The End

I stopped where I was. The man leaning against the hood of my car wasn't one of Ranger's. I had never seen him before and certainly had no idea of his intentions. Of course, I tended to attract more than my share of crazies.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded with more bravado than I felt.

He just looked at me. It was like a staring contest. Who would blink first? Finally he spoke up.

"You used to the be cop's girlfriend, right?" His voice was deep, but flat.

"Who are you talking about? Morelli?" He was, after all, the only cop I had dated.

He nodded.

Just great. This was probably Brian Johnson standing in front of me. "Yes, we used to date. What's it to you?" Again, I wanted to put up a brave front.

"Go back to him. Tell him to leave my woman alone." There was something in his eyes.

"I can't make Joe do anything and I don't know who you're talking about." I wanted to draw him out somehow, make him tell me if he had Anna.

"You know damn well who I'm referring to. She's mine and I won't let some wise ass Vice dick take her away."

I sensed we were being watched but didn't want to show my hand. "Did you take Anna? Is she all right?"

"I wouldn't hurt her, you know. Of course, she can't have that kid. We'll have to do something about that." His tone was more menacing than before. "She cheated on me and the price she'll pay is giving up that kid."

My heart sank to my stomach. This guy was going to kill Anna's baby. I had to do something.

"She didn't cheat on you. She wasn't yours to start with. She told me about you. Said you're a nice guy. It just didn't click. Come on, don't you want a woman who can want you back. Think about it." I didn't know if I could get through to him.

There was motion in my peripheral vision. I saw black and knew that one of the guys was trying to sneak up on Johnson. I had to keep him distracted.

"She's not Joe's yet, you know. They had a thing once, but that's about it."

He snarled at me. "I can erase any memory she had of that piece of shit. She won't ever think of him again. I will see to it that he never sees the outside of a prison cell. I fixed his ass but good. He's going to serve time for that mob chick's murder. Without him around or that kid she's carrying, she'll be mine again."

"Jesus," I sighed, exasperated with the guy "You are so deluded. She won't have anything to do with the likes of you. You're a murderer for Christ's sake. She's a cop. Do you think she can forgive you for the things you've done? Get real."

It happened so fast, I was unprepared. Johnson lunged for my throat. He had me against the car and was choking me. I could barely hear him as he said, "I should have left Rocco finish you off, you dumb bitch."

The next thing I knew, Johnson was slumped to the ground. Ranger pulled me to him, keeping me from falling.

I rubbed my throat and could feel the color return to my face. "Damn," I muttered, still massaging my throat. "Did you hear him? He took Anna. You didn't kill him, did you?"

Ranger leaned me back against the car. "No, he's unconscious. We'll take him inside and try to find out where he put Anna."

"He wants to kill her baby, Ric. I hope it's not too late." I couldn't help but think of Morelli.

"Come on, Babe. Back upstairs with you." Ranger escorted me back to the elevator. Once inside I found myself wondering how he knew I was in the garage with Johnson.

"How did you know?"

"Hal was still on the monitors, Babe. He called me once he saw Johnson come out from behind the truck. I wasn't far away. Why did you go out there?" His eyes searched my face.

I was a trial to him and I knew it. "I'm sorry, Ric. I really just wanted some air. I was frustrated that I couldn't help."

"Babe, you did help. You actually solved this whole thing. If you hadn't mentioned that Anna told you about the guy, if you hadn't researched him, we might not have been able to solve Terry's murder. Morelli could have ended up in jail." Ranger hugged me.

"I guess that makes sense. What I don't get is why he did this? Do you think he killed Terry simply to get Joe out of his way? Why not kill Joe instead?"

Ranger considered this for a moment as we entered the seventh floor apartment. "Johnson's still a cop. Maybe he couldn't bring himself to kill another cop. Killing Terry was just killing another mob connected person. Perhaps he could justify that to himself."

I nodded. I suppose it made sense. "What are you going to do now? We have to get Joe back here! He has to know what Johnson said."

Ranger put his arm around my waist. "Don't worry, Babe. Hal got Johnson on tape. He turned on the mics on the camera as soon as you two started talking. Joe's going to be cleared of this. Now we concentrate on finding Anna. I'm going downstairs and interrogate our guest. You're staying here."

I wanted to argue, but the look on his face ended my tirade before it started. The adrenalin I had when dealing with Johnson was gone and all of a sudden I was wasted.

"Okay," I consented. "Maybe I'll lie down on the couch for a while. Come get me if he tells you anything."

After I was nestled snuggly on the couch, Ranger kissed me and left for the fifth floor. I was asleep before the elevator departed. I was dreaming. The images were vague and haunting. I saw the man behind my truck move out into my direct sight. He had a gun. He was going to shoot. I couldn't move, couldn't scream. I tried but it was a struggle.

"Steph, wake up. You're dreaming," Joe's voice drifted through the fog of my mind. "Steph?"

I opened my eyes. I was on the couch in the living room of Ranger's apartment. I took stock. I was still dressed in the same clothes from the morning. I looked around. Joe sat on the chair staring at me.

"Where's Ric?" My voice was heavy with sleep. I rubbed my eyes. I was starting to remember. "Joe did you hear?"

Joe smiled at me. "Yeah, Cupcake, I heard. You saved my ass! I really owe you."

"Anna?" I whispered. Please say they found her.

"She's in the hospital. She has to stay overnight. Ranger found her and she had been drugged."

Joe's eyes darkened. He wanted revenge, that much was certain.

"The baby?" I was almost afraid to find out. What if they were too late?

"He's fine, Steph. The drug slowed down his heartbeat, but the doctors expect him to recover."

I looked at Joe. "Him?"

His eyes lit up and he had the biggest grin I had ever seen on his face. "Yeah, I' m having a son. Can you believe it?"

I got up off the couch and he met me half way. I gave him a hug thatIhoped said it all. I was so happy for him. He was finally getting the family I think he always wanted. He hugged me back and it nearly felt like old times. That's what Ranger saw when he got off the elevator.

"Morelli, you had better keep your hands to yourself," he teased. He wasn't really mad. He seemed more relieved than anything.

"No problem, Ranger. I've got to get to the hospital anyway. I just wanted to thank Steph for coming to my rescue. Actually, I want to thank you both." He shook hands with Ranger.

I moved closer to Ric and felt his arm go around my waist. "Know this, Morelli, you had better take care of both of them or you will have to deal with all of us. You don't want us riding your ass."

Joe just nodded and headed to the elevator.

"Well, Babe, you've managed to save the day again. Just like Wonder Woman. How does that make you feel?" He pulled me closer.

"Pretty good..." I whispered against his chest. "Pretty damn good."

"Morelli is thrilled about having a son. Anna was talking when I saw her in the hospital She asked about you. She wants to thank you personally." Ranger started moving us to the bedroom.

"What about Johnson?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"He's in lockup. He confessed to most of it. Morelli was reinstated to active duty. Johnson better hope he doesn't make bail because Vito's heard what happened. He's not happy at all."

Ranger started to remove my clothes. "Now where we... this morning we were talking about yards. Yards are good."

I leaned back against the dresser as he started to move his hands down to my pants. I took a deep breath. "Yeah, yards are good," I sighed. Ranger's hands were better. I floated away from reality and drifted through the Ranger induced haze of pleasure. Life was pretty good right now.

The End?