Thanks for the huge support on what was supposed to be a oneshot that turned into a short story. In the previous chapter we found out that S&R are expecting a baby. Which brings me to my next point: to the Guest reviewer that said the dinner and nieces part of the story was a distraction to the serious matter of Babe being slammed by Morelli and getting arrested: Uhm, did you not pay attention? Stephanie found severely decomposed bodies on what should have been a standard FTA apprehension. Two of those bodies were children. Stephanie broke down once the weight of the reality hit her. One of those kids was tiny, which is why Lisa reminds her of the event. So, yeah the whole nieces and baby thing ties back to how the story began and ergo has a purpose.
Work has been crazy busy, which makes it quite taxing (ha! snuck that pun in there, lol) when my energy levels are still fluctuating on a daily basis. I only have Sundays off, which is when I have to make sure I'm prepped for the week (employee scheduling, time sheets, payroll, laundry, etc.; there's not enough hours in the day). As mentioned before, I write as time and my energy permits. I have several updates for different stories (Since You've Been Gone, Anything But Love, Shock, Sexified, and Gives You Hell) in various degrees of completion on my phone's notes app, so there's that. I'll post as I can. For now, here's an update to this story.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Mistakes are mine (oops!).
Stephanie's POV
I blew out of breath when it became obvious that going back to sleep was just not going to happen naturally. Turning over carefully had me facing Ranger's still form instead of the window. When his hold instinctively tightened around me, I froze. He works so hard and pushes himself so much that I always try to disturb his sleep as little as possible. He's made it very clear that I can wake him up any time, but I always refrain from intentionally abruptly ending his sleep.
Despite the fact that I was tired, I couldn't fall asleep. Rationally, I knew that I was on the seventh floor of a very secure building. There's no man or ghoul that can get to me in the safe haven that Rangeman is. Yet, I couldn't shake off the creepy vibe crawling up the back of my neck. Something felt off, but I didn't know what.
I willed myself to fall asleep, scooting closer to Ranger. I pressed up against his muscular body as much as physically possible, taking in his unique sent. But despite all my efforts, I still couldn't fall asleep. When I groaned in frustration, I felt Ranger's hold on me tighten.
"Sorry." I said, automatically moving to roll away from him. Embarrassment began to seep out from within as I realized I was not only unsuccessful on my quest to dreamland, but I also managed to keep someone else from sleeping.
"Babe." The roughness of his voice confirmed I did indeed wake him up. "Can't sleep?" His question was accompanied by his hand slipping underneath my sleep T-shirt, offering a soothing caress up and down the length of my spine.
I blew out a breath. "Nope." His reassuring squeeze had my face pressing against the side of his neck. Taking advantage of the closer position, I kissed his warm skin.
"Babe." Ranger's breathy groan fueled my movements, pressing open mouthed kisses along his jaw until I reached his mouth. Heat seared my lower half as our lips met in a dueling kiss. "You can wake me any time, Babe." He hissed out when my hand wrapped around him, stroking him just the way he likes it.
"I know." I nodded in admittance as I lined nipping kisses across his chest.
"Stephanie." Ranger moaned when I straddled him, sinking down his impressive length. He's the one that always advocates for me to sleep in the nude and tonight my lack of underwear played in our favor. "Babe." His lustful plea made me move faster against him as he yanked my sleep T-shirt off my heated body.
"Mmm…" I closed my eyes as I savored the almost overwhelming sensations created by our impromptu coupling.
Gasping as I felt the tell tale signs of what promised to be a roaring orgasm, I threw my head back as he held onto my hips. With his added participation we climaxed seconds apart, engulfing us both in a cocoon of sweet bliss.
"Babe?" Ranger punctuated the inquiry by allowing his fingers to spear through my messy curls, massaging my scalp in that soothing way only he knows how to deliver.
"I'm okay." I assured as I worked on normalizing my breathing, turning my head slightly to kiss his chest right over his scar. "I'm okay, because I have you." I didn't want him to worry about me. There's technically nothing wrong, even if I can't shake off the feeling that something's off. "Hormones." I said with a small grin.
"Babe." My smile grew at his teasing tone. It's been about three weeks since we found out I was pregnant. Once the shock wore off, we found a doctor closer to Newark. There's no way I was having my business announced to the Burg. Nope! And thanks to that appointment, we found out I was about six weeks along. We're nearing week ten and truth be told I still have moments where I can't believe we're having a baby. Me! Stephanie Plum having a baby is definitely shock worthy for sure.
"Hey! Don't make fun of your baby momma." I joked, shifting off his lap so that I could tuck myself against the right side of his body.
"You're my wife." He reminded, bringing my left hand to his mouth and pressing an open mouth kiss on my ring finger.
"Your wife." I conceded, snuggling closer. We were already engaged, but Ranger wanted us to get married sooner than what we had planned as a precaution. We flew down to Miami and had a private wedding with his - err our - daughter Julie, Tank, my sister and nieces as our witnesses. Mary Lou was there in spirit, keeping me grounded via video call. Her youngest got sick and she couldn't meet us in Miami. Grandma Mazur took one for the team, as she called it, to make sure the Burg didn't intrude in our elopement. I've been Mrs. Manoso for a little over two weeks now. It's one more thing that hits me out of nowhere, reminding me that my life has irreversibly changed. Changed for the better.
"Don't let me fall asleep without…" He kissed the top of my head before slipping out of bed. Once he cleaned us both up, he retook his spot in our big comfy bed. "Gracias." I said sincerely.
"Stephanie." His lips found mine in the darkness, giving me the type of kiss that can make me forget about anything except us. "We're in this together."
"Together." I agreed, closing my eyes as sleep finally called my name.
S&R
Ranger's POV
My phone buzzed with an incoming call and I couldn't help but smile. I let Babe sleep in this morning since I knew she's had a few rough nights. Sleep has been a struggle for her lately. Either she falls asleep even before we finish our dinner or she lays wide awake for hours. She confessed she has nightmares about the bodies she found weeks back. Finding out we're expecting a baby seems to have triggered a constant reminder of the very decomposed body of the youngest boy. The Rangeman psychologist is working with her, but it'll be some time before she can fully put the incident behind her. The fact that the TPD requested a meeting with Babe and her lawyer Anna must have brought back the events of that day. Babe did end up falling asleep after a round of steamy sex without stirring for the rest of the night. I would have liked to have been by Babe's side at the TPD this afternoon, but we'd finally been able to reschedule the rest of the meetings I missed in New York when she got arrested.
Babe was at the tip of my tongue when I fetched my phone out of my suit pocket as Tank and I neared his truck. He noticed my frown when I saw Anna's number flash across my screen instead of Stephanie's.
"Anna?" I asked in greeting.
"Hi, Carlos, did you and Stephanie change your mind about proceeding?" Her tone was professional, which told me she was with company. She was definitely still inside of the TPD. That made worry begin to course through me.
"No. Stephanie was set to meet you at the police station." I put her on speaker so I could pull up Babe's trackers.
"Well, she never showed." Anna bit out. "I've called her repeatedly, but no answer."
My stomach dropped as fear gripped my insides. Tank hovered over my shoulder as I pulled up Babe's trackers. Her shoulder bag, her cellphone and SUV put her at the TPD. "Stephanie's trackers put her at the police station." I frantically checked to see when she got there as Tank was already mobilizing a team beside me. "She's pregnant." I disclosed, knowing Anna would do everything in her power to find out where my wife is.
Anna muttered a few choice curse words before she replied, "And you didn't think to say anything until now?"
"We found out recently." I barked out, clenching my jaw to keep from slamming my fist against something.
"Chief, where's your detective?" The despise dripped out of her tone, which only served to put me in an even more worked up state. If Morelli was a no show too, then… I couldn't even complete that thought. No. I refused to believe that I can lose her and our child. Not now.
"Rangeman's on the way." I told Anna as Tank and I angled into his truck. "I'll be there as soon as I can." I said before disconnecting.
As Tank drove, I called my men to coordinate an extensive search. Hector was already trying to tap into the TPD's cameras. A Code Stephanie has already spread throughout Rangeman. Good.
I'm coming, Babe.
S&R
Stephanie's POV
A throbbing headache was the first thing I noted as I came to. Before I moved, I took inventory of my position. My head was bowed forward, chin resting against my chest, and my body was strapped to some type of hard chair. Wood or metal chair for sure. When I tried to flex my hands, I felt the abrasive restraints rub harshly against my wrists. Shit. A small wiggle of my body alerted me of the tight bindings around my torso, arms and legs. Double shit.
"Welcome back, Cupcake." The emphasis on the nickname and that cold tone sent shivers up my spine.
Knowing it would be better to get this over with, I raised my head as I opened my eyes. The sight before me was unexpected, not that being kidnapped yet again was something I expected, but what really caught me off guard was confirming the identity of my male captor.
"Joseph." I replied, barely suppressing a groan at the incessant pounding in my temples.
"Stephanie." His fake sweetness dripped heavily as his sinister intentions shown through his dark eyes. "It's so nice to hear that you haven't forgotten about me."
Kinda hard to forget you, asshole. I thought as I tracked his movements with as an observant gaze as I could muster.
Joseph "Joey" Fabrizzi skipped bail over a year ago. He lived two streets over from me and just like the Morelli boys, racked up quite a reputation in the Burg growing up. He was in Valerie's year and in several of her honors classes. In passing, I always thought he was smart and could have a bright future if he didn't mess around so much. As an adult he skirted the line quite often until he ended up having a feud with at least two of the local families. Vinnie bonded him out after he got arrested on a murder charge. Only Vinnie would bond someone with a such a flight risk. It took some digging and a lot of footwork, but as always I found my man. The actual take down wasn't as eventful as some of my most memorable ones. Despite the easy capture, Fabrizzi was quite vocal as I delivered him to the TPD. We locked eyes as he was being escorted to a holding cell and he made sure to notify me that I'd rue that day. As far I tracked his case, the first time he was tried it was declared a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury. The second time around he was acquitted. It was baffling, considering everyone knew he did in fact commit the murder. It's because of cases like this that make me think that the justice system is broken.
As the crunch of his nearing footsteps echoed in the empty space around us, I realized how true my sentiment is currently.
"Since you do remember me, I hope you also remember that I promised you something before I was locked up." His sinister smile spread across his stubble riddled cheeks as shadows bounced off his face with his movements. Fabrizzi's got the whole eeire vibe down for sure. Asshole.
"Rue." I muttered as I watched him stalk incredibly close to me. Movement off to my right alerted me to the presence of someone else, causing me to divide my attention between the two. My gasp was loud as I realized the bloody body bound to a support beam was none other than Morelli. I didn't have enough time to fully process the scene before Fabrizzi's hand struck my right cheek with such force that he knocked my chair over. My pain-filled groan as I fell on my left side gave Fabrizzi the satisfaction he was obviously fishing for. His laugh caused goosebumps to erupt throughout my body, rivaling the sensation the impact left me with. Based on the sting on my cheek, I suspect the skin is at least red. The bruises from Morelli's arrest has fully faded, so new marks on my skin will definitely infuriate my husband.
Ranger.
The thought of Ranger helped me refocus on my surroundings, which allowed me to react to the incoming attack.
"I'm pregnant!" I blurted out, relieved when it gave Fabrizzi pause. Instead of kicking my abdomen like he initially planned, he knelt before me and smiled his sickening smile. Ranger and I have kept my pregnancy quite private for obvious safety reasons. Admitting my secret was a last ditched effort to give Ranger and the Merry Men enough time to find me.
"Oh this is just perfect!" Fabrizzi righted my chair, angling it so that I had a clear view of Morelli's slumped body. He raked his fingers through his long blond hair, grinning wide.
"What do you want?" I asked, again hoping to buy more time, as I saw him reach for a faded blue bucket under the boarded up window in the far side of the room.
"Isn't it obvious?" He snarled while he dumped what appeared to be water over Morelli's form.
Morelli gasped as he jerked awake. "Wh-what...?" He didn't get to fully form the question because his confused gaze locked with mine.
"Welcome back, Detective Morelli." Fabrizzi beamed, hyped up on whatever delusions are currently running rampant in his deluded brain. "When somebody turns up dead, it's usually the significant other or the ex boyfriend that police look into first." Fabrizzi shrugged his broad shoulders as he once again raked a hand through his wavy locks. "Because let's be honest, that's usually the case." His haunting smirk stretched his lips to their limit.
"Joey..." Morelli tried to talk him out of his dark plan, but was interrupted by a coughing fit. His features contorted in obvious pain and in that moment I knew that he was in no better shape than me to get us out of here.
"You made this the perfect opportunity to enact my revenge." Fabrizzi planted his hands on his hips as he bounced his eyes between Morelli and I. "I mean, you caused quite a scene with that violent arrest. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk." The finger shaking motion made me dizzy, or maybe it was the pounding headache."Your career is pretty much over, because of your heated temper..." A shrug served as a pause as Fabrizzi began to pace between us. "And then you find out that your ex married some other guy." Laughter rumbled out of his chest, echoing around us in the enclosed space. "She repeatedly turned your marriage proposals down, only to marry someone else." Another shrug as Fabrizzi reciprocated my stare. "Moreover, she's pregnant!" His large hand slapped my left cheek twice, causing the pain to radiate between my head and face. "The cherry on top." Dark eyes bored into mine before quickly shifting towards Morelli. "How dare she." The sarcasm was heavy, just like his footsteps as he strode across the room. "No one will doubt you snapped."
Watching Fabrizzi move about caused a weight to settle in the pit of my stomach. It didn't take me long to decipher what he was going to do.
"Cupcake." Morelli's whisper distracted me from my racing thoughts. When our eyes locked it became obvious that Morelli had also came to the same conclusion. We both knew what was to come and it wouldn't be pretty.
My attention returned to my captor. Fabrizzi has put a lot of thought into his plan. He's going to make it look like a murder/suicide. This is the Burg. He knows that. It isn't such a far-fetched story. If he covers his tracks well and executes his plan meticulously, it will be very plausible that I was murdered by my ex.
Shit.
"Is it true? Are you pregnant?" Morelli's demeanor was cold, his cop mask firmly in place as he glared at me. He took my silence as response enough. "Fuck you." He spat my way.
"What?" I whispered his way, wondering what the fuck was going through Morelli's mind.
"You heard me." He growled before craning his head to his right so he could look at Fabrizzi. "I want to be the one to do it."
Fabrizzi cocked his head towards me, a slow mischievous grin replacing his previous smirk. "Uhh, you got a little darkness in you. I like it."
Trust no one. The thought assaulted me all at once as I frantically worked on taking in my full surroundings. The knowledge that I was on my own would help propel my strength to hold on 'cause there's no way I'm letting a Burg asshole take me down without a fight.
Just when I thought I was running out of time to formulate my plan of attack, the distinctive tingle on the back of my neck began continuously. As the seconds ticked by, the tingle spread heat up and down my nape. I knew unequivocally that Ranger was nearby.
Ranger's here. I thought as I silently told our baby that their Daddy would be with us soon.