After properly celebrating the first day of our official cohabitation by making Ranger late for work, I showered and dressed and headed to my apartment to give it a proper cleaning. I vacuumed, dusted, sanitized the bathroom and cleaned the kitchen, emptied the fridge of food and washed it down. After spending a few hours ensuring that the apartment was spic and span, I returned to Rangeman. What I wanted to do was to invite my mom and grandmother for lunch the next day, and to invite Connie and Lula for the day afterwards. However, I also wanted to give Ranger a chance to rescind his offer. Although I had never heard him say something that he didn't mean or stand by, I thought it was important to give him the opportunity to change his mind. I knew what a big step it was for him to allow people into his apartment, and it was the kind of thing that you couldn't undo once it had been done.

I got back to Rangeman just before noon, and as I walked down to my office Tank saw me pass the door of his. Tank was Ranger's right-hand man and had been protecting Ranger's back since Ranger had started Rangeman. He was a gigantic man with a solid physique, he was built like a tank and was intimidating as hell. Apparently Ranger and Tank had met each other when they were both in the military. Tank had been abducted and tortured, and Ranger and his team had been sent in to rescue him. The higher ups said that it couldn't be done, but Ranger and his team did it anyway. That had been Ranger's last mission. Tank had retired soon afterwards and had joined Ranger in his security business. Like Lula and me, they were good friends – without the ineptitude and bumbling attempts to do their job. Tank called out as I passed. "Hey, Steph", said Tank. I stopped and poked my head into his office.

"Hey, Tank. Did you have a good weekend?"

Tank smiled. "I did. One of my cats had kittens on Saturday. I delivered them myself."

"I bet they are beautiful."

"They are the prettiest kitties that I have ever seen."

"You'll have to take pictures for me."

"I will. Have you seen Ranger? He's looking for you."

"I haven't seen him. I just got back. Is he in his office?"

"No. He's down in the conference room with a new client. I think he wants the client to meet you, but he wanted to talk to you before you meet him. I'll go down and tell Ranger that you'll be in your office, okay?"

"Sure", I said. "Let me get a coffee and I'll meet him there."

Tank got up and walked towards the elevator as I entered the break room. I poured myself a coffee and, as I yawned and remembered what Ranger had said about apples, I picked an apple out of the fruit basket, added an egg salad sandwich, and walked back to my office.

I turned on my computer, put my gun thigh holster on, and started to eat my lunch. I was halfway through my sandwich when Ranger came into my office, shut the door, and gave me a light kiss of hello. "Did you talk to Connie and Lula, or your mom and grandmother?" he said.

I smiled. "I decided to do that tomorrow and to give you a chance to change your mind."

Ranger thought about smiling. "I won't change my mind, babe."

"I'm sorry about interrupting your client meeting", I said. "I just got in, and Tank said that you wanted to see me?"

"I do. I need to talk to you."

"Oh, oh. What did I do wrong?" I was teasing. I knew that Ranger wasn't mad at me. He never got mad at me. It had taken me a long time to trust that he wouldn't blow up over every little thing, but I now fully trusted him. He was so different than any other serious boyfriend that I had ever gone out with.

Ranger smiled. "Nothing, babe. I'm going to start with a bit of a story." He sat down on the guest chair in front of my desk, and I picked up the second half of my sandwich and took a bite.

"About a month ago, you told me that Dickie hit you when you were married to him."

"Yes. Although he had threatened to hit me many times, he actually hit me once. That was when I left him and got a divorce."

"I got mad when you told me that. You didn't deserve to be threatened, let alone actually hit. So I ran him through the computer. Remember when his partners obtained that forty million through illegal means? You had gone into his office to plant a bug for me and, when you were there, you discovered that he was using a clock that had been given to you by your aunt. When you left his office, you took the clock with you. What you didn't know was that the clock contained the key to the account that contained the forty million. When the clock was then destroyed, Dickie no longer had access to that money."

"I remember."

"However, that money is still legally Dickie's. The government couldn't find any proof of wrongdoing so, although they know that money is dirty, they've had to let Dickie continue to own it."

"It burns me that Dickie, my ex-husband asshole, was able to earn forty million. Good things aren't supposed to happen to bad people."

"I know. So when I did a little digging, I found out that he hasn't been claiming the interest earned on that forty million on his taxes. I talked to Morelli and explained the situation, and he hooked me up with some investigators at the FBI."

"Did you tell Morelli that I'd been hit as well?"

"Yes, but I asked him to keep it quiet."

I blew out a breath and swallowed back tears. "What did he say?"

"He said it explained a lot." Ranger looked at me, at the tears threatening in my eyes, at the look of mortification on my face. "It wasn't your fault, babe."

"I'm sure Morelli blamed me."

"No, he didn't. But he did have a wall to repair after he smashed it with his fist."

I put the last of my sandwich into my mouth and chewed, but although egg salad sandwiches were one of my favorites and although I had been hungry, the food was now sitting like a lead ball in my stomach.

"The FBI wants to arrest Dickie for tax evasion. He is looking at six years in prison, a financial penalty, and the paying back of the monies owed to the IRS."

"So you're meeting with the IRS?"

"No."

"The FBI?"

"No."

"Who is your client?"

"Dickie. Apparently Dickie has become a gambler in recent years, and he is doing so beyond his means. He owes money to his bookie and he's panicking. He knows that someone is looking for him and he has assumed that it is the bookie looking for his money."

I started to smile. "But it is the IRS?"

"Yes or, at least, the FBI on behalf of the IRS. I know that, Morelli knows that, and now you know that. But Dickie doesn't, and I want to let him sweat this one out."

"So what does he want with you?"

"He wants Rangeman to protect him from the bookie. He is willing to pay us to assign him a bodyguard and to put him into seclusion. I have asked for the money upfront, and he has written me a check for fifty thousand dollars as a retainer for bodyguarding services. In addition, he will pay us two thousand dollars a day for every day that we'll be guarding him. We are also being paid to find the bookie's thugs and stop them from harassing Dickie. He has already given us a check for an additional hundred thousand, money that we will hold for him in an account and will return to him if he cooperates with us when we are guarding him. I call it an aggravation fee. What I'd like to do is to put him in your apartment so that the FBI can't find him and so that we can milk this protection detail for as long as we can. When the money dries up, we'll release him to the FBI for arrest. Is that okay with you?"

"Doesn't matter to me. I'm not living there."

"I'll pay your rent for your apartment while we are using it as a safe house. I was thinking of assigning Hector to babysit him."

I smiled. Hector looked incredibly scary and it had taken me a long time before I had found out that he was a kind person. He had tattoos all over his body, a shaved head and piercings, which was neither here nor there, but what made me cautious were the teardrop tats below his eye that denoted the number of people he had killed. When his fierce looks were put together with his taciturn personality, Hector scared the crap out of me. He wasn't particularly social, and it had taken me a while to warm up to him. Now that we were used to each other, I have discovered that he was a good person, highly protective, and a beneficial person to have on your side.

Aware of Dickie's preppy style and his lack of courage, I knew that Hector would make him uncomfortable, and I was all for making him uncomfortable. Earning money off a situation that Dickie brought on himself was even better. The irony of Dickie turning to Ranger for help, the man who had brought the shit show to his door, was the best of all. I smiled.

"Whether we go through with this is up to you. If you want, I can hold him and call the FBI agents and have him picked up right away. If you want to wait, Rangeman can take on Dickie as a client and earn money from him. Alternatively, we can refuse to help him and let him run scared. What would you prefer to do?"

I didn't have to think too hard about it. "Earn money from him", I said. "He was vicious during the divorce and fought me on everything. By the end of the divorce, I gave up. I fought a long time, but I didn't have any more money to continue to fight. He got the house and most of the furniture. My lawyer got all the money I was awarded. I got my car and my car payments and a bit of alimony. He may be an asshole, but he is a very good lawyer. If we can get some money out of him now, then I think we should do so. The chance to make him uncomfortable by having Hector babysit him? Even better."

"That was my reaction as well", said Ranger. "I thought I'd have Hector look after him during the day, and Jose look after him at night."

I smiled again. Jose looked just as scary as Hector, but although he had that vicious air, he was also openly gay and would make Dickie's homophobia take over. Between Hector and Jose, Dickie would be messing his pants.

That was just the way I liked it.

"Do you think you could tell Hector and Jose to scare the crap out of him? They are already intimidating looking, but having them milk his fear will be perfect."

Ranger smiled. "I'll let you tell Hector and Jose yourself", he said. He picked up his phone and texted the two men, and told them that he wanted them to come down to my office as soon as possible. Both men responded that they would be there in fifteen minutes. Apparently Jose was on patrol and Hector was in the control room. Hector needed to wait until Jose's partner could come in and sub for him at his station.

"I need to pop into my office to write up a contract", said Ranger. "I'll get a coffee as well. It's been a long morning."

"Grab some lunch for yourself at the same time", I said. "It may be a long afternoon. I have found that, with Dickie, time always seems to drag."

Ranger smiled, got up and gave me a kiss, and left my office. Fifteen minutes later he walked back into my office with a folder of papers, a sandwich, a salad and a coffee. He sat down on the guest chair again and quickly ate his lunch. He was just putting in the last mouthful of sandwich when Hector and Jose entered my office. Ranger asked them to shut the door, and he turned to me. "Do you want to explain to Hector and Jose the assignment that I am giving them?"

Hector and Jose looked at me, and I flushed. I looked back at Ranger, and he looked at me steadily in support. I looked back at Hector and Jose. "About ten years ago", I said, "I was married to a man named Dickie Orr. We were only married for three months before I found out that he was cheating on me. When I confronted him and yelled at him, he hit me. I walked out and we are still known as having the most contentious divorce in Trenton's history. Until I told Ranger of this, no one knew that he had hit me. I hadn't brought it up in the divorce and, in all honesty, I was too ashamed of getting hit to feel comfortable admitting it to anyone." Even admitting it right then was hard. Hector and Jose didn't say anything, and Ranger just looked at me in support. I knew that he would support me in saying as much or as little as I felt comfortable admitting. I sighed, clenched my teeth for a moment and massaged my stomach.

"Breathe, babe", said Ranger. He reached across my desk and clasped my hand and squeezed it gently in support.

I told them about Ranger finding out Dickie's tax evasion and reporting it to the FBI and the fact that the FBI was searching for him. I told them about Dickie's gambling and the fact the bookie was looking for him. And I explained that Dickie had approached Rangeman to protect him from the bookie.

"Better get the money upfront", said Hector.

Ranger smiled. "I already have. I left it up to Stephanie as to whether we would take Dickie on as a client. She has just said that we should bilk Dickie for whatever he is willing to pay. So, as of this afternoon, Rangeman is in the position of protecting Dickie from the people we sicced on him in the first place. We're charging him double our usual fee."

Jose laughed and even Hector smiled. "Serves him right", said Hector.

"I agree", said Ranger. "He has paid a retainer, and will be paying daily for our services. I have chosen the two of you as Dickie's babysitters. Both of you were selected because you are the scariest and most intimidating-looking teammates that we have on staff. I would suggest that Hector looks after Dickie during the day, from seven in the morning to seven at night, and Jose look after him from seven at night to seven in the morning. Jose, Dickie is homophobic, so be as openly gay as you can be. Both of you, please don't make it easy on him. We want him shitting his pants but feeling that he has to rely on us for protection. He is paying us good money, so the longer we can eke this out, the better off we will be."

"Where are we doing this protection detail?" asked Jose.

"Stephanie's apartment. It is a one-bedroom, which is another reason that I selected Jose to do the night shift. I'm sure you can have some fun with sleeping arrangements. The fire escape is monitored and we are putting a camera on the door as we speak. There is no security system on the building but the residents are a good group of people, mostly nosy seniors who have seen their fair share of crimes in Stephanie's apartment. They keep a close eye on her place for her and might give you a little grief unless Stephanie introduces you to them. I'd suggest that the two of you take Dickie to Steph's apartment, and Steph and I follow you and help you meet the people in her building. Babe, if you could just introduce Mrs. Bestler and Mr. Wolenski to Hector and Jose and Dickie, the other residents will accept them." With Mrs. Bestler's self-appointed role as the elevator operator, she was the building go-to person for gossip and she was the one person who knew the comings and goings of each of the residents and their apartments. Mr. Wolenski was our resident who could be found sitting with his walker in the lobby around the hours of the soaps and the news, watching the world go by and meeting everyone as they came into the building and left again. It was quite common for at least one of those two people to warn me of problems before I ever got to my apartment.

I looked at Hector and Jose, and their eyes lightened and they smiled. I grinned back at them. "This will be fun", said Hector.

"Oh, yeah, baby", said Jose. "This is the best assignment ever."