Well here is Chapter 13. Keep sending reviews!

Chapter Thirteen:

I opened my eyes as the car pulled in front of a house.

"Where am I?" I asked Tank. He smiled at me and undid my seatbelt. Then he got out of his car and walked over to the passenger side. He opened up my door and helped me out. I never knew that Tank could be such a gentleman. It was a welcome change from the silent buff Ranger sidekick I had gotten to know.

"Whose house is this?" I asked after we had stepped inside. I quickly scanned the room we were in. There was only a couch and a television in the whole entire room.

"It's mine. I haven't really had time to decorate since I'm usually at one of Ranger's apartments."

"It's…nice." I lied. It was the most lifeless house I had ever been it. It was incredibly depressing.

"Well it's a place to sleep." I followed Tank into his kitchen. It followed the same lifeless pattern as the previous room. Plain white walls, normal kitchen appliances, and a wooden kitchen table with two chairs. I sat down in one the chairs. Tank followed me.

"So why did you bring me here?" I asked, genuinely curious. I thought he would have taken me back to my apartment.

"Well Mueller would probably look for you at your apartment and you and Ranger are fighting, so I thought that this would be the safest place." I was surprised. Tank was smarter than he let on.

"Oh. Yeah that makes sense." We both fell silent, unsure of what to say. I realized I hadn't thanked him for saving my life yet. Where were my Burg manners?

"Thanks Tank, you know for saving my life. If it hadn't been for you," I shuddered determined not to go down that road.

"Well it was nothing," he said clearly embarrassed. We both smiled at each other.

"You must be exhausted." He finally said. I felt a yawn coming on.

"Yeah,"

"Well you can sleep on the couch." Tank disappeared up the stairs. When he came back down his arms were full of blankets and pillows. Together we turned the couch into a bed.

"Goodnight Tank." I turned to him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. He had really been there for me today.

"Night Bombshell." I crawled under the covers. Before he had even left the room I fell asleep.

Loud banging at the door woke me out of my slumber the next morning. I stumbled over to the door. It was Ranger.

"Stephanie! Thank God you're okay." He pulled me into a hug.

"I was worried."

"Wait a minute." I pulled out of the embrace. "What's going on? I thought you didn't care about me anymore."

"Babe," Ranger sighed softly and walked over to the couch.

"Sit." I didn't move a muscle.

"Please Stephanie." I couldn't stop my feet from dragging me over to him. I sank down beside him.

"About yesterday," he looked into my eyes pleadingly. He was looking for a way out of this situation. There was no way in hell I was stopping him from saying what he was about to. He realized that and continued.

"I didn't mean what I said." I nodded slowly. Was that it? I wasn't sold over yet.

"When I said that…when I told you how I felt about you the day before yesterday I meant it. And I still do." He was starting to win me over.

"I was just…I don't know, upset, when you didn't say it back." He was really struggling. My heart went out to him. But I remained silent until he was done.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like that. And because of my actions you almost got killed." He sounded angry. I peered into his eyes. He really did feel responsible for last nights attack.

"Ranger, it's not your fault…"

"It is Stephanie. Nothing would have happened if I had been there for you. Instead I put you in danger. It's all my fault."

"Hey! You didn't force me to leave. You said I could have stayed. You also didn't force me to go out at night all alone and unprotected. It's not your fault Ranger. It's mine." He tried to protest but I silenced him with a kiss.

"Oh and Ranger,"

"Yeah Babe?"

"I love you." He gave me his famous wolf grin and pulled me into his arms for another heart melting kiss.

"Could you guys please not do that on my couch? I'd prefer if I didn't have to buy a new one." Tank said walking into the room with a smirk on his face. We all laughed.

"So what are we going to do now?" I asked Ranger.

"Well we could give you living with me another shot. If you want to." Ranger suggested. Hey it beats my apartment.

"Sure. But I'll have to get my stuff."

"Tank." Ranger nodded at him. He quickly left the room and drove off in his car.

"Come on," Ranger said pulling me to my feet. I followed out the door and we piled into his Porsche.

"Good to be back," I said softly to the car.

"What?" Ranger asked puzzled.

"Oh nothing," His lips curved into an almost smile. Stupid loudmouth me.

Tank had beaten us to Ranger's apartment building. Tank handed me my travel bag and walked off. I unzipped the bag. Everything seemed to be in order. I checked to see what undergarments Tank had packed me. Underneath my normal Jockey gear, I pulled out a red thong. There was a note tucked with it.

"For those distraction jobs…" It read. Damn that Tank.

"What?" Ranger asked, turning to me with a slight smile on his face. Why can't I say things in my head instead of saying them out loud?

"Oh, nothing, it was nothing." He surveyed me.

"Right," I glared at him. Ranger started to chuckle. I hadn't seen that in awhile. I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my lips.

We rode the elevator to the seventh floor apartment. Once we were inside, Ranger took my bag and tucked it away in his bedroom.

"Why did you put it there? I'm sleeping on the couch." I asked.

"Not tonight, Babe," He grin wolfishly. Oh boy. He pulled me close to him. His lips brushed over mine. I shivered. I forgot how much power he had on me. Determined to prove I could be the aggressor too, I kissed him hungrily on the mouth. Things started to intensify when I heard my cell phone ring.

"Damn," I complained pulling away. Ranger crossed his arms over his chest clearly unhappy with the interruption.

"Hello?"

"Stephanie, it's your mother." Like I really needed the reminder. She was probably calling to harass me for not returning her phone calls.

"Oh, hi Mom,"

"Where on Earth have you been? Why haven't you been answering your phone? I've tried to get a hold of you for several days now and you…" I winced as my Mom began to rant.

"I know. I'm sorry; it's just been crazy these last few days."

"Too crazy you couldn't even phone your own mother? And what's this I hear about you being attacked at a 7-Eleven?" I touched my cheek where Mueller had struck me. It was still a little red and sore. Ranger had been kind enough to not say anything.

"It was nothing Mom, I'm fine."

"So it's true? Oh why me? What did I do to deserve such a troublesome daughter? Why couldn't I have normal children?" Yeesh.

"I don't know," I said absentmindedly. I was too watching Ranger stare at me hungrily.

"Well, will you be able to come to dinner tonight?"

"Hang up the phone, Babe." Ranger whispered in my ear.

"Will we be able to make dinner?" I whispered back. He shook his head.

"Thanks for the offer Mom but I have plans. Nice talking to you. Bye!" I disconnected.

"Now where were we?" Ranger asked slyly, wrapping his arms around me.

"Here," I replied stealing a kiss. Things started to reheat when again my cell phone rang.

"What now?" Ranger huffed irritably.

"Hello?"

"Miss me? It's such a shame your friend interrupted us."

My blood ran cold. "Who is this?"

"You know perfectly well who this is. I just wanted to give you a little heads up. If you ever want to see your boyfriend again, you have six hours to figure out where I have hidden him"

"But he's right here." I shot a look at Ranger. Who was Mueller talking about?

"What?" He said thrown off guard for a moment. "Well your other boyfriend then. Here, why don't you talk to him?" There was a couple of beats of silence. Then Morelli's voice came on the phone.

"Stephanie?"

"Oh my God, Joe!" I yelped.

"I need you to help me," He sounded like someone was feeding him lines. "If you ever want to see me alive again you've got six hours. Starting…" he paused for a moment, "now." Mueller came back on the phone.

"Good luck bitch." The phone went dead. I stood there frozen in shock.

"What is it?" Ranger asked worriedly.

"It was Mueller. He says we've got six hours to find Morelli before he turns him into fish food."

Okay so I realize Ranger most likely would pick Tank's house's lock but it went better with my story if he just knocked. And yes, Ranger and Steph are okay again. So you can breath easier...I'm only joking. My story is almost finished so just bare with me. Keep sending me reviews please!