Chapter 1
Stephanie's POV
My heart broke when I caught Ranger's eyes as he guided the gorgeous Jeanne Ellen Burrows towards his Porsche 911 turbo. "Give me a minute, babe," Ranger said before kissing the woman stupid.
At first, I thought he was talking to me until Jeanne replied, "Sure, darling. Don't keep me waiting too long. After all, it's our eighth anniversary today." She reached up with her left hand where I couldn't mistake seeing the rings.
It only took a few seconds to realize why he always called me babe and his life not lending itself to relationships. There was a strong possibility that Ranger was already married to Jeanne Ellen Burrows. I was devastated to have been the other woman in his life. My marriage to Dickie Orr ended when he cheated on me, yet I was the willing participant in Ranger's affair. Albeit, I didn't know Ranger was married. I felt betrayed by his dishonesty. No wonder Ranger always changed the subject whenever I asked about her. He made me believe he was unattached. I guess our definitions for "unattached" were different.
As Ranger approached me, I managed to unlock my legs and jump back into my car. I quickly drove out of the Rangeman garage before Ranger or his men could stop me. Stopping a few blocks away, I quickly removed all trackers in my car and smashed my cellphone. Every piece of jewelry on my body, including my barrettes and elastic, got tossed out the window. If Ranger wanted me found, he and his Merry Men could certainly have to work for it.
Hector and Lester would be worried about me if they knew what happened. I knew my car needed gas, but I wanted to get out of Trenton before anyone caught on to my plight. Instead of continuing on my path, I swung the car around, then backtracked a few blocks to the south. When I checked the fuel gauge, I noticed the Rangeman gods had filled my tank. I wondered which of my Merry Men I had to thank for their thoughtfulness.
Without a destination in sight, I drove away from the coast instead of heading towards Point Pleasant, the one place I escaped when I needed to re-examine my life. I had sat on that sand when I decided to end my tumultuous relationship with Morelli. On that fated day, Hector had arrived to discuss Joe's latest rant, getting me to realize Joe never once asked if I was okay. He helped me see that Joe only cared about his image in the Burg, not my safety.
I had tried to argue that Joe could see that I was safe, but Hector shook his head. "Morelli only cares about forcing you to toe the line. He wants a wife, but doesn't stop his dalliances. Joe wants children, but not the responsibility. Most of all, Joe wanted someone he could control," Hector said. He showed me photos of Morelli with other women. Some of the pictures were during times we were on again.
"I'm a fool," I said, leaning into him as I cried. Hector assured me that I was nobody's fool. He said I was brave, kind, generous and loving. But most of all, I was his hero. Thinking about my honorary brother made me smile.
Last week, Joe had arrived at another one of my car explosions and waved his arms around, demanding I quit my job to settle down as his wife. The car explosion was not my fault. Instead of jumping in to defend myself, I laughed. "What's so funny?" Joe shouted.
"Hector was right. You do look like an ape trying to assert his claim on me," I said, doubled over in laughter. "Are you going to start pounding your chest too?"
Joe had looked to the sky and held out his hands as though asking God, "Why me?"
"Listen, Joe. Despite what our families want, I don't think we are good for each other. I don't like you screaming at me in public, and you don't like my job. I've tried working at other places, but we both know how those jobs ended. You deserve to have a wife willing to stay at home to raise your children. A woman who wouldn't mind if you have a mistress or two on the side. We both know what Dickie had done during our marriage, and I want and deserve better. If we got married and had children, one of us would no doubt kill the other," I explained.
He took a few minutes to think about my words. After they sunk in, Joe knew I was right. "Don't let Manoso hurt you," he whispered as he hugged me goodbye. I had no intentions of letting Ranger hurt me, but that proved untrue. Several cops exchanged money as I got into Ranger's car to leave the site.
Snapping back to the present, I looked at my fuel gauge. As my gas tank began to empty, I found a place to refuel. It was an older gas station that lacked the upgrades of many newer locations. A man in his late eighties exited the shop to fill my tank. When I attempted to pass him money, he pushed it back. "It's on me, dear," he said.
I read his name tag and replied, "Thank you, Oswald. I appreciate your generosity."
"It's nothing that you haven't already shown my grandson," he replied. He dismissed me as I was about to ask about his grandson. Not wanting to delay my escape, I continued driving west, further away from the coast. Taking a closer look at the gas station name, "Moonman's Gas", I laughed. Walter Dunphy must be Oswald's grandson. I instantly knew he'd keep my secret.
"Why do you always run when upset? There must be a better way to handle your emotions," smart Stephanie asked.
Stupid Stephanie replied, "Duh! Because she's upset. The man of her dreams is married. Didn't you see the ring on Jeanne Ellen?"
Smart Stephanie sighed before answering, "Maybe they are undercover. She should have got him to explain himself before leaving. Now she may never know the reason or the truth."
Through her laughter, stupid Stephanie snorted, "Do you honestly believe that Mr. One Word Answer would tell her that it was a ploy for an undercover mission? Honestly, I think you've spent too much time in Denial land, my friend."
Scoffing, smart Stephanie retorted, "Don't come crawling back to me when Ranger proves me to be right."
"Shut up!" I screamed. "Ranger never promised me anything. He said his love doesn't come with a ring, but a condom would come in handy."
"Ya, because he's already married," stupid Stephanie said, reminding me of my dilemma. I loved Ranger heart, body and soul. Even if he was undercover, playing a role, he should have said as much to me. Wait… why was stupid Stephanie the voice of reason?
"I think he tried, but you didn't want to hear the truth," smart Stephanie added.
"Smart Stephanie has a point," stupid Stephanie agreed. My spidey sense directed me to turn onto the gravel drive off the highway. Shrugging, I took the sharp turn and slowed down, driving on the path through the dense trees.
I was happy when smart and stupid Stephanie remained quiet as I found an abandoned building. Climbing out of my car, I pulled the doors open wide enough to park inside.
Ranger's POV
"She had to know eventually, darling," Jeanne Ellen said.
"I know. Stephanie didn't give me time to explain," I replied.
"Carlos, we've been legally married for eight years. We had to make it look real for our cover. It was a matter of time before one of your men told her," she added.
"Only Tank knows, Jeanne," I stated. "He would never betray my secrets. Why did you come to Rangeman today?"
"There's chatter. Armando Gomez found out about Stephanie. He got spotted in North Carolina. Our orders were to resume our cover. I know you're in love with Ms. Plum, but I promised my handler I'd drive her away from you," Jeanne explained.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate. "General Barker asked you to do this?" I asked when Jeanne didn't say anything.
"Yes. We know Barker and Plum are close friends. It would destroy both men if anything happened to Stephanie," Jeanne answered. I had to agree because it would be the end of my life if she died.
Jeanne smiled when I parked inside the garage of my home outside of Trenton. She had stayed in the house several times since our undercover missions. I alluded to my home being the Batcave to Stephanie many times.
"Have you visited your Uncle Sam lately?" I asked.
"Ah. So you've made the connection. I'm impressed," Jeanne said. "Nobody else knows that Sam Barker, my handler, is also my uncle." I could read the emotions on Jeanne's face. She attempted to hide from me, but I had learned the other family secret that I doubted even Jeanne knew. Stephanie Plum has a twin brother who was raised by Sam Barker and his wife, Nina.
"How's Marco?" I asked.
Jeanne Ellen smiled. "Looking more handsome every day," she replied. "If he weren't related by blood, I would divorce you to marry him." I internally smiled, knowing she wasn't aware of the best-kept secret in her family. If Jeanne Ellen paid any attention to her cousin, she'd see the blatant resemblance to Stephanie.
Marco's POV
I watched the piece of crap car park inside the oversized shack in the back of the property. A sense of familiarity passed through me as I watched the beautiful women exit the car. She was unaware that my grounds had hidden cameras throughout the trees. My father mentioned that someone was after a member of my family. I assumed he meant Jeanne Ellen until he said it was my younger sister.
As far as I knew, I didn't have any siblings. My parents, Sam and Nina, could not conceive after I was born. However, something about the unknown woman made me feel at home. The woman gasped a second before looking into the camera hidden in the corner.
How she knew it was there baffled me. She finger-waved into the camera as she smiled. I was astounded she realized I was watching and wasn't a threat. If compelled to protect my domain, I could show the woman exactly how threatening I could become.
"Can you hear me?" she asked the camera. "I'm sorry for invading your space, but I need a place to hide for a few days. Only until I can figure out how to improve my life."
I should help her by giving her food and shelter, but staying in the shack was not wise. Before I could leave the safety of my station, she exited the structure. Following her motions, I watched as she took in her surroundings. She waved in another camera, smiling. I watched as the woman walked towards each hidden device as though she had placed them herself.
She looked at one camera before looking around to find more behind her. A slight shiver went through her body when she stepped out of the safe zone. Promptly she turned herself around until the shakes dissipated. "Who are you?" I asked, knowing she couldn't hear me. The microphone on the camera picked up her reply.
"Stephanie Plum," she said as though she heard my question. "Please, I mean you no harm."
I instinctively knew she couldn't hurt a fly without being provoked. Watching her get closer to the hidden entrance to my home, I became anxious to meet her. Using my tablet, I walked through the house to monitor her movements as she approached the door through the dense trees. To the untrained eye, you'd only see the colour of the tree trunk. However, this woman touched the tree, causing the door to spring open.
"How did you open the door?" I asked, startling her when the door opened, exposing me.
"I pressed my hand on the bark and asked it to open. I'm sorry for invading your hideout," Stephanie replied.
"There are only two people who could open the door to my home," I said.
Stephanie raised both eyebrows in question. I smiled because I had the same problem when I attempted to lift only one. "You are obviously one. Who is the other?" she asked.
"My sister," I replied.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she shakily said, "I don't have a brother."
"Your shock mirrored mine when I learned I had a twin sister. I received a digital copy of your voice to program into my computer. Only your vocal signature and mine could open the door," I explained. "Follow me."
She reached for my free hand as I guided her through the dark entrance. I opened the solid steel door to my home. Stephanie looked around the spacious room. "You have a nice home," she said, taking in the decor.
"Thank you. I received a confidential file from my father, the man who raised me, to explain how I came to live with him," I said, passing her the folder.
Stephanie's POV
I accepted the folder the man passed me. As I read, I was surprised by the detail within the docket. Marco Edward, formerly named Marco Frances Plum, became Marco Edward Barker, after an attempted kidnapping. One of my father's enemies had discovered Frank Plum had a son. In retribution for Frank killing his son, he would kill Marco.
A fake death certificate was in the folder for Marco Frances, dated September 1, 1986, nearly two years after our birth. I didn't recall seeing any photographs of me with another baby in the albums at home. The file contained many, including our first birthday photo.
As I flipped through the pictures, I noticed a man in the background. "Marco, who is this man?" I asked.
He smiled before replying, "My dad, Sam Barker."
"Uncle Sam visited until I turned seven. Mom said he couldn't come to the house anymore," I explained, wondering if this was the mystery to his disappearance.
I read everything I could in order to learn more about my brother. Marco joined the Army when he was eighteen, a few months after his mom Nina passed away from breast cancer. "I hope you don't mind that I've gathered intel about you," Marco said, interrupting my read.
"My life's an open book," I confessed. "If there's anything you want to know, I'll tell you. Marco fidgeted as though he already had a lot of questions to ask. "Just ask."
"What's your relationship with Joseph Morelli?" Marco asked.
I laughed before replying, "He wants to marry me but is unwilling to commit. Joe and I have no relationship. At least, not a healthy one. We both want what the other is unable to offer."
"Did he really write those awful words on the bathroom stalls?"
"Unfortunately," I growled. "If I had known, I would have killed Joe when I hit him with dad's Buick."
He laughed and asked for me to tell the story. My file didn't contain as many details as I expected. It was more Cole's notes version of events. Marco was furious to learn mom wanted me to marry the abusive man. "I've seen a lot of domestic violence during my tours. In a lot of cases, yelling is the first step. Morelli would have graduated to physical assault before long," he said.
"About that…" I started to say. "We argued one time about my job, and he shoved me. I hit my head hard against the wall. My friend Bobby said I had a mild concussion. Joe apologized, so I gave him another chance. When he yelled at me the last time, I laughed. My friend, Hector, said Joe was behaving like an ape, attempting to establish his dominance over me. I don't want to be a possession or someone's property. I want to be Wonder Woman."
Marco laughed and explained why he thought it was funny. "I wanted to be Superman."
We discussed my career as a BEA and how I started working at Rangeman part-time. I lacked the training, but nobody forced me to do what I was reluctant to complete, fearing I'd leave them.
"I hate to break it to you, sis. You did leave them. Why did you leave?" he asked.
I explained that I saw my mentor and the love of my life had married Jeanne Ellen Burrows. His body stiffened when I mentioned her name. "Please, tell me you don't know her."
"She's Barker's niece, my cousin for all intents and purposes. I understand Jeanne had married Ricardo Manoso as part of their mission eight years ago. I don't know the details of the case," Marco explained.
"Are they legally married?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm sorry. The cover had to be airtight. Jeanne and Ricardo have an open marriage where they could be with other people until they got ordered to resume their roles," Marco explained.
I cried when he explained the situation. Ranger was legally married as part of a deep undercover mission. It made me feel used. I was never good enough for Batman. He knew how I reacted to my ex-husband cheating on me, yet he knowingly placed me in the position to be the mistress in his marriage. I felt Marco pull me into his arms. Marco held me until my tears subsided.
