All characters named in this chapter were created by Janet Evanovich, Except Helen a.k.a. Elena created by AutumnDreaming.

In all the years I had known Ranger, no matter the circumstance, Ranger was always calm, cool, and collected. I had come to expect Ranger to be reassuring and usually quite accommodating. Sometimes he was way too accommodating, which is why his name was sewn on some of my underwear. But Ranger's strange behavior last night had been a shock. He'd made me feel unwelcome and it had really frightened me. He had never been so short with me before.

It's true, I was intruding. I really should have called before moving my stuff into his apartment. I just figured Tank would have called Ranger the second Sally and I pulled up. Ranger always knew everything almost before it happened. If there was a problem, I would have thought Tank or Ranger would have let me know. I wondered if somehow Tank hadn't been able to tell him I was there. I had no idea where Ranger had been or what was going on. We hadn't talked since my engagement to Morelli. Given the fact that Ranger hadn't asked for his key fob back, I just assumed it would still be okay for me to use his apartment. It's not like Ranger forgot about it. I mean, Ranger didn't forget things like someone having a key to his apartment.

Ranger said we would figure things out in the morning. So, I waited, watching the early morning news on his big plasma screen in the living room. After the early morning news I watched the morning news, the mid-morning news, and the first of the talk shows.

I was tired of waiting and wondering and dreading. So, I got myself together and went down to the control room to look for Ranger. I nodded to Hal and Cal, who both looked at me with what might be construed as mild alarm. Tank was watching me approach without expression.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked.

"Out," Tank said. It was always a challenge talking to Tank. I was convinced he only had a ten word vocabulary.

I pulled out my cell and dialed. Ranger didn't pick up. I decided not to leave a message.

I noticed the cubicle where I had worked for a short time as Rangeman's skip tracer looked completely different. I stepped towards my old desk and came face to face with a woman. It took me a second to place her and then I felt the gears in my head seize up and come to a screeching halt.

"Elena!" I gasped.

"Stephanie!" she gasped, equally surprised. She jumped up from her seat at the research desk. "What are you doing here?" She, too, looked mildly alarmed.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I work for Rangeman," she admitted a sheepishly.

"I see," I said, my mind slamming back into gear and running back over the Girl Scout Cookie encounter. I looked down at the table where she'd been sitting and saw a stack of photos of Joe and Terry Gilman. "What the?" I grabbed them and flipped through them while Elena turned pale. I raised my eyebrows and stared her down.

"What exactly were you doing at Morelli's?" I demanded. "No, scratch that," I said, my irritation growing. "I know exactly what you were doing at Morelli's. You know how I know?" I fumed. "Because it used to be my job to plant bugs for Ranger!" I stormed out of the cubicle, tossing the pictures up into the air and glaring at Tank on my way out.

"Stephanie, wait!" Elena was scrambling after me. "We need to talk."

My favorite phrase. I kept going. I would love to have left the building, burning rubber down Haywood, but I didn't have a car. I hadn't felt comfortable taking the sporty little mini-van Morelli had bought for me. I had expected to use one of Ranger's cars. But that wasn't happening this morning either.

I stopped at the elevator, tapping my foot. Where was the damned elevator? Elena was right behind me, and Tank was watching us from the control room door.

"Steph, this is just a job. I'm not Ranger's girlfriend."

"I know that," I said, blowing a stray strand of hair off my cheek. "Ranger doesn't have girlfriends. Ranger doesn't belong to anyone."

"That's what you think," she said hotly.

I shot her a look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We need to go somewhere else to talk," she said after a moment's hesitation. We were on camera at Rangeman, and we both knew it.

"I'll drive," she offered, leading the way to the stairs.

We entered parking garage and I followed her to a black mustang with tinted windows. Ranger's cars were always very expensive, much more expensive than this.

She saw me looking at the Mustang. "Don't worry. I'm fully insured," she joked, trying to put me at ease. Making fun of my bad luck with cars wasn't helping her case.

"Ranger's?" I asked, doubting it.

"This is my own car," she informed me rather sharply. OK, now I was curious. What the hell was going on around here and where was Ranger?

We assumed Elena's car was also being monitored by Rangeman. We drove to the Quakerbridge Mall. Just in case we were bugged, we left our purses in the trunk, taking only ID and cash with us into the mall, although I suspected Elena probably had a gun stashed somewhere if Ranger had taught her half of what he'd tried to teach me. I, of course, hadn't brought my gun. It was still in my cookie jar, and my cookie jar was still at Morelli's.

"Steph, I know this is hard for you to believe, but I really like you. I want to be friends." I just glared at her. "I'm so sorry that I lied to you before. I didn't want to do that cookie business, but, Ranger talked me into it."

"Yeah, he's good at that," I agreed, thinking a little too longingly about Ranger's techniques of persuasion. Jealousy burned deep and hot. I was sick to my stomach thinking that I had been replaced, and so quickly too. Of course, there was probably a line to work the open chick job at Rangeman. Elena had her own shiny black car. She probably didn't destroy cars or burn down buildings or find dead bodies everywhere she went. Hell, she probably didn't even get kidnapped or shot. No wonder Ranger wasn't eager to see me in his bed.

"Steph?" She looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Just in a little shock," I said. "It's been a strange couple of days."

"Tell me about it," Elena sighed. No telling what she meant by that. I probably didn't want to know.

"Do you know where Ranger is?" I asked.

"No," she shook her head. "He was gone when I came in this morning."

I pulled out my cell and called Ranger again. No answer. I held out my hand for Elena's phone. She gave it to me and I dialed Ranger again.

"Yo," he answered.

"You bastard!" I yelled, tears stinging my eyes as I handed her phone back.

Elena's phone rang and she answered it.

"Hi, Ranger," she said calmly and almost too sweetly.

"Okay," and she held the phone out to me. "Ranger wants to talk to you."

"Oh, now he wants to talk to me," I said loudly and clearly so he could hear me, even though I refused to take the phone. "You know what? If he really wanted to talk to me he should have answered his phone when I called." I reached out and snapped the phone closed and then I took it and turned it off. I handed it back. My phone rang, and I switched it off too.

"You're just making things worse," Elena said, turning her phone back on. She dialed Ranger again. "Don't worry. I'll talk to her," and she hung up.

Great, I thought. Another calm, cool, and collected mini-Ranger. Like having Jean Ellen Burrows around doing her Cat Woman impersonation wasn't bad enough, now there was a Bat Girl too.

"Steph, there is nothing going on between me and Ranger," she assured me, reading my jealous thoughts. "At least, not what you think." Great, another qualifier. I scowled at her.

"And even if there was, you are, or at least, you were engaged to Morelli. Which brings us back to my original question. What were you doing at Rangeman?"

She was steering us into Victoria's Secret. We each grabbed a few items off the racks and headed for the dressing room. I looked back in time to see Lester duck into the One Hour Optical across the way. We were safe in the depths of Victoria's Secret. None of the Merry Men would dare to follow us in there.

We went into a large dressing room together and locked the door. I turned around and almost shrieked when I caught my reflection in the mirror. I was flushed and scary looking.

"Steph, Ranger is my boss, and we have developed a friendship. But that's all. Really. And I want to help you." She said, sounding as honest as the day is long. That's how she'd sold me the cookies, and I tried to remember that she was a really good liar. But she suddenly had the same effect on me that she did when she was selling me the Girl Scout Cookies. I wanted to overlook the fact that she'd fed me a line, possibly because she had also fed me Girl Scout Cookies, and they had been really good Girl Scout Cookies.

"Please, talk to me Steph. How can I help?" She was sincerely interested in listening to me, and I really needed to talk. So I broke down.

"I sort of moved out of Joe's," I said. She eyed my ring.

"What do you mean, sort of? Did you just have a fight, or did you break up?"

"I don't know," I whined. I gave a desperate little flap with my arms and sat down heavily on a changing bench. "Joe asked me to pretend to break up with him and move back to my parents' house to make it easier for him to pretend to be back together with Terry Gilman. He tried to tell me it was about protecting her, about some case he's working on, but I don't know if I can trust him with Terry." I ground my teeth at the thought of those pictures on Elena's desk. Joe didn't look like he was working on anything but Terry.

"Steph, I know a woman in crisis when I see one," she said soothingly, sitting down on the bench beside me. "I know I'm being forward, but I feel like I already know you. When I came on board at Rangeman, the men told me about you and Ranger being involved. They warned me that Burg gossip that might circulate if I was seen once too often with Ranger. I have to admit, I was curious, and I read everything the newspapers printed about you."

I was about to protest, but she held up her hand.

"I said I read the papers. I didn't say I believed them. I have heard stories and rumors and gossip. I don't pretend to know the whole truth behind the lies, but you'll forgive me if I try to connect the dots and you can correct me if I'm wrong, okay?"

I nodded. Sometimes it's helpful to have an objective opinion, I thought.

"You and Joe have quite a history, right? You grew up together?"

I nodded, tears starting again. "I've known Joe since we were little kids. He's been taking advantage of me since we were seven years old when he talked me into playing "train" in his garage. Then I when I was sixteen I lost my virginity to him behind the éclair case at Tasty Pastry where I worked. He was always so romantic," I said sarcastically. "You know what he brings me now when he's in the mood? Beer and Pino's pizza."

"Do you still love him enough to marry him?" Elena asked.

I shrugged and tried to wipe my eyes with one of the silk bras I had in my hand, but Elena stopped me and put them on a hook.

"I can totally understand the connection you feel to Joe because he was 'the one'. We always want 'the one' to be the one we end up with forever. It's natural to feel connected, and you're always going to feel that connection. You can't erase it. But he's not necessarily your one true love. You may have lost your virginity to Morelli, but I think that if you marry him because of that, you'll end up losing even more. What would have happened if you had waited for a guy who treated you with dignity and honor rather than a wrestle behind the éclair case? I think there would already be a ring on that finger. And I don't think you'd be looking twice at Morelli right now."

I was a little floored by this thought. "Hey," I said defensively. "Morelli has his good points. He's thoughtful, sometimes, like when he leaves me macaroni and cheese in my freezer because he knows I've had a bad day. He's good to Bob. Morelli is…comfortable."

"I'm not trying to make Morelli out to be some kind of a villain. I'm just asking if you are really in love with him, or if you are just afraid to let him go. Do you really thing Morelli is the only man out there?"

I groaned. My mind was going around in the same circles it had been going around for a very long time. I suddenly knew how Rex must feel on his little wheel. Limited vision, everything looks distorted, and even though the wheel isn't going anywhere, there just doesn't seem to be anything better to do.

"I don't understand why Ranger was so angry with me last night," I told her.

"Last night?"

"I was in Ranger's bed when he got home," I admitted.

"Oh," she said, sounding surprised. "Steph, why didn't you stay with your parents?"

"They drive me nuts. I can't stay there," I told her.

"But you've stayed there before, right? And it's not like someone is after you this time. Your family would be safe."

"What are you getting at?" I asked, blowing out a sigh.

"Weren't you really trying to get back at Morelli?"

I was about to start ranting and raving, but the look she was giving me told me not to try it. Elena had definitely been around Ranger too long.

"Steph," she said, slowly, getting ready to run it home. "Did you come to Rangeman with the intention of using Ranger to get back at Morelli?"

I sat there stunned for a minute. Was that why Ranger was angry with me?

"Do you know anything about Morelli's case or his plans regarding Terry?" she asked.

"No. He doesn't trust me enough to tell me," I fumed. "Do you know?" She nodded.

"I know a little. Morelli is trying to protect you."

"What's he trying to protect me from now? The Mob?" I said sarcastically.

"Yes," she said, sounding quite serious. "I know that there are lives at stake, and that Morelli's case is tied to the death of your friend, Jackie."

"That's how Jackie died?" I gasped. "The Mob?"

"Quite possibly," Elena nodded. "This thing is big, Steph, and if Morelli's got a lead, he's not in good conscience going to let it go. Joe probably thinks you're better off mad and alive than involved and dead."

"I don't like it when Ranger and Morelli get together to discuss me and try to make my decisions for me." I was suddenly afraid that Elena was right, and that Ranger surely had gone to see Morelli. "Nobody trusts me!" I complained.

"That's not true," she said gently. "Someone kept you in the loop on the Dickie investigation."

"It sure wasn't Morelli," I told her. "It was Ranger. It's always been Ranger," I admitted. It was true. He'd told me everything he knew and let me in on the investigation with him one hundred percent, which was a first.

"And what about you and Ranger?" she continued. "As I understand it, Ranger took you on as a trainee bounty hunter. He's been shot helping you, he's given you cuffs, guns, cars, assistance, back-up, bodyguards, and he's hired you on at Rangeman whenever you've needed money. Right?"

I nodded.

"Rumor also has it that he took care of a problem named Abruzzi a while ago."

Abruzzi tried to kill me. Ranger's calm but deadly cold stare was probably the last thing Abruzzi saw before his ticket was punched. Ranger had warned him. Morelli had broke the news of Abruzzi's apparent suicide to me with an air of relief, and he'd never considered opening the case for further investigation. Ranger and Morelli had an unspoken understanding. Come to think of it, they had a lot of unspoken understandings. But we all knew that Ranger had killed Abruzzi to protect me and to send a message to discourage others who might target me.

"Abruzzi committed suicide," I said. "Ranger was never a suspect." Elena didn't press the matter.

"Ranger has let you use his apartment, many times," she continued down a mental list she seemed to have already had prepared.

"Yes," I agreed.

"He's gone with you to eat dinner at your parents' house?" she asked, eyebrows raised. I appreciated her shrewd understanding that Ranger eating dinner at my parents' house was more impressive than his killing Abruzzi.

I nodded again.

"Has Ranger ever told you that he loves you?"

Again, I nodded, looking down at my feet. "Yes, but he says it's serious. He told me I'm just his entertainment."

"How did that make you feel?" she pressed.

"How do you think it made me feel? It hurt." A tear ran down my cheek, followed by another. "It was a bitter disappointment to hear him say that. He gave me cars because his men liked to place bets on how long the car would last. It wasn't because he loved me."

"Have you ever told him that you love him?"

"Not in so many words."

"Don't you think it hurts him to believe that you aren't serious about him, that you consider him a resource or a fantasy rather than a real love interest?"

"Ranger makes the rules, not me."

"Ranger's been respecting your rules for quite some time." She looked me right in the eye. "Do you love him, Steph?"

"Yes," I said. "I love Ranger." There, I had finally admitting it out loud to another human being. "But I love Morelli too."

"Love isn't easy. It requires us to make sacrifices. Painful sacrifices. That's part of proving our love for someone else. If we don't demonstrate it, it doesn't mean much. I know you and Morelli love each other, but you're both struggling with the sacrifice part. I'm sure he does things for you and you do things for him, but you both seem to expect the other to understand that other things sometimes take priority over your commitment to each other, and that will never work."

"It never has worked." I blew out another sigh.

"I know that you have gone out of your way to help Ranger. During those times you put Ranger first, and Morelli had to take a back seat. I'm sure you thought he should trust you, but that's not how a marriage quality relationship works. That was exactly like Joe asking you to move out and trust him be faithful to you while attempting to protect Terry. There's a history between Joe and Terry, just like there's a history between you and Ranger. And unless and until you and Morelli are able to put your relationship first and make it exclusive and closed to these kinds of temptations, it's not going to work, Steph."

"I know," I agreed, wiping my nose on my sleeve.

"So, what about Ranger? It sounds to me like Ranger's made a lot of sacrifices for you." I nodded. "Steph…forget what Ranger says. Look at what he shows you. He's not perfect. He's just a man. And he's had his defenses up for a long, long time."

"He doesn't want me to stay at Rangeman anymore," I said, nearing tears again. "He didn't even stay in his apartment with me last night. In fact, he didn't stay with me the last time I stayed at his apartment, either."

"What did you say to him? What explanation did you give for suddenly showing up unexpected in his apartment?"

"I told him I was through with Morelli," I said, looking back at the ring still on my finger.

Elena was also looking at my ring. "Did you tell Ranger that you needed him, or wanted him, or that you'd missed him?"

I shook my head slowly, tears coming in waves now.

"I told him I needed a place to stay, and that I was there for the shower gel," I cried. "I knew that was a big mistake as soon as I said it. That look on Ranger's face was something I had never seen before."

"I think you probably hurt his feelings, a lot," she said, rubbing my back.

"I know. And I just yelled at him and called him a bastard." I couldn't believe I had done that. What was wrong with me?

"Steph, you're a wonderful person. Why do you think these two guys are willing to put up with all of this to be with you? I can't speak for Morelli, but I know Ranger loves you more than you seem to know. He'd forgive you anything if you would just show him that you care about him and not just about what he gives you. And I mean what he gives you emotionally, not just things."

"You don't understand how it is with Ranger," I told her. "Ranger once told me that there was 'no price on what we give each other, not financial, not emotional'. He said it has to be that way."

"What do you think he meant my that?" she asked.

"I don't know for sure. I think he meant that he didn't care how much money I cost him, and in exchange I wasn't supposed to ask for anything emotional from him. He only wants a physical relationship. That's how Ranger operates. He says he's a mercenary. He has a price for everything. It's the same arrangement he has with his car dealer. He gets all the shiny new cars he wants in exchange for services provided. Well, he's been providing me services, and sometime he expects to collect."

"I see," she said, sounding a little surprised. "Are you sure that's really how he feels about you now, or was that how he presented his feelings earlier on in your relationship?"

"Okay," I admitted, "Yes, that was a while ago, but he hasn't revised that statement. And besides, if Ranger was in love with me, would he keep sending me back to Morelli? And why didn't he tell me about Morelli and Terry? Even as a friend, he should have told me."

"You know what I think?" She said, pulling back and wiping some of my tears with her sleeve. "I think he's talking to Morelli right now, and he didn't answer your calls because he hasn't decided what he thinks about this situation yet. We already knew Morelli was working on the Grizolli case and that Terry is involved somehow. When Ranger gets back, ask him nicely and I'm sure he'll tell you anything he knows, whether he thinks you want to hear it or not."

"Do you really think Morelli was telling me the truth about Terry?" I asked. I really wanted to believe that Joe was over Terry, but she just kept coming back like a bad case of herpes.

"Ranger gave Morelli the benefit of the doubt. He wanted to talk to him before making any decision about his involvement with Terry, and I would imagine he's taking the same approach concerning your sudden appearance. After all, you turned up still wearing an engagement ring," Elena pointed out. "In his mind, that means you still belong to Morelli, and he's not comfortable harboring you under these conditions."

I took a deep breath. "I hate this!"

"Don't jump to conclusions just yet. Have a little faith. Wait until you talk to Ranger," she said, encouragingly.

I nodded.

"You know what we need?" she asked, a sly smile spreading across her lips. "Fries."

I smiled as she helped me up.

"Yeah. Coke and fries," I said.

We walked back into the mall. "Think we can be friends?" she asked.

"Only if you're buying," I said, trying not to laugh at Lester wearing glasses.

"I think I can afford a coke and fries for my new friend," Elena said, smiling and waiving at Lester. Moments later we passed Hal, sitting on a bench trying to hide behind a newspaper. "But those guys are on their own."

To be continued...