A/N: All characters are JE's. All typos and grammatical errors are mine (though thanks to txbabefan there shouldn't be any – thank you!).
I'm shallow and I live for reviews so please review if you liked it.
It was just after 8pm and I was back in my apartment getting ready. I'd blow dried my hair, applied my make-up and squeezed myself into a skin tight navy blue dress. Add some heels and voila. I was adding two more swipes of mascara for courage when I felt a tingle down the back of my neck.
"Babe." I watched his reflection as his gaze swept me up and down. There was a slight smile which made me think he liked what he saw.
I glared at him in the mirror and gestured with my mascara wand. "Make some noise next time – a girl could lose an eye." Of course Ranger had let himself in, and now my heart was going a hundred miles an hour. Though that tended to happen when he was around regardless of how loudly he entered the room. So much for staying cool and pretending I was interested in someone else.
He chuckled and came up behind me. Moving his mouth to my ear he whispered, "Got to be more aware of your surroundings, Babe." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bar necklace. He clasped it around my neck, so the thin vertical pendant finished just above my cleavage. He handed me the earpiece and turned me around to face him.
"Very nice," he said softly as he picked up the pendant. "It's a tracker and a microphone" he added, handing me the earpiece.
"What, no wire?" I was almost pouting. He always insisted on affixing the wire himself.
He raised a single eyebrow, clearly knowing what I was thinking.
I cleared my throat. Focus, Stephanie. "Any details I should know about? Who else is working tonight?"
We left my apartment, locking up as I went (though really, why bother?) and he filled me in as we went downstairs.
"Lester will have one of the new hires out the front - Craig. They'll collect Russell when you've convinced him to leave with you. I'll be in the van with Hector for audio and sound. Cal will be stationed at the rear door in case anything goes wrong."
"Five of you? That seems like a lot." A lot of witnesses who could tell my mother why I'd been shipped to Siberia. "I thought he wasn't dangerous?"
"He's not. This is the smallest number we could manage to cover both exits and have eyes on you the whole time."
We drove over and parked in the back lot. This time it wasn't parking karma – as security, we had three spots reserved. Next to the Turbo was the surveillance van and an SUV for transporting Russell.
I heard a wolf whistle as I got out. "Looking good, Beautiful!"
Of all the Merry Men, only Lester could get away with that in front of Ranger. If he wasn't being a super serious Rangeman, Lester was flirting or making a joke and everyone accepted that was who he was. Being Ranger's cousin also allowed him a bit of latitude.
I received nods of welcome from Cal and Hector, Lester was openly checking out my ass and there was a terrified newbie looking anywhere but at me. This must be Craig. He looked like he was from a farm in Wisconsin and I think I had a stick of gum in my purse older than he was. I'm sure he had been told that I was Ranger's girl, that things regularly happened to me and I was to be protected at all costs. I wasn't really Ranger's girl though. If I was his girl, I wouldn't be relying on my shower massager. I needed to look like I was single and ready to mingle.
"Did I hear you're on the prowl, Beautiful?"
I ignored Ranger and turned to Lester, going on the offensive to hide my nerves. "Is it Zip or Woody who gossips like an old woman?" I could feel Ranger's eyes on me. Maybe the gossip hadn't made it to the executive suite?
"Zip, if you'll believe it. And look, while I have made some good connections on Bumble, I'm disappointed you would resort to dating apps. Technology is so impersonal. Have you really tried to meet someone in person? I mean, maybe you could meet someone at work?" He waggled his eyebrows meaningfully.
I looked at the nightclub, deliberately misinterpreting him. "You know, maybe I will, Les? I meet interesting people through work all the time. Maybe I'll meet someone on the dance floor."
He tried to steer the conversation back to himself, "Maybe a co-worker type person?…"
"Pfft, why would one of you be on the dancefloor? I've never seen a single one of you dance. I'm not even sure any of you can." This was true. While some of them probably could, I'd never had an occasion to see it. When Rangemen socialized, it was at Pino's or Shorty's.
Lester sounded personally attacked by this, "I'm half-Cuban! Of course, I can dance! I'll bet you $20 I can dance your socks off."
I'd never let a bet go before and I wasn't about to now. Besides if we kept talking, I wouldn't have to hear what Ranger thought of all this. I was nervous to find out. "Well, what time do you get off? If I'm still here, by all means…"
"Babe." Babe could mean anything. Right now there was a distinct tone of warning in it. I didn't know if that was because he'd found out I was (apparently) looking for a date, I was flirting too openly with Lester or if he wanted to get this distraction over with.
Lester winked at me. "While I'd love to discuss getting off with you Beautiful, I think we're being reminded that we're on the clock." Lester had settled on door number three. I wasn't sure he was right.
"Alright, Gentlemen. And lady", he added with a bow to me. It seemed that Lester was running the show tonight which would be part takedown and part training exercise for Craig. "This is a standard distraction. This lovely woman here will convince our FTA that he should accompany her outside, where Craig and I will snatch him up. Seems a little far-fetched to me – she's clearly out of his league. You all know what to do. Time to make Trenton's streets a little safer."
"You mean time to get new wheels on your truck?" asked Cal.
"Po-tay-to, pot-ah-toe", said Lester dismissively with a wave of his hand.
I turned to Ranger. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I thought you knew I had excellent rhythm" before turning on my pendant mike. Blushing profusely, I slipped in the earpiece and followed Cal to the back door, while Ranger climbed into the van with Hector. I was going through the backdoor to avoid the line, the pesky cover charge and having to answer questions about the pepper spray in my handbag.
A/N: I'm about to go on holiday for a week. I'll post chapter 4 when I return. (Given how short 2 was, I couldn't leave you with just that for a week).