Chapter 25

Stephanie knew her nerves would ebb once she got into the first song. But waiting to go on sure didn't help. The whine of the guitar started the intro to Wild Thing.

"We gotta a real treat for you tonight," Frankie announced. "A guest appearance by the Bombshell Bounty Hunter of Trenton herself….let's give it up for Stephanie Plum!"

She decided she would kill Frankie later as she trotted out to center stage and began to sing. Her eyes found Ranger's, and the smile on his face strengthened her confidence as the nerves evaporated. Stephanie got into the song as the crowd sang along with her. Of course when she finished, she got a standing ovation from Ranger and her friends.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed as she waved to them.

Next, she performed Fleetwood Mac's Gold Dust Woman. Stephanie loved Stevie Nicks and always included at least one of her songs in a set. They followed this up with Baba O'Riley by the Who.

Once again, Stephanie's musical ability mesmerized Ranger. Yeah, she played for him all the time, but to hear her with a back-up band blew him away. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his hatred for Dickie Orr simmered. When the Feds were finally done with his sorry ass, Ranger planned on pounding him into the ground. Seeing Stephanie in her element, the full weight of what that piece of shit did to her hit him like a ton of bricks. She gave up her music because she trusted that asshole. Ranger realized the power he had over Stephanie because she now trusted him. He made a silent promise to her that he would never abuse that power. He almost lost that trust once…never again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tara filming the set. Ram had been using his new Flip camera. Mike told them Tara would be coming late, but he didn't see her come in and set up. He definitely wanted a copy. Stephanie needed to see what an amazing talent she had.

Dancing along with Miss Amanda Jones, the energy of the crowd really got Stephanie pumped. She had forgotten how much fun it was to play for a live audience. Adding another Stone's tune, Beast of Burden followed. Several times, she caught Ranger's head bobbing to the beat. What a difference between Ranger and Dickie! To say the difference was like day and night would have been the understatement of the year. Dickie never supported her music. And…she allowed him to bully her into giving it up. Not only did Ranger support her music, he encouraged it. Another reason why she loved him, Ranger accepted her one hundred percent. Well maybe not her diet, but he did lighten up a little. For all his preaching, she caught him sneaking a few of her chocolate covered pretzels, too.

When they played together as The Trenton Local, Mike would sing some Tom Petty songs. Frankie had a voice that could sound like a lot of popular singers. Stephanie also had a wide range. With all their diversity, Stephanie sang duets with them often. She picked another Stevie Nicks' song to sing with Mike…Stop Dragging My Heart Around.

As the applause died down, Stephanie grabbed her guitar from the side of the stage and slipped the strap over her shoulder. "It really means a lot to me to have just about all of the most important people in my life here tonight," Stephanie told the crowd.

"And those people know what a crazy year it's been. It's because of you that I was able to put myself back together. So this song is for you."

Stephanie began to strum the opening for her song Unbroken. She maintained eye contact with Ranger throughout. Although his face gave away nothing, she could see that he also connected with the song. Even though the song reflected her personal feelings, Ranger went through the same thing.

Once again, everyone went wild. Lula's unearthly Bigfoot mating call could be heard above the roar of the crowd. The poor waitress that bustled past their table dropped her tray of drinks as Bobby clapped his hands over his ears. Time to lighten the mood.

"Thank you!" She waited for the noise to simmer down. "I want to dedicate this next song to a very good friend who unexpectedly found Jesus."

Ranger smirked as the guys razzed Lester.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Lester retorted. "You're just jealous 'cause I've seen God a few times tonight already."

They played Joan Osbourne's One of Us.

"Real cute, Beautiful," Lester yelled to her after the song.

They rounded out the set with Goodbye to You, Le Bel Age, Barracuda, and finished with Bohemian Rhapsody. The roar of the crowd touched Stephanie's soul. There were so many bad memories in her past. They seemed to overshadow all the good ones. Tonight reminded her that she did have good times. And…it opened her eyes that more good times still lay ahead.

She didn't make it off the stage before Ranger pulled into his arms. He claimed her mouth with his in a passionate kiss.

She pulled back and gave him a quick peck on the nose. "So…I guess you liked it, huh?"

His mouth tipped up as he barely nodded. "So proud of you, Babe," he whispered into her ear.

"That was fun," she admitted. "Too bad Joyce missed it."

She placed her guitar back in its case.

"You rocked it again, Steph," Mike told her.

"Definitely gonna want to you sing with us again," Frankie added. "We're playing here in a couple of months. You game?"

Stephanie rubbed her belly. "Keep me posted. I'll have to play it day by day. I don't know how I'm going to feel then."

Frankie nodded then excused himself to get a drink.

"I see that Tara made it here in time," Mike said. "She'll make you a copy of the set. You were really great tonight, Steph. Brought back a lot of memories. We really had some good times."

Stephanie grinned. "Well…I'm sure there still will be good times ahead."

Mike squeezed her shoulder before heading back to tend the bar.

Ranger tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Loved the new song. I really could relate to it. We've been through a lot this year. Being with you made me stronger. I hope you were able to get some strength from me. I love you so much."

"You are my strength, Carlos. Thanks for loving me for just the way I am."

Lester barged in between them again. "You were great, Beautiful."

He kissed her temple. "I'm outta here. We only have a couple of hours before she's gotta leave."

"I'm really glad you came, Lester. It meant a lot to me," Stephanie told him.

He waggled his eyebrows again. "I'm glad I came, too. See you guys tomorrow."

Rolling her eyes, she turned to Ranger and giggled. "No…it doesn't need to be said. How about we go back to the table? I need something to drink. I'm so thirsty. Then let's go home. I'm really tired all of a sudden. It's been a long and exciting day, and I forgot to take a nap today."

"You were great, Pumpkin."

Stephanie whirled around to see her father leaning against the wall.

"Daddy? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to hear you sing. It's been a long time since you've climbed on to the roof in the middle of the night. I've missed that," he explained.

A twinge of guilt came over her as she hugged her father. Stephanie didn't even consider asking her parents to come. While she could see her father wanting to come, she couldn't picture Helen Plum cheering her on in the audience. Maybe she needed to show her mother what her daughter was about? Stephanie noticed that her mother had been trying harder to get along. This could have been a great olive branch.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Stephanie whined. "This only came about a few days ago. I didn't even think about asking you and mom to come. But I promise I will next time."

"You're going to do this again?" Frank asked.

"Definitely."

He kissed the top of her head and shook Ranger's hand. "Actually, I've got the cab tonight. I snuck over here to take a chance on seeing you, so I've got to head out. I'll see you both tomorrow for dinner."

Ranger turned to Stephanie with an eyebrow raised. She returned a sheepish smile and shrugged.

"Didn't I tell you? My mom's making roast chicken…especially for you. With steamed vegetables," she offered.

"You are so lucky that I love you, Babe. Subjecting myself to your crazy grandmother goes above and beyond the call of duty," he replied.

"I'm sure I can make it worth your while," she sing-songed.

"I plan to take you up on that," he retorted with a smirk. "Come on. We'll have one more drink and head home. You need to start my compensation tonight."

"Well since I'm kind of tired…why don't we skip the drink, say goodbye to everyone, and head home now?"

Ranger grabbed her guitar with his left hand then grabbed her hand with his right. "Let's go."

He knew it would take some time to get through all the goodbyes and adulation everyone wanted to give Stephanie. Just from the time she got off the stage, he could see the fatigue overwhelming her. She didn't take her usual afternoon nap, and now she paid for it. As much as he wanted to get her home to pay up, he just wanted to get her home so she could lie down. Many times, he thought Stephanie got tired because she over did things. She always insisted that fatigue would hit her all of a sudden. Now he had no doubt. He also read a section about fatigue in his new book, but he'd never tell her that. Otherwise, Stephanie would throw that book out, too.

Because the guitar wouldn't fit in the Porsche, Ranger took the Mercedes. He helped Stephanie into the passenger side before sliding the guitar onto the back seat. The Mercedes glided towards the exit when they noticed movement to their left.

Lester had his date, Barbara, bent over her rental car and serviced her from behind. Stephanie gasped as she pointed to them before she covered her eyes.

"Oh my God! I can't believe him!" She glanced at Ranger and giggled. "Well…I guess I can."

Ranger pinched the bridge of his nose as he rolled down his window. "Santos! Don't I pay you well enough to afford a hotel room?"

Lester looked over his shoulder and smiled. "You offering me a raise?" He turned back around to get back to business.

Ranger shook his head as he stepped on the gas pedal. "He is so not right Babe."

He pulled out of the lot and prepared to make a turn when Stephanie grabbed his hand.

"Stop!" she gasped.

"What's wrong?" He slammed on the brakes.

Stephanie pulled his hand to the left side of her belly. "Do you feel that?"

Ranger applied pressure but didn't feel a thing. "No…what was it?"

Stephanie's shoulders slumped. "I thought I could feel one of them moving."

Ranger felt a little flutter. It felt more like a muscle spasm. His face it up.

"Did you just feel that?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah…I felt it that time." He splayed his hand on the site but didn't feel anymore movement. "That was incredible. Are they still moving? I don't feel anything."

She shook her head. "I don't feel anything right now. Were you really able to feel it?"

He nodded. "It felt like a muscle spasm. What does it feel like for you?"

"It started out feeling like gas, but it does feel like muscle spasms right now. I can't imagine what a kick is going to feel like. That was the first time I could feel it on the outside," she explained.

Ranger swelled with pride. Finally, he was there for another first.

"I'm sure it was your son," she told him, "Watching Lester have sex in the parking lot probably got him excited."

Ranger shook his head as he put the car in gear. "Like father, like son."

Stephanie snorted. "So what turned you on more? Watching live Lester porn or me?"

He stepped on the gas, and the car lurched forward. "Just hearing you breathe turns me on, Babe."

"I'm starting to believe that you're not right," she groaned.

The next morning, Ranger eased himself out of bed without waking up Stephanie. For as exhausted as she was, they still made love several times during the night. He decided to let her sleep late while he squeezed in a work-out. Stephanie would need all her strength for dinner with her parents. Ivy seemed to sense his intentions because she followed him into the closet with her leash in her mouth.

After his run, he wanted to check in with John. Last night was the first night that John had been on his own. Ranger left orders that he couldn't leave the building. John had done everything thing that Ranger asked him to do. He wanted to do something extra special for John but didn't have any ideas. Maybe Stephanie could think of something to get him. Or maybe they could take him out somewhere.

Ranger grinned from ear to ear seeing John on the treadmill when he entered the gym. As much as John enjoyed himself, he admitted to Ranger the other day that he missed his family. Celia depended on him a lot. Being a working single mother had its drawbacks. Celia hated to depend on others, so John picked up the slack.

John stopped the treadmill as soon as he noticed Ranger. He hopped off the machine and hurried over to Ranger. He looked nervous.

"Is everything okay?"

John shook his head. "Miguel called me 4 times last night. At first, I didn't answer 'cause I didn't recognize the number. He didn't leave a message either. I picked up the 4th time. He said that him and Aggie got released because I rolled on T-Day."

"When did they get out?" Ranger frowned as he reached for his phone. Hunter hadn't called him.

"He didn't say. T-Day's still in jail. He asked me how I got out. I told him that my uncle new the DA when he was a cop."

Ranger left a short message for Hunter. "Call me."

He turned back to John. "What else was said?"

"He wanted to know where I was. I told him that I was in Miami because the DA released me to my uncle's custody. Was that okay?"

Ranger squeezed his shoulder. "Yeah, you did fine. If he calls again, you need to let me know right away."

John nodded. "Even if it's in the middle of the night?"

"Yes, I don't care what time it is. Is he going to call you again? Did he say anything else?" Ranger demanded.

"I thought someone else rolled on T-Day, and that they weren't going to need me," John insisted.

Ranger's phone rang. Hunter told him that he had not been notified of their release. He called the DA, and he confirmed that those boys were still in jail.

"One of them called John," Ranger told him. "He's getting the blame. Did Aguilar recant?"

"As far as I know…no. He's been moved to protective custody and is in another section of the jail. Same as the other kid. Gutierrez wasn't able to post bail. Sounds like they are trying to set up John to protect themselves. You may want to move your family just to be safe," Hunter replied.

Ranger ended the conversation and immediately called his father. He planned on taking them to the beach house in Longport anyway. He could get them moved in today. Celia could be a problem. If he had to, he would call the hospital administrator. The teams watching his parents' house had not seen anything suspicious. They knew the routine of the entire neighborhood by heart. Something didn't add up.

Could it be that John's friend wanted to save his own neck buy putting the blame on John? Highly probable. He knew John's last name was McCaffrey. John said that he never mentioned his mother's maiden name, but that didn't mean these punks didn't know it. John told him they hadn't been friends that long…only a couple of months. So it would be easy for this kid to throw John to the wolves.

His father agreed to do whatever Ranger felt best. He didn't want to over react, but didn't want to take unnecessary chances either. He made one last call to his old friend Manny. Manny hadn't heard much about this case on the streets but said he would ask around and call Ranger back.

"John," Ranger ordered, "give your phone to Hector to trace where that call came from. It wasn't collect…was it?"

John shook his head. "No, it came up as unknown. What are we going to do? Is my family in danger?"

Ranger gave him a reassuring smile. "No, I've got men watching the house. We'll finish getting all the intel and make a decision. If we have to, we'll move them. Tell Hector I want that number yesterday."

John ran off to see Hector while Ranger called Tank. He wanted him briefed in case he had to call a full alert. Tank promised Ranger that he had their backs. Manny called back to confirm there wasn't any word out on John.

His phone rang. Hector. The call came from a pre-paid cell that must have been snuck into the jail. Maybe this kid tried to get some information from John. This left Ranger with a very settling feeling in his gut. It might not be ready to hit the fan today…but it was coming. He called his father back.

"What do you want us to do?" Raoul asked. "I think we're okay for now. Especially since you are having us watched. But if you feel strongly that we need to leave, that's what we'll do."

Ranger sighed. "The twins have one more week of school. I'd rather not pull them out unless it's necessary. Do you feel comfortable staying home?"

"I think we'll be all right, Carlos," Raoul replied. "It's not like we can't pick up and go at a moment's notice. I think Raoul called in some favors. I've noticed more patrol cars in the area since this has happened. How's John?"

Ranger beamed. "He's doing great, Dad. He's done everything I've asked and all with a positive attitude. He wants to go to MIT. I'm going to make sure he gets there. I want to do something for him, but I don't have any ideas."

"Well I don't think you always have to reward someone for doing the right thing, but just use your best judgment."

"Thanks, Dad," Ranger said. "I thought Stephanie and I could take him out for dinner or something, too."

"How is my future daughter-in-law doing?"

"Doing good. I was able to feel the babies last night. Just a little flutter, but it was incredible. It's like her stomach stays the same for a while then grows overnight. How's Mom?"

Raoul laughed. "She's fine. I hate to tell you that she has a list of ideas for your wedding. She wants to talk to Stephanie's mother about a bridal shower. Since you are getting married in about 2 months, she wants to have something the end of this month or early July. I'm just giving you fair warning. And she's trying to prepare for Ana and deal with Rena."

"Is Rena drinking again?"

Ranger heard his father sigh. "I don't know for sure, but I think so. She's been very sneaky again. I told your mother that I will kick her out and not let her back in if she doesn't stay sober. We're not helping her by giving her a safety net all the time."

When it rains, it pours, Ranger thought.

Ranger called John, Tank, and Hector into his office to discuss the situation.

"I'm thinking that we have you call him back," Ranger told John. "Ask him some questions. He won't expect it. We need to find out who else he's been talking to."

The men worked out a story for John to make sure his answers sounded genuine. And it came as no surprise that the call blind-sided Miguel.

"Who gave you this number?" he demanded.

"It showed up on my caller ID, dumb ass," John explained.

"Why are you calling me?"

"I want to know who told you that I ratted on T-Day. I didn't say a word. I'm not taking the heat for this," John continued.

"I don't know," Miguel back peddled. "It just looks bad that you got bailed out first."

"I told you…my uncle was a cop in Newark. The DA owed him a favor."

"Can he talk to the DA for me? What's your uncle's name?"

Ranger nodded to John. They didn't know his mother was a Manoso. The tension eased a bit.

"Dan…Dan McCaffrey. I can talk to him about it, but he's pissed off at me. I don't know if he would do it." John responded fluidly. He answered everything just like they rehearsed.

"Shit…I need to get outta this fuckin' place, man," Miguel groaned.

"I thought you said that you got out? What's going on?"

"Shit man….I gotta go. You're usin' up my minutes."

Ranger again nodded to John.

"Listen to me…you throw me under the bus, Miguel, and I'll make sure I tell everyone that it was you that rolled on T-Day," John told him firmly before he disconnected the call.

"Good job," Ranger said. "Aguilar made a deal. Hunter said the DA is keeping this under wraps and making sure all 3 of them are separated. I talked to my other friend, and there isn't any buzz on the street. This kid is a low level punk. No one seems to be too upset about their friends in jail."

John sighed. "I hope so. I don't want anything to happen to my Mom or brothers because of me."

"Sounds like this kid doesn't know much," Tank agreed.

"He knows where I live though." John grimaced.

"That's an easy fix," Ranger added. "We can get you moved somewhere else."

"Yeah…like Mom will love that," John joked.

"I'll deal with your mother," Ranger said. "If he calls you again, record the call like Hector showed you. We've got guards on the house and watching the family. Hunter will call if anything changes. We'll just stay one step ahead, and things will work out."

"Thanks, Uncle Carlos."

"What are you doing today? You can come with us to Steph's parents for dinner if you want," Ranger offered.

Tank and Hector shuddered.

"Well…Ram and Woody asked me to play softball with them. Then we were going to grab pizza or something. Maybe another time," John said diplomatically.

"They've been talking about Steph's grandmother again…haven't they?"

Tank and Hector looked around the room at everything but Ranger's glare.

"It would be totally gross for an old lady to grab my ass," John blurted out.

Ranger shook his head. "You might as well get out while you can. I think the DNA results are coming back this week. If that body was Jimmy Hoffa….and I'm sure it is because that was Stephanie's car…it's going to be a zoo."