When I unlocked my office door the next morning, I could smell coffee.
"You're late," Ranger called from my office.
"I set my own hours, it's not possible for me to be late," I called back. I stuck my head into the back office. Ranger had all his gear set up. "You look settled in."
"I had to move in temporarily. We needed the safe house for someone else," Ranger told me. I looked around the office. There was a sleeping bag under the desk but it looked untouched except for that.
"I guess you travel light," I said to him.
"Years of army training," he said.
"How is it all going?"
"Not great. Carmen gave us a few leads that we're following up."
"Have the police found anything?"
"No. And no one's seen Julie. But I know this guy has her. And I know he's out there. We thought that he was still in Florida but then he shot Manny, and it must be the same guy. We've had men following around Carmen as she travels around town and she picks up a tail. I can feel him but then he disappears. He's got good instincts. I'm seen a car following me sometimes while I'm driving around and I'm sure that it's him but then he slips away."
"Do you need any help?"
"Not with this. But can you check on Manny for me? I usually visit my men but I don't want to get arrested if I go to the hospital."
"Yeah, I'll call Lester and check when a good time to visit would be."
"Lester's out today. He's following up on something out of town. We're trying to find out more about this guy."
"Oh okay. I'll try Bobby then," I said, sending off a text message.
I checked our emails and started printing out orders to prepare for that day's shipments. Mary Lou wouldn't be in today, so I was making sure that essential work got done.
"What time does Mary Lou get in?"
"She has today off. Why?"
"Just wondering what time I needed to leave by. Are you sure that you should be here on your own?"
"I'm fine. Why?"
"There's some crazies out there."
"Well luckily they're after you, not me, so when you're not here, I'm not in danger, right?"
"You're not in danger when I am here, Steph. I wouldn't let anything happen to you," he told me softly. The look he was giving me reminded me of that talk we were meant to be having once this was all over. His phone rang. "Report," he barked into the phone. I decided to continue with my sticking my head in the sand actions, and busied myself in my work.
I went to visit Manny and bring him a meatball sub for lunch. It was widely known that the food at the hospital was awful.
"Hey wifey," he greeted me.
"Hi Manny. I brought you lunch," I said, handing it over.
"You're such a good wife, your husband is a lucky man," he told me.
"Thanks. He's not a fan of meatball subs though, so he wouldn't appreciate this as much as you," I told him.
"Not Italian?" Manny asked me, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't get started. I've heard enough from my father's family. Although my father married a Hungarian, so what did they expect? I'm only half-Italian."
"Me too. But I get Italian and Greek food made for me, best of both worlds," Manny told me, adjusting his bed so he could sit up and eat.
"How's your leg?" I asked him.
"Eh. It's okay. I should be out of here later today. I'll be in the office for a while but at least I can get back to helping find Julie and this crazy guy."
"Any updates?"
"None. It's like they both just vanished," Manny told me. "Tank was in to see me just before and gave me the update. I can't believe I just let this guy get away. I should have stopped him."
"How? He shot you!"
"I could have shot him back but I was afraid that if I killed him, we'd never find Julie. And he looked just like Ranger! It was like being by the boss. Too weird," Manny said. By his rambling, I was guessing that Manny still had access to some pain relief.
"Is someone coming to pick you up later, or do you need a ride?" I asked him.
"Aw thanks wifey. But Bobby's coming to pick me up. He acts as our medic, so he gets to do the hospital pick-ups."
"Do you get shot a lot?" I asked.
"Eh. Define a lot. More than in the FBI, less than the local police. Occupational risk. Mostly it goes into the vests so it's fine. This one went a bit low," Manny said, gesturing to his leg. He finished his sandwich and looked over at me hopefully. "Any chips hiding in that bag? Bobby goes easy on the fitness and medicals after you get shot, so this is my chance to eat contraband."
Remind me to never work for Ranger if junk food is off the menu.
I stopped in to see my sister on the way home and to have a cuddle with baby Bella. Joe was home, eating lunch. He looked relaxed. Crime rates must be low at the moment. Val offered to make me lunch too and settled for making me a cup of coffee with a slice of cake on the side. A Burg housewife must be prepared to have guests at all times.
"The Junkman trial will be coming up soon," Joe told me.
"Argh. Do I have to testify?"
"Yes, Steph. You will."
"Can't he just plead guilty?"
"He's in a gang, they're rarely as cooperative as we want them to be," Morelli told me. "Anyway someone from the Prosecutor's Office will go over all this with you. So don't worry about it, okay?"
"Right. Testifying against a gang member. Who is as an assassin for hire. Nothing to worry about at all," I told him. My mother would be why me-ing all over the place.
I chickened out of going back to work in case Ranger was still there and decided to head home early instead. A few loads of washing and a Netflix marathon later, I decided to order in food for dinner. I put in my order and then decided to have a shower while I waited.
I sang in the shower as I got ready, admiring my vocals. Maybe I could have been a Rockstar instead of a lingerie designer. Maybe my next line should be inspired by rock stars, female of course. I giggled at the thought of a new line of Madonna style cone bras.
I blow dried and styled my hair and then got dressed in jeans and a hoodie. Maybe styling my hair was overkill for a night at home, but Dickie would be home soon and I wanted to look nice.
I headed downstairs and heard a noise. My phone was ringing. It was Ranger. Was he calling to see if he could stay another night at Plum Lingerie?
"Hello?" I answered, then heard a knock at the door. Food delivery! "Ranger, hold on, there's someone at the door," I told him, walking over and opening it up.
"Stephanie, don't-" Ranger was saying.
I blinked in confusion. It looked like Ranger standing in front of me, but he wasn't holding a phone. Then the illusion broke – it wasn't Ranger, but it was someone who looked very much like Ranger. He was slightly shorter, slightly heavier, and not quite as good looking as Ranger, but similar enough that it had fooled me for a second.
I turned to run back inside and slam the door, but it was too late. I felt a zzzzzzt and then nothing.