Disclaimer: Everything recognizable belongs to Janet Evanovich. I am only borrowing them. Thank you for allowing us to use your amazing characters for fun!

-chapter-8

RPOV

My mood is shit. I can't believe I agreed to go to my parents' house for the monthly birthday dinner for the family. I had to make polite conversation and ward off questions about Stephanie, my future and Rangeman. I know they mean well but they don't understand why I make the choice to be alone. Hell, I wish it could be different. Ever since the confrontation I had with Stephanie, I can't seem to get back under control. She finally admitted to me that she loved me as she walked out the door. I am such an asshole. I knew she loved me; I knew it was a bad idea to keep her close, but I couldn't stay away from her. Hell, if I'm honest, I've loved her since our first night together. It seems like a lifetime ago.

I feel like destroying another bag. The day she walked out, I went to the gym and pounded on the bag for two hours, finally stopping when the damn thing fell from the reinforced ceiling. I destroyed another one the day Tank brought me her key fob. Fuck. At least she didn't get all the trackers. I pull out my phone and check her location. Why is she in Newark? Shit, she's at Club Monaco. Probably out with the girls. Maybe I should swing by and check it out. I find my parents and make an excuse to leave, it was late and I was glad for a reason to go.

I'm at the night club twenty minutes later and sit back and wait. Just after 1 am, the building begins to empty; the show must be over. I'm curious to see who she came with and as the parking lot starts to empty, I see her, and her crazy grandmother leave together. Joyce is walking out, and she stops, looking back and forth at a car and Steph. I try to see what she is looking at and before I know it, she's throwing a Molotov cocktail at Steph! The building catches on fire and I see the staff rush out to clear and evacuate the area. Only Babe! I'm sure police and fire have been dispatched so I get out of my car to get a little closer.

The fire races up the side of the building and has begun to engulf the balcony. I watch as it drops on a Mustang parked just underneath. I'm guessing that's the car that Steph drove tonight. I smile and shake my head at another building and car my Babe has destroyed. I stay in the background, secretly hoping she will call me for help. She hasn't called me since that fateful day. Even when my men stop by when they see her out, she politely declines their help. I thought she would have called me by now and since she has been using the keyless deadbolt, I haven't been able to watch her sleep.

Fuck, who is this? A man approaching Steph breaks me out of my internal musings. Without thinking, I step out of the shadows and into her line of view. If this asshole thinks he is taking her home, he has another thing coming. I am standing about ten feet away now and catch their conversation. She deliberately makes eye contact with me when she takes his card and she's still staring at me when she says she might call him. Before I can move, I hear "Pumpkin, are you ok?" and see her dad approach. I notice her grandmother and a couple of older ladies I assume are with them, that explains why she is at a male review. I quickly duck back in the shadows and back to my car not looking forward to the long drive back to Trenton.

SPOV

The following day, my mother called and went into a tirade about what happened the night before. I had to hear about Jean Merkowitz's daughter never having to be rescued from a male review after burning down a nightclub in Newark. Part of the second step of my plan is to set up boundaries, and that includes my relationship with my mother. I tell her that I don't appreciate the fact that she is always comparing me to someone else's daughter and that if she wants to continue a mother-daughter relationship with me then she needs to be thankful I am her daughter and leave it at that. Yay for me!

I call Joe to check in with him to find out how he is doing with his new girlfriend and the baby. "Amanda and I are living together. It's an adjustment but I think we can work through it. We are planning a small wedding next month, so my mother and Grandma Bella are driving us crazy," he states. "I am sorry that I can't invite you but we are keeping it small and I don't want to cause any problems with Amanda. Are you mad?"

He seems really sincere. "No, of course not. I understand. Are you happy?" I ask. He answers genuinely, "Yes, I really am".

I tell him that I am happy for him, and he asks me how everything is with me. I give him a noncommittal answer and we end the conversation with me asking him if I can borrow a bug scanner and he tells me he will drop it off after his shift.

Later, I answer the knock and see that its Joe. "Hey Cupcake, I have the scanner for you. Does this have anything to do with Manoso?"

"Thanks. Yes, and please keep your comments to yourself," I say as I let him into my apartment. His presence here isn't stirring up any old emotions. Interesting. Another sign that we had no business staying together so long.

"Do you want me to scan for you?"He asks as I duck into my bedroom.

"Sure, let me go put on my brand-new clothes just to be sure." I take a few minutes in the bathroom and change. "I want to be sure I scan everything!" I yell from behind the closed door.

Forty-five minutes later, Joe and I are holding nine more trackers. These aren't the typical trackers, they are very small, micro sized trackers sewn into all sorts of things. Two of them are from distraction outfits, two are in hair scrunchies, another two are in my shoes, and two are in the lining of my purses; one of those being my current messenger bag and the other a dressy clutch that I carry on dates. I shake my head. Very sneaky.

Now I feel confident that I am tracker free. I walk Joe out to the parking lot and he scans my car and we find one more. "Ugh" I grumble.

Joe just shakes his head as he heads to his car. I follow him. He pauses and says, "Why don't you keep the scanner for a while. We have more at the PD. I hope everything works out for you, Cupcake."

He hands me the scanner as he gets into his POS work car and drives away. I stand there contemplating my next move. I smile then walk over to Mrs. Bestler's older model Honda Accord and place the tracker on her vehicle. She doesn't go out much and she never gets her car blown up but if she does, it'll be nice if Rangeman responds, I think with a smile as I walk toward my building. Maybe I will give her a purse too?

Back in my apartment, I pause and look around. I decide that there are too many bad memories in this place. All the break-ins, fires, and shootings are awful, but even the good memories with Joe and Ranger are now painful, too. I need a change. I'm ready for Step Three, prepare to fly.

I spend the next 5 weeks cleaning and purging my apartment in between chasing skips. It really helps to keep the sadness away when you are keeping yourself really busy. I have decided to pack up all of my possessions but the bare minimum. If I do move, it will be easier if everything is already in storage totes. It's hard to admit, since this is the only home I've ever known but I really can't stay in Trenton if I want to fly. The gossip and the negative influences are weighing me down but all of that pales in comparison to the sadness I feel with Ranger's rejection. If he can't give me what I need then I need to move on, but I can't move on here with the constant reminders of him and the fear of running into him. Plus, the sadness. I can't escape the overwhelming sadness here.

During this time, I decide to clean up my health as well. That means I need to eat healthier and get into shape. I really enjoy the self-defense training I am doing at the Y, so maybe I can enjoy exercise too, right? That leads me to Step Four, get into shape and get healthy. So, I begin to jog regularly. I go slow at first and find that it's a really nice way to clear my head and think. I decide that the reason I hated it before was because I was trying to keep up with freaking Olympic athletes and the ridiculously early hour made me really grumpy. When you go slow, it's really quite nice. Les's wedding is a week away and I am pleased with how my body has begun to tone. I really need all the courage I can get to face Ranger.

Monday morning, I walk into the bonds office and set a box of donuts and three coffees on Connie's desk. Lula hasn't arrived yet and Connie and I chat about the weekend's events. She shares the Burg's grapevine account of Joe and Amanda's wedding. I quietly listen to her ramble on and am happy that it sounded nice. I totally understand not being invited and wish them well and I told her as much. I'm shocked to realize that I am totally over the Joe and Steph saga. Just then a poison green blur rushes by the front windows a second before the door bangs open. "You better have left me a Boston Crème!" Lula beelines for the bakery box on the desk. She reaches for the box and has one in her mouth before we even get to say hello to her.

"How was your weekend?" I ask Lula. I'm rewarded with a very long, very detailed story of her latest "date" and I enjoy getting lost in her amusing story. I really hope that I never get to meet this guy, I don't think I could look him in the eye. Conversation stops when a black SUV pulls into the parking spot right in front of the Bond office door. Thankfully, Lester and Bobby emerge and walk into the office.

"Hey Beautiful!" Les says as he plops down beside me on the floral monstrosity we call a couch. "You're catching a ride with us down to Florida right?" I nod my head. I'd decided to take up Les's offer to ride with everyone down to Florida on the Rangeman plane. They were taking the plane anyways and I am sure I wouldn't add too much to the bottom line. Les interrupts my thoughts "When you check in, the itinerary will be in your welcome bag. I had them put both the men's and women's itinerary in yours. You can pick and choose which events you want to go to. When we arrive, I can't wait to introduce you to Olivia, you're going to love her. She is meeting us at the resort. Someone will pick you up at 0800 on Wednesday and we will fly down together."

He finishes with a wink. All I can do is smile and add, "I'm looking forward to it." In all honesty, I'm ready to have a panic attack at the thought of flying to Florida on the Rangeman plane with Ranger but I say nothing. I am just going to bring my ear buds and try to deny the awkwardness that will surely exist between me and him. Hopefully, there will be lots of other Merry Men to ease the tension.

After they leave, Connie and Lula stare at me with their mouths open. I haven't shared with them the rejection I got from Ranger four months ago and am not about to go into it now. So, I plaster a smile on my face and agree that spending a "wedding party weekend" with Ranger will be hot.

I clear all my skips and have time to shop a little for the long weekend in Florida. I head to Quaker Bridge mall and do a little retail therapy. By Tuesday night, I'm ready. I quickly pack but can't seem to sleep so I go for a long run. I have worked up to 5 miles and am feeling pretty good about myself and what I have accomplished. I have a little nest egg saved because of the success I have had with my FTAs and I owe that to the training the guys provided and the recent workouts that I have been doing. I've even been able to bring in some of the medium bond skips that were usually reserved for Rangeman. I haven't had any major mishaps lately and am really enjoying the fact that I have had my car for longer than any car since my Miata.

Step Three has really been eating at me. I want to escape the Burg, but I don't know where to go. What will I do? I'm finally getting better at my job, but do I want to be chasing skips ten years from now? I really like the idea of starting over, but where? How do I begin? Putting distance between me and Ranger seems to be the best option. I can keep it together when we are actively avoiding each other but how long with that last? There will be times when we run into each other, and I am close to a panic attack just thinking about that. That is why I cannot sleep. How in the hell am I going to get through the next five days? At 2am, exhaustion finally takes over and I fall into a restless sleep. The beeping of my phone awakens me at 6:30am. I drag my sorry butt out of bed knowing I need my full beauty treatment to get rid of the bags under my eyes that I have grown accustomed to.