Shit.

That's how my life was right now. Shit. No other word for it.

I looked down the street where my skip had just disappeared. Why couldn't they ever come nicely? Would it really be so bad to just accept a ride down to the station? No, they always had to be difficult!

I sighed and turned back to my car. Now how was I going to make rent this month?

There was no help for it, I was just going to have to stake out the place.

I'd been doing this job for over two years, you'd think I'd be getting good at it by now. My name is Stephanie Plum. I'm a bounty hunter. I work for my cousin Vinnie. He bonded people out of jail, and if they missed the court date, my job was to bring them back in. Sounds simple. Most people who didn't show up weren't real happy to be brought back though. They had a tendency to run or try to shoot me. Sometimes they even blew up my cars.

I suppose I should be happy I hadn't been shot at this time. And my car--

Where was my car? DAMN. I noticed the billowing black smoke where my car used to be. Looks like I was going to need a ride, too.

I grabbed my cell phone from my pocketbook and dialed the first number that came to mind.



Yo, yourself



Yeah, it's me. I don't suppose you'd give me a ride back to the office.

Where are you?

I told him the address.

Be there in ten. With that he clicked off. I looked at the phone for a second, then settled in to wait.

Five minutes later a shiny black Mercedes pulled up to the curb. Ranger got out. Ranger was a primo bounty hunter. For lack of a better word he was my mentor, having helped me get started in the business. He was Cuban-American with skin the color of mocha latte, and a body that was best described as yum. He was wearing his standard mercenary black ensemble today with his long hair tied back in a ponytail.

He took one look at the smoking heap behind me before speaking.

Car heaven?


His lips twitched upward into an almost smile. He brushed a kiss across my lips.

You never disappoint, Babe.

He slung an arm across my shoulders, and we walked to his car and got in. Moments later we were back at the office.

Thanks, I said as I opened the door.

With another quick kiss he was gone. Back to the wind, I thought.

I took a deep breath, opened the door to the office and walked in. Lula and Connie were loudly debating whether red or green was the better nail polish choice for Christmas. I looked out the window. Still July, 95 in the shade. Huh?

Hey guys.

They both looked up.

Lula was the first to speak after looking at me.

Girl, did I just see you get out of Ranger's car? I'm sure you left here in your own car this morning. What happened?

I sighed. This really wasn't something I enjoyed saying, again.

It caught on fire, I mumbled.

For normal people this would seem shocking. For me it was getting to be pretty normal.

Lula grunted.

Connie rolled her eyes.

So, you want to go help me on a stakeout? I asked.

Lula looked at me, then at the files strewn over her desk.

Hell, yeah. Let me grab my gun.

No shooting, I said.

Yeah, I know that. This here is car insurance. I got to protect my Dolby.

Okay, okay. It was probably best for one of us to have a gun anyway.

We said goodbye to Connie and went to Lula's car.

Where are we going? asked Lula.

We're going to stakeout Judah Leon's apartment. He lives over on Stark Street.

What did he do? she asked.

I filled her in on the grand theft auto. Seems Judah had decided he needed a ride to buy his cigarettes and someone had left a brand new Cadillac just sitting on the road right in front of his building. It was just too much temptation for him. Unfortunately for him, this particular car happened to belong to a slightly paranoid owner who had a tracking device put on the car. By the time Judah reached the convenience store he was surrounded by cops. Probably he just didn't want to face all those cops in court. I'm sure that's why he missed his court date and wasn't real excited about rescheduling.

Lula pulled up a few houses back from Judah's building and we settled in to wait. While we were sitting there Lula started in on the questions.

So, when are you and Batman getting together already?

I looked at her like she had two heads.

I asked with just the slightest of eye rolls.

I've seen the way he looks at you white girl. she said. She was sounding just a bit huffy.

We're friends, Lula. No need to tell Lula about the DeChooch deal, or how he'd told me to go back to Morelli afterward. Never mind Morelli and I had broken up for good a couple of months ago. We were still friends--but as a couple we just didn't work.

Hunh. I think he'd like more than that. Lula grunted.

Just then I spotted Judah slinking back to his apartment.

There he is. I yelled.

Lula and I leapt out of the car and gave chase. Luck was with us, and he didn't notice us until I knocked him down with a flying tackle. Sitting on his back I managed to click the handcuffs into place. With Lula's help I hauled him to the car and we threw him in the back seat. We took off to the police station at top speed.

Lula parked and I buzzed. Carl Costanza came out and looked at us. Carl was a good cop. I'd done communion with him, among other things.

Hey, Steph. Who've you got there?

Judah Leon. I handed him my papers. He looked at them, nodded, and took Judah. I went inside to collect my body receipt. When I came back out Lula was gone. Lula was deathly afraid of police stations.

I looked around and noticed Ranger leaning against his Mercedes. His arms were crossed, and he was watching me.

I walked over to him.

Hi, Ranger. Looks like Lula deserted me, again. I said.

Ranger looked at me for a moment. He reached out, tugging on a curl. He smiled a little and asked,
Need another ride?

Yeah. I need to go back to the office and turn in this body receipt. Do you mind?

Just heading there myself, he replied.

Well, imagine that. I hadn't even seen him inside.

He opened the passenger door for me, then went over to his side to get in.

We drove back to the office in silence. Ranger was in his zone Completely focused on his driving.

I glanced over at him, wondering. I still didn't know a lot about Ranger. I knew he was a kick-ass bounty hunter. I knew he was trustworthy, an amazing lover, and a very, very good friend. I was pretty sure he had killed a man for me. I knew he had killed people before, but I was pretty sure he had only killed bad people and only for good reasons.

The fact that he may have killed a man because of me bothered me for a few reasons. The obvious one, of course, was that you shouldn't go around killing people. I also didn't want Ranger to go to jail. But it also made me wonder about his feelings. You don't kill someone to save a person if you have no feelings for that person, do you? Well maybe you do if you're a mercenary. Damn if I know.

We arrived at the office and we both got out of the car. I walked in ahead of Ranger, feeling his energy at my back.

he acknowledged Connie and Lula with a slight nod.

Lula and Connie fanned themselves. I turned to Connie and gave her my body receipt.

Got him, huh? Lula said you did a flying tackle. Connie was grinning while she talked.

Ranger raised an eyebrow.

Proud of you, Babe.

I blushed.

After collecting my check, I turned to Lula.

We on for tomorrow?

Sure thing, girlfriend. Wouldn't miss out on shopping with you, Lula said.

See you then.

I turned to walk out the door and knocked into a wall. I started to bounce backwards and two hands grabbed me around the waist. I looked up--oh. Not a wall--Ranger.

He pulled me close to him, looking into my eyes.

You okay? he asked.

I did a mental body check. No broken bones, teeth are all still there. Heart beating, really, really fast. Yikes.

Yep. Hunky- dorey.

He grinned. A real genuine grin. Those were rare for him.

Good. How about a ride home?

Beats walking I thought.

Ranger looped an arm around my waist and led me out to the car. He brushed a kiss across my cheek before depositing me in the car. We drove back to my apartment building. Ranger was in his driving zone, once more. No point talking then.

When we got to my building, Ranger parked and got out. I hopped out, too, after grabbing my pocketbook. We walked up to my apartment together. I even took the stairs this time. Only because the elevator wasn't working, but hey, it still counts as exercise, right?

Ranger went into the apartment first, gun drawn. He came back, putting his gun back.

All clear

I smiled at him. He walked in with me.

So, what's up? I asked.

Ranger settled onto the couch. He patted the seat next to him. I sat down and looked at him. Ha, I could wait. It was his turn to answer a question.

Gotta job for you.