Chapter 2
Two years earlier…
Stephanie picked up her files from Vinnie's bail bond shop. She worked at Rangeman on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Stephanie chased after low to mid-bond skips for her cousin Vinnie. When she flipped through the files, she noticed Dougie and Mooner missed their court dates again. A new skip, Don Juan Brando, missed his court date. He got charged with aggravated assault and theft. Stephanie would need to run a search at Rangeman to make sure she had all the information.
Don Juan Brando was new to the area. He followed a woman, Lucy Carothers, from Austin, Texas, to Trenton, New Jersey. Lucy got listed as Brando's girlfriend. Stephanie doubted that she was dating Brando. "Do you have any information on Brando or Carothers?" Stephanie asked Connie.
"Only what I put into the folder. Sorry, maybe you can use Rangeman's search programs to obtain more information," Connie replied. Stephanie dropped the folders into her bag and walked outside into the chilli January cold snap. She pulled her hat further down her face to protect her forehead and ears.
Joe Morelli leaned against Stephanie's recent POS car. She paid 1000 for the rusted green 1990 Chevrolet Tahoe. "Hey, Joe," she greeted.
"Morning, Cupcake," Joe said before leaning in for a kiss. Stephanie turned slightly to the side, forcing Joe to kiss her cheek. "Who are you chasing today?"
"Um… Mooner and Dougie," she replied.
"Anyone else?" Joe asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Joe. He must have a case involving one of her FTAs. "Not today," Stephanie carefully replied. She was tired of Joe using her to solve his investigations. He never gave her credit for helping.
Joe grabbed the files from Stephanie's bag to flip through. "Brando? What the hell is Vinnie thinking? You should not get involved with this man," Joe shouted.
Here we go again, Stephanie thought. The never-ending cycle of the Stephanie-Joe drama. They get together. They have copious amounts of sex, Joe yells at Stephanie because of her job, Stephanie ends their relationship. A few weeks later, the cycle begins again. Everything had been going well for the past few weeks. Joe had to ruin everything by berating her in public.
She dug deep inside to calmly state, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Joe." Stephanie grabbed the file from Joe and shoved it back into her bag. She opened her vehicle door and slid into the driver's seat. Before closing the door, she said, "Oh, in case you didn't receive my subliminal message, this is me breaking up with you. Have a nice day, Joe. Goodbye," she added as she smiled sweetly at her ex-boyfriend.
Stephanie slammed the door lock button and took a few tries to get her car started. Joe stood on the sidewalk looking stunned. They typically yell at each other for a few minutes before one of them shouts that they're through. The quiet breakup from Stephanie was a surprise.
Joe was still standing outside the bond's office when Stephanie checked the rearview mirror. She chuckled, thinking Joe must me scratching his balls in confusion. "Our relationship hasn't worked in the past few years. Why would he expect now to be any different," Stephanie mumbled as she drove towards Mooner's townhouse.
She parked across the road and walked through the snow to knock on the door. "Hey, Steph. Why are you here?" Mooner asked.
"You forgot your court date yesterday," Stephanie replied.
"I thought it was tomorrow," he said as he checked the calendar. "Yup. It's tomorrow afternoon."
"Mooner, you forgot to cross off Tuesday. Today is Thursday, not Wednesday," Stephanie stated while showing him the date on my phone.
"Dude!" Mooner yelled.
Dougie ran down the stairs to see why Mooner was yelling. "What's up? Why is Steph here?"
"Dude, we slept through Tuesday and Wednesday. We forgot our court date," Mooner replied. Stephanie stifled a laugh. They were probably high since Monday evening.
She showed Dougie the date on her phone. He double-checked his cellphone too. "Crap. The Star Trek marathon is about to start," Dougie complained.
"No worries. We can watch TV until the marathon ends," Stephanie suggested. She used the remote to see when the series concludes for the day. "Okay, we can watch until 2 pm, then I'll drive you to TPD and back home after you get re-bonded."
"Sweet," Mooner said as he grabbed Stephanie's hand. They sat on either side of her to watch the TV series they'd watched many times before. Stephanie rolled her eyes when the first episode was The Trouble With Tribbles. The lumpy brown creatures reminded her of the rat infestation in the temporary bond's office. She shuddered but still watched the episode.
Dougie wrapped his arm across her shoulder and pulled her head down. "I've got you, Steph. I won't let the tribbles get you," Dougie whispered. Stephanie shook from silent laughter.
"Have you been smoking again?" Stephanie asked.
"Ya. This episode is epic when I'm tripping," Dougie replied. She loved these men. Is contact high a thing? Stephanie fell asleep a few episodes later. When the marathon was over, Dougie woke her up. "Stephanie, darling. It's time to take us to the station." He kissed her forehead.
"Did you just kiss me?" Stephanie mumbled.
"Yup. If you don't get up and take us in, I'll kiss you on the lips," Dougie threatened. She laughed it off, knowing he was joking. Or was he?
Mooner and Dougie jumped into Stephanie's car when she unlocked the doors. They cooperated the entire trip, as she knew they would. Vinnie was waiting for them at the TPD to arrange their next bond. Stephanie didn't run into Joe as she usually did. He must not know she was there, or he wasn't on the premises.
When the officer released Dougie and Mooner, Stephanie drove them home. They hopped out of the car, yelling, "See you next month, Stephanie." She waved before going back to her apartment. Watching TV with Dougie and Mooner was exhausting. She would drop the receipt off in the morning to collect 800 for both men.
Stephanie was too tired to climb the stairs and took the elevator. "Hi, Mrs. Bestler," she greeted the woman who pretended to be the operator.
When the elevator stopped on the second floor, Mrs. Bestler said, "Second floor, mattresses and fuzzy pillows." Stephanie gave an involuntary shudder as she walked towards her door.
Before she could shut the door behind her, Ranger appeared. Stephanie jumped and pressed her hand against her chest. "Make some noise, Batman."
"Babe," he sighed. Great, she was amusing him. She rolled her eyes and left Ranger to close the door. Stephanie removed her coat, hat, mittens and boots before walking into the kitchen. Her stomach grumbled from forgetting to eat lunch. She opened her refrigerator to grab the jar of olives. A take-out box on the top shelf got her attention.
Ranger stood close to Stephanie's back and reached for the container. "Did you leave this for me?" she asked, recognizing Ella's tidy script on the note.
"Babe," he leaned in to kiss her neck. While distracted, Ranger snatched the container from her hands and popped it into the microwave to reheat. Ranger removed the files from my messenger bag to view. "Be careful with Brando. Call if you need help."
"There isn't much about him in the folder. I was going to run a search at Rangeman tomorrow. Is that why you're here?" she asked through narrowed eyes.
"Marco Trimble will be at One Eyed Pete's tonight at 2100 hours. Are you available to work a distraction?" he asked.
"Sure. I don't have any plans. What should I wear?" Stephanie asked.
"It's hanging in your closet, Babe," he replied as the microwave indicated dinner was ready. Ranger grabbed a couple of plates from the cupboard. Stephanie grabbed utensils. Ella's lemon chicken and rice were some of the few healthy recipes Stephanie enjoyed.
Ranger checked his watch. They had a few hours to get ready. He got Stephanie to change so they could meet the team at Rangeman. "Why did I have to change here if we had to go to Rangeman anyways?" she asked after getting dressed.
Stephanie met Ranger in the living room. His eyes darkened when she bent over to put on the 4-inch wedge-heeled shoes. "Babe," he groaned. He pulled her tight to his chest and kissed her. His tongue swept across her bottom lip, asking for permission to enter her mouth. Ranger moved his hands from her back down to her ass before lifting her into his arms. Stephanie wrapped her legs around his waist and ground into his erection.
He carried her to the bedroom and slowly pulled her legs from his waist. Ranger didn't waste time removing her panties and pressing into her. "Say my name," Ranger groaned as Stephanie moaned louder. Her body shook until she exploded.
When she screamed his name, he released inside of her, moaning, "Stephanie." All of the other times they were intimate, he only called her Babe. It was the first time he said her name. Stephanie felt something shift between them. She didn't want to think too hard about what was different.
After washing and getting clean panties, they were ready to meet the team. "Morelli?" Ranger asked as he pressed his hand against her lower back. He held out her long jacket to cover the revealing black leather skirt and blue silk shirt. They were inappropriate for the weather, but the outfit would attract Trimble.
"We broke up earlier today. It wasn't our usual yelling match. At least I didn't participate," Stephanie replied. Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Joe isn't willing to change, and I don't have the energy to continue the unhealthy cycle."
"Proud of you, Babe," Ranger said as he opened the apartment door. He held her hand until they reached the elevator. Stephanie shrugged off his praise, although it made her heart soar.
They arrived at Rangeman thirty minutes before they needed to leave for the bar. Ranger and Tank would wait at the back door for Stephanie to lead Trimble to her car. Lester and Binkie got placed at the front in case Trimble insisted on leaving through the main entrance. Manny was at the bar, playing his role as a bartender. Bobby would be inside the bar, and Zip was escorting Stephanie. It was a slightly different plan than Stephanie expected, but Marco Trimble only approached women with dates.
Bobby and Manny were already at the bar waiting for the team to arrive. Ranger drove Stephanie and Zip to the main entrance. Zip averted his attention as Ranger reached into Stephanie's top to place the mic. She bit her lip to prevent moaning from Ranger brushing his finger across her nipple. He placed a small earpiece inside her ear so she could hear the men talk. "Lord help me," Zip groaned when Stephanie removed her jacket inside the bar.
She draped the jacket over her arm until Zip hung it on the back of her chair. "Trimble three o'clock," Bobby announced. Stephanie walked to the bar, leaned over, making sure Trimble could see her backside and ordered a rum and coke.
A sweaty hand rubbed down Stephanie's leg. She looked over her shoulder and asked, "Can I help you, handsome?" Stephanie wanted to cringe, but they needed to take Trimble off the streets before he hurts another woman.
"Is that your boyfriend?" Trimble asked, pointing to Zip at the table.
"Mmhm, that's Brian," Stephanie replied. "We're celebrating our one month anniversary." She giggled when Trimble smiled.
"Can he make you scream?"
"I'm sorry. I don't discuss sex with strangers," Stephanie whispered.
"My name is Marco. What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Tabitha," she replied.
"We're not strangers anymore," he huskily stated. "Why don't we dump the loser and go to my place."
"Sure, honey. Give me a minute. I need some liquid courage," Stephanie said when she accepted the coke from Manny. She down the drink and licked her lips. Marco watched her tongue move across her lip. "Can I grab my jacket?"
"I'll keep you warm, sweetheart." Marco led Stephanie through the back door.
Zip ran behind them, yelling, "Tabitha, darling. Where are you going? You promised you'd be faithful this time."
When Marco pulled Stephanie through the door, Ranger pushed him to the ground as Zip caught her from falling. She buried her face into Zip's shoulder and cried, "What's going on, Brian? Where are they taking Marco?" Stephanie continued the charade until Marco was out of sight. She kissed Zip's cheek. "Thank you."
"No problem, Steph," he replied. Zip placed her hand in the crook of his arm and walked her around the block to Ranger's car. He held Stephanie against his body until Ranger arrived. She shook as Ranger held her tight. Zip opened the passenger door for Stephanie to climb into the car. "I'll catch a ride with Bobby and Lester." Ranger nodded and thanked Zip for keeping Stephanie safe.
Stephanie walked with Ranger up to her apartment. He made her wait in the hallway to clear the rooms before letting her enter. "Babe," Ranger groaned before thoroughly kissing her. Stephanie's knees got weak when he deepened the kiss. "I have to go."
"Okay," she breathlessly said. Ranger waited for Stephanie to lock the door. When he heard the deadbolt engage, he tapped twice before leaving.