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

I was trying to bury five Tasty Cake wrappers in the trash can under an empty carton of skim milk when I heard the door to Ranger's apartment open. I heard the clank of keys hitting the silver tray on the sideboard by the door. Seconds later, Ranger appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He was wearing his usual SWAT black cargo pants and a tight, black T-shirt. He had a Glock at the small of his back. I knew he had another gun on his ankle and a big knife on him somewhere. He always did. His mid-length straight black hair was a mess of perfection and the dark shadow hiding his classic Latino eyes was only deepened by the 5:00 shadow along his upper lip and chin. I sucked in a breath at the sight of him. He wasn't smiling. I suddenly wasn't feeling quite so brave.

"Hi," I said, trying to sound chipper.

"I'm a bastard?" he asked, reminding me exactly where we had left off.

"Oh, that," I said, waiving it away with my hand. "I was angry with you for not telling me about Morelli and Terry. I saw the pictures." He knew I was a notorious snoop, so this came as no surprise.

"Sit," he ordered, pointing to the dining room table.

I tiptoed around the table and sat down on the edge of my seat. Ranger pulled his chair out smartly, and slouched into it, assuming a calm and relaxed manner that didn't match the atmosphere around him. He was making me very nervous.

"There's still a ring on your finger, Babe." His finger made a quick flick towards my ring.

"I don't think I'm going to be marrying Morelli," I said, twisting the ring on my finger, wishing that there was some way to turn back time and correct a lot of mistakes.

"I talked to Morelli," he told me.

"I probably don't want to know what he said." I looked up at him. "Morelli thinks I'm a fool."

"You are a fool," he agreed.

"What? Why?" I stammered.

Ranger leaned forward over the table, looking very seriously into my eyes, his own dark and dangerous. "You're a fool…if you think for one second that I ever told you to marry Morelli," he said in a deep, breathy whisper.

Gulp. "But, when I told you we were engaged…"

"Babe, you were already engaged." Ranger leaned back into his chair again. "I told you I wasn't ready for a relationship. I admit that. I gave you no reason to hope that you and I could get serious any time soon."

"Has that changed?" I asked, seeing a glimmer of hope for the first time.

Ranger shrugged. "Maybe." His eyes were smoldering with that familiar desire, but he was definitely holding it in check. "Depends," he said, sounding much more like his usual flirty self.

"Depends on what?" I asked, being my usual cautious self.

"You gonna take that ring off your finger?"

I looked at the diamond sparkling on my finger one last time, and slipped it off.

"I don't think I can stand to look at him right now," I groaned. "How am I going to give it back?"

"It doesn't have to be tonight, Babe." His voice had softened considerably, as if a wall had just come down. "The right time will present itself. Just keep it handy so you'll have it when the time comes."

I nodded, slipping the ring into my jeans pocket. I felt naked and unattached suddenly. It's strange the power a little thing like a diamond ring can have on a girl's emotions.

"So, now have things changed?" I asked.

A very small smile played at the corner of Ranger's mouth. "Maybe," he teased.

"So, now what?" I asked, afraid to know what he was going to suggest next.

"I understand you need a job," he said. "You're not going back to Vinnie, are you?"

"I think that might be out of the question after today," I said, shrinking a little in my seat.

"What happened today?" he asked. His lip twitched, as if preparing to smile.

"It wasn't my fault!" I told him. "Elena and I sort of had a run-in with Joyce Barnhardt at the mall."

"And?"

"And, we might have possibly sent her to Vinnie's beach house."

"Why would she go to Vinnie's beach house?" Ranger asked, the smile still hovering close by.

"Somehow she was under the impression that I was eloping with Dickie and his $40 million this afternoon." I tried my best to look innocent, but it was no use.

"Harry the Hammer's going to be there," Ranger said, the plot playing out in his mind as I watched. The smile appeared, slowly at first. Then it widened and finally burst into a full-on smile. "You and Elena sent Joyce to Vinnie's beach house while he was entertaining Harry the Hammer and his entire family?"

"Possibly. I mean, we don't really know if she went…"

"Oh, she went all right," Ranger said.

"But she would have been looking for Dickie, not Vinnie," I said, trying to convince myself more than Ranger.

"Yeah, like Lucille is gonna believe that," Ranger laughed. "Poor Vinnie. He never even know what hit him."

"That would be Harry the Hammer." I groaned.

"You're right, I don't think you're going to be going back to work for Vinnie."

"You think?" I grimaced.

"I'm thinking you might just have gotten even for everything he's ever done, including the duck."

"Well, maybe not the duck," I said. That was pushing it.

"You want to work this case with us?" he asked.

"What case with who?" I asked.

"Elena didn't tell you about the case Morelli is working on?" he asked.

"We didn't talk about work. We had fries and went shopping," I said. "You know, girl stuff."

"Female bonding?" Ranger asked.

"Yes." I smiled. "So, when you say 'us', is that you and Elena, or you and Morelli?

"You and me and Elena and whoever else we need. If it needs to include Morelli, I will handle Morelli," Ranger assured me.

"What would I be doing?" I asked.

"I need you and Elena to check in with some of the local homeless and female prostitutes. See if you can come up with any leads. Maybe you want take Lula with you. She knows a lot of people around Stark. Elena has been working with local charitable organizations. She has contacts and knows the system these people are operating in."

"Oh." I guessed Ranger had good reason to hire Elena, which made me both relieved and, at the same time, a little more jealous. I was afraid she might be a more valuable employee that I usually was. Then again, who wasn't?

"I assume you were hoping to stay here until you could find another apartment," he said.

I had let my apartment go as an act of good faith when I finally agreed to marry Morelli. I was under pressure from both Morelli and my mom. I really wished I had my apartment back, but then again, it was full of memories, most quite frightening. Only a few worth re-living. Maybe it was best that I start fresh with a new place.

"I had planned to stay here, if you don't mind," I said. "I'm sorry I didn't even ask you before I moved in."

"You're always welcome here, Babe. I just wasn't expecting you while you were still engaged."

"Maybe I should stay in one of the 4th floor apartments," I suggested. I didn't want to be invading Ranger's personal space.

"They're all occupied," he told me.

"I guess I could stay with my parents," I said, cringing at the thought of the early morning racket that always ensued as Grandma Mazur and my dad fought over the bathroom. I would have to eat breakfast while watching my mother pretend not to be tippling from the bottle in the cabinet. Then she would iron every piece of clothing I owned.

"Maybe you could stay with a friend instead," Ranger suggested.

"I'm sorry, but there is no way I could possibly live with Lula," I spluttered.

"I was thinking of someone else."

"Who?" Who was he thinking of? Connie? Sally? Jean Ellen? Oh, please no.

Ranger paused a beat, and then laid it on me. "I thought you might ask Elena."

"Elena?" I wrinkled my brow. "I just met her today!"

"You met her over a week ago."

"Well, that didn't count."

"Sure it did." He tipped his head to the side. "You like her, don't you?"

"Sure, I like her," I said.

"She helped you put one over on Joyce, didn't she?" He had a point there.

"But, surely, she doesn't want a roommate," I said. "And what about Rex? Does she like hamsters?"

"I'm sure her cat likes hamsters," he said with an evil little grin.

"See, it won't work out," I said.

"You'll work it out," he said firmly.

"I gather you've already asked her." I felt the rope to my lifeline tightening, but I wasn't sure if it was strangling me, or if Ranger was just pulling me to safety.

"Elena has a two bedroom house on a nice quiet street in Mt. Holly. I would feel a lot better if you stayed there. No one knows you there. No one is going to be looking for you there. And it would only be a matter of time before you would start going stir crazy if you stayed here." He had made another good point.

"Okay, let's say I stay with Elena until I can get an apartment…"

"Let's say you stay with Elena, and you don't worry about finding an apartment," he suggested. "You have a place to live, and you have a job working for me. All you need now is a car. The keys to a new Infinity G Coupe are on the sideboard. You can take it anytime you need it. Or, you can ride back and forth with Elena if you want."

I hesitated. "Ranger, is there another reason you don't want me to stay here?" I asked. He'd never tried to get rid of me before.

"Not the reason you think." He said, rising from his chair and pulling me out of mine.

"Then what reason?" I asked. His arms were closing around me and I felt heat radiating from his T-shirt. Oh boy. Now I remembered why.

"Just because I haven't had a life to offer you in the past doesn't mean that I don't want one."

"Good to know," I said, my knees nearly giving out beneath me.

"Steph, I never really told you who I was because you thought I was your own personal superhero, and I didn't want to ruin the fantasy for you. In a lot of ways, even I didn't remember who I was most of the time?"

I looked up at him, plainly a little dazed and confused.

"What I do know is that I need to be more than my job. I like who I am when I'm with you, when I see myself through your eyes. I love you, Babe," he said, letting his lips brush mine and sending a tingle all the way to my toes. "I never want to lose you again."

"Not a problem," I said, swallowing hard.

"Good," he said, and then he deepened the kiss. My fingers curled into his shirt as my temperature rose.

Oh boy.

To be continued...