Ranger had told me to be ready by six O'clock. I had fifteen minutes left when I stepped out the shower. I dried myself off and went into the closet, taking out a siren red dress that had probably been made for someone a few pounds lighter. But the seams looked strong, so without much huffing, I squeezed into it.

I went back into the bathroom, poured about half the bottle of gel on my head, a few pounds of mascara, and a swipe of cherry lip-gloss.

With that done, I sucked in my stomach and shuffled to where my new high heels were. I didn't mean to buy them, but Lula made me do it. I try not to argue with Lula; I tend to pick my battles. Many people try not to argue with Lula. It's like arguing with a massive wall that could kill you without meaning to. After strapping them on, I tottered to get my bag, left the apartment, and locked the door behind me.

I've been trying to take the stairs, but these shoes weren't exactly stair-shoes. They were elevator shoes. Unless, of course, someone offered to carry me. Since no one did, I pressed the down button.

The metal doors slid open to reveal one of the elderly ladies who lived here. She enjoyed pretending to be an elevator lady.

"We have food on the fifth floor!" She said cheerfully. She peered at me. "There's also a gym on the seventh."

I suck in my stomach a bit more and ask for the first floor. She looked disappointed but pushed the button. I got off a few moments later and walked out, to where a black Ford was waiting. I wobbled to the passenger and, gasping, hoisted myself in.

"Babe," Ranger said, a small smile playing in his lips. "I can take you jogging instead."

"Cake's better," I say. "Who am I distracting?"

"Tony Bazzini."

"Ton-Ton?" I'd gone to school with Tony. Actually, he'd been a year or so older, but I still remember him. He was one of those guys who were always clutching a bag of chips in one hand, and a bottle of soda in the other. Unfortunately, metabolism didn't run in the family. That's why we called him Ton-Ton. I haven't seen him in years.

Ranger shrugs. "I got a tip that he's got a stash of cocaine under his bed."

I gape. "Ton-Ton doesn't do drugs!"

"Apparently, one of his slightly shady friends needed a hiding place and stuck it there without…Ton-Ton's knowledge. We would rather get it out and keep him in the dark."

"Okay…"

Ranger pulls to a stop about a block away from his house. I know Ton-Ton lives there because my best friend Mary Lou said she's seen him go in and out there often. I mean, it could have been his mothers house. Or his girlfriends. Apparently not.

"He's in the house 397." Ranger leans over the seat and slips his fingers into my neckline.

"Hey!"

"Wire," He says. "Just so I can keep tags on the conversation."

He's probably going to tape it and share it with his gang. For some reason they find me amusing.

"Okay," I say, and, with another heave, get out and head for Ton-Ton's house. When I get there, I knock on the door, discreetly tugging at the dress. I may not have big breasts, but I know how to use the ones I have. The door opens, and we both goggle at each other.

"Stephanie Plum?"

"Ton-Ton?"

The guy in front of me isn't Ton-Ton. Unless Ton-Ton refers to the muscles.

He grimaces. "I didn't like the name Ton-Ton."

I wouldn't, either.

"Sorry, Tony," I offer. "It's a habit."

"What are you doing here?" He says to a place a foot below my eyes.

"My…cat," I say. "My cat ran away."

He looked puzzled. "I thought you had a hamster."

"No," I lied. "I got a cat a few weeks ago. She ate Rex." Silently I beg Rex's forgiveness. I mean, he doesn't know, but I'll give him an extra raisin tonight. "Then she ran away. I thought maybe you'd seen her?"

"What color is she?"

"Black," I say.

"Nope, I haven't seen a cat. Maybe…" He sticks his head farther out of the doorway. Peering over his shoulder, I see Tank stealthily sneaking towards the stairs. Because Tank was named for his size, it's amazing he can be stealthy.

"Ms. Torrington!" He yells at an old lady next door. Have you seen a cat?"

She peers disapprovingly at me. "Ton-Ton. What would your mother say about you associating with such girls?"

I wince. "I lost my cat," I fib. "It's driving me crazy with worry. I didn't realize what I'd put on was so revealing."

"Humph," Ms. Torrington sniffed. "What color is your cat?"

"White." I say without thinking.

"I thought you'd said it was black?" Ton-Ton said, baffled.

Oops. Ranger was probably laughing at me in the bat mobile right now.

"Um," I say lamely. "It's black and white."

"Oh," Ton-Ton said.

"She's probably lying," Ms. Torrington cackled evilly. "She's probably making up a story while her convict boyfriend is robbing you."

It didn't sound that far-fetched to me, but Ton-Ton laughed and glanced good-naturedly over his shoulder. Just in time to see Tank huff down the stairs with a box in his hands. "THEIF!" He yelled, waving his arms around like crazy. "Call the FBI!"

Ms. Torrington toddled indoors to make the phone call while Tank shoved the box at some guy next to him and started coming at Ton-Ton with a scary expression on his face. Ton-Ton screamed like a girl and grabbed the closest thing he could; me. He looked momentarily disappointed that I wasn't a baseball bat, but then his brain kicked into overdrive. "If you make one more step, I'll kill her!"

I wanted to ask how, but because his arm was around my throat, all I could manage was, "Glugh."

Ton-Ton began to back up, dragging me tripping the whole way. High heels are bad things to be dragged backwards in. I tried to kick him, and Ton-Ton howled in pain, but he shoved me headfirst into his car. There's a screech of tires as Ranger's black car comes at us. Ton-Ton yelps, pulls out a gun from somewhere, and shoots wildly. As luck would have it, he hits Rangers tires. Both of them.

I was too buy trying to keep my skirt from creeping up to try to escape as he leaps into the driver's seat, fishes around for the keys, jams them into the ignition, and puts the petal to the metal. It was when the smell of burning rubber filled my nose that I realized, a bit too late, that I'd just been kidnapped.

How the hell was I going to get my cake now?