A/N: LOL! I asked for opinions on whether I should give Joe equal time, and the answers were pretty much a unanimous "NO!" Poor Joe, you guys are mean! I guess for now his time with Stephanie will have to be just implied…

Disclaimer: The characters and settings we all know and love belong to Janet Evanovich. The plot, such as it is, and anyone you don't recognize belongs to me. Written strictly for enjoyment – so enjoy!

Chapter 2

Moving very slowly I pulled my cell phone off my belt and pressed speed-dial. He answered shortly, his voice tight. "Not--"

"Don't hang up," I interrupted quickly.

He gave a tight sigh. "I can't talk now, babe."

"Are you missing something? Because I just found something that looks like yours."

There was silence on the other end for a heartbeat, then he said something under his breath that I couldn't catch.

"Is she okay?" His voice sounded raw.

"I think so. She's scared, and she's got herself stashed where I can't reach her. Any suggestions?"

"Put your phone on speakerphone," he said.

I did as he bid and turned the volume up, then held it out toward the little girl. Ranger's voice came through loud and clear.

"Julia? Can you hear? It's me, Chiquita. Don't be afraid of Stephanie, she's a good friend of mine. She helps me all the time. Go with Stephanie. She will take care of you and keep you safe. Julia?"

The girl moved slightly, and then began to inch forward.

"Keep talking," I said just loud enough for Ranger to hear me.

"Julia," he said, and his voice softened but was filled with enough emotion to make my heart feel funny, "Listen to me. Stephanie is safe. She is my friend. She will take care of you."

By this time she'd crept to the edge of the dock, just barely in the shadows. I could see her hands at her face, and realized she was working to pull the gag out of her mouth. I winced for her. I knew firsthand that gags weren't fun. But she got it off and managed to speak.

"Dad?"

"I'm here," he answered immediately.

"Where are you?" Her voice was trembling a bit, but all in all I though she was handling this better than I was.

"I'm at your mom's. Go with Stephanie, honey. She will keep you safe, and I'll be there as soon as I can. Will you do that for me?"

Her eyes met mine and I tried to look protective. She nodded slowly. "Okay, Dad. Tell Mamma I'm okay."

"I will. I'll be there soon." He paused. "I need to talk to Stephanie now, okay? Don't worry."

"Okay."

I turned the speakerphone off and put the phone back to my ear. "I'm here."

"I'll be there in four hours. I owe you for this, Babe. Take her somewhere safe."

"We'll be waiting." He hung up. I did, too, more slowly.

The girl hadn't moved, and her eyes were still steady on me. I put the phone back in the clip on my belt.

"How did you know who I was?" she asked. "I've never met you."

"You have your dad's eyes," I answered simply. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head and crawled awkwardly forward. I got up and moved to help her. It took me a few minutes to get the rope binding her hands untied, but I finally got it off. It didn't help that my hands were shaking.

Standing, Julia was about the same height as my younger niece. Small for the age I thought she was. Maybe her mother was small. It wasn't something I'd ever talked to Ranger about; I was still surprised he'd told me he had a daughter. I wasn't entirely sure what to say to her. Did she know her dad was Trenton's version of Batman?

"So, I take it you've had an interesting trip from Miami?" I asked, and she gave me a shaky grin.

"It was different." Oh, yeah. This was definitely Ranger's daughter.

I got her to the Jeep. She buckled herself into the passenger seat next to my big black bag and curled down, making herself small. I thought she probably felt vulnerable. I would have. Been there, done that.

"You did a good job of getting away from that man, and hiding. That was a good spot to hide," I said quietly.

"You found me," she pointed out.

"I'm lucky at finding people," I said. "Probably because I still think like a kid, and I remember where I would choose to hide."

"Where will you take me?" she asked after a moment.

There was really only one choice, and I was pretty sure that's what Ranger had meant, anyway.

"The safest place in town, Julia. Your dad's place."

She gave me a questioning look but didn't say anything.

"Are you hungry? I can go through a drive-thru on the way. Your dad doesn't keep much food around."

"Can we get hamburgers?"

"No problem."

I went through MacDonald's drive through and got burgers and fries and two large Cokes. Julia drank some of her Coke but made no move on the food. I drove quickly and turned into the garage of the RangeMan building, remoting the gate up and watching it close behind me as I pulled into the slot that was pretty much reserved for me.

We climbed out of the car. Julia had the drinks. I reached back in for my bag and the food, and as I stretched I felt a burning in my side. When I straightened with the stuff I glanced down at the black sweatshirt I had on. Low on the left side there was a small hole, and the fabric looked wet. Crap.

Now that I'd seen it, my side really started to ache. I didn't want Julia – or for that matter, any of the Merry Men – to see it. They'd get in a flap and I just wanted to get Julia inside.

I put my bag on my shoulder and held it over the spot on the sweatshirt with my elbow and steered Julia into the elevator, using the remote and pressing the button for the seventh floor. She looked at me curiously when I used my key on the apartment door.

"You have a key to my dad's apartment?" she asked.

"Yeah. Don't ask, it's a long, complicated story and your fries will get cold."

She gave me a long speculative look that nearly made me squirm, but she didn't ask any more questions. She was more like Ranger than I thought.