A/N: An update! Huzzah! Almost there guys. I can feel the climax approaching. Kudos to anyone who solves the puzzle before Stephanie ;)

Izzy dropped me back off at my hotel a short while later under the claim she had a meeting to go to with a higher security clearance than a civilian like me would be allowed to attend. Basically code for her babysitting favor for Ranger was now over, and she couldn't wait to get rid of me. Fortunately, the feeling was mutual.

And besides that, I needed to think. Which was a bit of a challenge with Ranger's doppelganger reading my mind all the time. That kind of thing really should come with a warning label.

I used my keycard to let myself into the room, half expecting to find Ranger busy at work at the desk. To my surprise, the space was just how I'd left it several hours ago. Damp towel in the bathroom, clothes dumped haphazardly on top of my bag, and all of Ranger's belongings looking organized and pristine. I "accidentally" bumped one of his shirts off the hanger in the closet. Was it the mature thing to do? Probably not. Satisfying anyway? Definitely more than it should have been.

I flipped on the coffee pot before heading down the hall to the vending machines for some "brain food." It was mildly disappointing to find the selections still on the sparse side, but a Snickers and Reese's seemed decent substitutions for the preferred Tastykakes and cheeseballs. I've definitely substituted worse.

The Snickers was gone before I even made it back to the room, but the Reese's made it halfway through my cup of coffee for which I gave myself a mental pat on the back. The caffeine and sugar rush started to give me that good "brainy" feeling, so I went and sprawled on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

The addition of a child to the case definitely upped the interesting dynamic factor. A child made things complicated. A child was difficult to hide.

I thought back to a few times I'd run errands with my sister and her brood. Utter chaos would have been polite when describing the experiences. There was fighting and whining and crying, and that was all before we even left the house. Kids are loud and demanding and unpredictable, and I honestly couldn't imagine having to lay low with one.

Where would you go with a kid? Make that a young kid too.

Most motel's had cable TV these days (a no-brainer with a youngster of any age), but even staying at the cheapest of motels could add up pretty quick. Convenience always came at a price.

So what did that leave two scared, broke girls on the run? A friend? A relative? As far as I knew, no relatives lived close by. But then again, Cuban Badass One and Two didn't always keep me in the loop on these kinds of things.

Maybe that was my starting point. Friends and family.

Since I wasn't quite ready to move from my comfy spot on the bed, I made a quick mental note to do some research later and continued thinking. What were other factors that could help narrow down the search? The girls were obviously local—or at least local enough to monitor a fake death situation. That probably kept us in a pretty tight radius. But that was odd too, wasn't it? If I was in a bad situation, especially with a kid, I doubt I'd be hiding anywhere near a potential threat. In fact, I'd be halfway across the country.

What was keeping them here?

I was just on the verge of a breakthrough when an upside-down face suddenly materialized above me.

"Agghh!" I squeaked, grabbing my chest in shock. "Ranger! You scared the crap out of me. When did you get back?"

His mouth twitched into an almost-smile as he bent down and kissed me on the forehead. "Good to see you too."

I sat up and spun around on the bed. "No, seriously. When did you get back?"

"Just now." He flashed me a grin. "Fifty bucks richer too. Nice work, babe. Izzy said not to spend it all in one place."

I rolled my eyes. "I should be offended you were betting on me to begin with."

Ranger started unbuttoning his shirt, and my salivary glands kicked into hyper drive. Jeez. Maybe Izzy had a point. There really was no "subtle" when it came to my response to Ranger. Which is why we probably needed to wrap this case up sooner than later, or else I was liable to do something stupid. Mind-blowing and magical maybe, but still stupid. Very, very stupid.

"I only make bets I can win, babe. You should consider it a compliment."

I shook my head to clear it and tried to shift my focus to the ugly hotel artwork on the wall. The random splotches of paint weren't really doing it for me though. Especially not with the Cuban statue of David standing next to it. Jeez.

"Can you please put some clothes on?" I grumbled. "You're kind of distracting me from my breakthrough here."

"Breakthrough, huh?" he smirked, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. "I was hoping to grab a quick shower, but maybe we should keep talking if you're on the verge of solving the puzzle."

Actually, I was on the verge of jumping the sexy man in my room, and living out one of my Zorro fantasies, but that probably wouldn't be very productive. Or smart. "Go take that shower," I managed to choke out. "We'll talk more when you get out."

Ranger shook his head as he disappeared into the bathroom.

"You're not as hot as you think you are!" I called after him.

"Yes I am!"

Yes he was. Drat!

I poured myself another cup of the now-cold hotel coffee and tried to resume my train of thought from before. The girls. The kid. And the why behind their staying put. The only reason I'd do that was if A. I needed something I couldn't get anywhere else, or B. there was more danger leaving than staying where I was.

What if it was both? Was that a possibility?

The thoughts tumbled around in my brain as I worked through some different scenarios. There was something there. I could feel it.

The water cut off in the bathroom, and two seconds later, Ranger was back in the room dressed in a low-slung towel and some majorly sexy, damp hair.

"Why must you torture me?" I sighed, falling face-first into a pillow. I heard a muffled laugh through the synthetic down alternative. Thankfully, when I came back up for air, Ranger had thrown on pants and a shirt.

"Torture, huh?" he smirked. "You ready to revisit that conversation we still need to have?"

"No," I groaned, going for the pillow again.

"It's gonna happen, babe. It needs to happen."

"It doesn't though," I protested. "When this ends, I'm going back to Idaho, and you're going back to Jersey. With any luck, things'll just go back to the way they were before."

Something flashed in Ranger's eyes then, but it was so quick and sudden, I couldn't decide what it was. Damn that poker face of his!

"I'm waiting you out on this one, babe," he said, pulling out his laptop. "As long as it takes."

"And what if I'm never ready to have that conversation?"

Ranger never got the chance to answer. Because right then a barrage of bullets crashed through the window, and two masked men stormed the room.