Chapter Eleven
Ranger silently acknowledged he'd become that guy. The one that had rapidly veered into creepy stalker territory with surprising speed and ease. He was sitting outside Pino's, grinding what was left of his teeth into dust and studiously ignoring the throb that had taken up residence behind his eyeball.
How he ended up here; he wasn't entirely sure. One minute he was watching Stephanie and Les walk out of the RangeMan building arm-in-arm, and the next? Well, he was pulling up tracker data and his SUV just kind of drove itself. The in between part was a little hazy.
Watching the two of them together was a lot like being jabbed by a hot poker. Stephanie was laughing, and Les, well, he just looked happy and that was all kinds of weird. Usually, he had the cat-that-ate-the-canary look on his face because he was going to get laid, or his smoldering let's take this to the bedroom look, because the woman had agreed. Ranger had seen them both on the regular, but this look, Ranger hadn't seen this one in years. High school maybe, before Les had joined up and done one too many tours.
Ranger knew he should just put the SUV in gear and drive away and pretend this little fiasco didn't happen. He couldn't believe he was spying on his cousin and contemplating creating a fake emergency, so Les would have to cut his night short. Ranger was on the outside, and for the first time in a long while, that bothered him. He wanted to be the one sitting across from Stephanie and hearing her laugh. Hell, he'd settle for just seeing that soft look in her eyes, instead of the one that said she knew he was an asshole. Every look, every laugh, and every little smile stung like the shallow cut of a sharp blade.
Ranger wasn't sure if it was the relaxed, unguarded expression on Stephanie's face, or the way her head tilted back when she laughed with abandon that made it hard to breathe as he tugged at his collar that seemed to strangle him with each passing moment. Maybe it was the way Les leaned forward like they shared a secret that caused his stomach to roll and pitch like he was on an angry sea.
Whatever it was, he hated it, all of it. Ranger was done torturing himself, and he didn't care where their night ended up, even if it was back at Stephanie's apartment. At least that is what he would tell himself. Ranger would go back to the office and work his frustration out by punching the shit out of a gym bag, or anyone stupid enough to get in the ring with him, because Ranger was definitely punching something tonight, and if he wasn't careful, that something would be Les. Les could be a gigantic pain in Ranger's ass, but this one was all on Ranger.
He'd made a mistake, one that seemed to have bitten him in the ass and latched on no matter how many ways he twisted. Ranger should have known the minute he locked eyes with her across the room, she was trouble. The mischievous smile on her face, the way she had danced slow and sensual just for him. It had been the two of them. No one else had been in their little bubble. The seductive, inviting way she moved breathed a fire into him he thought had gone extinct. That one night had burned his world to the ground, and now he was left with nothing but ashes, and for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do about it.
His eyes cut back to the two of them, and jealousy lanced through him, swift and sharp at the easy camaraderie between them as Stephanie chucked her napkin at Les. The guy that had been there for her when Ranger wasn't, he reminded himself. Saving someone's life created a unique and unbreakable bond. Ranger sighed. Les didn't deserve to get caught up in his drama. No Ranger had managed to get himself knee deep in quick sand all by himself. Granted, that wouldn't keep Les off of scut work for the foreseeable future, but he had saved Stephanie's life, so that bought him a pass on a lot of things.
If they wanted to scratch an itch, he'd stay out of it, even if it killed him. Les was a player and no doubt this would be a passing phase. As long as Stephanie understood that and didn't get hurt, it was exactly none of Ranger's business. For all of Les' faults, lack of honesty and clarity with a woman was not one of them. Les always made the limitations clear before he went home with them. He wouldn't be there in the morning, and he wasn't going to call.
Setting boundaries was something Ranger failed to do, and now all the lines blurred together in a crazy jumble of confusion, at least in his mind. For Stephanie, it seemed a little clearer. Ranger was an asshole, and that was the end of that.
Ranger didn't do relationships, and he didn't do emotional. His life was too busy. It simply didn't lend itself to attachments. Stephanie had become part of the RangeMan family, and that meant he was now just her boss. Ranger ignored the empty feeling in his gut and the crushing weight that settled on his chest, making it hard to breathe, and even harder to think.
Ranger started the SUV and eased down the street, gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. Sometimes it was easier just to hate something than it was to admit it was something you wanted but couldn't have.
Les came around and opened the door and offered Stephanie a helping hand out of the SUV, and they walked the short distance to Pino's. The dinner crowd was starting to arrive, and they snagged a booth in the back. Les didn't seem to mind that they were sitting in front of a plate-glass window, and she wondered if Ranger was just more vigilant or if there was something in his past that made him more cautious.
Les looked over the menu. "What's good here?"
"Everything." Stephanie smiled at him. "You can't go wrong with Italian."
Stephanie winced. Shit, that almost sounded like she was flirting with him. "Italian food." She clarified.
That earned her a quirked brow. She was saved from any further embarrassment when a bored teenager with a nose ring and bad acne ambled over to take their order.
Les gestured for Stephanie to take the lead. "Just order what you think I'll like."
"What if you don't like it?" Stephanie asked, her voice strained, as she had visions of mister my-body-is-my temple. No fat, no sugar, no carbs, no taste.
"I'm not like Ric." Les grinned at her. "I'm easy."
The way his voice dropped into a silky purr when he said it, left very little to the imagination. She could see why Les was a hit with the ladies. Heat flushed up her neck at the innuendo and she wondered who this mysterious Ric happened to be?
The bored teenager sighed loudly, like only a teenager can, telegraphing just how uncool and not hip they were for infringing on his valuable time.
Stephanie's eyes never left Les as she gauged his reaction to see if he winced at all the carbs and cheese. "We'll start with a basket of fries. Two meatball subs and two bottles of Peroni."
Les seemed perfectly OK with what she had ordered them, and Stephanie relaxed a little. Les might look an awful lot like tall, dark, and psycho, but apparently Les had gotten a personality to go along with his good looks.
The teenager rolled his eyes and wrote down their order and strolled off, giving them a look of disdain only a teenager could muster, as his sneakers squeaked on the polished floor.
"Who's Ric?" Stephanie asked
"Ranger, but I call him Ric. His name is Ricardo Carlos, but his dad's name is also Ricardo, so he doesn't like to be called that." Les leaned in like he was about to share a state secret with her. "When we were growing up, everybody called him little Ricky."
Stephanie gave a snort. "You're serious." In Stephanie's experience, there wasn't anything little about that man.
"As a heart attack." Les confirmed, grinning from ear-to-ear. "He was a pretty little thing."
Stephanie tipped her head back and gave a throaty laugh. "Oh, that is priceless."
"Yeah, just don't tell him I told you or he'll beat my ass on the mats every day for a week."
"Pinky swear?" Stephanie and Les hooked fingers and swore each other to secrecy.
The teenager dropped the beer off with another baleful look at their total lack of coolness, and Stephanie picked up her bottle and took a swig.
Les held out his bottle. "To surviving Ranger."
Stephanie held up her bottle. "To not getting blown-up."
She wasn't sure they could toast surviving Ranger, just yet anyway, because she was afraid she might not survive him. He might be the one she didn't get over, the one she didn't survive losing, and that was a sobering thought.
They clinked beer bottles and Stephanie tried to push that possibility away because it was far too disturbing and far too real.
"What is the deal with you and Little Ricky?" Stephanie asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Cousins and business partners."
"You own part of RangeMan?"
"I do."
Stephanie thought it was interesting, Les talked a lot about any number of topics, except when it came to himself, and then it was clipped sentences and one-word answers.
"But you work for Ranger?" Stephanie pressed.
Les tilted his head and considered it for a minute. "Yeah, I mean Ranger is the majority partner. I guess I prefer being in the field."
"Not a fan of paperwork?"
"Something like that." Les answered.
"You grew up together."
"Mostly."
"Have you always lived in Trenton?"
Les gave a snort. "No, we grew up in Miami. Our grandmother lives here, and Ric lived with her for a while when we were teenagers. He opened the first RangeMan office in Trenton because he wanted to be close to her, look after her after our grandfather died."
There was more to that story, but it was clear Les wasn't sharing so Stephanie let it drop.
"First office?"
"Yeah, we have offices in Boston, Atlanta, and Miami."
"Wow, I didn't know." Stephanie realized there was a lot about Ranger she didn't know.
He was looking more and more like an iceberg. Only the slimmest parts were visible, the majority was hidden under the surface, and all of it was hard and deadly. Bashing up against it could have devastating consequences. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, and tried to push the unease away. She had a sneaking suspicion she was already adrift and in real danger of bashing against him and falling apart.
"What about you?" Les asked. "Have you always lived in Trenton?"
"Yeah, born and raised in the Burg."
"You like it here?"
"Most of the time. My family is here, my friends. I've never lived anywhere else." Stephanie shrugged. "Boring I guess."
Les caught her eye. "No, I don't think so. There is nothing boring about you. I think you just spend too much time being what other people think you should be, or at least you have until now. I get the feeling that's about to change."
Stephanie picked at the label on her beer. Les was probably right, and Les saw her a little too clearly for comfort.
Stephanie looked at him with a hooded gaze. Les was charming, but he didn't miss much. "So, tell me about you, Les Santos."
"Not much to tell, I guess." He'd achieved the practiced nonchalance in his voice, but Stephanie watched his body tense ever so slightly
"I'd say that's not true at all."
Les sat back in the booth. "OK. Let's see. I followed Ric into the service, but I went Navy, stayed in longer than Ric, saw a bunch of shit I wish I hadn't. Got out and started a business with Ric because my skills don't really translate into polite society." A shadow passed over his face and Stephanie reached out and put her hand over his.
The grin came back, but the haunted look remained. "I also like pina coladas, long walks on the beach, and getting caught in the rain. For future reference, flirting will get you whatever you want." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Oh, and I'm an Aquarius."
"If you ever want to talk about anything." Stephanie offered.
Les nodded. "I know, and I appreciate it, but I'm good."
Something told Stephanie that wasn't entirely true, but she didn't push him. He might seem all goofy and charming, but there was a depth there, a darkness that lurked just below the surface. Les was a smart man with a lot of secrets. Maybe one day she would be privileged enough to see behind the mask. Les and Ranger weren't so different, they just hid their scars in a different way.
"You saved my life. I kind of owe you."
"Nah, that just means I'm responsible for you now." He gave her hand a squeeze before he let it go and took another pull of his beer.
The kid dropped off their basket of fries and they ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Stephanie figured there were a lot worse things than having Les watch over her.
"So, what is the deal with Ranger?"
Les glanced up from his fries. "Look, I know you think he was a hardass today, and I'm not saying he doesn't have his moments, but Ric was right. We were treating you with kid gloves, and that would not do you any favors."
"He humiliated me in front of everyone." Stephanie hissed. "On purpose."
Les locked eyes with her. "No, he did what he always does, what needed to be done. He put things in perspective, and he tested you to see if you had what it takes. He believes in you, or he wouldn't have agreed to train you. Taking a personal interest in you, told every man in that room that Ranger has faith in you, and he respects you, and he won't tolerate anything less from them. You know how many guys would kill to have Ranger take a personal interest in them?"
Stephanie stared down at the table and shrugged. She hadn't really thought of it that way.
"What if it is just?" Her voice trailed off. "Pity or something."
Stephanie's face flamed a bright shade of red and she couldn't meet Les' knowing gaze.
"Look at me, Steph." Les commanded. The hard edge to his voice snapped her eyes to his.
"This is not pity, and he doesn't need to play games to get a woman in his bed." Les gave her a pointed look and Stephanie's stomach lurched at the idea of Ranger with other women. Les was right. Ranger could have any woman he wanted, and probably did on a regular basis.
"Ric's the best. Stick with him and you will be successful. There aren't many female bounty hunters, and that could be a real advantage."
"Do you think I have what it takes?"
"I think you can be anything you want to be. Now why don't you ask me what you really want to know?"
Stephanie gave a bark of surprised laughter. "And what's that?"
"If Ric is dating anyone." Les grinned at her.
Stephanie held up her hands. "Oh, no. I don't care about that. It's not like that with me and Ranger."
It was Les' turn to snort. "You could have fooled me." He gave her another pointed look.
Stephanie gave a negative shake of her head; afraid her voice would fail her if she tried to answer.
"Something happened." Les prodded. "I've never seen Ric act this way."
"What way? Like a jackass?" She gave him a questioning glance.
Les grinned. "Oh boy, that bad, huh? I'd love to be the one to warn you off about Ric, but he's a good guy. He can be a little closed off, a little rough around the edges, but he's the most honorable, loyal person I've ever met."
Stephanie gave him a dubious look.
Les held up his hands in mock surrender. "OK." Les made a motion like he was zipping his lips.
The meatball subs arrived, and they focused on chowing down.
"Well?" Stephanie hedged around a bite of the best meatball sub in all of Trenton.
Les tried his hardest not to smile and failed. He batted his lashes at her and gave her his best innocent expression. "Well what? The sub is good."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Never mind."
Les laughed. "No, he isn't dating anyone special."
Stephanie stifled a smile and tried not to be too pleased about that knowledge.
"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot." Stephanie admitted. "We met at a New Year's Eve party. He thought I was a hooker."
She rolled her eyes and Les gave a bark of surprised laughter. "I'm sure that went over well. Out of curiosity, why did he think you were a hooker?"
"I was on a pity date with Harold Marconi."
"Seriously? How did that happen?"
"My mom knows his mom." Stephanie made a dismissive gesture with her hand.
"You know Harold launders money for the mob, and spends his allowance on Stark Street hookers, right?"
"No." Stephanie elongated the word. "My mother failed to mention that."
"I see. What exactly did Ric say to you?" Les asked as he shoveled more sub in his mouth and washed it down with a pull on his beer. His eyes danced with laughter. Les was having way too much fun with this story, and now that she thought about it, maybe it was a little funny.
Stephanie wrinkled up her nose. "He told me he hoped I had been paid cash up front. You know, like I was too stupid to have done that." She gave Les a look that said clearly Ranger was the one just left of stupid.
Les grinned. "Subtly isn't really his specialty. I can see how that might have set the wrong tone. What'd you do?"
Stephanie grimaced. "I might have slapped him." She confessed. "And told him if I was a hooker he couldn't afford me, because there wasn't enough money in the world to get me to sleep with him."
Stephanie left out the again part of that statement. She figured a girl had to have a few secrets.
"Well, that explains it." Les smiled and shook his head.
"Explains what?" Stephanie asked, knowing full well she didn't want to hear the answer.
"Why you're like catnip to him, well that and have nice ti.. um..." Les cleared his throat and Stephanie gave him the death glare. "Nice assets." He finished and gave her a sheepish grin.
"Ric likes a challenge, and he has a thing for strong women. Most of the women he meets bore him." Les gave a shrug, like that was a self-evident truth.
Stephanie snorted. "Not hardly. Besides, he can barely stand to be around me. Half the time he looks at me, I'm certain he's trying to figure out how to kill me and make it look like an accident."
Les waggled his brows. "Oh, he's trying to figure out what to do with you, all right."
Heat bloomed on Stephanie's cheeks, and she gave a nervous laugh. Les had almost walked in on them dry humping each other in Ranger's office this morning. What Ranger wanted to do with her wasn't exactly a mystery.
"Now that I'm working at RangeMan part-time and he's mentoring me. Probably dating or whatever isn't a good idea. Besides, I don't even like him."
"The lies we tell ourselves." Les gave a dramatic sigh.
Stephanie threw a napkin at him, signaling this conversation was over. "Want another beer?"
"Sure."
Les gave her a rundown of the other RangeMan employees and RangeMan operations while they ate.
They pulled into the lot of her apartment building and Les walked her up. He kept glancing around, and Stephanie wondered if that was just a by-product of too many tours or if he thought someone was watching them. The tingle on the back of her neck was back, but she dismissed it as nerves. She'd felt it when they were at Pino's too.
Stephanie opened her door and stepped inside and flipped on the light. Rex was running on his wheel and paused, whiskers twitching, sniffing the air. A moment passed and the rhythmic squeak started again. Stephanie would like to think that was Rex's way of welcoming her home, but probably he was just wondering why it was suddenly so bright. Stephanie turned to find Les lounging against the door frame, watching her, his expression blank. He reminded her of a big jungle cat, deceptively relaxed.
She cocked her head. "What is it?" Her pulsed kicked up a notch.
"You surprise me, Stephanie Plum."
She gave him a curious smile. "How so?"
"I find myself in a strange place." Les shrugged. "I like you; I enjoy hanging out."
"Like friends?"
He nodded. A confused look passed across his face. "Yeah, like a friend." The thought seemed to throw him.
"Are you saying you've never had a female friend before?" Stephanie queried.
A frown marred his perfect features. "Nope, can't say that I have. I pretty much want to sleep with any woman I'm interested in, and then after that, well, the friend thing kind of goes out the window."
"So, you're saying you don't want to sleep with me?" Her brow quirked up. Stephanie wasn't sure if she should be relieved or insulted.
"Oh no, I totally want to sleep with you." He gave her a wolf grin. "But I don't poach."
"You're not poaching." She rushed to say and then realized how that sounded. "I mean, that is not an invitation. I'm not coming onto you. I mean, not that I wouldn't but—" She snapped her mouth shut with a clack of her teeth. Embarrassment heating her cheeks.
He was grinning at her, enjoying her obvious discomfort at her runaway mouth. Les tipped his head to her. "Good to know."
She smiled back. "Friends then?"
"Friends it is."
"Want to pinky swear?"
"Of course, my pinky bond is my word." Les hooked his pinky with hers.
"You're a little crazy, you know that."
"If you only knew the half of it." Les confirmed and a little shiver went through Stephanie, because she had a feeling there was a grain of truth in that statement.
Les leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
With that, Les was gone. Stephanie closed the door and threw her crappy locks. That had been weird, and sweet, confusing, and unexpected. She liked Les. He was fun, insanely brave, and smoking hot. So why was she happy that he just wanted to be friends? Stephanie gave a pitiful little moan. Because she was pretty sure his idiot cousin had ruined her for all other men.
Ranger's finger hovered over the send button, debating the wisdom of what he was about to do, while blindly ignoring the reason he was about to send Les on some wild goose chase, just to get him away from Stephanie. Ranger had every intention of heading back to RangeMan after he left Pino's, but somehow, he'd ended up across the street from Stephanie's apartment in full-on stalker mode.
Ranger blinked and then blinked again, and raised the binoculars for a closer look. That was Santos leaving Stephanie's building, a little over three minutes after the light had gone on in her apartment. Ranger squinted and took another look. Les didn't look like a guy that had been rejected. His posture was relaxed, and he was smiling, like he had a really good time. There was no way they'd had sex or even any kind of heavy petting. There just wasn't enough time.
Ranger was simultaneously confused and relieved. Les didn't date, Les had one-night stands that he never called again. That was kind of his thing. Whatever was going on between the two of them was beginning to feel like an unholy alliance. One Ranger was pretty sure wouldn't work in his favor.
He watched as Les pulled out of the lot and rolled down the street. Ranger wondered what Stephanie was doing. Was she watching TV, reading, grabbing a shower? His cock twitched at that thought, like he was new to puberty.
Ranger rolled his eyes and rested his head on the steering wheel. He was crazy. Full-on barking lunatic crazy. There was no other logical explanation. He was sitting outside some woman's apartment in the middle of the night like a freak, getting hard because she might take a shower, and there was some remote possibility she slept naked, the little voice in his head reminded him.
Ranger whacked his head on the steering wheel. He was going to go home and pretend like this night never happened. Then he was going to find a woman and fuck Stephanie Plum right out of his head. Enough of this stupidity. It was affecting his work, not to mention what little sanity he still had left, which was waning by the second.
He threw one last glance at her apartment and his breath caught. She was standing at her window, silhouetted by the soft glow of a lamp behind her. The wild tumble of curls, the gentle flare of her hips outlined against the darkness and burned into his memory. He wondered what she was thinking as she looked out into the night.
On impulse, he grabbed his phone and texted her.
"What are you thinking about, babe?"
He watched as she picked up her phone. She held it for what seemed an eternity before she answered.
"Life."
"What about life?"
"For the first time, I have no set path. It's scary."
"And exhilarating."
"And that." She confirmed.
Ranger smiled. "Night babe. Sweet dreams."
"Night Ranger."
Ranger watched her for a few more minutes, and his gut twisted as an unidentifiable emotion spread through him, settling over him like a warm blanket on a cold night. Ranger put the SUV in gear and drove back towards Haywood, knowing it was going to be another sleepless night, haunted by the whispered promise of her touch, the hint of vanilla and jasmine as it danced just out of reach, as elusive, intriguing, and confusing as the woman herself.