"Sorry, Momma," I said as I sunk onto the couch next to Stephanie. Reaching out, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "What do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

When Stephanie looked at me, I instantly saw the worry in her eyes. I tried to smile at her that all was fine, but she wasn't looking at me.

"Do I need a reason to call my son?"

Shit… she's not in a good mood. Wonder what she knows and who told her. "No, Momma. You don't need a reason to call. How are you?"

"Well," she began before she did a dramatic sigh. Fuck, she knows something. I bet I get to kill Chase. "I just wonder how my son is doing. It's been so long since I've heard from you, I was beginning to wonder if you were still alive. But one of my other sons assured me you were alive and kicking."

"Sorry, Momma. Things have been busy here."

"Not too busy for your brother to call me. He calls me every night before he goes to bed. Is it too much to ask the same of you?"

Fucking brown noser. "Momma, I have more responsibilities than Michael does. Once he's been here a while and gets into the routine of things, he won't have as much time either."

"Oh baloney. He will always call his mother. I don't know where we went wrong with you. You are the only one of the kids that doesn't call at least once a week."

Fuck me. I hate the fucking guilt trips. I knew there was a reason I didn't want family working here. "I will try to call more often, but I can't promise anything."

I heard the clicking of her tongue and knew she was trying to figure out what to say next. I braced myself because if she'd been talking to Michael, then I have a feeling she knows about my marital status. I know I should tell her, but I don't want to do it over the phone. I wanted it to be done in person.

"Well, I better go. I know you said you are a busy man, so I don't want to take up your precious time." I heard her move around and figured she was getting up out of her chair. "Make sure to tell Michael that I'll talk to him tonight, okay?"

"Okay, Momma. I love you and Dad."

"Oh, we love you, too, Matthew. I'll talk to you again later. Oh, and please tell your wife we look forward to meeting her." She hung up before I had the chance to say anything in response. FUCK!

I flipped my phone shut and closed my eyes. I could see my hands wrapping around Michael's neck and squeezing. His eyes popping out like they do on the old cartoons. The life draining from him. No, that's too easy of a way to die. I'll have to make it more painful. Hmm, wonder if I still have my rusty knives…

"Matthew?" Snapping my eyes open, I see my wife's gorgeous blues staring back at me. "What are you plotting?"

"How'd you know I was plotting?" I asked with a smile on my face.

"Because as soon as you hung up the phone, your eyes rolled back in your head. You were smiling, then frowning, and then smiled again."

"I'm plotting ways to kill Chase."

I heard her suck in a breath, "Why?"

I didn't want to upset her, but I don't want to lie to my wife either. "He told Momma about my having a wife."

"You can't kill him," she said to me. I figured she'd say that; she's against killing as it is, but make it a family member, and she is really against it. She looked at me and smiled, "You can't kill him, because I'm going to kill him first."

I love my wife. If she weren't still in pain from her surgeries and still in casts, I'd haul her to the bedroom and show her how much I love her. God, I miss being buried inside her.

Just as I was about to suggest that we pop a movie in, there was a knock on the door. I stood and walked to the door. Peeking through the hole, I saw two people. One I wanted to talk to and one I didn't want to see right now. Opening the door, Ranger and Chase stepped through.

I glared at Chase, "I received a phone call earlier." It took him a second, but he had the decency to look down. "Yeah, you and I need to talk in a little bit. And, if I were you," I said as I lowered my voice, "I'd stay away from Steph right now."

Ranger walked into the living room and sat down on the chair, "Can I talk to you for a moment, Babe?"

I cringed hearing that word. I know he's always called her that, but now that she's my wife, I don't like it. I don't like Les calling her Beautiful, but I know I have to get use to this. I will not ask her to change, and that includes the people that she has in her life.

"What do you want to discuss, Ranger?"

He looked at me, then Chase, and back to Stephanie. "Well, I guess I was wondering if there was anything you'd like to tell me."

Oh hell no. I growled at Chase and was ready to deck his ass. "It wasn't me. I'm not that stupid," he whispered. That is yet to be seen.

Ranger must have heard Chase because he spoke up, "No one told me. I found out on my own."

Stephanie looked like she was about to cry and I didn't like that. Walking over, I sat on the table and pulled her chair to me. Taking her hands in mine, I waited until she looked at me, "Honey, please don't cry. We knew we were going to have to tell him."

"I know. I just wanted to be the one to tell him."

"Babe, no one told me. I did what I usually do when I return from a mission."

She looked over at Ranger and tipped her head to the side, "What is that?"

For a minute, I didn't think Ranger was going to answer. Chase, while waiting for the answer as well, walked over to Steph and kissed her cheek. I was surprised, but then again, I wasn't. She draws everyone in when they meet her.

"I do a background check on you every time I come home."

Holy shit. If Steph could have stood up, I think she'd have launched herself at Ranger. The look in her eyes was murder. "Excuse me? I don't think I heard you right. I thought you said you ran a BGC on me and that you do that every time you come home from a mission."

Ranger closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, I saw a world of regret in them. "I did say that. I do it every time I get back from a long mission."

"WHY?" Okay. Here's the thing. I love when my wife is angry. I know I shouldn't, but as long as she's not angry with me, it turns me on. I love the sound of her voice when she's like that. If I could pay someone to piss her off every day, I would… just don't tell her that!

"Babe."

"Do NOT Babe me, Ranger. I want to know why the hell you feel it necessary to run a check on me."

"I do it to see what happened to you while I was gone. I know the guys usually tell me the major things, but I want to know everything. Why didn't you tell me?"

"When the hell was I supposed to tell you? When you broke in here at two o'seven in the morning? Or how about when you were beating the hell out of my husband?" I saw her struggling to reposition and knew she was itching to get up.

Placing my hand on her knee, I squeezed slightly and she settled down. The movement wasn't lost on Ranger. He glanced at my hand and her expression.

"I know you're pissed at me, but I do it to make sure you weren't really in any danger while I was gone. Only this time, I found something that I never expected. I found that you are no longer Stephanie Plum, but Stephanie Cooper. And, believe it or not, I'm happy for you and Binkie. I know he will be able to provide you with the things I couldn't or wouldn't. He'll take care of you and I know you'll be happy."

He looked at me before he spoke again, "If you ever hurt her, you'll have me to deal with."

"I don't appreciate threats," I reminded him. "Besides, I'd never hurt her; at least not intentionally. I'm sure you can't say the same."

He started to shake his head to deny it but stopped mid shake. "You're right. I have hurt her and for that I'm sorry. I regret everything I did to hurt her; but I won't stand by and watch someone else do the same. Don't screw it up. She's the best thing that will ever happen to you." With that, he stood up and left our apartment.

"Damn," Chase whistled. "What the fuck was that?"

"That was nothing compared to what I'm about to do to you," Steph growled out. Chase actually looked scared of my wife. Honestly, if I were in his shoes, I'd be scared, too!