Disclaimer: These are not my characters... Although I wish Ranger was.

Thank you all of my wonderful readers and reviewers! Also a huge thank you to my wonderful Beta Heather (Txbabefan) for all her help with this story.

Chapter 9

Faking A Death

Carlos POV:

I woke up spooning Steph. I kissed her neck and she stirred. She turned over and wrapped her arms around me, stretching against me. Her body was soft and warn from sleep. She leaned up and kissed me softly. I smiled and kissed her again and she pulled back after a few seconds.

"I've missed waking up with you in my arms." I said against her lips. I rolled her onto her back and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

"I've missed it too." She said pressing herself against me. She was already wet. I kissed her again; As I plunged into her the phone rang.

She gasped and dug her nails into my back. I buried my face in her neck as Steph reached for the phone. "Yo'?" She answered slightly out of breath.

"We can be there in two hours." She said before pausing. I decided to mess with Steph. I pulled and thrust, deep into her causing her to moan.

"No, sorry I'm running. Two hours." She said hanging up. She claimed my lips in a hot kiss.

"That was mean." She said.

I chuckled and brushed my lips across hers. "I don't care Babe. I'm in bed with my woman and I want her full attention."

She moaned as I pulled out and thrust hard and deep back into her. She tossed the phone and I heard it clatter on the floor. Her legs tightened around my waist and one of her hands found my ass with the other burying in my hair.

"Harder, Carlos," she moaned. I started to piston my hips. Pulling out half way and sinking hard and deep into her. Her moans and gasp went straight to my cock, making me want to go faster but I held onto my control I was determined to bring my Babe to at least two orgasms before I had mine.

I knew she was close as her walls started to tighten and contract around me. "Carlos." She moaned arching her back allowing me to thrust deeper. I wrapped my lips around one of her nipples tugging on it with my teeth and soothing it with my tongue.

"Oh god! Carlos I'm going to come!" She moaned. I grinned and kissed along her neck, nipping at the skin. I sent one hard thrust into her and felt her come unglued around me.

"Carlos!" She screamed my name. I continued to thrust slow and deep in her. When she came down I grabbed her behind her knee and hooked it around my shoulder, changing the angle.

She gasped and arched as I started to move. "You're so deep." She moaned. I grinned down at her.

"Like that Babe?" I asked. She moaned in response and I watched as her hands grabbed the sheets and her head was thrown back. My hands roamed her body starting at her hips. I trailed them over her stomach and I cupped her breast. She thrust her chest into my hands and my thumbs rubbed across her nipples.

I leaned down and bit the peaks. She moaned and thrust her hips back against mine. She was close again and so was I. I knew we were both right on the edge. I moved my hand between our bodies and flicked her clit. She screamed and came forcing my orgasm out of me.

I slumped and rolled, keeping in contact with Steph. She laid on my chest. She looked up at me and I felt my heart swell with the look of love in her eyes. I leaned down and kissed her softly, which she returned. We laid in the bed as long as we could. Steph got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. She looked over her shoulder at me. Her eyes were hooded, her lips were plump and a slight blush covered her whole body. "You joining me?" She asked causing me to shoot up out of the bed to follow her.

A while later Steph rushed through the dressing room getting ready while I pulled my shirt over my head. I heard her cursing under her breath and I chuckled. "Something funny?" She asked pinning me with a glare.

"No Babe. Nothing at all."

She rolled her eyes and threw her hair in a pony tail before she realized the love bites on her neck. "Ricardo Carlos Manoso!" She yelled as she picked up her heel from last night and turned to me. I took one look at her before running from the dressing room. She didn't follow which I was thankful for.

She met me in the livingroom giving me a look. "Babe..."

"Don't Babe me." She said. I walked over and pulled her into my arms even though she fought half heartedly against me.

"Would it be better if I bought you a Boston crème?" I asked nuzzling her neck.

"You can't bribe me with food." She said her voice close to a moan. I kissed her deeply.

"What about two?" I asked pulling back.

"Two what?" She asked looking dazed. I chuckled.

"We'll stop at the Tasty pastry on the way." I told her. She smiled.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you." She said.

"Only like Babe?"

"Love. I love you Carlos." She stood on her toes, and wrapped her arms around my neck. Before claiming my lips in a hot, passionate kiss. Her kiss proved what she had just told me.

"I love you too Babe." I said as she pulled back. She smiled up at me.

"I know." She called as she walked towards the door. "We're going to be late Carlos."

I chuckled and followed her. When we arrived at the warehouse it was a buzz of activity. Taylor spotted us and made his way over. Rage appeared from the shadows with Tank, just as Taylor got to us.

Steph POV:

"We've got Romano here. We're figuring out how to stage this." Taylor said.

"Steph needs to be involved. He thinks she is going to kill him." Carlos said. Taylor nodded.

"You two did good last night." He said.

"Thank you. Let's got talk to Romano." I said. We all walked towards one of the few offices. Romano sat inside in a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. He was an attractive man.

He had black hair that was cut short on the sides but left long on the top allowing it to fall over his face. His jaw was square, his eyes were a dark whiskey color, his body was buff and muscled.

He looked up at me and Carlos. I watched as his eyes took the both of us in before letting his eyes roam over me again. He stood and offered me his hand.

"Anthony Romano." He said.

"Stephanie Plum." I said, shaking his hand. I turned to Carlos and touched his arm. "This is Ranger Manoso."

"Nice to meet you." He said to me. He shook Carlos's hand quickly before turning back to me.

"Agent Taylor explained some of what is going on to me." He said sitting back down. I sat on the edge of the desk and Carlos sat on the chair next to me, letting his arm sit on my leg.

"Well it's simple. I'm going to kill you." I said. He sat up straighter and looked at me. Carlos kept the blank face on.

"What Miss Plum means is that Alejo Perez wants you dead and we're faking your death. She's been enlisted to kill you. Ranger and Stephanie have managed to infiltrate his organization. Only problem is that he wants Ranger and Stephanie to kill you."

"So what are we going to do?" Romano asked.

"Well we're going to make it look like you're dead and take your heart back to Perez." Ranger said.

"When and Where? How long do I need to be gone?"

"You'll be in a safe house, until the investigation is wrapped up. We're going to get a pig's heart and take it to him. Take pictures of you dead so he'll let Ranger and Steph into the fold." Taylor said. Romano nodded.

"We'll get everything set up." Carlos said.

"Let's go get it done." Taylor said.

"I've got some searches to finish." I said standing.

"Mind if I join you?" Romano asked.

"Rage you mind?"

Rage nodded slightly. I motioned for Romano to follow us. I settled at my desk, Rage across from me. Romano sat in an extra chair as I powered up my computer.

"So why are you the hit woman?" He asked me.

"That's how it played out." I answered. I glanced around and caught Taylor's partner's eye. His name was Michael Yates.

"Do we have a file on Miguel Rodriguez?"

"Yeah, want the paper copy or digital?" Yates asked.

"I'd prefer a paper copy. Make sure its not the original."

He looked at me funny before walking away. "How many TPD detectives are involved with this?" Romano asked.

"Two, but they're not here. They only come when we need them for something and they'll be at the arrest so they don't complain." He nodded.

"So is there something going on between you and that Ranger dude?" He asked.

I turned to look at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well you two seem awful close." He said. "I was wondering if you were a free agent of if you were in a relationship."

"Ranger and I are together." I said looking at him.

"I didn't expect that. Last I knew you were with Joe Morelli."

"She's not anymore." Carlos said. I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned down to kiss me.

"Everything is set up whenever you're ready." Carlos said.

I smiled. "I need to change." He nodded.

"That you do. Tank brought the bag you packed." He said.

"I'll get changed. You and Taylor get Romano ready." I said standing. Tank appeared and handed me my bag. I thanked him and made my way into the woman's bathroom.

I stripped of my clothes pulled on a pair of black cargo pants, a tight black long sleeve t-shirt, and a pair of black combat boots. I wrestled my hair into a French braid. I walked out of the bathroom and I got a whistle. I looked over at Les who was grinning.

"You almost look like a mini Ranger." He said. I sent him a glare.

"I'll kick you ass Lester Santos." I threatened.

"Boss sent me to bring you over." Les informed me. I followed him to an office down the hall. Romano was on the floor shirtless. His throat looked slit but his arms were behind his head and he was looking around.

"Ready?" I asked him.

He nodded. I grabbed the blade Carlos held out as Romano positioned himself under Taylor's careful criticism. I kneeled next to him when I was told. Blood was poured over the edge of the blade and his neck to make sure it looked real and fresh. The way we were positioned it looked like I had slit his throat and he was bleeding out. A few pictures later I stood.

"Don't move Romano. We're going to make it look like someone has pried open your chest to remove your heart." He turned to me. "Steph, Les and Ranger are going to get your makeup ready."

"I'm supposed to let two ex-Army Ranger's do my makeup?" I asked.

Carlos chuckled and held his hand out to me. "Not the same kind of makeup Babe."

I took his hand and he led me to the table and motioned for me to sit on it. I sat and watched as Les pull out a jar of a red liquid. He opened it and stuck his fingers in it, flicking it in my face.

"Les!" I exclaimed. He chuckled.

"Put your hands in it. We got to make it look like you just took his heart out of his chest. Romano is just going to be in the background of the picture. You'll he holding the heart in your hands." Carlos said.

I rolled my eyes and stuck my hands in the sticky red substance. I pulled them out and let them drip. "We're ready for you." Taylor said. I walked over with the "blood" dripping off my hands. Taylor's hands wore a pair of gloves and he laid the heart in my hands. My lip curled.

"Remember the character Babe." Carlos whispered softly. He was a few feet behind me, speaking loud enough for only me to hear. I nodded and shot him a smile.

"Let's do this." I said. I was positioned quickly and the pictures were taken. The heart was put back into the cooler.

"You two will be delivering the heart soon. Get cleaned up and dressed the both of you. When you're ready we'll call Perez. We'll be moving Romano to the safe house." Taylor said. Carlos handed me a rag to wipe off my hands until I could get to the bathroom.

Carlos and I left the group to get dressed, I made a quick detour to the bathroom before joining Carlos. We decided to get ready in one of the offices. His suit and my dress hung side by side. I looked at it and shook my head.

It was long sleeved and black. The midriff was complete mesh and so was the fabric the covered my chest and cleavage, leading up to a black collar at the neck. It covered my private bits but still. Carlos grinned and I rolled my eyes. I got dressed quickly and slipped my feet into the five inch stiletto FMP's, watching as his eyes darken as he took me in.

I watched as he shrugged the jacket over the black silk shirt. I walked over and smoothed my hands along his chest, feeling the silk that covered his hard chest. I watched as Carlos's eyes darkened as he took me in.

His hands palmed my ass as he pulled me to him. He kissed me roughly, claiming my mouth with his . We pulled back when there was banging on the door. "Come on you two." Tank yelled. I laughed softly and pulled away from Carlos.

I would touch up my makeup in the car. We stood in the middle of the completely silent warehouse as Carlos dialed the number. It was on speaker.

"Mr. Gonzales I didn't expect you to be calling so soon." Perez sounded surprised.

"Ari doesn't like waiting." Carlos said. "She prefers to get it over with as soon as possible."

"So it's complete?" Perez asked.

"Yes. When you you like to meet?"

"Now, the same place as yesterday. I'll be awaiting you." Perez said. Carlos hung up and I stood grabbing the cooler. The earrings I wore, were a camera and a mic. Carlos's watch was a panic button and also a mic. His watch could turn on and off the earrings and the watch so that if we were scanned for bugs the frequency wouldn't be turned on.

"Does everyone know the plan?" Taylor asked. Everyone nodded but he decided to go over it again.

"One SUV will follow Ranger and Steph to the meet. Three others will be positioned around the building and the follow car will join them also once Steph and Ranger are in the building. Unless the button is pressed or they verbally ask for assistance then we stay out." Taylor said. "They will handle any hiccups that pop up. We've still got to find out how they're moving guns, how they're getting the guns and who they're selling to."

Yates interrupted Taylor. "The safe house is a no go. The basement is flooded."

"Is that the only safehouse we can get into?" He asked.

Yates nodded. "The others are occupied. We need somewhere secure to put him."

"We've got an apartment open at Rangeman. He'll be in a secure building. Cameras, motion detectors the whole nine yards." Carlos suggested. "You have to have a fob to get anywhere in the building. The only concession would be Romano and the Agent wouldn't be able to wonder the building. They have access to the fourth floor, the apartment and the rec room. Everything else is off limits. If they need to be on any other floor they will be escorted by an employee.

"We would still have to place an agent with him." Taylor said. Carlos nodded.

"It's a two bedroom. It would be completely stocked and we have a house keeper on site who can get them anything they needed." Tank said. I nodded.

"I guess that will have to do." Taylor said.

"Les, you and Bobby can get Romano and the agent back to Rangeman. Rage and Tank will be here covering us." Carlos said.

We made our way to the McLaren speedtail. We couldn't use any of Carlos's Porsches so the FBI got us a confiscated Speedtail. Carlos slid into the drivers seat and I slid into the passenger's side. I put the cooler in the back seat and we pulled away. There would be a SUV following us to make sure we had backup along the route. Another three SUV's would be positioned outside of the meet.

We weren't far from the meet when police lights lit up the rear view mirror. "Fuck." Carlos said. He pulled over. Where the hell was the FBI? They were supposed to be covering us.

Carlos and I both watched as the cop got out of his car. He approached on the drivers side and knocked on the window. "Look what we have here, Manoso and his whore."

The voice sent a shiver though me. It was cold and hard. I had never heard this voice like that. Morelli looked in the window at me. "You're even dressed like a whore for him. It's the middle of the day." He said.

He paused and looked at me. "Is that blood on your face?" He asked.

"No." I answered staring straight at him. He looked in the back seat and saw the cooler. "I'm going to need the both of you to step out of the car."

"Morelli we don't have time for this." Carlos said.

"Sir, I need you to step out of the car." Morelli said pulling his gun and keeping it aimed low.

"Carlos let's just get out." I was scared of what Morelli had planned.

"Stay in the car Babe." Carlos said as he popped the door. "Wait for backup."

Morelli grabbed Carlos and slammed him against the hood. I felt anger surge through me as I opened the door and put a foot on the pavement.