I do not own any of these characters, although I would really like to meet
up with Ranger in a dark room somewhere. I simply borrow and gently use
them for my amusement.
Chapter Eight
We were at the breakfast table, and I was watching her eat a croissant. Her mouth was mesmerizing. True to her words, she had spent a guilt-free night sacked out on my couch. I, on the other hand, had spent a somewhat difficult night trying to ignore the fact that she was sacked out on my couch. I had gotten up at least a half-dozen times in the night to watch her sleep and consider curling up with her or carrying her to my bed. There were also very cold showers involved.
She never really explained what sent her up three floors to my lair. "Tell me the truth. Were you really freaked out last night? Or did you just want my sheets and my shower gel and my food?"
She smiled and continued to chew. "Does it matter?"
I thought about it for a long moment. For whatever reason, she had spent another night in my apartment. That was really all that mattered at this point. "Only minimally."
More disappointing was the couch decision. Stephanie obviously didn't trust herself in a bed next to me, the ghost of Morelli between us or not.
I needed to tell Steph about a call I received earlier, but I wasn't sure the best way to tell her. I decided not to sugar coat it much and just get it out. "I got some bad news while you were in the shower this morning. Junkman tagged his cop."
Stephanie stilled immediately. Her voice was a bit raw from multiple emotions when she asked, "Anyone I know?"
"No." I was thankful that she didn't know the cop. "He was a member of the State Police Street Gang Unit. He was working locally, but he was based out of North Jersey."
"Junkman will get taken out," I continued. I wanted to minimize her worry. "There are a lot of people looking for him. In the meantime, I want you to stay in the building." Persuading her to go along with this was going to be tricky. I tried cool, logical, businessman tactics instead of caveman impulses to protect her. "If I don't have to worry about you, I can have two extra men out on the street tracking Junkman." I also tried to make this sound like I was asking her, so that I could help her faster, rather than ordering her.
She poured more coffee into her mug. "You have a lot of overhead here. How can you afford to have men following me around and looking for Junkman?"
She didn't realize what a loaded question that actually was. "Junkman just killed a state cop. There's a big enough reward for Junkman to justify assigning some manpower to search for him. There's no monetary way to justify a security detail to watch over you. I bleed money every time you need protection."
That caught her off guard for a moment. "Jeez. I'm sorry," she said in a low, apologetic voice.
I finished my coffee and stood. "I said there was no monetary way to justify your security. The truth is, you're a line item in my budget." Her eyes perked up a bit at that.
She followed me to my bedroom as I went to get my gun. Clipping it to my belt, I turned to her. I hated to be mean, but I had to make her understand how important it was for her to stay in and not go out. She wasn't used to confinement, but she couldn't take care of herself. I wanted to remind her of that. "I have you listed under entertainment." I continued to get ready, sliding money and credit cards into my pants pocket. "This is a high-stress business, and you're comedy relief for my entire team. Plus, I get a tax break." Not really, but I couldn't come up with a less personal reason to watch so closely over her. She would probably actually have to think about the truthfulness of the statement for a while.
I knew by her expression- eyes wide, eyebrows high- that this did not please her. "Comedy relief?" she said, her voice several intervals above normal.
I smiled full-on at her, back pedaling to repair. I had a feeling that full honesty- or as close to it as I could get- would be my only safe passage out of here. "I like you. We all like you." I grabbed her by the front of her shirt, lifted her two inches off the ground, and kissed her. Taking a deep breath, I blurted out "The truth is, I love you...in my own way." I set her down and turned to go. "Have a nice day. And remember, you're on camera the instant you leave this apartment. I've given orders to stun-gun you if you try to leave the building." And I really had.
Then I left.
Chapter Eight
We were at the breakfast table, and I was watching her eat a croissant. Her mouth was mesmerizing. True to her words, she had spent a guilt-free night sacked out on my couch. I, on the other hand, had spent a somewhat difficult night trying to ignore the fact that she was sacked out on my couch. I had gotten up at least a half-dozen times in the night to watch her sleep and consider curling up with her or carrying her to my bed. There were also very cold showers involved.
She never really explained what sent her up three floors to my lair. "Tell me the truth. Were you really freaked out last night? Or did you just want my sheets and my shower gel and my food?"
She smiled and continued to chew. "Does it matter?"
I thought about it for a long moment. For whatever reason, she had spent another night in my apartment. That was really all that mattered at this point. "Only minimally."
More disappointing was the couch decision. Stephanie obviously didn't trust herself in a bed next to me, the ghost of Morelli between us or not.
I needed to tell Steph about a call I received earlier, but I wasn't sure the best way to tell her. I decided not to sugar coat it much and just get it out. "I got some bad news while you were in the shower this morning. Junkman tagged his cop."
Stephanie stilled immediately. Her voice was a bit raw from multiple emotions when she asked, "Anyone I know?"
"No." I was thankful that she didn't know the cop. "He was a member of the State Police Street Gang Unit. He was working locally, but he was based out of North Jersey."
"Junkman will get taken out," I continued. I wanted to minimize her worry. "There are a lot of people looking for him. In the meantime, I want you to stay in the building." Persuading her to go along with this was going to be tricky. I tried cool, logical, businessman tactics instead of caveman impulses to protect her. "If I don't have to worry about you, I can have two extra men out on the street tracking Junkman." I also tried to make this sound like I was asking her, so that I could help her faster, rather than ordering her.
She poured more coffee into her mug. "You have a lot of overhead here. How can you afford to have men following me around and looking for Junkman?"
She didn't realize what a loaded question that actually was. "Junkman just killed a state cop. There's a big enough reward for Junkman to justify assigning some manpower to search for him. There's no monetary way to justify a security detail to watch over you. I bleed money every time you need protection."
That caught her off guard for a moment. "Jeez. I'm sorry," she said in a low, apologetic voice.
I finished my coffee and stood. "I said there was no monetary way to justify your security. The truth is, you're a line item in my budget." Her eyes perked up a bit at that.
She followed me to my bedroom as I went to get my gun. Clipping it to my belt, I turned to her. I hated to be mean, but I had to make her understand how important it was for her to stay in and not go out. She wasn't used to confinement, but she couldn't take care of herself. I wanted to remind her of that. "I have you listed under entertainment." I continued to get ready, sliding money and credit cards into my pants pocket. "This is a high-stress business, and you're comedy relief for my entire team. Plus, I get a tax break." Not really, but I couldn't come up with a less personal reason to watch so closely over her. She would probably actually have to think about the truthfulness of the statement for a while.
I knew by her expression- eyes wide, eyebrows high- that this did not please her. "Comedy relief?" she said, her voice several intervals above normal.
I smiled full-on at her, back pedaling to repair. I had a feeling that full honesty- or as close to it as I could get- would be my only safe passage out of here. "I like you. We all like you." I grabbed her by the front of her shirt, lifted her two inches off the ground, and kissed her. Taking a deep breath, I blurted out "The truth is, I love you...in my own way." I set her down and turned to go. "Have a nice day. And remember, you're on camera the instant you leave this apartment. I've given orders to stun-gun you if you try to leave the building." And I really had.
Then I left.