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-10

The damn little minions in my head are pounding so hard that I don't want to open my eyes. Instead, I lay there trying to clear the fog out of my brain. I'm in my bed; I can tell that it's daytime, but I really don't want to open my eyes and feel the pain that the light will surely bring. I hear the shower shut off and my eyes fly open. Yep, there is pain alright, but the fear resulting from the fact that I am not alone is taking precedence. I look around and realize this is not my room. I sit up. I am naked. Fuck! What the hell happened?

The door to the bathroom opens and Ranger walks out clad only in a towel. Double Fuck! "What the hell?" I say way too loud and wince. Ranger spins toward me and looks at me, confused.

"What the hell happened?" I ask again. I'm interrupted by a sudden wave of nausea and scramble out of bed, sprinting to the toilet. I make it just in time to throw up the little contents that is left in my stomach. Ranger rushes to me and stands over me, holding my hair. When I'm done, he brings me a towel and a wet wash cloth. I take the towel and wrap it around me covering my naked self. Kill me now! I take the wet washcloth and move over to one of the sinks to wipe my face and rinse my mouth out with water. The nausea is gone but the headache is still there. I go back into the main room and sit on one of the chairs, I don't want to risk standing and getting lightheaded. I start again. "What happened? I don't remember anything."

He looks at me concerned and says, "We were dancing, went back to the table and you got up to go to the rest room. You tripped. I came over and helped you up and you asked me to take you home. I asked where your room card was, and you said you didn't know and to take you to my room. So, I did. What do you mean you don't remember anything?"

"I remember eating dessert and dancing with you, but that's it. I don't remember anything after that. What time did we come back here?"

"Just after midnight. How may drinks did you have?"

"I had the welcome cocktail, the toasting champagne, and Les's mojito. I did chug that, though. I remember feeling a little buzzed but over the five hours I was there, that's not enough to get me black-out drunk, especially with me eating and dancing. I'm not that much of a lightweight!" I huffed. I put my head in my hands. "Did we...?" I close my eyes. Please say no. Please say no.

"Yes."

I let out a rush of air. I get up and start looking for my clothes. I have to get out of here. I find everything and go into the bathroom and get dressed before coming out. Glancing at the clock, it's 6:30 am. Ugh I get up to leave and Ranger blocks me at the door. "Stephanie, you need to get checked out at a hospital. You may have been drugged. Bobby can go with us."

I look at him for a moment trying to process that. "I will take care of it. I need to go."

"The drugs won't stay in your system that long so I will take you now. I insist."

"No, you can't insist. That is something a boyfriend would do, or an employer. You are neither so you can ask, and I can say no. Thanks for the offer, but the answer is still no." I sidestep the very pissed off Ranger and walk out his front door. I make my way north to my room. When I arrive, I can tell right away that the place has been searched. Nothing is broken and it wouldn't be obvious to anyone else, but I can tell. I do a quick search and don't see anything missing. In light of this recent development, I place a call to the concierge and ask if they had a house doctor. I'm told there is one and they would send him to my room. I shower and dress quickly while waiting for the doctor to arrive.

Thirty minutes later there is a knock at my door. I open the door to a very well-dressed man not much older than me. "I am Doctor Masterson how can I assist you?"

I fill him in on the details of only had three drinks over 5 hours, feeling buzzed, and waking up in my ex's bed with no memory. I guess it's mostly true. Ranger isn't technically an ex and thinking about that little fact just pisses me off. I assure the doctor that the ex was very surprised that I had no memory. Also, he was the one that insisted on me getting checked out by a doctor. I trust Ranger with my life and decline a rape kit. I'd love something for my humiliation though.

Dr. Masterson seems to believe me and is willing to do the blood work for the toxicology screen. I convince him to run the test under a false name just to be sure. After he takes my vitals and the blood, I mention that I thought my room had been searched and he immediately calls the Head of Security. He explains that he is a plastic surgeon in Miami filling in for the regular Douse Doctor and that his father, Frank Masterson is the owner of this resort. He offers his assurance that his father will get involved and make sure everything was handled properly.

He gives me his card with his handwritten cell number on the back. "Call me if you have any questions. If you were drugged, then the toxin is working its way out of your system. Avoid alcohol and unnecessary meds until we know for sure. I will rush the results and let you know what we find out."

I'm giving him my cell number when there is a knock at the door. Dr. Masterson answers and introduces Marcus Perez, head of security. With the door still open, Ranger, Bobby, Tank, and Lester walk in, looking none too pleased with my crowded room. Introductions are made and Dr. Masterson begins explaining to Mr. Perez that I may have been drugged and that I believe my room has been searched. Ranger's jaw flexes, then he proceeds to take control of the situation. My situation.

Les seems sympathetic to my obvious irritation at being sidelined. "Beautiful, this is a security issue and if you were drugged, it could have been meant for me." I sigh; Les does have a point. Meanwhile Ranger is asking "Where are your security cameras? We need to look at the footage. And I need a list of your staff and the current guests of this resort."

One by one his questions were answered by the head of security as Bobby pulls me aside to check me out. "I'm fine, Bobby. Dr Masterson already did all of that."

"I just want to make sure," Bobby answers me.

I again decline and focus back on the conversation. "We can meet at the security office at 1100 hours," says Mr. Perez.

Ranger responds with a menacing, "Until we know that there isn't anyone from your office involved, please keep this situation private. Do you know who I am, Mr. Perez?"

Mr. Perez nods in the affirmative but looks very irritated at the implications that his staff may be involved but he says nothing. Apparently he had already been briefed as to who we all were. Everyone leaves but Ranger.

"I am coming to the meeting," I say to him.

He doesn't look pleased, but he can tell that unless he wants to deal with my rhino mode, it's going to happen. He nods and leaves, as well. It's 8:30 am and even though I have time to eat breakfast before I head up to the security office, I wonder if that is a wise move. Since my stomach is not complaining from its empty status, I'll wait to eat until it is. I decide to walk around the resort to familiarize myself with the area. Plus it will give me time to think. I need to mentally prepare myself to stand up for my privacy and not let myself get relegated to the sidelines. It wasn't long though before I got mesmerized by the beauty that surrounded me. It is such a beautiful property and I love the light breeze that comes in off the water. Before I know it, I am relaxing on a lounge chair lost in thought fighting the urge to take a nap. I lost, by the way, and find myself jolted awake by the activity of the surrounding birds looking to see if I had any food. I duck into the nearest bathroom and freshen up to make myself presentable for the meeting.

I arrive at the security office a few minutes before 11am and wait with Ranger and Les. We're standing there in awkward silence when Mr. Perez walks up and opens the door for us and ushers into a midsized room with several monitors showing different angles of the resort. "I have pulled all of the footage from the reception and Miss Plum's room. We can go over them now."

I sit in silence as we review the tape. We fast forward to the time I arrive at the party and receive my first drink. I note the time. I hold it in my hand the entire time so unless it was spiked before I picked it off the tray, this one is a dead end. My second drink I also got from a tray that I picked randomly. I set it down for a few minutes while I went to the restroom, but it stays untouched at our table, surrounded by Merry Men. Also, a dead end. The final drink is the mojito I took from Les. We back track it back to Anna and further back to the bar. While she's waiting for the drink she reaches in her purse and grasps something in her right hand.

"Do we have another angle for that?" Ranger barks.

Mr. Perez pauses the video and says "No. We don't have any cameras from the beach looking in."

The video resumes. It shows her picking up both drinks, one in each hand, but I am unable to tell if she drops anything into either one. The quality of the video is not that great. She turns back to the bartender. He hands her a plastic stirrer, and she puts the drinks down to stirs the mojito in her right hand only. "Well, that is definitely suspicious." I state. I note the time at 11:43pm.

Ranger leads me out of the office, with Les following. They use their ESP and Ranger walks away to make a phone call. Les looks at me and says, "It looks like you were drugged instead of me. That was Anna, she's Olivia's best friend. They met in college in a sorority and have been very close since."

Ranger returns as I'm saying, "Yesterday, after we arrived, I missed your texts and just hung out on the beach. I went up to lunch and on my way back, I got lost. I ended up behind one of the restaurants and approached a couple of women. One was Anna and the other was Amelia, the woman who checked me in when I got here. I heard Amelia say 'It's all set. Your package will be delivered before the reception'. When they noticed I was there, Amelia asked me by name what I needed. She gave me directions and I left. When I was introduced to Anna later, she seemed uncomfortable around me, and she set my Spidey Sense off. Also, Dr Masterson is the son of the owner and he assured me his father was going to get involved in this."

"We are doing a full background on Anna, but we will add Amelia, as well," Ranger says as we walk together back toward our rooms. "I want you to stay with me," Ranger states.

"That's not going to work for me," I reply. "Les was the original target, he can stay with you." I smirk. Ranger does not find that funny at all. Les does judging by the smile on his face. "What do you say cuz? It may be fun to bunk together. Like old times!" Les and I are both smiling at Ranger's blank face.

"Stephanie, this is serious. You may have been drugged."

"If I was it was by mistake. Les is the real target. I will be fine, Ranger. I can take care of myself." With that, I walk ahead and veer north to my side of the resort leaving Ranger and Les staring as I walk away. I arrive back at my room in time to check the itinerary. Looks like I missed poolside for the women and beach volleyball for the men. No big deal. I see that next is lunch followed by the snorkel cruise. I change into my bikini and put my shorts and tank back on. I put a long sleeve water shirt, a towel, and my sunscreen in my bag before heading to lunch. While I'm walking, my phone rings. "Hello"

"Hi it's Joshua. Joshua Masterson. We got your tox screen back and you were drugged with GHB. It is commonly referred to the date rape drug. It was only a trace amount and Mr. Manoso informed me that you had the drink around 11:43. That fits the timeline. GHB only stays in your system for around 8 hours. Any longer and we wouldn't have been able to pick up even a trace amount."

"When did you talk to Mr. Manoso?" I ask, trying to contain my anger.

"A few minutes ago. He called me for the results. He said he was taking the lead on this investigation and that all information was to go through him."

It took only two seconds to process that before I lost it. "Are you kidding me? I am the lead investigator of my life and my health. It is my medical record. What about patient confidentiality? How can you share personal information on me?"

"He holds your medical power of attorney Miss Plum. He has a legal right to be informed of your medical record."

"Oh No! No No! How can I change that? Power of Attorney is if I'm incapacitated, which I'm clearly not! From here on out, you will not share my personal information with anyone, do you hear me? Anyone! We are not together, he was never more than my mentor, boss, friend with benefits. He wasn't really even an ex!" I rant.

"I am so sorry, Miss Plum. He had the proper paperwork. From now on, I will only discuss your personal medical history with you," he states.

"Good!" I scream and hang up. I guess I don't have good phone manners either when I am angry. I take a few calming breaths and make my way to lunch. I find the Merry Men minus Les waiting to be seated. I glare at Ranger when I get close enough and he takes my elbow and leads me off out of the way, correctly surmising that I am pissed.

"You found out that I was drugged before I did! You have no right to access my medical information. I do not work for you. You are not my boyfriend. I am not injured and unable to make decisions for myself. You've only resumed being my friend as of last night. Who do you think you are?"

He waits for me to finish my tirade before he responds. "I still hold your medical power of attorney and I am investigating this situation. I need to work fast, so I didn't want to waste time getting the confirmation that you were, in fact, drugged. I am here to make sure everyone stays safe, and that includes you. I will include you in all our discussions and will do everything in my power to stop whatever this is. You don't have to like it, but my cousin was likely the target and I need to know why. He may have been the original target, but you may be now, as well. So, I need us to work together and figure this out. Can we work together? Please?"

I get it. Les was the target and we need to know why. We can't waste time waiting for information, either. Most of my anger has subsided and he did ask nicely. "Fine. Do you promise you will include me in everything?" I ask.

"Yes, I promise. And Steph?" He pulls my hand in both of his and looks me in the eye. "I'm sorry. I would never have taken advantage of you had I known. Or even suspected."

"I know. Let's just pretend it didn't happen." Ranger seems relieved and we walk back to our table to sit down with the guys. I guess Ranger has a point. I get that he is here as the best man AND is in charge of security for Les. I decide to let this one go as long as he includes me. If he tries to sideline me, then I will stand up for myself. I focus back lunch, the conversation is light, and we don't discuss the situation at all while eating. We meet up in an empty dining room immediately after we finish lunch. All the Merry Men, including Les, are sitting around the largest table. Ranger starts as the last chair is pulled up.

"It's been confirmed with a blood test that Stephanie had GHB, commonly known as the date rape drug, in her system. At 2345 Stephanie grabbed Les's drink and downed the entire mojito. At 0015 she stumbled and asks me to take her home, still appearing coherent other than the initial wooziness; she did not show any outward signs of being drugged. She woke at 0615 with a headache and nausea and proceeded to throw up right after. The house doctor was called, and he took blood for a toxicology test. Blood was drawn at 0730. When Stephanie returned to her room, she suspected that her room was searched. There are only cameras on her front door and there was no activity to report. At the reception, the cameras do show that Anna Thompson, the maid of honor, had brought the drinks to Les and Olivia and may have spiked the drink for Les. The camera angle is not ideal but there is opportunity and is highly suspicious when she only stirs the drink that was intended for Les. She was distressed when Stephanie took the drink from him and chugged the entire drink. Tank, report."

Tank hands out a packet of information to each of us. "Anna Thompson 25 years old. Grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. Graduated from Monroe County HS and went to Coastal Alabama Community College before transferring to The University of Miami where she met Olivia and they graduated together 3 years ago. She has had a few minor jobs before her employment at The Hibiscus Beach Resort and Spa. She has maintained her friendship with Olivia since college."

When Tank is finished Ranger barks "Les, Report!"

"I filled Olivia in on the situation and she is very concerned. I have her watching Anna and we're not going to question her until we put a little more information together to see who all is involved. We don't want anyone to slip through our fingers. We have Silvio running all the searches from the Miami office. He's going to call in tonight. Ranger is running the command center out of his room. We cannot all be in there together when there are events scheduled; it'll look suspicious. We're all going on the snorkel trip, but Ranger and Stephanie will skip the beach barbeque. They'll go over the search results from Silvio. We'll meet for breakfast tomorrow at 0700 here in this room. Activities don't start until 0900 tomorrow. "

Ranger ends the meeting with, "Dismissed."

I look at my phone. It is almost time to head to the pier to catch the boat. I have a few minutes before we're supposed to meet so I duck around a corner and pull the medicated cream out of my bag. Pulling up my tank top, I start rubbing the lotion onto my scars. The doctor said that it would fade over time but it's been a long time and what I'm left with is an ugly, raised, pink welt. My plan is to keep a shirt on while snorkeling. I only chance having my scar exposed when I'm alone and even then, it's lathered up with SPF 1000. Just as I'm finishing, I hear, "Excuse me, Miss Plum?"

I yank my top down and spin to see Dr. Masterson watching me. "Oh hi, Dr Masterson. I didn't see you there."

"Please call me Joshua. I wanted to apologize for earlier. I should've given you the results of your tox screen first and confirmed with you who else was privy to know." He says as he takes a few more steps toward me.

"Call me Stephanie or Steph," I replied. "I understand. You didn't know. I am not mad anymore. Sorry I yelled at you." I added looking down. I really didn't mean to take my anger out on him.

"I am truly sorry. I don't mean to pry but that scar that you have, can I look at it? I'm a plastic surgeon and we get a lot of that type of thing." He says the last part with hesitancy.

I think for a moment. I've become self-conscious about this scar. I am not sure what it is about this one, in particular. I have lots of scars. I guess maybe because it hasn't faded into a thin white line like the rest. While it was healing, it was fine. Now it's awful looking; it's so thick and ugly. I just figured I was stuck with it. Maybe there's something more that can be done because the cream hasn't made much of a difference. Decision made, I say, "Sure," and pull my tank top up and inch my shorts down a little and turn toward the side.

He holds his hands out palms up fingers slightly extended. "May I?"

"Sure," I reply as he slides his fingers along the raise jagged line pressing and rolling the scar under his thumb and forefinger.

"You have a keloid scar. It's basically extra scar tissue that's deposited as it's healing. I would estimate this is about 8 months old give or take?" I nod my head in acknowledgment. "How did you get this?" I explain about the river tour that I took through the wire and needing surgery to clean and stitch.

"That explains the scar. You only have about 8 hours to stitch the skin back together and it sounds like you exceeded that. So, the surgery was to clean the wound but also to cut away more tissue so that the sutures would be effective. Another problem is that in the ER, the surgeons are not quite so delicate when stitching and patients are often left with this result. We operate on post-surgical scars a lot. We have a pretty high rate of success improving the look of keloid scars. It's purely cosmetic. If you're unhappy with how it looks, that may be your best bet. That cream you're using is probably not that effective anymore. You just need to cover it with sun block now. It may fade and flatten on its own but if it does, it will take many years."

I lower my tank and say, "Thank you, Dr. Masterson."

"Call me Joshua, please." He smiles. "Maybe I will catch up with you later. It looks like you have a boat to catch." With that he turns and leaves.

I smile and walk toward the boat seriously thinking of getting my scar fixed. Part of this new take charge of your life Stephanie that I have really started to like. Lost in thought I didn't notice that Ranger was walking next to me.

"What did the doctor want?" he ask, blank face in place.

"Oh that, we were talking about my scars. I may want to get them fixed."

"I didn't know it bothered you."

"I am just considering it," I tell him.

We walk in silence the rest of the way to the boat and climb aboard.