finish. My lips landed on hers, effectively cutting off whatever she was about to say.

I pulled back and looked at her face. Her eyes were closed, her lips still puckered as if she hadn't yet realized that the kiss was over. Her eyes blinked open, and I couldn't help but smile at her slightly dazed expression.

"You OK, Babe?" I teased.

"Yes," she breathed.

I smiled. "Why don't you go take a shower, and I'll finish up with the Core Team?"

She nodded.

"Then maybe we can get brunch?" And have a serious talk. I added silently.

She nodded again and stood up, headed for the bathroom.

"Babe?"

She turned around. "Yeah?"

"Is it OK if I fill in the guys here? Just Julio and the Core Team?"

Immediately, her face looked worried. She tugged on the bottom of her T-shirt. "Will they think it's just an excuse?"

"An excuse for what, Babe?"

She shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other, looking unsure. "I don't know. I just don't want them to think…" She broke off and looked at the floor.

"Hey," I whispered soothingly, walking over to her.

I wrapped my arms around her. "Forget what Julio said. He's bitter, and he's speaking from personal experience, that's all."

Stephanie drew back and searched my face, her eyebrows creased. "What do you mean personal experience?"

I shook my head. "Julio is attracted to women who are very beautiful, very shallow, and very materialistic. The women he dates want to be with him because of his money, his cars, or the restaurants he can afford."

Stephanie bit her lip. "And he thinks I'm one of those women?"

I cupped her face in my hands. "He's been through several messy, expensive divorces, Babe. His outlook is a little jaded. But, yes, he thinks you are, and he told me so in no uncertain terms yesterday when we left to go after Herrera."

Stephanie took a deep breath and nodded. "And what do you think?"

In answer, I leaned down and pulled her lower lip into my mouth, nibbling on it gently. She let out a low moan, pressing her body against mine and tangling her fingers in my hair.

Pulling back, I rested my forehead on hers. "I disagree with my brother." I answered in a low voice.

A huge smile flashed across her face when she realized that I was siding with her and not Julio. Her hands pulled on my hair, dragging my mouth back to hers.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what, Babe?"

"For believing in me."

I dropped a kiss on her head. "I'll always believe in you, Steph." I turned her towards the bathroom and lightly smacked her butt. "Now go get your shower."

With a squeal, she ran towards the bathroom, and I smirked as I watched her fly through the door.

I stared at the closed bathroom door for a few long minutes. Stephanie was quite possibly the most sincere person I had ever met. She was the exact opposite of the kind of girl that Julio was used to. In fact, I didn't think she had a deceitful bone in her entire body. I shook my head thinking about all that she had been through.

My mind raced back to talks my mother had had with my sisters. I'd watch them sit at the kitchen table and sob because of something that had happened at school. A so-called friend who had snubbed or insulted them, a girl who had called them a name because their boyfriend had glanced their way in the hall. My mother would listen patiently and then tell them, "This too shall pass. They're jealous, baby. Hold your head up high. Don't let them tear you down just to make themselves feel better."

I wouldn't let anyone do that to Stephanie anymore. I wouldn't let them tear her down to suit their own purposes. I felt a twinge of discomfort as a fleeting thought raced across my mind- and that included me. I wouldn't make Stephanie suffer for my jealousy. I wouldn't make her pay for my inability to trust. I had no reason to doubt her. I would take her at her word that she and Simms were just friends.

I took a deep breath and headed back out for a serious talk with my brother and the Miami Core Team.

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The guys all looked up when I walked back into the dining room.

"Everything OK, Boss?" Ryan asked.

I nodded. "I think that maybe I need to explain Stephanie's situation."

The guys all sat up a little straighter, putting down the papers they had been going over, and giving me their full attention.

Narrowing my eyes, I directed them, "I'd appreciate it if the majority of this conversation did not go any further than these four walls. If any of the other guys ask, give them generic answers or direct them to me."

A flicker of surprise flashed across Jeff's face, but everyone else remained expressionless and merely inclined their head a fraction of an inch.

I grabbed my laptop and flipped it open. Typing in my password, I accessed Stephanie's files on my computer. Once they were open, I looked back up at the guys. They were still sitting motionless, waiting for me to explain the woman who was showering in my apartment.

"When I started RangeMan Trenton, I hooked up with a bail bondsman named Vincent Plum. His office manager, Connie, helped me out a lot. More than she should have really. She gave me all of the highest bonds she could, and she helped me find a few of the more difficult skips."

Julio raised an eyebrow in question, and I nodded. "She has mob ties, and she called in a few favors for me."

Zig whistled. "That's pretty serious, man."

I nodded. "Like I said, Connie helped me out a lot. Without her, I never could have raised the capital I needed to start the Trenton branch."

Ryan, Jeff, and Zig nodded their agreement, but Julio leaned forward. "So what does this Connie have to do with Stephanie? She set you guys up on a blind date or something?" He asked, confused.

I snorted. "I wish it were that simple. Like I said, Connie helped me out a lot. I owed her. I told Connie that if she ever needed a favor to call me. She's never asked for anything. Until last week."

I flipped around my laptop, showing the picture of Stephanie's face when she first arrived at the office a week ago.

The guys sucked in a collective breath.

"Fuck!" Zig muttered. "What the hell happened, man?"

I gestured to the screen. "Meet Stephanie Plum, cousin to Vincent Plum, the bail bondsman. Connie called me last week to ask me to help Stephanie. She said she was Vinnie's cousin and she was in an abusive relationship with a Trenton PD officer. No one else would go anywhere near her because of the cop. She was trapped. I told Connie to send her over. I figured I'd let her hide out in the office for a few days, give her some cash, help her buy a ticket to a friend's house out of state or something, and that would be the end of it."

The guys were riveted to the screen as I began showing them the pictures Bobby had taken of her.

"But she didn't have anywhere to go. No family or friends who were willing to help her. No cash. Nothing."

I turned the laptop back around, and their eyes snapped back up to mine.

"So I let her stay in one of the apartments in Trenton. I told her I'd help her file charges. She insisted on working to pay for the apartment and the other things that Ella had bought for her- clothes, cosmetics, toiletries. And she's a hard worker. When she has an appointment during the day with the lawyer or her therapist, she stays over an hour after her shift to make it up."

Julio looked down when I mentioned that part. Good. Asshole.

"She's totally redesigned our payroll system. I've never seen Tank smile as big as he did when he logged in the other day."

The guys smirked, imagining a grinning Tank.

"So how did she end up in Miami?" Ryan asked hesitantly.

"She's been staying with me in Trenton." I looked hard at all of them, but no one blinked. "Stephanie has horrible nightmares. She relives the abuse from her ex over and over again. For some reason, she feels safe around me, and I can calm her down. She's been staying in my apartment at night. When I told her that I was coming to Miami, we both decided that she should come along."

I looked pointedly at Julio. "And it's a good thing she did. Because she saved your ass by finding Herrera."

Julio nodded sickly, staring down at his hands.

"I don't appreciate the rumors that are flying around the building about her. And I want them to stop. Now."

The guys traded glances and then nodded.

"She and Simms have been friends since college. He is one of the few guys she feels comfortable around. I will not have her feeling self-conscious about spending time with a friend. Am I clear?"

The guys nodded again.

"Good. Dismissed."

TBC