I opened the door and Bob bounded down the perfectly intact stairs.

"Argh get off me," I heard a very familiar voice yell. I looked down into the basement. Even though I'd head his voice and knew what to expect, time seemed to stand still when I saw him.

He was alive. He was fine. He was eating ice cream on Morelli's basement couch and watching television. Die Hard to be exact.

"Wha…. How…. What?" I said. Val stuck her head over my shoulder to see what I was looking at. She sucked her breath in.

"Dickie?" she asked.

"Steph, Val, it's so good to see you," Dickie said. He was dressed in Morelli's clothes, a little more casual than Dickie's usual preference. They were a bit too baggy on him and gave him an overall scruffy look.

"What are you doing here?" I finally managed to get out. Dickie pushed Bob off him and started walking towards the stairs.

"I was trying to get home to you, Steph, when two men broken into the law office and threatened me. I didn't know what they wanted, but I managed to get away. I called the police, and they told me that some of the partners were involved in illegal activities. They asked me to go into protective custody and that I couldn't contact anyone," Dickie said, making to the top of the stairs. I stepped back into the kitchen and he took me into his arms.

"I've been so worried about you," he told me.

"So worried that you didn't ask the police if I should be in protective custody too?" I asked him, shoving him away.

Val was on the phone, screeching into it.

"Joseph Anthony Morelli, you didn't tell me that cheating son of a bitch was in our basement!" she yelled into the phone.

Saint Valerie was going to lose her sainthood if she kept up the language like that.

"They said you'd be safer without me," Dickie told me. I only knew of what happened with protective custody through comments that Joe had made, but I was sure that wasn't how this worked. In fact I'd be more of a target without Dickie since I was still out in the open.

"Bullshit," I told him.

"Steph, please. Honestly that's what happened. You need to forgive me for my mistakes."

"Mistakes? You cheated on me multiple times. That's some pretty big mistakes, Dickie," I told him.

"I have a high libido. Men aren't designed for monogamy, Steph, it's just a scientific fact. Baby, I'll make it up to you, I swear."

Stay angry, I reminded myself. Remember what Ranger said. Anger keeps you strong.

"You can't make this up to me. What you did will never be okay, Dickie," I told him.

"Where's the sympathy for me? I've been trapped down here for days. Joe won't let me come out. I asked for protective custody, not to be trapped in a basement!"

"You asked for protective custody? A minute ago your story was that you were asked to go into protective custody," I reminded him.

"Why are you in another man's clothes, Stephanie?" Dickie asked.

"What?" I asked.

"You're dressed in Carlos Manoso's clothes," Dickie accused me. "I'm attacked at my workplace, nearly killed, shot at, had to flee for my life and you show up dressed in Carlos Manoso's clothes? Are you sleeping with him?" I was confused, then I remember what I was wearing Vince's Rangeman jacket.

"Ranger is why I'm still safe," I yelled at Dickie. "While you've been on Morelli's couch eating ice cream, I've been followed, our house has been broken into by men with guns, I've seen dead bodies, nearly been in two fires, and I've been sick with worry over your cheating ass."

The front door burst open, and both Vince and Morelli rushed in. Morelli was panting. He must have bolted from his mother's house the second Valerie started yelling at him over the phone. Vince must have been alarmed by Morelli's run for the door because he had his gun drawn. He looked around, assessed the situation, nodded to Morelli and put his gun away. It was a sign to Morelli – your house, you handle this.

"I can explain," Morelli said. "I had no choice. We needed him in protective custody and he said that he'd only go if it was with me, because he knows me. And I couldn't leave Val and the girls and go offsite. Val needs me at home, I didn't want to just disappear for weeks. So this is the best that I could come up with."

"You could have told me!" I yelled at him. "I've been worried sick. I've been out trying to find him."

"I couldn't tell you, you would have acted differently."

"I thought his dead body was about to wash up any minute, Morelli! Or that one of the flame thrower bodies would turn out to be Dickie."

"The what now? Flame thrower bodies?" Dickie asked.

"I told you it would all be okay!" Morelli said.

"How was I supposed to know you had some information that you weren't telling me?" I asked him.

"I don't know. Sorry. I did my best. Having to spend time with this idiot in my basement wasn't the best time either. I don't know how you've managed to stay married to him for so long, Steph."

"What? I thought we were bonding?" Dickie asked.

"What about the shooting at the office the night you disappeared?" I asked Dickie. "There was blood on the floor. The police thought that it was yours."

"Dickie shot one of the hired help in the knee. Then he ran for it, right Dickie?" Morelli said.

"I ran like the wind. I ran track in college, you know," Dickie said.

"And why is Dickie here in protective custody?"

"They wanted him on ice while they investigated the law firm's client list. The original thought was that we needed him to testify against his partners, but since all the partners are disappearing, that's becoming less likely," Morelli said.

"They're what?" Dickie asked. It seems like Morelli hasn't been keeping Dickie informed of the latest updates.

"Smullen's dead, Gorvich is probably dead and Petiak has dropped off the face of the earth," Morelli said.

"You think one of the bodies from last night is Gorvich?" I asked Morelli.

"It looks likely."

"I guess that means it was Petiak behind all this."

"His goons surface from time to time but he hasn't been spotted since Dickie disappeared. You still need to be careful out there," Morelli warned me.

"Fine. Whatever. I was only looking into it to see if that idiot over there was safe anyway, so I'm done now," I said. I hugged Val and Bella goodbye, sidestepped Dickie's attempts to touch me and walked out of the door.

I didn't say a word as Vince unlocked the car and we got in. I didn't talk as we started driving home. I was furious. I wasn't sure if I was madder at Dickie for being such a – well, a dick, Morelli for not telling me that Dickie was fine, or myself for being such an idiot and putting up with Dickie for so long and therefore being involved in this whole mess. I wanted to just run away from it all and let everyone else sort it out, but then I remembered Zip. Ranger was involved in this because he wanted to find the people who had killed Ziggy, Zip's brother. I needed to stay involved for Zip, I reminded myself. I took a deep breath. Vince looked across at me nervously.

"I'm all right," I told him. "But we might need to stop for more cake." I asked Vince to make a stop at the Tasty Pastry. He pulled up outside and unbuckled his seat belt.

"I'll go," I told him.

"Ranger told me that I should stay with you."

"Vince, you were in the FBI. What could possibly happen to me inside that bakery over there? I'll be in your sight the whole time. Just give me a few minutes to myself," I told him. He nodded, and I got out of the car and walked into the bakery.

Ahhh. This was my happy place. I breathed in. Sugary sweetness. I loved the Tasty Pastry. I'd even worked here as a teenager. In fact I'd even lost my virginity here to Joseph Morelli. The Tasty Pastry and I had a long and complicated history, but it was always here for me when I needed it.

I took my time in selecting. I knew that Vince could see me, and wouldn't worry. There were two people in line ahead of me, plenty of choices left in the display, and I could smell fresh doughnuts.

I was deep in thought trying to choose between a Boston Cream or a cupcake with swirled pink icing when I was startled by someone grabbing my arm. It was the tall, blonde, muscle-bound man last seen driving the car leaving the scene just before the apartment fire the other night. I squeaked in surprise.

"Shut up or I'll hit you," he yelled. He held a gun in my direction. I looked up. Everyone else in the bakery, including the staff out the back, had their hands on their heads. The back door of the bakery was open and I was guessing that he'd come through there.

Breathe, Stephanie, I reminded myself. You've only got to distract him enough to give Vince a chance to get here.

"What do you want? I don't know who you are!" I said.

"My boss wants to talk to you. He thinks that you know something. You can cooperate and walk out with me. Or I can stun gun you and carry you out. Which is it?" he said.

"I'll walk out," I told him.

"Good decision. Out the back door. Now," he told me sharply. I looked over my shoulder and moved out of the way as Vince came through the bakery door. He had his gun drawn and shot the tall man in the chest. He went backwards as Vince grabbed me and shoved me behind him, then scrambled to his feet and ran out the back door, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Vince cursed and followed him through the kitchen and out the back door. I managed to get my shaky legs to follow Vince, but when I was halfway across the kitchen I heard a gunshot. I got to the back door in time to see Vince crouched behind the dumpster out the back, aiming his gun at a black BMW. The BMW sped off with the blond- haired guy in the passenger seat. It looked like he'd taken a shot at Vince.

Vince stood up. "I was too slow, he got away," he told me.

"You did great. But I'm going to need a lot of cake now," I told him.

Vince walked me back inside and on the proper side of the counter. The two people who had been in line in front of me had disappeared, and the staff were looking shell shocked.

"I need five Boston Creams, and one of everything else," I told the person behind the counter.

"Who was that guy?" she asked me.

"I have no idea," I told her.

"Joyce Barnhardt is outside," Vince said.

"I guess she heard I was here and wanted to take her chance to track me down," I said.

"There's someone else with her," Vince told me. I took a look as we went outside.

"That's Rita, Peter Smullen's girlfriend. I guess they decided to team up? Maybe Rita thinks she'll inherit Peter's assets?" I guessed.

We loaded up a few boxes with baked goods until I decided that I had enough, and then we set off, Vince and I in the Rangeman black SUV, and Joyce behind us in her red convertible. Any more cars and we'd have to register as a parade.

I was pretty sure I knew how it would go by now, but I was surprised when Ranger didn't appear in the elevator door when we arrived on Level 5.

"Where's Ranger?" I asked, looking around for him.

"He's out being a big bad bounty hunter," Lester said, appearing from the break room. "Oh beautiful, you know the way to a man's heart. We'd better dispose of these before Carlos gets back though." Lester took the bakery boxes off me and headed to the break room.

"I'll follow those," I told Vince. He looked after them reluctantly, as though he hadn't eaten two pastries on the drive.

"I've got to go brief Tank and fill out the paperwork on what happened today," Vince said. The other Rangemen on duty were busy disappearing quickly into the break room and then reappearing with icing sugar on their black shirts.

By the time I got to the break room, Lester had loaded up a plate.

"I got you a coffee," he said, sliding a mug across the table at me. I thanked him and sat down.

"So, eventful day?" Lester asked.