Chapter 14 Undercover
Tank and Stephanie got into his truck. "What the hell?" Stephanie asked as she looked at Tank.
"That makes two of us. It was either for show, or Helen really meant it." Tank told his wife.
"Come on, let's get back to Rangeman for the night," Tank said. He tried to start his truck, but the ignition wouldn't catch. Stephanie shuddered before opening the door.
Tank and Stephanie had just stepped out of the truck when they heard the telltale click of the timer. "Run," was all Tank could get out. They rushed into Helen's house when his truck went boom.
Tank looked Stephanie up and down, assessing for injuries. "You okay?" Tank asked her.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Stephanie replied as they sat down to slow their racing hearts.
Helen rushed towards them, looking more frightened than Stephanie had ever seen before. "What happened?" Helen asked as she looked outside, seeing Tank's SUV engulfed in flames.
"Truck go boom," Stephanie told her mom as she opened her fingers to accentuate the explosion.
Stephanie's cell rang, interrupting their conversation. "Hello?" she said, connecting the call.
"Stephanie, this is Lester. Are you and Tank all right? His car just went offline."
"Yeah, Lester, we are fine, just a little shaken up." Sirens sounded in the background as the police arrived with the fire department. Stephanie got off the couch to walk around.
"Fuck," Tank said aloud when they saw Morelli exiting his car. Stephanie looked over Tank's shoulder to see outside.
"Can I have your phone, little one?" Tank asked as he stood to approach her. Stephanie nodded and wordlessly gave him the phone that still had Lester on the line.
"Hey, Lester, can you call the police and tell them that Morelli is breaking a restraining order?" Tank asked.
"Yep, hold on, Tank. I'm calling them now," Lester replied. "All right, I just called the police, and they said that they did give Morelli the RO. They are sending another unit over to tell Morelli that he needs to leave."
"Thanks, Lester."
"Okay, little one, they are dispatching a new unit to tell Morelli that he needs to leave," Tank explained.
"Tank." Stephanie was too emotionally fragile to say anything else.
Tank opened his arms, and Stephanie walked into them. Tears silently streamed down her face as her husband rubbed soothing circles on her back. He held her for a while until she calmed down.
A few minutes later, another police unit arrived and approached Morelli to talk.
"Yeah, I have a restraining order against me from Stephanie Plum, but I heard a truck blew up. I knew that it had to do with her. She will be my future wife once I get this damned RO removed. So I figured I would come to check it out," Morelli told Butters.
Butters watched him leave as he thought, "Shit Morelli is not in a good place." He approached the Plums' house and knocked on the door.
Tank answered the door with Stephanie plastered to his side. "Hey, Butters, this is my wife, Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Zack Butters. We served together in the army," Tank said, providing Stephanie with the context of their acquaintance.
After exchanging pleasantries as every Burg girl got expected to do, Tank asked, "What did Morelli have to say?"
"He said that he was going to get the RO lifted, then he would marry Stephanie," Butters replied.
Butters thanked the Plums for permitting him to enter their home and apologized for the inconvenience. "He is in a bad place right now. I don't know what to do. I can't keep him in Vice because he is acting like, excuse my language, a dick," Butters told everyone.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Helen opened the door to Lester. She welcomed him into her home as she shakily closed the door behind him.
"Perfect timing Lester," Tank said when he entered the living room.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Stephanie quietly asked after seeing her pale face.
"Yeah, I am fine, honey. You should get back to Rangeman with your husband." Stephanie gave her mom a quick hug before asking Tank to take her home.
Lester opened the door as Helen watched them leave. She was relieved to get the excitement away from her home.
Tank opened the rear seat door, taking the seat beside his wife. He held her hand as Lester drove them back to the Rangeman building, where he could ensure her safety.
Once they were back at Rangeman, they exited the car, finding the men lined inside the garage awaiting their arrival. They hugged Stephanie, happy for her safe return. "I will be off the grid for the night," Tank announced. Everyone watched Tank grab Stephanie's hand and walk into the elevator.
They entered Tank's apartment, relieved to be home. Stephanie and Tank exchanged a heated look before attacking each other to remove their clothes. Tank had Stephanie undress in under two minutes. After making love, they fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.