Chapter 14

Stephanie turned off her computer and sat motionless in her chair. Paul had come to check on her before he'd left an hour earlier. It was unusual for her to stay past closing, but today had turned out to be a very unusual day. She'd told Paul that she'd be staying late, and implied that she was working out the details of her possible expansion. That had satisfied him, and he'd told her he would set the alarm as he left so she'd be safe in the building.

The truth was she was overwhelmed by the information she'd gathered, and she needed to recover before she could leave for home. For years she had denied every temptation to delve back into her old life. She'd willingly given it up to protect her daughter. No word had ever come from her contact to let her know the threat no longer existed, so she had to assume it did.

Now, someone from her old life was intruding into her new one, and she'd had no choice but to find the information she'd so long denied herself. Thanks to Google it had been easy.

Vinnie was in jail. Connie owned the bonds office and as best she could tell, Lula worked for her. Her sister and Albert were still married and living a little north of Trenton in Pennington. She'd googled their house and it looked nice. Albert must be doing well. Mary Lou and Lenny renewed their vows and celebrated their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary with a big party at the PNA hall a couple of years before.

And Ranger was alive. She'd found proof on the internet, but only the one mention. Still, it was enough to convince her. Ranger had always flown under the radar, so even one item containing his name was enough. And then, she had other proof. There had been the armchair, and there had been the hangover cure. Someone had gotten past her home security and someone had found her corporate card and used it in a way that would give her a clue to his identity. Ranger was not only alive, he was near. The thought should have elated her, but it filled her with another emotion. She was afraid.

Ranger would have come for her, if he'd known she was alive. He hadn't known. If he was here now, something had happened. Maybe someone in Trenton knew she was alive and somehow Ranger had found out. Maybe the threat against her was still active and if that was the case, Cally could be in danger. She had to warn her. Her hand moved toward her phone and then stilled suddenly.

The tiny little hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Her heart started beating double-time and for a moment, she stopped breathing entirely. Her gaze was focused on her phone sitting only inches in front of her monitor, and slowly, purposefully, she forced her eyes up to the door of her office where she was sure she'd see him, but the doorway was empty.

Stephanie swallowed the lump in her throat, picked up her phone and called her daughter. The call went to voicemail and Stephanie's message was curt. "Call me, soon!" Without warning tears flowed silently and unchecked down her face.

She'd been at her desk all day, effectively if not purposefully avoiding her staff and clients. Fortunately, it hadn't been a teaching day for her. No way could she have faced those Silver Sneakers ladies and gents. They were perceptive. They'd have known something was wrong. But not even the most imaginative of them could have envisioned her past, and the secrets she'd held so closely.

She drew a hand across her cheeks to staunch the flow of tears and grimaced as she saw the smear of mascara on the back of her hand. She reached for a tissue and blew her nose. She took a deep breath and began the routine of abdominal breathing exercises that were part of her martial arts training. Slowly as she became aware of the air entering her body and filling her lungs she began to relax. Her heartbeat returned to normal and a sense of calmness settled over her.

Muscles protested as she stood from the chair. The monumental computer search session had left her stiff and even the breathing exercises couldn't reduce all the tension coiled within her. Her hands went to her hair involuntarily exacerbating curls that were already chaotic. She pulled open her desk drawer searching in vain for a hair elastic. She needed to run and while the treadmill was never her first choice, she'd get in a good workout. She'd work out the kinks, calm down and then she'd go home and wait for Ranger to come to her, because she knew he would.

She slung her purse over her arm. She'd close her office and head for the track that encircled the cardio room. As she turned to pick up her phone from the desk she froze. Light fell from overhead on an apparition standing outside her door. Her pupils dilated as the shadowy figure stepped into her office. Her purse hit the floor with a thud.

"I thought you were dead," she told him.

He'd never seen her look more beautiful. Mascara ringed her eyes and her hair formed an asymmetrical halo around a face that was familiar and yet different. It was age he supposed, although he didn't think she looked old. Her face was thinner, with tiny lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Laugh lines. That was good. Her face showed that the years apart had held some happiness for her.

"I thought you were dead," he repeated back to her.

Her hand was at her chest, as if she was monitoring her heartbeat, and perhaps she was. He was aware of his beating double-time. He moved forward toward her. "We have some catching up to do," he said.

"You think?" she said, her voice cracking. And then she caught her breath on a sob and moved forward obliterating the distance between them. She buried her face in his chest as his arms came around her. Hers slid around him and tried to pull him closer, but they were as one entity standing in the middle of her office.

He remembered the mascara as he felt her tears soak his shirt and was glad he'd chosen to dress much as she'd remember him. He wasn't committed to the black wardrobe of RangeMan any longer, but he'd thought she'd remember him that way, so he'd pulled an old RangeMan shirt from his closet and substituted soft jersey slacks for the cargos she'd be expecting. He needed the room for his brace, which was currently residing with the rest of his luggage in Stephanie's condo.

She didn't know it yet, but he was staying with her. Now that he'd seen her and was holding her, he couldn't think about a separation between them. She was alive and in his arms, and he was reeling with emotion. They stood tightly embracing one another, her tears soaking his shirt, his tears falling onto unruly brown hair that bounced and quivered with her sobs.

Sometime later she pulled away and walked to her desk to grab a tissue and blow her nose. "I wouldn't have gone if I'd known you were alive," she said. "How did you find me? Is it safe for you to be here? I have a daughter and…"

He gathered her back into his arms. "I know you have a daughter. I know Cally. She's the one who figured out I was the man you'd told her about. She's the reason I'm here. I remember her as an infant. I visited you after she was born. Do you remember?"

Stephanie nodded slowly. "I do remember now, but I had forgotten. I don't usually think of that time anymore. But you know Cally? And why would you put Cally together with me?"

"As I said, I didn't figure it out. She did. We have a lot to talk about. Take me to your home. We'll start at the beginning."

"My home," Stephanie said. "You were in my home. Last night."

"I was," he admitted. "I wanted to leave a clue. To make you realize it could be me. I've known about you for a few weeks. I wanted to plant the thought that I could be alive, so that when we met you wouldn't be shocked."

"It didn't work," she said. Her tears started afresh, but she wiped them away with the back of her hand. "Okay, we'll go. And we'll talk?"

He nodded. "All night if we have to. We'll talk until we get caught up on every day we've missed."

She pulled her bag from where it had landed on the floor earlier and made her way to the door, not seeing her phone lying on her desk where she'd left it when she'd first seen Ranger.

Minutes later as they were getting ready to exit the building, she stopped. "I need to disarm and then rearm the alarm. Paul locked me in."

"I'll get it," Ranger told her.

"You can't," she said. "You need the code."

"Babe."

She watched as he entered a series of numbers and letters on the keypad that weren't even close to her code. He pushed open the door and held his hand out for her to pass through. "You've got twenty seconds to close the door behind us before the alarm goes off," he said.

"But how?" she sighed and shook her head. "I'm glad you're here," she said softly.

"Me too."

She was nervous, he could tell, but hell, he was nervous, too. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out to see it was another message from Tank. Where the hell are you? Call me ASAP. It was the third such message he'd gotten in the last eight hours. Tank had become overprotective of Ranger since the accident. He didn't check in with Ranger regularly, but he thought Ranger should check in with him. Possibly he had information on his WITSEC investigation, but tomorrow would be soon enough to hear about that.

Ranger pushed the power button and severed the possibility of communication with Tank. He had known Stephanie Plum for a long time. He had loved her, and had told her so, always qualifying his love. He'd pushed her to Joe. It remained to be seen whether the travesty they endured was connected to his past, but even if it wasn't, the situation never would have existed if he'd just manned up and taken her as his woman.

Now, he'd been given a second chance. He was going to use the hours immediately in front of him to get to know Stephanie Williams, to see what part of Stephanie Plum was still intact. And if nothing was the same, he'd embrace the change. Holding her in his arms told him that Williams or Plum, she was still important to him.

He looked at her openly as she drove him to her condo. "I see a little RangeMan influence," he told her and was amused when she blushed.

"You mean my clothes?" she asked.

"Yes."

"We needed a uniform for the gym employees. We all wear black. Different types of workout gear depending on what we're involved in, but our clients know if they see someone in black, it's an employee."

"Seems like a good plan," he said. "I like your wheels, too."

This time the blush was more pronounced. "I've always been sorry for destroying your Porsche," she said, "But…"

"I know, Babe. It wasn't your fault. It was almost never your fault. You've always been capable and always faced up to responsibilities…just like you did when they told you Joe was gone."

"Joe!" she said and then fell silent. The car swerved and he reached out his hand to steady the wheel. He could tell from her expression what had just occurred to her. That Joe might be alive and living somewhere under a different name just as she was.

"No. Joe is dead," he told her. He realized then another sacrifice she'd made. She hadn't been able to publicly grieve her husband as she was supposedly dead. Her last memory of him would have been the wreck that caused his death and her injuries. She had sacrificed to a level almost incomprehensible to him. He made a silent vow. Whomever had done this to them would suffer and die.

"Joe was murdered," Ranger continued, "and you and Cally were meant to be murdered as well. We need to talk about it, and soon. We need to figure out what really happened, but not yet. First I want to hear about your life."

"I'll tell you," she said. "And I want to hear about yours. Are you…?" There was a lengthy pause.

Ranger reached out a hand and caressed her arm briefly. "There's never been anyone serious in my life. Not since I lost you."