Steph's POV

I had spent some time at the house doing laundry and basking in the happiness of knowing that my man was home to stay. I was surprised when Cal walked in the door a little over an hour after he left.

"That was quick," I said, eyeing the boxes in his hands. "How'd it go?"

"I beat the shit out of Ranger and quit," Cal told me as he carried the boxes into my - our - bedroom and set them down.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly. I knew the men at RangeMan were like family to him.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. They're shipping Ranger off to rehab. He's been drinking and isn't fit to be in the business, much less leading the company. I have something to talk to you about," he added quietly.

I walked over and sat down on the bed and then pulled him down next to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Les came to see me while I was packing, and he told me that Tank was at Vinnie's letting him know RangeMan no longer has the capacity to handle his bonds. They can contract on any special cases, but with Ranger going away for who knows how long and me leaving, they'll just be too short-handed to make it work. He suggested you and I form our own company and go sign a contract with Vinnie before someone else swoops in," he explained.

I sat there and stared at him for a minute, trying to process everything he said. "Wow," I finally said. "Would you want to work with me?" I asked once my brain had caught up.

"Of course, Steph," Cal answered quickly. "Your instincts are incredible and I think we'd be one hell of a team."

"Then I'd say you've got yourself a partner, handsome," I said with a smile. "With my business degree, I know how to set up our company and handle the business side of everything. We can do the rest together?" I asked.

"Together, angel," Cal answered. "Now, we need to go see Vinnie."

"Alright, let's go," I agreed. I got all of my gear on and Cal and I walked out to my SUV.

"What's the story with this?" Cal asked. "I know you loved your Miata."

"I did, but it would be hard to bring skips in with a car that tiny. Les helped me trade it in on something a little more practical," I answered.

"Makes sense. Did Les take good care of you?" Cal asked.

"The best," I assured him. "He made sure I had all the support I needed and even went to dinner at my parents' with me. He's a great friend," I assured him.

We both got into my SUV and as I backed out I started thinking out loud.

"We need a business name and will need all of the pertinent licenses. We have to open a bank account and we'll need to get your permit to carry concealed registered to the new business. We'll have low start-up costs and I've got some money saved," I rattled off.

"Take a deep breath there, angel. When we get back home we can make all the lists that you want. I've got money saved up too - plenty of it. The government has paid me well for my services."

"What should our business name be?" I asked. "It seems like we should know before we go talk to Vinnie."

"Holmes and Plum Investigations?" Cal asked. "Uses both of our last names and is simple but sounds professional."

I tilted my head to the side and thought as we sat at the stop light. "I don't really want people confusing the Plum in our business name with Vinnie's business," I explained. "How about just using Holmes Investigations?"

"That doesn't seem fair to you, Steph. We're equal partners here," Cal challenged me.

"We are, but I don't intend on keeping the Plum last name for much longer," I said quietly as I cut my eyes in his direction to try to gauge his reaction.

"Is that so, angel?" Cal asked with a smile. He reached over and laid his hand on my leg. "How long were you thinking?"

"The sooner the better," I replied.

"I'll have a ring on that finger so fast you won't know what happened," he teased.

"You'd better not be all talk, mister," I sassed back as I pulled into a parking space and opened my door to get out.

"We're so not finished with this conversation," Cal chuckled. "But Holmes Investigations it is."

We walked into Vinnie's holding hands and Cal just nodded at Connie and banged on Vinnie's door. I heard some shuffling that made my skin crawl and then he practically pulled the door off the hinges as he yanked it open angrily.

"What the hell do you want?" Vinnie asked when he saw me. He then shifted his eyes to Cal who looked none-too-amused with Vinnie's greeting and visibly paled. "I mean, how can I help you?" he corrected.

"We have a business proposition for you," Cal began.

We walked into Vinnie's office and both refused his offer of a seat, neither of us willing to sit where Vinnie has probably done unspeakable things that would put us both in therapy for the rest of our lives.

"What can I do for you?" Vinnie finally asked.

"I understand you might be in need of a new company to pick up all of your skips," I answered.

"You think you can do it?" Vinnie scoffed. "You still haven't brought in the first file I gave you."

"It will all be handled tonight," I replied cryptically. "Cal and I are offering you the first chance to sign with our new company, Holmes Investigations. We'll be working together to research skips and bring them back in as well as offering private investigations. And if you sign a contract with us, I'll forget everything I ever knew about the duck."

"Draw it up and have Connie get your signatures on all of the necessary documents," Vinnie finally agreed after a few moments of silence. "You'd better deliver on what you're promising."

"Don't worry, we will," Cal assured him.

We stopped by Connie's desk to sign all of the necessary paperwork to give Cal authorization to apprehend on behalf of Plum Bail Bonds, since I'd already signed mine, and we were back out the door in time to head out to meet Les.

We got back in the car and I began talking as I backed out of my parking space.

"Les used his contacts to get audio recording equipment to Lula earlier today," I explained. "The plan is for her to set up the equipment to record their interaction. We'll be stashed away out of sight but close enough to respond if she's in trouble. Joe is bribing some girls who work on Stark - promising them he won't bring them in if they continue to service him and keep their mouths shut. Carl was working the case and went to talk to one of the girls. Joe saw Carl coming out of her room and Patty paid the ultimate price for trying to bring Joe to justice. Joe set Carl up," I finished bringing him up to date. "I called my Uncle Joe this morning and he'll have some trusted officers on-hand to bring Joe in as soon as he says something incriminating enough to pin him for the murder."

Cal looked at me, his eyes sparkling with love, and smiled. "Proud of you, angel."