Chapter Thirteen
Stephanie's body ached, sweat pooled between her breasts, and she sported the beginning of a couple of new bruises, but she felt alive for the first time in a long while. She'd spent the last hour learning basic self-defense techniques with Ranger. To her surprise, he'd been an amazing teacher. He didn't take it easy on her, but he'd been patient and clear in his instruction. He found her edge and then pushed her right past it, challenging her endurance and nudging her outside of her comfort zone.
She landed with a whump on her back again, and Ranger pressed her to the mat with his weight arm across her neck.
"Let's try it again." Ranger disentangled from her, getting back to his feet, he offered her a hand up. Stephanie took it and he pulled her to her upright. She ignored the jolt of electricity that shot up her arm at his touch.
Stephanie's chest heaved from the exertion and her legs quivered like jelly, but her body hummed with a satisfied energy that was new to her. She pulled up her t-shirt and wiped the sweat out of her eyes, hoping her heart didn't explode from beating so hard. She pretended it was the training and not because Ranger had his hands all over her.
"OK, I'm ready." She gave Ranger a nod and ignored how his eyes had darkened when he'd seen her bare midriff.
"If an attacker comes at you from behind, focus on getting low and creating space for yourself. Turn your back to me."
Stephanie did as instructed, and Ranger came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed into her. Stephanie ignored how her pulse kicked up, and forced herself to focus on what he said instead of his unforgiving body pressing into her making her think about things that were entirely inappropriate, like she wished they were drenched in sweat for an entirely different reason for starters.
"Babe," came his low warning near the shell of her ear, and Stephanie blushed a healthy shade of pink across her cheeks. How could he possibly guess where her mind had wandered?
Oh wait, maybe it had something to do with the fact she'd wiggled her ass against him. Whoops. Her bad.
"Sorry." She muttered. They both knew she wasn't the least bit sorry.
Ranger's deep voice sounded a little strained, but like a good instructor he soldiered on despite the fact his body stirred to life against her.
"Bend forward at the waist. This will shift your weight forward, making it harder for your attacker to pick you up. It also gives you a better angle to throw your elbows."
Stephanie bent forward and the movement firmly pressed her backside against him. She would have sworn he groaned a little.
"Good. Now use your elbows and aim for the face, the nose, if you can. Getting hit in the nose will cause the eyes to tear and it hurts like a mother. The attacker should let you go. Once you get free, run. Don't hesitate and don't look back."
"Run?"
"Yes. This isn't about winning the fight; this is about getting away and regrouping. Takedowns are about safety."
Stephanie nodded her understanding. They worked on the move a couple of more times along with a variation that included trapping her arms that currently resembled limp noodles.
"OK, enough for today. We will pick this up again tomorrow."
"We are doing this every day?" Stephanie asked with just a hint of horror in her voice.
She wasn't sure her body or her sanity could manage close quarters combat with Ranger of the self-defense kind or the romantic kind.
Ranger looked like he was trying not to smile. "Shower, change, and Les will meet you on five. You can leave your clothes in the hamper; Ella will take care of them."
With that, Ranger left, and Stephanie stared after him with a mixture of confusion and awareness swirling through her mind. Alrighty then. She headed to the elevator and fobbed her way to seven, feeling more than a little weird that she was letting herself into Ranger's apartment. She entered her birthdate on the keypad and the door snicked open.
Stephanie padded through the living room towards the bathroom and realized she didn't have a clue where the clothes were that this mysterious Ella person had ordered. She did a quick check of the bathroom and didn't find anything.
Her hands rested on her hips, and she looked around. Her body flashed hot and clammy as dread swept over her. Oh no, surely, they weren't in Ranger's closet. The thought of going into his bedroom made her anxious, a tiny bit nauseous, and more than a little excited in all the wrong ways, but what choice did she have? Les was waiting for her downstairs, and she was soaked in sweat and smelled like a dirty sneaker. Stephanie took a big breath and told herself it was no big deal. So what if she was going to see the inner sanctum and invade Ranger's privacy? He had told her she could use his apartment any time.
Stephanie headed down the hall and stepped into Ranger's bedroom. She let the cool calmness of it wash over her. The space was every bit as masculine as the man. A huge king size bed served as the focal point, anchoring and dominating the space, and her stomach clenched, as her thoughts tore straight to Ranger lounging naked in that big bed. She gave her head a good shake, trying to rattle her mind out of its reverie in the gutter.
The same earth tones bled into the bedroom, but had taken a darker hue, with charcoal and dove grey. A combination of lush textures, with rich tactile sensations, complimented by velvet and satin, added to the cozy feel of the dark tonalities, and conveyed a sensuality to the space. The lines were clean and crisp and natural materials like stone, polished dark wood, and granite with rough edges gave a stylish and modern aura that balanced the deeper colors and softer textures.
The overall ambiance of the room exuded masculine strength and sensuality, with some serious Feng Shui going on. It fit the man. Raw maleness wrapped in a Zen and very pleasing exterior. Ranger was a guy that liked comfort that much was obvious. Everything in the room was both functional and luxurious. Yet, not one personal memento graced the room. No paperback novel, no family photos, no signed baseball. Nothing. Stephanie resisted the urge to look inside the nightstand, terrified she'd find a half empty jumbo size box of condoms, and then all her illusions of being special would be shattered.
Really, what were the odds that Ranger never brought women to this place? Just looking at that massive bed could melt a girl into a needy little puddle. Stephanie's fingers trailed over the comforter on the bed, enjoying the soft velvet as she made her way towards the closet.
Muted lighting flickered on when she opened the double doors, and a surprised gasp slipped from Stephanie's lips. His closet was bigger than her entire bedroom. Ranger liked order. Everything was neatly hung up, arranged by type, and all of it was black. She gave a soft snort. This aversion to color had started to be downright weird. She ran her fingertips across the clothes. All soft and expensive. Ranger liked the finer things in life, but at the same time, he didn't seem too attached to them. She wondered if that applied to the women in his life, too. It was painfully clear, she was out of her league. She could never hold his attention. Stephanie was too plain, too boring, and way too vanilla for a man like Ranger.
Her eyes drifted to the far side of the closet and her breath caught in her throat, and her hands felt clammy as she reached out. Arranged in a row that mirrored Ranger's side of the closet hung women's cargos, t-shirts, and a couple of windbreakers. Perfectly folded in a neat little pile on the shelf below, sat her work out clothes along with her panties from New Year's Eve. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as her fingers traced the black lace. She should shove those in her pocket and take them home. They seemed distinctively out-of-place sitting next to the sports bra and boy shorts she'd worn for her last work out. Not to mention her underwear if Ranger's closet made places on her body tingle that had no business perking to life.
Yeah, screw it. She kind of liked that her sexiest pair of panties had taken up residence in Ranger's closet, and pretended like that wasn't fifty shades of weird. She'd basically moved in with a guy without actually moving in. When her stomach gave a nervous flip and she realized she liked the idea way more than she should, she decided not to think about it too hard.
She couldn't quite help the satisfaction that drifted over her. If her clothes hung in Ranger's closet and her panties sat on a shelf, he probably wasn't bringing women home because another woman's clothes hanging in his closet would be damn hard to explain.
Stephanie grabbed some fresh clothes and headed to the bathroom down the hall. She'd been tempted to use Ranger's ensuite bathroom, but she had already invaded way too much of his personal space. She was a voyeur, glimpsing behind the curtain, seeing things she wasn't meant to see. It made him more human and more mysterious. The mystery part she could accept, the human part, made her uneasy.
She didn't want to like him because she knew without a doubt, he'd be easy to love, and in the end, a guy like that would be hard to hold. Despite the fact he would surely would break her heart, no one else would ever quite compare, of that, she was sure, and that particular hell wasn't something she was interested in. He would take all the best parts of her and then he would cast her aside, and she'd be left. Back in her boring life, wanting more. Maybe that was the good part about the Bernies of the world. She was never in danger of losing herself around them. While they might not make her heart race, they wouldn't shatter it into a million little pieces, either. Stephanie wasn't sure where those thoughts had come from or the weight on her chest that made it hard to breathe. She grabbed her clothes and rabbited out of his room. This much Ranger was preying on her mind, making her crazy.
Stephanie took a quick shower, and tried not the huff the orgasmic shower gel, at least not too much. She pulled on the new clothes, which fit far better than she expected. Snug but not tight, surprisingly soft, and functional. She would have to thank the mysterious Ella and ask how she knew her size. Stephanie scrunched up her nose. On second thought, maybe it was better not to know about the size thing.
Stephanie threw her wet hair into a ponytail and poked her head out of the bathroom and listened. Everything was quiet, not even the refrigerator made noise in Ranger's apartment. She studiously ignored the fact she was disappointed Ranger wasn't waiting for her.
Stephanie put her finger on the scanner and held her breath, hoping she wasn't trapped in Ranger's apartment, she'd never live that one down. The scanner did its thing and the lock on the door popped open, and Stephanie released the breath she'd been holding and fobbed her way on the elevator and punched five.
Les was waiting for her, lounging on the desk, chatting with one of the guys watching monitors. Ram, maybe, she wasn't sure. Les gave her his trademark grin when she got off the elevator and made his way towards her.
"You ready to chase down your first skip?" He asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Stephanie gave him a half-smile. What she was ready for was a nap, and maybe a full body massage.
"Do you have your FTA paperwork?"
Stephanie held up her messenger bag. "Yep."
Les frowned. "Where are your gun and utility belt? Your cuffs."
Stephanie shrugged. "At my apartment, sorry. Ranger got me out of bed early this morning, and I never made it back to my place before coming here."
Les' eyebrows went up and the smirk on his face made her flush crimson. "Ranger got you out of bed, huh?"
Stephanie rolled her eyes and gave him a punch in the arm, which had the same effect as whacking a tree trunk. "Not like that." She hissed.
"Yet." Les said and headed towards the elevator with a flustered Stephanie trailing after him.
"We will stop by your place and then pick up Dixon and Maria."
"What about Ziggy?" Stephanie asked.
Ziggy had the higher dollar bond, and she really needed the money.
Les glanced over at her. "We'll put out some feelers, see what we hear. Ziggy isn't going to be easy to find if he has gone to ground."
Stephanie resisted the urge to sigh. Les had taken the time to help her, and she was grateful, but low bond skips didn't pay the rent.
"What about the distraction? Ranger mentioned one tonight." She asked hopefully.
Les opened the door to the SUV for her and she climbed in and waited for him to get in the driver's side.
"Not tonight. Probably tomorrow."
"Oh, OK." This time Stephanie did sigh.
Les gave her a smile. "What's with the long face?"
Stephanie's shoulder tilted up. "Nothing, just I kind of need the money."
"RangeMan paid you for the renovation job, right?" Les quizzed her.
"Not sure. I just assumed it would be a couple of weeks."
"Nah, that shit usually hits overnight." Les pulled onto Haywood and they made their way toward her apartment.
Stephanie pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen, and pulled up her mobile banking app to check her balance.
"Holy shit!" She squealed.
Les whipped his head around, looking for an imminent threat. "What?"
"There's two thousand dollars in my account." Stephanie looked at the screen again like she didn't quite believe it.
Les couldn't help but laugh. "I thought we were about to get t-boned by an eighteen-wheeler. You about gave me a heart attack." He shook his head. "I'm just going to take a minute. You should probably be ready to take the wheel when my heart explodes."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Funny."
"So you are all good, or do you need an advance or something?"
"No, I'm more than good." Stephanie beamed.
She could pay her rent, get her car fixed, and buy groceries. This working for RangeMan thing had saved her ass, and she realized Ranger had helped her out and not even made it seem like charity. He didn't have to do that, and she felt a little bad about calling him an asshole. Maybe she'd try to be nicer to him. Not too nice, because that could get her into some serious trouble. Especially since she was beginning to think maybe he wasn't such a bad guy. Black coffee aside.
After a quick trip to her apartment, they rolled down Stark Street past the boarded-up buildings littered with graffiti and the sullen eyed teenagers that gave them the once over. Stephanie realized she was grateful Les was with her.
"Up there at the corner." Les motioned with his head. "That's Maria's corner."
They rolled past, no Maria.
"She's not there. Now what?" Stephanie asked.
"We wait. She's probably with a client."
Stephanie gave Les a sideways glance. He'd said with a client, like one might say at the dentist.
Les parked the SUV down the block from Maria's corner, his eyes scanning the area, checking the side mirrors.
"You expecting trouble?" Stephanie asked as the knot in the pit of her stomach tightened.
"No, but you should always be aware of your surroundings. Especially in this neighborhood. This is a RangeMan SUV and not too many people mess with us, but every once in a while, there is some new idiot that wants to make his bones. It ranges from tagging the vehicle to taking shots at us."
"Great."
Les grinned at her. "Keeps things interesting."
A couple of gang-banger wannabes ambled by, asses hanging out of their baggy pants, attitude in spades. Stephanie held her breath as they threw a couple of hardened glares their way, but didn't stop.
"How do you do it? Remain neutral."
Les shrugged. "It's a paycheck. That's how I look at it. Sometimes it's easier than others."
"How so?"
"Like Maria. She's a good woman that took one too many hard knocks. I'm sure lying on her back for a bunch of bored suburban husbands is not her idea of a dream job. She used to be a dental hygienist, you know. Her husband had a gambling problem, ran up a bunch of credit card debt, took out a couple of mortgages on their house and then got drunk and ran himself into a bridge abutment, leaving Maria and her two kids up to their eyeballs in trouble. Maria lost her job and her house. The entire neighborhood shunned her when they found out her husband was a degenerate gambler. Her husband's bookie, fine gentleman he was, let her work off her husband's debt on her back. With no family and no one to help her, she didn't have much of a choice. After that, I don't know, it seemed to break her spirit. Maybe she decided she could make more money and have more flexibility working the street. After blowing half the congregation at St. Mark's, I guess she was just done with the illusion of respectability."
"That's a sad story. But I get it. One bad break can cause things to spiral. I lost my job, couldn't find another one. Pawned my stuff, had my car repoed, and still couldn't pay my rent. I was less than thirty days away from being homeless, but unlike Maria, at least I had family."
"Yeah, but what's worse, the cops harass Maria but do nothing to the johns. Of course, half the johns are cops." Les rolled his eyes in disgust. "It's easy to have sympathy for Maria. It's harder when the skip is a rapist, or worse."
"Just trust the system, right?"
Les' mouth tipped into a smile. "I see you got Ranger's famous speech already."
"Something like that."
A blue Honda rolled to a stop at the corner and a woman in a short, green spandex skirt, sky high heels, and a fake fur jacket got out.
"That's her." Les told Stephanie.
Les put the SUV in drive and rolled to the corner. "Follow my lead on this one, OK?"
"Sure." Stephanie confirmed.
Maria looked to be mid-thirties. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and her hot pink lipstick was smeared around her mouth. She pulled out a compact and started fixing her lipstick when Les and Stephanie got out of the SUV.
Stephanie looked way too much like Annie Oakley as she sauntered towards the woman. The utility belt with her gun, flashlight, handcuffs, taser and pepper spray must have weighed a good twenty pounds. Stephanie tried to walk normally but ended up resembling a lumbering elephant.
As they approached Stephanie watched Maria smile at Les. "Hey sugar, you here to make a girl's dreams come true?"
Maria reached out and ran her hand down Les' chest, heading straight towards the promised land. Les caught her hand and gently pulled it away from his body.
"No ma'am, not today." He smiled back at her.
"Can't blame a girl for trying." Maria tilted up her shoulder and eyed him. "It would be on the house."
"This here is Stephanie." Les motioned to her with his head. "She's Ranger's woman. You put out the word on that, OK?"
"Sure thing, honey."
Stephanie stepped up. "My name is Stephanie Plum, and I'm a bond enforcement officer. You missed your court date, and we need to take you down to the station and get you rebonded."
Maria threw Les a look. "She's new." Her gaze went back to Stephanie. "I know, but my kid got sick." Maria held out her hands so Stephanie could cuff her. "I've got to get back before they get out of school."
"Always cuff them." Les told Stephanie and handed her a pair of handcuffs.
"I'll call Connie and have her meet us at the station to get you rebonded, then I'll drive you home." Les told Maria.
Les took Maria by the arm and herded her to the SUV. He opened the door and helped her in.
Les turned to Stephanie, I recommend you always chain the cuffs to the floor. Even skips that don't seem like a problem can be one, and you don't need them going berserk while you're driving.
They rolled into the lot of the police station and Les helped Maria out of the SUV. "This is your skip. Now go get your body receipt." Les winked at her.
Stephanie took Maria by the arm like Les had done and they all walked into the police station. Stephanie's gaze swept the area, relieved to find it was Eddie Gazarra behind the desk. She and Eddie went to school together, and now he was married to her cousin Shirley the Whiner.
"Hey, Eddie," she said. "How's it going?"
"Oh crap," Eddie replied.
Stephanie narrowed her eyes. "What's oh crap?"
"I heard Vinnie hired you as a bounty hunter. I thought it was just a rumor."
Eddie looked a little pale. "Your mom know about this?"
"Yes."
Eddie's eyebrows climbed suspiciously close to his thinning hairline, like he didn't really believe her.
"Just don't get hurt, or your grandma will make my life a living hell because somehow this will be my fault. She never did like me."
"She likes you just fine." Stephanie lied as her eyes scanned the area.
She was afraid she'd run into Joe Morelli. She'd heard he had made detective in the vice squad. Stephanie hadn't seen Morelli up close and personal since she'd run him down on the sidewalk more than a decade earlier, and she wasn't sure about the statute of limitations on attempted vehicular homicide. Not that he didn't deserve it.
Stephanie had been sixteen when Morelli rolled into the tasty pastry at closing. He'd grown up big and bad, with eyes like black fire one minute and melt-in-your-mouth chocolate the next. He had an eagle tattooed on his chest, a tight-assed, narrow hipped swagger, and a reputation for having fast hands and clever fingers, and like most of the girls, Stephanie had found his bad boy persona irresistible.
Morelli bought a chocolate-chip cannoli, told her he'd joined the navy, and charmed her right out of her pants and her virginity on the floor behind the éclair case. While the floor wasn't the most comfortable or romantic of venues, her best friend, Mary Lou, had been right. Morelli had a tongue like a lizard, and she'd learned a thing or two about Morelli and herself. As far as first times went, it wasn't going in the Hallmark Hall of Fame, but that hadn't actually been the bad part.
After, he'd stood up, pulled his pants up, and walked out. No phone calls, no post cards, just radio silence, and at the time that had crushed her sixteen-year-old heart. Three years later, she'd seen him in front of Giovichinni's Meat Market. Stephanie had gunned the engine in her father's Buick, jumped the curb and bounced him off the right fender. She'd like to claim it had been a moment of temporary insanity, but she couldn't say for sure that she wouldn't take another run at him, given the chance.
"Morelli's out on a case." Eddie told her as he eyed her up and down.
"I need a body receipt." Stephanie ignored the Morelli comment.
It wasn't like everybody didn't know about the tasty pastry, because it turned out Morelli was a goddamn graphic artist and a poet in addition to being a world class jackass. He'd written an ode to her on just about every bathroom wall from the bowling alley to the high school.
"Sure thing." Eddie shuffled off.
Maria, Les, and Stephanie took a seat on the wooden bench and Stephanie tried not to think about what might have made the discolorations in the wood, and hoped she wasn't sitting in something that qualified as a biohazard. She was beginning to appreciate Ranger's penchant for black.
Stephanie leaned her head back against the wall and immediately thought better of it. She tried to squelch a gag when her hair got stuck to the wall. Les was trying not to laugh, and Maria was picking at her peeling nail polish.
"So Ranger's thing for black?" She asked Les.
"Hides the stains and blood wipes right off gore-tex." Les told her with a grin.
Stephanie grinned back. "Good to know. How long do we have to wait?"
Les made a who knows gesture.
Half an hour later, Eddie handed Stephanie her body receipt and Connie showed up with the paperwork to release Maria back out on bond.
They all shuffled back into the SUV and drove across town. Maria lived a couple of blocks off of Stark Street in an eight-story rundown apartment building with crumbling steps. The only paint the building had seen in the last ten years was the spray paint from the graffiti, but it was better than living on the street or in a shelter. Not much, but a little Stephanie guessed. Maria thanked them for the ride and Stephanie watched Les slip her a fifty before he climbed back into the SUV.
"You have a soft spot for her."
"She's a good CI."
"CI?" Stephanie asked.
"Confidential informant. She sees something on the street and passes it along. We slip her a few dollars here and there to supplement her income, and everybody is happy."
"And she gets to turn one less trick and spend more time with her kids."
"Something like that." Les turned to her. "Lunch or Dixon?"
Stephanie scrunched up her nose and thought about it. "Lunch. Definitely lunch. All I had for breakfast was some granola bar looking thing from the break room that tasted a lot like paste."
Les laughed. "My kind of woman."
They pulled into the parking lot of the same diner Ranger had taken Stephanie to. She guessed it must be a RangeMan favorite.
"Bring the Ziggy file." Les instructed.
They grabbed a booth in the back. Stephanie ordered a burger and fries and Les ordered a turkey club and salad. Stephanie gave him a little side eye.
"What?" Les' shoulders came up. "You can't exercise your way out of a poor diet."
Stephanie's eyes fluttered to his washboard abs outlined under his t-shirt. Whatever he was doing, it was working for him.
Les flipped open the Ziggy file and leafed through it while they waited on their food. "I think we pay this guy a visit. Maybe Ziggy is holed up with him, or maybe he knows where Ziggy is likely to go." Les handed her a sheet of paper.
Stephanie looked over it. The guy looked like a tweaker. Skinny, rotten teeth, blood-shot eyes. The file said his name was Zeke Brown, and he'd been picked up a few times for possession and petty theft. His address was listed as a flop house just three blocks west of Stark.
Stephanie made quick work of her burger, but only ate a couple of the fries. An unsettling thought drifted over her that maybe Ranger and his healthy lifestyle were rubbing off on her. Nah, she was just tired and sore from this morning, she assured herself. She didn't plan to give up cake any time soon.
"Dixon or Zeke first?" She asked Les around the last bite of her burger.
"Dixon. He's a drunk. We want to get him before he passes out. Zeke, he's a user, so we want to get to him after he has slept off his last high and before he gets the shakes. Otherwise, he won't be in any shape to tell us anything."
Stephanie thought that made more sense than she would have liked. Clearly, she was going to have to think differently. She'd made her assessment based on distance from the diner.
"You're good at this. Do you enjoy this kind of work?" She asked Les.
"Mostly. Keeps me out of an office, pays pretty good."
He eyed her while she drew lines in the condensation of her glass. "You'll get the hang of it. It's like anything. You learn something new every time you bring a skip in."
"But I would have never thought about what you just said about Zeke and Dixon. What if I don't have the instincts for it?"
"Look, I'm former special forces and so is Ric and a lot of the guys at RangeMan. We trained for years. You can't really use that as a benchmark, but that's why you need to stick with RangeMan for a while. Learn from the best." He gave her a cocky grin.
"Fair enough."
"And Ric likes having you around, and when Ric is happy, the rest of us are happy."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"You two seemed to get along better this morning." Les hedged.
Stephanie nodded. "Yeah. A little maybe." She hadn't kicked Ranger in the balls or called him a jackass yet today. That probably qualified as an improvement in their relationship.
"What did you mean when you told Maria I was Ranger's and to put the word out on the street?" She asked.
"You're Ranger's woman, his property."
Stephanie snorted so loud nearby tables turned to stare. "I'm not his woman or his property." Stephanie put woman in air quotes. "And he will not be happy about that. You better go back and fix things before you get us both in trouble."
Les locked eyes with her. "Steph, it was Ranger that told me to do it. He's claiming you as his. That means if anyone messes with you, they are messing with him. Not many people want to get crosswise with Ranger."
Stephanie gave him an incredulous look. "Why would he do that?"
Les just smiled and shook his head. He threw a couple of bills on the table. "Come on, let's go get Dixon."
Les slid out of the booth, signaling the conversation was over, leaving a confused and flustered Stephanie in his wake.
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A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing!