So you were all really not kidding when you said you wanted a continuation. Thanks for the huge support on the second chapter. This chapter continues where the other left off and gives a bit more background to the story. And yes, poor Ella. That's what she gets for believing Stephanie, lol. I'm thinking one more chapter should wrap this up, but let me know.
Let me know your thoughts. What do you think will happen to Joe in the end?
Disclaimer: The Plum Universe belongs to JE. Mistakes are mine.
After an intimate and explosive round of love making, Ranger and I took a joint shower. Unlike the one from last night, this shower had equal participation from me.
It took longer than it should have because our hands kept wandering over certain parts, but once we exited the shower we both dressed in our Rangeman uniforms. I figured I could be productive and tackle the new day, even if it was from the comfort of the fifth floor. I'm sure I can spend the day running searches and keep busy. I had way too much Trenton yesterday.
I heard Ranger's full laugh, which is a rare event, as I joined him by the front door. I quickly bent to pick up our discarded clothing as Ranger wheeled in our breakfast cart.
"Oh, we really scarred Ella." I muttered. Ranger and I were pretty enthusiastic on that sideboard, so she must have gotten quite an eyeful.
"Babe." Ranger was still smiling as he moved towards the kitchen. Jerk.
I tossed the clothes in the hamper before returning to the kitchen. Ranger had already set up the selection of food on the island where we normally eat.
"Thanks." I accepted the cup of coffee he handed me before digging in. Skipping most of my meals yesterday, plus the morning's activities, left me with quite an appetite. I noticed Ranger grinning behind his coffee mug as he watch me inhale food. "What?" I asked before I washed down the last of my meal with coffee.
"Babe." His little smile told me he was happy I was eating again. My belly was happy too.
"Ranger." He loves one word answers. I'm really chatty compared to him, but every now and then I do the one word answers too just to mess with him.
Before he could collect our empty plates, I touched his arm to stop him. When he looked at me instead of my empty plate, I leaned in. "I love you." I know I'm not super touchy feely and it's been real hard for me in the past to express how I feel about him, but sometimes I just want to tell him how much he means to me. He was my mentor and friend way before he became my lover and eventual love of my life. It was a rocky road, but we're finally here together. And I'm here to stay. So if I want to show him how I feel, I can and will.
My lips touched his in a soft kiss. It didn't stay a chaste lip lock for long, his mouth opening and our tongues touching. When we broke for air he rested his forehead against mine. I opened my eyes in time to see his hand move just before his fingers softly caressed the bruised side of my face. In that moment I realized that I have a pretty good deal going here. I still get to look at Ranger's gorgeously perfect face while he has to see the reminder of what happened on my face.
When we were done clearing our dishes, I exited the apartment with Ranger. I took the stairs to the fifth floor with him in silence.
Once we emerged out of the stairwell on the fifth floor, I was expecting for us to part ways before we attracted any attention. As luck would have it we bumped into Ella as she was coming out of the break room. Guess she was restocking the fridge.
"Oh dear." She mumbled, mostly to herself, as she averted her eyes. She was trying to look at anything but us.
I grimaced. "Sorry." I all but whispered as Ella made another quick escape.
I groaned. Yup, we've ruined Ella.
"Babe." Ranger gave me a pointed look.
"I think she saw more of you than me." I poked his left biceps to drive my point home. Take that.
"Babe." The corners of his lips kicked up in a barely there smile. Jerk. "Of course she did because you did this." Before I could get away, Ranger's arms wrapped around my shoulders as he buried his face against the side of my neck.
I did do that. Fair enough. Taking advantage of our proximity, I moved my head slightly so I could whisper in his ear. "I had to protect the assets." I may have used a breathier voice than necessary.
"Steph?!" Manny's shout from the control room made me jump, much to Ranger's amusement.
"Keep it up." I warned him once we disentangled. "I'm coming!" I shouted so Manny could hear me in the control room, but quickly regretted my word choice at the sight of Ranger's smirk. Ugh.
Before I could move away Ranger gave me my phone back. "It's off. It's up to you when you want to turn it back on." I nodded as I took the device, promptly shoving it inside my front pocket. One thing I love about my cargo pants is that all of the pockets are useful. "Also…" Ranger reached inside one of the tiny pockets of his pants before taking my left hand in his. "Anna also got this back." He slipped my engagement ring on the appropriate finger with satisfaction plastered on his features.
I wiggled my fingers, allowing the diamonds to reflect the light before forming a fist. "Good thing I didn't punch him, or I would have left a mark." I joked, bumping Ranger's jaw with my fist lightly.
"Babe." He looked unimpressed.
"Steph!" Dang, Manny's got no patience.
"What's up?" I said to Manny once I sidled up behind his chair. Lester gave me a quick smirk before returning his gaze to the monitors in front of him. Ugh, I don't learn.
Manny was on the phone with Junior on the front desk. "Connie is here."
"Oh." I was surprised. Despite Connie being responsible for me meeting Ranger, she's never been to Rangeman. "Let her up." I instructed distractedly as I felt Ranger's hand close around my nape. I did my hair in a high ponytail after my shower so I wouldn't have to deal with my crazy curly hair today, which left my neck bare.
"You can use the small conference room at the end of the hall." Ranger said at my back. I nodded just before he let go to head to his office.
"Uhm, looks like your sister and Mary Lou just pulled up to the gate." Manny relayed the message from the lobby.
Oh crap. Has everyone heard?
"Let them in." I said before I exited the control room.
I'd just entered the smaller conference room, the one that looks more like a comfy den than a place for business meetings, when apprehension settled low in my abdomen.
Ella came in with coffee and snacks, quickly setting the items on the table in the middle of the room.
"Ella..." I wasn't even sure what to say. "I'm sorry." What could I say? She wasn't supposed to see that, but it was my fault for telling her to just come on in without knocking. I fucked up.
"Stop." Ella gave me a quick glance and waved her hand. "We're not going to talk about it anymore." The small smile she gave me was enough for me to know we'd be okay. "Let's move on." I nodded in agreement before she exited the room.
Connie was the first to arrive.
"Thanks, Woody." I returned his salute before he retreated back to the hall.
"What the fuck?" Connie wasn't holding back.
"What are you doing here?" Vinnie must be having a panic attack if he has to deal with the office by himself this morning.
"Brought you your check." Connie handed me the check, saying that Rangeman turned in my capture receipt to her yesterday.
"Thanks." I folded it and quickly shoved it into a side pocket. My FTA was worth a decent capture fee. To be honest the apprehension was quite anticlimactic. It was what happened after that was eventful. "Vinnie must be having a fit." I joked to lighten the mood.
Connie waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Lula's taking one for the team. She'll handle him."
Our party grew when the others joined us. This time it was Slick who guided my visitors.
"Steph." Mary Lou gave me a quick hug as she passed me.
"Stephanie." Valerie had a scrunched up look on her face as she juggled a squirming Lisa. She lost the battle and had to put her down.
"Hi, Lisa." I bent to pick her up when she ran straight to me.
"Ouch." Kids are brutally honest. Lisa poked a tiny finger on my bruised cheek. Yeah, ouch.
"Lisa!" Valerie admonished as she quickly took my niece back.
"It sounded bad when the news spread on the grapevine." Mary Lou took a step closer and reached for my right hand. Her thumb rubbed the inside of my wrist softly as if she was afraid to hurt me.
"Fuck how it sounded, it looked worse." Connie huffed as she reached out, tugging the sleeve of my T-shirt up to fully reveal the bruise just above my elbow. Maybe I should have worn a long-sleeved shirt.
"Yes, the video was hard to watch." Valerie added as she took a seat with Lisa on her lap.
"What video?" I asked when Mary Lou and Connie agreed with Val.
Mary Lou explained what the video was about and how it was made accessible to all.
Automatically, my eyes shifted to the closed conference room door. Had Ranger seen the video already? The Merry Men? All of Jersey?
"One word and the family can take care of him." Connie was quick to suggest as she released her hold on my shirt sleeve.
Both Mary Lou and Val's eyes bugged out at the comment.
"No." I blew out a sigh. This is a mess.
S&R
Morelli's POV
I'd just walked into the precinct when Stevenson zeroed in on me.
"Chief's waiting for you." She said flatly before moving on.
I groaned, but still detoured to the Chief's office instead of mine. The whole walk to his office, I noticed how silent everyone was as they watched me. Some had disapproving looks on their faces, but I brushed them off.
"Chief." I said as I burst in. Surprisingly, Detective Dattoli and Detective Green were already in the Chief's office.
"Morelli." The Chief nodded for me to take a seat across his desk. Dattoli and Green remained standing. Dattoli is about my age and usually keeps to himself. Green is nearing retirement and has a great case closure rate.
"What's this about?" I asked. The three men in the room shared a look. "Right." Of course Manoso got her lawyered up.
The Chief went on to say that in light of recent developments I was suspended until an internal investigation was conducted and completed. I was to give my notes to both Dattoli and Green as they would be splitting up my case load.
"Badge and gun." The Chief ordered and I complied. There was no point in arguing.
Green and Dattoli followed me out of the Chief's office. They fell in line on either side of me as we headed to my office for me to turn over my case notes.
"You know..." Green started in his deep tone. "I have a daughter Ms. Plum's age." I shot him a sideways look at the admission. I had no idea he even had children. "I wouldn't allow the police to take care of this matter." The warning was obvious in the hard stare his grey eyes drilled into mine. He was saying I was 'lucky' that Stephanie was going the legal route. "It was pretty bad." He added with a shake of his head.
"Of course Carl and Eddie would vouch for her. They're friends." I bitched back.
"Mmm..." Green looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but didn't. "No need for a recount of events when there's video of you yelling at Ms. Plum before the so called arrest."
"What video?" I asked distractedly as we reached my office. Neither of them responded.
It took me a minute to gather the necessary files and hand them over to them.
"She contaminated a crime scene." I defended half-heartedly.
Dattoli had been quiet up until that point. "Not really." He shrugged as he took his half of the files. "She found three very decomposed bodies." Another shrug. "Even the ME's having a hard time with that." Dattoli's gaze is intense when it's focused on you. I never realized that before, because we've never really interacted before. He really keeps to himself. "Plus, she didn't vomit in the bedroom where the bodies were. She managed to make it out to the hallway." He tapped the folders against my desk as a parting motion.
Green took his share of the files from me with a small grin. "I like him."
I groaned for the second time this morning once I was left alone. Shaking my head, I decided to get a move on it and head back home.
More than one person gave me the stink eye, again, as I retraced my steps back outside. Whatever.
Curiosity got the best of me when I parked my SUV in my driveway less than twenty minutes later. It didn't take me long to find the video everyone was talking about.
It was bad. It looks worse to the observer or maybe I'm seeing the events in a different light and with a clear head.
When I glared at the camera a shiver ran through me. It was the same look I saw in my father growing up.
What have I done?