Chapter 6

Stephanie's POV

I checked the information on the screen for the third time, andnothing had changed. My hands clenched into fists as I thought about the bastards who were doing this. They needed to be stopped and now. I didn't know why Alexander needed this information, but he'd asked, andso here I was once again delving into the unsavory world of Nelson Rasputen.

I was vaguely aware of the passage of time as I dug for whatever information I could find. According to Alex, his nephew, Nico, would be at the Orient Restaurant later this afternoon and would give me the coordinates that were needed by the leader of the team that I was meeting. We had two weeks to work out all the kinks before the team would have to go in, orit'd be too late.

Knowing how much Luci had been wanting to get in touch with Nico, I called her and told her I'd pick her up on the way to the restaurant so she could see him.

I shut down the computer and headed for my car. Although it wasn't much to look at, it got me from Point A to Point B, so for that I had to be grateful.

Luci was waiting when I pulled up in front of our building. She waddled over to the car and climbed in the best that she could. At seven months pregnant, she looked like she was ready to pop any minute—a look she'd had for the past three months.

Luci grimaced as I put the car in drive and pulled out into traffic. "How can you drive this thing?"

I shrugged and said, "The last one gave out on me, and I needed something quick."

She snorted. "You mean blew up on you."

I sent her a narrow-eyed glare and said, "Look, smartass, I'm getting you to where Nico is so you can see him, so show a bit of gratitude."

Luci raised her hand and made like she was bowing to me as she said, "Oh yes, wise one."

She straightened in her seat, and we both broke out in laughter.

I grinned at her and shook my head. "Brat."

She winked at me. "What do you know about this guy you're meeting?"

I shook my head. "Just that he's some kind of security expert who was a Rangerin the Army."

"He didn't give you a name? You didn't do a search on him?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes, I did a search on the company, but I don't know who exactly in the organization I'm meeting with."

Luci frowned and then said, "That's not like Alexander not to tell you who you're dealing with."

Shrugging, I said, There's more deniability this way."

I pulled into the parking lot, and as luck would have it, there was a spot next to the door. I pulled into the slot seconds before a Porsche 911 Turbo screeched to a stop to keep from hitting me. I sent the other driver a finger wave and dismissed them from mind as I concentrated on the upcoming meeting.

As Luci and I walked into the building, I said, "How about we meet back at the car by eight? That should give me the time to take care of this meeting and you'll have plenty of time to talk with Nico."

Luci nodded and gave me a mischievous smile as she said, "Works for me. Good luck."

We made our way inside and headed to where Nico was seated in an out-of-the-way alcove. He stood as we neared the table, his eyes widening as he got his first look at Luci. The minute we reached his table, he took Luci's hand and lifted it to plant a kiss on the back.

Nico turned to me and placed a hand on either shoulder before giving me a kiss on each cheek and then handing me an envelope. He winked at me as I saluted him with the envelope and moved off to find the maître de. As I left them, I could hear Nico snicker, and Luci asked, "What's so funny?"

Nico replied, "Just what this world needs… Another Luci. Now come and tell me all about this situation you've landed yourself into."

I was too far away to hear what Luci's response was. I managed to run down the maître de and smiled at him as I said, "Plum party, please."

He bowed and motioned for me to follow him. We wove our way through the restaurant, and I noticed that the table he was taking me to was in the vicinity of where Luci and Nico were seated. I looked around when he stopped, but I couldn't pick out where exactly they were. Of course, most of my attention was taken up with the two guys in front of me.

I felt a bit of shock as I recognized one of the men at the table as Lester. I struggled not to give anything away, quickly moving my attention to his companion.

My eyes widened as I get a good look at the other man at the table.

He stood and motioned me toward a chair facing them.

I took in the fact that he'd put his back to the wall and was able to see all the doors and windows from his vantage point—something I'd watched my father do every time we'd gone somewhere.

I reached out my hand, and he took hold of it, cupping itin his larger one. "Hello, I'm Stephanie Plum, Alexander's liaison."

He motioned me to be seated, and the corner of his mouth lifted fractionally as he said, "I'm Carlos Manoso. You can call me Ranger." He indicated Lester beside him and continued, "This is Lester Santos, one of my core team members."

I flicked a glance at Lester, unable to help the icy look I gave him before turning back to Ranger. I handed him the envelope as well as the folder that held all the information I'd been able to dig up. "It's imperative that you act soon."

Ranger opened the folder and glanced at the information there before closing it once more and saying, "We'll take care of the rest. I'll send you a text when the operation is over."

I nodded, and from the corner of my eye I noticed Lester go white. Before anyone could say anything, he stood and mumbled something and then lurched in the direction of the bathrooms. By the time he rejoined us, the waiter was placing our food on the table.

Ranger shook his head as he looked at my plate and said, "That stuff will kill you, Babe."

I lifted an eyebrow at the same time that I narrowed my eyes and replied, "I'll take my chances if the other option open to me is what you're eating. That stuff looks like it has no taste."

He winked at me and scooped up a forkful before offering it to me. His eyebrow rose as I made no move to take him up on his offer.

Seeing that he had no intention of backing off, I gave in and leaned forward to accept the bite of food off his fork.

The heat of his gaze as his eyes dilated had me pausing for a moment before chewing and swallowing.

His gaze was steady on my mouth as he watched me. "Well?"

I lifted a shoulder and said, "It's fair." I took a healthy bite of my own food and moaned as I chewed and swallowed.

Ranger readjusted himself on the chair before letting out a chuckle. "Maybe your dish has some merits after all."

We spent the next several minutes talking about mundane things as we finished our meal. It wasn't until Lester suddenly scraped his chair back and stood forcefully that I noticed he hadn't eaten much of his meal. He leaned down and whispered something to Ranger that I was unable to hear, and then he stalked out of the restaurant.

Luci's POV

I was aware of Stephanie leaving as Nico teased me.

"Just what this world needs... Another Luci. Now come and tell me all about this situation you've landed yourself into."

I hugged him again and said, "I will, I promise. But right now I need to find a restroom. Would you order me an ice water with lemon and spaghetti? I'll be right back."

I made my way to the bathroom and took care of the business at hand and then hurriedly washed my hands, wanting to get back to Nico. I so needed to connect with my friend... It'd been too longsince we'd seen each other. As I walked out of the restroom, my eyes connected with the green ones from my dreams that I'd hoped not to see again.

The sneer on his face as he let his gaze run over me had me wanting to duck back into the restroom and hurl. I felt for the wall and leaned back, letting it help to hold me up as he spewed venomous words.

"Well, well, well. I guess congratulations are in order. I take it that's the wop's daddy over there waiting for you to come back? Tell me, Luci. Were you doing him the same time you were doing me?" The icy tone of his voice was ripping into me like shards of glass. "Just how many of us were you fucking, anyway? You make me sick. Going on about not having time for a relationship. With all the fucking around you were doing, I can see why. Well, don't come crawling to me wanting a daddy for your bastard. I know what kind of a slut you are now, and I'm not interested." He shook his head. "At least you spared me this."

With that he turned and walked away without a backward glance.

I was gutted, andit was a struggle to hold the tears at bay as I stumbled back to the table.

Nico took one look at me and stood, gathering me into hisarms and speaking softly to me in his native Italian. I wasn't even aware of what he was saying, only that the tone was soothing.

When I was finally able to control the need to sob, I whispered, "Get me out of here."

I felt Nico seething under the surface, and there was a questioning in his glance, but it was too soon to talk about it. I was too raw. I shook my head and said, "I'll tell you all about it later… I just need to get out of here."

He kissed my cheek and wrapped me in his arm as he led me to the front door. The maître de rushed up, and Nico said something to him. Within seconds we were out of the restaurant and Nico was putting me into his rental car. He took his place behind the wheel and pulled out his phone to send a text. Seconds later we were racing down the highway, andI leaned my head back against the seat and let the sobs take over.

I was finally getting control of myself by the time he pulled into the parking lot of the building where Stephanie and I lived. He helped me out of the car and inside. When we reached the penthouse, he led me into the living room and set me down on the sofa before taking a seat beside me. "All right, la mia piccola principessa. Tell me all about it."

A small smile found its way onto my face as I recognize his childhood name for me… My little princess.

I let out a sigh and then shrugged, giving in and finally telling him what happened at the restaurant. When I finished, I recoiled a little at the rage on Nico's face.

He snorted. "Don't worry. It's not you I have in my crosshairs."

I reached out and placed my hand on his arm. "Please, Nico, let it go. His words hurt, but they are just words. He said what he needed to, and that's the end of it. He'll move on now, like I've already begun doing. This is my baby, andhe or she will have everything they need, especially my love."

He looked at me and sighed. "I can't speak for your father. You know he'll hear about this. I saw Vinny's face as you came back from the bathroom."

Just then my phone started to ring, and I recognized the theme for the Sopranos. I hit the connect button and then put it on speaker. My father growled, "Those fucking fish are going to be piranhas this time!"

My eyes widened as I thought, oh, shit!