I can't thank you enough for all your feedback, not only do you encourage me to write faster, I think you make the story better! Thank you so much!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Muchas gracias to my chica Stayce without whom I wouldn't have made it past chapter 1

Disclaimer: Most characters are borrowed from JE, any similarities with living persons is coincidental, and the title is borrowed from Bon Jovi

Warning: Bad language and adult content

Keep the Faith

Chapter 25

I woke up when Ranger got up at dawn. "Go back to sleep, Babe," he said and brushed some hair out of my face. "You need rest."

"Mmmm," I agreed. "And yet you kept me up most of the night."

That earned me his wolf grin, even though it wasn't entirely true. We'd made slow, passionate love and fell asleep right around midnight, I think. And he had successfully taken my mind off of bullet wounds, hostage takers and…rumor mills. Although I knew my mom had probably left a dozen messages by now, I didn't care.

Ranger bent down and kissed me lightly. "How're you feeling?"

I touched the bandage on my head. My skull burned a little, but the pounding headache was gone.

"Okay, I guess. Ask me again when the bandage comes off," I said, grimacing.

Just because I'd shrugged it off the night before didn't mean I was going to handle it well when I saw the damage.

"Let's burn that bridge when we get there," Ranger suggested on a smile and straightened. "Get some more sleep, you'll feel better. I'll be back in time for breakfast." And with a quick kiss goodbye, he was gone.

I stretched and ignored my screaming muscles. Probably I needed a whole 24 hours of rest, uninterrupted. Chances of that happening were a lot better now that DalBo was taken care of.

I glanced at the clock. 5:30. If I got up now, I'd have time for coffee before early mass, it being Sunday and all.

Bob slobber woke me up the second time. Probably Ranger had let him into the bathroom, and now he was giving me his good morning kisses.

By now it was 7:30, Ranger had let me sleep in, by his definition. I gave Bob a hug and told him to go find Ranger, but he was too excited to see me. He jumped into the bed and lay down next to me.

"Breakfast is ready," Ranger said and I turned around to see him standing in the doorway.

He didn't wait for me to respond, he just disappeared back into the apartment and my spidey sense started tingling.

I dismissed it as some leftover nervousness and sat up. No spinning, no nausea, no pounding headache. I was as good as new. Well, that was as long as ignored my bandaged head, of course.

I purposefully avoided even a glance in the mirror as I took Ranger's robe from the bathroom and slipped into it, although I did notice the bruises on my arms and legs were fading nicely.

Bob followed me into the dining room in hopes of food. Ranger was sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him, his patented blank expression on his face.

"What's wrong?"

He looked up and our eyes met. "We need to talk."

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. If I hadn't been so close to the table that I was able to collapse into a chair, I would have just sat on the floor. I could only come up with one reason those words are ever uttered in a relationship.

"I thought we were…" I couldn't even finish the sentence. I thought we'd worked things out, Ranger had realized he wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with him.

Apparently, my feelings were displayed openly on my face because Ranger jumped up and quickly closed the distance between us.

He wrapped his arms around me from behind. "God, I'm sorry. It's not what you think."

"You're not an ass again?" I tried to joke.

Ranger snorted. "I'm always an ass according to some people."

"But you don't think you'll be better off without me again?"

He kissed the spot right under my earlobe. "Not a chance."

I pulled forward a bit so I could turn around and look at him. "Then what? What is it we need to talk about?"

Ranger lifted his hand and tucked my hair behind my ear. I could tell he was trying to find the right words for whatever it was he had to say. This meant it was bad, because Ranger was never at a loss for words.

"We handed Hartung over to Trenton PD," he started. That had to happen at some point, although I hadn't given it much thought.

"And?" I prodded.

"We weren't able to get much out of him, but we told the cops he was working for Guzzarella."

I could tell that wasn't the big thing either and I was getting kind of impatient. Ranger never beat around the bush.

Ranger smiled at my expression and smoothed out my frown with his thumb, then he took a deep breath. "They're expecting you to give your statement on DalBo today. When Tank got back from delivering Hartung, he said it might not be a good idea for you to show your face around the station."

I narrowed my eyes, not hiding my impatience any longer. "I have no idea what you're trying to hint at. You're gonna just have to say it."

Ranger ran a hand through his hair. "They're still investigating the murder, obviously, but until now, they hadn't gotten any leads."

"And now they do." I was getting close to wringing his neck.

"I'm trying to confirm what Tank heard, but they either want to bring you in for questioning or…"
I jumped up, knocking the chair over. "Arrest me????" I finished for him, almost screaming.

Ranger lowered his eyes and nodded. "That's what I'm trying to find out."
"Arrest me?" I repeated, unable to grasp the concept. "Why me? I didn't' even know him! I had no reason to kill him!"

Ranger took my hand and pulled me towards him before I could freak out completely. "No, you didn't. The only thing I can think of is that they're getting desperate to find somebody that might have the hint of a motive.

"But you just agreed that I didn't have a motive," I argued.

"I agreed you didn't know him. Word may have gotten around that you had him arrested and that he had sworn to get even, and you might have heard that."

"You believe that?" I asked, frowning at him and pulling out of his embrace.

"No," Ranger simply said. "But it's my only guess at what the cops believe."

I sat down slowly. No, I thought, it couldn't be. Tank must have heard wrong, and Ranger had asked the wrong people. It was ridiculous. No one could possibly believe I could kill anyone, let alone Guzzarella.

"You think they're gonna charge me with murder?"

Ranger squatted next to my chair and took my hands in his. "We're checking every possible source now. Call Eddie, or whoever else you trust on the force." He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. "You know that even if it came to that, I'd bail you out immediately, I'm not gonna let you fight this alone."

I tried to smile at him but failed. How long ago was it that I thought it was finally over, ten minutes? Hadn't I been through enough? I'd been kidnapped several times in the last few days, didn't that show I couldn't just kill people? I mean, wouldn't I have killed everyone instead of ending up as their hostage? It just didn't make sense.

"No," I said, making up my mind.

"No?"
"It can't be, Tank heard wrong. It's ridiculous. And I'm going to prove it."

I stood up and went looking for my shoulder bag. I found it, and my phone was inside, but it had died again. Or maybe I'd never charged it? Ranger handed me his phone wordlessly and I dialed Eddie's number.

Eddie answered on the first ring, as carefree as usual, "It's your quarter."

"Hey Eddie, it's Steph," I said and waited for his reaction. He didn't suck in any air or hesitate.

"Hey Steph, long time no see. What's up?"

I locked eyes with Ranger, but I didn't know if I should shake my head to indicate nothing was wrong or nod. It was just like a pregnancy test, were negative is positive. I'd just have to tell him after.

"RangeMan heard a rumor that I'm going to be taken in for questioning in the Guzzarella murder," I told Eddie without any small talk. "Have you heard anything?"

"What? No, I would have told you, you know that. I'm not on the case, but word would have traveled!"

Eddie sounded as incredulous as I had a few minutes before, I was sure this had shocked him just as much.

"Can you ask around? Find out if they have anything or if I'm still a suspect? You know people…"

"You got it. Is this the number to reach you at?"

I took the phone away from my ear and looked at it. I'd already forgotten I hadn't called from my own phone, mental head slap.

"No, call my cell, I'm charging it now. Oh, and Eddie?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he said and hung up. Not even the threat of having to baby-sit his kids for that favor, he was taking this seriously.

"Well?" Ranger asked when I handed him back the phone and rummaged in my shoulder bag for my cell phone charger.

"It was the first Eddie heard of it," I told him. "I'm calling Carl next."

"Do you know any of the pc's in the department?" Ranger wanted to know.

He meant did I know someone who might know more than the uniforms. I didn't, not enough to ask a favor like that. Morelli had always been my source if I'd needed information.

"Not yet," I told Ranger and plugged in my cell phone. I was fumbling with the buttons so I didn't notice Ranger's intensive stare at first. He was leaning against the fridge, watching me.

"What?"

"You okay?" Ranger asked. "You look a bit frantic."

I took a deep breath. Probably he was waiting for the nervous breakdown next. "If Eddie had confirmed what Tank said I would be freaking out now, I admit." I put down the cell phone on the kitchen counter. "But now I have a plan. I'll find out if they want me or if it's safe to go in to give my report."

"Tank is still on it, too," Ranger said. "But maybe you should stay here until we know for sure."

I turned and leaned against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest. "You want me to hide from the cops?"

A small smile played around his lips. "I'd call it being less visible rather than hiding."

"Call it what you like." I shrugged. "You got the bad guys, they're all locked up. I'm not hiding from the good guys. And," I held up my hand because I could see Ranger wanted to object, "I'm not taking a bodyguard with me either."

"Babe," Ranger said predictably and I couldn't help but smile. He says one word and it means several sentences.

"I'm not in danger anymore," I argued. "Trenton PD won't put out a warrant on me and chase me down Hamilton."

"How do you know you're not in danger anymore?" Ranger asked, pushing himself off the fridge and closing in on me.

I rolled my eyes. "Well technically, yes, we're all in danger every day, is that what you mean?"

"You more so than others, but no, that's not what I meant," Ranger said, putting his hands on my shoulders. "We have some work left to do, I'd like to make sure DalBo was the last of them."

"We know DalBo is the last of them," I corrected him. "Harry said he had nothing to do with it, Guzzarella and DalBo were the only two rogues."

Ranger took a deep breath. "And I'm not saying Harry's lying. But he didn't know about Guzzarella, what makes you think he'd know about others?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Just out of curiosity, were you planning on ever letting me out on the streets again without supervision?"

I knew he didn't deserve that. It wasn't even about DalBo or Guzzarella anymore, all I'd heard was that Ranger wanted to lock me up. He might have had another word for it and he didn't see it as locking me up, but I did.

"That all depends. One day, when I want you dead, I might reconsider."

I just glared at him. I totally hate it when he disarms with a comment like that. He smiled and kissed my nose.

"Just lay low for a day, okay? We should have everything we need by tonight, maybe you want to help by running the searches later?"

It wasn't like I had any plans, really. The bonds office was closed on Sundays and I didn't feel like shopping.

"You're coming with me to my parents for dinner?" I bargained. Ranger probably thought accompanying me a few nights before fulfilled his quota for a month.

It didn't faze him. "Looking forward to it," he lied and kissed me.

On the mouth this time, with plenty of tongue and roaming hands. I fisted my hands into his t-shirt and molded my body against his, and my mood brightened immediately. Suddenly, staying inside didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Maybe I need somebody to guard my body while I'm inside, too," I suggested when we came up for air and that earned me his 200 Watt smile.

"I can think of a few other things besides guarding, Babe," he said and pulled the robe open with a quick tug on the belt.

He reached around to cup my buttocks, then lifted me onto the counter and stepped between my legs. My skin touched the rough fabric of his cargo pants and I felt the heat rush through me.

He lowered his head and ran his tongue over the shell of my ear. "And I'm getting more ideas by the minute," he whispered and kissed me at the junction of my neck and shoulder and I shuddered.

His hands ran up my back and settled on my shoulders. He exhaled and his breath tickled my skin before he pulled back, still holding on to my shoulders. "Unfortunately, now's not the time."

"What??" I asked, somewhat stupefied, not ready to just switch off the good feelings.

"I'm sorry," Ranger whispered, leaning his forehead against mine, trying to regulate his breathing. "I have to go."

I knew he didn't just say that, RangeMan was his company and as the boss, he never really had a day off, but it was disappointing all the same. He didn't even own a shower massager.

So all I could do was channel all that penned up energy into work probably. Id' finish my phone calls, see what I could dig up, then help the Merry Men complete the report on DalBo.

"Is Tank in?" I asked, following that train of thought.

Ranger paused and looked at me in a way I couldn't read. And then I realized how much of the 'conversation' had been in my head and how much of it out loud and I blushed.

"Oh my God, I didn't mean it that way!" I tried, holding on to his arm as he tried to pull back. "I meant to go over the reports with and…stuff."

"He's working the first shift today," Ranger said tonelessly. If I didn't know better, I could have sworn he was jealous. Only Ranger didn't do jealous.

"I have to go," he repeated and turned to leave.

"There's nothing going on between me and Tank." There, I said it. It felt unnecessary and ridiculous, but if he needed to hear it, I'd say it.

He nodded almost imperceptibly and left the kitchen, by the time I had scooted off the counter, he was gone. I got to the foyer in time to see the door click shut behind him.

What the hell had that been? Hot and heavy the one minute and ice cold the next? And they say women change their moods fast! Then again, ranger had been acting weird all morning, the way it had taken him forever to tell me about the murder investigation and…shit! I still had to find out if there was any truth to me being a suspect, I really couldn't spend the time to analyze Ranger's mind now.

I threw up my hands and turned towards the apartment theatrically, just as Bob came out of the dining room to see what the ruckus was. "Men," I threw at him and stomped into the bathroom.

When I was showered and dressed, I had a plan. I'd made a mental to do list and now I was writing it down. The people I needed to talk to, for example.

I grabbed my cell phone off the kitchen counter, clipped Bob's leash on his collar and was out the door and in the elevator before I realized I hadn't had any breakfast in the excitement. It wasn't even nine yet, there were bound to be jelly doughnuts at my parents' house, I realized, and I pressed the ground floor button before I knew what I was doing.

Bob was riding shotgun as I wove my key card in front of the garage door control. Nothing happened. I tried it once more just to be safe, but I knew it wasn't an accident. Damn him!

My car phone rang just when I waved the card a third time, and I didn't even look at the readout as I snagged it from its cradle. "You have some nerve!"

There was silence on the other end, then I heard breathing and then Hal clearing his throat. Probably I'd scared him with my greeting. "Hal? You gonna open the garage gate for me?"

"Uhm…Steph…you know I would if I could."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Okay, so I knew what he was trying to say. And I wasn't angry at him for following an order, I was angry at Ranger for giving it.

"Boss said to…you know…uhm…"

"Not let me leave?" I suggested.

"No, no, not that, but one of us has to be with you." He didn't sound like he volunteered for that job. I swear, I always try to be nice to my Merry Men, what happens to them in my company is almost never my fault. Well, with the exception of the day before in the deli, maybe.

I wondered if I should ask to talk to Ranger, hang up in a huff and call Ranger or just pout. I took a look at Bob. He was smiling at me and his eyes said to hurry up, he wanted a doughnut. And now I really wanted a doughnut, too. And without Ranger's hands on me, I could think straight and realize that he really didn't have any reason whatsoever to keep me locked up.

So I wrenched my door open, took the surprised Bob and my shoulder bag, and marched through the emergency exit that by law could not be locked from the inside. Ha! Don't get between me and my breakfast!

Of course, now Bob and I were on foot on Haywood Street, a few miles from the Burg and my parents, but I couldn't let that stop me, I was on a mission of independence. Yes, a couple days ago, even yesterday, this would have been incredibly stupid of me. But today, with all the bad guys behind bars, at nine AM on a Sunday morning, I was perfectly safe. The weather was nice and the birds were singing, it was a perfect early summer morning. Even Bob was excited, he got another walk out if it. Screw Ranger and his overdeveloped sense of security!

We were power walking down Haywood and took a right onto Liberty. I figured if I kept up this speed, I'd be at my parents' sometime before lunch, but it was worth saving my pride. Good thing Bob was a big dog who loved to run, if I had to carry him I'd be shit out of luck. I was so lost in my thoughts that I jumped when a black SUV turned right in front of me, missing me by a couple feet, and came to a screeching halt.

I took a couple steps back and had my head in my shoulder bag immediately, digging for my stun gun, I knew I had it in there. When I looked up, Lester was just coming around the front of his SUV, flashing me a grin. He leaned against the side, as if this was a casual meeting.

Suddenly I had a flashback to Alexander Ramos. They hadn't let him out of his mansion unsupervised either, and when he dared to take off, they sent bodyguards after him. Was that what my life had come to?

I gathered Bob's leash so that he was standing closer to me and fixed my Burg death glare on Lester. "What do you want?"

He raised his hands, surrendering. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I'm supposed to bring you back."

"And how're you supposed to do that?" I challenged him. What I really wanted to know was how he was feeling after the trauma the day before, but he didn't give me that choice. I had to settle for making sure there were no bandages or open wounds visible.

"Come on, Steph, don't give me a hard time. You owe me," he said, and I could tell he was trying to lay on the charm.

Not that it wasn't working, Lester was incredibly hot, and when he did his crooked grin, he could melt ice bergs. But I had my pride to consider.

"I owe you," I admitted. "But not for a favor to somebody else. I'm not going back now, I have a date with a doughnut at my parents' house. I can't go with you."

"You gonna let me get physical?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and slipped my hand into my shoulder bag again, this time finding the stun gun. I pulled it out and switched it on. "I mean it, Lester, get out of my way."

Okay, so probably I wouldn't have stunned him and probably he knew that.

"Ooh, a challenge," he joked, but didn't move.

I know I thought Ranger and I'd shared this ESP thing the day before, but now it was as if Bob had some of it, too. I never even looked at him, and yet he moved at the same second I did and we managed to round the SUV in record speed. Bob jumped in through the open driver's side door and I scooted in behind him.

By the time Lester turned, I had the door closed and the locks secured. He had been considerate enough to leave the motor running with the key in the ignition.

Lester grabbed the passenger side door handle, but I threw the car into reverse and backed out of the side street so fast, he was forced to let go. I blew him a kiss as I threw the gearshift into Drive and took off, thinking he might not forgive me for this one.

But on the bright side, at least I knew he was okay now, after feeling so guilty for dragging him into the deli from hell the day before. I felt a little bad because now he had to walk back to RangeMan, but hey, he shouldn't have tried to get in my way, right?

"We're gonna get our sugar fix after all," I told Bob as we were speeding down Liberty and I rolled down the window for him.

I got to my parents' house ten minutes later and although I hadn't called and Sunday mornings were not my usual visiting hours, my mother and grandmother were standing behind the screen door, awaiting me. Eerie. My dad's car wasn't in the driveway, so I assumed he was out with the cab, which often translates to playing cards with his friends.

I was able to snag a doughnut out of the box before my mom started. "Look at your hair!!!" she wailed. "No wonder the phone wouldn't stop ringing yesterday," she said.

"Yeah," Grandma chimed in, "we had to pull the cord out when we went to bed. You were big news!" She laid the Sunday paper out in front of me. The story was on the front page. Shit.

"And this is what we had to wake up to," Mom lamented, pointing at the (very unflattering) picture of me. "You didn't even call to tell us you were okay."

She was right, I'd forgotten. I'd been so happy to be alive that I'd only thought of 'celebrating' with Ranger.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Things got very hectic and I…"

"Mary Sokolov's daughter never makes the front news being taken hostage," Mom continued. "And I've never even read anything about Bridget Dallmeier's two daughters in the paper. Why me?" She looked heavenwards.

Since nothing I could say was going to make it better, I just ate my doughnut and pretended to listen. I understood Mom had to vent. Probably she'd been worried about me when the phone had started ringing. When she arrived at the hiring the button factory was doing, I knew her lamenting would come to an end soon.

"You really outdid yourself with this, Stephanie. It was the biggest headline since…" Grandma said.
I looked up from my doughnut when she didn't continue. She was looking down at her hands, twisting a tissue. And I knew what she was going to say.

"Mother," Mom said, the accusation obvious in her tone.

"It's okay," I just said, hoping that would end it. 'The biggest news since Joe's murder', that's what she had meant to say, forgetting in her excitement that she was talking to me.

But Grandma always recovers fast. "Well, it's big news, that's for sure. I can't wait for my appointment tomorrow. I'll be the star at the beauty parlor!"

Mom tsked and put a cup of coffee in front of me. "So what happened?" she wanted to know. "I think I deserve the truth after hearing ten different versions from the gossip mongers."

So I told her. I didn't elaborate on some gory details, but other than that, I told her the truth. Mom was shaking her head when I was done, lost for words, but Grandma Mazur was grinning. "That's a pip of a story! I'll be the center of attention for days!"

It wasn't easy, but I finally managed to change the subject over to Valerie and her kids. Mom always had something to tell me about them, and it distracted her.

"Are you staying for lunch?" she asked after the coffee was gone and the doughnut box was empty.

I'd heard my cell phone vibrate several times in the hour I'd been at my parents', I didn't think it was such a good idea to ignore it much longer. "I have a case to wrap up, I need to go back to the office."

My mother didn't look pleased with that answer but she didn't say anything. I figured that was a good opportunity to make my exit and clipped Bob's leash back on. Her mood brightened when I told her I'd be back for dinner, so I figured all was well.

I said my goodbyes and fished my cell phone out of my purse on the way out, planning on calling Ranger. I didn't have to. His Cayenne was parked right behind Lester's SUV. Oh boy.

Ranger got out of his car when I pulled the front door closed behind me, his patented blank expression on his face. I knew I should have answered my cell phone! Lester's car was tracked by RangeMan and I had a GPS tracker in my purse, so it wasn't like they didn't know where I was. I just didn't think Ranger would like that argument much.

I hadn't asked, but that thing Ranger had had to go to earlier was probably a client meeting or something, I knew he wouldn't have left for just paperwork. Now I was wondering if he'd left that meeting after he'd heard what I did to Lester or if he'd come over right after.
But I hadn't done anything, I reminded myself. He'd sent Lester after me, and I'd had the right to disagree. I lifted my head and straightened my shoulders as I walked down the front steps.

He leaned against his car and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was asking for one day, Babe."

"No," I objected, "you didn't ask. You told me. And then you sent Lester after me like I'm some five-year-old." I was keeping my voice down with some effort. I didn't want the entire neighborhood to hear me and I didn't want Ranger to dismiss me as hysteric. And I tried really hard to ignore how gorgeous Ranger looked, just standing there, his biceps bulging, his t-shirt so tight it looked painted on. I hated it when my hormones took over at the least convenient moment.

"I didn't send Lester. Hal panicked so Lester volunteered," Ranger said. "I just asked for Hal to keep an eye on you."

"And keep me at RangeMan," I added, licking my lips involuntarily.

Ranger's eyes dropped to my lips. "To keep you safe," he said softly.

I threw up my hands, exasperated, trying to ignore how standing so close to Ranger was melting my resolve pretty quickly.

"Whatever," I said and pulled Bob closer to me. "I'm sorry about Lester. But he didn't give me a choice."

Ranger smiled full-on. "He won't be teasing Hal about the stun-gun incident anymore, that's for sure."

I rolled my eyes, I didn't really want to relive that moment of my Merry Men history either.

I tried to side-step him and get to the SUV, but he reached out and put his hand on my forearm. "One day, Babe," he repeated and pulled me toward him. I didn't resist.

He tucked a curl behind my ear and kissed me, taking me by surprise. I'd expected a lecture, or at least an argument. Instead, he was holding me against him, deepening the kiss, and I dropped Bob's leash.

"Is that Ranger with you?" my mother wanted to know.

I didn't have to turn to know she was standing behind the screen door. Probably Grandma Mazur was right behind her. I broke the kiss and turned around.

"Yes, Mom. We'll be back for dinner," I hollered and waved, and Mom smiled and retreated.

Ranger was still holding on to me and when I turned back, he was smiling. A lot better than the blank face, I decided. A smile was good.

"Christ Steph, I came here planning to haul you back to RangeMan, kicking and screaming if necessary, and make sure you stay there."

"What changed?" I asked innocently, although I could feel the change press into my abdomen.

"You're the kind of woman 1000 ships are launched for," he said and pushed himself off his car to open the passenger door for me.

"Huh?"

He was still smiling, gently nudging me inside the car. "Get in now or we'll be the kind of spectacle the Burg never forgets."

"As you punish me for being such a disobedient girl?" I asked, suddenly feeling very cocky and not the least bit irritated anymore.

Ranger's eyes darkened as he pulled back and shut my door. Less than ten seconds later he angled himself into the driver seat and started the car.

"What about Bob?" I asked. "What about Lester's car?"

"Do you really care?" he asked, cutting his eyes to me. His scent drifted over to me and I shook my head slowly. Damned hormones. Good thing Ranger was a good guy, I don't think I'd have the power to care even if he'd been Jack the Ripper.

TBC

A/N: Now what? They can't be serious about arresting Steph, can they? If so, should she hide? What do you think??

Hope you all have a wonderfully merry Christmas!!!