10.

I just stood there for a minute in a shocked state. I just broke up with Morelli, for good. No more on again, off again. We were permanently off. I was trying to process this information when there was a knock on the door. I figured Joe had changed his mind and come back, so I flung the door wide open without checking the peephole.

"Oh it's just you." I said to the unwelcome visitor. "Since when do you knock?"

"Babe."Rangerlooked down at me quizzically. "Saw Morelli in the lobby on the way up."

"Great." I replied sarcastically. "I'm surprised he didn't shoot you." I'm surprised they didn't go out to the parking lot like cowboys and duel. Alpha males, ugh!

He raised his eyebrows at me.

"We're broken up." He gave me a slight nod. "For good." I added.

He sighed and shook his head. "You should give him a break. He's a good guy, and he loves you."

I've heard that before and I was having a hard time keeping my anger inside. I wasn't angry at Ranger in particular, more like every man in general. "Excuse me?" I blurted out a little harsher than I actually meant. "You think you can give advice on relationships? You're a divorced mercenary for crying out loud! You're way of dealing with relationships is by not having them!" Oh God, what the hell was I doing? I closed my eyes and waited for Rangerto stungun me and stop my miserable tirade.

He didn't reply, but instead folded his arms over his chest in a defensive manner, his face blank. I took a few deep breaths and tried to explain. "You just came in at a bad time. Is there a reason for this visit?"

"Just making sure everything is okay. The guys said you left in a hurry this afternoon."

Ah yes, just hiding from you. "An appointment suddenly came up." Please don't ask for details.

"An appointment at Macy's?" He eyed my shopping bags and tipped the corners of his mouth into an almost smile. I was entertaining him.

"Do you really want to know the truth?"

"Probably not." He turned to walk out the door.

"About the other night, did we…?"

He slightly turned hishead to the right. The Ranger equivalent of a resounding 'no'.

I breathed a sigh of relief and asked the next pressing question."Did I...?" He smiled at this question.

"You need to learn your limits, Babe. You're dangerous when you're drunk." He paused and studied me for a moment.

"One more thing, we're meeting with a new client tomorrow. It's an all staff meeting first thing, don't be late." With that he was gone into the night.

I shut the door after him and slid the locks in place. I felt pretty confident about the locks keeping people out now. I haven't had a run in with a crazed, psycho murderer in months. And I haven't blown up any cars either. Which reminds me, I thought as I looked around for my newspaper. I think it's time to invest in something more expensive, because I feel like my car karma is taking a turn for the better.