AN: Of course, the characters still belong to Janet E. except for Joe's new friend Anna. The plot will thicken, I'm working up to it!

Chapter Twenty

Damn, there goes dinner. That lunch sandwich had worn off a while back and I was really hungry. Ranger knew what I was thinking.

"You need to talk to him, Babe. Anna and I can wait downstairs," he offered. "then we can all have dinner together."

Hell, no, I thought. "You're not going anywhere. This situation affects all of us." Actually, I didn't want to see Morelli right now.

Ranger put a possessive arm around me. "I know, Babe. It's definitely going to be awkward, and if you want me to stay, I will."

I gave him a light kiss. "I want you to stay. This is your home."

"You talking about forever, Babe?" He was teasing and at the same time serious.

"Yeah," I replied, back to the one word answers.

"Remember you said that," he countered, another kiss placed lightly on my forehead.

Anna moved to meet Joe at the elevator. Morelli wouldn't know that Ranger was here. She led him into the living room, where Ranger and I sat on the couch. Anna sat in a chair, leaving Joe to take the last one.

"Manoso," he began, looking for a sign in Ranger's face. There was none.

"Morelli," he replied coolly.

"I need to talk to Stephanie," Joe explained. "I hadn't planned on an audience."

"They stay, Joe. This involves all of us," I stated flatly. "Talk."

Funny, but Joe could usually hold up his end of a conversation. I wondered if Ranger would be like that eventually, but dismissed the thought. I didn't want to make comparisons between the guys. That could only lead to trouble.

Joe started his explanation. "You said before that you wanted to be friends, and I respect that Cupcake." The use of the endearment seemed to sleep out and Joe's eyes shot over to Ranger.

"There will be no 'cupcake' term used here," I demanded.

"Sorry, Steph, it was old habit. Anyway, I can't explain what happened with Anna. I'm still trying to figure that out myself. She and I talked about it," he was looking at Anna now, "and we both feel like there's some connection there. We decided we would explore it further after these legal hassles are over. I guess I wanted to know you would be all right with that."

I had to smile. I think he was asking permission to date his baby's mother. "Gee, Joe, let me think. You want to know if I'm all right with you dating your child's mother?"

Joe actually blushed. Whether from temper or embarrassment, I didn't know. "You don't have to put it that way, but yeah, I guess that's what I want to know."

I was feeling a bit Scarlett O'Hara at this time. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

I could feel Ranger holding in a chuckle. I elbowed him. To my surprise, he kept quiet.

"Steph, I never wanted to see you hurt. I meant what I told you about Terry. We weren't together when you and I were in an 'on' stage. I'll admit to being with her when we split but that's it. She didn't mean to me what you did."

I had to interrupt him before he started about the marriage proposal. No sense living through that one again.

"I believe you, Joe. Maybe just because I want to, I don't know. Now, I have some questions for you. Have you heard the rumors on the street about you and the Grizzolli family?"

Joe looked surprised. "What rumors?"

"The ones that say you're playing both sides of the street, Joe."

He looked over at Ranger. "You tell her that?"

Ranger just shook his head no.

"I didn't hear this from Ranger, Joe. Ranger thinks you're a decent cop. Give me a straight answer, Joe, right now!"

Joe swept his hard through his hair, the tension evident in his face. "Damn it, Stephanie, I haven't done anything wrong."

I believed him. Call me naive, but I did believe him. The Morelli men, and Joe in particular, were many things, but they weren't snitches.

"That means that Vito's after you, Joe. He will only toy with you for so long."

Joe considered this. "You're probably right. I will see if my contacts at the precinct know anything, but they aren't being very talkative right now. I still have a few strings I can pull. What about you, Manoso, would you be willing to check into this?"

"I'm in,"Ranger replied. "I want to know the truth. Call it morbid curiosity."

"I take what I can get," Joe replied. He moved over to Anna.

"Anna, can I take you to dinner?" he offered.

Anna looked at me. I nodded my acceptance of the development.

"Sure, why not," she told him.

Ranger walked them back to the elevator. He seemed to be saying something to Joe, but I couldn't hear the exchange.

"What was that about?" I asked when he returned to the dining table and sat down.

Ranger looked at the dinner before looking back to me. "Just a word of warning," he stated expressionless.

"About Anna?"

He grinned. "Yeah, about Anna."

The next day, I wanted to work with Lula, mostly so I could pick her brain on the word on the street. I asked Ranger if it would be all right.

"Sure, Babe. You can pick up the files for Rangeman while you're there. Call me if you need backup." Then he was gone.

I pulled up to Vinnie's office in my company provided truck. I was starting to fit in with the bad ass image everyone has of Ranger's men. Call me crazy, but it was actually comforting that I fit in somewhere.

"Yo, Lula. What's shaking?" Every now and then I would try out the lingo.

"Yo, yourself girlfriend. How's it going with our man Ranger?" Lula was fascinated by the relationship Ric and I had and always wanted the most intimate details.

"Every thing's just fine. I have to pick up the Rangeman files and wanted to know if you needed backup?" I didn't look at her directly, so I figured she be wise to me before you know it.

"Girl, you are so lame. You just want to ask more questions about Morelli. Well, all right, I'll bite. You buy me lunch and I'll sing like a bird."

I grinned. "Thanks, Lula. It's a deal."

We were exiting Vinnie's office when a black sedan pulled up along side the my truck, blocking me in the parking lot. A rather large, ham-fisted enforcer type stepped out the car.

"Lady, the boss wants me to deliver a message," he began, walking quickly to stand in front of me.

"Who?" I asked. That was the last thing I heard as his meaty fist slammed upside my head and I crashed to the ground.