At three o'clock, Ranger, Clorinda and Alejandra pulled up in the Mercedes.  They looked like a happy family.  If I didn't know her past, I would have been jealous of Clorinda.

"Hey Steph!" Alejandra squealed as I opened the door.

"Are you ready?" Clorinda asked.

"One minute.  Have a seat, I need to talk to Ranger."

Once we were safely in my bedroom, Ranger raised an eyebrow at me.

"Do any of your Men know about tonight?"

"I've given them orders to be on call."

"They won't be at the mall?"

"No.  Do you have you gun?"

I shook my head.  "I have my pepper spray and stun gun, though."

"Good enough."

I drove Clorinda and Alejandra to the Mall.  First thing on the agenda was to check out the movies.  There was a romantic comedy on which Alejandra agreed to see provided she got a bag of M&Ms and an ice cream.  Since Ranger was paying, I was not worried about the price.

We headed to Macy's after the movie.  We looked at underwear and jewellery, women's clothes and shoes, kids' clothes and toys, books and videos.  Alejandra found a couple skirts, shirts and a pair of jeans and while she was trying them on, I took the chance to speak to Clorinda.

"How are things at Ranger's?"

"Fine."

"Really?"

"Yes… No, he's never home.  He's supposed to be protecting Alejandra and me from whomever and he's never around to do his job!"

"No one knows where he lives.  I'm not even sure his guys know exactly where he lives.  The address on his license is an empty lot.  No one will ever find him if he doesn't want to be found.    I'm sure he's got all kinds of security throughout the place.  You can't ask for much better protection than that."

"Yes, all that's true.  But he's-"

"Momma, what do you think?" Alejandra asked as she opened the change room door and did a little spin.

"I like it, Alej."  Alejandra smiled and closed the door.  "Ricardo has a responsibility to Alejandra and to me."

I sighed.  "He's been sending you money for Alejandra, hasn't he?"

"Yes."

"And he flew straight to Miami when he heard about Alejandra.  He's done everything he can to protect the two of you.  He can't do much more, Clorinda."

"He should be at home with me and Alejandra!"

"He won't be!  Bloody hell, you have separated!"  I took a deep breath.  "If my ex-husband needed my help for anything, I would just laugh and walk away.  Ranger hasn't done that, and he won't.  Give him a break!"

Clorinda glared at me, said something (I'm guessing derogatory) in Spanish and walked out of the change room area.

Alejandra opened the door, her clothes draped over her arm.  "Where's Momma?"

"She's gone to have a look around outside.  Come on, we'll see if we can find her."

We found Clorinda sitting on a chair by the counter.

"You can have two things, Alej.  What would you like?"

"These!" Alejandra cried, holding out a little denim skirt and black top with a pink rose.

Clorinda paid for the outfit then we made our way to a little coffee shop for a light dinner. 

We had all ordered our meal while Alejandra was checking out the cakes in the cabinet.  Clorinda was reaching into her bag to pull out her purse when I stopped her.

"All food is on Ranger.  He was smart enough not to say essentials," I said with a small laugh.

She nodded.  "Stephanie, I've been thinking about what you said.  And you were right.  I do need to give Ric a break.  I think that's always been the problem."

Finally we agreed.

"Don't tell him I spoke to you about it, okay?  If he finds out I've been meddling in his life I think he'll kill me."

"Not a word," she promised with a smile as we sat down at a table.

The rest of the night went by quickly and uneventfully.  The shops were closing as we were getting ready to leave, so we grabbed an ice cream each and did some window-shopping as we made our way back to the car.

I opened the door to my apartment and let Clorinda and Alejandra in.

"Where have you been?"

Clorinda looked at me before she answered.  "We saw a movie, did some shopping and had dinner.  Steph and I had a ball.  I haven't had a decent girls' night in a long time."

Ranger nodded.

"Daddy!  Look what Momma bought me."  Alejandra shoved her hand into the shopping bag and pulled out her clothes. 

"Are you going to stake out Romano's?" I asked as Ranger was preparing to shove Clorinda and Alejandra out the door.

"No, not tonight."

I smiled at what that meant.  I'm sure he knew that I had spoken to Clorinda, but if he wasn't going to say anything, nor was I.

"Oh, Ranger, your change," I said reaching into my purse and handing him the money.  "Good night."

I really wanted to ask him to help with Edwards, but I didn't want to ask in front of Clorinda.  I'd just have to ring him tomorrow, I thought as I shut the door.  I was pulling my jacket off as I heard three fire trucks go by.  Had to pick up Edwards ASAP or I'd be living with my parents.

I was slowly dragging myself up the stairs of my apartment.  I had had shitty day, trying to find Edwards.  The guy did not want to be found.  Honestly, I didn't want to find him.  All I really wanted to do was have a long soak in the bath.  When I reached my apartment, I saw that my door was ajar.  I stood outside while I dug around in my bad for my pepper spray.  I pushed the door open and flicked on the light.  There were little black patches through my apartment.  One on my couch, one on my bed, one on the lino of the kitchen. 

The phone rang, and I picked it up on the third ring.

"Did you like your warm welcoming?"

Richard Edwards.  I suppose I should be thankful that he didn't burn my whole apartment down.

"It really wasn't that warm, I'm sorry."  Good work.  Piss off the pyro!

"Listen here, Miss Bounty Hunter.  Leave me alone, or I'll burn your whole apartment down.  Fluffy hamster and all.  You got that?"

I hung up on him and dialled Morelli.

Ten minutes later, a few cops showed up.  They tried questioning me, but there really wasn't much to say.  Half an hour later, I was ready to leave and, if I were lucky, I'd be back in my apartment tomorrow morning.

I grabbed Rex, jumped in my car and took off.  I really didn't know where I was going.  I was just on autopilot. 

I was just considering calling Ranger when my phone rang.

"Yo, Babe.  Heard about your apartment.  You okay?"

"Apart from the fact that I don't have anywhere to stay until the police are done?  Apart from the fact that the stupid skip threatened Rex?  Yeah, I'm just peachy."

"Did you want something to do while you wait?"

I raised my eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"I'm going to have a look at Romano's house.  He's out of town for the night."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

Ten minutes later, I was sliding into Ranger's Bronco with a sigh.

"Is there a reason we're sitting here watching an empty house?"  As soon as my snippy question was out, I immediately regretted it.

Ranger just raised his eyebrows at me.

"The house isn't empty, is it?"

Ranger shook his head once.  "See that Mazda at the curb?  That's the Mafia's second in command.  He went in five minutes before Romano left.  That was," Ranger glanced at his watch, "twenty minutes ago."

I settled deeper into the chair to wait until the house was empty.  Ten minutes in to the wait, Ranger's phone rang.

"Yo… All of them?"  He paused.  "Good.  I'll have Cal do that tonight and I'll let you know."

Ranger ended the call, punched a number in his phone and waited a few seconds.

"Yo, Tank.  I need you to book a flight for Clorinda and Alejandra back to Miami – preferably for early tomorrow.  Call me when it's booked, then phone Cal."

Ranger received a call from Tank a few minutes later.  I looked at Ranger and he seemed more relaxed now, than ever.