Someone mentioned that Eddie is a Detective. It always bothered me that in 28 books he never advanced. Though there's quite a bit about the later books that bother me, but I wont' get into that here.

After giving out statements and contact information, which apparently Detective Gazarra already had Stephanie's, we were finally free to go.

Stephanie officially introduced me to her fiancé, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger. He turned to me even as he continued to hold her tight against him. "I can't begin to thank you enough for what you did today, Ms. Stapleton."

"Please, call me Sienna," I replied. "And I don't think it's anything anyone else wouldn't have done. I'm just glad she didn't get hurt too bad."

Stephanie shook her head. "Just some scrapes and bruises. Maybe a sore shoulder." She shrugged. "I've had worse."

"Are you sure you're not injured," Ranger asked.

My head was beating like a base drum with my ankle throbbing in time with it. I'm sure I'm probably hurt worse than I appear, but I'm not about to admit it. "Same as Stephanie. Nothing that's too bad." I glanced at my watch and struggled to focus on the blurry numbers. After a moment, they sharpened enough for me to read, and I winced. "Oh shit. I really must go. I need to get to work."

"Before you do, can I at least get your phone number," Stephanie asked. "I'd like to call and check on you later."

Figuring my friend count was a little low right now, I pulled my cell out of my pocket and frowned at the cracked screen. Just great! Though despite taking a pretty good hit it did appear to still work. "Since I think your phone got torched in the fire, why don't you give me your number and I'll call you in a few days after you get it replaced?"

"Shit," Stephanie muttered as she realized I was right about her phone.

"Don't worry about the phone, Babe. Or the car. We'll take care of it," Ranger said, then turned to me again. "How about I give you my number too, then you can give me yours."

The authority in his tone brokered no argument from me and within seconds we'd exchanged numbers. "Again, I'm glad you're okay," I said to Steph as she stepped from Ranger's protection and gave me a hug.

"You too," she replied and pulled back. I turned to head to my car and only managed two steps when my ankle decided to remined me that I wasn't exactly as okay as I'd let on. Pain shot up my leg, causing me to stumble as I grimaced. I would have landed face first on the ground if the sexy blond in black that was with them hadn't caught me.

"Whoa there," he said as he wrapped me in his embrace.

What felt like an electrical shock, ripped through my skin where he touched me, and I let out a gasp. What in the hell was that?

"I think maybe you're hurt more than you're letting on," he said as he looked down at me. Even with my slightly blurry focus, I could see it in his gorgeous blue eyes. It was the same, what in the hell was that, shock and confusion I was experiencing. Could he possibly have felt that spark, too?

"Um…It's nothing," I managed to say as I started to shake my head, then thought better of it when the pain flared. A slow panic was beginning to set in at the realization that I was possibly more injured than even I was aware. I couldn't afford to incur any medical bills right now or miss work. Seeing no other choice but to continue to brush it off, I replied. "It will be fine in a couple of days."

It didn't take long for me to understand this wasn't a fight I was going to win. Ranger's look turned hard as he spoke. "Santos, put her in her car and drive her to St. Francis."

"No!" I snapped then yanked out of the blond's embrace and nearly stumbled as I tried to steady myself on one leg. Despite the pain, I shook my head at Ranger. "I'm fine."

"You're not, fine," he said, his tone smooth and no-nonsense.

"Okay," I huffed. "Maybe I'm not fine, but I only moved here two weeks ago. My job is temporary and doesn't come with health insurance and right now, I don't have the money to cover a hospital bill. Please…it will be okay."

Ranger's hard look turned contemplative as he shifted his attention to Steph. I watched, once again fascinated as an entire conversation took place between the two of them without either uttering a single word. After a moment he nodded then his attention returned to me. "Will you agree to allow my medic to look at you?"

He has his own medic? My brows winged up in surprise. "You have a medic working for you?"

He looked like he wanted to smile. "In the business we're in, it's a necessary evil."

My hesitation was just long enough that the blond he'd called Santos spoke up. "It's the least we can do for you, considering what you did for Beautiful. Plus, our medic is top notch and there would be no medical bills."

My ankle did hurt like hell, and it probably wasn't a bad idea to have it looked at. Though, honestly, I don't know these people at all. Would it really be wise to go with them? "Can I make a phone call first?"

Ranger nodded. "Santos, help her to her car, so she can sit down to make her call."

The man named Santos did as Ranger instructed, wrapping an arm around my waist to guide me. Every place his body touched mine felt hot and tingly. Why in the hell was I having such a strong reaction to him? He opened my passenger door and I eased into the seat. "What's the name of Ranger's company?"

Santos grinned. "Rangeman. What? You gonna check to make sure we're legit?"

Damn he had a nice smile. "It would be stupid of me to just blindly go off with someone I don't know without checking on them first."

"Smart girl," he said, then moved to the back of the car, apparently to give me at least the illusion of privacy.

I called Jenny. "Hey," I said when she answered.

"What's up?" she asked.

"So, there was this situation at the Tasty Pastry this morning while I was on my way to work."

"What happened," Jenny asked, her tone wary. "Are you okay?"

I explained the incident to her.

"You saved Stephanie Plum's life?"

"You say that as if I'm supposed to know who she is," I said.

"The Stephanie Plum. The Bombshell Bounty Hunter?" Jenny said. "You really don't know who she is?"

"Should I?" I asked, feeling a bit frustrated.

"No. I guess living in Indiana you wouldn't, but she's a bit of a celebrity here in Trenton."

"So, this company her fiancé owns…this Rangeman?"

"Is an elite security firm with an impeccable reputation. They provide the security for Jeremy's business."

Well hell. "I didn't know that."

"Yep," she replied. "I'd say if her fiancé wants to have his medic look you over, you should let him. I'll call Jeremy and explain what happened and let him know you won't be in to work today. Being it's a Saturday and only a half day anyway it shouldn't be a big deal. Do keep me posted though."

With that she hung up. I set my phone in my lap and stared out the window at the front of the bakery. So, they were legit. What would be the harm in letting his medic look at my ankle?

I turned and peered out the door. "Um…Mr. Santos?"

"Lester," he replied as he walked back to me with a grin still on his lips. "Did we check out with your friend?"

I felt the heat rise into my face. "Um…yeah."

"And you're gonna let our medic look at your ankle?"

I nodded.

"Good," he replied, his smile slid into a neutral expression as he shifted to close the door. I watched in the side mirror as he gave Ranger a thumbs up then moved around the back of my vehicle to the driver's side. He picked up my purse and pastry bag and handed them to me, then adjusted my seat to fit his big frame and slid in. "Keys?" he said, as he held out his hand.

I rooted through my bag, found my keys, and handed them to him. He frowned. "Didn't you lock your door when you went into the bakery?"

I shook my head. "I was only going to be a minute."

He looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at my lame attempt at a plausible explanation. "A word of advice," he said. "You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy, and Trenton isn't Oz. Always lock your doors."

"Actually, I'm from Indiana, not Kansas," I replied, as I tried to shake off the sting of being reprimanded.

He smirked as he started my car and put it in gear. "Put on your seatbelt, cutie. I don't want to risk you getting hurt any more than you already are."

Did this sexy man just call me cutie? I reached for the belt and clicked it in place as his compliment pinged around inside my head.

The drive back to Rangeman only took about ten minutes, but I swear I think it was some of the longest minutes of my life. Lester didn't talk the entire drive, leaving an awkward and uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. He pulled up to a gate, reached into his pocket and retrieved what appeared to be some sort of fob, then pointed it at a box sitting on a pole. The gate in front of us began to open.

The entire situation felt a bit 007 to me and I almost said as much, but at the last-minute thought better. No need to insult him or Ranger's company when they were doing me a favor.

He parked in a slot marked 'guest' then turned off the engine and shifted to look at me. "Don't move. I'll come around to get you."

I wanted to argue that I could make it out of the car by myself, but I knew better. The pain in my leg had grown as the adrenaline and excitement of the moment faded.

He helped me from the vehicle, and I'd only taken about four steps when he scooped me up into his arms.

"What are you doing?" I asked, then winced at the high-pitched whine of my voice. The last thing I wanted was to sound like one of the helpless and weak characters I sometimes wrote about.

"You're obviously injured and it's easier for me to carry you," he replied.

I started to shake my head, only to catch myself when the pain increased. "I'm too heavy. Put me down before you hurt yourself."

That damn smirk of his returned. "Sweetheart, I've carried men easily twice your size. Now, hush and just enjoy the ride."

Why do I have a feeling he's said that line to women before? On that thought my mind began to wander, creating a love scene with Lester as the hero and me playing the roll of the heroine. Damn muse. Never around when I need it to be, but front and center and raring to go when I don't.

As we approached the door leading into the building, another very large, incredibly good-looking man with a mustache and goatee opened the door for us, pulling my mind back into the present. I studied him for a moment, taking in his dark chocolate complexion, bald head, and impossibly large frame. What in the hell was it with this company? Did Ranger have some rule about only hiring big, gorgeous men to work for him?

"Ranger called," the man said. "Bobby is already waiting for you in the infirmary."

"Thanks, Tank," Lester replied as he stepped inside, then walked to an open elevator. "I figured he and Beautiful would be behind us, but they're not."

The man he called Tank shook his head. "He took her to St. Francis to be checked out."

Lester arched a brow as the man named Tank stepped into the elevator with us and pressed a button on the control panel. "She agreed to go to St. Francis?"

Tank grinned. "I never said she agreed."

"Oh hell," Lester said as his curious look slid into a grin. "That's a fight I would have love to have witnessed." He turned his attention to my face for a moment before looking back at Tank. "Though I witnessed a pretty good one, while we tried to convince this cutie here to agree to be looked at."

I started to open my mouth to argue, but his use of the word cutie again along with whatever cologne he was wearing completely derailed my thoughts.

The next thing I knew, the elevator doors opened, and we stepped into a foyer area, then he turned and headed toward a set of double doors. Tank pushed them open for him and I almost gasped at the sight in front of me. It was like walking into one of those urgent care clinics or a mini-emergency room. The top of the walls was painted a soothing light grey color, while the bottom was covered in white subway tile. The floor appeared to be large twelve by twelve tiles, possibly made of marble.

There were three hospital beds separated by curtains. Each bed was surrounded by various pieces of equipment I'd have to google to know exactly what they were. Another man about the size of Lester, stepped out from what appeared to be an office and I nearly groaned at the sight of him as he approached.

Where the man Lester called Tank had what I'd considered a dark chocolate complexion, this man was much lighter, reminding me of the smoky quartz ring I inherited from my grandmother. His angular face was clean shaven. His cocoa-colored eyes framed by beautiful long lashes. He could have easily gotten a job as a runway model. Instead of the bald look like Tank, his hair was braided into neat and tidy cornrows that he wore longer in the back, which only added to his sex appeal.

He grinned at Lester then motioned to one of the empty beds. "Set her down in bed one and I'll take a look."

Lester did, but instead of leaving, he only stepped back, folded his beefy arms across his chest and leaned against the wall.

"Hi," the other man said, pulling my attention back to him. "I'm Bobby Brown. I'm the medic for Rangeman. I hear from Ranger that you got a bit banged up."

"It's nothing," I replied. At least I hoped it was nothing. At this point, I wasn't so sure anymore.

Lester smirked. "She got hurt saving Beautiful's life. So, I'd say that's probably a little more than nothing."

Bobby paused to look up at Lester and just like what happened between Ranger and Stephanie, some sort of unspoken conversation took place between these two sexy men.

"Well." Bobby cleared his throat. "How about you let me be the judge as to if it's nothing or not?"

The first thing he did was pull a pen light from his pocket and proceeded to look into my eyes. The light caused me pain and on reflex I winced.

"Does the light hurt your eyes?" he asked.

"A little," I replied.

"Are you seeing double, have blurry vision or loss of sight in either eye?"

I thought about it for a moment as I scanned the room again. Everything did seem just a bit blurry.

"Um…a little bit of blurry vision."

"Did you hit your head?" he asked as he pocketed the light, then shifted and placed his hands on the back of my head, palpating my skin through my hair. The moment he touched me, the same shot of electricity I felt with Lester hit me again and I gasped.

His hands stopped moving as he stared down at me. Again, just like Lester, the look on his face told me I wasn't the only one to feel it. "Sorry," he finally murmured after a moment. "Did I hit a sore spot?"

"No," I managed to whisper as he continued. "I guess I was just caught off guard." No sooner had I finished my sentence when he did hit a tender spot and I squeaked in response.

"Ah," he said as he pulled back. "You have a nice bump behind your right ear. Anywhere else besides your head and your ankle?"

"My right shoulder, hip, and knees," I said, pointing to them with my left hand.

He reached over and began checking my shoulder. By the time he'd made it down to my ankle, he'd not only managed to set my skin on fire every place he touched, but he also found every tender and sore spot on my body. Before I knew it, I was fighting both the pain and a slowly awakening arousal.

Bobby stopped at my ankle and gently pulled up my pant leg. "Oh, this is already swelling, sweetheart. I'm going to need to get this boot off and I'll need to get an x-ray."

He motioned to Lester, who immediately move next to the bed. "There is no way for me to do this that it isn't going to hurt. I want you to take Lester's hand and let him help you work through the pain, okay?"

I nodded then reached for Lester's hand. Oh God, that tingling sensation returned, and I whimpered. What in the hell is wrong with me? Is it the head injury causing this weird arousal I'm feeling? As I looked up at his face, I could see the concern in his eyes.

Before I had time to explore my thoughts further, a sharp pain zinged up my leg as Bobby began to work my boot loose. Damn it. I thought I was being so cute and stylish this morning when I pared my floral peasant blouse with dark wash skinny jeans and my taupe hiking boots. Now, my blouse was peppered with blood from all my cuts and scrapes. The knees of my jeans were ripped, and I was really wishing I'd gone with sneakers or even better, my slides.

I tried to bite back a shout but couldn't do it, as instant tears welled. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," Bobby said. "I don't mean to hurt you."

"I know," I said, though my voice was laced with emotion. Damn it I wasn't going to cry.

Lester placed his free hand against my cheek. "You need to breathe, cutie. Look at me and follow what I do."

I locked gazes with Lester and followed his instructions as he led me through some deep breathing techniques. Bobby began again and I fought to hold Lester's gaze as the pain radiated through my leg. Despite my best efforts, whimpers and squeaks still periodically escaped.

"Done," Bobby finally said, and I blew out a relieved breath.

"Thank you," I whispered to Lester.

He smiled, then shifted his hands to brush my tears away with his thumbs. "Anytime, cutie," he replied, then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose.

Holy hell!

My mind was struggling to keep up with his actions, what Bobby was doing, and everything I was currently feeling but couldn't accurately label.

"This is definitely going to need an x-ray," Bobby said, then disappeared only to return a few minutes later pushing a giant machine. "This is a portable x-ray machine," he said in answer to the question I hadn't actually asked.

I watched as he gently adjusted my foot into a certain position. "Okay, I know we just met, and I don't mean to pry, but is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

I shook my head as I thought about Aaron. Due to some childhood issues, he'd ended up sterile. Even if he had still been alive, I wouldn't be pregnant and since I haven't been with a man since he died, I can guarantee I'm not.

"You're sure," Bobby questioned.

"Yes," I said. "I-I um…I was widowed nearly a year ago and I haven't been with anyone since."

He paused and exchanged a shocked look with Lester. "I'm so sorry," he finally said.

"Me too," Lester offered.

"Thanks," I said as I swallowed down the lump in my throat. Life with Aaron hadn't always been easy, but he'd been my best friend and I missed him every day.

After Bobby took the x-rays, he disappeared for a few minutes to review the images. Lester remained with me.

I'm not sure how much time had passed when Bobby reappeared. "Well, sweetheart, in addition to a severe sprain, you have a hairline fracture in the talus bone."

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of this story. I was a bit nervous about posting it, so hearing that you all like it has helped to settle my nerves. I'll try to have another chapter up soon.