Disclaimer: Nope, nada, zilch. Happy now? Thanks Kym & Angie for the stupendous support (and the late night sessions)! This one's dedicated to Kym's Aunt Judy.

Locked Up & Pissed Off – pt 29

Celia's POV

WHEN MY NEIGHBOR, MRS. Malucci, told me she'd seen a rental car pull up to my home shortly after I left for my mother's, I was livid. I knew damn well the visitor could only be my brother Marcus, who had a habit of dropping in unannounced just when my husband Jason was coming off of a long stretch of working for my brother. I'll just bet the little sneak had been watching the house and waited for me to leave, since everyone in our family knew I always dropped the kids off at school before heading to the family house every other morning.

Mrs. Malucci also told me about the black Porsche SUV and the taxi cab that pulled up shortly after, and recognized my little brother getting out of the SUV. I was going to kill both my brothers! Today was the first day off Jason's had in over two weeks, and I know he hadn't had much sleep during that period, much less spend any quality time with the kids. From what I'd been able to overhear, he was working on an extremely sensitive case that involved that bounty hunter woman, Stephanie Plum, who my little brother had taken an interest in.

I immediately climbed back into my SUV and headed towards one of Ric's houses that he used occasionally as a safe house, not even going inside the house to say hello to my dear husband. I'd deal with him later. I managed to hit all the lights perfectly, making good time in the lull of rush hour traffic before the workday broke for lunch. Perfect. I wanted to have a good mad going when I laid into my brothers for their surreptitious visits to my husband when he was finally getting the chance for some much-needed rest, and time to cool down wasn't in my game plan.

I probably broke a few traffic laws as I snaked my way through the few cars I encountered, my anger building and simmering with every mile. I was torn two different ways as to who to direct that anger against when I reached Ric's house. Marcus and Ric, for holding clandestine meetings at my home when my husband was supposed to be getting some well-deserved rest, or my little brother for allowing himself to be drawn into another situation that put his life in danger by a woman who seemed to call him only when she needed help, but gave him nothing in return.

That last thought had me hitting speed dial on my phone as I shot down the expressway. As much as I hated the thought of forewarning them of my arrival, the alternative, them shooting first and asking questions later, was less attractive. When Lester answered, the conversation was short and not very sweet. I simply informed him that I was on my way, and that my brothers had better be there when I arrived, or else.

I had mixed feelings about this woman Stephanie. On the one hand, she had to be someone special in order to pique my brother's interest, and the stories Jason and Lester told at family dinners usually had us laughing and cheering, not to mention Aunt Ella's high praises. My cousin Freddy even mentioned her a few times, and he seldom said much at all. The newspapers always had something to say about her as well; reporting on the numerous car bombings and fires that seemed to occur with frightening regularity around her.

On the other hand, though, there were times when I'd hear about when she'd go back to her cop boyfriend, even though they apparently seldom got along very well, according to the guys. Those times I'd cheerfully like to shoot the woman, because Ric would don his 'Ranger' persona, become morose and even more incommunicative than usual, and would avoid family get-togethers for weeks at a time. This in turn always upset our parents and grandmother; Abuela Rosa seeming to take it harder than the rest of us.

Ric was her favorite, and although this circumstance would cause most other families difficulty, it was simply a fact in ours. Everyone in our family was a little over-protective of Ric, since he was the baby. Abuela however, seemed to understand his reckless attitude much better than the rest of us, and had managed to harness Ric's rebellious nature when he was a teenager, along with my cousin Lester's, and encouraged them to put their active minds to use in more productive endeavors.

Because of her efforts, not only was Ric able to acquire good enough grades to get a scholarship to Rutgers, but Lester actually met and married the perfect woman for him. Granted she was an exotic dancer when they met, but Mari was, and still is, the best thing that ever happened to my cousin, aside from their daughter. I found her refreshing and stubborn; two qualities sure to keep my Lotharios cousin in line, as well as providing the stability he was want to ignore in his youth. Abuela still harbored hopes that Ric would be as fortunate, even after his disastrous marriage, hence the over-zealous nature to protect him. Rachel was a real piece of work during the divorce.

It seemed as if in no time at all, I was winding my way up the track that led to Ric's home, still furious at the actions of my brothers, although curiosity about Stephanie Plum was slowly starting to override that emotion. Would she be here with my brother and his men, or was there no need for her to be hiding away, as the overheard comments suggested? What was it about her that had Ric so tied up in knots, his men enchanted, and my Aunt gushing whenever her name was brought up in conversations? One way or another, I was going to find out about this 'Bombshell Bounty Hunter', and soon, since I had just pulled up to the house.

Just as my foot hit the top step of the porch, the front door opened to reveal the smiling face of my brother Marcus. His expression only fueled the anger I had initially felt when I heard about his visit, even though I probably should have felt joy at his presence. After all, he wasn't around as much as he used to be, although we saw considerably more of him than Ric lately. No, I was just pissed that the rat had the gall to delay the rest Jason needed. I wanted my husband to be relaxed and enjoy his time with our kids when they came home from school, and not still be trying to catch up on his sleep. We saw very little of him as it was, and this little stunt they pulled this morning would definitely set him back.

I stepped up to my brother and allowed him to embrace me, murmuring "you are so dead, brother" in his ear before making my way into the house. I heard him chuckle behind me, but decided to let that go…for now. I wanted to see if the woman who managed to cause so much upheaval in my youngest brother's life was present before I laid into him.

When I entered the living room, all eyes turned towards me; Mia's in delight, while Mari, Lester and Bobby were smirking. Ric and a woman who I recognized from the paper as Stephanie Plum were coming down the stairs, their hands entwined with Ric leading. Or maybe he was dragging her. Her face was pale, openly showing her trepidation, whereas Ric's was carefully blank…again.

"So Ricardo, are you going to introduce us?" I was still seething, and a bit of that emotion had leaked through, giving my voice a decidedly sharper edge. He eyed me warily, finally inclining his head slightly in agreement.

"Celia, may I present Stephanie Plum. Babe, this is my sister Celia." I noticed he'd laid a reassuring hand on her lower back, and I narrowed my eyes. I couldn't place it, but something seemed different, as if the dynamics of their relationship had changed. The hostility I'd felt for this woman suddenly seemed unwarranted, so I bit back a caustic comment and stepped forward, my hand held out in a friendly gesture of greeting.

"Hello, Stephanie. I'm so pleased to finally meet the woman who's managed to ensnare my little brother's heart, as well as enchanted several other members of our family." I noticed she seemed hesitant, and I caught the quick glance she shot at Ric before she clasped my hand. Hmm. Looks like there's been a new development or two I haven't been made aware of.

Evidently she hadn't been prepared for such an about face in my attitude. To tell the truth, I was a bit shocked myself. I'd felt a lot of resentment towards this woman for a long time, but now that I'd met her, I had to revise my opinion. She was nothing like the bitch I'd envisioned, nor did I feel the animosity that had been present only this morning. I felt like I had to reevaluate my previous impression of this woman.

"I'm um…I'm pleased to meet you, Celia. Ric has told me absolutely nothing about you, so I hope you'll forgive me if I'm a little flustered." Her face was very expressive, and even though I'd always been very astute at reading other people's body language, the dimmest bulb in the light socket could read the worry that she was feeling. I'd hazard a guess that although he might not have told her much, he'd apparently given her some type of warning about me. Good. I turned and pinned my little brother with a look.

"So, is anyone gonna tell me what's going on here? Or do I have to guess?" I looked at the sea of faces surrounding me, giving them all a glare and hoped that someone would start talking before I had to switch into rhino mode. Bobby and Lester both looked away, Mari grinned and shrugged, and my brother Marcus just stood and stared at me with a panicked look on his face, flicking a glance at Ric, then turning his gaze back to me. None of them seemed too motivated to enlighten me, instead deferring to Ric to take center stage.

Damn! I hated trying to pry information out of my youngest brother when he was in 'Ranger' mode. I'd have better luck storming the White House with a slingshot and taking the President hostage while breastfeeding! I sighed and decided to bring out the big guns, knowing it would piss Ric off, but at least I'd finally get the answer to at least some of questions that were rolling around in my head.

I brought out my 'Mom' look, laughing gleefully inside when I noticed subtle changes to the faces of all the men standing before me. The look on Stephanie's face, however, took the prize when she too noticed the differences in their expressions.

Shock and wonder were the predominate emotions I recognized, with maybe just a little envy mixed in. Oh, this girl needed my help desperately if I was reading the circumstances here correctly! Ric had changed his position, moving ever so slightly to end up with Stephanie in front of him much like a shield, his hand placed protectively on her hip. My cousin had pretty much mirrored my brother's stance, standing just behind Mari to place her between us.

My other brother didn't have a handy shield to use against me, not that that's stopped me before, so he receded to the background, pushing Bobby to the forefront of the group and thus in the line of fire when I glared at him.

The sound of a throat clearing brought my attention back to Ric and Stephanie. I was surprised to see her expression had changed to one of amusement and sorrow, tinted heavily with a seething anger she worked to control as she too noticed the change in the physical arrangement of the group. After a quick glance and an affirmative nod from Ric, she began to speak, her tone implying she was sorry to have to be the one to enlighten me, but someone needed to grow a set!

"Unfortunately, someone I've been encouraged to trust and respect is slightly pissed off at me, and seems to have taken the wrong approach to expressing his… displeasure." Boy, that had to be one of the most sanitized pieces of crap for an explanation I'd ever heard, and I've been told some doozies! Did she go to college to learn how to speak like that, or had she been spending too much time with my little brother and his employees? It hit a nerve.

I laughed sardonically and looked her straight in the eye. "Try again, sister. A little 'displeasure', as you call it, does not warrant my husband and family working themselves to exhaustion for the past two weeks, nor does it usually require a safe house with live-in bodyguards and Rangeman security. I'd like the real reason you're all sequestered up here in the boonies and my husband hasn't had a spare minute to spend with his kids!"

I was taken aback by the sudden paleness of her face and the naked pain she was trying valiantly to hide. Before I could so much as comment on the sudden change, my youngest brother spoke up, his voice displaying a barely suppressed anger that I hadn't seen in him since he was a teenager.

"Cut it out, Celia. Her supposedly 'loving' boyfriend has been terrorizing her and damn near had her killed just to get her to cut all of us out of her life and marry his cheating ass. She doesn't need to hear your shit right now, and we definitely don't deserve any more bitchy comments about Jason being too tired to spend any time with you and the kids lately. He volunteered, just like the rest of the guys, and we're all too damn sick and disgusted to get the third degree from you or anyone else. Give it a rest!" He was struggling to bring himself back under control, his hands fisted at his sides to keep from giving me a well-deserved smack.

I felt the blood draining from my face as Stephanie blanched and turned, walking stiffly up the stairs and ignoring the hand he hastily put out to detain her, as well as his murmured "Babe".

Oh my God! No wonder they'd been working themselves to death lately, their expressions grim and the smiles few and far between! I felt like the lowest person on the planet right then, shooting an apologetic glance at the assembled group before rushing up the stairs after the distraught woman, ignoring Ric's ominous "Celia".

I reached Ric's bedroom and tapped on the door lightly before pushing it open, not expecting or receiving an invitation to enter. My eyes were immediately drawn to the window where a silently crying Stephanie stood, her face averted away from the door after glancing to see who had followed her.

I walked hesitantly towards her, my mind desperately grasping at suitable words of contrition. I couldn't for the life of me think of an apology that I considered adequate enough to convey my self-loathing at the hurt that my thoughtless tirade had produced.

Before I could open my mouth though, she spoke up softly, sorrow evident in her voice as well as her posture. "I'm so sorry that Ram's been too busy trying help me that he hasn't had much time for his own family. Had I known the circumstances, I'd have put a stop to it immediately. I just hope this whole mess doesn't drive a wedge between you and your brother. I'll walk away before I'd let that happen. I know you're very close."

That stopped me. She didn't know what had been happening? She must've turned her head and noticed my look of shock. She sniffed and wiped a tear from her cheek before turning back to the window.

"Ra…Ric had me brought up here yesterday morning and Lester showed me the file on their investigation." She wiped another tear from her cheek angrily. "I didn't suspect…didn't realize what was…" A sniff and swallow that followed before she whispered "I didn't know."

Can you say 'heartless harridan'? Because that's what I felt like; Ladies and Gentlemen, the worlds biggest shrew has entered the building, and she's locked her autopilot on 'snippy bitch'. Get out while you can!

I'd have given anything right then to take back all the snarky comments I'd made; in fact, I'd almost go so far as to wish I'd confronted my husband instead. Almost. First things first, however. I'd never forgive myself, nor expect Ric or the rest of the family to forgive me, if I didn't try to undo some of the damage I'd done with my mouth. I was gonna put my head on the chopping block, and hope Stephanie Plum didn't hack it off!

tbc