Thank you for your patience. This isn't perfect but in the interest of getting it done one day, here it is. One short epilogue to go, then we're done for now!

I really did have the key.

Where did I leave the clock?

I took it with me to the bar. I still had it when Ranger found me. I'd left it in his car. And then I'd seen it later on in Ranger's office on his desk.

The clock was in Ranger's office.

The most well guarded place in Trenton.

Think fast, Steph, because your life depends on this one.

Ranger please be tracking me, I thought silently. My purse and phone had been left behind in the car, but I still had the tracker tucked into my bra.

"Dickie hid the key in a clock that my aunt gave us as a wedding present. I took it from his office because I wanted the clock back. I didn't know about the key inside."

"And where is the key now?" Petiak asked.

"I took the clock to my new apartment. I didn't know the key was inside. I just wanted Dickie not to have it."

"You didn't know the key was inside?" Dave asked.

"Shut up," Petiak yelled at him.

"I had no idea that there even was a key. Dickie didn't tell me about anything that was going on," I said. A tear started rolling down my cheeks. I didn't want to cry, but it was involuntary.

"We're going to your apartment and you're going to give us the key. What's the address?" Petiak asked. If he was asking for the address, that means that they hadn't been able to track me down. Maybe they hadn't been keeping an eye on me since they were looking for Dickie, not me. I gave them the address of the Rangeman building and started hoping.

I was hoping that everyone hadn't rushed out of the Rangeman building when Ranger heard us crash. I was hoping that Vince was okay. I was hoping that someone at Rangeman was keeping an eye on my tracker. I was hoping that we all got out of this okay. Well, not Dave and Petiak and the two other guys, I didn't care what happened to them.

We pulled up outside the Rangeman building.

The unnamed man next to me got out first, showing me his gun as a warning. The man other side of me gave me a shove toward the door. I decided to call them Jay and Silent Bob.

Jay turned to look at the building while Silent Bob pushed me out of the car. Petiak got out too. Dave stayed in the car. Maybe his leg was bothering him. Maybe they were aiming for a quick getaway after they'd gotten the key.

"Take us to the key," Petiak told me.

"I don't have my keys. I left my purse in the car," I realised.

Petiak looked like he was about to shoot me, then go for the flamethrower. Yikes. "It's okay, I'll get a spare set from the doorman," I hastily said.

I walked inside the building with my armed escort closely behind.

I was really hoping for Hal or Cal behind the desk – I suppose they would have raised suspicion but there was something comforting about the idea of Hal-o-saurus waiting there for me.

Instead it was Binkie.

Binkie was new at Rangeman. I'd assumed he got his nickname because he looked so young than he might have still needed a binkie. He was clean shaven and looked about twelve. Rangeman abided by all local hiring laws though, so he was probably twenty.

When I'd imagined a knight in shining armour, he didn't look like Binkie.

Binkie was behind the concierge desk, wearing a suit. He had a nametag that read Jarrod. He was reading a textbook titled Algebra 101.

"Good evening Ms Plum," he said brightly as I came up to the desk.

"Hello Jarrod. I, ah, forgot my keys and need to get the spares for my apartment. Apartment 5B," I told him, hoping he'd get the hint. I want access to Level 5, Binkie, not Level 4.

Binkie put his textbook down and looked through some papers on his desk. Petiak cleared his throat and I hoped that he didn't shoot Binkie out of sheer impatience.

Binkie reached into a cupboard behind his desk, opened a key safe, then handed me a swipe card with a key attached.

"I just need you to sign this form saying you have your second set of keys, Ms Plum," he told me, passing across a sheet of paper. At this point I started fervently hoping that Binkie was in on the set-up and not just being a really good doorman.

"Thank you, Jarrod," I told him, taking the keys and swipe card.

"You're welcome Ms Plum. Oh, and Ms Plum? I got a package for you earlier. I kept it at the desk. I'll just grab it for you," he said cheerfully, putting away the papers and his text book.

At this point I was getting ready to reach over the desk and slap Binkie myself. I had no plans for what happened once the elevator doors opened up on Floor 5 and it became obvious that we weren't in an apartment building, but I figured I'd have a better chance there than going up to Floor 4 alone.

The elevator pinged loudly and the doors started to open. Petiak, Jay and Silent Bob turned to see who was getting out of the elevator. It was empty.

The overhead lights went out and the foyer was dark except for the dim light coming in from outside.

"WEAPONS DOWN! NOW!" a voice yelled.

Binkie grabbed me under the arms and hauled me over the desk, shoving me underneath it. He pushed me against the side of the desk and then blocked me from seeing anything else. He was also blocking me from the rain of bullets that I could hear. It didn't last long but I flinched every time I heard a gun go off. The shooting stopped and I could hear shouting. Ranger's voice.

"Report."

I heard Lester, Bobby, and Hal report in. No casualties. Hostiles down.

"Binkie," Ranger yelled. It had been noisy in there so I'm guessing everyone was yelling because their ears were ringing as much as mine were.

"Clear, boss," Binkie said, standing up. He helped me stand up next to him, and although I was a little shaky on my feet, I finger waved at Ranger. All the Rangemen who had appeared in the lobby looked like they were dressed for combat – vests on, night vision gear, multiple guns strapped to them.

I couldn't see Petiak, Jay or Silent Bob anywhere. I also couldn't hear them. I tried to look past where Ranger and Lester were standing, but Binkie asked me not to move.

"Steph, are you okay?" he asked me, looking me over.

"I think so. How's Vince? Did someone go to him?" I asked.

"We sent Woody and Cal. The ambulance was on its way too. I'll try and find out," he said, typing on his phone. It pinged in reply soon after. "Woody says Vince is okay. He hit his head hard, he's probably got a concussion, but there's no permanent damage."

Trenton PD arrived soon after, multiple cars with sirens on. Rangeman had clear footage of the incident. Petiak and his men opened fire first, on Rangeman property, after abducting me at gunpoint, so I was confident the case against them was strong. There was audio and camera footage from Rangeman to prove it.

Ranger and some of the team had been listening in on Ranger's call to Vince when Dave crashed into the car, so they'd swung into action straight away. They'd been about to leave the building in teams when my tracker started moving and they realised that I was on the move and headed in the direction of the building. Ranger split the teams and sent half the men out just in case. They doubled back and took out Dave, then joined the action from the front door.

Dave hadn't tried to shoot anyone, surprisingly, so was now in police custody. The rest of Petiak's crew didn't get the idea that going up against armed Rangemen wasn't the best idea. Maybe they hadn't realised at that point what they were up against.

Once the elevator doors opened and Petiak, Jay and Silent Bob were distracted, the rest of the Rangemen came into the lobby through hidden doors build into the wall panels.

Petiak opened fire first.

He was shot straight away. Jay and Silent Bob were next. Although they were shooting wildly, they managed to miss everyone in the room, although there were lots of bullet holes in the walls.

Trenton PD wanted to interview everyone involved. Ranger made the meeting rooms available to them, and I was just about to move to one when Morelli pulled up outside. He ran in, looking for me. Ranger saw him and nodded over to where I was. Morelli ran over and grabbed hold of me.

"Jesus, Steph," Morelli said.

"I'm okay."

"Being related to you is giving me worse stress than my actual job," Morelli told me.

"Blame my husband," I said.

"I really hope a divorce is in your near future. Or, just quietly, letting Harry the Hammer at him," Morelli said.

"Wouldn't that just cause more work for you?"

"Job security," Morelli told me, finally letting me go. I felt a presence behind me and looked around. Ranger had finished talking to the PD and was standing behind me.

"Ranger, thank you," I told him.

"Proud of you, babe," he said. "You stalled them just long enough for us to get into position."

"I was hoping you'd have a plan. I had no idea what to do so I came here. They said the key was in Aunt Tootsie's clock. Dickie knew that I took the clock, but didn't bother telling everyone else all the details. I think he was still hoping to take the key himself," I said.

"Probably," Morelli said, looking ready to murder Dickie. Good thing Morelli was no longer in charge of keeping Dickie safe.

"How did you get everyone into action so quickly?" I asked Ranger, hoping to change the subject.

"We had five minutes to get ready," Ranger said. "I've overthrown small countries with less warning time than that."

I think he was joking.

Trenton PD wanted my attention, so I left Morelli and Ranger and went into a meeting room to give my statement. By the time I got out, Ranger had disappeared, along with most of the Rangemen. Binkie and Hal looked to be on door duty, standing aside to let Trenton PD do their work.

Morelli was waiting for me.

"So you had the key all along, huh?" he said.

"Yeah. If only I'd known. I could be on a beach somewhere with all my money by now," I said.

"Hunted by Petiak internationally, no doubt."

"What's going to happen to the money?" I asked Morelli.

"To be honest, I think Dickie will end up with it," Morelli said.

"What?!" I yelled.

"We have no proof that the money was illegally gained. All the law firm records show that it is legitimate. The information that we have wasn't legally gained and can't be used in court."

"So what happens?" I asked Morelli.

"The firm gets disbanded. The assets go to the four partners, or their beneficiaries in their wills."

"And nothing happens to Dickie?"

"All evidence says that he's just dumb, not dirty. It's not a crime to be greedy. I mean you can drag him through the muck with your divorce and ruin all his prospects for ever having a political career, if you want. Or you can get a quick divorce, get your share of the law firm money, and move on," Morelli said.

"Can't I have both?"

"Knock yourself out. Do you need a lift anywhere?"

"No, I'm good. I'll stay in my apartment here for a few days and regroup," I told Morelli. He hugged me goodbye.

"Visit us soon," he said, then left.

I went to my apartment on four, opened up a bottle of wine and started looking at apartments. I was divorcing my husband as soon as I could, and had no intention of ever living in the house that we shared ever again.

Lester joined me after I was a few glasses in and started add in his opinion. He told me that the security on the apartment that I wanted most of all looked appalling and I might as well just invite all the axe murderers and serial killers in. Lester had a lot in common with my mother. He opened the door and yelled for Hector to join us. Bobby had gone to the hospital to get an update on Vince and check in on Tank, so I was spared from all three of my floor mates giving their opinion.

There was a knock on the open door and we looked up. Ranger was there. Lester looked at him, and then got up and walked straight over. Ranger spoke to him quietly, Lester nodded, hugged Ranger, and then walked out the door. Hector seemed to know what was happening from this, and he squeezed my hand goodbye, then went over and did a complicated handshake with Ranger, then walked out, closing the door behind him.

Ranger walked over to me and looked at my computer.

"You can stay here for as long as you need," he told me.

"Thank you. I'm planning on finding my own place soon though. I'm not going back to the townhouse," I told Ranger.

"I think everyone here has enjoyed having you around. It's added some excitement to our lives," Ranger said.

"I'm going to miss everyone here. And I'm really getting into watching The Passion of Santos," I said.

"I knew Hector was still watching telenovelas," Ranger said. "His grandmother was big into them, and he used to watch them every day with her when he was cutting school. But don't tell anyone else that or he will literally kill you." I flicked my eyes over to him. "No I'm not joking," he said.

"Did you come in here to tell me anything?" I asked.

"I'm going in the wind," Ranger said. I'd known Ranger long enough that I knew that meant he'd been called in for a government job and couldn't give any further details on what was going to happen. Ranger may not have even known the details himself.

"This isn't because of Petiak, is it?"

"No, babe. No one cares that he's dead."

"How long will you be gone?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"How long until you need to leave?"

"Twelve hours," Ranger said.

"Huh. What a coincidence," I told him. I poured myself another glass of wine and handed a glass to Ranger. I needed some extra courage to make this move.

"Babe?"

"Because I was just thinking that my plan is to spend the next twelve hours ruining you for all other women," I told him.

It was the first time that I'd ever seen Ranger speechless.

It didn't last for long.

11 hours and 30 minutes later, I was watching Ranger leave.

"That was the best send off I've ever had," he told me. He looked energised. I felt like a wreck on how little sleep we'd had.

"How do you still have energy?" I asked him. My plan was to sleep for a week.

"I can sleep on the plane," he said.

"So did I achieve my goal? Did I ruin you for all other women?" I teased him. In response he leaned in and kissed me again. I was pretty sure that I moaned. He was freshly showered and I was tempted to pull his clothes off again.

"I've got to go," he told me. "Let Tank know if you need anything while I'm gone."

"Stay safe. Don't get shot," I told him.

"Don't go crazy," he said.

I walked him to the door and kissed him goodbye. I was starting to think that I'd made a mistake. I'd joked to Ranger that I was going to ruin him for all other women, but instead I had, quite possibly, ruined myself for all other men.