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Chapter Ten

"Who?" I repeated to Ranger, who I swear was pretending to be in his zone. He knew he couldn't leave me hanging.

"Morelli," he stated flatly.

I waited for more information, but none appeared to be forthcoming, so I prompted for it.

"And?" I began. "Why was Joe at my house?"

Ranger's features noticeable tensed. After our night together, he was probably as concerned as I was about my reaction to the Morelli situation. I was confused where Joe was concerned. Ranger understood that without being told.

"From what I can figure out, Morelli was coming over to talk to you. He's not exactly volunteering information, but he did tell Tank that he saw Old Willard coming out of the building a few minutes before smoke started to come out of your apartment window. He was suspicious of Willard, knowing that Lula had brought him to the station this week already."

I was still getting used to the Ranger who would actually talk to me. There were pros and cons to this Ranger. This Ranger could act more like Morelli and that thought was a bit disconcerting. Of course, it wasn't that I didn't want to know more about Ranger and maybe understand his feelings, but I had to wonder if this new openness would end up ruining the mystery that was Batman.

"I didn't know that Joe was planning on visiting. He must have been panicked when he realized my apartment was on fire. He had no idea I wasn't home." No doubt Joe had broken into the apartment, or better yet used his key, and discovered that no one was home. I imagine that he wondered where I was.

"Ranger, where did Tank tell him I was?" Surely Tank would not have said that I was staying with Ranger.

"He told him the Rangeman apartment. Don't worry. Morelli doesn't know that you slept in my apartment. If you want to keep it secret, that's you call." I heard and felt the irritation in his voice. By now we were in the garage at the office.

I grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving the car. "Hey, don't be like this. I never said that I wanted to pretend that our night together never happened. I won't lie to you. I am confused right now, but one thing that I know for certain is that I care about you a lot." I sealed that declaration with a kiss. Ranger deepened the kiss until both of us were struggling for control. He pulled away first.

"You realize that control is having a field day with this, don't you?" He flashed me a smile.

I smiled right back. "Yeah, probably, but I don't care. I know this bad ass Cuban who can kick ass if necessary."

"You can be such a contradiction, Babe."

I wasn't sure I wanted to understand that comment. We went up to Ranger's apartment, giving the guys time to recover from the shock of the boss making out in the garage. The SUV's windows were fogged when we got out. Surely Bobby or Lester would have something to say.

We were nearly to the foyer of the apartment when my cell phone rang. I noticed the number as I answered. Morelli.

"Stephanie, I think we need to talk," Joe began as I said hello.

Lula and Tank had not arrived that I had heard. I wanted to make sure she was okay before leaving, but agreed to meet Joe at Pinos. Ranger wanted to go with me I could tell, but didn't push. Had it been the other way around and it was me meeting Ranger, Joe would have had a lot more to say. Based on other things that Ranger had said to me, this didn't appear to sit right.

"I don't think this will take long if you want me to pick up dinner," I offered. I realized a little late that this was something I would do for Joe, not Ranger, who had his own housekeeper.

"Not necessary," he replied. "Dinner will be ready when you get back, no matter what time is."

He walked me to the elevator and kissed me senseless while we waited for it to arrive. I remembered what he said about making me forget Morelli. If anyone could do it, Ranger could, I know. He wasn't really trying right now, more like asserting the fact he could if he wanted to.

"I really won't be that long," I restated, more to remind myself than him. That kiss was fantastic.

"Later," he said with a smile when the elevator arrived.

Pinos was the favorite cop hangout. It also happened to have the best pizza in Trenton, in my opinion. It was taking all my willpower not to order my favorite the moment I walked in. Once I saw Joe seated at a booth in the back of the room, the thought of pizza was really not all satisfying.

I took a seat opposite him, trying to figure out where to begin. "I heard you closed this place down the other night." I was trying to be nonchalant. "Recovered yet?"

Joe just looked at me at first, as if he was trying to figure out what to say. "When you weren't in your apartment, I wasn't sure whether to be relieved because of the fire, or furious because I thought I knew where you were. One look at your face now tells me all I need to know. You've been with Ranger."

It was a statement, not a question. I wondered if my mouth was swollen from that last kiss or if Joe, like Lula and Connie, could tell when I had been laid. Of course, in the past he would have intimately known, but if he could tell, he never once said a word about that one night with Ranger last year.

"I'm not here to talk about Ranger, Joe. We went over that before. I thought there might be things that we needed to say to each other. You wanted us to talk."

Joe looked like he needed a shave. His dark Italian looks were always sexy, but never more than when his hair was slightly mused and he was several hours past the five o'clock shadow stage. He was my first sexual experience, maybe my first love, but at this very moment, I realized that his sex appeal really wasn't getting to me as it had in the past. I wanted to get back to Ranger's apartment and perhaps have a talk with him as well. Maybe I could convince him to "do relationships". I certainly wanted to try.

"I just wanted to make sure that we were really through this time," Joe began. "Maybe this is the best thing for both of us. I want you to know that while we were together, I was faithful to you. I know you had your doubts about Terry Gilman, but I wasn't with her when we were together."

I blinked a couple of times. I really hadn't expected Joe to say something like that. It made the night with Ranger even harder to deal with. My best bet right now was to avoid the subject all together. "I appreciate that Joe, I really do. I hope you know that I only want the best for you. The fact is that's not me. I wish I could have been the person you need in your life; I tried, but it just didn't feel right."

That brought a smile to his face. "You're much better at being the Bombshell Bounty Hunter than I gave you credit for, Steph. I mean, I hated the danger aspect of your job, sure, but it was maybe also a little jealousy that caused me to go crazy. I tried to convince myself that I was the one you chose, but in the end, I was fooling myself. You have some pretty strong feelings for Manoso. I hope you can sort through them and reach some sort of compromise with him before you get hurt."

My first reaction was to snap back something smart about getting hurt by Ranger, but I realized that Joe was simply saying he understood that I cared about Ranger as well. He had accepted it. Maybe we both could move on now.

When I left Pino's ten minutes later, there was a black SUV parked near my truck. As I approached the driver's side door, the window slid down. I saw the look of uncertainty in Ranger's eyes.

"I'm not mad you followed me," I offered, taking his face between my hands. "I'm actually very glad to see you." I leaned and kissed him squarely on the mouth. It was meant to be a rough, quick kiss, but he expertly extended it. I realized that we were still in the parking lot and really didn't want Joe to catch the show. I pulled back.

"I'd say let's go home, but I really don't have a home anymore."

"Sure you do. Get in your truck and follow me."

I followed Ranger back to the Rangeman building. Tank's truck and Lula's Firebird were both parked in the garage. I had every intention of checking on Lula before going back to Ranger's apartment, but once we reached the elevator, all thought left my brain. I was enveloped in a world of sensations as Ranger ran his big hands all over my body. He started with my face, which he caressed as if I was something precious. Then I felt his hands rub their way down my back. Soon they found their way to my breasts where they lingered, warmly stroking and caressing me under my bra. As we reached our floor, I felt his hands move to my rear end, pulling me close to his body, making me take in the full effect of his desire.

Nothing else was said as we made our way to his room. We were both naked by the time we hit the bed. I remembered vaguely that I had wanted to talk to you him; to find out why he was waiting for me at Pino's but right now no words were needed. We continued to pleasure each other for the next couple of hours. I finally fell asleep, Ranger's arm possessively around me. I didn't remember a thing after that, sleeping so solidly that I didn't even feel him get out of bed.

I had cut off my cell phone went I went to Pino's last night, so I wasn't surprised to find that my mother had been searching for me. She apparently called the Rangeman offices because I was awoke to find Ranger sitting on the bed, holding a phone out for me.

"It's your mother," he whispered.

"Mom, is everything all right?" I was still groggy from sleep but aware enough to know it wasn't my number she called. "Why did you call the office?" Of course, I already knew the answer.

"Stephanie, I tried your phone several times. I kept getting a message. I'm worried about your father; he was driving the cab last night and hasn't come home. I tried to call Joseph, but he wasn't home last night either."

"Did you call the police?" I tried to keep the panic out of my voice, but I noticed that Ranger, who was leaving the room, turned around and came back to the bed. "Mom, this isn't like Dad. You need to call the police right away."

I didn't want to upset my mother any more than she already was, but I was freaking out at the thought of my father stranded, or worse yet lying dead in some alley. Ranger took the phone from me after my I finished with my mother, who promised to call the police.

"Quick shower and get dressed," Ranger commanded. "We'll go to your parents house and meet the cops there."

"Ranger," I whispered, "you don't think Willard Noble had anything to do with Dad's disappearance do you?"

Ranger moved over to me and gave me a quick hug. He never verbally answered. The thought that Old Willard had my dad was more than I could stand. I rushed into the bathroom, stepping into the shower before the tears came.