Okay, since everyone is wanting to know the who...I decided to continue with the story.

After further discussion, we decided to leave Rex on Seven until after we were gone. If the guys knew she was going with me, they might make it difficult on both of us. So, while Stephanie packed for the trip, I instead went in search of Ella. Once I explained the situation to her, she was more than on board with helping to take care of Rex while we were away. She also promised to keep our secret. Knowing who I worked with, she probably wouldn't have to keep it for long. My hope was to have Steph well out of Trenton before they realized she was missing.

Stephanie was also worried about how the guys would react, so we devised a plan. She would dump her trackers in Ranger's apartment, then pack her bag. Later, we would leave together, but in separate cars. She was to head back to her apartment under the guise of needing to pick up more of her belongings. Once there she would park her car, grab her bag, and hop in my vehicle. Then we'd jet out of town on Route One until we could pick up the Turnpike and head West.

With our plan in place, I returned to Five to finish my work. Honestly, it was hard to focus knowing that in just a few hours I'd be leaving for vacation with Stephanie Plum as my travel partner. Make sure you pack a bathing suit. My folks have an inground pool. Just the thought of Steph in a bathing suit had me adjusting myself. Down boy!

I'd barely started my last incident report when Lester appeared at the corner of my cubicle. "Hey, I hear from Gene that Beautiful showed up an hour ago with the rat. He also said you went down to meet her and help her carry her stuff to Seven. Is she okay?"

Doing my best to school my features, I turned to look at him. "She's fine. Just trying to escape her mother and Morelli before they attempted to ruin her vacation."

He smirked. "Let me guess. Somehow, they found out Ranger and Steph are no longer a couple?"

"Got it on the first try," I replied. "She's just using Ranger's apartment to hide for a while. Though, she did say something about forgetting some stuff at her apartment and she'd probably have to make a trip back over there later."

"Mmmm." Lester glanced toward the elevator. "Maybe I should go up and check on her."

While I really wanted to tell him to leave her alone, instead, I gave his statement a shrug. I'd become just paranoid enough about our planned escape that if I did anything out of the ordinary, I might just spill the beans.

An hour later, I'd just finished my last report and shut down my computer when an alarm sounded in the control room. I stood and turned my attention to the monitors. From my vantage point, it appeared to be for a residence from one of our more prestigious clients. With Ranger and Tank out of town, that meant it was Lester and Bobby's responsibility to handle any client issues. It only took seconds for Gene to order one of the roving crews to the property.

A moment later, Lester appeared from his office and glanced at me. He must have remembered I was going on vacation, because the next moment he called for Hector and Raphael to join him. While I really hope the call is a false alarm, I'm super thankful for the timing. It would make it easier to escape this building with more people in the field.

Twenty minutes later, I walked out of my apartment and stepped onto the elevator to find Steph already there. Knowing there were cameras and microphones in the elevator, we gave each other a cordial greeting, then stood in silence all the way to the ground floor. Steph even made a show of waving to me when she headed to her vehicle.

Ten minutes after that, my heart was pounding as I pulled into the parking lot behind her building and watched her climb from her latest POS, pull her bags from the back seat, then stalk toward my Explorer. She tossed her bags in the back, then turned and climbed into the passenger seat with a huge grin on her face. "I can't believe that worked."

It was hard not to let her enthusiasm rub off. "Don't get too excited, Sweetheart. We're not out of Trenton yet."

Her grin faltered just a little. "Yeah, I know, but you know how hard it is to get out of Rangeman undetected."

"I do." I glanced at the bags in the back seat and frowned. "You only came down with one bag. How did you end up with two?"

A mischievous smile returned to her lips. "I heard the commotion when the alarm call went out. So, I took the opportunity to bring another bag down to my car while the guys were focused on something else."

My grin matched hers as I put the truck in gear. "Sneaky woman. I like it."

"Thank you." She nearly preened as she eased back into the seat. We were barely out of her parking lot when all the humor drained from her face and she asked, "You're sure about this? I don't want to get between you and the guys, or cause trouble with your family."

My foot was on the break before she finished her sentence. I shoved the vehicle back in park, then turned on my hip to face her. "What happens between me and the guys is my problem not yours, and as far as my family goes…they're going to love you."

"Are you sure?" she asked as she worried her bottom lip.

I hate that her self-doubt was once again creeping to the surface. That wasn't just her mother's doing, but Morelli and even Ranger's. They'd all played with her emotions, pulling her in multiple directions using threats and false promises to get what they wanted from her. Well, I'd be damned if I'd allow her insecurities to hold her hostage and ruin this trip.

I leaned across the console, tucked a hand behind her neck and pulled her to me for a gentle kiss. The moment our lips touched, the electricity returned, and I had to fight the urge to take it deeper. Holy shit, this woman would be the end of me. "I'm positive," I whispered against her lips then slowly pulled back. "Now buckle up, sit back and relax."

Without another word, she buckled her seatbelt, then appeared to sink into the seat as I once again put the vehicle in gear. Despite telling her to relax, I could all but feel the tension radiating off her in waves. We both knew what she was doing wouldn't go over well with her mother, Morelli, the core team, or Ranger. While she might be desperate to find her own happiness, it was obvious she still worried about other people's feelings and how they would react. Quite frankly, I didn't give a flying fuck what other's thought. The only opinion and feelings I was worried about was Stephanie's.

For the next thirty minutes, we rode in a tense silence as I steered the vehicle out of Trenton. I made my away across the Trenton Morrisville Bridge and down US Route One, through Pennsylvania. The moment we reached Bensalem and the entrance for the Turnpike, she seemed to relax a little.

In my peripheral vision, I continued to monitor her demeanor. With each mile that built between us and Trenton, she seemed to relax, until finally she drifted off to sleep and was snoring softly against the passenger window. I didn't bother to hide my grin. It made my heart happy to know that she was comfortable enough around me to sleep. So, I settled back with the cruise control and the radio to keep me company. Since it was a little after six, I gave her an hour tops before she woke hungry.

The next time she opened her eyes, we were nearing Harrisburg. She blinked a couple of times, then looked around. "Where are we?"

"PA Turnpike mile marker two sixty," I replied, then caught her frown. "What?"

"I meant what town are we near?" she said. "I don't know what mile markers mean."

Her snappy reply pulled another smile from me. "We're coming up on the Lawn Service Plaza."

"Which means?" she asked, shaking her head at me in a way that had me laughing out loud.

"It means that we're just East of Harrisburg."

Her eyes widened and she focused on the clock. "How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour and a half," I replied.

She raked a hand through her curls. "Wow. I didn't realize I was that tired."

"You've been under a lot of stress," I replied. "So, it doesn't really surprise me you fell asleep. What did surprise me was that your stomach didn't wake you earlier."

She shot me a sheepish grin. "I am a little hungry."

I chuckled at her statement. "A little? Sweetheart, there were a couple of times I thought the beast was going to climb out and smack me for not feeding you." I flipped on my turn signal and headed for the exit ramp leading to the rest area. "Let's regroup and feed the beast."

It only took a few minutes for us to get our food. Before I knew it, I was seated across from Steph at one of the tables inside the rest area. She looked at my meal and smirked. "You know you're not at Rangeman anymore, right?"

I arched a brow at her question. "Yeah? So?"

She pointed to my food. "So, why are you still eating like you are?"

I looked down at the turkey and cheese on whole wheat and protein box from Starbucks. Then turned my attention to her Whopper meal. "At least I'm not clogging my arteries with that fat disguised as a cheeseburger."

"Hey," she protested. "I'll have you know that there's protein in this sandwich and dairy from the cheese and milkshake."

I smirked at her less than heated response. It was obvious by the smile on her face that she was having a bit of fun at my expense. That was fine. I really didn't mind. "I suppose that next you're going to try and tell me that those fries are a vegetable."

Her smile widened as she lowered her head and picked up her sandwich. All I could do was laugh as I dug into my own meal.

We ate in companionable silence for a while before her brow knit. I could almost see the question forming in her mind. "What?"

"Why did you decide to drive when flying would be so much faster?"

"The airline would have made me check my weapons," I replied.

She rolled her eyes at my statement. "God, forbid you don't have a gun or a knife on you at all times."

I shrugged. "What can I say? It's a leftover from my days as a Ranger, and with what we do at Rangeman it's just become a part of me. I'd feel naked and anxious if I didn't have my gun. So, I drive instead."

"Do you have concealed carry permits for all the states we're crossing through?" she asked.

I set my sandwich down and looked at her. "Let's just say that there are distinct advantages for some of us who were in the military and now work at Rangeman."

Her brow knit. "What does that mean?"

"It means, I can't really talk about it, but those contracts we get from the Alphabets come with a few perks for those of us who work the cases."

Her eyes widened, then immediately cut back to her food. "Gotcha," she finally said. "So, changing the subject…how long is the drive from Trenton to your childhood home in Illinois?"

While she might be inherently curious, she was also a smart woman and knew when to cut her losses. "Anywhere between twelve and fifteen hours, depending on stops and traffic."

"Are we driving through?"

I shook my head. "I have a hotel rented in New Stanton."

"If it would help, I could drive some of the trip and give you a chance to sleep. That way we'd get there faster."

I shook my head again. "It's too late to cancel, so I'll have to pay for the hotel regardless. My parent's party isn't until Sunday afternoon. So, we have plenty of time and driving at night is hard. We'll stop, get a good night's sleep and start again in the morning."

That answer appeared to appease her, and she returned to her meal. Once we finished eating and completed our bathroom breaks, we fueled the truck and returned to the highway. The sun had finally set. So, I pulled my sunglasses from where they were perched on top of my head, winced when they got caught in my hair, then tossed them into the console.

I swear, I don't think we were a mile up the road when she started monkeying with the radio.

"Woman, what are you doing?"

"Looking for another station. Do you have a list somewhere?"

I motioned to the glove compartment. "In there should be a list for Sirius, but what's wrong with my classic rock?"

She pulled out the list then glanced over at me, her eyes feigning innocence. "Nothing. I'm just tired of it and want to hear something else."

"Haven't you ever heard the rule that whoever is driving controls the radio?" I protested.

She continued to stare at me, her brows arched in question, her lips quirked at the ends as if she found my statement humorous. If she had been anyone else, I would have put my foot down and said no. "Fine," I sighed, then added. "No rap. No jazz and no classical. That classical stuff might work for Ranger, but I want something I can sing along with."

She scrunched her nose at me then settled on a country music station. "How about this?"

"That will work," I replied.

The music mollified her for about ten minutes before she shifted in her seat and grinned at me. Once again, I cut my attention from the road to her and back. "Why does that smile make me nervous?"

Her grin widened. "Scared?"

"Maybe," I replied. "What's going on in that devious brain of yours?"

"I want to play a game," she replied.

Oh boy! I narrowed my eyes at her. "What kind of game?"

"Twenty questions," she replied, her expression morphing into an irresistible challenge.

It would make sense for us to know a little more about each other before I introduced her to my family. Once they realized this was the same Stephanie I'd been talking about for years, my sisters would promptly hand me my ass if I couldn't provide satisfactory answers to their questions. "Okay."

Her defiant look, quickly morphed into one of shock. "Really?"

"Yeah, it could be fun. You go first."

Let the mystery continue...