Chapter Twenty-Four
Stephanie heard Ranger call to her. She was beginning to realize Babe covered a lot of ground with Ranger. In this case, she was pretty sure Babe meant stop pretending like you don't hear me and let's talk. Or maybe, it just meant stop acting like an idiot. Because that is exactly what she was doing, but she seemed powerless to stop herself.
She had no idea why seeing Ranger come out of that room with Terry set her off. It was probably just the whole high school insecurity thing, but damn if she wasn't tired of Terry always having her claws into every single man Stephanie was around. Every single man Stephanie cared about. OK, now that was a sobering thought. When had she started caring about Ranger? She didn't, she assured herself. It was just the craziness of the last couple of days talking. Maybe a little hero worship. He had saved her from drowning. She was just confusing gratitude with something else.
The Terry thing didn't matter. Whatever the Terry thing was. Ranger could do whatever Ranger wanted. He'd made his position clear. Ranger had clear priorities and a relationship, let alone matrimony, wasn't high on the list. In fact, it wasn't on the list at all. Of course, marriage wasn't high on her priorities list either, but her mother felt otherwise, and as much as she hated to admit it, her mother was wearing her down. A relationship, on the other hand was on her priorities list. So, that was the end of that. Ranger might be magic in bed, but the price was far too high. Stephanie found it hard to emotionally disentangle after sex, Ranger didn't seem to have that problem.
It might have been nice to have known the no-relationship thing before she slept with him, but then it wasn't like she had asked. He hadn't promised her anything. He didn't lie. He had given her ample opportunity to say no or stop, and she'd had staunchly blown right past those barriers, hurtling straight for that doomsday orgasm. Full speed ahead. And, damn if that hadn't been one hell of an orgasm. She gave herself a mental head slap. That was not the point.
Ranger had been a nice distraction. Nothing more. Ranger played by his own set of rules, and she clearly didn't have a complete copy. Stephanie was tired of never being enough, or maybe it was too much. Not pretty enough, not demure enough, too loud, too tall. Always deficient. The story of her life.
Stephanie had an almost overwhelming desire to start running. Instead, she forced herself to stop. She was an adult. She could do this. She couldn't quite stop herself from giving Ranger a little side-eye.
He was approaching her like one might approach a wounded animal. Hands out, palms up. She realized she probably looked like a frightening mess. Puffy red eyes from crying, crazy frizzy hair from going to sleep with it wet and barely even finger combed, and let's not forget the oh so flattering Kevlar vest that made her look bulky and flat chested. Hmm, now let's compare that to Terry. Yep, she'd be in the empty room with Terry too if she was Ranger.
Stephanie sighed, leaned back against the wall, and waited as he approached.
"Babe, why are you mad?"
Stephanie just looked at him. "I'm not mad." Her chin tilted up defiantly.
Ranger cocked a brow at her and gave her the look. The one that said, give me a break, you sure could have fooled me. You and I both know you're mad. Ranger crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
"What's the deal with you and Terry Gilman." Their eyes held for a moment. "Which team are you on?" she asked.
"I have my own team." Ranger stated.
Stephanie just gave him the look that said stupid, cryptic answers were not going to cut it.
She watched Ranger reach up and rub the back of his neck. It was such an uncharacteristic thing for him to do. Normally there was no outward sign how he felt or what he was thinking. No wasted movement or energy. Stephanie realized this was probably all new to him too.
A beat went by, and the look on his face said he'd resigned himself to the fact he was going to have to have a conversation. Stephanie almost felt bad for him.
"Terry was on her way to Morelli's room. I thought you needed some time alone with him, and I didn't think you wanted the gossip that would come from a scene at the hospital. So, I pushed her into a vacant room." Ranger shrugged. "Besides I needed to talk to her about Vito. I'm sorry if it looked weird."
This mature guy thing was stressful. They came right out and apologized. Now what was she supposed to do with all her indignant anger?
"OK, but I saw you with your arm around her at the coffee shop." Stephanie shot back. "You two looked awfully cozy." She hated that she sounded jealous.
Ranger reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his fingertips brushed feather light across her temple, his thumb at the line of her jaw.
"I met Terry because I thought she might be able to help me with Novak. I knew I couldn't, I wouldn't use you to get information. Not after I met you. After..." Ranger's voice trailed off. "I still had a job, so I looked at other options. Ones that didn't put you in danger." Ranger's voice was quiet and sincere.
Stephanie felt about fifty shades of embarrassed. All her anger had left her in a whoosh. She felt like a deflated balloon, and an idiot. The idiot part at least was familiar.
"You had your arm around her." Stephanie's voice was small. She was pushing a bad position and she knew it, but she just couldn't help herself. Ranger knew it too.
"Terry had morning sickness, and I didn't want her to puke all over me and everyone else. I was trying to get her through the crowd to the restroom. Her puking, not good for the image. I don't have the best gag reflex. I'm kind of a wimp around vomit." Ranger gave her a look that said so sue me.
Stephanie's lip twitched up. So, he did have a weakness. A teeny tiny one, but still.
"You're toying with me aren't you. Mocking me." She was trying not to smile at him.
"My sarcasm and my sincerity sound surprisingly similar." The corners of his mouth tipped slightly into the promise of a smile.
Stephanie just rolled her eyes. She found she kind of enjoyed this side of him. Everything about him still surprised her.
"You know what I like?" Ranger asked her. His voice had taken a husky quality.
"What's that."
"I like interesting woman, that are smart and fierce. In particular ones with gorgeous blue eyes and a wild riot of brown curls. I'm not into cookie cutter blondes. They bore me."
Their eyes were locked, and his were shimmering with heat. Stephanie could feel the sweat starting to pool at the base of her spine. She told herself it was just the vest, but she knew better.
"I'm rather fond of this particular girl from the Burg." Ranger was grinning at her, but his eyes had a hungry, predatory gleam about them.
"But I'm not fierce, and smart is debatable."
"Babe, I'm not sure I've ever met a woman with more moxie." Stephanie couldn't help but smile. Who said moxie anyway?
Ranger slid an arm around her and pulled her to him. Stephanie rested her head on his chest. She could feel the steady drum of his heart, even through his vest. So, he had a heart. That was probably a good sign. She just hoped he didn't break hers. Ranger nuzzled her hair and kissed her just above the ear.
She felt the minute his intention shifted. The change in his body. The tension. Stephanie felt her breath hitch and her pulse quicken, when he deliberately leaned into her. His leg slid between hers, pressing and rubbing. Stephanie could feel a whimper building in her throat.
Ranger moved against her again and desire skittered through her stomach and burned low in her belly. He was hard everywhere. His thigh, his gun. Everything was hard. Ranger leaned his forehead on hers. His breathing was ragged. She was monumentally glad she wasn't the only one about to go up like a volcano.
Suddenly Ranger stepped back. A needy sound escaped her throat at his sudden departure. He stepped to the side of her keeping his back to the corridor. Suddenly she saw the Wonder Twins round the corner. Apparently, he had the hearing of a bat too.
Heat flamed her face. Seriously she was pathetic. She was literally humping him in the middle of the hospital. She gave him a tight smile. "Thanks." She whispered. Being caught by the Wonder Twins humping the boss would have been embarrassing.
"I need to use the ladies room." Stephanie stated and started to walk off. Ranger grabbed her around the wrist and pulled her back.
"Clear the restroom." Ranger barked to the Wonder Twins. One of them lumbered forward and pushed open the door and peeked inside. Stephanie held her breath, hoping he didn't scare some poor woman to death. No startled screams emanated.
Stephanie thought it was highly unlikely an assassin was lurking in one of the stalls, but she managed to suppress an eyeroll. It probably paid to be careful in Ranger's business. Besides, she had a feeling he might be taking out his pent-up frustration on the Wonder Twins for interrupting them.
"Clear." The one built like a stegosaurus said. Uttering that one word seemed to have exhausted him.
Stephanie tugged her arm loose and went inside. The door closed behind her with a soft whoosh.
She stood staring in the mirror for a minute. Her life was completely off the rails, yet she felt more alive than she had in decades. She wondered if that made her crazy? Probably, but then again normal was way overrated. She was finding out normal was boring, and she was pretty sure it wasn't for her. She might have been able to play at it for a while, but it was always destined to come unglued.
Even if it hadn't been for the Terry factor, she realized she and Morelli had always been doomed. What Morelli wanted in a wife; she couldn't give. He was raised in a traditional Italian household with a stay-at-home mother and domineering father. If what he wanted was a wife who fit into that mold, Stephanie was not for him. She might be a stay-at-home mother someday, but she would always be trying to fly off the garage roof. That's just who she was, and it was time to stop pretending otherwise.
Of course, if what Morelli wanted was a traditional wife, maybe he shouldn't have been fucking Terry, but that was their problem. OK, so maybe she wasn't totally over the Terry factor just yet. It was raw, but knowing it was well and truly over was freeing.
Stephanie went into one of the stalls. Never pass up a bathroom, you don't know where or when the next one will be. She could practically hear her mother's voice clanging in her head. Besides she needed a minute to herself. Ranger confused her. Montero intrigued her. She was a hot mess.
Stephanie heard the click of a door open. That was odd. Why would Ranger let anyone in here with her? Hopefully it wasn't one of the Wonder Twins sent in to see if she needed help. Stephanie strained to listen. She would have sworn she heard the lock on the bathroom door snick. A little spike of fear, had her adrenaline going. Focus. Think about your surroundings she told herself. She mentally scanned the bathroom. There had been a door in the corner. Stephanie thought the door in the corner was just a supply closet, but maybe it had been a family room or a place for nursing mothers, and someone had been in there.
She tried to control her breathing, and think. That was it. It was nothing. But if it was nothing, why was her spidey sense clanging? She was learning more and more to trust her gut.
Someone was definitely out there. She heard the soft click of shoes on the tile. Green scrubs came into view under the stall door. Relief pulsed through her. It was just hospital personnel, and she was overreacting. Then her eyes landed on the feet. Her relief was short lived as icy fear washed over her. Wing-tipped shoes. The same shoes the little boneless ferret with the slicked back hair had at the warehouse.
She was momentarily gripped by panic. Frozen to the spot, her breathing suspended. Little dots danced in front of her eyes. She forced herself to take a shaky breath, terrified the ferret would hear her. She was going to die, at the hands of a guy that looked like a ferret and used copious amounts of brylcreem in his hair. Where was the justice in that? This was becoming an all too regular thing in her life. No, Stephanie thought. Screw that. She was not dying on some filthy bathroom floor, at least not without a fight. Not today anyway. That would definitely fuck up her Karma, and she was having none of that.
She'd had just about enough of this shit. She'd been strangled, shot at, and nearly drowned. It had been a long day with a lot of adrenaline expended. For that matter it had been a long week that had brought equal parts terror and death. She could scream, but the ferret would probably shoot her before anyone busted through the door, assuming they even heard her. Hiding in a stall and screaming at the top of her lungs was not a particularly sophisticated plan, and not one that had a high chance of success.
She needed a better one. She looked down at the black bates boots on her feet. May as well be Rambo barbie. At least she was dressed for the part. Stephanie unlocked the stall door as quietly as she could. She took a deep breath and put her foot to it with all her might.
The metal door swung out, cracking the ferret in the face, surprising him and shoving him off balance. He fired a shot and it pinged off the metal stall going wide. The sound mostly swallowed by the silencer. Stephanie twisted and lunged towards the door. He wasn't as stunned as she had hoped, and she felt him snag her by the back of the jacket, throwing her off balance. She went down on one knee with a sickening crack, pulling him down with her. The gun was knocked out of his hand and skidded across the floor.
That's when she snapped. Suddenly Stephanie was beyond pissed off. She let out a roar and elbowed him in the side of the head. She heard his teeth clack and his grunt of pain. It seemed like the blow had stunned him and his vision was a little unfocused. Stephanie took advantage, pure boiling rage driving her. She wanted to gouge his stupid little beady ferret eyes out, if for no other reason than the fact he lacked class. He was trying to kill her in a hospital bathroom. Not that killing her some other place would be all that pleasant, but the audacity to gun a woman down on the toilet.
She grabbed him by his ridiculous hair and banged his head into the wall. His arms were flailing, and he was kicking at her legs. Stephanie registered shouting outside and she heard the door being bombarded as Ranger and his Merry Men tried to breach the door.
His little bony leg connected with hers, and Stephanie and the ferret went down on the ground in a heap rolling like a couple of pythons locked in mortal combat. She was kicking, biting, scratching, and clawing. This was real life-or-death and Stephanie planned to win. Stephanie brought up her knee and connected with his crotch. She was pretty sure she shoved his balls halfway up his throat, and she felt a moment of satisfaction from that fact. He stiffened like a board, drawing up in the fetal position, and Stephanie smashed her fist to his face. Blood spurted from his nose and his eyes kind of rolled back in his head.
Stephanie scrambled for the gun, grabbing it and wobbling to her feet. She pointed the gun at him. The door behind her busted open and Ranger and Les poured in. That's how they found her. Legs apart, breath heaving, holding a gun in a two-handed classic weaver firing stance.
Ranger thought she might just be the most magnificent thing he'd ever seen. His heart had been lodged in his throat when he heard the commotion and found the door locked. It was the second time today he had been terrified he wouldn't get to her in time. Adrenaline was flooding his system and he forced himself to be calm.
Ranger moved behind her sliding his hands down her arms, and taking the gun from her grip.
"Babe." Her gaze swung to his.
Her eyes were bright and clear. She was breathing hard from exertion, not from shock. After everything that had happened, Ranger was impressed. He was about ready to curl up in the fetal position himself. The woman was definitely going to be the death of him.
Ranger reminded himself. It wasn't the fire that mattered. It was how well you walked through it. He'd misjudged her. Thought she was the soft, corporate type. The type that wanted nothing more than a safe little life with a husband and a couple of kids. He was beginning to think he might be wrong about that. It turned out, Stephanie Plum was forged in fire, and she had the spine of steel to match.
Les moved in towards the man, instantly recognizing him as one of the warehouse goons.
"Why is he bleeding?" Les asked cautiously. Sending an admiring glance towards Stephanie. He was pretty sure she'd just kicked the shit out of this guy in under a minute.
Stephanie shrugged. "Classless jackass and an idiot."
"I didn't realize that caused spontaneous nose bleeds." Les was grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Pretty sure it's a Jersey thing." Stephanie smiled at Les.
Les gave a bark of laughter, and hauled the ferret to his feet, zip tying him.
"I knew I liked you, Stephanie Plum." Les winked at her.
Montero popped his head in to see what all the commotion was about.
"Somebody beat the shit out of this guy." It was clear Montero was working to keep a professional demeanor and not smile.
"That would be me." Stephanie threw him an apologetic glance.
"Babe." Ranger said grinning.
Montero just shook his head, losing the battle not to smile.
"I'm glad you're OK Plum. Someone want to tell me how this happened." Montero's gaze settled on Ranger.
The lumbering Wonder Twin looked a little pale as Ranger rounded on him. Stephanie stepped between the two of them.
"He was dressed in scrubs and hiding in the supply closet." Stephanie motioned to it with her head.
"The door was locked. I swear." The Wonder Twin stammered.
"It was." Stephanie confirmed. "I heard it unlock before he came out. There is no way." She looked over at the Wonder Twin. "He could have known." She realized she had no idea what his name was.
The big guy shot her a grateful glance. "Ram." He said. "I'm sorry."
Stephanie shook her head. "No, it was my fault. I'm the one that insisted on coming to the hospital. I was advised it was not safe." She gave Montero a pointed look. She really didn't want Ranger taking the heat for her impulsive move. It was becoming clear she had underestimated the threat to her and the lengths these people would go.
Ranger just made a sort of growling sound. Stephanie was pretty sure Ram was going to be feeling the brunt of Ranger's anger, but for right now he let it go. She was also sure Ranger would be getting heat from Montero.
"Did you know him?" Montero asked.
"Let's talk at RangeMan. OK?" Stephanie knew she needed to come clean and tell Montero everything. If her instincts were right, he would help her. If they weren't well, she wouldn't have to worry about paying rent. She'd be locked up.
Montero nodded. "I'll follow you over."
Ranger was close behind her, but not touching her. Still, she could feel his heat and energy. It took everything she had not to step back into his embrace. It was funny how quickly she'd come to trust him. Rely on him. He calmed her in a way she didn't quite understand. He wasn't yelling or flailing his arms around screaming about how she could have been killed. No, he was supporting her. Taking her lead, ready to offer help or comfort if she needed it, but more than willing to let her stand on her own two feet. In her very own pair of kick-ass boots.
"I'm sure Stephanie needs to get cleaned-up, maybe take a shower." Ranger's voice was casual but her reaction to the mention of a shower, was anything but casual. She felt heat pool between her thighs and for the first time since she had put it on, she was glad she was wearing that stupid vest. Otherwise, her traitorous nipples would be ratting her out.
"We need to check her for injuries." Ranger continued. "Maybe give her an hour or so."
Montero nodded to her. "Plum." Montero walked out.
Stephanie got in the middle of the little pod of big men in Kevlar vests, and they headed to the parking garage and back to RangeMan. Stephanie couldn't help but think, being at RangeMan with Montero and Ranger was far more dangerous than what had just happened.