Not mine, but a girl can dream.

Warning: language and and smut, actually this chapter is lots of smut, but all integral to the storyline, I promise you.

Better Man 16

Storyline borrowed from Lean Mean 13

I was practically bouncing in my seat by the time we got back to Haywood. I couldn't wait to get my hands on Dickie. Miserable Prick. I fantasized outloud, "Can I shoot him?" Ranger gave me a look. "Stun him? Hit him?" Another look. "Kick him in the balls?" Ranger grimaced.

"Babe," he seemed a little shocked by my enthusiasm for beating the shit out of my ex husband.

"Ranger, he is a horrible human being. He brings out the worst in me. I can't help it." I shrugged.

By the time we got back to Rangeman, I didn't think he was going to let me anywhere near the interrogation room. It was true; I did tend to lose perspective when it came to Dickie. I just saw red wherever he was concerned. I promised Ranger I would behave myself and he agreed I could watch the interrogation from the next room and then I could have a crack at him.

We took the elevator to the first sub basement that housed the holding cells. They were like prison cells, but nicer. There were also interrogation rooms that had the one way glass so I could observe without Dickie seeing me. I didn't think seeing me would loosen his tongue any. Ranger and I entered the viewing room where Lester was waiting. He gave me a big smile.

"Enjoy your nap Beautiful?" He grinned at me.

I had no idea what he was talking about; it must have shown on my face.

"Ranger said you fell asleep this morning on the stakeout, that's why you stayed in the car." He looked at me and then back at Ranger.

I yawned quickly and stretched, "Yup, great nap, feel so much better, like a new woman." I smiled big. Ranger let out a low satisfied chuckle.

Lester eyed me for a moment, but Ranger shot him a look that made him drop it.

Through the glass we watch as Tank hauled Dickie in and sat him down hard. There were two uncomfortable looking chairs in the room and a standard metal table. The room was a little bleak. Tank didn't sit in the other chair, he stood against the wall with his arms crossed, his eyes focused on Dickie. Dickie looked disheveled, a bruise was starting to form on his cheek and his lip was bleeding.

"Was he like that when you guys found him?" I was wondering who had the pleasure.

"Don't worry Beautiful, we didn't hurt him. The guy who was holding him worked him over pretty good." Lester tried to reassure me.

"I don't care if you hurt him. I take that back, if anyone gets to hurt him I want it to be me. No-good scum-sucking cheating sonofabitch." I fumed.

Lester's eyebrows shot up and Ranger laughed. I shrugged and turned back to watch.

Tank asked Dickie all sorts of questions about his partners and the money and the murders. Dickie didn't know much. Unfortunately none of it was anything we didn't already know. Tank hadn't even needed to rough him up any. Too bad.

Once Ranger was satisfied that Tank had gotten as much info from Dickie as he could, he turned to me. "Did you want to have a crack at him?"

I jumped up like a puppy who had just heard the words 'Wanna go outside?' and I nodded my head furiously.

Ranger laughed. "I'm not saying you can't hurt him, I'm just telling you to make sure it's going to serve a purpose. We don't have all the answers yet." His jaw clenched, but I saw the hint of a smirk when he said, "I wouldn't let you go in there, but you seem to have a way of driving the man insane and I'm hoping he'll spill the rest of it."

I briefly considered being insulted, even if it was true. Knowing if I ticked off Ranger I wouldn't get anywhere near Dickie. So I just stuck my tongue out at him.

Ranger's eyes darkened and he pulled me to him kissing me senseless before patting me on the ass, "Go get 'em Tiger." He said as he opened the door to the interrogation room for me.

Tank nodded to me as I entered the room, Ranger a step behind me. They did some ESP thing and Tank stepped out while Ranger stood guard. Dickie was cuffed to the table so I didn't think Ranger was there for my protection. I'm guessing it was to pull me off of Dickie if I tried to throttle him. Smart man.

Dickie took one look at me and slanted his eyes, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I work here, Dickie." I smiled at him. He took in the Rangeman lettering on my t-shirt. I thought it best to get to the point now that we had the pleasantries out of the way, "Why were you in my apartment? What were you looking for?" He said nothing.

I tried to agitate him, "If you were looking for our wedding album, I burned it."

"Why would I want that?" He sneered.

I shrugged, "I don't know, but I don't know what else you would be looking for at my place either."

"When my place was broken into, I lost some things, mementos." His attitude had changed. He appeared to be sad, broken, but I had seen this ploy in our divorce proceedings, he didn't fool me.

"And?" I made the sign that means go on. I was thinking of other hand gestures I wanted to make, but I needed to get the info out of him before I really pissed him off.

He gave me droopy eyes, "And I was thinking about other things that mean something to me and how I lost them too."

Disbelief crossed my face. Was he fucking kidding me? "Me?"

He scowled, "No, not you." Thank you God! His voice was calm and lawyer-ish, "Just little things, like the clock you took from my office; I always liked that clock."

My hackles rose. This is what started the whole nightmare. "My aunt gave us that clock. It's mine!"

"Well what about sharing? We could share it. Like visitation rights." He was still calm, trying to bargain with me.

"Dickie it's a fucking clock." The look on his face was pathetic. I relented, "Tell me why you want it and maybe I'll make you a deal. It isn't like she was my favorite aunt or anything."

He shrugged, trying to hide its importance to him, "I just like it."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Dickie, if you don't tell me why you want that clock I am going to go get it and smash it to pieces, then set it on fire just to spite you!"

"No!" He tried to jump up, but he stumbled since he was cuffed to the table. Embarrassed, he continued, "Fine. It has the key card in it, the one for the partners' bank account."

My eyes bugged out, "The 40 million?"

He shrugged very nonchalantly, "Roughly."

I started to connect the dots, "Is that why Petiak wants me?"

He nodded, "I told him you had the key."

I shrieked, "You what?" I started towards him.

He cowered a bit, "He was going to kill me; I had to tell him something." Well that makes it all okay then.

"Did you really think you could rip those guys off and get away with all that money?" He seemed to be one brick short of a load.

He nodded, "Joyce and I need that money. We love each other and we need it to start fresh." Poor dumb sonofabitch.

"Joyce? In love? I don't think she's capable. The woman screws barnyard animals. And Vinnie! She's the antichrist. She's hated me since kindergarten. Hell, she probably wanted me to find you two on the dining room table, she's sick like that. I wouldn't put it past her to screw you just to mess with me."

"She's not like that! She loves me! She doesn't even talk about you…that much." He tried to recover, "There were plenty of other women that wanted me back then, why would Joyce have been any different? There is nothing like a wedding band to make a man more attractive." He sneered at me.

"Like who? Jesus Dickie, it wasn't like you were even any good." I should have just left it there, but Bad Stephanie just woke up, "The years I was with you were the longest I ever went without a social orgasm. I should have gotten a damn Oscar for faking it just to protect your ego."

He was incredulous, "Sue Ann Grebek said I was the best she ever had."

I snorted, "Sue Ann? She slept with you? Holy Hell, it wasn't my fault I got elected class treasurer our junior year and she didn't. Man can she hold a grudge."

His eyes got wide, "What? She didn't sleep with me because of you!"

I gave him a look that said, yeah right!

"Mary Jo Krazinski, I made her scream." He looked smug.

I laughed, "She never got over the fact that Carl Costanza asked me to Prom when he dumped her senior year."

His face was turning red. He reminded me of Joe. "Cynthia Hawser."

I shrugged, "I beat her out for the job at the Tasty Pastry, if she got the job; she thinks she would have gotten Morelli." Too bad she didn't.

He wouldn't give up, "Angie Kroeger."

"Furious I was the Homecoming attendant freshman year." I smirked.

Grasping at straws he threw out, "Margaret Molinowski."

I snorted, "Are you kidding me? It was the sixth grade for chrissake. She wanted to be the May Queen, but I got it." I started laughing. It started small, but by the time I was done I had tears in my eyes and my side hurt. When I looked at Dickie he looked like a mixture of anger and defeat.

I was still struggling to breathe after my laughing fit. "You have no idea how much better I feel. You know I could never figure it out. You sleeping around. I mean really, they say it isn't size that matters, but how you use it. You've got neither going for you." He glared at me, "Damnit Dickie, I thought briefly I might be a lesbian because you couldn't give me an orgasm."

He stood up quickly and nearly stumbled again because of the cuffs. "You think it's my fault you can't have an orgasm? Maybe there's something wrong with you. You were never very adventurous, maybe you're frigid." I opened my mouth to scream at him, but I didn't get a chance.

"You're an idiot." Ranger's voice surprised me; I forgot he was in the room. Apparently Dickie did too. He turned to look at Ranger.

Ranger walked closer to where Dickie and I were standing; this was Badass Street Ranger. "You do know who I am, right? You aren't that fucking stupid are you?" Dickie's eyes got big and he nodded. "Good. You need to understand something." Ranger used one arm to circle my waist and pull me to him. "Stephanie now belongs to me. She's mine. Her happiness is very important to me. There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep her safe." He was marking his territory, sending a warning, and surprisingly I didn't mind.

Dickie failed to understand Ranger's message, "Fine, but I don't know what you want with her. I know she looks hot, but you heard her, she's not much in the sack." He looked at me distastefully.

Ranger's lips tipped up in a menacing smile, "And you think the problem lies with her? It couldn't possibly be you?" Dickie shook his head, but kept him mouth shut.

Ranger let go of my waist, but kept a hold of my hand, as he leaned in close to Dickie and his voice got a little quieter, "The only reason Stephanie wasn't part of the action to bring you in this morning was because she'd just ridden me like a racehorse while we'd been waiting in the car. It was fucking beautiful. She came so hard she didn't have the energy to go and collect you, despite how badly she wanted the chance to beat your ass." My mouth was hanging open in disbelief. Ranger looked back at me with a smile, obviously pleased with himself. "So I know the problem isn't with her."

Dickie swallowed hard and looked at me, then at Ranger and then back at me. He really wanted to insult me I know, but he really liked breathing too.