A/N:

Txbabefan's skills were very much required for this chapter. You can thank her that it's readable.

If you'll remember Fortune and Glory, Joe is 6 foot, and Ranger is just a tiny bit shorter.

The club was nowhere near capacity. I headed to the bar and bought a club soda to blend in and look like I was drinking.

I scanned the room and saw Marco leaning against a high-top table. He was wearing blue jeans and a tight, white t-shirt. It was the sort of outfit that was deceptively simple but I'm sure cost more than my last month's rent. With his blonde hair he was sunshine and light to Ranger's darkness. He raised his glass and met my eyes while taking a sip. I smiled and went over to his table.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked.

"It's all yours. I'm Leo."

"Stephanie." I probably shouldn't be using my real name, but I wanted Ranger to think that Leo/Marco might become a fixture in my life. Also, I had a feeling it would bother him more to hear another man flirting with me, rather than a distraction character.

"So, Stephanie, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"I'm actually working." I heard Lester snort through my earpiece, and I burst out laughing. "Not like that!" I quickly added. Of course, Marco knew exactly why I was there, but my slip up meant we were now both laughing and that did a lot to dissipate my nerves. I had to lean close to talk to him over the music. "I'm here helping a friend." Was that a growl? Did Ranger have a problem with being referred to as just my 'friend'? "I might have to leave quickly later on, but I'm all yours 'til then." I took a sip of my drink and asked "So, what do you do, Leo?" thinking, please don't say paediatric heart surgeon.

"I'm a trader over in New York. It's boring but it pays the bills. I do it so that I can spend my weekends at my beach house."

"Ohh, I loove the beach!" I said leaning in, and grabbing his arm to speak in his ear. I was laying it on thick. "Is there anything better than salt, sun and sand?" I'd bet money on Ranger currently picturing me in a bikini. If he thought Marco/Leo was, as well, even better. "So, New York, huh? Which part?"

I let Marco talk about his favourite bars and restaurants, making sure to moan when he described his favourite meals. I knew just what those noises did to Ranger and what they'd remind him of.

"What do you do, Stephanie?" he asked, when we'd exhausted that topic.

"This is going to sound silly, but I'm actually a Bounty Hunter."

Marco looked me up and down, spending a fraction too long on my chest for the benefit of anyone watching on camera, "Wow. That is so incredibly sexy. Do you have cuffs and everything?"

I heard Ranger bark over my earpiece, "Babe, do a sweep for Russell."

I smiled and gestured at my ear. "Sorry, Leo. I've got to do a lap of the room for work. Can I grab you a drink on my way back?" Now Ranger knew I would be coming back.

"Sure, a beer would be great."

I wandered through the Club. Sure enough, there was no Russell. I knew there wouldn't be – Lester and Craig would spot him first, lining up with his friends. The only reason they weren't going to pick him up then is it was too crowded and could cause a scene. I ducked into the ladies room to freshen my lipstick. In true Club style, one of the girls in there had gone a bit too hard too early and was now making friends with everyone.

"Oh my God, your boyfriend is sooo hot and you guys look so cute together. Some girls get all the luck."

I let out a fake laugh. "Oh, he's not my boyfriend." Time to pull the tiger's tail. "Well not yet, anyway." I exited the bathroom and headed for the bar line.

I had no idea what Cal was thinking. Poor Craig was probably about to wet himself – this would not have been in any training manual. I had a feeling Hector could see exactly what I was up to, and Lester, as a seasoned shit stirrer, knew I was up to something and wanted in. His constant flirting with me was mostly to see if I would blush, but I'd bet there was also a part of him who did it to see if he could rattle Ranger's famous self-control.

"Hey, Hector. What does lover boy look like?"

"6 foot 2?"

"He's six feet, at most," growled Ranger.

Hector continued like he hadn't spoken. "He is very… pretty? I'll wait to see if he can dance."

"There's no way he can dance as well as I can," Lester pouted. "Beautiful, you know Leo isn't the mark, right? You can't try and take them both home."

I put my phone to my ear and pretended to be talking into it, "I don't need to take Russell anywhere, Lester. You're going to take him off my hands and then I can head back inside."

Ranger cut in "Negative, Babe. OHS rules mean you can't remain on the premises after a takedown," he gritted out. In all my years working at Rangeman, Occupational Health and Safety rules had never factored highly. My safety, yes. Bureaucratic rules? No. This was a new one and apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so.

"But after the job last week we- oof." Poor Craig had decided to show he was paying attention by inserting himself into the conversation. I couldn't be certain, but I was pretty sure that was the sound of Lester's elbow being driven into Craig's stomach. I think Ranger's tone had alerted Lester to the fact that I was skating on thin ice and it would be a waste of training time if Craig was sent somewhere inhospitable.

I paid for a beer and a Diet Coke and made my way back to the table. Marco was all smiles.

"So, Stephanie, would you like to dance?"

I let him lead me to the dancefloor. Club dancing isn't really dancing, it's frankly a lot of grinding, but Marco had great rhythm and some cool moves. We'd been dancing for about ten minutes, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

If Marco was sunshine, Ranger was sin. He'd switched his cargos and cat boots for dark jeans and sneakers, keeping his black t shirt on.

"Leo, is it? Sorry Leo, I have to borrow Stephanie for a moment. She seems to have forgotten she's working."

Ranger maneuvered himself between us and kept dancing with me. Marco looked dumbstruck. It was one thing to see a photo but another to see the man in the flesh.

Torn between high tailing it out for there and continuing the ruse, Marco asked for my number, which I thought was an incredibly ballsy move.

Ranger answered quickly. "Sorry, OHS risk. Her identity has to remain secret. You understand." Knowing he was dismissed and seemingly grateful for it, Marco moved to the exit.

"You're very concerned with workplace safety this evening. Is that why you're here?"

"Just didn't want you to lose focus and miss the skip's arrival." Ranger was now grinding against me, and I could feel how hard he was through his jeans. I couldn't focus on anything but him, and I wasn't sure how he expected me to. I was grateful only Hector could see the cameras. He'd clearly decided he was going to stake his claim and this was practically sex on the dancefloor.

Lester's voice cut in breaking the moment "Russell has arrived. He's in line now."

Ranger scowled and pulled away. I was panting heavily and all worked up. Of course, he recovered first. Stupid Batman. "Let's get you some water, Babe. A little dancing shouldn't leave you that out of breath," he smirked. He was looking at the mike as he said it, fully aware that the rest of the team could guess why I was really breathless. I reined in my Italian temper – given how much I had baited him, he deserved to get that one in.

A drink of water, another trip to the ladies' room to reset and it was on. For all the pre-game entertainment, the distraction itself went smoothly. I tracked Russell as he entered, waited for him to join the dancefloor, and started dancing with him. He had nothing on Marco and wasn't on the same planet as Ranger. A few dances later I convinced Russell to step outside with me for some fresh air and Lester and Craig did the rest.

Craig, Lester and Cal piled into the SUV with the shackled Russell, to take him to the PD. Ranger was waiting outside the van, scrolling through an iPad Hector had handed him. He gave it back and unlocked the Turbo. After we were settled in, he seemed to weigh his words before turning to me.

"Babe, did you wonder why I didn't step in after Morelli left?"

Not what I would have guessed he would open with, but I had wondered that very much and now I was going to get my answer. I couldn't seem to speak, so I nodded.

"I needed to know you were over him. To see if you wanted something with me, instead of a rebound. I don't do things by halves, Babe. If we're in, we're all in. If you come home with me tonight, that's it. No running away."

I looked over at him. His blank face was carefully in place, revealing nothing.

"So Babe, I guess what I'm asking is… are you coming home with me, or would you rather go find Marco?"

Marco? Oh, shit. His face had broken into a wolf grin, and I felt like prey.

I thought about denying it, but figured it was useless. I closed my eyes and squirmed in my seat. "Are you mad?" I asked tentatively.

I cracked an eyelid when he chuckled. "It's a little flattering actually. That's a lot of trouble to go to rather than talking to me."

"How did you find out?"

"Rangeman runs security here, Babe. Everyone who goes through the front door has their license scanned. It took Hector a bit longer than usual with the name change but, in the end, he was able to find it. And his Family connections. And his Grindr profile." He glanced across at me "So, was it Connie's idea, or yours?"

I wasn't sure I wanted to throw Connie under the bus, "Why?"

"Oh, just trying to decide how much trouble you're in."