AN: okay, so the suspense has to be killing you, right? Just remember, only Anna is my creation and any errors you discover are my fault as well. I don't have a beta...

Chapter Eleven

I took a seat in the living room, the chair, not the couch. I wasn't too sure I wanted to hear what Ric had to say.

"I talked to Anna. She was able to talk to the baby's father today, Steph. She thinks that he wants to be part of the kid's life."

I smiled at that. "Well, that's good new isn't it? Does she like the guy? Is there a possible future?"

Ranger's eyes were unreadable. "She likes him well enough to get pregnant. Actually, I'm not even sure that's true. The fact is that he's a cop from Trenton who was on assignment and had to pick up a felon in Richmond for extradition to Trenton. They met, spent the weekend in bed together and Anna hasn't seen him since."

"Man, that's a tough one." Things like that happen all the time apparently, but I thought there must be more to it than an illicit affair.

"There's more," Ranger added. "You know the cop, Stephanie."

Oh shit, I thought, he's going to tell me it's Joe's kid. Damn him.

"Yeah, it's Joe's kid." I hate that ESP crap.

I felt light-headed and angry all at the same time. I wasn't with Joe now, so this really wasn't my problem, but there was a good chance that he and I were in an on-again stage when he made that trip to Richmond. I tried to remember when he was away for the weekend. It had to be five months ago at least. Damn, the timing fit!

"Stephanie, look at me. Anna didn't know that Joe was your boyfriend at the time. She was so embarrassed when I told her that until recently you two had been an item."

I looked at Ranger as if he were speaking Spanish. "What do you mean? Did she know who I was last night? Today?"

I swear he avoided my look. "Damn it Ranger, finish telling me the story. I have a right to know."

Maybe I said that a bit too strongly because he got this look that told me there was going to be trouble.

"Maybe we should talk about this later. You have a headache."

"You're not getting off that easy. What did Joe say?"

Ranger sat back down on the couch. "He wants the kid. He doesn't know Anna much at all. For him, it was just a weekend fling. I hate to say this, Babe, but I'm betting he's done this before."

I swallowed hard. It wasn't everyday that you learned that your former boyfriend cheated on you and was now going to be a father. I didn't love Joe the way I used to, but it still hurt to think that he could sleep with Anna, leave her and then climb into my bed without a second thought.

"Men are pigs," I shouted. Calm down, I told myself. "I'm going to bed, Ric. Goodnight."

I really shouldn't blame him; he's only the messenger, but I didn't want anything to do with the male species right now, even one as fine as Ranger Manoso.

"I'm not like him," he called after me. Funny, but I think I knew that. Then again, I thought I knew Joe Morelli.

I came back to the bedroom door. I was tired. My head hurt. I didn't want to fight. "I never said you are like him, Ric. I just want some space. Except for you, every other guy I felt anything for managed to ruin it. Makes me wonder if it was them or me."

I started to turn around but before I could move, I felt strong arms gather me close to a rock hard chest.

"It's not you, Babe. Don't blame yourself for the selfish acts of others." He hugged me even tighter.

"Ric, I can't breathe." He loosened his hold, only a little.

"Maybe I'm being selfish too, Steph. If those guys hadn't let you go, I wouldn't be here now. I can only hate them so much for that."

I thought about what he said. I was glad to be where I was now, in his arms, but the past kept rising up to slap me in the face. I honestly thought I knew Joe. I didn't want to believe he'd do this to me. Of course, why should it matter now? I don't know, but somehow it did.

Ranger kissed me on the forehead and herded me off to bed. He didn't join me right away, respecting my need for space, I guess. I tried not to, but the tears came. It was late when he finally climbed in beside me. I tried to pretend to be asleep, but the damp pillow bothered him and he knew I was awake.

"Come here, Babe." The warms arms held me and I cried some more, my head on his chest.

"I know you feel let down by Morelli. I'd kick his ass if you would let me, but I'm betting you want to play nice."

I smiled at the thought of Ranger beating up Joe, but knew I could never let it happen.

"Ric, if Morelli lied to me about Anna, it's a safe bet that he lied about Terry, right?"

He didn't answer. I guess I really didn't expect him to. I leaned on an elbow and pushed myself up until I could see his eyes, even though it was dark.

"You knew about Terry. That's why you thought he knew more about her being missing than he told, right?"

Again, he didn't answer, but the look in his eyes said it all. Finally, I heard a whispered, "I'm sorry, Babe. I thought he really loved you."

Shit, I thought. This night was just getting worse. "I'm not blaming you. It wouldn't do any good anyway. It's not like I still love Joe that way. It's just that now I feel like what we had was a sham. Maybe he never loved me after all. All those he said it, he probably never meant it." I was not going to cry.

"Stephanie, maybe one thing had nothing to do with another. Some guys just do that for the sex. Naturally, if he used Anna like that he can expect for me and Lester to whip his ass, but maybe he did love you. You know, it was just physical."

I think he knew the moment he said it that it wasn't going to fly with me. "Are you saying that when its simply sex, it's okay to just step out on a serious relationship? Just because we weren't married, made it all right for Joe to sleep with Anna?"

Now I knew I was in trouble. Those statements didn't even make sense to me. I had to remember that Anna means something to Ranger and Lester and they had to be hating Morelli right now.

Ric raised up out of bed. "You know that wasn't I meant. I was trying to make you realize that he could have still loved you, but I was wrong. He knew what he did hurt you. He hoped you'd never find out and now that you know, he'll avoid you." Ric's voice was menacing.

"He'd better. You won't have to worry about beating him up, because there won't be much left of him when I'm through."

Ric reached for me. "That's my girl. Go for the jugular, Babe. He's got it coming. We can make it look like an accident."