Of course we were interrupted, listening to Steph's end of the conversation it was her friend Lula. She was an ex-hoe turned file clerk that still had a mouth on her. That's required if you spent the majority of your life on a corner. I wouldn't say I considered her a friend but I respected anyone that was able to leave that line of work. Plus she usually had Steph's back but it was debatable if she didn't cause more trouble than she helped. Lula did have contacts from the streets that my Babe wouldn't have otherwise and that has benefited her. People saw her with Lula and then being known as my woman, it gave Steph protection and a level of trust from the street but it didn't hurt that it was nearly impossible to not be charmed by her.

I thought back to the meeting Tank and I had earlier that morning with Agent Collier, it only confirmed what I had suspected. The streets were buzzing. There was a new manufacturer on the street that was producing some of the purest meth the DEA had come across in years. It was going by the name Bluebeard. It was so pure that a lot of users couldn't handle it, the hospitals were overflowing with patients that had overdosed. Some were lucky, Narcan is a drug that is administered in the event of an overdose usually by the police or medical response teams so some could be saved. Others weren't so lucky, it wasn't uncommon to find people at bus stops or dropped off in front of businesses.

But that wasn't the main concern for Collier, he suspected a smuggling ring. It was unknown what was being brought into the country but it was worth a lot of cash and seemed to back the surge of drugs and left a wake of corpses. Rival criminal organizations were both suffering losses, not that anyone carried about the bad guys taking each other out as long as it didn't spill over into the innocent. Unfortunately, that is what triggered Collier's entire investigation. The 15-year-old son of a very affluent family had overdosed on Bluebeard, the family's money and connections were putting pressure in all the right places. The Governor was up for re-election and fearing the loss of one of his biggest financial contributors, he was putting pressure on Trenton Police Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to get results. Governor Dewey Adams was furious there hadn't been more developments, the closer election day got the more tyrannical he became. Turns out Collier had been working on the case for a few months and all they had come up with were 3 names, a bunch of dead junkies and a whisper of something more sinister. They had no idea what they were looking for but for the past few months they were squeezing the dealers and had really cracked down on imports, did random search and seizures but nothing ever came of it.

Of the three men that Collier had been keeping an eye on two were squeaky clean which is never a good sign in my experience. The third was associated with the mob, Al Labarbara, served a couple of stretches for assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. Nothing more ever stuck on him because all the witnesses went missing when it came time for trial. They were probably enjoying some R&R with Hoffa, wherever he was. Labarbara was known to be charismatic but he was cruel, he primarily did wetwork before he moved into an executive position.

Collier needed an unorthodox approach and that led him to me and Rangeman. We specialized in this type of work, we can skate the line of what is legal and illegal where the official agencies couldn't. It didn't hurt that many of the men I have working for me could look scary as hell, they were mistaken for criminals most of the time anyway. Some were former military or ex-cons or those that had specialized skills. I needed to organize a meeting of the core team for the afternoon, go over the logistics of the job. Movies and television have given people a skewed view of crime solving, it seems exciting and fast paced and after 2 days on the job you bust in with guns blazing. That just wasn't reality, there is a lot of investigative work that goes into a large case like this and that is precisely why I planned on asking the best investigator I know to be part of the team. Steph can see the details that I often miss, she has an uncanny ability to think outside the box not to mention she is like a bulldog when she is chasing down a lead. We all like to say she is lucky but I know it is all skill, her luck is that she hasn't been killed or seriously injured.

The only hesitation I had in asking her to join the team was how I would keep my Babe safe from the bad people we would be looking at. I was already mentally preparing arguments for when I knew she would push the boundaries. I must admit, one of the things that I find so attractive about her is her unforgiving curiosity. I've seen Steph stay up all night researching when she can't shake a feeling but luckily for me I've found food and sex have been the best distractions. I could load her up on an endless supply of sweets thanks to Ella but sex would unfortunately have to be tabled for the time being. I can't forget the sensual touches she just gave me, I'd have to be mad to be able to but I need to be sure that she won't go back to the cop AGAIN.

I know I screwed in a major way after our one night together, sending her away but if I am honest with myself, I was afraid to let her close to me. I wasn't prepared for the feelings that came the next morning and I panicked, something that I will always regret. I never did like seeing her with Morelli but after that night, my stomach felt like it was full of battery acid everytime I saw her with him, heard her speak his name and God help me if I ever let my mind wander to what happened behind closed doors. Part of me felt the pain of seeing the woman I love in the arms of another man was what I deserved for all my sins. There was no way I deserved happiness after all the horrible things I've done in my life. That was another hurdle I would have to deal with, if she could even face me if she knew what I truly was, all the things I have done. I loved her so damn much, I must have been up now for around 30 hours but the moment her fingertips touched me I felt electrified. How adorable she looked when she tried to pull me into my office, all I wanted to do was take her upstairs and have my wicked way with her. If she could ever get off the damn phone with Lula, most of the phone call seemed to center around Lula's trunk special Coach purse that was ruined when she put her chicken meal from Cluck-in-a-Bucket inside. My Babe's aquamarine eyes landed on me, they sparkled and I felt lost in them. I hated having to wait on anyone but this woman had me whipped, I just needed to be sure she never figured that out.