Chapter Two

Welcome to my life. For the past couple of years, I was known as the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, employed by my low life cousin, Vincent Plum of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. Vinnie's job was to bail out the miscreants of Trenton society; mine was to bring them back into the system when they went FTA or Failure to Appear. This job wasn't my first choice, but rather a last resort that I fell into at a low point in my life. It wasn't all bad though. I seemed to have a knack for finding people who didn't want to be found. Maybe knack is too strong a word. It was more like I lucked into it. Of course, I suffered the indignities of bringing in the bounty way more than I would like, but that was nothing compared to the loss of vehicles.

Despite my best efforts, I could not seem to be able to avoid the burned out car syndrome that started when I took the job at Vinnie's and continued until I finally had had enough. The years of being threatened, kidnapped and shot had taken their toll, not to mention all the fights with Joe Morelli, the Trenton cop who was my on-again, off-again boyfriend. In the end, it was Ranger who stood by me when I needed someone to support my decision. It was Ranger whom I worked for now that I decided to change careers. Granted, Joe was pleased that I quit the bounty hunter business, but his reasons were just not in line with my own.

Joe wanted a housewife. I didn't know what I wanted, but it wasn't that. While the bounty hunter business wasn't the most glamorous job in the world, it had its exciting moments. Joe would have preferred I had less excitement in my life and more time for him. I could see his side. Being raised in the Burg, I should have been pre-disposed to the domestic life, but I honestly wasn't any good at it. I couldn't cook, hated cleaning, and was really unsure about kids. My nieces were nice, but only in small doses. I had no clue if I could handle my own kid.

This thought brought me back to the argument with Joe. It would probably end the way it usually did.

"Forget about Terry," he started, "that was a long time ago and I was a totally different guy. I had hoped you would have realized that by now." His dark eyes narrowed on my face.

My first instinct was to just leave, but I seemed to be doing that way too much lately. I figured it was time to be an adult and deal with this relationship thing head on.

"Joe, we've talked about this before. You want more from me than I really feel I can give right now. This isn't about Terry or Ranger, but more about where we both are in our lives. Let's face it, timing hasn't been our strong point."

I started up the stairs, planning on packing the few things that I had brought from my apartment. I felt a firm hand grasp my arm.

"Cupcake, you leave this time and there's no coming back. I want you to stay. I want to try and make a real relationship, one where we don't cut and run at the first sign of trouble."

He loosened his grasp and I turned to face him. "That's just it, Joe. I need to have a sense of independence. Maybe I can't handle a 'real relationship'. Maybe I'm just not ready for it."

I saw a look pass over his face that was a mixture of hurt and disappointment. I knew then that I might have just ended something that could have been my one chance at permanent. It wasn't that I didn't care about Joe, because in my own way I'm sure I loved him. It just bothered me that I couldn't say it, couldn't tell him the words that I knew he longed to hear.

He turned around at the bottom of the stairs. As he started to walk to the living room, I heard him say, "I suppose I should call Ranger and let him know he won."

For some reason that simple statement infuriated me to the point of madness. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? What makes you think that this was some contest between you two? I am not some kind of prize that you just win at the end of the game. This is real life, Joe, my life and yours. Leave Ranger out it."

Joe turned to face me. "That's just it Steph, he's never been out of it for the past couple of years. He's always there, trying to protect you, trying to support the hair-brained things you get into. Now he's given you a new job at Rangeman. We haven't had a fair chance to succeed as a couple."

I stomped down the stairs. He hadn't heard a word I said. I looked into those dark, sometimes menacing eyes. "It isn't Ranger's fault that I want to be independent. It certainly isn't his fault that I tried the things I've tried; and you aren't going to blame him for giving me a job when I needed one. Blame me, Joe. If you so desperately need to blame someone, blame me. I do."

It was really late when I got back to my apartment. I found that I actually missed it. It wasn't much of an apartment, but it had seen a lot of action during my bounty hunter days, from dead bodies to murders in progress. Then there was the fact that just about everyone but me could break in. I suppose if I had been an outsider looking in, I would really feel sorry for me. Well, maybe I felt sorry for me anyway.